Chapter 45: Interlocking Fingers 

The Princess' charming demeanor almost overwhelmed Young Master Meng.

Yes, yes, anything is fine!

At that moment, Young Master Meng just wanted to give her all to fulfill the Princess' wish.

Fortunately, it was just a brief impulse. Young Master Meng finally regained some of her sanity and silently swallowed the words that almost escaped her lips. She only gazed blankly at the Princess' captivating eyes and responded tactfully, "As long as it is something I can do, it is okay..."

With that, the Princess' hand, which had been on Young Master Meng's lips, gradually moved down, brushing over Young Master Meng's burning neck and resting on her chest, quietly feeling her intense heartbeat.

"Can it really be anything?"

The Princess' fingertips shifted slightly, landing on the soft spot beside Young Master Meng's heart. Then, she bent her finger a bit, lightly scratching the subtle protrusion beneath her fingertip.

The delicate movement seemed as if it was just an accidental touch.

However, just this light scratch made Young Master Meng tremble all over, leaving her weak and limp on the spot.

After all, they had already been intimate, so just this small action made Young Master Meng understand the meaning behind it.

She bit her lip, embarrassed, and turned her head away, too shy to meet the Princess' gaze.

“It does not hurt... if I give it a try..."

The soft, tender murmur made the Princess' heart beat faster and faster.

Young Master Meng only knew how captivating the Princess was at this moment but did not realize how alluring she looked herself, with her flushed face and heated body, in the Princess' eyes.

Li Qiubai was truly afraid that if she looked any longer, she would no longer be able to contain her desires and would devour this person alive, peel her skin off, tear apart her bones, and consume them right into her stomach.

Fortunately, Young Master Meng's wandering gaze finally helped the Princess regain some of her sanity.

After calming her intense emotions a bit, the Princess gently laughed and said, "Silly girl, I was just teasing you. Why did you take it seriously?"

After speaking, she climbed down from the couch where she had been with Young Master Meng and stood up, saying, "Since you have sobered up, it is quite late now. It is time to rest."

As she spoke, the Princess had already untied her belt and taken off her wet clothes, walking slowly towards the inner room.

The Princess left briskly, but after being teased by her, Young Master Meng was not feeling so comfortable.

With her whole body still burning with desire, Young Master Meng felt extremely uncomfortable all over.

Oh, so I have been tricked by this woman again.

Young Master Meng sulked silently on the soft couch, secretly observing how the Princess, who had already entered the inner room, was moving.

Seeing that the Princess seemed to have no intention of further engaging with her, as if she had ignored her existence altogether and quietly changed into nightclothes, Young Master Meng angrily jumped off the couch.

"Since it is late, I will not disturb Your Highness' rest any longer. I shall take my leave."

As she spoke, Young Master Meng carefully observed the Princess' reaction.

But from her vantage point, all she could see was the Princess' smooth back.

Without giving Young Master Meng much chance to look, the pristine, jade skin was already covered by a thin nightgown.

Then came the Princess' calm voice.

"Mm, remember to close the door for me."

Young Master Meng felt aggrieved.

"Oh."

After reluctantly responding with a sigh, and seeing that the Princess really had no intention of detaining her, but was busy straightening her nightgown and hair from within her clothes, Young Master Meng finally walked towards the door in a sullen mood.

Just as she was about to open the door, Young Master Meng, who had walked barefoot all the way, belatedly realized.

"Where are my shoes?"

With that, the Princess, who had already entered the inner room, gently raised the corners of her mouth.

"They were too dirty, I have already thrown them away for you."

"Thrown away? What am I supposed to wear then?"

After asking, Young Master Meng realized what this meant.

But in an instant, a bright smile appeared on Young Master Meng's face. Immediately releasing the hand from the door latch, she ran barefoot into the inner room and asked beside the Princess, "Tell me, were you intentionally trying to keep me from leaving?"

The Princess' smile did not diminish, calmly gazing at the uncontrollable smile on Young Master Meng's lips.

She had thought that, like the moon that cannot be fished out from under the sea, her beloved was also unreachable.

But now, the beloved she had thought was distant and unreachable had actually turned back to glance at her.

Not only did she glance back at her, but this time, she even took the initiative to approach her side.

Thinking of this, the Princess' gaze towards Young Master Meng softened even more.

"If you really want to leave, what does it matter if you have no shoes?"

It was fortunate that Young Master Meng didn't look up at this moment, failing to meet the Princess' gaze, thus avoiding being drowned in the Princess' spring-filled eyes.

"Without shoes, how will I walk outside? Look, my feet are all dirty!"

Young Master Meng pointed earnestly at her feet, then took advantage of the situation to continue, "Tell me, if you threw away my shoes, how are you going to compensate me?!"

With that, the Princess reached out and held the finger that Young Master Meng was pointing at her foot, gently shaking it in her hand. She asked, "So... if I compensate you, will that be enough?"

In this way, Young Master Meng truly felt the Princess' intention to keep her.

The feeling of ecstasy was just that.

Young Master Meng hooked her finger, directly holding onto the Princess' finger, looking up at her with a suppressed smile, and said, "So, are you inviting me to stay the night?"

Although they had only been together for a few days, the Princess had more or less figured out Young Master Meng's stubborn nature. She knew there were some things Young Master Meng would never say on her own, so she indulgently smiled and said, "Yes, yes, being alone, especially late at night, is lonely and sleepless. Would you mind staying with me, Young Master Meng?"

