“In that case, I want to take you as my bedwarmer. What do you say to that?” said Prince Jing solemnly.

Chunhua trembled. Bowing his head low, he said, “I belong to Your Highness. I will do whatever Your Highness wants.”

“Is that so?” Prince Jing raised his eyebrows slightly and said searchingly, “Yet Hongjian wishes to take you for his first wife. The Xiao family has always been unconventional. They do not consider family background when it comes to marriage. Hongjian isn’t playing around. If he’s serious, he’ll almost certainly be able to do as he says. Whereas I only want you for my bedwarmer.”

Chunhua had been sitting in a chair facing Prince Jing with his head lowered, so Prince Jing was unable to see his expression. But when he heard this, he stood and walked up to Prince Jing. The big and broad Chunhua was half a head taller than the tall and slender Prince Jing. He looked down at Prince Jing, scrutinized him, then said firmly, “If I can enjoy Your Highness’s favor, never mind being a bed warming maid, even a single fleeting night of pleasure would be a blessing.”

His strong arms leaned against the arms of the chair, encircling Prince Jing in his embrace. The two loops of his hair were a little long and dangled over Prince Jing’s head.

Prince Jing was entirely unconcerned by Chunhua’s invasive gaze. He caught a lock of dangling hair and stroked it gently, then moved his hand down to touch the slight swell of Chunhua’s chest. Those firm, taut muscles concealed a frightening strength.

“How is your cooking coming along?” Prince Jing asked.

“All right,” said Chunhua. “Naturally, I can’t make food as good as my master’s, but with enough practice, it’s at least edible.”

Prince Jing applied a bit of force to Chunhua’s chest, unexpectedly pushing him half a meter away. In his white robes, Prince Jing got to his feet and with an air of detachment from the mundane said, “I thought you were different from other girls, but it turns out you’re nothing special. You all want to fly up to the branch and become a phoenix. Go and do your duty. You’re only a maid who tends the kitchen fire.”

Chunhua was thwarted.

So this meant that if he couldn’t cook well, he wasn’t allowed in bed? Injustice!

Cooks in the real world went through intensive training, and in the game, all the cooks’ secret recipes were things that could be found online. Everything the cooks made tasted good, but the players themselves couldn’t do that. For the players, no matter how much they studied with a cook, their cooking skills would be whatever they were in reality. In the kitchen, at most he had some extra opportunities to cook and memorize some of the recipes the cook passed on to him, which could easily be found online. There was no way he could make food that tasted the same as his teacher’s!

But now Prince Jing had made it clear that he was dissatisfied with his cooking. Chunhua had no choice but to say obediently, “Then I will return to the kitchen and continue refining my skills. Only…Your Highness, can I change my hairstyle?”

Prince Jing’s eyes swept over Chunhua’s trailing hair loops, and his lips curved into an intoxicating arc. “I think it’s very pretty. Keep it like that.”

Are you serious, Your Highness? Chunhua looked reproachfully at Prince Jing.

“Yes, just like that.” Prince Jing walked up to Chunhua and tilted up his head to take in his expression. He reached out to toy with a lock of hair and said, “Chunhua, try a little harder to win my fancy.”

Then he sent Chunhua from his room, shutting the foregoing sensuality behind the door.

Chunhua touched his hair, sighed feebly, and at last resolved to return to the kitchen and work hard to practice cooking in order to win Prince Jing’s fancy.

After this, Chunhua worked harder and harder. Whenever he had time, he would hang around the kitchen. He didn’t need anyone to teach him but practiced on his own. He had understood why Prince Jing wanted to make him practice here; here, it didn’t matter how bad the food he made was. He wouldn’t be wasting resources. Anyway, Prince Jing was rich. He could afford all the ingredients he wanted.

Chunhua’s teacher was very approving of the way he applied himself. Even the kitchen maids thought that Chunhua, being strong and diligent, was clearly a maiden who would be able to support a family and bear children easily. All of them started planning matches for him. Chunhua’s attitude toward this was firm refusal, but all the maids and pages in the courtyard still somehow became devoted to him. There were always maids bringing him snacks, and the pages were always buying him rouge and face powder and such when they went out.

Chunhua was stumped.

And if that were all, that would have been one thing. At any rate, if these pages and maids were humiliated into a rage when he wouldn’t return their affections, they couldn’t hurt him. The trouble was Xiao Hongjian.

