Volume One, Chapter 15: Wan’er Is the One I Hold Dear
“Wan’er, how can you be so disrespectful to His Highness the Crown Prince?” Madam Lin glared at Lin Qingwan. Did this girl even realize she was standing before the Crown Prince? Didn’t she fear angering His Highness and having him punish her?
“It’s nothing. However Wan’er treats me, I am more than willing to accept it,” Chu Linyuan said with a carefree smile as he pulled Lin Qingwan into his embrace in front of the two madams.
Seeing her daughter blush and avoid eye contact, Madam Lin was at a loss for what to do.
“Since the two madams have come, please stay for a meal,” Chu Linyuan invited.
“Yes, thank you, Your Highness.” Madam Lin and Madam Mo exchanged glances, surprised to be invited to dine by the Crown Prince. They bowed respectfully.
Chu Linyuan turned slightly aside. Though as a monarch he needn’t be so formal, he thought, “How can one catch a tiger without entering the tiger’s den?”
He wanted the woman to love him wholeheartedly, to grant her family the respect they deserved—it was only right.
“Prepare the feast.”
“Yes.”
The eunuch Laifu saw the Crown Prince in a good mood and bowed.
“Please follow me, madams.”
Laifu led them to the west hall, where a round table was laden with various delicacies.
“Please wait here; His Highness and Miss Lin will join you shortly.”
---
In the bedchamber:
“Your Highness, my mother was frightened by you,” Lin Qingwan said. Her mother was just a simple lady of the inner chambers; how could she bear such treatment?
“Wan’er unhappy? I love you, so naturally I will treat your family well.” Chu Linyuan smiled warmly. “If it weren’t for our different statuses, I’d be eager to kowtow to my mother-in-law like a common suitor.”
Lin Qingwan feigned annoyance, “Your Highness, how can you be so cheeky?”
“Laifu told me you haven’t eaten today. Let’s accompany your mother for the meal. Later, I will have a private talk with you both.”
At these words, Chu Linyuan’s expression darkened slightly, a mix of nervousness and displeasure.
“What’s wrong?” Seeing his mood sour, Lin Qingwan couldn’t help but clutch his arm, entwining her fingers with his.
“Why are you unhappy, Your Highness?”
Chu Linyuan pulled her close, leaning toward her ear.
“I want to ask: Would you be willing to stay by my side? If your mother asks you to leave, would you choose to go with her, or stay with me?”
Lin Qingwan pondered.
Before, she would have chosen to return to Yunbian Town with her mother. But now, with Chu Linyuan’s deep love—something unattainable in her previous life—she was reluctant to leave his kindness behind.
“Will Your Highness always treat Qingwan well? If one day you no longer love Qingwan, will you let her go?”
She must be poisoned—why else would she want to stay by his side?
---
“I swear by heaven, this life I will love only Wan’er. If I ever betray her, let heaven strike me down with thunder.”
Avoiding her question, Chu Linyuan gently lifted her chin and kissed her tenderly.
His fingers traced her neck, sending shivers through her. He pushed her onto the bed and loomed over her.
“No. Mother is still waiting.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Outside the bedchamber, their clothes were tangled, and on the bed shadows overlapped. Unable to resist the man’s strength, Lin Qingwan was drawn into his embrace.
After some tender moments, seeing her pout and turn her back on him, Chu Linyuan chuckled softly.
Holding her from behind, he said, “Wan’er, don’t be angry. It’s my fault. If you’re mad, you can hit me.”
“You know mother is waiting for us.”
Lin Qingwan was genuinely upset. How could he be so reckless?
“Bring water,” he ordered.
The eunuchs hurried in, placing buckets and filling them with warm water. Once the buckets were full, they bowed and withdrew.
“Wan’er, will you bathe with me?”
Chu Linyuan’s hands slid from her waist upward.
She grabbed his mischievous hands firmly. “Go wash yourself. We’ll bathe separately!”
