Chapter 16
Chapter 16
“I see, Wife.”
Siran Ming propped himself up against the bed, his tone languid.
Shengsheng Zhou could not be sure whether she had imagined it, but he seemed to place particular emphasis on that last word.
Ai Liu crept closer and asked in a whisper, “Miss Shengsheng, my son still hasn’t woken up. Could something be wrong?”
Shengsheng thought back to the medicine’s instructions.
“Don’t worry. His body was badly depleted. He should wake after sleeping for two days.”
Ai finally relaxed. She handed Shengsheng the small bundle in her arms.
“These are some old clothes of mine. We’re country folk, so the fabric is coarse. I hope you won’t mind.”
Only then did Shengsheng remember that her own clothes were filthy and torn. She desperately needed a change.
“Auntie, is there somewhere nearby where I could bathe?” she asked, tugging awkwardly at her ragged hem.
Ai nodded. “Follow the path out front. You’ll come to a lake. The water is shallow and clean.”
Shengsheng thanked her and saw her out.
Now only she and her newly acquired bargain-bin husband remained in the room.
“Ahem. About that–we’re not actually married. Auntie misunderstood.” Shengsheng turned toward Siran but let her gaze wander anywhere except his face.
*Marry you? I’d sooner spend ten years scrubbing chamber pots at the Palace Labor Bureau.*
“Does Wife refuse to acknowledge me because I have become a burden?” he asked sorrowfully.
Palace Labor Bureau?
He remembered that such a place existed within the Zhu Kingdom’s imperial palace. Was this woman from the Zhu Kingdom? What did she want from him?
Siran had lied to Shengsheng. He remembered who he was. His memories simply ended when he was sixteen or seventeen, while this body–far too tall and powerfully built–had clearly grown well past that age.
And what had Siran been like at sixteen?
A wolf in sheep’s clothing.
He had smiled sweetly as he coaxed his enemies into traps, then tortured them to death one careful piece at a time.
His robe now hung open across his chest, exposing a wide expanse of firm muscle. The lines of his abdomen were faintly visible beneath the bandages. Combined with the heartbroken expression on his face, it made for a devastating sight.
Had Shengsheng not known what he was truly like, his beauty might have bewitched her.
She sighed helplessly and kept her eyes averted.
“Your Majesty, please stop making such jokes.”
*Damn it. I panicked and said the wrong thing. Once this old emperor recovers his memory, he’ll definitely make me pay. Is it too late to hit him over the head and knock the memories back out?*
Siran’s fingers tightened.
Old emperor?
Who?
Him?
Was he old?
He examined his long, well-shaped fingers. Only after confirming that they bore neither wrinkles nor age spots did he relax.
“Your Majesty?” His murderous irritation stayed hidden beneath a warm smile. “If you address me that way, I must be an emperor. In that case, you are my empress.”
Shengsheng looked as though she had seen a ghost.
After carefully arranging her words, she explained, “You are the reigning emperor of the Yong Kingdom. Your name is Siran Ming. We encountered bandits while traveling away from the Zhu Kingdom, and you and I were… accidentally pushed from a cliff. We’re still within Zhu territory. Auntie says the official name of this place is Moonbank Forest.”
*Stop smiling. You’re giving yourself wrinkles. My stomach is empty enough already–if I throw up, I’ll actually starve. Still, if this is what you want, who am I to object? Just don’t accuse me of deceiving you after your memory returns. You volunteered.*
Feigning flustered innocence, Shengsheng lowered her head and clutched the bundle tighter.
“I’ll be going out for a while.”
She hurried through the door. The instant her back was turned, she stuck out her tongue and pulled a face as if she were about to vomit.
Siran’s smile stiffened.
Muscle memory told Siran Ming that his older self rarely smiled.
He lowered his head in frustration and thumped the mattress. Had becoming emperor truly made him so terrifying?
They had been traveling away from the Zhu Kingdom, and that woman was from Zhu as well.
Could she be a concubine presented to him by the Zhu emperor?
***
Following Ai Liu’s directions, Shengsheng Zhou soon found the lake.
She had sweated profusely during her trek through the forest. Every part of her body ached, her legs were still trembling, and she suspected the soles of her feet were covered in blisters.
Fortunately, the weather had been hot. A cold bath would do her no harm, especially with the robust body she possessed in this world. She rarely suffered even minor illnesses.
After checking the surrounding woods, Shengsheng stood at the water’s edge and slowly removed her clothes. She tested the surface with her toes, then waded in.
Her dark hair spilled to her waist. Although she was only a palace maid, her skin was impossibly pale and soft, more suited to a pampered daughter of a great household who had spent her life sheltered in private chambers.
She had just begun to enjoy herself when a branch snapped behind her.
Startled, Shengsheng plunged down until the water covered her body.
Twilight had already begun to settle. She had swum some distance from shore, and with most of her hidden beneath the lake, the person on the bank could not see her clearly.
Then she recognized the figure.
Anger flared, but she dared not show it.
“Why are you here?” The accusation in her voice escaped despite her efforts.
*You filthy pervert!*
Siran’s fingers twitched. His expression remained perfectly innocent.
“Why did Wife not call for me when she came to bathe?”
He even sounded aggrieved.
Before Shengsheng could answer, he continued, “Alas, I am injured. I fear I can do nothing but stand here and watch Wife.”
She stared at him in disbelief.
“How am I supposed to bathe while you’re watching me?”
He stepped back and settled onto a clean-looking boulder. Propping his cheek against one hand, he narrowed his eyes at her.
“We are husband and wife. Why should it matter?”
Shengsheng drew a deep breath.
She had to remain calm. She absolutely could not break character.
“If Your Majesty wishes to watch, then watch,” she said, arranging her face into a shy expression. “This consort already belongs to you, after all.”
Then she began to rise slowly from the water.
Siran went rigid.
How could this woman be so shameless? Was she truly about to expose herself to a man?
And what did she mean by *already belongs to you*?
Had his older self touched her?
The sixteen-year-old Siran had always guarded his chastity with almost obsessive severity. He sprang to his feet, his handsome face flooding scarlet. The sudden movement pulled at his wounds, but embarrassment overwhelmed the pain. He spun around and fled.
There was something almost panicked about his retreat.
Shengsheng exhaled in relief.
She had known it.
Siran might look like a practiced libertine, but anyone who had read the original novel knew the truth: beneath that face, he was an aging virgin with an incurable obsession with emotional purity.
Even Yanyan Yu, his precious lost love, had once stumbled and been caught by another man. That unavoidable instant of physical contact had disgusted the fastidious Siran so badly that he never touched her again.
Later, when the heroine appeared, her entanglements with other men forced him through a very long period of mental preparation before he could gradually accept her.
Thinking of the heroine, Shengsheng looked up and sighed.
What was she supposed to do with a plot that ten horses could not drag back on course?
Once she had dressed and gathered her things, she started along the path home.
Then an unfamiliar sound came from the distance.