Young Master Meng was finally somewhat satisfied, raising an eyebrow and smiling, "Since Your Highness put it that way, I will reluctantly stay and accompany you for the night."

The ambiguous actions from earlier still lingered in Young Master Meng's mind.

She wasn't sure what would happen after staying, she only knew that at this moment, even if she had shoes, she wouldn't want to leave.

Luckily, the Princess didn't intend to push her thoughts further. Seeing Young Master Meng happy, she released her hand and turned to the wardrobe, fetching a set of night clothes and tossing them directly to Young Master Meng.

"Change into these, and wait for me."

In her gentle and soft tone, there was also an unmistakable joy.

Young Master Meng finally understood this time.

She wasn't awkward at all. She stood right where the Princess had just changed her clothes and boldly changed into her nightwear.

After she finished changing and looked back, she saw the Princess holding the basin she had used to wash her face earlier, with a slight smile on her face as she leaned against the side, quietly watching her.

At that moment, Young Master Meng seemed to suddenly understand why she had been so eager to come and see the Princess.

She didn't need much, just seeing the Princess' curved eyes and brows, she was already content.

Before she could call out to clarify her intentions, the Princess had already lifted her foot and walked towards Young Master Meng, freeing up a hand to pull her over to sit on the edge of the bed.

It wasn't until Young Master Meng's feet were placed in the basin by the Princess that she suddenly realized what was happening— the Princess was squatting down and bending over to personally wash her feet.

Young Master Meng was pleasantly surprised.

“No, no! I can just do it myself...”

Before Young Master Meng could pull her feet back, the Princess quickly grabbed them, halting her attempt to retreat. She then looked up with a smile, observing Young Master Meng's flustered expression.

"Do not move around. If you get me wet again, I will not let you off so easily."

Get wet...

Young Master Meng bit her lip, hesitant to meet the Princess' focused gaze again.

The dignified Princess, actually condescended to wash her feet for her?

At that moment, Young Master Meng felt a mix of emotions. She saw the Princess insisting on personally washing away the dirt from her feet, and her eyes unexpectedly turned red without restraint.

After tilting her head and blinking hard, she turned back to watch the Princess’ movements.

The Princess held Young Master Meng's clean ankle like a precious treasure, carefully wiping it with a damp white cloth.

Although the water in the basin had cooled considerably, Young Master Meng's heart felt incredibly warm.

That clumsy but serious movement made Young Master Meng feel touched and bitter.

This was the first time someone, aside from her closest kin, had treated her like this.

"Your Highness..." 

Young Master Meng hesitated briefly, then when the Princess finally looked up at her, she continued, "Are you always this caring toward your chess pieces?"

"Chess piece?" 

Li Qiubai finally looked at Young Master Meng and smiled, "Do you think if you were just a chess piece, you would deserve to be treated like this by me?"

With that said, Young Master Meng felt even more sad.

"Even if I am not a chess piece, I do not deserve it."

The Princess never expected that simply washing this person's feet would make her eyes red.

A silly girl is just a silly girl.

The Princess smiled helplessly.

After personally wiping Young Master Meng's feet clean and then cleaning her own hands, the Princess stood up and positioned herself in front of the Young Master. She raised her hand and gently stroked her head, softly running her fingers through her hair.

"In this world, if even you are not deserving, then who else is?"

With just this light remark, Young Master Meng was already captivated.

Before Young Master Meng could figure out whether the Princess's words were a joke or sincere, she was gently pushed onto the bed.

"Do not overthink it. Rest now, so you will not have a headache tomorrow."

The quilt cover had been changed to a fresh set, erasing all traces of the night they had spent together.

Yet as Young Master Meng lay on the bed once more, memories of that night flooded back uncontrollably.

Unfortunately, this time, the Princess no longer rubbed against her like she had in the previous days.

There was now a clear boundary between them.

This was the distance she had initially wanted to maintain upon entering the Princess’ residence. But now, she felt that this distance seemed too far.

Young Master Meng didn't know what desires the Princess was trying hard to restrain and suppress. She simply thought the Princess must be tired, causing her to behave unusually.

Lying on the same bed, listening to the clear sound of the person next to her breathing, even though she was in a foreign land, Young Master Meng felt incredibly at ease.

After a long silence without the Princess speaking again, Young Master Meng couldn't hold back any longer. She slowly moved the hand hidden under the quilt towards the right side.

She tentatively touched the Princess' hand, and when there was no evasion from her, Young Master Meng dared to continue her action, slipping into the Princess' palm.

Though the lights were still on, Young Master Meng, harboring clandestine thoughts, nervously refrained from turning her head or gauging the Princess' reaction.

Carefully clasping her hand into the Princess' palm, intertwining their fingers, Young Master Meng finally smiled faintly with satisfaction.

Just holding hands like this, fingers intertwined, was enough to satisfy Young Master Meng.

Unfortunately, she underestimated the Princess' long-suppressed desires.

The moment she held her hand, the Princess could no longer restrain her emotions.

"Chang'an."

Before Young Master Meng could respond, the Princess had already rolled over and half-pressed down on Young Master Meng's body.

Young Master Meng's stolen smile on her face had yet to be put away, and she met the Princess' deep eyes head-on.

The breathing, so close, seemed heavier than before.

Next, what fell on her ear was the Princess’ almost breathless murmur.

"Do you know how I spent last night without you?"