Chapter 29 – Spending the Night at Cold Maple Pavilion

After finishing treating Xiao Che’s wounds, Shu Ruohua carefully lifted his foot and placed it on her own bed.

Qian Ning came running in, holding a small black box.

Shu Ruohua opened the box and took out the wound medicine that Imperial Physician Wang had given her last time.

“I’m going to apply some medicine. It’s going to hurt, so brace yourself,” she said, giving him a heads-up.

Xiao Che gave a light nod. “Mm.”

Seeing how well they were getting along, Qian Ning wisely excused herself to give them some privacy.

Following the method the imperial physician had used on her before, Shu Ruohua applied the medicine and then carefully bandaged the wound. Only after treating his injuries did her anxious heart slightly calm down.

Out of courtesy, Xiao Che thanked her. “Thank you.”

Shu Ruohua responded briskly as she packed away the medicine box. “It’s nothing!”

Once she was nearly done tidying up, she suddenly remembered—Xiao Che’s shoes and socks were soaked with blood.

Night had already fallen.

And she didn’t have any men’s shoes here to offer him as replacements.

She couldn’t just let Xiao Che, injured and barefoot, walk back like that.

Well, considering the injuries were partially her fault…

A thought quickly formed in her mind.

“How about…”

She fidgeted, clearly hesitant to say what she was thinking.

Xiao Che asked, “What is it?”

Shu Ruohua gathered her courage and shut her eyes tight. “How about you just stay here tonight!”

She blurted the words as fast as she could, and her face turned bright red.

Xiao Che was stunned.

“You… what did you say?”

He wasn’t sure whether there was something wrong with his ears or his brain. He stared at her in disbelief.

Shu Ruohua didn’t respond.

He definitely heard what she said, and she didn’t see the point in repeating it.

“You should rest. I’ll go wash your shoes,” she said, grabbing the basin and heading toward the door.

But Xiao Che suddenly stopped her. “Wait…”

Shu Ruohua paused.

Xiao Che’s voice caught in his throat. “I should go back. You are, after all, a young lady.”

By right, since Shu Ruohua was his consort, it wasn’t inappropriate for him to spend the night.

But for some reason, when he heard her say he could stay, he felt an inexplicable sourness in his chest.

Shu Ruohua frowned. “What does being a young lady have to do with anything?”

She really didn’t like it when people used “because you’re a girl” as a reason for what she could or couldn’t do.

But then again…

She figured he meant well. After all, in ancient times, reputation and propriety were considered very important.

Still, she was already a discarded consort living in the Cold Palace—what reputation did she even have left?

Her black eyes glinted as she arched her brow with a cold smile. “Relax. I’m not going to sleep with you.”

Xiao Che choked on his words.

For a woman to say something like that—it left him completely speechless for a moment.

Seeing that he didn’t respond, Shu Ruohua took it as agreement.

She swaggered out with the basin in hand.

…

By the time she came back with the washed shoes, nearly half an hour had passed.

Xiao Che was still sitting on the bed, seemingly deep in thought.

Shu Ruohua walked in. “Why haven’t you gone to sleep yet?”

Xiao Che turned to look at her. His usually cool eyes now carried a hint of complexity.

“You…”

He wanted to say something but hesitated.

Shu Ruohua prompted him, “Hm?”

Xiao Che furrowed his brows slightly. “If it were someone else today, would you have let them stay too?”

He had been stewing on this question for the past half-hour—it was driving him crazy.

Shu Ruohua didn’t even think before answering. “No.”

Xiao Che secretly breathed a sigh of relief. “Why not?”

Shu Ruohua replied, “Because there is no one else!”

Xiao Che, “…”

Fair enough. This was the Eastern Palace. Besides him, no other man would dare come here.

…

(End of Chapter)