Sui Sui didn't know why he suddenly cared about this, so he suppressed his doubts and answered "yes".
"What are you going to do?" the King of Qi asked again.
His voice was flat, no emotion could be heard, and his face was expressionless, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Sui Sui answered truthfully: "Reporting to His Highness, go and pray for blessings."
Huan Xuan said nothing, just stared at her.
Sui Sui suddenly remembered that she had an embroidered bag containing amulets in her sleeve, so she took it out and, according to the rules taught by Nanny Gao, knelt on the ground, held the amulet in her hands, and raised it high above her head.
The hunter woman seemed to know that he did not like her voice, so she tried not to speak in front of him.
Huan Xuan likes people who know what's interesting.
He condescended to take a look at the sachet and thought it was embroidered by her herself, but the embroidery was very poor.
Naturally, even if it was embroidered exquisitely, he would not wear it on his body.
He said calmly, "Put it aside."
He casually placed the sachet beside the couch.
Huan Xuan stopped talking to her and said directly, "Change my clothes for me."
As he spoke, he raised his hands.
Sui Sui stood up and began to untie the jade belt around his waist.
The spring of the belt buckle was unusual, and she fumbled for a long time to unfasten it. Her fingers accidentally touched the sachet on his belt, and the jade beads hanging on the sachet jingled.
Huan Xuan's face darkened, he waved her hand away and said coldly: "I'll do it myself."
Sui Sui obediently stepped back, his eyes sliding across the sachet, but it seemed as if he saw nothing, and even his expression did not change.
Huan Xuan took off the sachet and put it in the cabinet beside the bed. Then he quickly unbuckled his belt, took off his brocade robe and threw it aside.
He was left with only his underwear on his body, his muscular features showing through the thin silk.
Huan Xuan was tall, and as he had practiced martial arts since childhood, he had a strong and muscular body, but his muscles were not knotty or bulging. Rather, he was slender and well-proportioned. Even in the military camp, it was rare to see someone with such a beautiful figure.
However, Sui Sui's gaze only swept across his chest, without lingering, and returned to his face.
As soon as Huan Xuan lowered his head, he found that she was staring at him again, as if she could never see enough, as if every look was one less.
He doubted that she would be able to look at him like this all night if he didn't say anything.
He raised his eyebrows and said, "You can't undress yourself? Do you want me to help you?"
As soon as he said this, he realized that there seemed to be a hint of teasing in his words, and he felt an itch in his throat that spread all the way to his heart.
Sui Sui had already lowered his head to untie his belt.
But she didn't know how to untie a man's jade belt, and she couldn't even untie the Ruyi knot on a woman's belt. She pulled the wrong strand of silk and ended up making a knot.
Huan Xuan glanced at her impatiently, and seeing her body rising and falling due to her impatience, he also became impatient, as if there were a table full of delicacies, but he could only look at them but not eat them.
The King of Qi was not good at waiting. He reached out and grabbed her belt and pulled it hard. With a "hiss", the belt was torn into two pieces.
He threw the belt aside and tore off her shawl, outer shirt, and inner garment from her shoulders.
Under the candlelight, large areas of skin looked like warm jade, exuding a faint glow.
Huan Xuan could no longer bear it, and the ferocious beast that had been suppressed for more than half a month broke out of the cage, as if it wanted to overturn the heaven and earth and make the rivers and seas flow backwards.
Previous struggles and resistances were meaningless, because repression and endurance would only backfire.
However, all the waiting is worth it.
Sui Sui seemed to be tossed in the wind and waves, sometimes thrown to the top of the waves, and sometimes suddenly falling. In her confusion, she forgot the taboo of men and raised her hand to touch his back.
Huan Xuan's eyes darkened. He clasped her wrists above her head, stretched out his long arms, and lifted half of her belt.
Her wrists were tied, and her body suddenly stiffened. Huan Xuan hissed softly, "Don't move."
A hint of confusion rose in Sui Sui's watery eyes. She didn't move just now, but she didn't argue and nodded meekly.
Her eyes did not arouse the slightest pity in Huan Xuan, but instead aroused the hidden cruelty in his heart.
He lifted the other half of the belt and tied a knot behind her head, saying coldly, "Don't move or make any noise."
This time Huan Xuan was sober and not as unrestrained as last time. Seeing that the hunter woman was at the end of her strength, he stopped with a sense of unfulfilled desire.
Even so, the lights in Qinghan Courtyard were on for half the night.
Huan Xuan ordered someone to come in and serve him, and left Sui Sui in the room while he went to the clean room to bathe.
The maid brought hot water and towels and combs, and as usual, asked them to go behind the screen and clean up themselves.
After finishing, she wanted to cover her head and go to sleep. As her head just touched the pillow, she suddenly remembered what Grandma Gao said. She sat up again, picked up her wrinkled clothes and put them on, gathered her scattered long hair, got up, put on her slippers, and went back to her own yard.
It wasn't as painful this time, but she was still exhausted. She had to spend at least half a day catching up on sleep and another day or two recuperating. This was all thanks to her good physical condition as she had practiced martial arts since she was young.
