Chapter 69

Noticing her distraction, Xiao Changyuan called out softly to her.
“Wife?”
Yun Pianpian snapped back to reality.
She lifted her lashes and looked at Xiao Changyuan.
Yun Pianpian nodded blankly.
“Husband, you acted so convincingly.”
Seeing her innocent, bewildered expression, Xiao Changyuan’s gaze deepened, and he swallowed.
He lowered his dark lashes, his deep, cold eyes fixed intently on Yun Pianpian’s red lips.
“Then shouldn’t my wife reward me?”
The man’s voice was low and hoarse, carrying a hint of danger.
Yun Pianpian’s face flushed red.
Ever since Xiao Changyuan regained his memories, he had never let her take the initiative to kiss him. He seemed to resist her kisses, and each time, she could only wait for him to kiss her first, she had no right to kiss him. Now, suddenly being asked for a reward, Yun Pianpian’s heart began to race wildly.
Xiao Changyuan reached out and pulled her into his embrace, his dark, dangerous eyes stared at her small face.
“Wife, I want my reward.”
His voice seemed a bit unsteady.
Yun Pianpian’s heart trembled. With her flushed, burning cheeks, she extended her slender, delicate arms, wrapped them around Xiao Changyuan’s neck, tilted her head up, and cautiously pressed her lips to his thin ones. She hadn’t kissed him for long before the man cupped her head and deepened the kiss.
Her delicate fingers clutched the front of his robe.
Yun Pianpian felt that this kiss was somehow fiercer and more lingering than before.
Her mind went completely blank.
After an unknown amount of time, the two separated, panting.
Yun Pianpian's cheeks were burning hot, her small face flushed crimson, and her gaze grew slightly moist. Nestled in Xiao Changyuan's broad, warm embrace, she tried to calm her rapid breathing.
Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind.
She lifted her lashes and looked toward Xiao Changyuan's ears.
The palace lanterns cast a dim, hazy glow. The emperor's coldly handsome face was tinged with a familiar, faint blush. His delicate, fair ears were so red they seemed as if they could drip blood.
Yun Pianpian froze for a moment.
It suddenly occurred to her, was the reason the tyrant Yuan had recently forbidden her from kissing his thin lips because he was feeling shy?
Every time she rewarded the amnesiac Yuan, his handsome face would uncontrollably flush red.
The tyrant Yuan was so proud, so arrogant, so haughty, so fond of controlling everything, could it be that he disliked this feeling of losing control? Did he dislike showing bashful emotions in front of her? Did he think that such feelings would embarrass him, which was why he so sternly ordered her not to kiss him?
Yun Pianpian suddenly felt that she might have misunderstood the tyrant Yuan all along.
It wasn't that the tyrant Yuan had something wrong with his head.
Rather, her own reactions had been too slow.
Remembering the matter at hand, Yun Pianpian straightened up and looked at Xiao Changyuan. “Husband, what is the last thing you remember?”
Xiao Changyuan lied without changing his expression. “My wife drove me to sleep in the guest room next door, giving me neither reward nor punishment. After I fell asleep, I woke up and found myself here.”
Yun Pianpian paused. So Xiao Changyuan's memory was still stuck in the time of their cold war in Jiangjia Village.
Xiao Changyuan wrapped his arms around Yun Pianpian's slender, soft waist, his dark eyes profound, and said in a pitiful tone, “Wife, are we still sleeping in separate rooms today?”
If it were yesterday, Xiao Changyuan would rather die in front of Yun Pianpian than utter such weak words.
But Xiao Changyuan had just experienced the most desperate moment of his life.
Yun Pianpian had dared to attempt suicide right before his eyes.
Although she hadn't succeeded in the end, it had still left a massive psychological scar on Xiao Changyuan.
To keep Yun Pianpian from leaving him, he could set aside his pride, abandon his dignity, give up everything, he only wanted to keep her by his side.
