You Can Do Whatever You Want

But Su Luoqian argued her case, and in the end, she and Lu Jingsi stumbled their way to an "understanding."

Yet once he was in the mood, his stamina afterward was astonishing.

Their lovely morning dalliance in bed left her limp and boneless, and in the end, she could only hug the brocade quilt and lie back down.

Only then did Su Luoqian realize how frightening a man who had just gotten his first taste of meat could be.

Half asleep and half awake, she recalled what Cui Anlan had said at the Su residence that day.

Her little face scrunched up, she muttered miserably, "Mother really wasn't lying to me."

Outside the main room, Zelan waited beneath the covered corridor with several maids, Yinzhu among them.

The princess consort had been like this for the past few days, waking late in the morning and taking increasingly long, lazy naps in the afternoon.

She was visibly exhausted, her body as limp as if she had no bones.

But the big problem of Nanny Liu still had not been resolved. Zelan gritted her teeth and pushed the door open.

Yinzhu had already coaxed Nanny Liu's plan out of her, and it was truly vicious.

If she succeeded with this scheme, Su Luoqian would be ruined.

Fortunately, they had uncovered it beforehand.

As soon as Su Luoqian heard there was news about the matter, she forced herself to perk up.

Today's treat to ward off the heat was chilled sour plum soup. It was icy cold, just right for her, and especially refreshing.

She raised a hand and wiped the corner of her lips with a handkerchief, then looked at Yinzhu. "Just do as she told you."

Yinzhu did not know how she planned to handle it afterward and asked, trembling, "Princess consort, will that really be all right?"

Su Luoqian smiled gently. "Of course it will. Don't worry."

"...Yes."

After Yinzhu left, she said, "Tell the kitchen to prepare extra food for dinner. His Highness will return to dine tonight."

Zelan acknowledged the order and withdrew at once.

Toward evening, Lu Jingsi returned to the residence.

Fulin came up to greet him, beaming. "Your Highness, the princess consort ordered the servants to prepare dinner long ago. They're just waiting for you to return."

At that, Lu Jingsi's step faltered slightly. He was a little surprised, though he showed none of it on his face.

In the main courtyard, Su Luoqian had already prepared everything.

After all, Nanny Liu was a longtime servant of both the prince's residence and the eldest princess's residence. If Su Luoqian wanted to deal with her, she ought to tell Lu Jingsi beforehand.

Besides, Lu Jingsi was also part of her plan. How could he miss such a wonderful show?

So when Lu Jingsi stepped into the main room, he saw Su Luoqian dressed in a plain, snow-white silk dress, a dangling gold hairpin in her hair. She obediently curtsied to him.

"Your Highness, you've returned just in time. Come and eat."

With that, she came to his side, took his hand in her slender, fair one, and led him to the round table.

Lu Jingsi remained impassive and let her take the lead.

The dinner table was laden with dishes, all prepared to his taste.

During the meal, Su Luoqian was exceedingly attentive, serving him dishes and ladling him soup.

Every now and then, she lifted her eyes to glance at him, as though there were hooks in them.

Throughout the meal, both of them had their own thoughts.

Only after the meal, when the servants had cleared the table, did Su Luoqian approach him with a cup brimming with fragrant tea. In a soft voice, she said, "Your Highness, may I invite you to watch a show tomorrow?"

Lu Jingsi's brows rose slightly, his voice low. "What's it called?"

Su Luoqian blinked and said outright, "Catching adulterers in bed."

Those four words succeeded in making Lu Jingsi raise his eyes to look at her.

He abruptly gave a cold snort. "Then you'd better be careful, Princess Consort. Don't botch the performance."

"Don't worry, I won't."

Seeing that he had agreed, Su Luoqian's smile became evident. "The most important thing is that you be there, Your Highness. Everything else is easy to arrange."

The door to the main room was open, but the two were speaking quietly. Lu Jingsi was about to say more when he heard Chengying report from outside, "Your Highness, something has happened."

As soon as the words fell, Su Luoqian saw Lu Jingsi stride outside.

She hurriedly caught hold of his sleeve. "Your Highness, please remember our appointment tomorrow."

When he worked on a case, he was ruthless with others and just as ruthless with himself.

Su Luoqian was afraid he would lose track of time.

Lu Jingsi's gaze swept lightly over the fingers clutching his sleeve. "Don't worry. I keep my word."

That night, Lu Jingsi indeed stayed out all night working on the case.

With no exertions from him to contend with, Su Luoqian rose early the next day and took Zelan to inspect the shops on North-South Street in the western market.

She did not actually need to handle these matters in person, but she would only be cooped up and bored if she stayed at the prince's residence anyway.

When women shopped for things for their chambers, it was called an outing. She could treat inspecting the shops as an outing too; there seemed to be no difference.

Besides, Lu Jingsi had never laid down repeated rules for her about such matters.

At noon, Su Luoqian had lunch at the Treasure-Tasting Tower in the western market, then boarded her carriage and returned to the residence.

Only after entering the gates of Prince Cheng'an's Residence did she remember that she had left something at a shop in the western market.

She hurriedly sent Zelan back to fetch it.

Zelan curtsied and left the residence again.

Su Luoqian looked up at the blazing midday sun and said to the maid beside her, "I'm tired. Let's return to the main courtyard so I can rest."

"Yes."

She had developed the habit of taking a nap over the past few days, and since it was about that time, she was growing sleepy.

Supported by the maid, Su Luoqian slowly made her way toward the main courtyard.

Behind her, Nanny Liu, who had been hiding behind a corridor pillar all along, wore a dark expression, though there was a hint of triumph in her eyes, as if she could already see Su Luoqian being swept out of the prince's residence.

She peered out toward the residence gates and said quietly, "Heaven is helping me."

She had originally been thinking of having that girl Yinzhu find a pretext to draw Zelan away. She had not expected Su Luoqian herself to send Zelan away.

Nanny Liu glanced in the direction Su Luoqian had gone, carefully avoided the others, and headed for the side gate of the residence.

After returning to the main room, Su Luoqian dampened a cloth and wiped down her body before climbing straight into bed.

The windows were wide open and the gauze curtains hung lightly. It was the height of summer, and even the summer breeze carried a touch of stuffiness, but fortunately, there were blocks of ice in the room, making it somewhat cooler.

Before long, she closed her eyes.

Outside the main room, beneath the covered corridor, Yinzhu was the only one keeping watch.

At the side gate of the residence, Nanny Liu looked around furtively. Only after making sure no one was nearby did she open it.

The gate creaked.

The man standing outside pushed his way in impatiently.

Nanny Liu gave him a sharp smack and lowered her voice to scold him. "Keep your voice down."

The man was probably in his thirties. He had a mustache and beard, and his narrow eyes gleamed with a mercenary, lecherous light.

"Old Woman Liu, come on, tell me what fine goods you're going to show me."

Nanny Liu snapped, "What are you asking for? You won't come away short. Just follow me."

The man followed her all the way to the main courtyard.

Along the way, he looked this way and that. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. The imperial family and nobility really are different."

When the two reached the moon gate, Nanny Liu exchanged a look across the distance with Yinzhu, who was keeping watch outside the main room.

Yinzhu gripped her own hands tightly in her nervousness, then walked a few steps away, pretending not to have seen them.

The man looked at the surroundings and felt something was amiss. "Where are you taking me?"

Nanny Liu pointed toward the bedroom in the main room, her smile not reaching her eyes. "The fine goods you want are in there. Go in now, and you can do whatever you want."