After Huan Xuan finished his bath, he returned to his bedroom, but found the bed was empty. The bedding had been changed into clean ones, but the hunter woman had already left.
This time he was more sensible. Huan Xuan lay down while thinking.
When Sui Sui woke up, the King of Qi's carriage had already left. She was in such a deep sleep this time that she didn't hear any movement in the yard next door.
She opened her eyes and saw the dark face of Grandma Gao beside the bed.
Sui Sui knew why. The old lady probably regarded her as a demon who was out to harm her prince.
She pretended not to see it, picked up the medicine bowl on the tray, tilted her head back and drank the contraceptive soup in one gulp.
Grandma Gao hesitated for a while before finally saying, "Madam..."
Just as she started to speak, there was a rustling of door curtains, and a maid from Qinghan Courtyard walked in with a sachet in her hand, which was the one embroidered by Sui Sui.
"Madam Lu," she showed the sachet to Sui Sui, "I found this sachet on the floor beside the couch. Did you leave it behind?"
"It's mine, thank you."
Sui Sui took the sachet and saw that it was black, as if someone had stepped on it.
The maidservant apologized, "Maybe your Highness swept the clothes and dropped them on the floor, and you accidentally stepped on them when you passed by... How about I wash them for you?"
"No need, I'll wash it myself later." Sui Sui said with a smile.
The maid bowed and left.
Sui Sui gently patted the shoe prints on the sachet. This was her first embroidery job, so she couldn't help feeling a little sad.
She put the sachet into the box and looked up at Madam Gao: "What did you want to say just now, Madam?"
Grandma Gao, do you have anything else to say
She secretly cursed at what she had done, and said to Sui Sui, "My lady hasn't slept for half the night, so I'll ask the kitchen to prepare some angelica and ginseng stewed chicken to nourish my lady's body, so that she won't lose her energy and blood."
…
Since that night, Huan Xuan never wronged himself again.
He would always drive to Shanchiyuan every two days at least and three days at most.
It is not as vicious as it was at the beginning, but every time it comes, it is inevitable to cause trouble a few times.
He always came in the evening and left at the latest at noon the next day.
He and Sui Sui seldom spoke, only a dozen sentences in total, but the two of them were close to each other from time to time, so it was inevitable that they would gradually become familiar with each other. It would be a little unreasonable for them to ignore each other like strangers again.
One night, Huan Xuan was very angry. The next day happened to be a ten-day holiday, so he stayed in Shanchiyuan and slept peacefully.
He slept until noon, and when he was about to return to the palace, it happened to rain heavily.
He had no urgent business to return home, so he stayed in Shanchiyuan for lunch.
In the afternoon, the wind and rain had not stopped yet, and a eunuch brought in a letter.
The post was placed in an exquisitely painted box. The eunuch said, "Your Highness, it was sent from the East Palace."
Huan Xuan raised his eyebrows, opened the lid and took out the letter, which was written by the prince himself, saying that the plum blossoms in the East Palace were in bloom, and he and his wife had set up a plum blossom banquet in the palace and invited relatives and friends to enjoy them together.
There was a painting of a branch of plum blossoms in one corner of the calligraphy. Huan Xuan knew it was from the Crown Princess's handwriting at a glance.
This was the first banquet hosted by the Prince and his wife after their marriage, and he could not refuse.
However, if you go to the East Palace, you will definitely meet Ruan Yuewei.
Now the person he least wanted to see was her.
Huan Xuan ordered the eunuch to put the letter away expressionlessly: "Got it, tell the messenger that I will attend the banquet."
After dismissing the eunuchs, Huan Xuan no longer had the leisurely mood he had just had.
He drank a cup of tea, flipped through a book, and wrote a piece of cursive script. He suddenly remembered that in the past when he was in the Empress Dowager's palace, he and Ruan Yuewei always played chess in the small study in the side hall whenever it was rainy or windy.
He actually didn't like playing chess very much, but Ruan Yuewei suddenly became fascinated with it for a while. She searched for ancient chess books everywhere and even invited the wife of a chess player in the Hanlin Academy to be her teacher. She couldn't find an opponent in the Empress Dowager's palace, so she asked Huan Xuan to play chess with her.
Unexpectedly, Huan Xuan was quite talented in this area. He was just playing with her to amuse herself, but within two months, he defeated her. Ruan Yuewei was very strong-willed, so she didn't say anything at the time. She went back to her own courtyard and memorized the chess manual all night long.
However, Huan Xuan still won more games than he lost, so Ruan Yuewei no longer liked to play chess with him.
After Huan Xuan noticed it, he quietly gave in to her, even though he was only a teenager at that time, at the peak of his career, but he was more afraid of being alone on a rainy day, sitting under the porch and watching the water flowing down the eaves like a waterfall. The damp and coldness penetrated into his bones, as if he was the only one left in the world.
Huan Xuan unconsciously tightened his grip on the old sachet around his waist, the silk string digging into his mouth and leaving deep marks.
He let go of his hand and said to Gao Mai, "Send the hunter girl over here."
Sui Sui was a little surprised, but she still changed her blue cloth short jacket into a flowing fairy skirt, put on a straw raincoat, put on a bamboo hat, and went to Qinghan Courtyard.
