[How could my innocence be determined so casually just by a sniff? At least you should give me a good, thorough feel. It would be even better if you... ]
Ling Shan: "..."
What a shameless scoundrel!
Ling Shan was jolted awake from her sleep. Only after being coaxed and cajoled did she enter the bathing room to conduct a thorough personal inspection.
It would have been fine if she hadn't inspected, but once she did, it took the whole night.
As dawn was breaking, Ling Shan, who had long been exhausted and fallen into a deep sleep, only vaguely felt that the fiery commotion had finally stopped.
Having stayed awake all night and exerted himself for hours, Jun Wuyuan showed no sign of fatigue on his face. His almond - shaped eyes were even brimming with a bright light.
Leaning sideways on the couch, he exuded an air of contentment all over. He propped his head up with one hand and lovingly stroked Ling Shan's smooth and delicate cheek with the other.
As the sky gradually brightened, Jun Wuyuan should have closed his eyes and taken a short nap to gather his energy to deal with the Jiangzhou case. But...
The gentle and soft breath was right beside him, and he found himself reluctant to close his eyes.
Today, the old bald donkey, Grand Tutor Wang, should have recovered his wits, and it was time to bring the Jiangzhou case to a close.
He was bound to be extremely busy in the next two days, and there was no way he could enjoy such an intimate moment with his fragrant beauty.
Thinking of this, Jun Wuyuan's almond - shaped eyes gradually darkened.
In her dream, Ling Shan was desperately running away from a huge wild boar. After finally escaping and sitting on a mountainside to rest, she unexpectedly felt a thick puff of hot air above her head.
She looked up and saw the wild boar charging at her again...
"Shanshan..."
Exhausted and sleepy, Ling Shan reluctantly opened her eyes, only to meet Jun Wuyuan's burning gaze.
"Your Majesty..."
Aren't you ever tired?
Can't you stop being such a brute?
Can't you just act like a decent human being?
"Shanshan, are you awake? I'll take care of you..."
Ling Shan: "..."
Brute!
An abominable brute!
---
When Ling Shan regained consciousness again, she felt as if her whole body had been run over by a truck. Every part of her ached.
She tried to sit up but immediately collapsed back onto the couch due to lack of strength. A certain part of her was throbbing painfully.
Ling Shan had expected that today would be a tough day, but she never imagined it would be this bad!
She couldn't even get out of bed!
Jun Wuyuan, that heartless scoundrel!
"Someone..."
As soon as she opened her mouth, the anger in Ling Shan's eyes flared up even more, as if it was about to explode at any moment.
Her voice was as hoarse as a broken gong, which made her blush. If she had been half - conscious in the second half of the night, she might not have been able to speak at all this morning.
What made her even angrier was that the spot beside her had long since turned cold.
It was obvious that Jun Wuyuan had already gotten up to attend to state affairs, full of energy.
Unlike her, who could only lie on the couch, not to mention having any energy, she even had trouble getting out of bed!
This was simply unfair!
"Your Ladyship, are you awake?"
Although Ling Shan's voice was so hoarse that it was almost inaudible, Banchun, who had been keeping an eye on the inner chamber, noticed the movement immediately and walked in.
After all this time, Banchun, who used to be a senior maid in front of the emperor and was now a senior maid beside Concubine Zhao, and would be the head maid in the future, could face such situations quite calmly.
Facing the embarrassing marks on Ling Shan's body and her extremely charming appearance, as if every glance was full of allure, Banchun remained quite calm.
This calm demeanor also helped to ease Ling Shan's embarrassment to a great extent.
Banchun kept her eyes down throughout, showing no sign of strangeness, and carefully and gently helped Ling Shan wash and dress.
"Your Ladyship, lunch is ready. His Majesty sent a message just now saying that he is very busy with court affairs today and won't be able to have lunch with you. He specially asked the imperial kitchen to make your favorite crab - powder pastries and lotus - seed soup. Your Ladyship, shall I serve the meal?"
Ling Shan nodded calmly, and quietly rubbed her lower abdomen.
She didn't feel anything until Banchun mentioned it. As soon as she did, her stomach began to growl, and her mouth watered involuntarily.
When she sat down at the dining table, the delicious dishes on it successfully whetted her appetite.
While serving the dishes, Banchun quietly observed Ling Shan's expression. Seeing that the anger between her eyebrows had dissipated, she said in a relaxed tone.
"Your Ladyship, there was an interesting thing that happened last night."
"Hmm? What was it?"
Ling Shan took a bite of the tender bamboo shoot tip, and the reason for the inspection last night suddenly came to her mind.
"Was it that our Majesty ran into another beauty last night?"
She remembered that was the source of that strong exotic fragrance.
If it hadn't been for that fragrance, how could she have been so "miserable" last night?
If Banchun hadn't mentioned it, Ling Shan would have really forgotten the "culprit".
"Your Ladyship is really prescient. Last night, Concubine Xu somehow found out about His Majesty's whereabouts and showed up in the garden in full regalia. It is said that she even planned to perform a charming dance. But unexpectedly..."
Ling Shan's eyebrows relaxed slightly, and her expression remained calm.
Apart from anything else, Ling Shan had full confidence in Jun Wuyuan when it came to women.
Given Jun Wuyuan's extreme obsession with good looks and his strong sense of self - protection, she didn't believe that there was another person in this world who could be as considerate as her and stay by his side.
If one day Jun Wuyuan really changed his heart, it would mean that she was not as good as others, and she would just admit defeat.
However, if Jun Wuyuan's so - called affection was so fragile, she didn't need to be constantly on guard.
"Concubine Xu knelt for two hours last night. She was carried back to her palace in the end. It is said that she was so ashamed that she fainted when she accidentally met some concubines. She even invited the imperial doctor this morning."
Ling Shan put down her silver chopsticks and suddenly remembered something.
"Wasn't this Concubine Xu the one who used to be Wang Chengbi's lackey?"
Banchun also stopped serving the dishes and replied respectfully, "Your Ladyship, that's right. Since the death of Lady Wang, I've heard that Concubine Xu has been getting closer to Concubine Shu."
"This is quite interesting."
A glint of light flashed in Ling Shan's eyes, but her face remained calm as she continued to eat.
She ate all the crab - powder pastries on the plate. Having combined breakfast and lunch, she ended up overeating!
Ling Shan stroked her round belly and smiled helplessly at Banchun.
"I accidentally ate too much. Let's go out for a walk."
"Your Ladyship, do you feel uncomfortable? Maybe we should invite the imperial doctor. What if later..."
Banchun's eyes were full of worry, and she felt very regretful. She should have reminded Ling Shan earlier.
"It's okay. Just take a couple of laps around. There's no need to invite the imperial doctor."
The sun was still blazing in July. Ling Shan didn't go out but just strolled around the small garden of Jiuzhou Qingyan.
The lotus flowers in the lake were in full bloom. After walking for a while, Ling Shan got inspired and picked a few, planning to arrange them in a vase in the palace.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she entered the inner palace, a maid from Yaotai Jinfeng came to ask for an audience.
Could it be that the Empress Dowager was ill again?