Wei Chi Cheng immediately said, "It's okay... The princess is still a bit groggy and accidentally knocked something over..."
"You!" I glared at him angrily, annoyed by his calm demeanor. But he just curled his lips into a mischievous smile and said, "What's wrong with me? I remember someone just tried to push me into the water."
"You!" I blushed and pretended to throw another porcelain pillow at him. However, he firmly caught my hand and teased, "This thing is extremely expensive. It could sustain a commoner family for several years..."
Helpless, I snatched the pillow back from his hand, put it down, and stared at him. "What on earth do you want?"
He smiled, and suddenly twirled my hair with his fingers. Instead of answering my question, he said, "Your hair has a slight curl. It looks really nice."
I turned my head and only then noticed that because I had tied my hair in braids earlier, now that it was wet and loose, it did have some curls.
Unexpectedly, while I was still in a daze, he took out a dagger from somewhere and cut off a lock of my hair on the left side.
I was instantly furious. But he placed his hand on my shoulder and whispered, "I'll keep this as a souvenir."
I locked eyes with his deep, mysterious gaze. There was no sign of his usual playfulness. Eventually, I realized that even though I was angry, I had no strength to fight against him. So I decided not to argue with him, lest he say I was being spoiled.
He smiled contentedly, then stood up. "Since Xi He has given me such a wonderful gift, I shall return one to you. Please wait here for a while."
After saying that, he left with that lock of hair, smiling. I sat there on the bed for a while before I came to my senses. Why should I stay here? So I put on the shoes on the ground and ran out of Huiyang Palace.
As soon as I entered Twin - Hall, I ordered all the maids and eunuchs not to let anyone in, especially Wei Chi Cheng!
I touched the part of my hair on the left side that he had cut off. Furious, I was about to pick on Shui Fu, but the servant told me that Shui Fu had been called by Aunt Xu to learn embroidery. So I had to give up.
I entered the right hall and went into the inner chamber. I found my hair was half - dry and very uncomfortable. So I asked someone to prepare hot water for a bath.
Soon the servants prepared the water. I drove them all out and took a bath by myself.
Although it was nice to have someone serve me during a bath, sometimes I just needed some time alone.
I sank comfortably into the hot water and started playing with the floating petals on the water. After a while, when I thought the water temperature was just right, I buried my whole face in the water.
Although I couldn't swim, I wasn't afraid of the water in the bathtub. But after the scare just now, I didn't dare to stay underwater for too long. So I sat back in my original position.
I didn't know when the sound of the Qiang flute, which I had heard last night, started to float in the palace again. The melody of the Qiang flute was so sad, standing in sharp contrast to my luxurious life. Sitting in the bathtub, I didn't think too much. I just felt the water was so warm and I wanted to sleep.
As I sat there, I gradually felt sleepy and actually fell asleep in the misty steam...
When I woke up again, the water had completely cooled down.
I couldn't help shivering and was about to get out of the water.
Unexpectedly, just as I stood up, I heard a loud roar outside the door. "Xi He, if you don't come out, brother will break in with people!"
I was instantly startled. I slipped and sat back down. Just as I was about to shout to stop them, the door was kicked open with a "bang" ...
My brother, Wei Chi Cheng, and I froze on the spot. Then a shrill scream echoed through Twin - Hall...
"Ah—"
Seeing this, my brother immediately covered Wei Chi Cheng's eyes and they both backed out. But I sat in the bathtub, covering my chest with both hands and shouting, "Yong Ziming—I won't let you off!"
On that day, after I finished washing and dressing, I mobilized all the guards in the palace to look for my brother and Wei Chi Cheng, who had disappeared to avoid me. So everyone in the palace was in a complete uproar...
This incident caused such a big commotion that it accidentally alerted my father. At that time, I was standing at a crossroads, angrily directing a guard to search carefully. My father, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, came gracefully. He was stunned to see me so angry.
"What's going on, Xi He?" He stepped forward and gently put his arm around me. His voice was a bit skeptical. Maybe he always thought that the one who caused such a ruckus should be Yong Ziming.
I looked at my father pitifully. He still looked so majestic. So I decided to cry loudly first to gain his sympathy. My snot and tears flowing together really scared my father.
Seeing this, he hugged me and gently patted my back. "Did Ziming bully you again? And what does this have to do with A Cheng?"
I continued to cry on my father's body. I didn't know how to explain this incident. Should I say that I was seen naked while taking a bath? Or should I say that because mother said a girl should marry the person who saw her naked, so I was afraid of marrying Wei Chi Cheng?
So I chose the simplest way—wiping my snot and tears all over his dragon robe and continued crying!
My father patted me helplessly. He just let me hug him. After a while, he said, "Okay, Xi He, stop crying. Father will go and teach Ziming a lesson."
Only then did I gradually stop crying. Sniffling, I looked at my father with tear - filled eyes. My father stroked my head and said, "All right, stop making a ruckus in the palace. Call back all the guards. Father will issue an order to make your brother show up."
Only then did I stop. I told everyone to stop searching. Then my father personally sent me back to Twin - Hall.
At this time, there was only me in Twin - Hall. I ran into my brother's left hall and messed it up. Then I returned to my own right hall contentedly.
After venting my anger, I really felt tired. My head also felt heavy. I thought it was because I had cried too hard earlier, so I didn't pay much attention. I asked someone to bring water to wash my face and then went to sleep.
Unexpectedly, after lying down for a while in a daze, I felt extremely uncomfortable. The more I lay, the colder I felt. I couldn't help calling Shui Fu. "Shui Fu, has the weather changed? Why is it so cold?"
As soon as Shui Fu came over and touched me, she immediately said, "Princess, you're burning up! I'll go and call the imperial doctor right away."
Only then did I sadly realize that after soaking in the cold water for an afternoon, I had caught a cold.
I thought that since I hadn't been sick for a long time, this illness came on so fiercely that I felt so weak all over that I couldn't even get out of bed.
The imperial doctors were summoned one after another. It also alerted my father, mother, and later, my aunt, uncle, as well as Wei Chi Cheng and my brother who came to apologize. But I was still groggy and didn't even have the strength to talk to them.
Almost everyone who came to see me would put their hand on my forehead. It gave me an illusion that if my forehead were a jade stone, it would surely be polished shiny by so many touches.
My father and mother looked very worried because every time they tried to feed me the medicine, I would instinctively vomit it out. It wasn't until I was given a cool liquid that I felt a bit more clear - headed.
Later, after taking a few more sips of that medicine, my fever gradually subsided. I lay in bed like a limp worm, receiving everyone's visits every day. Suddenly, I felt extremely warm. But whenever I saw my brother and Wei Chi Cheng, I would pretend to be too tired and already asleep, not wanting to talk to them.
At that time, I didn't know that because of my illness, my brother and Wei Chi Cheng were respectively punished by my father and uncle to kneel outside Twin - Hall for one night.