"Winter Snow." Yan Qingli straightened her sleeves to cover the lipstick residue on her arm.
"What are your orders, Your Highness?"
Yan Qingli lowered her eyes and said calmly, "Prepare water, I wish to take a bath."
Dongxue suddenly opened her eyes wide. Prepare...prepare water? Is that what she meant?
His Highness is really in the carriage...?!
Disaster! A scourge!
Chapter 32
Yan Qingli submerged her head in the water and only surfaced again after a long while. Water droplets followed the curve of her face and fell back into the water. She exhaled a long breath, and in the misty steam from the hot water, she seemed to see a beautiful figure approaching, with skin as white as snow and eyes as alluring as silk.
She immediately frowned deeply.
While in the carriage, Yan Qingli was not as at ease as she appeared on the surface. After all, Qiu Lanxi was only concerned about such matters to consolidate her position, while Yan Qingli had genuinely thought about it.
So even though there was a commotion outside the carriage, and even though it was broad daylight, Yan Qingli felt as if a fire was burning in her heart, almost burning away her reason and making her want to do something lewd in broad daylight.
Therefore, after returning to the manor, she almost couldn't wait to leave Qiu Lanxi behind.
The water in the bathtub was already cold, but Yan Qingli still felt a little hot. She looked up, and the image of the girl with tears welling up in her eyes seemed to appear in front of her again, making her almost want to reach out and pull the other girl into the water.
Yan Qingli pursed her lips tightly and stood up after a long while. She didn't like this feeling of being out of control, as if the thread of reason was about to break at any moment, and her usual self-control seemed to have become a mere decoration.
She could roughly guess why. Any question could be answered by reading books: a wise and powerful king would become senile in his old age; a dissolute playboy would grow up overnight because of his family; and a Buddhist monk with Zen in his heart would return to secular life because of a beautiful woman.
Yan Qingli understood perfectly well that people like her, who had never been interested in matters of the heart since birth, were more likely to become uncontrollable once they became aware of these things. On the other hand, those who had experienced matters of the heart early on were more likely to be open-minded and rational.
In addition, she had practiced martial arts since childhood, and martial artists are full of energy. In the past, Yan Qingli had many ways to release her energy, but since she started attending court, her time has been compressed, and she can no longer practice swordsmanship and gunplay all the time. Therefore, she likes to distract herself by reading books. After all, thinking too much is also very tiring, otherwise she would not have symptoms such as excessive worry.
For the vast majority of martial artists, the only ways to release their energy, besides fighting, are matters of love and romance.
Yan Qingli pressed her temples. Although she felt annoyed, she did not want to indulge her desires. Cultivating oneself, managing one's family, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world—if one cannot even cultivate oneself, how can one talk about anything else?
After drying his hair with his internal energy, Yan Qingli changed his clothes before returning to the backyard. Qiu Lanxi was sitting by the window, the afterglow of the setting sun casting golden rays on her hair. When she saw Yan Qingli approaching, she panicked for a moment and did not get up to greet him. She stood there and stammered, "Your Highness."
A smile flashed in Yan Qingli's eyes. She knew that her behavior today had probably frightened her, but she could also guess that the other party would definitely behave for a while. It was just like Lord Ye's love of dragons.
For her, this was exactly the outcome she wanted. Otherwise, with Qiu Lanxi constantly stirring things up, there would come a day when she would lose control.
Yan Qingli walked to her side and took her hand: "Why didn't you change your clothes?"
Although Qiu Lanxi's scent had already lingered on her in the carriage, Yan Qingli still detected a faint, unfamiliar fragrance of perfume on her.
Qiu Lanxi gave a dry laugh: "I'll go right away."
She behaved exceptionally well and returned after a short while. Yan Qingli glanced at her and saw that it was a dress made of brocade and satin, not a thin gauze dress.
They've really become honest.
Qiu Lanxi didn't really want things to be like this, but she was afraid that if she dressed like she always did, Yan Qingli would lose control and really unleash his beastly nature. She thought she was prepared, but practice makes perfect, and Qiu Lanxi found that she really couldn't do it. She hadn't even thought about how to do those things.
She couldn't help but complain about Yan Qingli. Why couldn't such a strong person be a little more assertive in bed? That way, she wouldn't need to do any mental preparation. She could just close her eyes and open them and it would be over.
In the past, when Qiu Lanxi was taken by her friends to watch film analysis, she never took sides. She could even analyze from a professional perspective whether they were truly happy and discussed it with her friend, who was known as the "Sea King," with an academic attitude.
She didn't understand why the people around her were so passionate about these things; in her friends' words, she was just apathetic.