Xiao Hongjian had a complex background. His real grandfather was Xiao Jinshu, but his recorded grandfather was Xiao Jinyi, the one-time General of the North, sixth son of the Xiao family. His father was Xiao Jinshu’s oldest son, who had been set down to continue Xiao Jinyi’s line. Xiao Jinshu had seven sons, five of whom had been set down as children of his deceased brothers. Only two had children who could truly call him their grandfather. But, as his brothers had all passed away, he remained on excellent terms with those who had been written down as the others’ children, and they understood very well why their father had done as he did. They were willing to continue their uncles’ family lines and make offerings to them as their sons.

Xiao Hongjian was his father’s only child; his father had died shortly after he was born, so he was the only recorded grandchild of Xiao Jinyi. Xiao Jinshu greatly valued Xiao Jinyi’s family line, and for this reason was unwilling to allow Xiao Hongjian to go into battle and had raised him in the capital.

Because Emperor Ning’an greatly valued the Xiao family and also particularly favored Xiao Jinyi’s line, Xiao Hongjian had grown up as Prince Jing’s playmate. No one dared to offend him. Gradually, he had become a despot in the capital, often harassing cats and dogs and doing all the things expected of a profligate rich boy.

But since meeting Chunhua, he had gradually become captivated by this girl. Chunhua…he had an air about him that filled Xiao Hongjian with longing. Since he was little, he had heard his grandfather tell stories about the sole female member of the Xiao family—the empress, Xiao Jinyi. He greatly looked up to this elder. For some reason, when he saw Chunhua, he thought that if Empress Xiao were still alive, she would certainly have looked like Chunhua, with those straight brows and bright eyes, that robust figure, that righteous aura.

Chunhua was everything Xiao Hongjian yearned for. He adored Chunhua and couldn’t help coming to see him all the time.

When his demand for Prince Jing to give him Chunhua failed, Xiao Hongjian wrote a letter to his grandfather saying that he had fallen in love with a girl; though she was only a maid, she had a demeanor strongly reminiscent of Empress Xiao. He had to have Chunhua for his wife. When Chunhua had given birth to his child, he would go into battle!

Grandfather had the greatest esteem for his little sister, Empress Xiao. It would certainly make him angry if Xiao Hongjian said that someone resembled Empress Xiao. If Xiao Hongjian also expressed a desire to go into battle, Grandfather was sure to be so furious he would want to come to the capital and give Xiao Hongjian a beating to keep him from daydreaming and let go of this notion of going to war.

When Grandfather came to the capital and saw Chunhua, he would certainly agree with Xiao Hongjian’s opinion and help him take Chunhua away from his cousin.

Xiao Hongjian himself didn’t know why he was so confident; he just thought that Chunhua was so enchanting that Grandfather was sure to like her!

When he told Chunhua of his plans, Chunhua only patted him on the head affectionately and said with a sigh, “Your grandfather did well.”

Xiao Jinshu’s decision not to let Xiao Hongjian go to war had been absolutely right! The way Xiao Hongjian acted, nine lives wouldn’t be enough to keep him alive in battle.

Each time Xiao Hongjian came to see Chunhua, Prince Jing would summon Chunhua to his study the next day. The first time, Chunhua, lacking experience, had shown up empty-handed. Now he had become cleverer and brought food he had made. Prince Jing, commenting on how bad Chunhua’s cooking was, would eat every crumb of the food he had brought.

“Though this still tastes terrible, your cooking has actually improved a little,” Prince Jing said in what amounted to a compliment as he drank Chunhua’s soft-shell turtle soup.

Chunhua raised his eyebrows and stared as Prince Jing drank every last drop of the soup and smiled radiantly.

When he had finished the soup, Prince Jing said mildly, “Has Xiao Hongjian come to see you again?”

Chunhua smiled bitterly and said, “Master Xiao is still young.”

The implication was that he was too young and required discipline; as a family elder, he really wanted to give Xiao Hongjian a whipping!

“Things will get better when old Marquis Zhenbei arrives. Hasn’t Hongjian already written to him? He should be here soon,” said Prince Jing.

Xiao Jinshu had inherited the Marquis Zhenbei title, but Xiao Jinyi’s Duke Zhenguo title wasn’t hereditary; in Emperor Jingren’s heart, only Xiao Jinyi was deserving of that title. No one else would do.

Chunhua nodded and poured tea for Prince Jing.

Prince Jing sipped the tea elegantly, nodded, and said, “Your technique has improved.”

