Chapter 23: Well-Behaved
Jiang Yu couldn’t count how many times she had trembled.
After her eyes were blindfolded, her sense of touch was appropriately highlighted.
Shen Zhishu’s hands roamed freely on her body. One moment they were on her waist, and the next, they were on her neck, squeezing lightly and heavily.
Jiang Yu had been ticklish since she was a child, and her skin was extremely sensitive. But no one had ever dared to play such a joke on her, so she had never suffered like this.
Losing one of her five senses was like entrusting her life and fortune to another person. She was gasping for breath on the bed, like a dying fish.
It was truly a novel experience.
She gritted her teeth, holding back her laughter. When Shen Zhishu’s hand pressed on her lower back, she couldn’t help but dodge. But the next moment, a low voice sounded in her ear:
“If Your Highness dodges again, it will be the same crime as laughing out loud.”
Jiang Yu trembled and shook her head, her whole body flushed with varying shades of crimson. She said in a hoarse, low voice:
“Enough.”
“Your Highness personally said ‘I will accept whatever punishment you deem fit’ a quarter of an hour ago…” Shen Zhishu laughed, “Is Your Highness going back on your word?”
She reached for the ends of Jiang Yu’s hair, made a grasping motion in the air, then moved to the side, and with a light movement of her fingers, untied the handkerchief covering Jiang Yu’s eyes.
The handkerchief was tossed onto the bedding, leaving a conspicuous small wet patch.
Tears had already been forced from the corners of Jiang Yu’s eyes.
“So be it,” Shen Zhishu said.
Shen Zhishu was in a pleasant mood now and was easy to talk to.
Although her Mother Shen had repeatedly warned her not to get too close to the Eldest Princess, but…
Who cared? As long as the Eldest Princess was aggrieved, she was happy.
Jiang Yu lay on the bed, gasping for breath, the corners of her eyes filled with a moist mist.
She was silent for a few moments, then said in a low voice, “Trouble the General to help me up.”
Shen Zhishu glanced at her, untied the sash wrapped around her wrist in a few moves, and pulled her upper body up by the arm, asking, “Can you still bear it?”
“…” Jiang Yu said nothing. After a moment, she answered irrelevantly, “Can I laugh now?”
Shen Zhishu suddenly thought that the word “laugh” was quite out of place on Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu never laughed. Her expression was always indifferent and cold, like the clear, cold water and dew in the deep mountains under the setting sun after a rain.
Only in bed would she show some different, amorous emotions.
But it stopped there.
The corners of her eyes and brows were still straight, and there were no greater, more eye-catching emotional fluctuations.
Thinking this, Shen Zhishu replied to the Eldest Princess’s question of “Can I laugh now?”: “Of course.”
But she heard the person sitting properly on the bed raise an eyebrow slightly, and a soft moan escaped from her throat. The mole at the corner of her eye also floated up slightly—
The Eldest Princess let out a very short laugh.
Shen Zhishu: ?
When she looked again, Jiang Yu was sitting there calmly, having already returned to her usual expressionless demeanor. She explained:
“I am indeed ticklish. I really wanted to laugh just now, but I was holding it in.”
Shen Zhishu: …
Laughing now for the tickling just now, isn’t this reflex arc a bit long?
Jiang Yu grabbed the bedpost and stood up. She picked up the teapot on the table, poured herself a drink, and after a round, she still seemed preoccupied with the earlier question. She asked:
“Didn’t the General want to keep your distance from me?”
Shen Zhishu sighed, “Yes, this subordinate does want to keep my distance from Your Highness. But I have a bad temper, and once I get anxious, I don’t care about anything.”
“It is my fault,” Jiang Yu nodded and said, “Is the General’s anger gone now?”
“No.”
“Then what should we do?”
Shen Zhishu leaned against the square table and sized up the Eldest Princess, who was sipping her tea, from head to toe.
This person was sitting properly on the chair, looking up at her, and for some reason, she showed a well-behaved demeanor that was inconsistent with her status.
“Then…” Shen Zhishu thought for a moment and said, “I’ll keep it in mind for now.”
