Chapter 131: Chapter 130: You Will Lose Me Chapter 131: Chapter 130: You Will Lose Me Shen Chuwei rubbed her hands together and approached the table with curiosity.

She stared at the securely wrapped item for a moment before reaching out to untie the knot in the cloth bag herself.

As the knot came undone and the cloth bag was opened, she caught a glimpse of a corner of Mount Lu.

She vaguely sensed a bad premonition.

Xiao Jinyan walked over, helped her take the item out of the cloth bag, and placed it on the round table, allowing Shen Chuwei to see it clearly.

It was an ancient guqin.

Shen Chuwei didn’t understand the qin, but since it was a gift from Xiao Jinyan, it certainly wasn’t an ordinary one.

Xiao Jinyan said, “This is the qin I used when I was learning to play.

Now I am giving it to you.”

She hadn’t even figured out how to play Go Chess yet, and now the qin had come to join in the fun.

It seemed he was really determined to make her talented.

Oh my goodness!

Shen Chuwei looked up at Xiao Jinyan, not minding at all that she had come empty-handed.

She touched her chest and spoke insincerely, “Your Highness, you are too kind to this concubine.”

Xiao Jinyan was noncommittal, “You’ve learned Go Chess very quickly, and I believe you can learn the qin just as fast.”

Shen Chuwei’s face split into a grin.

She had been playing Go haphazardly; Xiao Jinyan’s long list of rules went in one ear and out the other, not a single word remembered.

She felt it necessary to explain.

“Your Highness, this concubine has no clue about Go.

I was just flailing around blindly; you can’t take it seriously,” Shen Chuwei said sincerely.

Xiao Jinyan chuckled lightly, “No need to be modest.”

Shen Chuwei couldn’t help a rueful laugh, “…” She really wasn’t being modest!

Xiao Jinyan, recalling the unfinished Go game from that night, suddenly felt inclined to play, “It’s not yet time for dinner; play a game of Go with me.”

Shen Chuwei’s eyes lit up, “Sure.”

This time, she would let Xiao Jinyan witness her clumsy skills at the game.

The Go board in Xiyun Pavilion had all been brought by Xiao Jinyan from his own residence.

The board was set on the table, Shen Chuwei played the black pieces, and Xiao Jinyan the white.

Shen Chuwei started feeling drowsy just looking at the densely packed grid, possibly because she hadn’t taken a nap that afternoon.

She propped her chin with one hand, watching Xiao Jinyan place a white piece.

She did the opposite, not putting her piece near his, and chose a random empty spot to place it.

Xiao Jinyan glanced at her moves and frowned slightly, placing a white piece next to her black one.

Shen Chuwei remained headstrong, not placing her pieces next to the white ones.

By the end, the board was full of pieces, and the game had reached a stalemate.

Xiao Jinyan looked up at Shen Chuwei.

Shen Chuwei, feeling guilty, didn’t dare to meet Xiao Jinyan’s gaze and instead focused on the board.

Had he caught on to her incompetence?

Chun Xi entered and asked, “Your Highness, shall I serve dinner?”

Xiao Jinyan replied, “Serve the meal.”

Shen Chuwei breathed a sigh of relief internally, stood to have her meal, and noticed she still held a black piece in her hand.

After glancing at the board, she casually placed it in the middle of a cluster of white pieces.

Xiao Jinyan was about to leave when he saw the black piece amid the white stones, a stroke of genius after apparent doom.

He bent down and picked up the black pieces one by one.

Shen Chuwei watched Xiao Jinyan’s actions with confusion but didn’t ask; her mind was already on the dining table.

After collecting the black pieces and looking at the board again, Xiao Jinyan’s lips curved slightly, and he straightened up to leave.

In the winter, food cools quickly, so Shen Chuwei had Chun Xi light a stove.

The pot of hot soup bubbled away, half spicy and half not.

Having seen quite a few extraordinary items at Xiyun Pavilion, Xiao Jinyan wasn’t surprised by the dual-purpose soup pot, enjoying the steaming dishes.

