The door creaked open, a rude intrusion into their private world.
"Your Highness, it's time to leave no—"
Jun froze mid-sentence, his body going rigid. His eyes, usually so disciplined, widened in sheer disbelief at the sight before him.
The Seventh Prince. And Leena. Their hands were clasped together, a silent, intimate confession in the soft morning light. It was a picture of tenderness so at odds with the prince's usual icy demeanor that it seemed to short-circuit Jun's very understanding of the world.
The silence that followed was thick and suffocating, broken only by the frantic hammering of Leena's heart against her ribs.
This is bad. This looks so, so bad.
Her instincts screamed at her to retreat. She immediately tried to pull her hand away, a flush of heat rising to her cheeks. But Li Wei's grip only tightened, his fingers lacing more firmly with hers. It wasn't a harsh hold, but a deliberate, possessive one. A statement.
"We'll leave soon," the prince said, his tone clipped, cold, and layered with a finality that brooked no argument. It was the voice he used to end discussions in the court.
Jun's own face flushed a deep, embarrassed red. He looked like a man who had accidentally walked in on a sacred ritual. "U-understood, Your Highness," he stammered, bowing sharply. He backed out of the room as if fleeing a fire and shut the door with a soft, definitive click.
The moment they were alone again, Leena rounded on Li Wei, her embarrassment twisting into frustrated panic. She was still tugging at her trapped wrist.
"What are you doing?! He saw—he'll get the wrong idea!"
Instead of answering, the prince gave a gentle but firm tug, pulling her closer.
She stumbled off balance, falling forward—straight into the solid wall of his chest. The scent of sandalwood filled her senses.
Her breath caught, stolen by the sudden proximity.
Before she could gather her wits to push him away, his arms wrapped around her, drawing her into a tight embrace. It was firm, secure, but not crushing. His chin came to rest gently on the top of her head, and his voice was a low, quiet rumble that vibrated through his chest and into hers.
"…I needed that."
Needed what? The hug? Holding me?
Her cheeks flamed hotter than the morning sun. Her mind spun, trying to reconcile this man—the one who held her as if she were something precious and essential—with the cold, untouchable prince she thought she knew.
She opened her mouth, a protest forming on her lips—
But at the exact same moment, Li Wei stiffened. He pulled back just enough to look down at her, his dark eyes wide with a new, dawning shock. His gaze was fixed intently on her mouth.
"You…" he breathed, the words barely a whisper. "You can talk."
She blinked, processing his words. Then, a gasp escaped her. It had. The sound had been clear, unstrained. The raw, burning tightness in her throat was gone.
"I—I can talk!" she exclaimed, the words feeling foreign and wonderful on her tongue.
They both spoke over each other in a stunned, joyous chaos.
Leena quickly wriggled free—not that his hold had been a prison—and sat back down on the edge of the bed, a brilliant, disbelieving smile breaking across her face like a sunrise.
"My voice… it came back!" The sound of her own laughter, free and unbroken, was the most beautiful music she had heard in days.
For once, Li Wei didn't even try to mask his feelings. His lips curved upward into a genuine, unguarded smile, the warmth in his eyes so unmistakable it made her heart flip. "That's perfect," he said, his voice soft. "We'll need your voice."
Her brows knitted in confusion. "We? Why?"
He lifted a hand, resting it lightly atop her head. His fingers brushed through her hair in a rare, breathtaking gesture of tenderness that made her breath hitch.
"Did you forget the quarantine? I'll speak with the royal physicians, you will assist the head physician directly. Officially."
Her eyes widened, her breath catching in her newly healed throat.
Assist the head physician… officially?
It was a dream she never thought possible. A woman. A foreigner. Being recognized for her skills, invited into the heart of Tang medical practice. It was a validation she had craved her entire life.
Her laughter bubbled out uncontrollably, her smile so radiant it could have lit the entire room. "Really? You mean it? This isn't a joke?"
