Pampered Consort of the Fragrant Orchard

She traced his features with her index finger, slowly sliding downward until her fingertip slipped beneath his collar. In a hushed voice, she murmured, “You said you saw everything, took advantage of me. Shouldn't I take my turn now? Otherwise, I'd be the one at a disadvantage!”

Han Mingyi seized Du Xiaoli's hand abruptly. “Li'er, don't play with fire!”

Du Xiaoli pulled her hand free. “But you said I could do whatever I wanted with you!”

“If you're not afraid of burning yourself, I'd love for you to keep going,” Han Mingyi said with a smile.

Uh...

Du Xiaoli might not have eaten pork, but she knew what pigs looked like. Seeing Han Mingyi's expression, she realized this game couldn't continue. She grabbed the quilt and rolled off, taking it with her as she rolled away from Han Mingyi.

“Hey, get dressed and get out of here,” Du Xiaoli said, peeking out like a caterpillar from a cocoon.

Han Mingyi took two deep breaths, glancing at Du Xiaoli’s expression and chuckling inwardly. What a teasing little vixen! She’d stirred his desire and then walked away.

What was infuriating was that he’d brought this on himself!

His own body was strange. Back when he saw Lu Junqi completely naked, he hadn't felt a thing. But now, with her still wrapped in a towel, merely lying on top of him, it stirred something within him.

Seeing Han Mingyi hadn't moved, Du Xiaoli kicked him with her foot. “Hurry up! They'll be back any minute!”

Han Mingyi smiled dreamily, wanting to tease her further but afraid she'd keep provoking him—that would be too hard to resist. After all, he didn't want to get too intimate before their wedding.

He shifted his body, kissed her forehead, and said, “I'll go out first. You should hurry and get up now.”

After speaking, he sat up, slipped on his shoes and coat, turned to brush her cheek once more, then left.

Watching him depart, Du Xiaoli pulled the quilt over her head. Despite her earlier openness, this was her first time being so intimate with a man.

The thought of them waking up like an old married couple—exchanging greetings and playful banter—made her face burn like fire.

“Ugh—” She pulled back the quilt, revealing her flushed cheeks, and exhaled deeply. “Honestly, someday I'll make him pay! Always taking liberties with me! How annoying!”

After tossing and turning on the bed for a while, she finally dragged herself up to get dressed.

Outside, Han Mingyi leaned back on the couch, his face glowing with contentment as he recalled Du Xiaoli’s earlier display—blushing yet deliberately teasing him.

A moment later, Du Xiaoli emerged fully dressed, shot him a glare, and stormed out the door.

“Master.” Leng Yi and Leng San entered only after Du Xiaoli had left.

“What is it?” Han Mingyi asked.

“Leng Er and Mu Shan got into a fight,” Leng Yi reported.

“Oh?” Han Mingyi recalled how Leng Er had been tricked by Xia Yuan and Leng Yi earlier. “Isn't this what you wanted to see?”

“Ahem, Master, we only meant to help Leng Er recognize his feelings—not encourage him to fight!” Leng San protested.

“Same thing.” Han Mingyi said. “Since he likes fighting, let him. How are the other matters progressing?”

“All the traitorous officials have been arrested, and the defected troops are locked up. We found quite a bit of gold and silver treasure at Zhong Bolin's house today. Most of the other officials are also quite wealthy. I'd say some of them are even richer than our royal household!” Leng Yi reported.

“Yeah, Master, we're so poor we can't even match ordinary officials. How are we supposed to support everyone in the future?” Leng San added with a sigh.

“What's there to fear? If we run out of money, we'll just ask Li'er to support us.” Han Mingyi said nonchalantly.

The Prince's mansion running out of money? That was impossible!

Everyone knew that. Leng Yi and Leng San were merely lamenting the greed of corrupt officials, not in the least expecting Han Mingyi to respond so smoothly.

“The Princess Consort has money,” Leng San agreed.

“If Master doesn't mind, we won't either. I wonder if we could ask the Princess Consort to increase our monthly stipend.” Leng Yi pondered before speaking.

Han Mingyi delivered a swift kick in his direction. “Are you implying the monthly stipend I pay you is too low?”

Leng Yi leapt backward. “Your servant merely thought the Princess Consort might offer more. After all, we'll all be following her lead alongside our master from now on.”

Dream on! From now on, Li'er will only support me!“ Han Mingyi shot Leng Yi a look that screamed, 'dare to compete with me, and I'll destroy you.'

“But it was Master who suggested so,” Leng Yi retorted.

“This Prince has changed his mind,” Han Mingyi declared.

“Uh—”

Was this really their master?

“Master, what should we do with the confiscated wealth?” Leng San asked.

“Half goes to the treasury, half to the military payroll,” Han Mingyi said. “We were running low on funds anyway.”

“Understood.”

“What about other matters?”

“Numerous officials have been arrested, leaving vacancies. His Majesty requests Your Highness to rest well before we discuss official appointments together...”

When Du Xiaoli returned, she witnessed Leng Yi and Leng San reporting to Han Mingyi.

Han Mingyi's expression was utterly serious—a far cry from the roguish charm he'd displayed in bed earlier!

“Princess Consort,” Leng Yi and Leng San bowed to Du Xiaoli.

Hearing them address her as “Princess Consort,” Du Xiaoli pondered for a moment, unable to recall when they'd begun using that title!

She sat down on a nearby chair and asked, “What are you discussing? Should I step aside?”

“Your Highness, we were discussing the matter of having you support the entire household from now on,” Leng Yi replied.

“What?! Why should I support you all?” Du Xiaoli slammed her hand on the table, startling all three men into flinching.

“Your Highness, it's like this. We just reported to His Highness that the mansion is too impoverished. He said you should support us from now on.” Leng Yi, unaware of Han Mingyi's glare, continued, "Your Highness, your subordinates will rely on your monthly stipend henceforth. We heard from Xia Yuan and the others that their allowances are higher than ours. Might the Princess Consort be willing to increase ours?"

Du Xiaoli narrowed her eyes at Han Mingyi and said, “Do you know what your Prince intends to do while I go out to earn money to support the household?”

“These subordinates do not know,” Leng Yi and Leng San answered honestly.

“Li'er, ahem, well... should we go see the Empress later?” Han Mingyi cut in abruptly, steering the conversation away.

How could he let his subordinates know these things!

You can tell me to support you, but I won't let you get away with changing the subject!

Du Xiaoli smiled faintly. “As the saying goes, men earn the money to support the family, while women are responsible for being beautiful as flowers. Since your prince has declared I should earn the money to support the family, then he'll just have to be the one staying home looking beautiful as a flower.”

MoonWhisperer, skyrise's Thoughts

tl note: hihi the raws seem to skip a chapter and i have scoured the internet but been unable to find the missing chapter... hopefully this one is still interpretable and enjoyable!!

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