Qiu Lanxi believed that she was not like that. She analyzed her situation objectively and clearly saw her problem from a professional perspective—she was averse to establishing any intimate relationship.
But she didn't think it was a big deal. She felt that if she had given something, she would want to get something in return. If she hadn't resisted all of this, she might have fallen for a woman like Yan Qingli long ago.
But life is so short and love is so illusory. She loves herself more, so she probably doesn't want to get involved in anything that she feels might hurt her.
Yan Qingli, seemingly oblivious to her subtle resistance, chuckled and took her hand: "Really scared?"
Qiu Lanxi looked at her resentfully: "Your Highness, are you trying to scare me again?"
Yan Qingli glanced at her: "What? Isn't this what you expected?"
"But... but that can't be done in the carriage..." Qiu Lanxi argued softly, glancing at her furtively, "You naughty princess."
"..." Yan Qingli suddenly chuckled, her soft laughter drifting into Qiu Lanxi's ears. After a moment, she said, "So what if it's a carriage?"
Yan Qingli's openness greatly shocked Qiu Lanxi. A carriage and sexual intercourse in a carriage were almost on the same level. Qiu Lanxi did not consider herself conservative, but she was definitely not comfortable with such occasions as carriages.
After all, such private matters are easily discovered in overly open places, and Qiu Lanxi felt suffocated just thinking about such a scene.
Qiu Lanxi blushed and said, "Your Highness, please stop teasing me. I really will take it seriously."
Yan Qingli raised her eyebrows, indicating that she wasn't teasing Qiu Lanxi. She was skilled in martial arts and was confident that she wouldn't be noticed in such a situation, but Qiu Lanxi clearly couldn't accept it.
So she stopped talking and dismissed the strange scenarios in her mind. Yan Qingli didn't like to force others to do things against their will.
She couldn’t help but reflect: Qiu Lanxi hadn’t found it shocking when she guessed her ambition, but now she found it unacceptable. Was there something wrong with her thinking?
However, the knowledge in the book cannot be entirely trusted, Yan Qingli thought, and she didn't need to always imagine those scenarios.
Perhaps it's because there haven't been many things happening lately, otherwise she wouldn't be thinking about these things so much. After all, when her father is busy, it's common for him not to enter the harem for months at a time.
After finishing her meal, Yan Qingli did not read any books today. Instead, she practiced a set of boxing techniques in the back garden to vent her energy before going to bed.
Qiu Lanxi was uneasy. She took a breath and hesitated for a long time before finally getting over to it. Looking at Yan Qingli, who was already in bed, she wanted to say that she was having her period and it was inconvenient, but then she thought that her inconvenience would not affect her actions, so she had no choice but to give up.
She took a breath, stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Yan Qingli's waist, lowered her voice and said softly, "Your Highness, I'm ready."
In Qiu Lanxi's view, Yan Qingli had already made her intentions quite clear. It was already quite good that she had been able to restrain her desires and cultivate a relationship with her for so long. Qiu Lanxi felt that she didn't need to be pretentious, after all, she didn't have much of a choice.
Qiu Lanxi has always been able to take things in stride. Whether she accepts it or not is one thing, whether she can actually do it is another.
Yan Qingli gently stroked her hair: "...What have you prepared?"
"Your Highness—" Qiu Lanxi said in a soft, shy voice, "You, you must stop teasing me."
As Yan Qingli listened, she reached out and wrapped her arms around her waist. Suddenly, she realized that her hesitation seemed to be only due to the inappropriate occasion, rather than because she didn't want to. She shouldn't have only noticed such a simple truth now. Therefore, her actions in the carriage were less about scaring her away and more about finding a reason for herself to take action.
This was probably because, at the Qunfang Pavilion, she suddenly realized that Qiu Lanxi had just come of age and was looking at her differently. It was highly likely that it was because Qiu Lanxi had a narrow social circle. That's why she could chat happily with Xue Baozhu and others who were not much older than her, and she would also be interested in that woman who looked plain.
She wanted her to see more, but when all of this actually caught Qiu Lanxi's eye, Yan Qingli found herself getting anxious.
Yan Qingli's gaze swept over her face with a complex expression, then he suddenly asked, "How do you see me?"
Qiu Lanxi was instantly roused and, in a flash, understood how to avoid tonight's spring night.
She frowned as if deep in thought: "I live in the backyard and have hardly ever seen anyone since I was a child, let alone become close to anyone... Even His Highness, I can only see in the backyard. What I can see is always limited."