“Hmm?”
“We’ll settle the score later.”
Jiang Yu nodded and said, “Alright,” and then asked softly, “In that case, is the General still determined to be distant from me?”
“We’ll see,” Shen Zhishu said.
“What do you mean by ‘we’ll see’?” Jiang Yu still asked.
…This Eldest Princess seemed to be seriously asking for an answer.
Perhaps it was because she had seen a different expression on the other person’s face, and people are always pleased with their own specialness, so she was in a particularly good mood; or perhaps the darkness always gave people the illusion of being close to each other—
Shen Zhishu smiled, “In public, we will naturally be distant. In private… perhaps we can say a few more words?”
The Eldest Princess bit her teacup, her eyebrows raised.
**
Xie Jin had been wandering the streets in a huff for half an hour.
Her attendant had been sent home, and her good friend had disappeared in a flash, “absconding with the funds” of the wine pot she had bought at the stall. Who could she reason with?
Xie Jin walked for half a li in silence, thinking angrily that she would go back and complain to Minister Shen that Shen Zhishu had secretly eaten two roasted chickens.
As she was walking with her head down, someone suddenly patted her on the shoulder.
The force was quite heavy, as if they were very familiar with her.
Xie Jin turned her head in surprise and felt that the person looked a little familiar. She took a closer look—
Isn’t this the First Imperial Princess?
The First Imperial Princess had already been enfeoffed as the Prince of Chen, and her prestige was at its peak. She also had many supporters in the court.
Xie Jin turned around, glanced at the long tail of attendants behind her, bowed, and smiled, “Is Your Highness also here to stroll through the night market?”
“To share the joy with the people,” the First Imperial Princess’s tone was very familiar. “Hey, is the General alone?”
Xie Jin said through gritted teeth, “I originally came with General Shen, but who knew she would run away halfway.”
The First Imperial Princess smiled and called over an attendant, “General Xie is holding so many things, you are so unobservant, you don’t even know to help carry some.”
Xie Jin waved her hand, “Thank you, Your Highness, but there’s no need to trouble Your Highness. This subordinate is already preparing to return to my manor. My horse is just ahead, and there’s a bag on the horse where I can stuff all these things.”
“Going back so early? You don’t have a wife waiting for you at home, it’s so cold and lonely, what’s the fun?” The First Imperial Princess patted her on the shoulder and said, “How about you stroll with me? There’s a restaurant at the corner of this street, and the peach blossom wine there is the best. I’ll treat you.”
Although Xie Jin loved to drink, she also knew what was important. If she accepted the First Imperial Princess’s invitation for no reason and was seen by others, she would inevitably be classified as a supporter of the First Imperial Princess.
So she waved her hand, adjusted the quiver on her shoulder, and said with a hearty laugh, “To be honest with Your Highness, although my wife has passed away and I have not remarried, my daughter is still waiting for me at home. I have already promised to return home early today to have a fireside chat with her. She is probably getting anxious, and if I don’t go back soon, she will throw a tantrum.”
The First Imperial Princess said, “Oh,” “I forgot you have a daughter! How old is your esteemed daughter?”
“Eleven.”
“Has she gone to school?”
Xie Jin smiled, “She hasn’t gone to school, I’ve hired a tutor to teach her at home.”
The First Imperial Princess nodded thoughtfully, “In that case, I won’t disturb you from enjoying your family time. You must come to my manor for tea another day!”
Xie Jin agreed repeatedly and took her leave.
A trusted attendant narrowed his eyes and looked at Xie Jin’s tall back as she strode away, muttering in a low voice, “She is quite vigilant.”
“Anyone who can climb to her position probably has some brains and means,” the First Imperial Princess said. “It’s alright, I’ll just invite her a few more times.”
“What about Shen Zhishu?”
“Her?” The First Imperial Princess let out a light laugh. “She’s not interesting. Xie Jin is the Seventh Sister’s aunt-general, and the Seventh Sister plays with the Second Sister. It seems that Xie Jin should be on the Second Sister’s side. If I were to poach her now, I wonder how the Second Sister would react. That’s what’s interesting.”
