Liking someone probably comes in stages. The first is not liking them. The second is liking them without realizing it. The third is knowing you like them but being unable to say it out loud.
Xie Yu was currently in that third stage.
Her mouth opened and closed for a long time, but no words came out. She also knew she had already raised Shen Changyin's expectations.
Looking at the waiting Shen Changyin, she blinked once, then again—like a street robber—and kissed her again.
After kissing her, she abruptly changed the subject. "It's really late. Let's go, let's go—back inside."
She backed away as she spoke, babbling incoherently, but stepped on a slick patch of grass and immediately fell backward.
When making the swing earlier, she had used a sharp tool and forgotten to put it away. It was hidden in the grass. Now it sliced straight through her clothing, tearing a long gash at her shoulder.
She cried out in pain at once.
Maids and guards rushed over in a panic. One maid responsible for cleaning the courtyard turned pale the moment she saw Xie Yu pick up the rasp-like tool.
"Your Highness—it was me. I forgot it."
She dropped to her knees, begging for forgiveness.
Xie Yu waved her hand. "It's fine. I wasn't watching where I was going. You can leave."
She struggled to stand, swaying slightly. "What's wrong with you?"
Shen Changyin's expression was icy. "Why are you always getting hurt?"
Xie Yu said, "Huh?"
Only then did she see the anger in Shen Changyin's eyes.
"Is your life so cheap? Aren't you made of flesh and blood?"
Fury made her eyes shine. "You don't get angry when you're injured, you don't cry out when you're in pain. Some people struggle desperately just to live—and you treat your own life so lightly."
She flicked her sleeve and left.
Xie Yu stood stunned under the moonlight for a moment before chasing after her into the room.
As soon as she entered, she heard the sound of bottles clattering onto the table. Shen Changyin had opened several bottles of medicine. When she saw Xie Yu approach, she said nothing, grabbed her clothes, and pulled them down.
Xie Yu panicked and clutched her clothes back to herself.
Shen Changyin shot her a glare.
She obediently let go.
In the end, she was left wearing only an inner garment. One sleeve was removed, exposing her shoulder, the wound mottled with blood.
Shen Changyin had her sit in a chair and stood in front of her to apply medicine. Xie Yu tilted her head up and saw that she was still angry.
Xie Yu tilted her head and rose slightly, trying to kiss her.
Shen Changyin turned her head aside to avoid it. Xie Yu immediately chased after her.
She completely forgot about her injury, pecking at her like a fish chasing food.
Shen Changyin dodged a few times, but eventually had nowhere left to hide. Caught firmly, she was kissed several times on the face.
"The wound… the wound," Shen Changyin still worried aloud in the gaps between those "Little Fish" pecks.
"It's not important," Xie Yu said indistinctly, sucking at the skin beneath her eye.
Kissing and kissing, they ended up back in the bedroom.
They had done absurd things on this familiar bed many times before, but on those days, the only clothes scattered on the floor belonged to Shen Changyin.
Xie Yu was always fully dressed—only changing once her cuffs were soaked through.
This time, she stood by the bed and undressed her upper body on her own.
Shen Changyin sat on the edge of the bed and emphasized, "The wound."
Xie Yu casually tossed her inner garment onto the floor, went bare-chested into the main room, fetched gauze, and wrapped it around herself as she walked back, binding her right shoulder diagonally.
She stopped in front of Shen Changyin again, looked down at her, and asked, "What do you want to do?"
Shen Changyin's face was level with Xie Yu's abdomen—lean, defined muscles clearly outlined. She extended her pale fingers and traced downward along the lines of her abs.
This was the first time Shen Changyin had ever seen—or touched—Xie Yu's abdominal muscles. It was the first time she had touched anyone so intimately.
Xie Yu's blood was hot, her body warm. Shen Changyin was naturally cold; her fingertips felt almost scorching against Xie Yu's skin, yet she didn't stop.
Xie Yu let out a soft laugh. "You fake-prudish pervert."
Shen Changyin's fingers moved in a steady pattern across her abdomen. It tickled slightly. Only after being traced several times did Xie Yu realize those pale fingertips were using her skin like paper, writing three characters—Shen Changyin.
Without a word, she drew a boundary and declared it her territory.
Xie Yu muttered, "Pervert."
But she indulged her anyway.