She reached out and touched Yan Qingli's cheek, and thinking about her current behavior, she guessed that she probably still had unrealistic fantasies about love.
A faint smile appeared on her face: "So in my eyes, Your Highness is the best person to me. Your Highness has so many things to worry about every day, but when you come back, you still care about me and treat me so well. Your Highness is so good to me..." Qiu Lanxi pressed her cheek against hers, "So good that I feel like a moth drawn to a flame."
"In my heart, there is no one more important than Your Highness."
Yan Qingli was stunned. She pressed Qiu Lanxi's head against her chest, letting her bury herself in her arms. Because of Qiu Lanxi's honesty, she couldn't say she was in a good mood.
Qiu Lanxi's guess was not much different from hers. In the other person's eyes, she thought she was good simply because she was the only person in her life who was good to her.
But such thoughts are undoubtedly unrelated to love.
Strangely enough, even though she wasn't sure what she was thinking, she felt disappointed when she found out that the other person didn't love her.
This was very different from what she had initially thought. In her mind, she would have gladly accepted all of this, and even if the other person had found love in the relationship, she would have arranged everything to send her away.
Yan Qingli lowered her eyes, but now she suddenly realized that her thoughts seemed to be much more sordid than she had imagined, because she seemed to have long been certain that even if she came into contact with many people outside, they would eventually come back to her side.
That's not the right way to think.
Yan Qingli did not want to become an arrogant and self-willed person.
Composing herself, she patted Qiu Lanxi on the back: "Go to sleep."
Qiu Lanxi responded with a smile.
Chapter 33
Qiu Lanxi was always surprised by Yan Qingli's ideas.
Despite growing up in a feudal environment and being an ambitious schemer, he appears overly naive in certain aspects.
She couldn't understand why Yan Qingli would have fantasies about love. After all, she had never seen or heard of any romantic myths, so she shouldn't have any unrealistic fantasies about it.
However, after thinking about it carefully, Qiu Lanxi felt that perhaps her own thinking was the problem. She didn't care, at least the other party's state was obviously beneficial to her.
However, Qiu Lanxi also knew that some things could be delayed, but not left undone, and even if they were delayed, she would still have to find a way to mitigate the impact of the matter.
So Qiu Lanxi woke up very early the next day.
For her, as long as she gives herself enough mental suggestions before going to sleep, she will definitely be able to wake up at the time she wants the next day, with an error of no more than ten minutes. This is a miracle she has mastered since she was in school.
Having woken up early and having nothing to do, he reached out and gently stroked Yan Qingli's face.
In Qiu Lanxi's eyes, Yan Qingli was the truly natural beauty, far more beautiful than herself. At least Yan Qingli was the first person she had ever seen who slept so well and whose appearance was almost identical to when she fell asleep. This was different from the beauty that Qiu Lanxi deliberately cultivated with an idol image; it was simply how she was born.
However, Qiu Lanxi was not envious of these things. She envied her family background more. If she could exchange all her beauty for such a status, Qiu Lanxi would be willing.
Yan Qingli was a light sleeper, and only opened her eyes after being touched for a while. What she saw was the other person's face very close to hers. Her eyes were like the sky outside the window, suddenly brightened by the breaking light.
"Your Highness, you're awake?"
Seeing that Qiu Lanxi was awake, she was not embarrassed at all. Instead, she became bolder. Yan Qingli hummed in agreement, pulled her into his arms and kissed her. After playing around for a while, seeing that it was getting late, she prepared to get up.
But the other person hesitantly tugged at her sleeve.
She wasn't a capricious person and wouldn't keep someone at an inappropriate time. Yan Qingli raised her eyebrows and looked at her questioningly.
Qiu Lanxi lowered her eyes shyly, then boldly looked at her: "Your Highness, there's no need to call Sister Chun Su in. Shall I help you change your clothes?"
Yan Qingli glanced at her, thought for a moment, and then agreed.
Because Yan Qingli gets up extremely early every day, Qiu Lanxi rarely speaks to her in the morning. This person is exceptionally self-disciplined. The morning court session is already early enough, and after finishing the morning court session, she still has the mood to practice martial arts and do other things, as if she never has any lack of energy.
Qiu Lanxi genuinely felt that it was a pity for someone like her to be a pillow princess, but perhaps it was because she was usually too tired that she only wanted to lie down and enjoy herself in bed.
What a waste of such a great set of equipment.
As Qiu Lanxi tied Yan Qingli's belt, she inadvertently felt the firm muscles beneath her clothes, and this thought intensified.
After tying the purse around her waist, Qiu Lanxi took a step back and looked at her work with satisfaction.