A moment later, in the single bathroom on the first floor, behind the closed door and screen, smoke and hot breath lingered.
Xi Heng walked in with the maid and saw wisps of hot steam floating on the wooden bath tub. There were many pink petals floating on the surface, which looked like roses or roses.
She had been here many times, and only a few times did she ask Chunxian to massage her shoulders for the sake of novelty. Otherwise, she did not ask him to do any special service for her.
But today is a special day.
Xi Heng smiled in his heart, but did not walk towards the bathtub as usual. Instead, after waiting for Chun Xian to adjust the water temperature, he said casually: "You will help me take off my clothes today."
"Slave?" Chun Xian pointed at herself, finding it hard to believe to hear such words.
"Who else could it be?" Xi Heng's voice was as soft as a bell, with a hint of smile in it.
Chunxian's eyes flickered. She looked at herself and then at the guest. After a few seconds, she rubbed her fingers, said yes, and came closer.
Her jade fingers gently circled, first going around the silk and satin of the outer shirt, and then pushing away the mist on the light red dress.
She first put the outermost coat on the cabinet beside her, then untied the belt around Xi Heng's waist, and then loosened her waist-length skirt.
His fingertips slid across Xi Heng's collarbone and neck skin, leaving a soft touch.
Chunxian also took off her single clothes, revealing the girl's slender figure.
Xi Heng didn't care about it. Every time she took a bath in Huamanlou, she would inevitably reveal some of her body. This was not the first time Chunxian had seen it.
However, every time her cheeks turned red with shyness and she turned her head to look the other way, her eyes would be attracted to me from time to time, and the look on her face had not changed at all.
Xi Heng didn't feel shy at all, instead he wanted to tease the other person a little.
"Why don't you want to watch it? Don't you like it?" she said with a smile.
"How can I not be happy...it's just that I always feel it's impolite." Chun Xian lowered her head slightly and pursed her lips.
"Have you ever been to a bathhouse where many people bathe together? If people want to see each other's bodies, isn't it just a matter of looking up?"
Xi Heng did not hide himself and casually spread his hands.
"But the guest is different..."
"Why is it different?" Xi Heng's mood suddenly changed. He fixed his eyes on the other person and waited for his answer.
If Chunxian had also said the words flat chested, she would not have had a good attitude today.
"Sir, she is much more beautiful now." Chun Xian lowered her head and did not notice Xi Heng's gaze, but still spoke in a low voice.
As long as Xi Heng didn't hear about flat chest, he would be in a cheerful mood:
"If you want to watch, then watch. There's no need to be so restrained."
Chunxian raised her little head, but lowered it again after a while.
Xi Heng chuckled, shook his head at the overly innocent little maid, clicked his tongue, and turned towards the bathtub.
I stepped barefoot on the wet wooden steps next to the bathtub and let my body fall into it little by little.
As the warmth gradually enveloped her, her body muscles and her mind relaxed.
After slowly letting out a sigh of relief, the girl reached out and moved the petals on the surface of the bathtub, placing them against the back of her hand and watching them quietly.
On the way, Xi Heng suddenly looked at Chun Xian who was still folding clothes for her, and said teasingly:
"There's still plenty of space in this tub. Why don't you take off your clothes and take a bath with me?"
"Eh?" Chunxian's body suddenly froze, and the clothes that she had neatly folded in her hands almost fell down.
"Sir, what did you just say...?" Her voice was flustered, as if she didn't hear clearly, or as if she just wanted to hear it again.
"Let's take a bath here together. After all, the bathtub is so big that it should be able to accommodate both of us easily, right?" Xi Heng chuckled.
"No, that's not possible, right?" Chun Xian swallowed and took two steps back.
"No way? Never mind. I won't force you." Xi Heng knew this would be the answer and waved his hand.
If Chunxian would readily agree, she wouldn't have made such a strange invitation.
"Eh, no, no, I." The maid's panic became more and more obvious, as if she was in a dilemma and hesitated at a crossroads, and even her body began to sway from side to side.
"I, I, well, I want to..." She put one hand on her burning cheek, and her voice became weaker and weaker.
