Shen Yangge's breathing stalled for a moment.
His almond-shaped eyes filled with disbelief. Chu Xuanzhen had spoken very quietly, but that did not mean he was too quiet to hear.
A few strands of hair at his temples were damp with sweat, and his collar had loosened considerably from his little jog. Even the hand being held had a stretch of fair forearm exposed where his sleeve had slipped.
His palm... was a little clammy.
Chu Xuanzhen stood in the corridor, half a head taller than him, looking him over through lowered lashes. His clothes were plain, worlds apart from how he dressed in the Eastern Palace, yet even so, his bearing and presence surpassed everyone else's.
It was as though he had been born with that intimidating air.
No matter what this man wore, he carried an innate nobility that no one could match.
Shen Yangge briefly lost himself staring into Chu Xuanzhen's eyes. His heart skipped a beat, then he abruptly came to his senses and yanked his hand free, hiding it beneath his sleeve. "Your Highness, I believe you when you say that only one room in this courtyard residence has a bed and the others have none."
He pretended not to have heard Chu Xuanzhen's insane remark, then raised his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his forehead. In the sweltering summer heat, even a short jog left him panting, and the underclothes against his back were soaked through.
They clung tightly to his back, too, making him uncomfortable.
But he could not worry about that now. If only one room had a bed, what about washing up?
Surely there was not just one place to bathe, too?
For some inexplicable reason, Shen Yangge recalled his days in the Eastern Palace. Back then, that bastard Crown