Yin An paused before continuing, “Your Highness, the troops you led are still on their way back. However, since you have already returned to Yong’an City, His Majesty will evaluate your expedition during the court assembly tomorrow.”
Qin Yu nodded slightly. She had been ordered to suppress the rebellion in the Kingdom of Yiyong. For three months, she had fought across their lands, engaging in dozens of battles against Luo Shangyu’s forces with mixed results.
Although Qin Yu had been captured, her troops had not suffered a devastating blow, and she had ultimately escaped back to the Chengji Empire. Therefore, the expedition could not be strictly classified as a success, nor could it be called a failure.
What Qin Yu feared most was Qin Yi using the excuse of “mobilizing the masses for nothing, returning without merit, and showing incompetence” to impeach her.
After finishing his report, Yin An bowed slightly to Qin Yu. “Your Highness, I have other matters to attend to. I shall take my leave.”
Qin Yu watched Yin An’s departing figure until she was startled by a sudden pat on her shoulder. Luo Shangyu had approached her from behind without her noticing.
“Alright, stop worrying!” Luo Shangyu said, sensing Qin Yu’s anxiety. “Aren’t you just worried about being impeached for ‘returning without merit’? You persuaded me to surrender and join the Chengji Empire — isn’t that a massive achievement?”
“You’re right!” Upon hearing this, the worry in Qin Yu’s heart dissipated by more than half.
With such a commendable merit to her name, Qin Yu suddenly felt much more confident. She knew that no matter how Qin Yi tried to impeach her, his only grounds would be her lack of a military victory.
However, victory and defeat were common in war. Who could win every single time?
Facing that kind of criticism, Qin Yu had 100 reasons to argue back.
“Alright, let’s head to sleep. we have to wake up early tomorrow,” Qin Yu said as she led Luo Shangyu into the bedroom.
“Should we sleep together?” Qin Yu asked, pointing toward the large, soft bed.
“I suppose we could, but I don’t seem to have any pajamas…”
“That’s easily fixed!”
Qin Yu summoned a maid and instructed her to take a set of her own pajamas and quickly alter them for Luo Shangyu while the two of them bathed.
The two women undressed and entered the bathroom.
Luo Shangyu couldn’t help but marvel at the luxury of the bathhouse. It was a separate building located behind the main hall of the East Palace and north of the sleeping quarters, connected to the bedroom by a covered corridor.
Luo Shangyu felt that calling it a bathroom was an understatement; it was more like a swimming pool. It was more than 10 meters long and wide, filled to the brim with steaming hot spring water.
Along the side of the pool, various gargoyles carved in the shapes of beasts spat out warm, smoking water that arched gracefully into the pool.
“Don’t just stand there in a daze. Wash up and stop staring. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to come here in the future. You can come whenever you want.”
“Mm.” Luo Shangyu nodded, snapping back to reality. “Isn’t this place supposed to be restricted to the imperial family?”
“Then why don’t you just become part of the imperial family?” Qin Yu teased, poking Luo Shangyu’s belly with a mischievous smirk.
‘Become part of the imperial family?’ Luo Shangyu was momentarily stunned. Was she supposed to have Qin Yu’s father adopt her, or was this a hint about marriage…
“Haha!” Qin Yu laughed happily when she saw Luo Shangyu’s bewildered expression, satisfied that her prank had worked. “I was just teasing you. Honestly, as long as you have my permission, you can come whenever you like. You don’t need to worry about being an imperial family member.”
Luo Shangyu’s face flushed as she realized she had lost her composure. “Qin Yu, you’re so mean!”
“I learned it from you, didn’t I?” Qin Yu replied, her eyes full of mirth as she watched Luo Shangyu turn bright red.
Luo Shangyu was used to teasing Qin Yu, but being the victim for once made her feel a bit annoyed. ‘How did I let myself get played so easily?’
The side of the bath was lined with a rich variety of soaps and body washes. Luo Shangyu picked up a piece of clear, white soap, and a delicate fragrance filled her nose. She realized this soap had been scented with a very rare spice.
Looking further, she saw that the other soaps and body washes all contained one or even several types of precious, expensive ingredients.
“How extravagant…” Luo Shangyu turned to look at Qin Yu, who was casually using the priceless body wash without a second thought.
She could only marvel once more at the luxury of the Chengji Empire’s imperial family while experiencing the high-priced scents for herself.
“By the way, when you heard Grand Preceptor Yin say I could never change back, did you breathe a sigh of relief?”
Luo Shangyu was washing her hair with her eyes closed when Qin Yu’s voice drifted over from behind her.
“That is true,” Luo Shangyu admitted, nodding. She hadn’t expected Qin Yu to notice such a small reaction. “I think you’re much cuter now than you were before.”
“Oh?” Qin Yu rested her hand on Luo Shangyu’s shoulder. “Really?”
Luo Shangyu felt a sudden warmth on her shoulder, and her movements to wash her hair stopped abruptly.
After a long moment, the corners of her mouth curled upward. “Really.”
***
By the time they finished their bath, the maid had already finished altering the pajamas for Luo Shangyu.
Luo Shangyu put them on. The cream-colored pajamas were made of pure cotton, feeling soft and breathable against her skin.
The two of them walked out of the bathroom and onto the corridor leading back to the sleeping quarters. The corridor only had a roof, leaving the sides open to the night air, providing a direct view of the garden scenery.
An autumn night breeze blew past, carrying away the lingering heat from the bath and leaving Qin Yu feeling refreshed and dry.
“Where do I sleep?” Luo Shangyu asked suddenly.
“Hmm? Didn’t we already agree?” Qin Yu asked, confused. “You’re sleeping with me.”
“Uh… I just suddenly thought that it might not be very appropriate…”
“What’s inappropriate about it? Weren’t we sleeping together all the time in the army?”
“That was different…” Luo Shangyu said shyly. Now she was being asked to sleep in the Crown Prince’s bed — that was a major breach of etiquette!
“How is it different?”
“Back then you were just a captive. Now you’re the Crown Prince. Sleeping with you doesn’t conform to the rules of etiquette.”
“Etiquette?” Qin Yu let out a soft laugh. “That stuff is worthless in the face of my orders. I command you to sleep with me; otherwise, I’ll be scared at night.”
“Fine then.” Luo Shangyu nodded, finally giving in.
Qin Yu didn’t quite know why she was so intent on having Luo Shangyu stay. Perhaps it was because Luo Shangyu had been by her side since her transformation began, and she had simply grown used to her presence.
Qin Yu’s bedroom was massive, lingering with a scent very similar to the fragrance on Qin Yu herself.
“Hurry up and get in. I’m a bit sleepy.” Qin Yu was the first to crawl under the covers.
Although Qin Yu’s bed was technically for one person, it was more than wide enough for two.
Luo Shangyu lay down on the soft mattress, which vibrated slightly every time Qin Yu shifted.
Before long, the breathing of the person beside her leveled out as Qin Yu drifted into dreamland.
Luo Shangyu stared up at the ceiling, finding it difficult to fall asleep in the unfamiliar environment. It wasn’t until past midnight that she finally succumbed to the fragrance of the room and fell into a daze of sleep.