Chapter 22: Be Honest
This translation is originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
The Princess remained calm, soaking in the bath, her gaze fixed on Young Master Meng's every move.
The cloak fell, the outer garment followed, and then the golden silk armor fell.
The Princess counted meticulously, anticipating the next steps, which would involve the inner garment and what lay beneath...
"Your Highness..."
Before the Princess could continue her imaginative musings, Young Master Meng softly remarked, "Could you please close your eyes first? Do not keep staring at me like that."
Rarely hearing the Young Master's tender voice, the Princess quite enjoyed it.
However, even so, she feigned confusion, saying, "But earlier, you did not mind when you looked at me!"
Could it be the same?! Viewing from behind and facing directly, could it be the same?!
Seeing that the Princess was prepared to continue observing, the Young Master felt both angry and regretful.
Why did I not enter the water before Her Highness?
Fortunately, the Princess decided to stop. Without waiting for the Young Master to get frustrated, she turned her body, moving toward the white jade wall beside the bath.
Seeing that the Princess, though not closing her eyes, had stopped staring at her and just silently picked up a soap pod and began wiping her body. Only then did Young Master Meng feel a bit relieved, continuing to undress swiftly and plunging into the water.
Even though she had caught a glimpse of the Young Master's actions from the corner of her eye, the Princess still pretended not to have seen them. After the shy little girl hid her whole body in the water except her head, she took a leisurely look. She walked in the direction of the Young Master and called out seriously: "Chang'an, come here and get the soap pod.”
The expression on her face seemed completely normal; it was hard to detect anything unusual.
Young Master Meng hesitated slightly, feeling that if she walked over like this, she might end up seeing something she shouldn't.
The Young Master was unwilling to take advantage of the Princess. After hesitating, she said consciously: "Your Highness, just throw it over to me!"
"Throw it to you?"
The Princess never expected that the Young Master would suddenly be so smart and even think of such an idea. After a moment of surprise, she said calmly: "Are you sure? Yuechu prepared this soap pod. If it accidentally falls into the water, we will be left without it tonight."
"Do not worry, Your Highness, I can catch it!"
As the Princess expected, the Young Master is always so confident.
This translation is originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
The Princess suppressed her smile and pretended to be distressed, saying, "But, we are so far apart, and I cannot estimate the force accurately. I am afraid I will not be able to throw it to your side."
Young Master Meng examined carefully, and the positions they leaned on were the jade walls on either side of the bath. The distance between them, simply walking straight over, was just about ten steps.
At such a short distance, Young Master Meng thought that someone skilled in martial arts couldn't possibly struggle with controlling such a force.
Having witnessed the Princess' impressive skills in the palace, Young Master Meng firmly believed that her words were just modesty. In reality, it should be no problem for the Princess.
"Your Highness, throw it without worry. I will catch it for sure!"
The smiling Young Master Meng seemed even more confident now.
The Princess, no longer hesitant, simply said, "If I cannot throw it to you, do not blame me."
"Go ahead, I am watching. You can trust me!"
With that, the Princess finally started moving her hand confidently.
Young Master Meng initially thought it would be a smooth catch of the soap pod. Considering their skills, cooperation should have been a breeze.
Unfortunately, she underestimated the mischievous side of the Princess.
Before the soap pod in the Princess' hand could smoothly reach her side, it had already lost its momentum in mid-air, falling softly. And where it was about to land happened to be right in the middle between the two of them.
It was impossible to reach and catch the soap pod with just one hand.
Young Master Meng's immediate reaction was: Her Highness must be doing this on purpose!
Unfortunately, before Young Master Meng could fully grasp why the Princess would do such a thing, her body had already taken action. She leaped out of the water directly from the bath, aimed at the falling soap pod, and intercepted it mid-air, preventing it from landing in the water.
Mm, when this Young Master says she can catch it, she definitely can!
Just as the small triumph filled Young Master Meng's heart, a slight chill on her body made her realize that something seemed a bit off.
There was a strange feeling lingering.
"Wow..."
The black and white, red-leaf-adorned landscape painting fell into the eyes of the Princess, vividly displayed.
Following the exclamation, Young Master Meng saw the Princess' stunned expression, and only then did she realize her own predicament.
At this moment, hovering above the water's surface, Young Master Meng wished she could dig a hole right there and disappear.
Unfortunately, there were no holes available at this time. All that lay before her was the hot water filling the bath.
Feeling extreme embarrassment, Young Master Meng decided not to struggle anymore. She didn't want to awkwardly return the same way in front of the Princess.
Unable to find a hole, Young Master Meng wasn't picky. She simply closed her eyes, tightly gripped the soap pod in her hand, and aimed straight down toward the bath.
Now, she truly had no face to show.
At this moment, Young Master Meng felt an urgent need for that hot bath to clear her head and calm her emotions.
Unfortunately, the Princess by her side wasn't willing to let her have it her way.
Before the Young Master could plunge into the water, the Princess swiftly left the surface, gliding over the water to reach Young Master Meng. Quick-eyed and quick-handed, she caught the silly girl who was falling straight down and blushing all over, then promptly followed her into the water.
Splashing water wet their hair, but with the Princess' assistance, the Young Master avoided the danger of choking on water.
After splashing around in the water and settling back by the stone wall, the Princess, holding Young Master Meng, couldn't summon another round of laughter.
