Zhong Jinchun helps Chu Qiao back to the Phoenix-Resting Palace, well-behaving all the way. She answers whatever Chu Qiao asks, neither overly talkative nor hiding anything, seemingly very meek.
She doesn't talk about what she plans to get from Chu Qiao this time, so Chu Qiao doesn't ask her neither. After all, as the saying goes, time will tell a true friend from a false one.
After Zhong Jinchun leaves, Chu Qiao calls in the servants to prepare a hot bath.
Behind the screen rises a mist of water vapor, and the red petals float with the waves. Chu Qiao slowly undresses herself, and her fair skin is now exposed to the hot vapor and soon it turns pink because of the heat wave.
Stepping into the bathtub when touching the hot water, she feels the pain from the uncured scars left from falling off the Sky-Reaching Tower. She grits her teeth and submerges herself in the water.
Chu Jiao, sooner or later, you will pay for these wounds, hundreds and thousands of times more than what I have suffered!
Holding a handful of honey locust seeds and putting them on the table, Qing Luo says happily, "Princess, let me rub your back for you."
Chu Qiao waves her hand, "No need. Go. I want to be alone."
"But Your Highness used to have me..." Qing Luo wants to convince Chu Qiao but gets frightened by Chu Qiao's cold look, so she immediately goes quiet and walks out.
Gradually the pain from the wounds subsides, and a sense of warmth goes through all her limbs, relaxing Chu Qiao's body. She leans her head against the edge of the bathing barrel, closes her eyes, and tries to plan out this life, this new life.
Suddenly, she feels a chill from behind. Someone is behind her, within five steps away!
It's an instinct from her assassin training, thanks to which she was able to survive countless dangers in her previous life.
This person definitely does not live in the Phoenix-Resting Palace. Even though she is not guarded this time, there are only few people in the world who can approach her unnoticed.
Without any hesitation, Chu Qiao grabs a towel in her hand and swings it back. Having absorbed enough water, the towel lashes out like a whip with powerful force, but is caught by the man effortlessly.
"Oh, the Princess has such a temper." The man's deep voice, with a hint of playfulness, echoes in the empty room.
The splashing water puts out the candles. By the faint moonlight outside the window, Chu Qiao manages to see that he is wearing a purple royal robe with a nice jade pendant hanging down from his waist. He breaks into a girl's room at midnight. Who else could he be but a deflowering criminal? She is going to give this scum a lesson.
Chu Qiao immediately throws away the towel, and grabs a handful of honey locust seeds and throws them at his face. She sneers and says, "You know I am the Princess. How dare you break in my room? Feel like you have lived long enough?"
When he turns his head away to dodge the seeds, Chu Qiao quickly gets out of the bath and puts on a robe.
Tantai Yunhan frowns, with a bit of anger. How dare this woman throw seeds at his face? He tosses the towel into the water, stepping forward: "What? As the Prince I should have informed my Princess in advance before I come by?"
"Enough talking!" Chu Qiao is so concentrated on planning how to knock him down with her weak body that she does not listen to his words as she launches a preemptive strike with a leg-sweep.
The floor is slippery with water. Besides that, Tantai Yunhan doesn't expect that Chu Qiao's attacks would intensify. So without any precaution, he is hit. Fortunately, he is quick enough to hold the barrel so that he does not fall to the ground.
Seeing that the first blow doesn't work, Chu Qiao tries to strike another blow with her palm flattened as a blade, cutting towards Tantai Yunhan's forehead. But he stops her strike by catching her wrist.
Chu Qiao won't give up and bends her right knee to give him a knee strike at his weak point.
Tantai Yunhan's look goes cold and he presses Chu Qiao against the wall without much effort. He clasps Chu Qiao's wrists together with one hand, and lifts her right leg with the other. He wonders how this seemingly weak body could have such explosive moves? How dare Chu Qiao, who used to be timid, fight him now?
Chu Qiao realizes that they are in a very inviting position. Now she can't be surer that he is a deflowering criminal. It's surely impossible to win the fight with this feeble body. Now it seems that she has to use her intelligence.
Although in great danger, Chu Qiao is surprisingly calm. Looking at Tantai Yunhan's eyes, she says: "It's not too late to let me go yet. You can choose any beautiful girls in the Palace, even outside the Phoenix-Resting Palace. Otherwise, I'll call the twelve guards who are waiting outside. Even if you are a master-hand of martial arts, you can't escape!"
Does she think he's a deflowering criminal? Tantai Yunhan is both angry and amused. He gets close to Chu Qiao's face and looks straight into her eyes, with a hint of warning, "Woman, look carefully, who I am!"
Chu Qiao frowns and answers coldly, "I don't care who you are. If you don't let go of me, I'll scream! Three... Two... One... "
Is this woman really blind or she just never had a good look at him? Tantai Yunhan is furious and he squeezes his hand, almost crushing Chu Qiao's wrists.
But it's really not Chu Qiao’s fault. In the past, Tantai Yunhan rarely paid her visits though they have been married for many years, because he doesn't like her timidity. In addition, Chu Qiao has just been reborn so part of her memory is still vague. What’s more, she believes that Tantai Yunhan is a deflowering criminal, so she really doesn't expect that this man is her husband.
Chu Qiao gasps with pain. Making up her mind, she opens her mouth and bites in Tantai Yunhan's neck. When her teeth pierce through his warm skin, a taste of blood disperses in her mouth.
Seriously? If someone saw her with a strange man with disheveled clothes, how would she, the less favored Princess, be able to survive the rumors? Although face is important, it’s just nothing when it is compared with life. It is not easy for her to have a second life, so she will not die being wronged and failing to voice her excuse.
Tantai Yunhan’s eyebrows twist into a knot because of the bite. He lets go of Chu Qiao's wrists, clamps her jaw with two fingers, forcing her to open her mouth, and then pushes her to the side.
Chu Qiao slips and falls to the ground. Her oval face is as smooth as a shelled egg, her crescent eyebrows slightly frown, her almond eyes flicker with anger, and her blood-stained red lips appear to be tempting. After the fight, the baggy robe is now wide open, exposing her bare shoulders and sexy collarbones... Tantai Yunhan is still angry, yet there rises a burning desire from his lower body. How could he not notice before that his wife is such a gorgeous creature.
Tantai Yunhan touches his neck and as expected he sees blood on his hand. His look grows more insidious, and he approaches Chu Qiao deliberately.
His look is so aggressive that Chu Qiao feels repugnance. She wraps her robe closely and leans against the wall to force herself to calm down. Her right hand stealthily grasps the big wooden spoon lying on the floor.
Tantai Yunhan gets closer and closer and at the critical moment, there comes a knock at the door.
"Are you all right, Princess?" It turns out that Qing Luo, who was waiting outside, comes to check on her upon hearing the noises.
Tantai Yunhan stops abruptly. He heard that Chu Qiao woke up today and knocked Madam Li out. So out of curiosity, he decided to pay her a visit. He didn't tell anyone when he sneaked into the Phoenix-Resting Palace, so of course he can't be seen here.
"Woman, you’d better remember this--" Tantai Yunhan wipes off the blood on his neck, "and I'll revenge 100 times in the future." Then he flicks his sleeves and jumps out of the window.
Relaxing her aching wrists, Chu Qiao stares at Tantai Yunhan's back. In the future? This scum is really stubborn. It seems that she has to step up her exercise these days. If she could recover half of her physical strength, she would not be so helpless as she is today. What a pity!