Chapter 324: Seems Like She’s Pregnant
Chapter 324: Chapter 324: Seems Like She’s Pregnant
Princess Chang Le’s mind buzzed, then went completely blank.
She only came to her senses when Shen Longjin’s lips met hers.
Seeing his hands begin to wander, she finally panicked and hastily pushed him away. "I-I was just joking with you... Yes, I-I was at the Zhi Mansion just now, drinking with Zhi Wan and the others. I-I’m drunk."
"Mm, I know," Shen Longjin murmured, pulling away from her red lips.
Princess Chang Le secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Just as she was about to get up, he pressed down on her shoulders and started kissing her neck instead.
A strange, thrilling numbness spread through her entire body.
Princess Chang Le froze instantly.
’What a peculiar feeling.’
’She didn’t hate it.’
She only snapped back to reality when Shen Longjin used his knee to nudge her legs apart.
"Your Highness, may I?"
Shen Longjin asked in a hoarse voice, his head buried in the crook of her neck.
Startled, Princess Chang Le shoved him away and scrambled off the bed. "I-I suddenly remembered I have something to take care of. I-I have to go." With that, she dashed out of the room.
Shen Longjin let out a low gasp and rolled onto his back. A sheen of sweat covered his smooth forehead.
He didn’t chase after Princess Chang Le.
After a long while, he calmed the turmoil in his body, got up, and straightened his disheveled robes. As he got off the bed, he saw the Princess’s shoes and socks still on the floor.
He paused, then bent down to pick them up and walked out the door with them in hand.
By now, Princess Chang Le had already run back to her bedchamber.
Yuanbao was shocked to see her run back barefoot. "Your Highness, where are your shoes?"
His reminder made Princess Chang Le realize it herself.
She looked down to see her bare feet on the ground.
"Your Highness, did something happen?" Yuanbao asked with concern, grabbing a cloth and kneeling at her feet, intending to wipe them clean.
"I... don’t know either," Princess Chang Le said, her gaze flickering away.
But she knew in her heart that her shoes and socks must have been left in Shen Longjin’s room.
Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, Shen Longjin appeared at the door, carrying her shoes and socks.
Yuanbao’s sharp eyes spotted them, and he exclaimed, "Your Highness’s shoes and socks, why do you have them?"
"The Princess accidentally lost them, so I’m returning them to her," Shen Longjin said as he slowly walked into the bedchamber.
’Accidentally lost them?’ Yuanbao wondered. ’How does one *accidentally* lose their shoes and socks?’
’They were perfectly fine on her feet, so how could they be lost?’
"Could I trouble Mr. Yuan to fetch some hot water?" Shen Longjin’s voice pulled Yuanbao from his thoughts.
He quickly replied, "I’ll go right away."
Once Yuanbao left, Shen Longjin knelt on one knee where the attendant had been. He placed Princess Chang Le’s foot on his own knee, then took the cloth and carefully wiped the dirt from her sole.
Seeing him appear outside her bedchamber with her shoes and socks had already made Princess Chang Le feel extremely guilty and uncomfortable.
Now, seeing him kneel before her to wipe her feet, she couldn’t help but remember what he had done to her in his room just moments ago...
The thought that she had fled in such disarray made her feel she had lost some face.
Her gaze fell on Shen Longjin’s face.
’Though he is of humble birth, he is very handsome.’
’And he’s always calm and composed, giving off a reserved and steady air.’
She couldn’t help but fall into thought.
She wasn’t young anymore. After the new year, she would be nineteen. Her mother, the Empress, had once said that if she hadn’t found a suitable candidate for Prince Consort by the time she turned twenty, the Empress would arrange a marriage for her by decree.
Her mother would surely marry her to one of her maternal cousins, but she didn’t find a single one of them appealing.
Rather than marry one of them, she might as well pick someone pleasing to her own eye.
This Shen Longjin before her wasn’t bad at all.
At the very least, his good looks were easy on the eyes.
With this in mind, she leaned a little closer. "Shen Longjin, if you can succeed in next year’s spring imperial examinations, I will choose you to be my Prince Consort."
