Finally, he managed to suppress the raging flames in his heart. He simply hugged her soft and fragrant body tightly, buried his face in the crook of her neck, and greedily sniffed the fragrance of her hair.
Just by listening to his breathing, Mei Qingxue knew that he was struggling to hold back his desires. Something embarrassing had happened to a certain part of his body ever since he had embraced her.
"Are you in a lot of pain?"
As soon as the question left her lips, Mei Qingxue's face flushed all the way to her ears. Whether he was in pain or not, what did it matter to her? Did she want to come to his rescue? Or was it just out of concern?
Du Gu Qing let out a soft chuckle beside her ear and gently blew a puff of warm air on her neck.
"What do you think, Princess?"
Mei Qingxue flew into a rage again, but she didn't lash out at him. After all, he was a patient.
Looking at the handsome yet somewhat sickly man beside her, Mei Qingxue let out a sigh of pity in her heart. If it weren't for his poor health, this man would be almost perfect. With a noble family background, being a second - generation official and rich kid, and looking devastatingly handsome, he was definitely a good catch.
It was just a pity...
"You start acting up after just one sentence. I was going to praise you, but now I think I'll save it. Let go of me right now!"
Mei Qingxue tried to break free from his wolfish claws. His hands lingered on her sensitive spots, making her body itch strangely and her face burn.
After a few nights of experience, Mei Qingxue knew that she had a reaction to his touch. She bit her lips and turned her face away, not daring to look at his annoying face. She knew that this man was extremely strong when it came to such things. He was definitely not as weak as he claimed to be since childhood.
"Princess, I just want to hold you like this for a while. After I send you back to the palace, I'll go to the palace."
Du Gu Qing traced his tongue along the corner of her lips. After a while, he said, "I can go back to the palace by myself. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable. As for your personal maid..."
He suddenly paused. Looking at Mei Qingxue's expression and seeing that she was listening intently, he secretly laughed in his heart. Hiding the smile in his eyes, he looked at the woman in his arms and continued, "I've already sent her away. With the maids assigned by the Princess Dowager, you have too many maids. They still need to eat from the palace's provisions. I can't afford to support so many extra people, so I sold her to make up for the expenses."
"What?"
Mei Qingxue, who had been planning to be a virtuous wife until the Sixth Prince entered the palace, flew into a rage like a wild cat with its fur standing on end when she heard this. She suddenly broke free from Du Gu Qing's hand and glared angrily at the serious - looking bastard in front of her.
"I said... the palace can't bear the burden..."
Du Gu Qing couldn't even finish his sentence. A sudden sharp pain in his waist almost made him jump up. Mei Qingxue's delicate hand had once again made intimate contact with the soft flesh on his waist.
"The Princess really cares deeply for this King!"
Mei Qingxue gritted her teeth and said, "Where did you sell her? Tell me quickly. I don't care. You have to buy her back right away, or..." She would definitely raze his palace to the ground.
Du Gu Qing frowned, looking extremely embarrassed.
"I've already sold her to the Sixth Prince's Palace to be a lifelong slave. I can't buy her back. The mistress of the house won't sell."
Just as Mei Qingxue was about to explode in anger, she realized that he had said it was the Sixth Prince's Palace, which was Du Gu Qing's palace. So he was just teasing her. She had... Mei Qingxue awkwardly withdrew the hand that had been about to attack.
Han Chao had returned to the carriage at some point. Just as Mei Qingxue was wracking her brains to find a topic, Han Chao, the savior, showed up.
"Reporting to the Prince, the palace has arrived."
"Okay." Du Gu Qing replied softly. Then he let go of his hand. Han Chao lifted the curtain, and Mei Qingxue got off the carriage and walked into the palace gate without looking back.
She was so embarrassed that she wanted to find a hole to hide in. Thankfully, the palace had arrived.
Watching her fleeing back in a hurry, Du Gu Qing let out a soft chuckle from his chest. His little wife was really cute. He had just teased her a bit, but her reaction of pinching was really quick. Next time he teased her, he'd choose a safer distance.
He gently stroked the place on his waist where he had been pinched, and the smile on his brows couldn't be hidden.
"Go to the villa!"
"Yes, Prince!" Han Chao saw that his master was in a good mood, so he felt slightly relieved. But thinking about tonight, Han Chao couldn't be happy anymore.
It was almost that day again. The Prince would have to endure inhumane torture. When would this kind of day end? If there was no solution, I'm afraid the Prince's life would really be short.
Twenty - five years old!
The hot - spring villa was on the Chen Dun Mountain outside the city.
The moment the moon rose, his suffering would begin. Du Gu Qing thought of the hot spring, but the smile on his face didn't fade. At least he had her now. He felt that life wasn't so difficult anymore.
"Prince, should we tell the Princess?"
Han Chao thought the Princess should know about the Prince's situation, but the Prince in the carriage seemed not to hear him. So he shut his mouth. The Prince wasn't as useless as others said. He didn't want the Princess to misunderstand the Prince.
After a while, he heard Du Gu Qing say indifferently, "The time has not come yet!"
Du Gu Qing sat in the carriage, and the smile on his lips gradually deepened. He was wondering what earth - shattering things his little Princess would do in the palace.