Xiao Changyuan had already tasted the sweetness of feigning weakness.
Feigning weakness could make his Pianpian stop crying.
Feigning weakness could earn him her rewards.
Xiao Changyuan no longer resisted this feeling of vulnerability.
He even began to enjoy it somewhat, because feigning weakness was a form of control.
He was subtly and imperceptibly gaining control over Yun Pianpian.
Hearing the grievance in Xiao Changyuan's tone, Yun Pianpian thought of the past and immediately felt a pang of guilt. She tightly hugged Xiao Changyuan's waist, burying her flushed cheek in his chest, and whispered, “I will never sleep in separate rooms with you again, husband. Will you forgive me?”
Xiao Changyuan's dark eyes deepened, his pale, thin lips curled almost imperceptibly.
“Mm, I forgive my wife.”
As long as he feigned weakness, he could get everything he wanted.
He could make Yun Pianpian stay forever in his embrace.
“Wife, you cannot abandon me.”
Yun Pianpian nodded. “I will never abandon you, husband.”
“Wife, you cannot leave me.”
Yun Pianpian obediently replied, “I will never leave you, husband.”
“Wife, you must stay with me forever.”
Yun Pianpian said compliantly, “I will always stay with you, husband.”
Xiao Changyuan narrowed his dark, phoenix, like eyes with satisfaction.
He tightly wrapped his arms around Yun Pianpian's body.
It turned out that showing weakness was more effective than giving orders.
Xiao Changyuan decided he would feign vulnerability in front of Yun Pianpian for the rest of his life.
As night deepened, Yun Pianpian showed Xiao Changyuan around the bedchamber and explained his daily duties. Piles of memorials lay on the imperial desk, and Xiao Changyuan pretended to skim through them while Yun Pianpian stood by, introducing everything. After finishing all the official matters, Yun Pianpian took clean sleepwear and went to bathe in the pool behind the purple sandalwood screen inlaid with jade, carved cloud and dragon patterns.
It took immense self, control for Xiao Changyuan to suppress his desire to join Yun Pianpian in the bath.
He knew that during his amnesiac period, he hadn't yet engaged in such intimate acts with Yun Pianpian. So, for now, he had to endure. Only after Yun Pianpian had grown accustomed to his presence could he initiate such closeness and completely make her his own.
Yun Pianpian soaked in the white jade bath, letting the warm spring water envelop her body. The steam rose, flushing her delicate cheeks with a rosy hue. Distractedly, she brushed flower petals onto her fair, smooth arms. This was the first time she had bathed alone.
In the past, Xiao Changyuan would always carry her in like a doll and wash her himself. She used to feel as though she had lost her freedom, but now that she had it back, her heart felt strangely hollow. She felt as though there should be a solid, broad chest behind her, not the cold, hard jade wall of the bath.
Yun Pianpian shook her head, trying to dispel such wicked thoughts.
After her bath, Yun Pianpian changed into clean sleepwear and asked Xiao Changyuan to bathe.
The hot spring water in the white jade pool was flowing, fresh water poured in from the dragon head above and drained out through openings at the bottom, ensuring the water remained clean at all times.
Xiao Changyuan finished bathing quickly, changed into loose, comfortable sleepwear, and walked toward the dragon bed.
He pulled Yun Pianpian’s soft, delicate body into his arms. The faint, fresh scent of her post, bath skin filled the air. Though he had intended to restrain himself for the night, the sweet fragrance overwhelmed him, and he couldn’t help but lower his head to capture her red lips.
Yun Pianpian grew dazed under his kisses, as if floating among clouds and mist.
But then Xiao Changyuan began to undo her clothes.
Startled, Yun Pianpian immediately sobered up, her moist, bewildered eyes widened in shock.
“Husband, what are you doing?”
Her amnesiac husband was pure and innocent, the most intimate thing they had ever done was kiss.
There was no way he would have undone her clothes.
Xiao Changyuan’s pupils contracted slightly, his body stiffened abruptly.
