After seeing off all the guests, Ye Qingcheng was so exhausted that she collapsed onto a chair. Even just the effort of talking was tiring. "Bixi, have the back courtyards been cleaned up?" she asked weakly.
"Yes, Miss. Please rest assured, everything has been tidied up," Bixi replied while massaging her. "Miss, is what you said tonight about the clinic true?"
"Of course it's true. Your Miss never lies," she said, closing her eyes comfortably to enjoy Bixi's skilled massage.
"But how come I didn't know Miss knows how to treat illnesses?" Bixi, who had grown up with the original Ye Qingcheng, knew her best. Ye Qingcheng knew nothing about medicine.
"Uh, this, yes, I learned it when I went to the military camp with the Prince," she offered as the most plausible excuse.
Since it was their young lady who said it, Bixi believed her without question. She also recalled what her young lady had said at the banquet, as if she had become an entirely different person.
"Yes, you heard correctly. This Princess intends to open a clinic. I will be responsible for the technical aspects, and you can join us by investing. You will become shareholders and will own a part of the clinic. You will share in all the clinic's profits." Ye Qingcheng had just used several unheard-of terms in a single sentence.
The guests below looked at each other, confusion etched on their faces.
Ye Qingcheng curved her lips into a smile. "I know everyone still has many questions and doesn't understand. Once I finish writing the proposal, I will notify you all, and all your queries will be answered then."
Their young lady had truly changed. From being timid and fearful, always prioritizing the Prince and trying every method to gain Prince Xiao's favor, it had now come to the point where Xiao Wangye was trying to please her. She no longer doted on the Prince as before, but instead began to pursue her own aspirations, gradually becoming an independent and powerful Miss Ye.
"The Prince hasn't returned yet, has he?" After being busy for so long, she finally had time to inquire about the Regent Prince, who was engaged in a "battle of wits" in the imperial court.
"Yes, Miss. Are we still waiting for the Prince to return tonight?"
The Imperial Palace, in the young Emperor's sleeping quarters.
The Emperor sat alone, reviewing memorials, while Xiao Wangye sat opposite him, calmly sipping tea. The young Emperor occasionally glanced at him, his gaze never leaving the military treatise in his hand. The young Emperor was only sixteen years old. Although he had been Emperor for six years, in his own opinion, he was merely an Emperor in name.
Whenever any significant matter arose, it was Xiao Wangye who made the final decision. The Emperor merely had to issue an imperial edict. To put it plainly, he was just a tool.
"I don't understand why the old men in court oppose Uncle becoming Emperor. Uncle is clearly the most suitable candidate," the young Emperor thought silently. He still couldn't find an answer after all these years.
"What are you staring at? Is there something you don't understand?" he asked without looking up. The young Emperor immediately sat up straight in fright.
"No, nothing much has happened lately. It's just..." He seemed hesitant to speak.
"Just what? Speak plainly."
"It's just, doesn't Uncle need to return early tonight? Won't Aunt be angry?" He had inadvertently overheard that after returning from the battlefield on the border, the Regent Prince had become a "doting husband." He had clearly seen the expression on his uncle's face in court that day. It was an expression his uncle hadn't had since that incident.
"You don't need to worry about me; I can handle it myself." He put down the military treatise. "As for you, how much of these memorials have you understood?" His tone was as indifferent as ever.
Upon hearing this, the young Emperor immediately pouted, feeling extremely wronged. The youngest son of the Minister of War, the grandson of the Prime Minister—they were all his age, yet they didn't have to face a pile of endless "books" every day. They practiced martial arts, riding, and archery. Hearing this made the young Emperor incredibly envious.
Seeing his dejected state, Xiao Wangye didn't press him further. When he was this age, he had been running wild in the military camps; he had barely read any books. "Forget it, that's enough for tonight. Leave the memorials here; I'll come back and look at them tomorrow."
With that, he left gracefully, unconcerned about the young Emperor's expression behind him.
Looking at his uncle's departing figure, the young Emperor thought he looked incredibly dashing. Only his uncle could command his genuine respect. It was wonderful not to have to face these tedious memorials.
In the carriage, members of the Dark Guard reported on the events of the banquet that evening. Upon hearing the words "franchise, shareholders, dividends," they were truly shocked. If they understood correctly, these terms could change the current market conditions.
"How many more surprises does this King's Consort have that I don't know about?" he smiled proudly, a sight that would surely shock anyone who saw it.
"The Consort is waiting for Your Highness to return, just like last night." After the dark guard finished reporting, he added this sentence privately before disappearing into the night.
"Lin Xiao, speed up." He was impatient to see Ye Qingcheng.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Inside the Prince's mansion, Ye Qingcheng was still enjoying Bixi's massage, lazily answering her questions. "Let's wait. I'm not very sleepy right now."
Bixi stopped her movements, gently covered Ye Qingcheng with a quilt, closed the window, and tiptoed out.
As soon as she closed the door, she ran into Xiao Wangye, who had just returned home. "Your Highness." It was quite a coincidence.
"Has the Consort fallen asleep?" Xiao Wangye asked her.
"Replying to Your Highness, the young lady just said she would wait for Your Highness to return. However, she couldn't stay awake due to exhaustion and has fallen asleep."
"Mm, you two can go and rest as well." He dismissed Bixi and Lin Xiao behind her, gently opened the door, and entered the room.
Bixi and Lin Xiao were left looking at each other in silence.
Inside the room, Ye Qingcheng lay on the bed, covered by a light quilt. Her formal wear had only had the outer jacket removed, clearly indicating she had fallen asleep before she could take it off.
Ye Qingcheng's makeup today was light, making her features even more exquisite, like a painting of a beauty. Her thick, curled eyelashes, the straight bridge of her nose, and her lips, which seemed to be smiling even in sleep, were all captivating. Xiao Wangye felt his heart stir.
The feeling of someone waiting for him to come home was so warm. He couldn't resist reaching out to caress Ye Qingcheng's cheek, delicately tracing the features of the sleeping beauty. His hand finally rested on her enviable red lips.
Following his heart's desire, he lowered his head and imprinted his mark on her red lips. Looking at the skin so close to him, their breaths intertwined. He gently bit her lower lip until Ye Qingcheng's brow furrowed slightly. Then, he shifted his focus to her fair neck, following her lower lip down to the vicinity of her carotid artery. His lips felt the pulse. Satisfied, he marked her with his own scent.
At this moment, Ye Qingcheng woke up. She felt somewhat disoriented, as if she had just had a dream. In the dream, she was bitten by a lion on the neck, its teeth gently grazing the carotid artery. She couldn't move, fearing that the sharp teeth would pierce her neck at any moment.
She raised her hand and touched her neck. The sensation was that of a human head?