Li Wei simply nodded, watching her with a quiet, deep satisfaction, as though her joy alone was a reward worth any political risk. "Get ready," he said, his tone shifting back to that of a prince, though the warmth in his eyes remained. "We leave immediately."
-------
The carriage wheels rumbled rhythmically against the dirt road, a monotonous soundtrack to the tension simmering inside.
The air was thick and uncomfortable. Jun sat stiffly on the bench across from them, his gaze a physical weight. It flicked again and again between Leena and the prince, his expression a mixture of disbelief and deep concern. The intensity of his stare made Leena shift uncomfortably, her hands clasped tightly in her lap.
Finally, Li Wei snapped, his patience shattering. "Speak, or stop staring. It's irritating."
Jun hesitated, his loyalty warring with his confusion. He bowed his head slightly in deference. "…Your Highness, it's only that—this doesn't look like you."
Li Wei's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "What do you mean?"
Jun swallowed hard, steeling himself. "Spending the night with a woman in a secluded inn… the… the touching…" He gestured vaguely, unable to finish the sentence.
"Nothing happened!" Leena burst out, her voice a little too high-pitched. The words tumbled out in an undignified rush.
Jun looked at her, his face a mask of pure skepticism.
Why lie? I saw you with my own eyes.
Leena floundered, her mind racing for any plausible excuse. "I—I was just… just trying to scare away a bug! Yes, a giant bug. It was flying around the prince's face. It could have bitten him! I was protecting His Highness!"
Jun blinked slowly, the disbelief on his face only deepening. "…A bug."
Leena nodded furiously, clinging to her ridiculous story. "Yes! A very… persistent one. It could have hurt him. Surely you, as his guard, understand the need for constant vigilance."
To her immense relief, Jun gave a small, stiff nod, though the doubt continued to cloud his eyes. The story was flimsy, but it was an offering, a way to save face for everyone.
Li Wei, however, wasn't about to let the challenge to his authority slide. His voice cut through the cramped space like a honed blade. "Jun." The single word was a warning. "My private life is none of your concern. You are here to protect and serve. Nothing more. No glances. No judgments. Is that understood?"
The edge in his tone was absolute. Authoritative. It was the voice of the future emperor, and it brooked no dissent.
Leena glanced sideways at him, caught off guard by the sheer, terrifying force in his words. For all his unexpected gentleness with her, he could be a ruthless, commanding leader when his authority was questioned. And oddly… she found herself admiring that ferocity. It was the other side of the coin to his protectiveness.
The carriage finally rolled to a halt, jolting them slightly. Through the window, the looming, austere gates of the Westwood Estate came into view.
The quarantine grounds.
The moment Leena stepped down from the carriage, drawing the fresh air into her lungs, familiar voices called out, slicing through the heavy atmosphere.
"Madam, I missed you so much!" Maya rushed to her, her eyes misty with relief as she clutched Leena's arms.
"Leena! You must stop worrying us like this," Chen Yu scolded, her face a comical mask of exaggerated concern. "I was so worried I couldn't eat or sleep at all!"
Leena's lips twitched. There, at the very corner of Chen Yu's mouth, was the undeniable, gleaming evidence of a very recent honey cake.
Suppressing a laugh, she pulled a silk handkerchief from her sleeve and gently wiped the sugar stain away. "I can see the depths of your suffering," she teased softly, her voice still a wonder to her own ears.
From the corner of her eye, she saw both Bao Wen and Li Wei step forward almost in unison, their postures tense as if to intervene in the reunion—
But before either man could speak, a grave voice interrupted them.
"Your Highness."
The head physician stood waiting, his hands tucked into his sleeves, his face grim. He bowed deeply. "I need a word. In private."
The air, which had just begun to lighten, turned heavy and cold again in an instant.
ᯓᡣ𐭩 To be continued... ִֶָ𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ🐇་༘࿐