Fortunately, although Song Yinghuai often lost his wits in front of Caiyu, he still had some sense. With Lan Jinxiang's hint, inspiration struck him again. He quickly said,
"Yes, yes. I'll go to the kitchen to practice as soon as you finish eating. Tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, the day after the day after tomorrow... I guarantee I'll get better and better."
It wasn't just cooking. He would get better at everything.
All he needed was a chance.
"Your Highness doesn't need to do this," Caiyu refused. "Your time should be used to bring blessings to the world. There's no need to waste it on just me."
"It's not a waste..." Song Yinghuai's eyes instantly turned red after being rejected. "I just want you to stay and give me a chance to prove myself. You're the most important thing to me."
Once upon a time, the willful and stubborn Yuer had disappeared.
Although she used to be full of a sense of justice and concern for the country and its people, she would act on her impulses.
But now she chose to put the people first and herself second.
Such a change should have made him happy, but instead, he felt an overwhelming sense of panic.
He didn't understand before, but now he did.
Willfulness was because the person standing in front of her was the one she loved.
Just like how he had risked the safety of the army and himself to charge into Jizhou alone.
Rationality was because her love for that person had faded, so she could put herself in the backseat.
Just like the words Caiyu had said just now.
His eyes moistened slightly. Song Yinghuai quickly changed the subject and bent down to serve the dishes again. "Try this one..."
After dinner ended in a strange atmosphere, Caiyu was finally persuaded to stay.
Lan Jinxiang ordered someone to prepare a hot spring pool.
Since leaving Jizhou, Caiyu had been on the road, following the prisoner cart and having to eat and sleep in the open. She hadn't had a good rest. Now soaking in the hot spring, she was almost falling asleep.
Her head drooped slightly, and she was about to doze off against the edge of the pool.
A big hand gently supported her back and began to knead her shoulders. The comfort made her squint her eyes even more.
Suddenly, she realized something was wrong.
A familiar sense of horror rushed to the top of her head again.
Caiyu whirled around abruptly.
The water in the hot spring splashed violently, accompanied by Caiyu's angry question:
"Your Highness! Why are you here?"
Song Yinghuai was splashed all over. Looking at the naked woman in the hot spring, flames danced in his eyes, but he dared not let her notice. He quickly lowered his head and whispered,
"I've been guarding outside. But since you hadn't come out for a long time, I was afraid you might fall asleep in the pool and get into danger, so I came to check."
Caiyu was speechless for a moment. She folded her arms in front of her chest and roared, "Even so, you shouldn't have come in by yourself. There are maids in the Xu Mansion. You could have asked them to come in and check!"
Song Yinghuai hinted calmly, "The maids are all busy helping Second Young Master Xu and Second Miss Xu heat the water."
To be honest, he was really jealous of Xu Ziyi.
Unlike him, facing the woman he loved, he wasn't even allowed to take a look now. This little girl was still hugging her chest and looking at him as if he were a thief.
But they had already had sex!
Song Yinghuai wanted to cry but had no tears.
Before he had truly tasted the forbidden fruit, he didn't seem to have such strong desires. But now that he had, and he wasn't allowed to have it again, he was really suffering!
"What?" Caiyu didn't react at first. The next second, when she met Song Yinghuai's hot, wolf - like gaze, her face instantly flushed with shame. She splashed the water again, drenching the man's face, and scolded, "Song Yinghuai! You're shameless!"
In her anger, she called him by his full name.
Song Yinghuai, with water all over his face, said innocently, "I don't even care about my life. What do I need a face for? Besides, I was just stating a fact..."
It was just that thing between men and women that he envied. He was just talking.
He picked up the clothes on the rack and said with a smile, "Yuer, you've been soaking for too long. Come out first and then get angry, okay?"
If he looked any longer, he really would explode.
Caiyu pointed at the white marble stone beside her and said, "Put... put it there... You go out first."
