The Transmigrated Princess - Chapter 46

After Gu Qing finished dressing, Xie Zhizhen finally turned back around. She lay down on the bed to sleep with Gu Qing, who simply reached out to wrap an arm around her waist. After such a long separation, her heart was filled with a thousand yearnings; she wanted to kiss her and hold her, but in the end, she did not do anything more.

As her hand rested on Xie Zhizhen’s waist, she clearly noticed that it had become even more slender. Furthermore, she wondered if it was just her imagination, but Xie Zhizhen’s waist no longer felt as soft and delicate as usual. Instead, it felt inexplicably firm and strong.

Lying in bed, Xie Zhizhen was so pleasantly surprised by Gu Qing’s sudden return that she was completely wide awake. She closed her eyes but could not fall asleep. She spoke in a tentative whisper. “Gu Qing, are you asleep?”

“Not yet.” The arm around Xie Zhizhen’s waist tightened slightly. The change in Xie Zhizhen was becoming more obvious; Gu Qing felt puzzled but did not know how to ask.

Xie Zhizhen naturally noticed Gu Qing’s movement. She looked down at the hand wrapped around her waist and asked in confusion, “Why are you holding me so tightly? I am not going to run away.”

Realizing her actions were a bit too obvious, Gu Qing immediately loosened her grip, fearing she might cause Xie Zhizhen any discomfort. “What is it? Did I make you uncomfortable?”

Sensing Gu Qing’s tension, Xie Zhizhen turned onto her side and reached out to hug Gu Qing’s arm. “How could you? I just feel that you are being a bit strange.”

As her arm was pressed against the woman’s softness, Gu Qing’s cheeks instantly flushed red. It had been three months since she had last touched such a tender place. She began to stutter. “I, what could be str, strange about me? I, I just feel like you might have lost a bit of weight.”

Xie Zhizhen pinched her own cheek. Recalling the past three months, although she had been sad because Gu Qing was away, she had been accompanied by Gu Yin, her aunt, and Uncle Pei. She had not lost any weight at all; in fact, she had gained a little. “How could that be? I have clearly gained weight.”

Gu Qing looked down at that overly slender waist. Ensuring that Xie Zhizhen would not be bothered by her touch, she gave the thin waist a firm squeeze. “Your waist has become even thinner.”

Xie Zhizhen could not help but laugh. She pulled up her inner robe, revealing her firm and toned waist. Although it could not compare to Gu Qing’s, it was quite impressive.

Because it was so dark at night, Gu Qing could only vaguely see Xie Zhizhen’s movements but could not see the details of her abdomen. She actually thought Xie Zhizhen might be injured.

Just as she was thinking about lighting the candle, Xie Zhizhen took her hand and placed it on her abdomen.

The sensation under her hand was very different: clear muscle lines and a firm, toned core. Gu Qing immediately breathed a sigh of relief. She had truly thought Xie Zhizhen was hurt.

Gu Qing had these toned muscles herself, but she had never carefully felt her own. Now, placing her hand on those firm lines, she gave them a gentle poke and, sure enough, felt that slightly soft sensation again. It was a wonderful feeling.

“You… you actually trained them?” Gu Qing was surprised. She thought that without her supervision, Xie Zhizhen might not have remembered to do it.

However, she felt a small sense of regret. In truth, she quite liked the original soft feeling of Xie Zhizhen’s waist; it was very comfortable to squeeze.

Xie Zhizhen gave a little hum of pride. “Am I not impressive?”

She had persisted for three months just so Gu Qing could see the results of her training upon her return. Although she could not see Gu Qing’s expression in the dark, Xie Zhizhen felt that Gu Qing should praise her.

In fact, Gu Qing did give her a proper compliment. “Very impressive.”

While she felt a bit of pity in her heart, she could not discourage Xie Zhizhen after she had worked so hard to achieve this.

Just as Gu Qing was mourning the lost softness, Xie Zhizhen suddenly stretched. She then hugged Gu Qing’s waist and buried her face in her chest, muttering muffledly, “Starting tomorrow, I am not practicing anymore.”

“Why?” Gu Qing did not quite understand. Xie Zhizhen had persisted for three months to get this result; why stop now? “If you do not practice, your muscle lines will slowly disappear. Your efforts over these three months will be wasted.”

After talking with Gu Qing for so long, Xie Zhizhen was getting sleepy. She let out a yawn and nuzzled against Gu Qing’s neck. Her nose was filled with the scent of fresh grass on Gu Qing’s body, which smelled wonderful. “Exercising every morning is too tiring. Besides, I have already achieved it. I am tired of looking at my own toned waist every day.”

Her voice was somewhat slurred, and Gu Qing could only barely distinguish what she was saying.

“If I want to see it in the future, looking at yours will be enough. I am too lazy to do it myself.” The most important reason she had persisted for three months was to prove a point: she wanted to show Gu Qing that she was also capable of training the exact same muscle lines.

The corners of Gu Qing’s mouth curled up involuntarily. She patted Xie Zhizhen’s shoulder. Really, she was such a grown woman, yet she was still like a child, being so competitive.

But it was just as well; Gu Qing also preferred the soft feel.

When Xie Zhizhen woke up, Gu Qing was still asleep. After all, she had traveled through the night and had not rested much along the way.

She observed Gu Qing carefully. Only one candle had been lit last night, so it had not been bright enough for her to see Gu Qing’s face clearly.

