chapter 7

Returning to the Princess’s Mansion, I was still weighed down by worries.

Pei Qingxuan, injured, had gone to the side hall to recuperate.

A Maid brought over the Fertility Medicine. “Princess, you left in a hurry this morning and forgot to drink your medicine.”

I looked at the bitter medicinal soup. “Pour it out. I won’t drink it anymore.”

Now is not the time to conceive; I must first get to the bottom of some matters.

I went alone to the courtyard where the Imperial Guards resided.

The Imperial Guards, who were just preparing to sleep, all saluted when they saw me.

“Take off your clothes,” I ordered.

These men of Northern Liang blushed. “P-Princess, do you mean all of us should undress?”

“Yes.”

They suddenly knelt down. “We are brash men. If we were all together, we fear we might harm Your Highness’s body. Please choose one of us to attend to you tonight.”

I was dumbfounded. “Who said I wanted any of you to serve me in bed?”

“It was… Prince Pingnan.”

The Seventh Imperial Brother really is… a man of his word.

I told the Imperial Guards I was only concerned about their health.

Only then did they take off their upper garments.

Their bodies were solid and muscular.

Their hands, too, were covered in calluses.

But Pei Qingxuan’s body was even more robust, and his calluses even rougher.

“How long have you been training in martial arts?”

“We have practiced since the age of five; it has been seventeen years now.”

So, it takes seventeen years to train to this level.

Pei Qingxuan had always been practicing martial arts, yet he never let me notice.

But last night, he swore that poisonous oath.

My mind in turmoil, I returned to my room-only to find Pei Qingxuan already there.

In the flickering candlelight, he sat there silently.

Like a wild beast ready to pounce at any moment.

I grew a bit flustered. “Weren’t you supposed to rest in the side hall?”

He rose and approached me unhurriedly, his voice low. “This morning at the Pingnan Prince’s Mansion, I failed to please Your Highness. I have come to serve you.”

I stepped back in fear. “No… that’s not necessary. You should focus on recovering.”

“But I fear if I rest too long, Your Highness will forget me. Did you not just visit the Imperial Guards’ quarters?”

So he has been watching me all along.