Chapter Ninety-Four: A Loving Married Couple

She was probably saying this to give me a few taels of silver so I would leave. More likely, she was afraid I might harm his princess consort.

If I were not here on a mission, why would I ever come to a place like this? Hah.

Anuo gave a cold laugh inwardly. She lifted her head to look at Shen Hezhi, her gaze unusually resolute. “I do. I know what I’m doing, so please, Your Highness, do not drive me away. I will stay by the princess consort’s side and serve her well!”

Shen Hezhi looked at her a few more times, but said nothing else about sending her away. He simply went around the two of them and left.

Only then did Anuo finally breathe a sigh of relief. If she had truly been driven off, then she would never have been able to complete the task the Crown Prince of the Southern Shore had given her.

“Anuo, you don’t need to be so afraid. Though the prince looks intimidating, he is actually a very good person, and very approachable,” Mo Yi comforted her from the side.

Mo Yi also knew that this woman was no simple soul, but she could see what Yan Heru intended. Yan Heru had kept this woman close precisely to hold the danger firmly in her own hands. For the princess consort’s sake, she would have to cooperate properly and play along.

“Next, I’ll take you to see where the princess consort lives, and the pharmacy. You must remember this: the pharmacy is a very important place, and no one else is allowed to go there without permission.

Since the princess consort specifically asked you to help her sort the herbs, you must work hard.”

Mo Yi smiled sweetly, looking for all the world as though she had quickly become friends with this maid she had only just met. Yet the two of them both understood very well that they were not friends at all. If anything, “mutually watching one another” would have been more fitting.

After showing Anuo every corner of the posthouse and making sure she understood the layout, Mo Yi returned to Yan Heru’s side.

Puzzled, she asked, “Princess consort, you clearly know this person is not simple, yet you still keep her by your side. That’s very dangerous. The prince... he didn’t get angry, did he?”

Yan Heru was tidying the clothes in the cabinet. Hearing this, she turned around and looked at her helplessly with a smile. “You little thing, why can’t you ever think of anything good? Why would the prince be angry?”

“Because the princess consort has kept danger right beside herself. The prince cares so deeply for you, so he might very well have gotten angry because of this,” Mo Yi replied.

“Since you already know the prince cares for me, how could he possibly be angry with me over something like this? Don’t you think your reasoning contradicts itself a little?” Yan Heru shook her head and, having said that, continued arranging the clothes.

After hearing Yan Heru’s explanation, Mo Yi felt that it did make sense. What she had just said really was somewhat self-contradictory, though something still felt a little off to her.

“Ru’er, I’ve prepared some sweets for you. Would you like to come and taste them?” Shen Hezhi suddenly walked in from outside. Mo Yi quickly stepped aside.

She did not want to stay and be forced to watch the two of them being affectionate. Such days were far too painful; they were utterly hard to endure.

So Mo Yi very sensibly withdrew at once, and even thoughtfully closed the door for them.

Seeing this, Shen Hezhi and Yan Heru exchanged a glance, both of them shaking their heads in resignation.

Shen Hezhi set the sweets he had brought onto the table, then sat down in the chair beside it. “You really do spoil that little maid beyond reason. She was not like this before.”

Yan Heru put down the clothes in her hands, came to the table, picked up a sweet, and took a bite. “Mm, it’s delicious. But I didn’t like the way she was before. Too rigid, too listless, as if she had been bullied.”

“Don’t you think she looks much better now? She seems livelier too.”

“All right, whatever the lady says is right. I made these sweets myself. If you like them, eat a little more,” Shen Hezhi said, looking at Yan Heru with unusual tenderness.

He had never imagined that one day he would live so peacefully, and be so happy. He had thought that after his mother died, he would never have any happiness left in this life, and that the only companion fate would leave him was hatred.

Yet unexpectedly, heaven had sent him such a lovely person, someone he wanted to spend his whole life lazily and happily with.

“Ru’er, I will definitely settle these troubles as quickly as possible. Then the two of us can live the life we truly want,” Shen Hezhi said suddenly as he looked at her.

Yan Heru lifted her head in some confusion and asked, “Why do you feel so anxious? There’s no need to rush. You can take your time with everything, and I’ll always be by your side.”

“I don’t want you to hurry into these things and put yourself in danger. No matter what happens, your safety comes first. Do you understand?”

Shen Hezhi had not heard a word she said. At this moment, his eyes were fixed on the corner of Yan Heru’s mouth. Because she had just been eating the sweet, a few crumbs were stuck there, making her look especially enticing.

Yan Heru also realized that her husband had not been listening. She raised a hand and waved it in front of him, pouting in displeasure at the same time. “Looks like the prince doesn’t value me anymore. I’m sure in the future, you’ll do even more to bully me.”

Shen Hezhi heard that part, but gave no explanation. He simply took hold of Yan Heru’s shoulders and suddenly kissed her.

Yan Heru froze, never expecting him to make such a move.

Shen Hezhi let her go, lightly licked the corner of his mouth, and smiled. “The sweets I made really are delicious. No wonder you’re eating so indecorously, my lady.”

Yan Heru’s face instantly flushed as red as a ripe tomato. Shen Hezhi’s words, taken alone, might not have seemed strange, but when combined with what he had just done, they became infinitely suggestive.

“You... I never knew the prince could be... could be so good with words,” Yan Heru said hastily. To hide her embarrassment and the redness in her cheeks, she quickly grabbed another piece of pastry, turned her head away, and ate it.

Seeing how shy his little wife had become, Shen Hezhi only grew more exhilarated. Still, he knew he could not go too far yet, or he would only achieve the opposite and earn his little wife’s dislike.

So Shen Hezhi could only do as she did, taking a piece of pastry from the table as well, to cool himself down a little.

“Ahem... My lady, I—”

Knock, knock, knock!

Before Shen Hezhi could finish, a sudden, urgent knocking sounded at the door.