He quickly realized he had done something that didn’t align with his identity.
A cold sweat broke out on Xiao Changyuan’s back.
He had slipped up!
Even though his heart was in turmoil, like a collapsing army on a battlefield, his expression remained unreadable.
He still wore the aloof, detached face of an iceberg.
He blinked his lashes, revealing an innocent and bewildered expression.
“Wife, why did I undo your clothes?”
A faint trace of confusion flickered in his dark, cold eyes.
“Did something else happen during this time?”
Yun Pianpian clutched her nightgown, furrowing her delicate brows as she carefully observed the expression on Xiao Changyuan’s handsome face.
The palace lantern cast a dim, yellowish glow, and the curtains hung low.
The young, handsome emperor looked hesitant, his thin lips pressed together, his expression innocent.
He didn’t seem to be lying.
Moreover, he had no reason to lie.
Yun Pianpian dismissed her doubts and vaguely replied, “Nothing happened. Perhaps you were too hot and accidentally undid the wrong clothes…”
Xiao Changyuan breathed a sigh of relief, his gaze darkening as he said, “So that’s what happened.”
And so, two liars embraced each other, each harboring their own secrets, and fell asleep in each other’s arms.
Yun Pianpian soon drifted into a deep slumber.
In the middle of the night, she suddenly heard the familiar sound of water.
Yun Pianpian woke up groggily and found the space beside her empty, Xiao Changyuan wasn’t sleeping with her. Feeling puzzled, she lifted her slender, pale fingers and pushed aside the curtains hanging at the edge of the dragon bed. The palace lantern cast a soft, dim light, and the sound of water seemed to grow louder, faintly coming from the bathing pool behind the screen.
Yun Pianpian blinked.
A vague image formed in her mind, so she got out of bed and walked toward the sound of the water.
It was midsummer, and the palace was stocked with ice to relieve the heat. These ice blocks were usually stored in ice chests.
Yun Pianpian noticed that the three ice chests lying in the corner had been opened, and all the ice inside was gone.
Walking around the purple sandalwood screen inlaid with jade, carved cloud and dragon patterns, Yun Pianpian saw Xiao Changyuan sitting naked in the bathing pool. The surface of the warm water was covered with large chunks of ice, turning the steamy hot spring into a freezing pond. The ice floated like duckweed, and Xiao Changyuan’s pale skin had taken on a bluish tint from the cold.
Yun Pianpian’s heart tightened. She immediately reached out to pull Xiao Changyuan, wanting to get him out of the pool.
“Husband, don’t soak in the icy water. Come out quickly.”
Her small hand touched Xiao Changyuan’s arm.
It felt freezing cold.
She was inwardly startled.
She didn’t know how long he had been soaking there.
Xiao Changyuan stood up, splashing water everywhere. Yun Pianpian’s peripheral vision caught sight of something, and her face flushed bright red. She quickly turned around and handed him the nightgown hanging on the wooden rack. Xiao Changyuan reached out and took the nightgown from her, putting it on.
Yun Pianpian’s cheeks burned as if on fire. She hurried away from the edge of the pool, half, walking, half, running, and hid back on the dragon bed.
Not long after, the golden curtains were lifted from the outside.
Xiao Changyuan, now dressed in his nightgown, came in and pulled Yun Pianpian’s flushed body into his embrace. His voice was low and tinged with grievance.
“Wife, why is my body even hotter than before? Is there any way to cool down?”
Yun Pianpian lifted her head and gazed at Xiao Changyuan's face.
She saw a pair of dark, profound phoenix eyes.
Those ink, black eyes were filled with trust and attachment toward her.
He was so clear, so pure, so untainted that it made her feel a little embarrassed to taint this innocence.
Yun Pianpian blushed and said, “N, No.”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Changyuan's handsome face darkened.
This woman truly had a cruel heart.
She actually had the heart to let him suffer alone in the flames of desire.
So cruel!