Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Once Xiao Yunheng fell asleep, he slept straight through until the next morning.

By the time I had finished washing up and dressing, Xiao Yunheng was still sprawled in bed, refusing to get up.

Fortunately, word came from the palace that the Empress Dowager, mindful that Xiao Yunheng had not fully recovered, had excused us from paying our respects.

I thought Xiao Yunheng was only being sleepy, so I could only let him have his way.

But on the third day, Xiao Yunheng still clung to the bed and refused to rise.

He even took advantage of the time I was having breakfast…

…to sneak his bedding out of the room.

When I returned to the bedchamber, I happened to catch him on the bed, backside in the air, reaching for a pillow.

Utterly puzzled, I moved closer. “What is Your Highness doing?”

Xiao Yunheng jumped in fright, stumbled, and fell back onto the bed.

I reached out to help him, only for him to dodge away in a panic.

My hand froze in midair.

For a moment, I did not know what to do.

He had clearly been the one to kiss me last night, and he had even held me as he slept. Why was he suddenly rejecting my touch?

Could his old injury have flared up again, making him unable to recognize people?

I withdrew my hand and asked cautiously, “Does Your Highness not recognize me anymore?”

Xiao Yunheng shook his head and hugged the pillow tightly to his chest, his voice very soft. “Ah Heng recognizes his wife.”

I breathed a sigh of relief.

So he was only throwing a tantrum about getting out of bed.

Yet in the next second, he dropped a bombshell. “Wife, Ah Heng wants to move to the side chamber tonight.”

My heart skipped a beat.

When I spoke again, even my voice had turned strained.

“Does Your Highness dislike me now?”

“No!” he said hastily. “Ah Heng likes his wife best. It’s just…”

“Just…”

He stammered, but refused to say the reason.

He even grabbed the pillow and tried to run.

Quick as a flash, I wrapped my arms around his waist.

Xiao Yunheng’s entire body stiffened, and his voice trembled. “Wife, can you let Ah Heng go?”

Let him go?

How could I possibly?

We had been married for three days without consummating the marriage, and now he wanted to sleep in a separate room. If word of this reached the palace, wouldn’t my head be at risk?

At that thought, I could not help holding him even tighter. “If Your Highness won’t tell me why you want to move out, then I won’t let go.”

Xiao Yunheng struggled lightly, but in truth, he did not use any strength at all.

Seizing the chance, I pulled him down onto the bed and straddled him.

Xiao Yunheng let out a muffled groan, his face flushing red in an instant, while his hands fastened uncontrollably around the small of my back.

He buried his head against my neck and shoulder, his voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.

“When Ah Heng sleeps with his wife, Ah Heng always wets the bed.”

“When my wife kisses me and hugs me, I feel so good, but it feels so uncomfortable too… I can’t control it, and then…”

“Then it becomes like this…”

Like this…

Feeling the unusual state he was in at that very moment, I understood at once.

What bed-wetting? It was clearly…

Xiao Yunheng lifted his head to look at me, the corners of his eyes tinged red, his breathing growing hurried. “Wife, am I sick?”

I shook my head slightly. “Your Highness is not sick.”

His brows furrowed, and he looked as though he was about to cry. “But I feel awful…”

His soft, murmured words took on a different meaning in the quiet bedchamber.

I covered his chattering mouth. “Shh. Be good, and I’ll help you.”