Chapter 23

Since Rong Zhi had left irrationally, Chu Yu stayed where she was, feeling perplexed as ever. Although she was holding the book in her hand, she could no longer put her thoughts into reading anything.

She could not figure it out no matter how hard she thought about it. She had no idea why Rong Zhi would be so mad at her in the first place. Theoretically, Rong Zhi’s position was almost just a level below Princess Shan Yin in the entire Imperial Palace. It was obvious he was above anyone else to the extent that even the Prince Consort could not compare to him. According to You Lan, Rong Zhi was never petty and had always been nice to everyone.

All she wanted was to bring Huan Yuan out of the Imperial Residence. She never said she would reward him with anything extraordinary. Could Rong Zhi be so petty to the point he could not tolerate that?

As her thoughts were in chaos, she did not notice the sun setting. The evening sunlight shone in through the window, landing on the book and Chu Yu’s hand, giving her fingers a faint golden glow. She knew she would not be able to digest anything if she were to read like this, so she put the book down for now instead. After returning to the East Court, she had dinner and washed up. The sky had turned completely dark by the time she was done eating.

Chu Yu remembered that she had previously promised Pei Shu that she would go to the poetry recital with him tomorrow. She then immediately retreated to her bedroom and turned in for the night. Her mind was so occupied that she did not notice the odd expression of the guard standing in the courtyard in front of her bedroom or even You Lan’s confused expression.

She pushed her door open and asked You Lan not to stay on guard. She then closed the door after returning to the room.

There was no light in the room, but Chu Yu was able to memorize everything in her room to the point that she managed to walk to her bed without banging into anything. Just as she was going to remove her clothes to go to bed, she noticed a gentle, subtle scent in the air.

Chu Yu frowned. As a matter of fact, the scent initially came from the incense burning in her room, but she managed to get her servants to put it out in time. In a matter of minutes after putting it out, the scent was back again. Just as she was going to call someone in, she suddenly recalled that the scent did not seem to originate from the incense. She felt like she had smelled this somewhere before but could not quite put a finger on where it was from.

After some deep contemplation, Chu Yu narrowed her eyes and with the help of the dim light, she noticed someone hiding under her blanket on the bed.

She looked at the lump quietly for a while and lit up the lamp as she walked toward the wall. The yellow light was rather dim, but it lit up the entire room in an instant. Chu Yu saw the person on her bed clearly even though he had buried himself almost entirely under the blanket. His silky, smooth, black hair was the only thing that was exposed on the bed.

Chu Yu walked to the bed and crossed her arms as she said calmly, “Come out now.”

The person crawled out slowly, and as expected, it was Mo Xiang. He had a special scent that was exclusive to him. If not for the scent, she would not have noticed someone in her bed.

Mo Xiang sat up lazily, and the silk blanket slid down as a result of his movement. Bit by bit, his fair neck was exposed, then came his round shoulders, long arms, and…

However, none of that attracted Chu Yu. All she did was glare at him coldly. Mo Xiang seemed to sense her hostility. He bit his red lower lip while his eyes that were gazing down seemed to be crying. There were no teardrops rolling down his face. In fact, they were threatening to fall from his eyes. He said with his soft, supple lips, “Princess, it’s been a while now. Do you really not miss me?”

Chu Yu frowned and said nothing.

Mo Xiang’s eyes were fluttering a little as a crystal-clear tear rolled down his cheek. “I’m scared. I’ve been given to you as a toy. Apart from serving you, there’s nothing else I’m good at. If you don’t want me anymore, Princess, I have no idea where I can go. Are you sick of me and want to give me away, Princess?”

Initially, Chu Yu wanted to scream at him, but after looking at him shivering and being unable to hold himself back, she said gently with sympathy in her tone, “Don’t worry. Although I don’t long for attention anymore, I won’t mistreat you when it comes to our arrangement in bed. If you’re really unwilling to leave, you can stay here if you want to be here for the rest of your life. As long as I’m here and the Imperial Residence exists, you won’t starve.”

She could not help but sigh secretly upon saying that. Looking at him, she knew Mo Xiang had had a hard time in the past, resulting in his insecurity. He even went so far to the point of crawling into her bed and hoping to get something out of it.

After Mo Xiang left her chamber with grateful tears, Chu Yu commanded the guards to her and asked coldly, “Why did you guys let him in?”

Did they forget that she had instructed them not to let any men in? Fortunately, it was Mo Xiang. Had it been someone else with ill intentions, the person could have stabbed her when she was sleeping.

The guards responded respectfully, “It was Young Master Rong who let him in. We thought it was what you wanted, Princess.”

Chu Yu became silent for a moment and nodded. She then got the maidservant to change the bedsheets and blanket that were filled with Mo Xiang’s scent. When they were finally done, she sprawled across her bed tiredly while staring at the ceiling.

Although she had many questions, Chu Yu slowly fell asleep as exhaustion and darkness kicked in.

***

Mo Xiang looked rather pitiful as he walked out of the East Court with a thin layer of clothes covering his body. However, his expression changed all of a sudden when he just stepped into the West Court. If Chu Yu were there, she would definitely be at a loss of words from shock. Mo Xiang’s charming eyes looked determined at that moment. Though weak, there was an indestructible toughness in his physique.

The Hidden Scent Court in the West Court was where Mo Xiang lived. Initially, there was another male companion who stayed with him, but he had since left.

As he walked toward the main residence in the Hidden Scent Court, he noticed someone standing there. The person had his back to Mo Xiang with his white clothes draped on the floor. He looked cool and distant like falling snow standing in the darkness.

Mo Xiang walked to him while half-kneeling. “Greetings, Young Master Rong.”

The person turned around and helped Mo Xiang up. “How many times do I have to tell you this? You don’t have to bow to me whether we’re meeting secretly or when we’re out there.”

The person had a faint gentle smile on his face, yet his dark eyes were unfathomable.

He was Rong Zhi.