It was the first time Mu Yanming had felt Mo Qinghuan's enthusiasm, so he was not going to let this rare opportunity slip away.
She let him hold her in his arms and kiss her until she lost all sense of the world around her. She didn't even know how they ended up on the bed.
When she woke up, it was already early the next morning. Unusually, when she opened her eyes, she still saw Mu Yanming lying beside her.
On the previous two occasions, he had already left by the time she woke up.
"Aren't you going to court today?" she asked, blushing and avoiding his gaze.
Mu Yanming tilted her chin up and planted a gentle kiss on her lips.
"Nope," he replied. Then he withdrew his hand and rubbed his lower back.
Mo Qinghuan suddenly grabbed the quilt and buried her head under it.
But when she lifted the quilt, she found herself naked, with marks all over her body from last night's passion.
She coughed lightly and poked her forehead out, squinting at Mu Yanming.
He was looking at her with great interest.
Suddenly, Bai Ke's voice came from outside the door.
"Your Highness, there's news from the palace. The Emperor is hosting a spring hunt and has ordered Your Highness to lead some men to the hunting ground in advance to make preparations."
Hearing this, Mu Yanming got up and picked up his clothes from the floor.
As he fastened his belt, he recalled how she had undone it last night, her fingers blushing with shyness. A faint smile played on his lips. When he turned to look at Mo Qinghuan on the bed, she was already looking at him.
"What are you looking at?" he asked with a smile.
Her face flushed bright red, and she buried herself under the quilt again.
After getting dressed, Mu Yanming walked over to the bed, pulled the quilt down to expose her head, and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. "If you're still tired, you can sleep a little longer. No one will disturb you."
With that, he walked out of the room.
Mo Qinghuan watched him close the door and heard him say to Bai Ke, "Send Qingsi to the Prince's Mansion. Order Dan'er to bring some clothes for her."
Just thinking about last night made his throat go dry.
After Mu Yanming left, she sat up in bed, covering herself with the quilt, and looked at her clothes scattered on the floor.
Thinking about what had happened last night, her face flushed with embarrassment again. She covered her burning cheeks with both hands and took a while to calm down. Then she gave herself a few hard pats to regain her composure.
Not long after, Dan'er arrived.
She knocked on the door and asked softly, "Your Highness, may this servant come in?"
"Sure," Mo Qinghuan replied.
Dan'er pushed the door open and walked in, holding a set of clothes for Mo Qinghuan. She had already guessed that the Princess had spent the night with the Prince, but when she saw the clothes scattered on the floor, she couldn't help but blush.
Seeing Dan'er staring at the clothes on the floor, Mo Qinghuan scolded her gently, "Dan'er, what are you looking at? Hurry up and give me the clothes."
Dan'er snapped out of her daze and handed the clothes to Mo Qinghuan. When she saw the marks on Mo Qinghuan's neck and arms, her face turned even redder, and she lowered her head.
After getting dressed, Mo Qinghuan walked out of the room and looked down from the second floor. It was still early in the morning, and the Flower Pavilion was not very busy. Some of the dancers were practicing their dance moves, while others were sitting at the tables, munching on melon seeds with their legs crossed.
It was still early spring, and the morning air was chilly. Even though she was bundled up tightly, she could still feel the cold. The dancers downstairs were only wearing corsets, underpants, and some of them had a thin layer of gauze over their shoulders, while others had their shoulders bare.
She couldn't help but admire their courage, but at the same time, she felt sorry for them. If they had a choice, no one would want to live such a life.
"Dan'er, let's go," she said.
Dan'er nodded, and the two of them walked down the stairs. The dancers downstairs didn't even look at them.
Qingsi walked up to them and asked with a smile, "Did you sleep well last night?"
Thinking about the exhaustion of last night, Mo Qinghuan's cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
Just then, a woman walked over. She was wearing a red dress, but it wasn't the kind of revealing dress. The red was too bright, not the elegant red of a noblewoman, but a garish red.
Mo Qinghuan recognized her. She had seen her on a rainy day, but she didn't know her name.
She only remembered that Mu Yanming had said that she was the orphan of a minister who had once supported the Crown Prince.
So, Mo Qinghuan didn't have any ill feelings towards her.
But the woman's eyes were full of curiosity when she looked at Mo Qinghuan.
Seeing this, Qingsi smiled and said, "Miss Shishi, didn't you say you wanted to learn a new tune? Come on, I'll get the sheet music for you."
But the woman named Shishi suddenly smiled brightly and walked up to Mo Qinghuan, grabbing her hand. "You must be Qinghuan, right?"
Everyone was shocked. Was she crazy? How dare she call the Princess by her given name and act as if she was on familiar terms with her?
Mo Qinghuan withdrew her hand and took a step back, looking cold and distant. "I am. May I ask who you are?"
The woman tried to grab her hand again and sit down, but Mo Qinghuan pulled her hand away. She stood there, feeling a bit embarrassed.
The smile on her face widened. "Hasn't the Prince ever mentioned me to you?"
Dan'er couldn't stand it anymore. She stepped forward and slapped the woman's hand away. "How ridiculous! Who do you think you are? Why would the Prince mention you to the Princess?"
Dan'er deliberately emphasized the words "Princess," which made the woman's mouth twitch.
But she quickly regained her composure and looked at Dan'er with disdain. Mo Qinghuan had a feeling that she was about to say something unpleasant.
"Your Highness, your maid doesn't seem to know her place. When the mistresses are talking, how can a maid interrupt?"
Sure enough, she was trying to pick a fight with Dan'er.
But Dan'er was Mo Qinghuan's maid, and no one was going to insult her.
Mo Qinghuan sneered and took Dan'er's hand in hers.
"Mistresses? Ha! Who do you think you are, a mistress?"
The woman's face turned pale, and her eyes twitched. Her makeup was almost falling off.
Mo Qinghuan continued, "Even though Dan'er is just a maid, she is the maid of the Princess of the Regent. Her status is much higher than yours.
"And who do you think you are, daring to call yourself a mistress in front of me?"
Dan'er raised her eyebrows and glared at the woman. The woman was speechless, and the dancers around them covered their mouths and snickered.
She was so angry that she clenched her handkerchief tightly and ran upstairs, slamming the door behind her.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she turned around, she heard the dancers flattering Mo Qinghuan.
"The Princess is really amazing. One word from her and that woman was silenced. Let's see if she still dares to call herself the Prince's confidante and act so high and mighty in front of us."
Someone nudged the speaker with their elbow, signaling her to stop talking. She quickly realized her mistake and shut up.
"Your Highness, the people below are just ignorant. Please don't take it to heart," Qingsi said, trying to smooth things over.
Mo Qinghuan straightened her back and sneered, "You're really funny. What's her status? Do you think I'd bother to take her seriously?"
With that, she turned around and walked out of the Flower Pavilion.