Only after Shen Changyin had had her fill did she lift her head, her eyes slightly damp, and lean down to lick and kiss.
She was extraordinarily patient, as if Xie Yu's flesh were some rare delicacy. Only once a thin sheen of moisture covered Xie Yu's taut muscles did she pause.
Only then did Xie Yu hook her leg, push her toward the inside of the bed, kick off her own trousers, and follow her up.
After abstaining for several days, her skills had instead improved by leaps and bounds—she had grasped many new things.
Very quickly, she had Shen Changyin so overwhelmed that her mind could no longer hold power, the world, or even the wound on Xie Yu's shoulder—there was only the bed beneath the fragrant gauze canopy.
Soon, everything from fingertips to wrists became slick with moisture.
As the scented gauze curtains fluttered, Shen Changyin's expression grew hazy. By accident, she touched the scar on Xie Yu's thigh. The uneven texture jolted her awake instantly.
It was a scar Xie Yu had gotten during flood rescue efforts in the mountains—she had nearly died that time.
Her thoughts plummeted from the clouds. The truth she had deliberately ignored surged back like dark storm clouds, and panic finally appeared in her expression.
Even in her previous life, she had nearly ten years left to live—but Xie Yu had less than three years remaining.
By then, Xie Yu would be confined to her sickbed, kept alive in pain, unable to live yet unable to die.
Cold sweat beaded along the back of her neck.
Xie Yu noticed the change in her expression and realized Shen Changyin's hand was still resting on her scar. Thinking Shen Changyin minded it, she felt a flicker of resentment.
Xie Yu herself didn't care much about it. She wasn't someone who chased flawlessness—sometimes she even felt proud when she looked at that scar.
But thinking that Shen Changyin might prefer unblemished skin made her feel upset.
She pressed Shen Changyin's head down, placed her thigh beside Shen Changyin's leg, almost deliberately letting the scar overlap with Shen Changyin's smooth, delicate skin.
The rubbing of her hands grew more intense.
Even if she was unwilling, Shen Changyin was soon completely pulled away, all her attention swept off her feet again. Her gaze held nothing now but the gauze canopy swaying above her head.
Before long, Xie Yu's palm filled with a small pool of clear liquid.
She knelt upright, palm facing upward, studying it with curiosity. In the shimmering surface, she could faintly see her own reflection. She raised an eyebrow.
She lingered a little too long.
Shen Changyin propped herself up on her arm and pulled Xie Yu's hand over. "What's so interesting?"
She looked at the small pool of clear liquid, then at Xie Yu. Under Xie Yu's gaze, she flipped Xie Yu's palm over, letting the liquid slide down over her own chest.
Xie Yu's thigh instantly tensed. The scar there looked a little more vicious as a result. Her voice went hoarse, but she didn't speak—only let out two soft breaths before lowering herself again.
The night was long. The fragrant snow-white gauze canopy was seized again and again by two pale hands, pinched into wrinkles, pulled until it warped.
At one moment when their bodies pressed tightly together, the wound on Xie Yu's shoulder began to seep blood again, staining the bandages red.
She didn't care at all. Pressing her forehead against Shen Changyin's, she made a low, hoarse demand.
"The night of the mountain flood—what you said to me then. Say it again."
That day, Shen Changyin had bid farewell to Xie Yu as she went to rescue people, confessed her feelings, and demanded an answer.
Now Xie Yu was asking her to repeat that question.
Shen Changyin's eyes were unfocused, her fingers buried tightly in Xie Yu's dark hair. She refused to be led astray, waiting until her reason slowly returned, her eyes rolling faintly upward—then she laughed softly.
"I won't say it."
"If you want to answer that question, then you have to be the one who asks it."
Xie Yu refused. She clung to her, sticky and clingy, nibbling densely along the edge of her ear, insisting she say it again.
Shen Changyin never did.
They went at it until the sun began to rise, only then falling into a deep sleep, sleeping straight through to the afternoon.
Shen Changyin woke earlier.
When Xie Yu woke up, she found that the other woman had already gotten out of bed once, retrieved the ancient book from the night before, and was calmly reading beside her.
Xie Yu glanced at it and her head immediately started to ache—no punctuation, strange structure, dense and obscure. She couldn't stand to look at even a single line.
Then, in the instant she looked away, she decided that at some point, she would say those four words out loud.
She gazed at the pink-white gauze canopy overhead and pressed her lips together in a smile.
