The more one looked at her, the more she looked like she had been bullied. The more she evaded him, the more Pei Qianhao wanted to approach her.
His body leaned forward, cutting off her path of retreat. “Scared of this prince? Averse to men? Or are you scared of all men?” His voice became increasingly low as he lowered his head to stare into her eyes.
At this moment, Pei Qianhao detected that there was something strange about Su Xi-er’s expression. In the past, she remained unruffled no matter what I did. Now however, she can’t hide the sense of panic and the desire to escape in her eyes.
Su Xi-er turned her head away, not looking at Pei Qianhao. She was currently struggling to suppress the various emotions that were rushing through her heart; biting her lip, not speaking and not looking at him were simply all she could manage to do at this moment.
She was afraid that if she didn’t, she would recklessly disobey him without regards for the consequences.
This time, however, Pei Qianhao didn’t plan to let her off. He pulled her back to face him, gently caressing her smooth skin as he did so.
His grip was harsh in one moment, yet gentle the next. When Pei Qianhao saw her knitted slender eyebrows, he queried, “Something must have happened for you to detest men this much. You entered the imperial palace at a young age and have been on duty in the Palace Side Quarters since. Could it be that some things occurred after you entered the palace?”
Su Xi-er remained quiet. With his grip on her chin, she couldn’t turn or lower her head, forcing her to raise her head and look into his eyes.
Su Xi-er’s aversion to men was such that she would loathe even interacting with them at a close range. Her current position had her eyelashes slightly fluttering and clutching her fists tightly around the sheets.
This place is only Zhi County. If we travel as quickly as possible on horses, we will reach Nanzhao’s frontier in 4-5 days.
Nanzhao…Nanzhao! Afraid that the emotions in her heart would be given away, Su Xi-er immediately closed her eyes. With my eyes closed, the darkness would then be able to encircle me. Although I won’t be able to see anything, Pei Qianhao will also not be able to read my thoughts.
“Interesting.” A deep and low voice streamed into Su Xi-er’s ears. Then, a large hand moved down along her cheeks and neck.
Pei Qianhao was sounding her out to find out when she would open her eyes.
He pinched her waist hard, but Su Xi-er gave little reaction besides a slight tremble, her eyes still closed.
The corners of Pei Qianhao mouth were raised slightly. One hand held her head, while the other lifted the quilt as he used it to cover the two of them. At the same time, he suddenly lowered his head, accurately capturing her cherry pink lips.
While Su Xi-er was unable to completely ward him off, she still used her hands to push against his chest with all her might, the rest of her body squirming around in an attempt to escape.
On the other hand, Pei Qianhao’s momentum became increasingly intense as he pried open her teeth.
Su Xi-er could no longer bear it and opened her eyes, ferociously biting his lips.
Due to the amount of strength she put into her bite, the smell of blood blossomed between the two of them in an instant. Retreating, Pei Qianhao’s lips were marred by a bright red line where he had been bitten. Despite this, he still smiled devilishly and managed to pinch Su Xi-er once again, causing her to tremble.
“Obstinate temper.” He laughed and licked his lips. “The taste is not bad.”
Su Xi-er turned her head away, her fists clenched even tighter.
“If this prince really wanted to eat you, could you have resisted? In this world, there is no woman who can disobey this prince. Of course, this prince still won’t force people.”
Pei Qianhao’s gaze landed on the grey Chinese bodice on the floor. “However, it’s this prince’s first time seeing someone with a temper as stubborn as yours. If you provoke this prince, it may even be possible for me to violate my principles and take you.”
Unbridled. Arrogant. Overbearing. All these words describing powerful men could be applied to Pei Qianhao.
Su Xi-er’s slender eyebrows were slightly scrunched up as she turned her head to look at him. “Prince Hao, why do you waste your time on this servant? This servant is merely a palace maid from the Palace Side Quarters whose body stinks from scrubbing the chamber pots. Don’t you find someone like that beneath you? Or do you like the smell of the chamber pots?”
The word ‘shameless’ also spilt out from Su Xi-er’s lips. She glanced at him before reminding him, “Prince Hao, please turn around. This servant wants to wear my clothes.”
“Having seen you twice, what does it matter if I see you for the third time? Su Xi-er, are you scared?“
Two times. The first time was when he forced me to wear the Chinese bodice in the imperial palace, and the second time was just now.
Su Xi-er simply went along with him. “This servant is scared. Please turn around, Prince Hao.”
“Fine then. Quickly come off the bed and wear your clothes; then bring this prince a basin of hot water to wipe my body.”
The words ‘wipe my body’ caused Su Xi-er’s whole body to shudder. Would he tell me to wipe his body for him?
Pei Qianhao could tell what she was thinking and coldly instructed, “If you’re still not going to get out, do you believe that this prince will…”
Before he could finish, Su Xi-er had gotten off the bed while wrapped in the quilt. She picked up the Chinese bodice and began to wear it while still covered up with the quilt.
“Su Xi-er, the way you wear this Chinese bodice is really unique.” That quilt was like a tortoiseshell covering Su Xi-er.
Ignoring him, Su Xi-er swiftly finished wearing her Chinese bodice properly before doing the same with her outer garments.
After she was done, she began to fold the quilt, but realised that it was likely that Pei Qianhao would not be willing to use it any longer. I have already used this to cover myself, and the quilt even dropped onto the floor just now.
“This servant will bring a new quilt over for you.”
Pei Qianhao waved his hand. “No need.”
Su Xi-er glanced at him in confusion. Seeing that he no longer spoke, she placed the folded quilt at the foot of the bed.
Pei Qianhao saw her extremely deferential behaviour and coldly instructed, “Get out and quickly bring the hot water here.”
Su Xi-er was long used to his ice-cold appearance. It’s fine as long as he doesn’t oppress me and intentionally get close to me.
Su Xi-er bowed to him before retreating out of the inner chamber.
After she left, the door curtain swayed gently before coming to a stop, leaving Pei Qianhao to stare at it with a pensive expression.
She must have been hurt before to be so antipathetic to men. A girl will only be hurt by love when she begins to understand it. Don’t tell me that Su Xi-er had already begun to understand love after she entered the palace?
When this thought crossed his mind, Pei Qianhao’s eyes involuntarily narrowed slightly. Things seem to have become even more interesting. It’s rare for a woman with a story to appear. This life doesn’t seem to be as mundane as it was in the past.
~~~
Su Xi-er was unaware of Pei Qianhao’s current thoughts. After leaving the room, she walked towards the boiler room beside the dining hall.
She turned around to take a look. So it turns out that it’s Shui Yinglian.
Shui Yinglian has clearly been confined by His Excellency County Magistrate. Why has she come out now? Were the imperial guards watching over her not stringent, or is Shui Yinglian full of cunning tricks.
“It’s in the middle of the night, yet you ran out instead of serving Prince Hao properly. If you arouse Prince Hao’s displeasure, you will be out of luck,” Shui Yinglian told her with a smile.
As her eyes sized Su Xi-er up carefully, she noticed that the latter’s hair was dishevelled and her collar was also slightly messy.
In an instant, the expression in Shui Yinglian’s eyes changed. She even claimed that she’s an ordinary maidservant. She’s evidently a room concubine servant!
Despite detecting the changes in Shui Yinglian’s expression, Su Xi-er had no time to waste on her, simply stating in a chilly manner, “Prince Hao wants hot water. I have no time to spend on you.”
