51 She's Cute

Staying up all night was hard enough but for someone who loved sleep more than life, Yu Mei gradually closed her eyes once the sun was out. She figured someone would unlock the door in a few minutes or so. Taking this chance, she closed her eyes. A few minutes she kept telling herself.

An hour later.

Pei Nan finally woke up. He scrunched his face from the sudden pounding in the back of his head. He recalled what happened. Pei Nan was on top of Yu Mei and the next thing he knew, he blacked out. With just that much, he could infer what happened. She knocked him out cold. That would be the only explanation for the sore spot behind his head.

He only realized Yu Mei was next to him when he turned. He looked at her. She was lying on her back, next to him. She had her arms and legs spread out like an "X". First thought, she was unrefined.

Pei Nan turned sideways to face her. He chuckled. She looked like a mess. But considering what she went through yesterday, he didn't blame her. Yu Mei had strands of hair on her face like seaweed.

Pei Nan stretched his hand over to her face, moving her hair out of her face. His fingers gently caressed her cheeks as he tucked her hair behind her ear. Her skin was very soft and smooth. For some reason, he couldn't take his eyes off her delicate face once. For the first time in his life, he was really looking at her. His finger lightly traced her brows down to her nose and then her cheeks. Yu Mei wrinkled her nose and slapped his hand away softly. She was still in a deep sleep but her face felt ticklish.

No matter how much Yu Mei wanted to open her eyes, they felt heavy and thus she fell right back to sleep. After watching her actions, a genuine smile appeared on his face. Even Pei Nan wasn't aware of this sudden change.

20 minutes had passed by and Pei Nan was still staring at her. [Have you always been this cute?] Pei Nan's eyes widened from shock. He actually said Yu Mei was cute. There was no way he would admit that to himself.

When he realized just what he did, his body turned away. This sudden movement woke Yu Mei up. Her eyes slowly opened to see his back.

*Yawn* Yu Mei quickly covered her mouth and slowly backed away from Pei Nan. She had completely forgotten they were on the same bed. Even though she was tired and had dark circles under her eyes, she couldn't stay here any longer. With the slightest movement, she pulled the covers off her body. Her elbows pushed at the bed, supporting her up. Just as she was about to sit up, Pei Nan quickly turned around and placed his hand around her stomach. "It's about time you're up." He sounded sweet but sinister at the same time. *Hehehe* "When did your highness wake up?"

"Just now. But..." with his free hand, he touched the back of his head. "My head is throbbing like crazy. What happened?" Yu Mei stared at him innocently. "Your highness doesn't remember? You fell off the bed and knocked out." Yu Mei played dumb, seeing that he didn't remember.

[Yu Mei, you sure have many lives to lie to me. Let's see if you will get away this time.] Pei Nan clenched his jaw. She really knew how to press his buttons. His arm around her stomach tightened. With one quick roll, he leaned on top of her. "Pan Yu Mei. You sure are getting bolder each day." His gaze went down to her right arm as he grabbed it, holding it up slightly. "Was it this arm that hit me last night?" he sinisterly spoke, bringing chills down Yu Mei's back.

"Your highness, I really had no choice. You were about to take advantage of me." Yu Mei sounded as if she was the victim and that he was in the wrong. "If it wasn't for my arm, you would have made a big mistake." He couldn't believe her. She was actually trying to pin this on him.

His gaze went up to her eyes. Even if he couldn't read her eyes, he could tell she really didn't have him in her eyes anymore. "Pan Yu Mei. Answer me truthfully. How do you see me?" Upon hearing his question, she frowned. He could be described as three things to her; a bully who always scolded her, a tyrant who always orders her around or her landlord who lets her stay for free. Of course she would never say this to him. "Your highness is the mightiest prince and the future emperor." She tried to sweet talk him. But why did he frown at her. "And?"

[And? What do you want me to say?] "And…a very rich prince to add." Pei Nan immediately let go of her and walked over to the door. He was right; not only did she stop loving him, she had turned insane.

Thankfully the door had been unlocked a while ago. Pei Nan could not stay in the room any longer.

After freshening up, everyone headed over to the main hall to have breakfast. The empress was the first to sit as she waited for her two sons and daughter-in-laws to come over. One by one they arrived. Fei Ning arrived a few minutes earlier than Pei Nan. This flustered the empress. Weren't they supposed to have arrived at the same time? After all, they did share one room last night.

Pei Nan sat on the right and Gu Shao sat on the left. Just so happens, Yu Mei chose to sit next to Gu Shao. "Good morning Brother Xu." Gu Shao whispered towards Yu Mei. She slightly turned her face and scrunched her nose annoyed. "Don't call me that." She spoke through her clenched teeth. "Worried?" he once again teased her.

"Not worried, just being careful." She pretended. They only stopped whispering when the empress cleared her throat. "Nan, I heard you didn't go to your room last night. Did you think about what I said last night?" The empress smiled at him.

Fei Ning was the first one to stare at him. He didn't go to his room? Then who did he spend the night with? Yu Mei also looked at him nervously. Surely he wouldn't say they slept in the same room, right?

"I was with Consort Pan." He casually spoke. "Hopefully a grandchild can be produced soon." He carelessly added. Pei Nan didn't forget to look at Yu Mei as he spoke these words. As if challenging her to say something. [So annoying.] Yu Mei rolled her eyes at him.

Fei Ning curled her hands into fists as she felt her muscles tense up. She had finally understood the situation. Why did she have to change rooms? How stupid she was. And to think her mother-in-law didn't say anything to her beforehand. If she did, she would have endured the scented candles. The only reason she changed rooms was because the scent in the room was giving her a headache.

[Petty Nan. What nonsense are you spouting? What grandchild? We didn't even sleep together.]

Empress Ping looked at him in disbelief. Her palace maid had notified her that he was locked in Fei Ning's room. So why was Yu Mei there instead of Fei Ning? "I hope that is true." Empress Ping smiled at Pei Nan before dropping the subject. Yu Mei didn't bother to correct the misunderstanding either. Yes, her reputation was ruined by him but on the good note, seeing how upset her mother-in-law was regarding this matter, she let it go.

After the quiet breakfast ended, everyone bid the empress farewell before heading back home.