CHAPTER FORTY‑THREE — BATHE TOGETHER
Tang Ke Xin recoiled at once, instinctively retreating—only to find the cold stone of the artificial mountain blocking her escape. She could not move far, but at least she had managed to put a breath of distance between their lips.
Her heart thudded wildly.
Him? Again? From where?
Why did he appear like a phantom—silent, sudden, impossible to detect?
Every time he emerged, it was as though he materialised from thin air.
Why was he everywhere she turned?
And worse—she had just… kissed him.
Or he had kissed her.
Or they had collided.
It was impossible to say, and therefore impossible to be angry.
"What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?"
His voice descended from above her—low, slightly hoarse, and in the darkness, far too compelling.
"I was following Guard Zhan," Tang Ke Xin replied honestly. With his abilities, he would have known anyway. There was no point in pretending.
"You were following him?"
Ye Lan Jue's tone sharpened. He had not expected her to admit it so readily. Zhan Yu was the most skilled guard in the palace. For her to trail him from Kunning Palace to this place without being discovered… this woman was far more capable than she appeared.
But did she not understand the danger?
Beyond the rock garden, there was nowhere to hide. If Zhan Yu had turned back, she would have been exposed instantly.
"I discovered that Guard Zhan is… very handsome," Tang Ke Xin said at last, grasping at the first excuse that came to mind.
"And then?"
His voice dropped several degrees. Though she could not see his expression, she felt the sudden chill sweep across her skin like a winter wind.
"When I came out, I heard he was going to bathe. I wanted to follow and see where he was going. Then the Third Prince appeared…"
She answered plainly. Her teacher had always taught her that good children should not lie. And so she told the truth—every word of it.
In the darkness, Ye Lan Jue's eyes narrowed.
A heartbeat later, he moved.
He closed the distance in a single step, pressing her back against the rock behind her. His arm braced above her shoulder, caging her completely.
Her breath caught.
He was too close—far too close.
"So," he murmured, voice icy, "you mean to say that this king has ruined your… opportunity?"
His tone was cold enough to freeze the night air.
She had dared to follow a man in the middle of the night—to watch him bathe?
What exactly was in this woman's head?
"You—what are you doing?"
Even Tang Ke Xin, usually calm, felt her composure crack. The memory of their accidental kiss flashed through her mind, and her body tensed instinctively.
Pinned between him and the stone, she could not move at all.
"What do you think this king should do?"
His voice softened, but the softness was more dangerous than the cold. A strange, ambiguous warmth threaded through his words.
He was too close.
His breath brushed her cheek—warm, unsettling, intimate.
"It is very late," Tang Ke Xin said, her voice trembling despite her efforts. "This humble girl believes she should return and sleep."
She needed to leave.
Immediately.
Being near him was more frightening than facing a blade.
"Together?"
His brow lifted slightly. His voice was low, unhurried—yet the single word struck her like thunder.
Tang Ke Xin nearly choked.
Together?
What happened to the cold, aloof prince who spoke sparingly?
Who was this man?
"Who—who wants to sleep with you?" she sputtered inwardly.
"Why don't we bathe together?"
His lips curved slowly, deliberately.
Tang Ke Xin's eyes flew wide.
She stared at him as though he had sprouted horns.
She could tolerate such words from someone like Nangong Yi—but from him?
The Third Prince?
The man rumoured to be colder than winter frost?
Had he been possessed?
"Third Prince… are you well?" she asked cautiously. If he truly had been possessed, she needed to prepare herself.
"What do you mean?"
His brows rose, and the pressure of his body increased, trapping her even more firmly.
What did she mean?
What could she mean?
His posture, his proximity, his tone—none of it was normal.
"Your Highness entering the harem in the middle of the night… are you not afraid of being discovered?" Tang Ke Xin forced herself to breathe steadily. "It would be difficult to explain."
"Isn't that why I have you?"
His chuckle was soft—too soft—and his smile even stranger.
Tang Ke Xin blinked.
Her?
What did she have to do with anything?
Even with her intelligence, she could not decipher his meaning.
But his next words struck her like a bolt from the heavens—
a blow so sudden and shocking that she felt scorched from the inside out.