"It's okay, it's okay." Xi Heng naturally skipped the topic:
"If you don't want to, forget it. Come and help me massage my shoulders. They always feel a little stiff."
"..." Chun Xian bit her lower lip, and after hesitating for a while, she didn't seize the opportunity, and could only sigh: "Yes, sir."
"Yeah." Xi Heng stretched in the bathtub, with his arms spread out and resting on the edge of the wooden bathtub.
After a while, Chunxian, looking a little lost, folded her clothes and walked over, raising her soft five fingers and touching Xiheng's exposed round shoulders.
The fair skin showed a tiny dent as the fingertips pressed down.
The fingertips are slightly loose and the skin bounces back.
Chunxian put some bath water on her hands, and when it touched her skin, the water immediately slid down.
The maid's massage gradually relieved the slight fatigue Xi Heng still had from practicing sword during the day, and it was quite comfortable.
"Come to think of it." Xi Hengban closed his eyes, enjoying the massage of his shoulders and neck, and said, "When Chunxian first brought me here to take a bath two months ago, she said that we could go back to the room for a full body massage, right?"
"Hmm." The blushing maid only uttered a slight nasal sound, and then whispered behind Xi Heng: "It's just that I have never done it before, so I may not be very skilled."
"It's doing pretty well now." Xi Heng felt that his arms and shoulders were being massaged and it felt very comfortable.
Although the strength is a bit small.
“The massage methods for shoulders and other parts of the body seem to be different…”
"Why is it different?"
"As for the whole body, it has to be much more detailed..." Chun Xian obviously couldn't tell too many differences, she just said this with a blushing face.
"A lot more detailed?"
"I can't say it." She lowered her head, blushing and whispering, "Anyway, if you need it, I will do my best..."
"okay."
After taking a bath, Xi Heng put on a loose bathrobe, tied the belt around his waist, then took Chunxian's hand and went upstairs to his room.
After a faint creaking sound, she closed the door tightly, leaving only a few candles burning in small lanterns emitting faint warm light in the room.
The window was closed, and the moonlight filtered through the window paper, but the faint light that came in was blocked by the red gauze.
Xi Heng sat on the bed, took off his wet clogs, untied the straps above his waist, and the bathrobe slid off along his wet skin like running water.
After Chunxian was led to the bed by Xiheng, she stood there blankly, looking at the guest's appearance. For a moment, she didn't know what to do.
Until Xi Heng crossed his legs on the bed, leaned forward slightly, showed a hint of teasing in his eyes, and then hooked his hand.
"come on."
Chunxian then approached with small steps.
……
An eventful night.
Tomorrow morning, the chirping sounds of kingfishers and swallows outside will penetrate the wooden windows and the gauze red curtains.
The bright light of day enveloped the entire Huamanlou. Even though Xiheng's room was fully curtained, a lot of light could still inevitably seep in. The one or two remaining lights in the room were no longer noticeable.
Xi Heng listened to the birds singing and slowly woke up from his beautiful dream.
Familiar ceiling...
The girl rubbed her eyes. Even though she had slept all night, her whole body felt quite relaxed - this was probably due to the Chunxian massage.
Last night, Xiheng seemed to be at ease when he started the massage, but until Chunxian moved past the shoulders and neck and continued downwards, things seemed to become gradually strange.
There is no problem with rubbing the belly, massaging the feet, calves and back, but when I go to other places, I always feel a strange itchy feeling.
During the spring fiber, she said that this was a normal feeling. Is it true?
However, Xi Heng still managed to suppress these thoughts and hold on until the end.
After Chun Xian left respectfully with a red face, she lay on the bed and closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep, but she still had the lingering feeling of being pressed all over her body.
When I woke up during the day, I was obviously more energetic.
Xi Heng slowly sat up from the bed, raised his hands and yawned, still thinking about what happened last night.
"It's really not bad..." she thought, she would do it again if she had time later.
However, there probably won't be a chance in this life.
She got up, put on her clothes, washed herself briefly in the basin in the room, tidied her appearance, and went downstairs with the sword.