Shen Longjin’s movements, as he wiped her foot, paused. He lifted his gaze and looked at her in surprise. "Why has Your Highness suddenly had this thought?"
Seeing none of the delight she expected on his face, Princess Chang Le frowned slightly. "What, are you not happy?"
Shen Longjin lowered his eyes. "I am very happy."
Hearing this, Princess Chang Le was finally satisfied.
"But why?" Shen Longjin asked again.
"Because you’re the only one I find pleasing to the eye, of course," Princess Chang Le said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Hearing this, Shen Longjin said no more, but the corners of his lips curled into a faint smile.
"Understood," he said in a low voice.
A moment later, Yuanbao returned with the hot water.
Shen Longjin took hold of Princess Chang Le’s foot and placed it in the basin of water.
His long, slender fingers gently rubbed her foot, sending a ticklish, tingly sensation through her.
She instinctively tried to pull her foot back, but with too much force, she ended up splashing water everywhere.
Shen Longjin, who had his head lowered, was immediately splashed in the face.
Seeing this, Princess Chang Le felt a little guilty. She quickly grabbed a handkerchief to wipe the water from his face. "I didn’t do it on purpose."
"I know," Shen Longjin said, taking her hand.
Princess Chang Le blinked.
Shen Longjin released her hand and lowered his head, placing her foot back in the basin.
After washing it clean, he took a dry cloth and wiped the water from her foot before taking her sock and slipping it on.
Once her shoes and socks were on, Princess Chang Le noticed a wet patch on the hem of his robe. She paused, then couldn’t help but ask, "Shen Longjin, if you become my Prince Consort in the future, will you still be willing to wash my feet?"
Shen Longjin sat down beside her. After a long silence, he said, "Is there a conflict between the two?"
"There’s no conflict?" Princess Chang Le asked in return.
"I only wish to be with Your Highness legitimately. That is all. As long as Your Highness does not disdain me, I will forever be willing to serve you faithfully," Shen Longjin said calmly, his tone firm and earnest.
Princess Chang Le was taken aback.
’Is Shen Longjin trying to say that to him, the title of Prince Consort is merely a way to be with me legitimately?’
’He himself doesn’t care at all whether he becomes the Prince Consort or not, does he?’
"Shen Longjin, remember what you’ve said," Princess Chang Le said after a long pause.
"Mm."
***
One day, half a month later, Zhi Wan was eating with Lady Wei when she suddenly felt a wave of nausea and the urge to vomit.
Without a word to Lady Wei, she covered her mouth and ran out of the room.
Lady Wei thought she had eaten something bad and was terrified. She quickly followed her out.
"Wan’er, are you all right?"
After vomiting, Zhi Wan felt a little better. She shook her head. "I’m fine. Perhaps I caught a chill last night."
Lady Wei was still worried. After helping her back into the room, she told Nanny Fang to call for a doctor.
But Nanny Fang pulled her aside with a strange expression and whispered, "Madam, don’t you think the Heir’s wife’s symptoms are a bit like she’s with child?"
Without a second thought, Lady Wei refuted her. "Don’t be ridiculous! Wan’er and Ah Zhan have only been married for half a month. How is that possible? Hurry up and get the doctor!"
After being scolded by her mistress, Nanny Fang didn’t dare say another word. She, too, thought she had probably been mistaken.
After sending Nanny Fang away, Lady Wei sat back down beside Zhi Wan and comforted her, "Don’t worry, you probably just caught a chill."
Zhi Wan didn’t think much of it at that moment either.
Not until Nanny Fang went and came back, bringing Lu Zhan with her.
"Madam, when I went to fetch the doctor, I ran into the Princely Heir in the front courtyard. After the Princely Heir heard me talk about the Heir’s wife, he told me not to call for a doctor yet," Nanny Fang reported.
Hearing this, Lady Wei looked suspiciously at her son. "Wan’er might have caught a chill; she was just vomiting. Why not have a doctor take a look?"
"I can handle a small problem like this," Lu Zhan said with perfect composure. He then helped Zhi Wan up. "Cousin, let’s go back first."