He looked up at Shen Chuwei, who was seated opposite him, eagerly eating with her head down.

After finishing dinner, Xiao Jinyan sat at his desk reading, while Shen Chuwei wanted to bathe and sleep early.

Before she could even speak, Xiao Jinyan tossed a book to her.

He said indifferently, “If you have nothing to do, you might as well read this.”

Shen Chuwei: “…” Who said she had nothing to do?

Sleeping is a top-priority matter!

Since the Crown Prince had spoken, she dared not object and sat with a book in front of her, pretending to read alongside the Crown Prince.

She propped her head with one hand, the book standing upright in front of her, and just like in modern times, even if she fell asleep, the teacher wouldn’t notice.

Xiao Jinyan glanced at Shen Chuwei and tapped her forehead with his hand, reminding her, “Keep your posture upright when reading.”

Shen Chuwei’s slight drowsiness was scared off by that tap; sitting up straight with the book, she stole a glance at Xiao Jinyan and noticed he was looking at her.

She guiltily averted her gaze.

She couldn’t help but silently mock that Xiao Jinyan was as strict as her former class teacher.

She was just shy of hearing the classic exhortations about the value of hard study from her teacher – how failing to endure the hardship of studying in youth would lead to greater hardships in life.

But no matter what her teacher said, it would never change her desire to live an easy life.

“Xiao Jiu.”

A cold voice sounded overhead, and Shen Chuwei looked up at Xiao Jinyan, “Your Highness, what are your orders?”

Xiao Jinyan said, “You’re holding the book upside down.”

Shen Chuwei looked down and realized her mistake, feeling terribly embarrassed.

She quickly flipped it around and set it right.

Just as Shen Chuwei was dozing off while reading, she finally heard Xiao Jinyan say, “Go bathe and rest.”

Without another word, Shen Chuwei stood and began to undress Xiao Jinyan.

She was well-practiced at undressing Xiao Jinyan.

Xiao Jinyan watched her with an urgent look on her face: “…”

Shen Chuwei efficiently stripped off Xiao Jinyan’s clothes and placed them on a rack, respectfully saying, “Your Highness, you may proceed.”

“You’re getting more and more skilled,” Xiao Jinyan dropped the remark and walked behind the screen.

Shen Chuwei: “…” Dressing and undressing you every other day, how could I not become skilled?

At bedtime, Shen Chuwei no longer treated Xiao Jinyan as an outsider, as their sleep was always purely that.

She slept with her back to him without fear of any sudden moves from Xiao Jinyan, positioning herself for maximum comfort.

Xiao Jinyan noticed this too, as she used to face him directly, sleeping against the wall.

Now she dared to sleep close to him.

It was probably because the words he had spoken allowed her to entertain inappropriate thoughts, and her courage had grown.

As Shen Chuwei was about to close her eyes to sleep, she noticed the Crown Prince was still awake.

Feeling awkward to sleep first, she asked,

“Your Highness, won’t you rest?”

“Hmm,” Xiao Jinyan responded and turned away, closing his eyes to rest.

With the year-end approaching, he had been very busy and needed proper rest.

Seeing him asleep, Shen Chuwei immediately closed her eyes, almost instantly falling asleep.

*

Snowflakes drifted outside, scatteringly, delicately.

Today, Shen Chuwei was teaching Chun Xi how to make strawberry ice cream.

After two attempts, they finally succeeded.

Chun Xi tasted a spoonful and couldn’t help but praise, “Young Mistress, this strawberry ice cream is really delicious.”

“Of course.

Strawberry ice cream is a favorite among girls.

Let little rabbit and the others try it too,” Shen Chuwei said, satisfied after tasting a spoonful.

“This servant will do so immediately.”

As soon as Chun Xi finished speaking, Concubine Xu entered slowly, seeing the mistress and servant enjoying something together.

“Lady Shen, what are you eating?”