The two tender bodies pressed closely together, even more intimate than in the carriage earlier.
It stirred the mind uncontrollably, an irresistible desire to taste the sweetness.
The sound of heavy breathing next to the warm breath on the cheeks made it impossible to ignore the intoxicating atmosphere. Young Master Meng couldn't help but open her eyes and face reality.
She didn't notice why the Princess' breath had become ragged and assumed it was just exhaustion from the sudden exertion to save her.
The moment their eyes met after the Young Master opened her eyes, her immediate reaction was to raise her hand and cover the Princess' eyes.
"Do not look at me!"
The hand covering her eyes felt soft and gentle, still carrying traces of wet droplets. With a breeze brushing in, it brought warmth accompanied by a hint of coolness.
This mix of warmth and coolness seemed to tickle the Princess even more.
Having sensed the embarrassment in Young Master Meng's tone, the Princess didn't dare to play around anymore. She lightly chuckled and consoled, "Do not be upset; I can close my eyes too."
Upon hearing this, Young Master Meng felt even more embarrassed. She gritted her teeth, wanting to say something but hesitated.
In the end, she suppressed whatever she wanted to express and continued covering the Princess' eyes. "Just release your hand first before we talk..."
With that, the Princess released the hand tightly holding onto Young Master Meng's waist and slightly increased the distance between them.
Before Young Master Meng could retract her hand, the Princess had already raised both of her hands, removing the soft hand covering her eyes.
"Look, if this is not enough, I can let you hold me too."
Meng Chang’an's hand was still firmly held by the Princess. Unable to free herself and with a blush rising on her face, she couldn't bear to look and finally turned her head away.
The Princess' eyes glimmered with a deep affection that refused to dissipate.
Unfortunately, at this moment, Young Master Meng wasn't captivated by the Princess' enticing gaze but was rather drawn to a small dish of soap pods on the jade wall.
Unable to glance freely, she silently stole a look at the soap pod in her other hand, the one she was reluctant to let go even when contemplating entering the water to calm down. Then, she turned to glare at the Princess, saying, "Did you not say there is only one soap pod?"
When the matter was exposed, the Princess knew she was in the wrong, so she had no choice but to let go of the Young Master's hand, reach into the water again, hug the Young Master's waist, and coquettishly kiss her: "I was wrong, I should not have teased you. Can you forgive this time, my lord?"
Meng Chang'an's breath caught, feeling all soft and mushy.
Goblin*, what a goblin!
妖精 (yāojing) - supernatural beings that can be translated as fairy, elf, or goblin, in Chinese folklore they're linked with mischief, coquettishness, or lewdness.
With the Princess behaving so coquettishly, how could Young Master Meng blame her for anything?
How could she bring herself to blame the Princess for anything at all?
Enchanted and dizzy, she even forgot the embarrassment she felt when she wanted to dig a hole just a moment ago.
Glancing at the Princess' fragrant shoulders above the water, Young Master Meng's mind swayed, and she immediately aimed for the Princess' shoulder and gave it a bite.
"Hiss..."
Hearing the Princess' exclamation of pain, Young Master Meng, reluctant to bite too hard, gently grazed the Princess' skin with the tip of her teeth as a playful punishment.
"Chang'an... do not..."
The Princess' voice had taken on a different tone.
It wasn't until the Princess softened, drawing closer into her embrace, and their hands were engaged in a dance of resistance and acceptance that Young Master Meng abruptly realized how ambiguous their current posture had become.
The Young Master quickly raised her head, looking at the Princess with those shimmering eyes. Unable to hold back, she swallowed and whispered, "Next time, do not be so mischievous. Otherwise, I might do more than just bite you, you know."
"You..."
If you have the ability, then go ahead and do more than just bite me!
Now, it was the Princess’ turn to feel embarrassed. The taste of unsatisfied desire was not pleasant, especially when she was currently pinned against the stone wall by Young Master Meng, leaving her powerless to retaliate.
The Princess wished she could knock some sense into Young Master Meng's head right there. However, before she could make a move, her attention was drawn to a large bruise on Young Master Meng's left shoulder.
Forced to endure the discomfort on her own body, the Princess gritted her teeth and pressed her hand onto the injury on Young Master Meng's shoulder.
"Hiss... Is this how you seek revenge?"
Seeing Young Master Meng wincing and exclaiming in pain, the Princess felt slightly relieved.
Well, it's not so easy to escape unharmed after all!
Taking advantage of the situation, the Princess also took a glance at another injury on Young Master Meng's chest, visible just below the water's surface.
Sure enough, similar to her shoulder, not only internal but also external injuries marked the spot where Shen Chi's kick had landed.
"Now you know what pain feels like?"
Following the Princess' gaze down to the water's surface, Young Master Meng also noticed the injury on her chest. A faint circle of bruising, not easily noticeable unless examined closely.
Upon realizing the location of the injury, Young Master Meng quickly turned her back to the Princess.
Before Young Master Meng could say anything, the Princess continued, "After we return to the room, I will help you with the medicine."
Young Master Meng was about to agree when she suddenly remembered that, besides the injury on her shoulder, there was another wound on her chest. She couldn't help but wonder how the Princess planned to treat that one!
Author's Note:
Bathing together is stimulating? Actually, I think applying medicine is even more exciting. Just like before, I'll continue to send red envelopes to the first twenty comments!
