The concubine was charming and alluring, and the ruthless prince coaxed her day and night.

Chapter 82 It's all just acting.

"Nanjun is mostly mountainous and forested, with heavy miasma and many insects. I have ordered Lianye to prepare some insect-repelling herbs, grind them into powder, and put them in a sachet later. You can carry it with you to avoid insects. It's better than nothing."

Xu Jiaojiao picked up the medicine powder from the bottle and showed it to Prince Chen.

A faint medicinal fragrance lingered around his nose, and a warm feeling welled up in Zhao Yunzheng's heart.

He still wears the summer-cooling fragrant beads that Xu Jiaojiao carved for him on his wrist, and now she is making an insect-repelling sachet for him.

She always thought of him in this way…

Zhao Yunzheng's heart trembled: "Such a small matter can be done by the servants. Why do you have to stay up all night to embroider the sachet? Besides, the injury on your hand has not yet healed. If it leaves a lingering problem, I will feel sorry for you and blame myself."

Xu Jiaojiao's face paled, and she hurriedly waved her hand, explaining hastily, "My hand is mostly healed. It's just embroidering a sachet; it won't leave any lasting effects... Besides... besides..."

Her eyes reddened, and she lowered her head in embarrassment: "Besides, this auspicious sachet should be embroidered by hand to show sincerity; I don't want to entrust it to someone else..."

Zhao Yunzheng was deeply shaken and couldn't help but feel pity for Xu Jiaojiao. His love for her grew wildly like spring grass and couldn't be calmed for a long time.

Seeing the tenderness in Prince Chen's eyes, Xu Jiaojiao anticipated that he would try to stop her from finishing the embroidery, so she preemptively cut him off before he could speak: "This sachet will be finished in just a few stitches, Your Highness. Please let me finish it, just so I can have peace of mind. I beg you..."

The soft and gentle "Please" was filled with tender affection.

Looking into Xu Jiaojiao's pleading eyes, Zhao Yunzheng's heart softened completely: "Silly woman..."

……

When they left Yuhua Courtyard, Zhao Yunzheng had an insect-repelling sachet in his arms, and Yingyi had two large boxes of steaming pastries in his hands.

Watching Prince Chen's tall figure gradually walk away, Xu Jiaojiao lowered her eyes, turned around and went back to the courtyard.

Sitting on the bed, all the reluctance in her eyes vanished, and she indifferently rubbed her aching neck.

The amount of medicine in the sachet can keep the fragrance going for more than half a month. As long as Prince Chen keeps the sachet with him, he can always smell the faint herbal scent.

Even if she couldn't be by Prince Chen's side in person, she wanted to fill every aspect of his life with her presence.

She wanted to make herself an addiction that Prince Chen couldn't break...

……

Ten days later, in Nanjun.

Zhao Yunzheng personally killed the bandit leader and won a great victory.

On the eve of their triumphant return to the capital, Zhao Yunzheng, accompanied by Yingyi, made an incognito inspection of Nanjun City.

Along the way, whenever he saw local specialties of Nanjun, he would inadvertently think of Xu Jiaojiao. As a result, by the time he returned to camp, Yingyi no longer had the hands to carry any more things.

That night, Zhao Yunzheng rode back to the capital ahead of schedule, partly to personally investigate the situation, and partly to give Xu Jiaojiao a surprise.

After three days of travel, Zhao Yunzheng returned to Kyoto a day earlier than expected.

To avoid alerting the enemy, he dressed in ordinary clothes and wore a mask as he wandered through the dark alleys of Kyoto. By the time he had gathered the information he wanted, the moon had already set and dawn was approaching.

He secretly thought that Xu Jiaojiao was probably still asleep at this hour, so he carefully sneaked into Yuhua Courtyard, intending to take a quick look at Xu Jiaojiao before returning to the army stationed in the suburbs of the capital.

At that time, inside Yuhua Courtyard.

