Jing Rong's alluring eyes burned with surging desire. His body pressed downwards, closer towards Ji Yunshu until her back hit the walls of the carriage.
The two figures were now only a handspan apart.
Regular bursts of Jing Rong's heavy breaths gently assaulted the bridge of Ji Yunshu's nose as she instinctively shrank backwards.
The smouldering atmosphere ratcheted up a notch.
The heat in front of her chest made Ji Yunshu a little uncomfortable. She put both hands up to his chest to stop him from advancing, but they were instead captured in one hand by Jing Rong and pressed against the carriage wall behind her. She was firmly restrained.
"You…"
"What are you afraid of? This isn't the first time you've seen this prince's body; you've even touched it before. What's the matter with seeing it one more time? This prince doesn't mind."
"But I mind!"
"You're not the one at the losing end here."
"I'm afraid I'll grow a stye in my eye."
Stye? What on earth is that?
Jing Rong wrinkled his brow and pondered aloud. "If you really grew a stye, this prince would have Mo Ruo cure you."
"It's incurable."
"There's no harm in trying."
Eh? Jing Rong's hand reached towards the tie of his inner robe and leisurely wrapped a finger around the string. As he prepared to pull it loose, he said, "this prince would like to see if Mo Ruo would be able to cure it if you grew a stye in your eye after looking at this prince's body."
"Stop messing around. We're still on the carriage." Just as she finished speaking, the carriage suddenly jolted. The painful blow to her back knocked her forward and threw her into Jing Rong's waiting arms.
Ji Yunshu only realised how unseemly her position was after the carriage stabilized. She was sprawled on Jing Rong's well-built, bare chest and her hands were placed right on those two slight swells in the front. Her palms felt as if they were burning.
When she raised her head, she met Jing Rong's smiling eyes. There was a trace of victory in that smug smile of his.
"Can't wait anymore?"
You wish! She immediately sprang up from his chest and jumped aside.
She coughed lightly, looking away with her head hanging low. "Put on your clothes."
"Why should I put it on? It's best to take it all off on a hot day such as this." Jing Rong really proceeded to take off his inner robe.
This image was really too dazzling and could almost be considered an erotic picture.
No! To be exact, this is a picture of 'a beauty emerging from the bath'.
Ji Yunshu flushed red, thinking, he's doing it on purpose.
Just then, someone suddenly spoke from outside. "Your Highness, there's a forest just in front that should be very cooling. Should we take a break there?"
Lang Po's untimely interruption broke up the ongoing scene of 'a beauty emerging from the bath' inside.
Jing Rong's hand paused and his whole body froze in place. A moment later, he directly replied towards the curtain separating the carriage from the outside. "Then we'll take a break in the forest."
His tone was extremely ugly.
It sounded like he wanted to skin Lang Po alive!
Even with the separation of the curtain and the carriage walls, Lang Po shivered under the scorching sun. Man, that was bone-piercingly cold!
He gulped and replied brightly, "Yes!"
Ji Yunshu wanted to laugh but forcibly suppressed it.
How should I describe it...failing to steal a chicken and losing a handful of rice instead? [1]
Hmm, that doesn't sound right either. Forget it.
Ji Yunshu hurried down the carriage once it stopped. [4]
Jing Rong was left sitting in the carriage, his expression extremely dark. [2]
Ji Yunshu found a large rock to sit down on and uncapped the bottle to take a drink of water. She looked at all the hotblooded guards busy with settling the horses. Every one of them was perspiring so much the backs of their robes were drenched, their skin dark and leathery from the assault of the sun.
It was too tough! Even witnessing it was heart-wrenching.
When Jing Rong descended from the carriage, his clothes were all in place, neat as a pin. His keen eyes swept across the forest. The surrounding trees towered high into the sky, the lush foliage covered the entire road and a cooling wind whistled through the forest. Accompanied by the gentle rustling of the tree leaves, it made for a very soothing atmosphere.
Jing Rong secretly glanced towards Ji Yunshu and saw that her whole face was flushed red, her forehead covered with sparkling beads of perspiration from the heat. The many days of travel were unbearable for even men, much less for a woman like her.
He thought for a moment before sending an order. "Take a break here for the moment. We'll leave after sunset."
Lang Po was surprised. "After sunset? But Your Highness, our itinerary has already been delayed. If we waited after sunset to continue, it would be deep into the night by the time we reach Yufu."
Jing Rong shot him a look. "So be it. What, are you afraid of seeing ghosts?"
"Of course not."
"Then it's fine. It's not the first time we travelled at night. Besides, you guys came from the capital with this prince; I couldn't let you be burnt to a crisp under this scorching sun rather than being killed by enemies, could I?"
"..."
Bro, can't you speak nicely for once? Must you unleash that poisonous tongue of yours? Ji Yunshu shook her head as she heard the exchange. [3]
Lang Po had long gotten used to his way of speaking and agreed docily without any further questions.
However, Jing Rong led him to the side and started discussing something in low tones. It was probably something about the disaster relief funds. After all, they were reaching Yufu soon.
Ji Yunshu looked away from them and let out a few sighs of relief.
It was very cooling in the forest. The occasional breeze blew away the heat and weariness away from her body. That smooth rock she was on was also cold to the touch; it felt like being bathed in water and even sent a chill through a body, causing her to shiver.
At this moment, Tang Si jumped down from her carriage and started vigorously fanning herself with a hand, complaining, "this damned weather could kill someone with the heat."
She made a beeline for Ji Yunshu and plonked herself right beside her, then directly plucked the water bottle from her hand and tilted her head to start drinking. This girl truly doesn't stand on ceremony.
Ji Yunshu looked over at that carriage and asked Tang Si, "Where's Mo Ruo? He couldn't be sleeping in the carriage after drinking too much, could he?"
But Tang Si turned away and groused, "What has that got to do with me?"
Oh boy!
"I haven't seen the two of you talk much the past few days. Did you fight?"
"Who cares." She rolled her eyes and guiltily pursed her lips, then returned the water bottle.
The past few days, it seemed as if Tang Si were deliberately avoiding Mo Ruo. When Mo Ruo talked to her, she would only reply casually with her head bowed, never making a fuss or bickering. It was all very amicable.
To others, it seemed like they had turned awkward after fighting, but as a woman, Ji Yunshu seemed to have detected something else.
It's not as simple as that! She smiled to herself and stopped asking.
A while later, Mo Ruo got off the carriage with a jar of wine in hand and started tottering back and forth towards the large stone.
When Tang Si saw him, she immediately stood up and went to lean against a large tree with her arms crossed over her chest. It was obvious she was avoiding him! It seemed like she was fuming over something.
[1] Idiom that means trying to take advantage of someone/something but losing out instead.
[2] Someone save our poor JR from his misery please.
[3] I had to add this bit to the original text (If anyone was bothering to check the raws) bc seems like the author is so excited they got names wrong and forgot to properly change POV. >.>
[4] A hand grabbed her wrist, stopping her in her tracks. With a tug, she tumbled into a scorching embrace. She raised her hands for balance, only to meet with a firm, bare, chest covered with a sheen of sweat, before her cry of surprise was smothered by a pair of lips...