The Princess and Her Rough-Rider Khan
Chapter 367 - 366 Waiting for you (second update)

Chapter 367: 366 Waiting for you (second update)

Li Xianyun finished going through the accounts and had just put away the silver note when Yelu Yan pushed open the door and walked into the inner chamber.

He went straight to the Warm Pavilion, smiling as he looked at his own woman, and as he diverted his gaze, he saw Xiaobai the cat lying on the desk where Li Xianyun was, curled up and fast asleep.

Seeing him head straight for the cat, Li Xianyun quickly got up and grabbed his arm, "Hey, what are you competing with Snowball for? It’s so small."

"You are my wife, and it always competes with me for affection."

Li Xianyun let out a light laugh, for Yelu Yan always knew how to bring joy to her heart.

The little cat opened its eyes upon hearing Yelu Yan’s voice, stood up, and walked to Li Xianyun’s side, meowing to express its discontent.

Li Xianyun, who had always been weak for adorable things, bent down to hug the cat, speaking softly in a tender voice, "Snowball, don’t be afraid, sister will protect you."

As she spoke, she glared at Yelu Yan and walked straight out of the Warm Pavilion.

Yelu Yan followed behind her, laughing, "Where are you going?"

"To bathe and change clothes."

Said Li Xianyun as she went to the wardrobe, took out some clothes to change into, and walked out.

"Husband, rest early, no need to wait for me."

Yelu Yan said from behind her, "Come out quickly after washing, don’t fall asleep in the bathhouse, you’ll catch cold."

"I know," Li Xianyun said, without turning her head.

Yelu Yan had made a point to bathe at the military camp upon returning today, and was now seated at the head of the bed, picking up a book to read while waiting for Li Xianyun.

Li Xianyun brought the cat out to the outer room and placed it in the cozy and fragrant little nest specially prepared for it.

She made the nest in her spare time, round with thick, soft cushions inside.

Snowball loved it and would often nestle comfortably inside its own little nest to sleep.

Li Xianyun went to the bathhouse and upon her return discovered Yelu Yan had not yet slept, so she said, "Why haven’t you slept yet?"

As she spoke, she sat down in front of the bronze mirror to dry her hair and comb it.

"Waiting for you."

With those words, Yelu Yan put down the book on the desk, walked behind Li Xianyun, took the towel and began to dry her hair.

Their relationship was incredibly harmonious, much like an old married couple.

Yelu Yan enjoyed this feeling very much.

They talked in a relaxed way, comfortable with each other’s company.

"Xianxian, in a few days it will be time for the annual autumn hunt. Many ladies will be attending, and you will need to make arrangements. Just follow the rules of previous years, and if you are too busy, I can have the Master of Ceremonies take care of it."

"I’d better do it myself; otherwise, people will criticize me."

"Alright then."

After drying Li Xianyun’s hair and combing it, Yelu Yan lifted her horizontally, placed her on the bed, pulled the quilt over her and lay down beside her himself, snuggled into the bedclothes, and drew her into his embrace.

He planted several kisses on her porcelain-white face rather haphazardly, "Aren’t you tired? Sleep now, alright?"

"Mhm."

Li Xianyun, saying this, slipped from Yelu Yan’s embrace and laid her head on the pillow.

Yelu Yan watched her rather earnestly, discontentedly saying, "Disdain for your husband, not letting me hold you?"

Li Xianyun, with a smile in her voice, "It’s not that I won’t let you hold me, but you’ll get a sore arm from keeping the same position all the time."

"It won’t be sore."

Yelu Yan said as he drew Li Xianyun into his arms again and kissed the top of her head.

"Without you, I simply couldn’t sleep. Those days you were away in Tianshui County, I spent nights pining for you, unable to close my eyes. Only after you returned could I sleep soundly."

Li Xianyun let him hold her then.

She too enjoyed being nestled in his arms as she slept, feeling very secure, so much that she had unlearned the habit of needing to sleep with sleeve arrows every night.

The next morning, as Li Xianyun was sleeping in a daze, she felt as if Yelu Yan had kissed her, and heard him whisper words in her ear, telling her to eat well and stay safe, amongst other gentle, comforting things.

She closed her eyes and hummed in agreement, finding him annoying as she pushed at him, urging him to go away.

Afterwards, she fell asleep, remembering nothing.

While she lingered in bed, the Ninth Princess of Houtang, who was adored and cherished above all, was not having such a comfortable time.

Overnight, the scandal of her keeping beauties in Chunying Pavilion had spread through pamphlets into every street and alley, known to all.

At first, no one realized it concerned the esteemed elder princess, but after reading a few pages, they noticed a sesame-sized black mole on the right corner of the woman’s mouth in the book, identical to that of Li Yumin, the Ninth Princess.

On closer inspection, although the nose of the scandalous woman in the drawing was deliberately altered, her brows and eyes bore a striking resemblance to the Ninth Princess.

The dialogue depicted with the figure in the drawing was so indecent it was shocking.

As the saying goes, good news rarely goes beyond the gate, while bad news travels a thousand miles; by 11 AM-1 PM, the pamphlet had already made its way into the palace.

A Palace Attendant presented the album to Qin Rou.

At the time, Qin Rou was practicing her singing; aside from her exceptional skills in bed which made Li Mu insatiable, she also had a natural beautiful singing voice.

Her voice was crisp and enchanting, exactly to Li Mu’s liking.

Seeing her own maid walk in excitedly from outside, Qin Rou stopped and asked, "What’s the matter?"

The maid glanced around.

Understanding, Qin Rou waved her hand and all other palace maids in the room withdrew.

The maid, like Qin Rou, was one of Murong Ce’s people.

She pulled out a small book from her sleeve and handed it to Qin Rou.

Qin Rou flipped through it and scoffed, "Indeed, she’s a wretch; how can such a person even dream of forming a kinship with Houliang?"

Li Yumin had kept her affair with the beauties a well-guarded secret; very few were aware of it.

Qin Rou chuckled and said, "It seems someone intends to deal with her, and it’s only appropriate for this palace to lend them a hand."

When Qin Rou initially entered the Harem, Li Yumin, taking advantage of her royal favor, had not refrained from scheming against her both openly and covertly.

And now, harboring foolish fantasies about Murong Ce – how dare such a despicable woman aspire for Murong Ce?

It was utterly detestable.

Qin Rou whispered something in the ears of the maid, then looking at her, instructed, "Ensure things are done thoroughly, do not alert the prey."

"Yes," the maid replied and withdrew.

As Li Mu was being carried back to the Harem in his palanquin after leaving court, he noticed from a distance a pamphlet lying on the ground.

A eunuch immediately approached and picked up the pamphlet, glanced at it briefly, and hurriedly stuffed it into his sleeve.

Such an action only served to draw more attention.

Sitting in his palanquin, Li Mu inquired in a flat voice, "What is that?"

The eunuch, who had been in the palace for quite some time and was clever, replied,

"Your Majesty, it appears to be a discarded leisure book dropped by someone."

Li Mu simply gave him a flat look.

The human-powered palanquin continued on its way.

After traveling a hundred and eighty meters, another pamphlet appeared on the ground.

This time, the eunuch could no longer feign ignorance.

"Present it to Us," Li Mu commanded calmly.

When the emperor is enraged, rivers of blood may flow.

With no alternative, the eunuch picked up the pamphlet and respectfully handed it to Li Mu.

After flipping through just two pages, Li Mu scolded in anger, "Inspect the entire Harem, any Palace Attendant found with such a book is to be punished!"

"Yes," the Palace Servant replied.