Knowing that Prince Chen would return to the capital today, Xu Jiaojiao got up before dawn and asked Lianye to help her apply a subtle, natural makeup look.

Prince Chen's favorite look is a subtle, natural-looking makeup.

This made her appear especially innocent and pure, like a clean little white flower untouched by worldly affairs.

The makeup looks like she's not wearing any powder, but it's actually very detailed and not easy to do, so she has to get up early to prepare.

Seeing her tired, Lianye felt a pang of heartache: "Your Highness is beautiful no matter how you dress up, why torture yourself by getting up so early?"

Xu Jiaojiao broke off a segment of orange and put it in her mouth.

The sweet and sour juice burst in her mouth, and she squinted her eyes contentedly, feeling much better: "Other outfits are beautiful, but the prince especially loves this look. He has been away from the capital for half a month and has not returned. I want to appear before him in the way he likes best."

Lianye smiled teasingly: "The mistress really loves the prince very much. She goes to such lengths to make the prince happy."

Looking at her exquisite reflection in the mirror, Xu Jiaojiao picked up the eyebrow pencil and carefully began to draw her eyebrows, murmuring, "It's just acting..."

Outside the door, Zhao Yunzheng, who was about to push the door open and enter, paused slightly.

Inside the room, Lianye paused in her work as she was dressing Xu Jiaojiao.

The smile on her face gradually disappeared, leaving only astonishment and panic, her voice trembling as she asked, "Master, what did you say?"

Xu Jiaojiao was slightly taken aback.

Realizing that she had momentarily lost her senses and blurted out her innermost thoughts, she felt a sudden tremor in her heart and tightened her grip on Mei Dai's hand slightly.

But when she thought of Lianye's unwavering loyalty to her and the many things they had planned together, she felt relieved.

I suppose Lianye won't betray me, as long as Prince Chen doesn't hear these words.

She exhaled a breath of stale air and lowered her brows: "It's nothing, just something I said casually. Lianye, go check if the pastries in the oven are done. The Prince doesn't like the smell of burnt pastries, so make sure they're not overcooked."

Lianye responded blankly, put down the white jade comb in her hand, and turned to walk out of the house.

"Squeak..."

The cold night wind blew back into the house, instantly invigorating the spirits.

The shadow before her eyes startled Lianye once again.

Looking up and seeing the man's familiar face, Lianye's pupils dilated, and she instantly knelt down in panic: "This servant greets Your Highness!"

Inside the room, Xu Jiaojiao froze, looking over in disbelief.

Their eyes met. The man's lips were taut, and his deep eyes were eerily calm, as if concealing a storm about to erupt, making one's heart pound with unease.

Xu Jiaojiao pursed her lips, stood up nervously, and secretly prayed that Prince Chen had not heard what she had just said.

Feigning composure, she slowly stepped forward, gave a delicate bow, and smiled charmingly: "Why has Your Highness suddenly returned?"

Zhao Yunzheng's emotionless eyes fell on Xu Jiaojiao's stunningly beautiful face, and he remained silent for a long time.

The atmosphere froze. Fear filled Lianye's eyes as she knelt on the ground, motionless, filled with unease.

Looking at the man's cold and stern face, Xu Jiaojiao's heart sank.

finished...

Her heart pounded wildly, her forced smile gradually faded, and even her breathing became cautious.

"Your Majesty..."

She spoke softly, but before she could utter a word, Prince Chen chuckled, cutting her off from the rest of his words: "If I hadn't returned early, who knows how long you would have kept deceiving me..."

The man's voice was calm, but the menacing aura emanating from him sent chills down Xu Jiaojiao's spine. Her face paled, and her legs instinctively gave way, causing her to kneel down.

The atmosphere was tense. Lianye, standing to the side, knelt down, flustered, cautious, and apprehensive, trying to plead for her master: "Your Highness..."

Before he could even open his mouth, a man's voice, laced with hidden anger, came from above: "Shut up if you don't want to die."

Lianye trembled, then prostrated herself on the ground in fear, daring not to utter another sound…