After Transmigration, I Snag a Stunning Bigwig as My Husband-Chapter 475: Overthinking

In the early morning, the mist enveloped Qingqiu Garden like a light veil.

Gradually.

A ray of light appeared at the horizon, dispersing the mist, and shone on the little maid on the steps.

Xique woke up, moved slightly, and leaned against the still-sleeping Caiju, startling herself awake.

Only then did the two maids realize that they had actually slept outside overnight.

Recalling the commotion from last night, both maids blushed with embarrassment.

"Has the Prince left?" Caiju asked curiously.

"I don’t know," Xique replied.

The two maids tiptoed up, leaned against the door, but couldn’t see anything.

They wished to push the door open and go in but lacked the courage.

You push me, I push you.

In the end, neither went in.

The Prince had left; it would not be too late to enter once Lady Chi awoke.

If the Prince hadn’t left, they risked disturbing his sleep and getting punished.

The two maids returned inside to freshen up.

However, they were unaware that as they talked outside, the Prince had just woken up.

Every hour the Prince wakes up.

This was a long-formed habit from attending early court and training troops.

But this time, waking up with a soft body in his arms made the Prince exceptionally alert.

He slightly turned his head and saw a face full of scars.

Before he could be shocked by the scars on her face, he noticed the whip marks on Lady Chi’s arm.

A shocking sight.

Although Lady Chi had been using the ointment Su Jin gave her, which had lightened the scars significantly.

But being this close, their breaths intertwined.

Lady Chi’s facial scars were clear to the Prince.

Even knowing from Caiju about the whip marks on Lady Chi’s body, he couldn’t help but be stunned by the severity of her injuries.

On the battlefield, he’s witnessed all sorts of brutality during two armies’ clashes.

Yet he had never seen a woman so severely injured.

Her smooth skin accentuated the glaring whip marks even more.

These bleeding marks make one shiver.

After the shock from Lady Chi’s injuries, the Prince fleetingly wondered how he ended up holding Lady Chi in his arms?

After thinking for a long time, all the Prince could recall was going to Peony Garden, mistaking Princess Nanzhang, and getting slapped by her.

Leaving Peony Garden, he was drawn by a piano sound.

What happened afterward, he could not remember. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

The Prince rubbed his temples, feeling a bit groggy, and lifted the covers to get out of bed.

However, as soon as he moved his arm, Lady Chi awoke.

Their eyes met.

All of the Prince’s focus was on Lady Chi’s eyes.

But Lady Chi, worried about the scars on her face being seen by the Prince, hid herself under the blanket.

The Prince felt that he must have been bewitched by those eyes.

With Lady Chi hidden under the blanket and knowing she couldn’t speak, the Prince said nothing.

He got off the bed, picked up the brocade robe lying on the floor, and put it on.

Once properly dressed, the Prince looked back at the bed.

He knew Lady Chi was watching him.

However, when he turned around, he saw nothing, only her long black hair exposed from under the blanket.

Lady Chi had been in the mansion for over a decade, and the Prince had met her only a handful of times.

The Prince never imagined a day he’d be so entangled with her.

He couldn’t recall anything from last night.

But the Prince would not shirk his responsibility.

Moreover, Lady Chi was his to begin with.

The Prince took the jade pendant from his waist, placed it on the table, and left.

Qingqiu Garden, being remote and with the early hour, had only a few sleepy maids lazily sweeping fallen leaves in the garden.

Some, even hugging their brooms, dozed against rockeries.

This was how it always was, but this time they were startled by the Prince’s passing.

However, the Prince ignored them.

Seeing the Prince leave, a few young maids gathered, patting their chests in relief.

"Why was the Prince in the inner courtyard?" one of the young maids asked, still scared.

"The Prince entered Peony Garden last night," another maid replied.

"No wonder..."

Back in Qingqiu Garden.

After the Prince left, Xique and Caiju entered the house with a copper basin.

Lady Chi leaned against the pillow, lost in thought.

Xique congratulated Lady Chi, and Caiju was also happy for her.

After so many years in Prince Zhenbei Mansion, Lady Chi finally received the Prince’s affection; it was truly something to celebrate.

The two maids were genuinely happy for Lady Chi.

But seeing Lady Chi’s face, Xique and Caiju exchanged glances.

Maybe they were happy too soon?

With the darkness last night, the Prince couldn’t see clearly and thus favored their Madam.

Now that the Prince was awake, he was surely frightened by Madam’s disfigured face; otherwise, why would Madam be unhappy?

However, this joyful matter was not something to be spread around.

If the Prince protected Lady Chi, it would be fine; if not, considering Princess Nanzhang’s intolerance, wouldn’t she steamroll over Qingqiu Garden from top to bottom?

Though Lady Chi was not young anymore, what if she got pregnant?

Even if the Prince disliked Lady Chi’s face, he wouldn’t despise his own flesh and blood.

If Qingqiu Garden had a young master or mistress, it would be some guarantee.

Following Lady Chi, wherever they went, others would ignore Xique, knowing less than those like Caiju who served in the outer courtyard.

Letting Princess Nanzhang know the Prince favored Lady Chi, the first thing she’d do for sure is send a bowl of abortion soup.

There would go the baby boy or girl.

Lady Chi gestured for water to bathe; Xique and Caiju didn’t understand until she wrote it down on paper.

At the Peony Garden.

Princess Nanzhang woke up a bit late.

Having tossed and turned half the night unable to sleep, she woke up later than usual.

Mrs. Zhao had already started arranging the day’s affairs.

A young maid came running over, whispered something into Mrs. Zhao’s ear, "The Prince only returned to the outer courtyard this morning."

Mrs. Zhao was shocked.

Returned to the inner courtyard in the morning?

Where had the Prince been staying the whole night?

Ordinarily, Mrs. Zhao wouldn’t be worried, but she had given the Prince plenty of medicine last night, a dose sufficient to mistake any maid for his desired one.

The Imperial Physician mentioned that the medicine would not only cause hallucinations but also aphrodisiac effects.

It shouldn’t be confused with aphrodisiacs, to generalize.

One simply induced desire, while the other triggered deeper yearning.

"Go find out where the Prince stayed last night," Mrs. Zhao instructed.

The young maid was puzzled.

Besides Princess Nanzhang, only Lady Chi resided in the back courtyard of the Prince’s Mansion.

If not staying with Princess Nanzhang, could he have stayed at Qingqiu Garden?

The young maid went out to inquire, but no one knew where the Prince had stayed the night.

The first place anyone saw the Prince was in the garden, but who knew where he had passed through to return through the garden to the outer courtyard?

Unable to gather more information, the young maid headed to Qingqiu Garden to ask Caiju if the Prince had stayed there.

Caiju looked at the young maid, "Doesn’t the Prince always stay in the outer courtyard?"

The young maid rolled her eyes.

The mere question implied that the Prince hadn’t stayed at Qingqiu Garden.

Thinking about it, the Prince had never visited Lady Chi in all her years at the Mansion; if he had favored her now, she wouldn’t be this unhappy.

Caiju wanted to ask more, but the young maid lifted her chin, strutting away like a victorious rooster.

The young maid returned and truthfully reported her findings to Mrs. Zhao.

Mrs. Zhao also thought it unlikely that the Prince had stayed at Qingqiu Garden. The Prince had left the Peony Garden late at night, unlikely encountering any maid; perhaps he merely dozed off somewhere. Maybe she was overthinking.