Although Qiao Qiao cursed Xiu'er in her heart, she really had no choice but to swallow her anger and accept all of Xiu'er's attacks.
She took off her clothes and got into bed as Xiu'er had requested.
The weather was already quite cool, and coupled with her overwhelming shame, Qiao Qiao instinctively reached for the blanket.
Xiu'er, however, deliberately teased her, saying seriously, "Are you going to let the Prince in to look at the quilt?"
Qiao Qiao stopped moving, feeling so cold that her hair stood on end. She bit her lip and whispered, "Will my cousin think I'm... promiscuous?"
"To become a concubine, one must be promiscuous and shameless?" Xiu'er scoffed. "You think you're here to be a princess? You'd better go home and tell your father to be more ambitious!"
Qiao Qiao's face turned purplish-red.
Xiu'er ignored her and walked to the incense burner on her own. She blew on the tinder and lit the incense sticks. White smoke slowly rose into the air, carrying a sweet fragrance.
"What's this?"
Xiu'er Zidu lift her eyelids. "You think I didn't have to spend some money after receiving two thousand taels of silver from you, the thing that blinded the prince?"
"Yes, the fragrance of mimosa?"
"You seem to know quite a lot." Xiu'er deliberately held her breath and said, "You lie down properly. I'll bring the Prince here in about fifteen minutes when it will take effect."
Qiao Qiao bit her lip, hugging her chest and trembling, "Okay."
Xiu'er didn't look at her again, closed the door, and went out.
Qiao Qiao lay in bed, increasingly feeling something was amiss.
What if Xiu'er plotted against her? What if she accepted her own money and then went to Tang Zhuyun to curry favor? Who would be the next to enter?
Qiao Qiao wanted to flee in panic.
But what if Xiu'er really wants to help me?
Two thousand taels of silver, a complete falling out with my sister, and then nothing to show for it, only to slink back home and be scolded by her? No.
For a moment, Qiao Qiao was caught in a dilemma.
Gradually, her consciousness began to blur, her body grew heavier and heavier, and she uncontrollably fell into a deep sleep.
The incense smoke curled gently, and the room was completely quiet.
Xiu'er licked her index finger and poked a hole in the window paper. Seeing that Qiao Qiao's eyes were tightly closed, she said, "It should be done now. Song Jingyang, come and take a look."
Song Jingyang covered his eyes. "No, no."
Xiu'er rolled her eyes. "If I give you a discount, will you take advantage of it?"
"I don't want what isn't yours."
Xiu'er pinched him hard. "Trying to take advantage of me! Dream on!"
Song Jingyang chuckled at her, "Dream on! You're beautiful!"
Xiu'er glared at him. "Stop talking nonsense! What are your plans, Your Highness? Should we send a man in?"
Song Jingyang quickly shook his head. "No."
Xiu'er narrowed her eyes. "Taking pity on a beautiful woman?"
"No," Song Jingyang said, "Even if we don't care about the monk, we have to consider the Buddha's sake, and also the face of my uncle. Good Xiu'er, keep an eye on her, and cover her with a blanket... She'll wake up soon, I'll call the Prince."
"How do you know she wasn't covered by a blanket?" Xiu'er asked, her eyes wide.
"I heard what you said just now." Song Jingyang smiled honestly, "Don't worry, I won't even look at her even if she comes to earth."
Qiao Qiao fell into a deep sleep after being drugged, and it would take at least half an hour for her to wake up.
Xiu'er wasn't in a hurry, so she started arguing with Song Jingyang.
"Is the Prince truly showing leniency because of his maternal uncle, or does he have some other motive?"
A man showing affection for other women is a very bad sign.
"How could I possibly have any other thoughts?" Song Jingyang said honestly. "After all, they are our own sisters. Whether you scold or beat them, or send them away, it's because you're disappointed in them. But to insult them... don't you think that's like slapping yourself in the face?"
Xiu'er could understand, but she still said resentfully, "Having relatives like this is truly the worst luck imaginable. Didn't your uncle even bother to find out before adopting me?"
Like begets like, and a mouse's son loves to dig holes.
The uncle is actually quite normal; for him to raise such a degenerate child, it's not that he didn't teach him well, it's that his very foundation is rotten.
Listening to her nagging and cursing, Song Jingyang didn't dare to breathe loudly, for fear of letting something slip.
--How could we say the root of the problem is rotten? The one lying in the room could very well be the prince's own sister!
Just then, Huaishang arrived.
"His Highness sent me to inquire about the progress," he said, scratching his head. "I still need to send someone to fetch my uncle."
Single people see Zidu in pairs, and can only feel envy at this real couple.
Xiu'er said, "We'll have to wait a while. Huaishang, you'll accompany the Prince inside later."
"Why?"
"Because I'm jealous," Xiu'er said matter-of-factly.
Huaishang: "..."
That's really unfair to single people.
He also wants to find a wife.
Xiu'er blinked, then whispered gossip, "Nanxing..."
Huaishang took two steps back in fright. "I didn't mention that. There's nothing between me and her."
Xiu'er pouted. "I dare to do it but not admit it. If I like it, I like it. What's there to be afraid of?"
"He's afraid of getting beaten up," Song Jingyang said from the side. "He told Nanxing, Nanxing said he'd beat him up if he said it again."
Xiu'er: "And then he didn't dare to? He deserves to never find a wife."
Huaishang blushed crimson from their back-and-forth teasing and said, "No, it was Nanxing who said he didn't like me..."
"And then?" Xiu'er asked.
Huaishang honestly replied, "If you don't like me, I can't force you. Let's take our time finding someone else."
Xiu'er, unusually serious, replied, "That's true."
Forced melons are never sweet, especially Nanxing; it won't eat soft or hard, and it won't tolerate any salt or oil.
Joking is fine, but seriously encouraging Huaishang to hang himself on one tree is just foolish.
Seeing that she was very agreeable, Huaishang tentatively said, "If you meet someone suitable, please keep an eye on them for me. Jingyang and I have been brothers for many years."
"I've only eaten one meal with him, just one." Song Jingyang held up one index finger.
Huaishang got anxious. "Nonsense, it's clearly two meals."
Xiu'er was speechless.
After a while, Xiu'er noticed that Qiao Qiao's breathing and body movements seemed to be more pronounced, knowing that she was about to wake up. She said, "Quick, go and call someone, the show is about to begin."
Prince of Jin entered the room first.
However, Xiu'er couldn't let him suffer a loss—it belonged to her mistress, and it wouldn't be clean if he saw other women, so she had already pulled the blanket up for Qiao Qiao beforehand, leaving only her fair shoulders exposed...
"Your Highness, why don't you take off your clothes?"
Xiu'er thought to herself, "They're just like abacus beads; they won't move unless you tamper with them."
The Prince of Jin frowned, reluctantly unbuttoned his outer robe, and sat down at the table with his back to the bed, his brows furrowed so deeply they looked like they could trap a fly.
Xiu'er anxiously cautioned, "Your Highness, your uncle will definitely say that someone was working with this fool. You must protect me, otherwise we won't be able to explain to the Empress."
Upon hearing her words, the Prince of Jin's expression softened slightly, and he raised an eyelid. "The next one will be even better."
Xiu'er: "Men are, not servants."
After saying that, she raised her head high and went out.
He got out of breath when they said he was fat; Xiu'er is the Empress's woman!