Huan Xuan sat under the porch watching the rain. He glanced at her inappropriate outfit and did not hide the disgust in his eyes: "Take off your raincoat."
Sui Sui walked to the corridor, took off his raincoat and hat, placed them by the wall, and saluted him: "What do you want, Your Highness?"
Huan Xuan asked, "Have you ever learned to play chess?"
Xiao Ling started playing chess with her father when she was four or five years old. When she was eight or nine, she had killed all the staff in the Jiedushi's mansion and rarely met an opponent in the army. When she was eleven or twelve years old, even the old General Xiao made her give him two pieces before he could barely beat her to a draw.
But it was impossible for the hunter girl Sui Sui to learn these pastimes, she shook her head.
Huan Xuan expected that she wouldn't know how to do it, so he just asked, "Do you want to learn?"
Sui Sui nodded: "I want to."
"I'll teach you."
There must be something wrong when something is abnormal. Sui Sui became a little alert and frowned.
Huan Xuan took that as flattery and fear, and said lightly: "It's windy and rainy, it seems I can't leave today, nothing else to do."
What I mean is, I'm just free, so don't take it too seriously.
My tense heartstrings relaxed suddenly. As long as no one doubted her identity or tried to test her, it would be fine.
The relationship between the three towns in Heshuo and the imperial court is delicate. To the emperor and the crown prince, it is better for her to be dead than alive. Although Xiao Tong'an was uneasy at the border after taking the seal of commander-in-chief, at least he did not have the ability to lead his troops to attack the two capitals directly.
Compared with the peace of the people at the border, the throne of the Huan family is naturally more important. Therefore, it is the best policy to let incompetent people like Xiao Tongan and Xue Zhi fight each other and the court take the opportunity to weaken the vassal states.
She was not sure about Huan Xuan's thoughts and stance, but his last name was Huan after all. If he knew her identity, there was no guarantee that he would not kill her with a knife once and for all.
Staying by the King of Qi's side was indeed a risky move for her, but she also gained a lot. She had stayed in the barracks for half a year before. Although she had no access to confidential information, she was able to find out some details about the Divine Wing Army by paying attention to everything.
Huan Xuan pointed to the couch opposite and said, "Sit down."
Sui Sui was either standing, kneeling, or lying in front of her. This was the first time they sat facing each other like this.
This is of course very unusual for His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi and is a special favor.
Soon, the eunuch brought the chessboard and chess pieces.
The chessboard is made of red sandalwood inlaid with mother-of-pearl, with gold threads dividing it into 19 rows, and the chess pieces are carved from white jade and black jade.
The white jade was smooth and flawless, and it was a luxury to use it to make chess pieces.
These were just the daily utensils placed in the villa, and the King of Qi was famous for not pursuing luxury, which shows how extravagant the powerful people in Kyoto were.
Huan Xuan didn't know that a lot of thoughts flashed through his mind as soon as he glanced at the chess pieces, and he began to explain the rules of Go to her.
He was naturally intelligent and could understand everything at a glance. He had no patience when teaching others and did not care whether others could understand or not. After a few words, he said, "You play black and I'll give you nine pieces."
Sui Sui couldn't help but feel a little amused and blinked, saying, "I don't understand."
Huan Xuan suddenly became impatient: "Let's play chess first, and then we can talk about what we don't understand."
Sui Sui had no choice but to nod, picked up a black piece, and placed it on the chessboard hesitantly.
Huan Xuan said: "The move should be made cleanly, and the gesture of picking up the pieces is not right."
Then he picked up a white piece and showed it to her: "Like me."
His hands were bony and white, and at first glance seemed like they were carved from cold jade, but they were surprisingly hot when they touched her skin.
Sui Sui imitated him, but was still a little clumsy. Huan Xuan frowned, stood up, walked around the chessboard, sat down next to her, grabbed her hand, and fiddled with her fingers: "Remember?"
Sui Sui nodded: "Yeah."
Huan Xuan did not let go. He held her hand and placed it on the chessboard, and the chess piece made a crisp "snap" sound.
The propped-up north window then made a "bang" sound, as if it was hit against the window frame by the wind.
The wind and rain outside suddenly became stronger again, blowing the bamboo branches under the north window so hard that they were swaying wildly and making a whistling sound.
It was just past the afternoon, but the sky was already as dark as night.
The warm study is like a small island floating in the universe, keeping out the wind and rain.
The eunuch beside him asked, "Your Highness, would you like to light the lamp?"
Huan Xuan was about to say yes when he inadvertently lowered his eyes and caught a glimpse of a strand of hair hanging on Sui Sui's chest. The ends of her hair were wet with rain, soaking her moon-white chest-length skirt, revealing a faint pink glow.
Huan Xuan felt that the rain outside seemed to invade the house, bringing waves of dampness, and even his heart became wet, but because there was someone beside him, the dampness was also warm.
His Adam's apple moved. "Do you remember how to make a move? Let's just learn this for today."
Sui Sui looked up in surprise and saw him waving his hand, and the eunuchs tactfully retreated.