Thinking of her beauty, even his pain seemed to be a bit lighter. Originally, he wanted to personally send the Princess into the palace and spend some more time with her. But the cold poison had flared up at this very moment. Now his body felt like it had fallen into an ice cellar, and he could hardly control the coldness. When she got off the carriage just now, he didn't even dare to lift the curtain for fear that she would see his trembling hands.
The sky was gradually getting dark, and Han Chao was getting anxious. They had left the city a bit late today, and now the moon was almost rising, but they still hadn't reached the hot - spring villa.
"Giddy - up!"
"Giddy - up!"
Han Chao, in a state of extreme anxiety, whipped the horse repeatedly. The carriage creaked on the bumpy path. At this moment, he didn't care if the Prince would feel uncomfortable due to the excessive bumping. Han Chao was now solely focused on getting to the villa quickly. Since the Prince wasn't saying anything, it was most likely that the cold poison in his body had already started to flare up.
"Prince, hold on. We're almost there."
Although they could only see the shadow of the Chen Dun Mountain, Du Gu Qing endured the coldness that was invading his lungs and heart wave after wave. He held back his shivers and said to Han Chao, "Don't worry. I can still bear it."
Hearing this, Han Chao became extremely anxious. Having served as the Prince's guard for a while, how could he not know the Prince's current situation?
He had to be faster, even faster. Han Chao wished he could grow wings and fly there immediately. When they reached the foot of the mountain, Han Chao quickly jumped off the carriage and helped the Prince out. Since they didn't have time to walk up the mountain, he was going to carry the Prince on his back.
"I can walk by myself!" Du Gu Qing refused. He always did things by himself and never relied on others.
"Prince, this subordinate can carry you and get there faster."
Han Chao saw that Du Gu Qing's movements were a lot stiffer, and he knew that the cold poison was in full swing. Without hesitation, he forcefully carried Du Gu Qing on his back and ran towards the top of the mountain at full speed.
He kicked open the door of the villa and rushed straight to the spring room. He put the Prince down. The spring room was a forbidden area that he couldn't enter.
"Guard outside. Don't come in unless I call you!"
Du Gu Qing took a deep breath to make himself look less painful. Just saying that one sentence had almost exhausted all his strength.
"Yes, Prince!" Han Chao retreated to the outside of the door, but the worry in his eyes was hard to hide. This was going to be another long night.
His whole body felt like it was frozen stiff. The cold poison had long invaded his internal organs, and medicine was no longer effective. Only the strange hot - and - cold dual springs in this hot - spring villa could suppress the cold poison in his body. Although it was called a hot spring, only when you got closer could you see the water in the spring bubbling up and down as if it were boiling.
He slowly immersed his body in the spring water, and the coldness on his body eased a bit.
What was she doing in the palace now? Du Gu Qing's mind was full of thoughts of her. Thinking of the purple butterfly fluttering gracefully, his heart felt warm. Thinking of the night when he was mistaken for a little eunuch, the purple butterfly was so clear. The woman he had been longing for for six years had finally become his wife.
Han Chao didn't hear any sound from the spring room for a long time. He didn't know if the Prince had already entered the spring room. He didn't dare to barge in rashly, so he tentatively called out outside the door.
"Prince, are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Du Gu Qing's deep voice came from the spring room.
Hearing Du Gu Qing's voice, Han Chao let out a sigh of relief and continued to guard his post outside the door.
"Go back. Don't let a single word slip to the Princess. Otherwise, I'll replace you." Du Gu Qing said coldly after regaining some strength.
It wasn't the right time to tell her yet. He didn't want her to worry, nor did he want to see her heart - wrenching expression. Although she only worried about the masked him for now, it wasn't the time to tell her the truth.
Hearing Du Gu Qing's threatening words, Han Chao's eyes welled up with tears. A tough man almost burst into tears. Why did such a good Prince have to suffer this kind of torture?
"Yes, Prince! This subordinate understands!" Han Chao straightened his body, and his words were sonorous and forceful!
Inside the spring room, Du Gu Qing nodded weakly. He tightly held the ancient jade given to him by Mei Zhenguo. The warm and smooth texture in his hand made a faint smile appear on his lips.
On the 15th of every month, he could only endure the long night alone in this spring room. One hour in the hot spring, and then one hour in the cold pool, alternating in turn.
"Miss... Miss went back to her natal family without taking Yue Ru. Does that mean you don't want Yue Ru anymore?"
Yue Ru waited all day before seeing her miss return gracefully. Her face looked like she was on the verge of crying, which made Mei Qingxue want to laugh. This girl had clearly been slacking off somewhere, but now it seemed to be Mei Qingxue's fault.
"Then why didn't you get up earlier to do my hair?"
Mei Qingxue looked at her dowry maid with a half - smile. Seeing her blushing face in a hurry, Yue Ru said anxiously, "It's not that Yue Ru didn't get up earlier. It's the Prince..."
She didn't know how to continue. Yue Ru jumped up and down in a hurry. The Prince had ordered her not to appear in front of the Princess for ten hours yesterday, or he would send her out of the palace. How could she explain this to her miss now?
In her anxiety, Yue Ru's fragrant sweat dripped down her cheeks.