Now that it was daylight, Xie Zhizhen quietly retracted the hand she used to hold Gu Qing. She carefully pulled away and propped her head up with one hand, looking at Gu Qing lying beside her. There was a clear darkness under Gu Qing’s eyes, showing she was indeed exhausted. Her skin was a bit darker than before, and her lips were dry and peeling.

With her eyes closed, Gu Qing looked like an ordinary girl; she did not look at all like a female general.

Xie Zhizhen gently tapped the tip of Gu Qing’s nose, thinking that Gu Qing looked very cute like this. It made her want to stay with her a little longer.

But just as she was becoming absorbed in Gu Qing’s sleeping face, Su Juan came in. “Your Highness…”

The moment she spoke, Xie Zhizhen quickly made a “hush” gesture, fearing Su Juan would wake Gu Qing.

Only then did Su Juan see that, besides the Grand Princess, the Consort—who had been away at war for three months—was also on the bed. She immediately fell silent.

Xie Zhizhen waved her hand, signaling her to leave. Su Juan bowed her head and withdrew.

After Su Juan left, Xie Zhizhen got out of bed. Because she slept on the inner side, she had to quietly climb over Gu Qing.

Just as Xie Zhizhen thought she had successfully gotten up without waking Gu Qing, Gu Qing’s voice came from behind her. “Where are you going?”

Xie Zhizhen turned back with a smile. Sure enough, Gu Qing had opened her eyes. She felt a bit guilty. “Did I wake you?”

Gu Qing was not yet fully awake; her mind was still hazy, and she thought she was in a dream. She grabbed Xie Zhizhen’s wrist, pulled her into her arms, stroked her soft hair, and planted a kiss.

This is a dream filled with the scent of peach blossoms, Gu Qing thought to herself.

Xie Zhizhen felt Gu Qing’s familiar manner, as if the two were an old couple who had been married for decades. This leisurely time made her feel reluctant to leave; she almost did not want to get up.

However, while Gu Qing still thought she was in a dream, she felt the overly realistic texture of the dark hair, the very real weight on her body, and the scent of peach blossoms that did not seem fake at all.

Her eyes, which had been closed in enjoyment, suddenly snapped open. Looking at the familiar layout around her—this was Xie Zhizhen’s bedroom—Gu Qing realized at that moment that she had already returned to the Grand Princess’s Manor last night.

Realizing that she was holding the real Xie Zhizhen, Gu Qing’s body grew a bit stiff. she was also afraid of seeing an expression of discomfort on Xie Zhizhen’s face. She released her hands, and though she was reluctant, she still said, “Weren’t you going to get up? Go ahead.”

Xie Zhizhen still lingered on the feeling of being in Gu Qing’s arms, but since Gu Qing had said so, she could not stay there. She stood up with a hint of disappointment.

After Xie Zhizhen got up, Gu Qing kept staring at the expression on her face. Seeing her looking a bit downcast, Gu Qing’s heart tightened. It seemed that during these three months, Zhizhen’s condition had indeed improved, but perhaps she still disliked being touched.

Gu Qing secretly reminded herself that she would have to be careful in the future.

…

After a simple washing and grooming, Xie Zhizhen stepped out of the room. Gu Yin had been waiting in the living room for a while. She looked at Xie Zhizhen with surprise. “Why is Your Highness so late today?”

Usually, because Xie Zhizhen wanted to wake up early to exercise, she got up exceptionally early. But now that Gu Qing was back and had seen the results of her three months of training, Xie Zhizhen no longer wanted to work hard. “I won’t be getting up early anymore; it is too tiring.”

Gu Yin was puzzled. “Didn’t Your Highness say you wanted to train for… toned lines?”

Gu Yin had never heard the term for those muscle lines before; she had first heard it from Xie Zhizhen.

Xie Zhizhen nodded. She selected two dishes and had Su Juan take them away to prevent Gu Qing from having nothing to eat when she woke up. “I have already trained them. Training that stuff is very tiring; I have to get up early every day and go for a run before I even eat.”

Thinking of her hard work over these three months, Xie Zhizhen felt it was a miracle. How had she persisted?

Although Gu Yin still was not quite sure what those specific lines were, she could roughly guess. She said hesitantly, “But if you do not persist, won’t they disappear again?”

Watching Su Juan take the dishes, Gu Yin asked, “What is this for? Your Highness hasn’t eaten yet.”

“Gu Qing is back. This is for her,” Xie Zhizhen explained. “I already showed the lines to Gu Qing last night. Now, they can disappear if they want.”

Taking a bite of the refreshing sweet and sour radish, Xie Zhizhen showed a happy smile. Her appetite was poor in the summer, but fortunately, the newly hired cook in the small kitchen was very good at making sour and spicy things, which allowed her to manage a few bites of food.

Hearing that Gu Qing was back, Gu Yin was surprised. She was about to say that she wasn’t supposed to arrive for a few more days; how did she return two or three days early?

Furthermore, there was no way she would not know about the army’s return to the capital.

Looking at Xie Zhizhen, Gu Yin understood a little. She teased, “Second Sister was probably in a hurry to see Your Highness and rode ahead of the others.”

Xie Zhizhen’s gaze flickered, and a blush spread across her cheeks. She understood in her heart, but she was still unwilling to admit it. “That is not true.”

However, a curve had already appeared on her lips.

Amidst Gu Yin’s teasing, Gu Qing happened to walk in from the door. “What are you two chatting about?”

She did not know when Gu Yin had become so close to Zhizhen, even coming all the way from the Protector General’s Manor specifically to accompany Zhizhen for breakfast early in the morning.

It was quite a rare occurrence.

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