“Then might I be permitted to serve Your Highness?” Chunhua put his hand on Prince Jing’s leg and began imperceptibly to stroke until he reached a spot somewhere between his thigh and his waist.

Prince Jing gave Chunhua a calm glance and didn’t stop him.

So Chunhua gradually came closer and took Prince Jing by the hand. The two of them went to the study’s couch.

After an interval of service, Prince Jing’s face was flushed, and Chunhua was beginning to undo his own clothes. After servicing His Highness, naturally he wanted to resolve his own trouble.

But instead, the very well pleased Prince Jing tied his belt and said, “Enough. I grow weary. You may withdraw.”

Chunhua, halfway undressed, stared dumbfounded at Prince Jing. Enough? What do you mean, enough? That was enough? He hadn’t had enough!

Prince Jing brought a hand to Chunhua’s mouth and used his thumb to wipe away a trace of semen at the corner of his lips. Then he said, mildly, “You have not yet entirely taken my fancy. It’s unbecoming to be so hasty.”

Chunhua was silent.

He got off the couch, picked up the food box he had brought, returned to his room, locked the door, and took care of himself with profound frustration.

Sure enough, it was no easy matter to fly up to the branch and become a phoenix. Prince Jing truly was too hard to please.

But the matter didn’t end at that. When Chunhua once again went to the kitchen to practice cooking that night, a red-eyed Xiao Hongjian came to see him. He asked, “Chunhua, tell me, did Prince Jing force you?”

Chunhua stared at him.

Xiao Hongjian seized Chunhua’s wrist and said, “Don’t be afraid. If you tell me, I won’t abandon you. I know Prince Jing has your indenture and you can’t disobey him. I-I ought to have thought of it before. He took you from the Chen residence before I could, and he wouldn’t agree to give you to me. This was his intention all along. Oh, Chunhua, it isn’t your fault that you’re so beautiful. I’ll support you!”

Chunhua decided that he couldn’t allow Xiao Hongjian to hold on to his illusions, so he said, “No. I was willing.”

Xiao Hongjian shook his head in disbelief. “I know you’re only saying that because you don’t want me to fall out with Prince Jing. It’s all right. He might be His Majesty’s favorite prince, but he can’t have his way in everything. Chunhua, don’t be scared!”

“No!” Chunhua maintained. “I love His Highness and willingly warm his bed, even if I have no status. Prince Jing is a genius. It’s the blessing of three lifetimes to be able to serve him.”

Xiao Hongjian looked wounded. “That’s not true! You must—you must be lying to me!”

“It’s true,” said Chunhua.

The wounded Xiao Hongjian ran from the room and didn’t come see Chunhua for several days. Presumably he was off somewhere licking his wounds.

Having disposed of one suitor, Chunhua concentrated on pleasing Prince Jing. After that day in the study, Chunhua became bolder than before. Before, he had only gone to see Prince Jing when he was summoned; now he went on his own initiative, bringing breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a midnight snack to Prince Jing, by coincidence right before Prince Jing ate, so he could eat no one else’s cooking but his.

At last, one day, Prince Jing ate the dinner Chunhua had made and said, “Tonight you’ll move into the main compound to attend personally to me.”

In this context, personal attention usually meant bed warming. Prince Jing was saying this because he thought Chunhua’s cooking had improved lately, and he was granting his wish.

Therefore, singing praises to heaven and earth, Chunhua went back to his room to pack. Meanwhile, the fact that he was becoming Prince Jing’s bedwarmer had spread throughout the rear courtyard. Prince Jing was very chaste and to this point had kept no women in his rear courtyard, not even a maid to join him in bed. Now, one had suddenly appeared; everyone began to see Chunhua in a new light.

Some were bitterly jealous that Chunhua had cooked his way into Prince Jing’s bed, but most people maintained that Chunhua wasn’t that kind of girl. Prince Jing must have taken a liking to him because Chunhua was so lovely.

Whether they felt envy or sorrow, these people had little status and no say in the matter, so Chunhua moved into Prince Jing’s room.

That night, he serviced Prince Jing very, very thoroughly.

But perhaps Chunhua was too robust. The next day, Prince Jing didn’t get up, so he ordered Chunhua not to get up either. The two of them remained in the room until midday, at which point Prince Jing finally managed to sit up, get dressed, and, maintaining his usual dignity, instructed a page to bring food, taking care that it was mild, and to deliver some medicine. He came out alone and told Chunhua to stay in bed if anyone was around.

