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Chapter 14 – Sleepwalking Again
While Yan Lin was deep in thought, he suddenly heard a faint rustling sound.
Frowning, he looked up—only to see a blurry figure walking toward him, then climbing into his bed on her own.
He: “……”
After lying down, Chu Baihan curled up into his arms like a cat, nuzzling against him.
Feeling the softness in his arms, along with the faint, pleasant scent of medicinal herbs on her, Yan Lin's face twisted in discomfort and awkwardness.
“Chu Baihan.” He spoke through gritted teeth. He seriously suspected she was just pretending to be asleep.
He had tried several times to throw her off the bed, but to his surprise, she had persistently climbed back up each time.
In the end, he gave up, letting her have her way with a dark expression on his face.
…
The next morning, when Chu Baihan woke up, she realized she was lying in the bed—and her heart sank heavily.
What on earth had she done last night?
Could it be… her sleepwalking had returned?
She smacked her forehead, looking very frustrated.
Back in Jiangnan, she had once sleepwalked into a lake and nearly drowned. Thankfully, Nan Xing found her in time and saved her.
Ever since, whenever she slept, she would cling to anything nearby and never let go—afraid she might drown again.
But she hadn’t had an episode like this for years. Why now?
And more importantly, had she done anything inappropriate to a certain Prince Lin?
She turned and felt the bedding beside her—it was already cold.
Forget it. There were more important things to do!
Suppressing her emotions, Chu Baihan quickly got up.
After a simple wash and dressing up, she headed to the study room.
“Ziying, help me pass a message to your prince. I have something I’d like to discuss with him,” she whispered to the guard at the door.
Ziying hesitated for a moment, then went inside to deliver the message.
He came out quickly and said sternly, “Princess Consort, His Highness said if you have anything to say, just say it from outside.”
So petty! She helped detoxify him last night, and now he wouldn’t even agree to a face-to-face meeting? Chu Baihan grumbled inwardly.
But she hadn’t come just to see him anyway.
“Your Highness, I need to go out for something.”
She didn't believe that she, a nominal princess consort, could freely enter and exit the prince’s residence. To avoid trouble, she thought it best to ask in advance.
The room was eerily quiet. After a long time with no response, Chu Baihan grew increasingly resigned.
Knowing how suspicious he was, there was no way he’d let her go out.
But just as she turned around in disappointment, a cold voice from inside said, “You may go, but take Ziying with you.”
He agreed?
Chu Baihan lit up with surprise. “Thank you, Your Highness.”
Even though having Ziying follow her meant he didn’t trust her, she hadn’t expected him to agree at all.
Hearing her excited voice outside, Yan Lin frowned.
He had only agreed to one request, and she was that easily satisfied? He thought she would be as clingy and troublesome as she was while asleep.
Thinking of that, his expression turned a bit unnatural again.
…
Upon learning that Chu Baihan was going out, Madam Xiao assigned her a maid from the residence.
So, Chu Baihan and the maid boarded a carriage, with Ziying acting as the driver outside.
“What’s your name?” Chu Baihan asked softly, raising her eyebrows at the maid opposite her, a girl with two braids and flushed cheeks.
“Thi-this lowly maid is called Ruolan,” the maid replied nervously.
Seeing her reaction, Chu Baihan couldn’t help but smile.
Because in this girl, she saw a bit of Nan Xing.
Nan Xing had also been timid. She wondered how Nan Xing was doing now back at the Chu residence…
Her smile faded slightly at the thought.
“Prin-Princess Consort, did I do something wrong?” Ruolan panicked when she noticed Chu Baihan’s change in expression and thought she had made a mistake.
“It’s nothing. You didn’t do anything wrong. Tell me a bit about the prince’s residence,” Chu Baihan reassured her softly.
Perhaps because of Chu Baihan’s gentle tone, Ruolan visibly relaxed.
Respectfully, she asked, “Princess Consort, what would you like to know?”
“How come I haven’t seen any of the prince’s concubines since arriving at the residence?” Chu Baihan rested her chin in her hand, curious.
The residence was quite large, but it felt unusually cold and empty.
There weren’t many servants, let alone concubines—none had shown up.
“Princess Consort… you don’t know about the prince’s past?” Ruolan’s expression turned strange, her brows furrowing.
“Oh? You mean the rumors that anyone who got too close after he was injured would likely lose their head?” Chu Baihan slapped her forehead as if suddenly understanding, blatantly saying it aloud.
She had experienced that firsthand—on their wedding night, she had nearly had her neck snapped by Prince Lin.
“But what I’m curious about is, before the accident, did your prince not have any women? He’s not exactly young, you know.”
Chu Baihan murmured, still resting her chin in her hand.
Ruolan was so shocked by her words that she nearly cried. The princess consort was truly bold to say such things out loud.
Outside the carriage, Ziying, with his strong internal energy, heard every word clearly—and his expression twisted.
**Not young?** The prince was only in his twenties! Still very young!
“Prin-Princess Consort, please don’t say things like that again,” Ruolan braced herself and continued, “The prince never had any concubines. He spent years on the battlefield. The imperial consort and court officials did try to place women in the residence, but each time the prince returned, he ordered the guards to throw them out—no exceptions.”
“I see. That explains his violent temper after his injury. But even before that, he disliked women? Could it be some… hidden condition?”
As a physician, Chu Baihan couldn’t help but speculate.
And she mumbled those thoughts out loud.
Ruolan wanted to cry even more—this wasn’t something a lowly maid like her could comment on!
Outside the carriage, Ziying’s face became increasingly unreadable.
“All right, enough about that. Tell me—what’s the situation with the medical clinics in the capital?” Chu Baihan yawned lazily and changed the subject.
Ruolan breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they weren’t discussing the prince, she was happy to talk.
“There are many clinics in the capital, but the most famous is Guangming Hall, run by the Su family from Prince Su’s estate. Most of the best physicians in the city have been recruited there.”
So that’s how it was.
Chu Baihan lowered her gaze, hiding the cold glint in her eyes.
Physicians were the easiest way to win the people’s hearts. No wonder Yan Lin said the Su family had earned the crown prince a great deal of prestige.
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