When Shen Changyin called her, she put the smile away and replied seriously, "What is it?"
—
After last night, both of them woke up refreshed today and spent a quiet, uninterrupted holiday at home.
But by evening, there was no avoiding being busy again.
Tomorrow, the Jiangnan Navy would arrive in the capital. The empress had decided to personally lead the civil and military officials to welcome them at the Grand Canal pier.
As the two undeniable focal points of the court, Xie Yu and Shen Changyin naturally couldn't avoid preparing in advance.
The arrival of the Jiangnan Navy did not forbid commoners from watching, so this would be the first time the two of them appeared publicly before the people.
The pressure on the Ministry of Rites was obvious. Vice Minister Zhang bustled about, trying to ensure nothing went wrong.
Xie Yu and Shen Changyin listened as she explained the entire procedure.
Xie Yu then asked, "What kind of style does the Jiangnan Navy have?"
Vice Minister Zhang talked for a long while, gulped down her tea, set the cup on the table, and only then said, "Unruly and overbearing."
Xie Yu's brow twitched. She hadn't expected such a description.
Shen Changyin, on the other hand, showed no reaction.
Vice Minister Zhang said, "You also know that when Her Majesty failed in the succession struggle, she fled to Jiangnan. She later rose again from Jiangnan and returned to the capital—the Shen family was her support."
"Later, when Her Majesty traveled incognito to Jiangnan, she took a liking to a peasant woman and had you, Third Highness. She immediately arranged your engagement with the Shen family's eldest legitimate daughter."
Under the table, Xie Yu quietly reached for Shen Changyin's hand and gave it a squeeze.
"The Shen family rendered meritorious service in supporting the throne and is deeply trusted by His Majesty. The Jiangnan Navy is indeed capable and formidable—so much so that even the Imperial Guard doesn't enter their eyes."
She added, "However, while most Jiangnan Navy officers have that kind of temperament, the commander—Lady Shen—is a steady person. You needn't worry too much tomorrow."
After seeing Vice Minister Zhang off, the next day quickly arrived.
Xie Yu and Shen Changyin both wore their official robes—one bright yellow, one deep purple. They rode fine horses brought back from the northwest, following behind the empress's carriage.
From the moment they left the palace, the streets were packed with commoners, all craning their necks to stare at the two of them.
The sunlight today was perfect, illuminating their brows and eyes.
The crowd's chatter quickly shifted from "Which one is the Crown Princess?" and "That horse is so tall" to "The Crown Princess and the Regent are such a good match," "The Crown Princess looks so noble," and "The Regent is actually more beautiful."
They rode all the way to the Grand Canal pier outside the capital. At a glance, countless large ships, with smaller boats clustered around them, completely covered the surface of the river.
Sails and flags fluttered, countless characters bearing the surname "Shen" swaying in the wind.
The empress stepped down from her carriage and personally went to the pier to receive them. A large ship docked beside the pier lowered its wooden gangway, and from the ship walked down a middle-aged woman in armor—heroic in bearing, taciturn and steady.
She bowed to the empress the moment she disembarked. The empress quickly pulled her up, and the two exchanged reminiscences.
Xie Yu and Shen Changyin stood quietly behind the empress, saying nothing.
The middle-aged woman then turned her gaze to Xie Yu, clasped her fists, and bowed her head. "Your Highness, Crown Princess. Today, I can finally meet you."
Her attitude toward Xie Yu showed none of the "arrogance" Vice Minister Zhang had described—instead, it was thoroughly respectful.
The woman lifted her head. "My daughter is here as well. She has thought of you day and night and can finally behold your countenance."
What?
Before Xie Yu could react, lighter footsteps sounded from the ship. Someone wearing a veiled hat, dressed in pale blue-white robes, stepped gracefully down.
The wind lifted the white gauze of the veil, revealing only half a face—fair skin, red lips.
She moved like a drifting cloud until she reached Xie Yu, bent in greeting, then removed the veiled hat and smiled gently at her.
"Third Highness."
Shen Changyin suddenly took Xie Yu's hand.
—
T/N: If you're enjoying this translation, feel free to check out my Patreon. If you're unable to support financially, you can still subscribe for free and receive chapters two hours earlier, along with updates and announcements. Paid tiers offer early access and daily chapters.
Thank you so much for reading!
patreon.com/Baenz