Go to the backyard and warm up with sword dance as usual.
After an hour of morning exercise, Xi Heng returned to the building for breakfast. Before he had eaten much, he suddenly heard the sounds of carriages and people moving outside.
The crowd stopped in front of Hua Man Lou, and then came the sharp and piercing voice of a eunuch:
"In the time of the heavenly emperor, the eldest son of the Heavenly Emperor Haotian proclaimed an edict—"
Xi Heng rubbed her ears. She really didn't like this weird, shrill sound that sounded like a chicken.
Can't you talk like a normal person?
The girl sighed softly, knowing that the eunuch outside was here to take her into the palace. She put down the bowl and chopsticks in her hands and walked to the front of the pavilion.
"I heard that the Third Emperor's Ji Xiheng had been away from the capital for more than ten years and had returned to the capital today. I was very pleased and ordered her to return to the capital to be reinstated as the Emperor's Ji. She was also given the Sijia Palace, ten thousand taels of gold, silver, and jewelry, and dozens of palace maids... and because of her extraordinary poetic talent, she was granted the third-rank official title of Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy..."
The old eunuch lowered his head and recited a long passage until Xi Heng appeared from Hua Man Lou.
Every morning and evening, he would half-kneel and salute neatly, and hold high the golden scroll of the imperial edict in his hand.
"I accept the order." Xi Heng walked forward casually and grabbed the scroll of imperial edict from the eunuch's hand without any courtesy.
The eunuch made several regular movements and stood up quickly and steadily. He bowed and pointed to the tall carriage with a purple background and golden dragons carved on it.
"Your Highness, please."
Xi Heng glanced at this guy and felt that he looked somewhat familiar.
After thinking about it carefully, she remembered that this person was the old man who took her to the court to meet the emperor in her previous life.
This person appears again in this life, just like a monster that will lead people to death.
Sooner or later, she would kill this man too.
Xi Heng closed his eyes to conceal the murderous intent in them, and followed the other party's instructions to get on the carriage.
Before leaving, I took a last look at Hua Manlou.
Chunxian was standing by the railing of a balcony in the pavilion, looking down at her from afar.
Because the distance was too far, Xi Heng couldn't see the other person's expression clearly, so he just waved his hand gently in response.
The housekeeper and many other maids downstairs watched quietly. Many outsiders who heard what was happening outside cast envious glances at Xi Heng.
Xi Heng smiled bitterly while sitting in the carriage. If they knew that going to the palace would only result in death, they probably wouldn't be so envious.
Being a princess is not as rich and beautiful as it seems... Especially being a princess of a crazy emperor.
As the wheels rolled, Hua Manlou gradually moved away and disappeared.
Xi Heng leaned against the soft cushion in the carriage and began to recall in his mind the formation arrangement and hand gestures of the Blood Sea Method.
The carriage traveled for a long time, first leaving Qinxie Changxiang, then circling a place that Xi Heng was not very familiar with, then entered the imperial city and stopped at the white stone square in front of the court hall in the center of the imperial city.
White stones form a huge bridge, with water flowing slowly underneath. Many dragon heads protrude along the water wall, spitting water out from time to time.
Xi Heng heard the eunuch's call outside, pushed open the curtain and got off the carriage.
When he looked up, the Taixiao Palace with a golden dragon painted on the wall suddenly appeared before his eyes. Hundreds of golden-armored guards stood around it, demonstrating their mighty aura at all times.
The eunuch walked up to Xi Heng, leaned over and shrilly said, "Please come in and see His Majesty!"
Xi Heng had heard the same words before the court hall, and he seemed to have returned to his previous life.
But this time, she wants to go a step further.
The emperor wanted to train her into a blood spirit stone, but this time she was going to throw the dog emperor into the golden and silver cauldron, mix various medicinal herbs, and train it into a spirit stone for her own use!
Xi Heng stepped forward without hesitation, his eyes sweeping across the purple-gold dragon patterns and the heavenly palace scenery around the hall, and his movements became increasingly brisk.
In front, four raging pillars of fire were raised high, and many civil servants wearing black gauze hats and holding court tablets stood in two rows.