So the whole residence knew that Chunhua couldn’t get up in the morning after a night with the prince. Some applauded Prince Jing’s vigor, while others felt bad for Chunhua.

What they didn’t know was that when the medicine was brought to Prince Jing’s room, it was Chunhua who helped Prince Jing apply it while apologizing profusely. He had once again forgotten that Prince Jing had no experience and couldn’t stand up to so much activity.

Chunhua didn’t think there was anything nice about this business of always making love for the first time.

After Chunhua came to live with Prince Jing, Xiao Hongjian came to the residence a few more times. Each time he saw Chunhua, his eyes turned red with rage. Chunhua kept his eyes cast down and ignored Xiao Hongjian, concentrating on serving Prince Jing.

Guests came several times to the residence, princes like Prince Zhou and Prince Zheng. They must have been curious: this fellow had claimed that, like the late emperor, he would only pick a single one of the world’s flowers, marry no one until he met the woman of his dreams—what kind of stunning bedwarmer had made him break his vow?

And when these princes saw Chunhua, they were astonished, then nodded surreptitiously and said to Prince Jing with an understanding look, “You certainly have an unerring eye. This woman is a rarity unlike any other. No wonder you’ve broken your vow for her.”

Chunhua truly could not work out whether these people were being sarcastic or sincere. He frequently went to the mirror and examined himself from all angles, and what he saw was always his own appearance. As a man, he could be called handsome, but as a woman with her hair done up in two loops… Chunhua himself didn’t want to spend too long looking in the mirror.

Seeing Chunhua’s confusion, Prince Jing said calmly, “The late emperor loved Empress Xiao deeply. After Empress Xiao passed away, he didn’t touch any other women. Everyone envied the emperor and empress’s profound love. Some decades have passed, and now all the people of Xia see Empress Xiao’s appearance as the standard of beauty, while other women are only common painted lovelies. Women are plentiful in this world, but women like Empress Xiao are exceedingly hard to come by. You resemble Empress Xiao. Naturally you are the height of beauty.”

After hearing this explanation, Chunhua said thoughtfully, “Did you do that while you were fixing bugs in the game?”

Prince Jing gave him a look and did not reply.

Chunhua thought he understood the vexation contained in this look.

He’d thought Prince Jing was getting some perverse enjoyment out of all this, but now it seemed that wasn’t the case. It must have been a small desire of Shen Zhiwei’s to have everyone in this world remember Empress Xiao. That was why he had made this change.

It was just that when Empress Xiao returned to this world with his own face, consequences ensued that not even Shen Zhiwei had anticipated.

Forget it. Anyway, none of it was a big deal. Apart from Xiao Hongjian, he didn’t even recall the faces of the people who had called him beautiful.

Just as Prince Jing expected, Xiao Jinshu, the old Marquis Zhenbei, soon came to the capital. When he’d learned that Xiao Hongjian wanted to marry Prince Jing’s bedwarmer, and that he kept saying that this maid’s demeanor was like Empress Xiao’s, old Marquis Zhenbei couldn’t stay still. First, he had come to give Xiao Hongjian the thrashing of a lifetime. Second, he wanted to see this woman who was “like” Empress Xiao and understand what kind of fox spirit had so bewitched Xiao Hongjian.

Even Emperor Ning’an called old Marquis Zhenbei “Uncle.” When the old marquis sent a note to Prince Jing’s residence indicating his intention to visit, Prince Jing naturally wouldn’t slight him.

“Don’t wear those maid’s clothes tomorrow, and don’t put your hair up in trailing loops,” Prince Jing said to Chunhua. “Put on something more dignified, and as for the hair…put it up simply.”

“You really think I like this hairstyle?” Chunhua couldn’t resist pecking Prince Jing on the lips. “It’s just your fetish.”

“I wish to see you in different styles. Is there something wrong with that?” asked Prince Jing.

“Obviously there’s nothing wrong!” Seeing Prince Jing’s adoring gaze, Chunhua pressed his luck. “I belong to Your Highness. I’ll dress however your Highness wants me to dress!”

“Wonderful.” Prince Jing smiled and gently kissed Chunhua on the cheek. “I’d like to see you wearing an apron and washing your hands to make soup for me. Once old Marquis Zhenbei is gone, you can dress like that in my room.”

Chunhua was silent.

He thought that, of the two of them, Prince Jing would look better in that getup.