Knowing his nature, if they bathed together, their midday meal with her mother might well turn into a late dinner.
“Bring another bucket of water to my chamber.”
Laifu at the door immediately instructed the junior eunuchs, “Hurry, prepare it.”
“Yes.”
The door opened again, and a new large bucket was carried in, placed beside the first. The eunuchs poured warm water into both.
After they left, Chu Linyuan looked at the woman with flushed cheeks.
“Which side would you like, Wan’er? Will you bathe with me?”
Lin Qingwan glanced at him but said nothing. They had delayed long enough. She would bathe quickly and then meet her mother.
It was obvious what they had been doing.
How embarrassing.
She picked a wooden bucket at random, removed her undergarments, and soaked herself in the warm water.
The heat eased her aches. This man’s one common trait through two lifetimes was his love for being intimate with her.
Chu Linyuan watched her movements, desire deepening in his eyes. He recalled how, once in a cramped bath, she had given herself to him without hesitation.
He glanced at his own body and undressed in front of her.
Seeing her turn away, he felt displeased.
“Wan’er, look at me. Otherwise, I’ll have to bathe in your bucket.”
In the warm mist, a shy woman clung to the edge of the bucket, her gentle eyes fixed on him.
She seemed flustered by his nakedness—both unwilling and compelled to look—a bewitching enchantress.
The man swaggered forward, completely bare, a sly smile on his lips.
---
“Wan’er, are you pleased?”
He took her hand resting on the bucket’s edge and placed it on his body.
“My body is for Wan’er alone from now on, alright?”
Lin Qingwan yelped as if burned, immediately pulling her hand away, cheeks flushed, glaring fiercely.
“Go wash quickly. My mother has waited long enough. If you keep this up, don’t expect to touch me anymore.”
Not knowing how else to threaten Chu Linyuan, she resorted to their private matters.
Hearing her words, Chu Linyuan hurried into the bucket beside hers.
“No. I’d rather have Wan’er stab me than not let me touch her.”
After bathing, Lin Qingwan deliberately put some distance between them, fearing his untamed nature would seize her again.
---
In the west hall:
Madam Lin waited anxiously, fearing her daughter had angered the Crown Prince. She sat nervously, watching the dishes removed and replaced on the table, unsure how much longer they would wait.
“Don’t worry, sister. Perhaps His Highness had something come up suddenly. Let’s just wait,” Madam Mo comforted the tense Madam Lin.
“Sister, my heart has been racing ever since Wan’er was taken away.”
Feeling dizzy from her rapid heartbeat, Madam Lin propped her head in her hands, exhaling deeply to calm herself.
She shouldn’t frighten herself. Judging by His Highness’s earlier demeanor, he clearly intended well toward Wan’er.
“The Crown Prince has arrived—”
A junior eunuch announced at the door.
At the sound, Madam Lin’s legs gave out and she knelt, “Long live His Highness the Crown Prince.”
Madam Mo bowed, “Long live Your Highness.”
Chu Linyuan strode forward and helped Madam Lin up.
“No need for formalities.”
“Sorry to keep you waiting, madams. I’ll punish myself with three cups today,” he apologized.
Madam Lin looked at the freshly bathed Crown Prince and her daughter, whose hair was still damp, and shot her daughter a sharp glance.
Lin Qingwan lowered her head in embarrassment, seeing her mother’s displeasure. She pinched Chu Linyuan’s waist.
It was all his fault!
The man grasped her hand and pulled her into his embrace.
“Today’s matters are my fault. Madam Lin, please don’t blame Wan’er. I was reckless.”
Seeing the Crown Prince protect her daughter so fiercely, Madam Lin shook her head with a bitter smile as she looked at Lin Qingwan.
“Wan’er has caused trouble for Your Highness.”
“It’s no trouble. Wan’er is the love of my heart,” Chu Linyuan declared.
His words struck like thunder, leaving Madam Lin nearly unsteady. Madam Mo hastened to steady her.