Chapter Seventy-Five: Worse Than Beasts

Liu Ling’er was completely stuck. Baili Xian obviously had no intention of leaving, and if she went out now, their fake marriage would surely be exposed. She could hardly bear to imagine it—disobeying an imperial decree was a crime, and while she herself could always run away, her father would be left to suffer the consequences.

With his upright and loyal nature, her father would rather die than flee. Even if he was only her cheap, nominal father, he was still the father of this body she inhabited. Liu Ling’er could never let him take the blame for her.

Baili Xian leaned against the bedframe and, noticing Liu Ling’er staring at him, asked, “Why are you looking at me like that? I don’t recall having provoked you.”

Liu Ling’er pointed at the bed and said, “There’s only one bed, Prince Xian. Don’t you think you should let me have it? There are quilts in the cabinet—you’ll just have to make do with the floor. That’s already the furthest I’m willing to compromise.”

To make a prince sleep on the floor—only Liu Ling’er would dare such a thing. Any other lady in the residence would have been eager to please him, perhaps even delighted if the prince merely wanted her to warm his bed.

“It’s so cold tonight, my dear consort, can you really bear to let me sleep on the floor? If I catch cold, won’t your heart ache for me?” Baili Xian looked at her weakly, as pitiful as one could imagine.

The notoriously cold prince, acting cute and coquettish—his charm was lethal! Liu Ling’er nearly caved on the spot, about to agree to let him sleep in the bed.

But at the critical moment, Baili Xian’s lips curled into a sly, fox-like grin. Seeing this, Liu Ling’er snapped back to her senses: if she gave up the bed, she’d be the one on the floor. How could she let that happen?

Her face hardened as she looked at Baili Xian with disdain. “Are you even a man? You want me to sleep on the floor? Forget it! Sleep or don’t—makes no difference to me. If you don’t want to sleep, get lost. I’ll sleep even better alone!”

Steeling herself, Liu Ling’er stopped wasting words. She climbed onto the bed, pulled the quilt over herself, and presented Baili Xian with nothing but the back of her head.

Finding her impervious to all persuasion, Baili Xian had no choice but to take the bedding from the cabinet, spread it on the floor, and curl up like a wounded beast.

With someone else in the room, Liu Ling’er was clearly tired but couldn’t fall asleep. Scenes she’d seen on TV kept playing in her mind:

A man and a woman go traveling, end up at an inn, and by coincidence there’s only one room left. They have no choice but to share. There’s only one bed, so the woman sleeps on it and the man takes the floor. All goes peacefully—until midnight, when the man, shivering, starts sneezing. The woman, feeling sorry for him, invites him into the bed, and by morning, she’s lost her innocence—a maiden transformed into a wife overnight!

The thought was terrifying. The more Liu Ling’er pondered it, the less she could sleep, worried that Baili Xian might lose control and transform into a wolf, pouncing onto the bed—then she’d be truly doomed.

She lay there, eyes wide open, tense for nearly an hour. Thankfully, Baili Xian, strong and robust, slept quietly on the floor, finally allowing Liu Ling’er a moment’s relief.

But peace was fleeting. Just as she was about to drift off, Baili Xian sneezed loudly. Instantly, Liu Ling’er tensed, all sleep driven away. Eyes wide, nerves on edge, she muttered to herself, “I’m asleep, I can’t hear anything, I’m not letting him into the bed.”

It was early spring, and the midnight chill was far from mild. The cold floor made Baili Xian sneeze again, his composure crumbling.

Though determined not to let him onto the bed, Liu Ling’er finally relented under his relentless sneezing. “The floor is cold, Prince Xian—come sleep on the bed,” she said, unable to hold back.

“Really?” Baili Xian sprang up, his tone utterly changed from his earlier pitiful wheezing. Liu Ling’er couldn’t help but suspect he’d been pretending all along.

In fact, Baili Xian truly was freezing—there was no brazier in Liu Ling’er’s room, and the cold was biting. If he could sleep on the bed, why suffer the floor? He lifted the quilt, ready to climb in.

But Liu Ling’er sat up abruptly, grabbed the quilt, and snapped, “What do you think you’re doing? I said you could sleep on the bed, not in my quilt! Don’t push your luck!”

Not long after, soft snores could be heard from the other side of the bed. Liu Ling’er was even less able to sleep now; when Baili Xian was on the floor, it wasn’t so bad, but with him in the bed, alarms rang loudly in her mind.

She remembered a cold joke: a man and a woman share a bed. The woman tells the man, “If you cross the line in the middle, you’re a beast!” The next morning, she’d lost her innocence and cursed him, “Beast!” He replied, “If a man and woman share a bed and I do nothing, then I’m less than a beast!”

After a sleepless, nerve-wracking night, Liu Ling’er awoke with dark circles under her eyes. Seeing Baili Xian, bright-eyed and handsome, she ground her teeth in fury! It was all his fault—this culprit had ruined her night. Woe was her!