Song Yinghuai really didn't want to go out, but he didn't dare to anger her again. So he put down the clothes and walked out behind the screen to wait.
The sight of the woman just out of the bath made him think of Caiyu by the hot spring in Yanjing.
She was graceful, extremely charming, and coquettish. Her whole body still exuded an aura of a seductive fairy tempting a holy monk into the mortal world.
Caiyu hurriedly put on her clothes. When she came out and saw Song Yinghuai still there, she snorted and walked into the room in a hurry without even looking at him.
Song Yinghuai lowered his head and quickly followed.
As soon as Caiyu stepped into the room, she blocked the door and said with a straight face, "Your Highness, I'm going to rest. You can't come in."
Song Yinghuai said pitifully, "I have nowhere to stay, Yuer. Please let me rest here!"
"What?" Caiyu was shocked as if she had heard something absurd.
She looked around at the luxurious and endless Xu Mansion and her face instantly turned cold. "Are you joking with me?"
Seeing the little girl's face turn cold, Song Yinghuai didn't dare to be stubborn anymore. He just explained in a humble voice,
"I'm not joking... Second Miss is angry that I once disrespected you, so she won't let me stay in the rooms of the Xu Mansion. Yuer, if you don't take me in, I'll be kicked out tonight."
"Please have mercy and let me stay!"
Caiyu:???
Was Second Sister avenging her or causing her trouble?
Caiyu wasn't heartless, but she had already promised to get married. The last time she had done something sorry to Brother Ali. How could she let this man in this time?
"Your Highness, if you have nowhere to sleep, then sleep in the woodshed!"
After saying that, Caiyu mercilessly closed the door.
A hand got stuck in the door, preventing it from closing.
Caiyu heard a pained cry from outside and quickly opened the door again. Looking at Song Yinghuai's hand still clinging to the door frame, her heart skipped a beat, and then she regained her cold expression:
"Your Highness, what on earth do you want?"
Song Yinghuai had blocked the door with his hand in a hurry and had forgotten to use his inner strength. Now his fingers felt as if they were being tortured and the pain was excruciating:
"I don't want anything," he said in a low voice. "I just want a place to rest."
"Your Highness, I've said that I'm going to get married. It's inappropriate for us, a man and a woman, to be alone in a room."
Being reminded again that she was going to get married, Song Yinghuai felt as if his chest was blocked and he couldn't breathe.
His Adam's apple rolled up and down for a long time. Finally, he couldn't help but remind her, "... Yuer, we've had sex. If he finds out..."
Caiyu suddenly clenched her fists and looked up at him. "I'll confess this to Brother Ali. If he can't accept it, I'll accept the consequence. But even if he can't accept it and I can't get married, there's still no chance for us!"
"Why?" Song Yinghuai looked at the woman he had been obsessed with for years, the woman he was willing to give his life for now. His eyes were so fragile that they seemed to break at any moment. "I'm changing..."
"Give me a chance to try. You like how Sheng Jiangli treats you. I can learn. I can do better than him..."
"Yuer, just one chance, okay?" Song Yinghuai choked with sobs. "Eldest Miss and Lord Xiao have also set off from Yanjing and are heading south. They'll arrive in a few days. Wait for them here and give me a chance to prove myself, okay?"
Caiyu remained silent.
But actually, she was touched by the news Song Yinghuai had told her.
Was Eldest Sister also coming to Pengcheng?
She missed Eldest Sister very much, and also Fan'er. Didn't he and Aye go to find Eldest Sister? So were they all coming to Pengcheng together?
Song Yinghuai didn't miss the loosening expression on her face. He quickly showed weakness. "Yuer, my back and hand hurt so much."
Caiyu was stunned. Only then did she remember that his back had suffered severe torture. In just one month, even if it was just a flesh wound, it wouldn't have healed so easily.
Looking at his hand on the door frame, it was already swollen and red.
It really wasn't humane to let him rest outside in this condition.
Finally, Caiyu stepped aside. "Come in, Your Highness!"