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I entered and saw the princess sitting on a low couch in the warm pavilion. In front of her was a silver wire incense burner about two feet in diameter, inside which was a Yue ware celadon duck. Incense was burning in the burner, and hot water was stored in a tray under the duck's stand. The steam and incense smoke mixed to perfume clothes, leaving a lingering fragrance. At that moment, the princess was leaning against the incense burner, her wide sleeves spread over the silver wire, letting the fragrant steam permeate her.

She stroked the incense burner with one hand and rested her chin on the other, lost in thought. Seeing me enter, her eyes lit up, and she immediately leaned forward, smiling at me, "Huaiji, come here quickly!"

After I stepped forward and bowed, she waved for all the maids to leave. This made me somewhat uneasy, so I took a step back, bowed slightly, and asked her, "Did the princess summon me here to discuss Jiaqingzi's marriage?"

“No,” she answered decisively. “Her marriage is all arranged, there’s nothing to discuss.”

I frowned: "Then why did the princess..."

She smiled smugly, a slight smirk playing on her lips: "If I hadn't said that, you definitely wouldn't have come."

Helpless, I asked, "Then why did the princess summon me here at this time?"

“I just wanted to talk to you,” she said, then smiled and waved to me, pointing to an empty spot on the low couch next to her. “Come on, sit here.”

I shook my head and declined, saying, "I cannot sit at the same table as the princess."

She jumped off the low couch, came over and forcefully pulled me to sit on it, then pretended to be angry: "If I say it's okay, then it's okay!"

I lowered my eyes, neither speaking nor looking at her.

She regained her gentle expression, smiled, and sat down next to me. She whispered in my ear, "I've blended a new fragrance today. It's made with styrax, turmeric, and eucommia. I tried it many times and adjusted the proportions repeatedly to get the best scent. Take a sniff and see if you like it."

Her breath was as sweet as orchids, and the delicate fragrance accompanying her whispers brushed against my ear, causing me to tremble slightly. Before I could answer, she raised her hand and drew closer to me, inviting me to smell the fragrance emanating from the bottom of her sleeve.

The fragrance was rich and full, so gentle and alluring that it was almost ambiguous, making me wonder if it was the effect that the three spices could achieve.

Through her cuffs, one could see the soft, cloud-like sleeves of her inner garment. As she moved her hands, those sleeves receded like water, revealing a section of her elbow, smooth and lustrous like a jade ruyi, and carrying a warm fragrance.

My mind was in a daze, my heart was pounding restlessly, and I almost wanted to embrace her right then and there, to touch the skin under her sleeve with my lips, and to explore the secrets of that beautiful, warm, and fragrant depth.

My surprise was exactly what she expected. She was still smiling, her eyes sparkling. She lowered her fragrant sleeves and stopped asking me about the effects of the blended incense. She slowly embraced me, her slender neck slightly lowered, and her cheek gently pressed against my chest. She closed her eyes and, as before, listened to the sound of my heartbeat.

A beautiful woman gifted me styrax, but why did I ask for the jade mandarin ducks in return…? I gradually tasted the bitterness, struggling to regain my reason amidst the quietly warming fragrance, maintaining my initial demeanor and refusing to touch her. This moment of clarity transformed the myriad emotions that had previously stirred within me into piercing swords. She smiled radiantly, nestled peacefully in my arms, unaware that my heart was bleeding profusely.

Noticing my stiffness, she opened her eyes in confusion, studied me for a moment, then smiled sweetly, raised a slender hand, and made a climbing motion with her fingers, starting from my chest, climbing up my clothes to my shoulder, then across my neck and chin, and finally her fingers landed on my lips, where she slowly and gently stroked them.

Her eyes were hazy, her lips parted slightly, and a shy smile concealed unspoken commands, but this time I no longer bowed my head in obedience.

I abruptly pushed her away, and as she turned back in alarm, I quickly retreated, adjusted my breathing, and composed myself. Then I bowed to her and said gently, "Princess, I have not been involved in the art of incense for a long time, and I dare not comment on your incense. I recently heard that the Prince Consort has acquired some high-quality Zhenla agarwood slices. Why don't you invite him over so we can steam and appreciate the products together?"

The princess stared at me in astonishment for a long time, a hint of anger gradually rising in her eyes.

"Why are you bringing up Li Wei?" she asked me directly. "What does this have to do with him!"

