The Crazy Emperor's Pampered Cousin

Shen Tinghe's breath was ragged from the kiss, her fingertips weakly pressing against his chest, and she gasped softly between breaths, "Brother... um..."

Xie Yanzhao's fingertips brushed across the corner of her lips, sealing her voice once more, their lips entwined in a soft whisper.

"Sweetheart, Jiaojiao...it'll be over soon." His warm hand took her trembling hand and gently guided it towards...

……

Ultimately, it didn't reach the final step.

But Shen Tinghe was already in a daze, her eyes were covered with a layer of shimmering water, her lips were red and swollen, and her cheeks were still wet with tears.

Xie Yanzhao pulled her into his arms, gently stroking her back to soothe her and speaking in a doting tone as if comforting a child.

"Jiaojiao is so good."

He gently touched her wet eyelashes with his lips.

"I'll have someone make your favorite osmanthus-flavored pastry later, okay?"

Shen Tinghe glanced weakly at Xie Yanzhao, her eyes reddening slightly, like a wronged kitten. She slowly buried her face in his neck and rubbed against him.

"It hurts~" she said in a sticky voice.

Xie Yanzhao wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his embrace.

"The mouth?"

"Um."

Xie Yanzhao: "Shall I put some medicine on for you, brother?"

"No, it's too greasy."

Shen Tinghe wrinkled her nose, her cheek still pressed against his.

Xie Yanzhao feigned contemplation, twirling a strand of her hair between his fingers:

"What can we do then? We'll just have to have someone make another batch of pine nut rolls for Jiao Jiao."

Shen Tinghe's eyes lit up for a moment, but she quickly lowered her gaze and pretended to be reserved as she pursed her still stinging lips.

"That's not enough... my mouth hurts a lot."

Xie Yanzhao chuckled softly, his voice lazy and low: "Your brother taught you this: if you're too greedy, you might end up with nothing."

Shen Tinghe pouted her reddened lips, leaned limply on his shoulder, and mumbled softly.

"What kind of Crown Princess is she? She wants to eat something delicious, but she has to defer to His Highness's attitude..."

Xie Yanzhao pinched her waist lightly, eliciting a soft gasp from her.

"That's not what Yuan Yuan said when she bit me just now."

Shen Tinghe glanced guiltily at his shoulder.

The teeth marks left during the passion were still clearly visible, a deep circle, still glowing with a fresh red, standing out against his fair skin.

She did bite quite hard at the time.

The night was as dark as ink, and the chill of autumn mountains silently seeped into the campsite with the night wind.

The camp lights gradually went out, leaving only the regular, heavy footsteps of the patrolling guards and the occasional light clinking of armor.

Inside the main tent, Shen Tinghe had already drifted off to sleep in Xie Yanzhao's arms, her breathing light and even.

Xie Yanzhao's hand loosely rested on her waist, her soft body outline beneath his palm, while he himself was on the languid edge of sleep.

"Your Highness."

Qi Lu's low but clear voice suddenly rang out from outside the tent.

Xie Yanzhao opened his eyes almost as soon as the sound rang out, his sleepiness vanishing instantly, leaving only a deep, clear darkness in his eyes.

Shen Tinghe in his arms was also startled. Her long eyelashes trembled, her brows furrowed slightly, and she opened her eyes groggily, still looking confused.

Xie Yanzhao was about to raise his hand to pat her back and whisper comforting words when he saw that she had opened her eyes and was looking up at him.

A flicker of annoyance crossed his mind, but he didn't stop. He pulled her up to sit, then casually pulled the heavy quilt over her and wrapped her up tightly.

Then he spoke in a deep voice, "What is it?"

Qi Lu felt a tightness in his scalp outside the tent.

He knew perfectly well that disturbing them at this time would be a grave taboo; His Highness the Crown Prince and the Empress had probably only recently rested, and might even...

But he had no choice but to report, "Your Highness, the heir apparent of Marquis Wuyin, Song Yisheng, was found dead at the foot of the western hunting cliff half an hour ago. The Third Princess and the heir apparent's wife, Lady Ji, are currently arguing fiercely, each accusing the other of being the murderer. The situation... is somewhat out of control."

Xie Yanzhao's face remained largely unchanged after hearing this, but a deep crease appeared between his brows, revealing his deep displeasure and annoyance at being interrupted from his tender moment with the person in his arms.

These people, whether they live or die, it's fine, but they just had to choose this time to cause trouble.

Shen Tinghe was fully awake. She had only vaguely heard about the Wuyin Marquis's mansion during the day, and now Song Yisheng was dead?

She instinctively clutched the front of Xie Yanzhao's nightgown.

Xie Yanzhao sensed her movement, looked down at her, placed two comforting kisses on her cheeks, and whispered, "It's alright."

He then raised his voice and gave orders, his steady and authoritative voice penetrating the tent.

"Where is the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review? Order him to oversee this case immediately. Disregard anyone's status, investigate strictly according to the law, and I want to see the results before dawn."

Qi Lu respectfully replied from outside the tent, "Yes."

After giving the instructions, Xie Yanzhao put his arm around Shen Tinghe's waist and lay down with her, his tone tinged with a private tenderness.

"Jiaojiao, we..."

"I want to go and see." Shen Tinghe raised her face, her eyes bright as stars, full of curiosity.

Xie Yanzhao gazed at her silently for a moment, his fingertips tracing her delicate face, before shaking his head in refusal: "No, go to sleep."

Whether to spend time with his beloved Yuan Yuan in the brocade quilt, or to listen to the foolish arguments of irrelevant people, Xie Yanzhao had no hesitation in making this choice.

Shen Tinghe pressed herself against him softly, her slender fingers twirling a strand of his dark hair, her eyes like those of a newborn fawn, pitiful yet captivating.

"Brother, how can I possibly sleep now?"

If you don't see such a wonderful spectacle for yourself, you'll be itching to go even if you lie down.

Xie Yanzhao chuckled, offering a tempting offer: "Be good. Yuan Yuan always wanted to sleep on top of me, didn't she? Tonight, I'll grant your wish."

He knew that was her favorite position, one that felt safe and comfortable.

But that would also easily stir up other things. His suggestion at this moment was simply to keep her in a gentle embrace and prevent her from paying attention to the storms outside.

Shen Tinghe knew exactly what he was thinking, so she hugged his neck tightly and whispered sweet nothings in her voice.

"Come on, let's go together. Brother, if I don't know the whole story, I'll be tossing and turning all night."

Xie Yanzhao couldn't resist her coquettishness the most; a tingling sensation ran from his ears straight to his heart.

Seeing that his brows seemed to relax, Shen Tinghe cupped his face and planted several light and quick kisses on his lips.

She smiled like a triumphant little fox, her eyes sparkling: "Brother can't beat me."

This confidence comes from years of pampering and nurturing.

Xie Yanzhao's eyes darkened, swirling with an intense, lingering ambiguity.

Yes, he loved her to the bone and was already utterly defeated. He never thought of winning.

However, despite the indulgence, he could still "demand" some compensation and waste some more time.

Xie Yanzhao held her tightly in his arms, lowered his head and covered her alluring lips with a deep and lingering kiss.

His hands lingered restlessly, mischievously pinching and kneading, imprinting his scent on almost every inch of her skin.

He kissed her until she was breathless, her eyes glistening with tears, and she leaned weakly against him, before reluctantly letting go and getting out of bed.