Chapter 352

Gu Ying was tired and didn't feel much like talking. She gave a soft murmur.

Zhao Changdu could tell the little girl was in low spirits. He reached in from behind her with his big hand and gave her soft waist a rub.

Gu Ying was ticklish. Her body moved and she sat up in the quilt, turning her misty eyes to look at him. "I'm sleepy already. Why is the prince teasing me?"

Looking at a beauty by lamplight made her even more enchanting.

This little girl's exquisite and unparalleled foxy white face was so touching with a hint of grievance. Her wet eyes were like a tame deer's.

Zhao Changdu's gaze was burning as he stared at her flushed cheeks. He couldn't restrain himself anymore. He stretched out his big hand to hold the back of her head and pulled her in for a meticulous kiss.

The man was strong. In no time, the kiss had grown intense.

Gu Ying could smell the rich wine on his lips and teeth. She was addled by the fumes, her mind hazy and unable to breathe.

She leaned against him breathlessly and was let go after quite a while.

Zhao Changdu was satisfied. He caressed the girl's swollen lips, still feeling unfinished.

"What's wrong? You don't look too happy."

Gu Ying pressed her lips together, hesitating over whether to speak. "Does Changdu feel that Mother doesn't seem to like me too much?"

Zhao Changdu raised his brow. "You're so nice. How could Mother not like you?"

Gu Ying sucked in a breath. She always felt that Mrs. Lin disliked her because of her own sake, because they sympathized with each other for marrying up.

She had married the prince and was doted on in every way, while Mrs. Lin had been neglected by the duke her whole life.

The same circumstances, different results - to Mrs. Lin, she didn't like Gu Ying simply because she didn't like that past Lin Yushan who was forced to marry up but didn't come to a good end. So no matter how hard Gu Ying tried to please her, Mrs. Lin would not like her, and that was what made her feel so powerless.

"Forget it. I'm probably overthinking," Gu Ying said, not wanting the prince to fall out with Mrs. Lin over this matter and end up caught in the middle between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. She smiled. "I'm probably moody because I'm pregnant."

"That won't do." Zhao Changdu pinched the girl's soft little face. "No matter if my Ying'er is doing the mother-in-law thing or not, she must always be happy."

After saying so, he called outside.

Huai An immediately came in smiling and put a food box on the table. "This is food that I specially went to the eastern market to buy for Madam after getting off work. It has Madam's favorite pastries and Donghua Pavilion's steamed milk cow! There's a surprise in the box too! Madam, come take a look yourself!"

These past few days, Zhao Changdu had been busy preparing for Mrs. Lin's return home, coming and going early and late, and had neglected the little girl quite a bit. He knew she would be unhappy, so he specially bought some nice things to cheer her up.

Zhao Changdu nudged her up and signaled with raised brows for her to go take a look.

Gu Ying got out of bed and went over, lifting the cover on the box. Hundreds of exquisitely fragrant fresh flowers sprang into view, vying to bloom, brightening one's eyes.

She loved flowers. Back in the days at the dilapidated temple, it was the flowers blooming all around that had given her dark life its only light and hope.

Huai An smiled and hurriedly withdrew.

Gu Ying blinked back the heat in her eyes. She was blankly stunned like a child, not yet grown up. "These flowers..."

Zhao Changdu lazily narrowed his phoenix eyes. "I picked them myself. Does my lady like them?"

Seeing the beautiful food and flowers before her, and the pretty, delicate hairpin in the small rosewood box, Gu Ying's mood lifted. A woman couldn't be happier than with these trifles.

That he could let go of his status to coax her, what did she have to sulk about? The corners of her eyes crinkled with joy that brimmed over.

"Not bad. I like them very much."

She leaned in to sniff the flowers, then picked up a piece of milk cow pastry and popped it in her mouth.

When she was halfway through eating it, the man behind her hugged her from behind, tangled with her red lips to snatch away the pastry in her mouth.

Gu Ying's face grew hot. Her whole body was embraced in the man's arms.

He bowed his head to kiss her, his gaze earnest and lingeringly affectionate.

Gu Ying's breathing grew chaotic, her eyes misty and brimming with moisture. Their eyes met, full of feelings. "Oh right, what did Changdu promise Shen Ruxu?" Even in her dizzy state from the kisses, Gu Ying didn't forget about Shen Ruxu's showing off in front of her.

She pushed him away a little, pressing both hands against his chest to keep him from getting close.

Zhao Changdu was taken aback. "What did I promise her?"

Gu Ying looked at him seriously. "Shen Ruxu said she met the prince before."

It took Zhao Changdu a moment to recall this person. Realizing something, the corners of his lips quirked mockingly. "Is my Ying'er jealous?"

Gu Ying pressed her lips together. "Don't change the subject."

Zhao Changdu said happily, "She took the initiative to find me and said she had a way to persuade Mother to return home, so I promised to grant her one thing."

Gu Ying gritted her teeth, glaring at him with eyes brimming with water. "What thing?"

The little girl's jealousy was so endearing. Zhao Changdu couldn't help bowing to kiss her flushed nose. He smiled. "She didn't say, and neither did I. I was anxious to get Mother to come home then and agreed outright. Now that I think about it, I'll promise to find a good family for her. What does my lady think?"

Gu Ying's long lashes fluttered. "Really?"

Worried that eating too much at night would cause indigestion, the man closed the food box and carried the girl back to bed.

"Mm," he said as she lay down into the quilt and was gathered into his embrace.

He hugged her very cozily. His big hand lay over her lower abdomen, the palm scorching hot.

Unable to sleep, she fiddled with his fingers, lost in thought. "Changdu, what should I do if Mother is unwilling to marry Miss Shen off?"

Mrs. Lin was the prince's birth mother, naturally unlike Cheng. She couldn't deal with Mrs. Lin the same way as Cheng.

And given how much Mrs. Lin doted on Shen Ruxu, she probably wouldn't marry her off so quickly. Shen Ruxu's chastity had been damaged and she had remarried before, and had even ruthlessly murdered her ex-husband's family. With a girl like that, even under the Duke's protection, it wouldn't be easy to find her a good match.

After thinking it over for a long time, Gu Ying understood. Mrs. Lin probably wanted to keep Shen Ruxu by her side and wait for the right time. Then when the time was ripe, she would have the prince take Shen Ruxu as a chamber wife, even as a side consort with bedroom privileges. That would still be better than marrying into another family as a concubine to be bullied.

Thinking of this, Gu Ying felt awful, her five viscera tightly wrenched together.

She had never experienced much familial love in her life. Her mother died early, her father was often away leading troops, and her grandmother at home had favored her brother. Just thinking about it made her feel very dejected.

Zhao Changdu looked at the sad little girl and flicked his finger to put out the lamps in the room.

In the darkness, he lovingly kissed the girl's anxious eyes and smiled. "Ying'er, don't worry. Leave this matter for me to handle."

Gu Ying was still worried in her heart. "Will Mother let the prince intervene in this matter of a girl in the rear court?"