Seeing that I remained silent, she became even angrier and said angrily, "Why have you been so strange lately? You often mention Li Wei to me, speak well of him, and ask me to see him often. But you, you avoid me all the time, so much so that I have to find an excuse to trick you into coming here to see you!"

I tried to explain to her in a calm tone: "The prince consort and the princess are husband and wife, so they should naturally spend a lot of time together. I am just a servant of the princess. If the princess has no chores to ask me to do, please allow me to hide elsewhere and take a break."

"Why do you say such things? You know very well how I've treated you, why humiliate yourself like this?" The princess was bitter, her voice choked with emotion. Suppressing her emotions, she asked again, "Wasn't it Father and Aunt who told you to stay away from me? And wasn't it they who advised you to befriend Li Wei?"

I shook my head.

"So, it was Li Wei and his mother who forced you?" the princess asked again, this guess igniting her anger once more. "Seeing they couldn't do anything to me, they started with you, forcing you to leave me?"

“No,” I denied immediately, “they have been very kind to me since I came back and have never pressured me.”

"If there was no coercion, then you were bought off by them?" She sneered hatefully. "No wonder you chose to drink with Li Wei at the banquet that night. 'Keep your word to your friends.' What kind of spell did he cast on you, and what kind of promises did he make you make to him?"

I simply nodded. Explaining the content of my long conversation with Li Wei that night would be very difficult, especially since it would certainly be something the current princess could not understand or accept.

Princess Yinglei stared at me intently, waiting for a clear answer from me. She then came to her own conclusion: "I understand now. Back then, Li Wei asked Father to summon you back, and the condition was that you had to distance yourself from me and leave me."

I denied it again: "Princess, please do not blame the captain. It has nothing to do with him. I feel that I am lowly and unworthy to accept the princess's misplaced affection."

"Is that really so?" The princess lowered her eyes, two clear tears sliding down her cheeks. She whispered in a sobbing voice, "In that closed imperial city, I was a princess, and you were a courtier. But in my heart, you were never inferior to me... You were my brother, my teacher, my friend, the only person I could rely on in this boring life. Do you know why I was so desperate and almost went crazy when you were banished? Because your departure made me realize that all the happiness I had after marriage came from your gift."

My suppressed emotions were crying along with her. I turned my head away sadly, not wanting to face her tearful eyes, afraid that the defenses I had painstakingly built would break down again.

She covered her mouth with her hand, trying to suppress her sobs, but her thin shoulders still trembled slightly. After a moment, she calmed her tears, looked at me quietly, and said again, "And what about you? I remember you once said that you were afraid that one day you wouldn't be able to see me anymore, because I would take away all your happiness. If that's the case, why are you still hiding from me and pushing a man I despise onto me?"

I remained silent. She pressed on, "Why don't you want to get along with me anymore? Why can't we live together as intimately as we used to?"

My prolonged silence did not elicit her giving up; she patiently awaited my answer with a defiant persistence. I had nowhere to avoid her, and I knew there was no more time to delay. So, I finally turned around, walked step by step to her, met her burning gaze, and after a moment of eye contact, lowered my head slightly, letting my forehead touch hers.

“Princess,” I whispered to her in this intimate distance, “well, now, let me tell you why.”

The Lonely City Closes (The Princess Who Fell in Love with the Eunuch) A single pearl cast aside amidst rubble.

Chapter word count: 3910 Update time: 09-07-05 10:42

Fallen petals

(3609 words)

Her tear-streaked eyes were like dew on a fragrant orchid. I closed my eyes and followed the trail of her tears until I touched her soft lips.

She trembled involuntarily, her hands instinctively pressing against my chest. I quickly wrapped my arms around her waist, applying slight pressure to instantly and semi-forcefully eliminate the distance she was trying to create.

My kiss lingered between her red lips, and I could still feel the fresh and beautiful scent of that girl from my memory, as gentle as the fragrance of her lavender, and as sweet as benzoin, with the taste of candy.

Her anger and reserve gradually melted away in my embrace. She opened her mouth to say something, but I sealed it with a kiss, guiding her to relive our long-lost intimacy.

I deliberately set the fire, and she didn't mind being a moth drawn to the flame. Her breathing became more rapid, and her contact with me was no longer passive. She kissed me, hugged me tightly, and her outstretched arms wrapped around me like a vine. This series of actions was quick and intense, making our shadows look like a struggle in the flickering candlelight.

She hugged my neck tightly, making it almost impossible for me to breathe for a moment. So I grabbed her hand and pressed it down, but when I touched her wrist, a thought struck me, and I began another ambiguous attempt.