Chapter 10: Chapter Ten: Sharing a Bed

Chapter Ten: Sharing a Bed

Seeing the thoughtless, carefree smile in her eyes, Dongling Jue’s narrow phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, and he stared at her intently without saying a word.

Both knew the other was acting, yet neither would expose the truth. Her goal was to numb her enemy and wait for an opportunity to escape. So, what was his purpose in not exposing her?

She always felt as if something was brewing beneath those bottomless black eyes; thus, every time he stared at her like this, she felt a sense of crisis, as if she were about to step into a trap.

"Your Majesty, why don't we have a race to see who reaches the next town first?" Mu Lan timely found a way to divert his attention.

"You want to race with me?" Dongling Jue was somewhat surprised. Among women, she was the first to dare to challenge him.

Mu Lan didn't find this particularly incredible. She flicked her whip and said, "I'm a novice, so you let me have a head start of one whip."

Before her voice had even faded, the horse was already galloping under the urging of her whip.

She wanted to test how fast she could escape. She also wanted to see Dongling Jue's true capabilities.

Regarding her unilateral decision-making, Dongling Jue frowned—a rare occurrence—and then raised his whip to give chase.

In the modern era, Mu Lan had raced bicycles with people while mountain climbing, so she overcame the issues of speed and balance very quickly. At first, she was seen screaming on horseback while performing various thrilling maneuvers, but she soon found the knack for it, steadily riding the fast horse along the mountain path.

Dongling Jue caught up to her quickly. He had originally intended to stop her reckless behavior, but after seeing her face filled with excitement and confidence, he suddenly changed his mind.

However, after all, it was her first time riding a horse, and the physical stamina of this body was limited. Therefore, although she exerted the spirit of a prison break, she eventually began to slow down.

Dongling Jue maintained a certain distance ahead of her. Mu Lan knew he wasn't using his full strength. It seemed that if she wanted to escape successfully, she would have to use her wits.

After a full day of riding, Mu Lan finally understood the hardship Dongling Jue had mentioned. Not only had she spent the day under the sun and drenched in sweat, but when she finally dismounted, her legs went limp like noodles before she could even stand steady.

"Princess, be careful!" Xiao Yi, who had rushed over to help tie her horse, caught her in time.

Mu Lan managed to stand up with the help of his hands, only to realize that it wasn't just her legs that were weak; the insides of her thighs were also sore from being chafed by the saddle, to the point where her legs were actually starting to trend toward an 'O' shape.

This posture was truly embarrassing!

"Princess, you..." Seeing her like this, Xiao Yi wanted to support her again, but he suddenly remembered their difference in status. While he was hesitating, Dongling Jue was already walking toward them.

"I'm fine." Not wanting more people to notice her embarrassing state, Mu Lan forced a smile. Enduring the pain, she tried her best to move forward with a normal gait. Just as she took a step, her vision was shrouded by a shadow. Before she could see clearly, she was scooped up around the waist and carried toward the inn.

"Ah!" Mu Lan let out a startled cry. Just as she was about to struggle, she heard Dongling Jue's low command: "Don't move!"

Realizing the person holding her was Dongling Jue, Mu Lan breathed a sigh of relief. But she quickly reacted—the person holding her was Dongling Jue?!

"Hey, put me down!" The aura of this man's embrace was unsettling, causing her heart to flutter uncomfortably.

The force of her pushing had no effect on Dongling Jue. Without even looking at her, he said, "What, not pretending anymore today?"

Mu Lan froze, realizing she had actually been quite impudent. Her tone immediately softened, "Uh... in public..."

She stammered, searching for an excuse, only to suddenly hear Dongling Jue let out a light chuckle. Looking up, she saw the beautiful curve of his jawline and his slightly upturned thin lips.

However, the words coming from those sexy lips were full of malicious mockery, "Do you want everyone to see you walking in like a duck?"

*You're the duck, your whole family is a duck, your entire harem is a duck!* Mu Lan roared in her heart. Thinking of her cowardly behavior just now, she felt so frustrated she wanted to bang her head against a wall.

Fortunately, Dongling Jue said nothing more. He carried her directly into a guest room and placed her on a chair.

Mu Lan finally breathed a sigh of relief and regained her composure, only to see him sit down in the chair beside her.

"There aren't enough rooms in the inn." Without waiting for her to ask, Dongling Jue spoke up himself, "So, we will share a room."

Since they were posing as merchants, they naturally could not stay at a government relay station. There were thirty to fifty people in their group, so it wasn't strange that there weren't enough rooms. However, she had to sleep in the same bed as him tonight? Wasn't this a bit too terrifying?

"Are you afraid?" Dongling Jue asked with a knowing smile.

"Heh, of course not." Mu Lan's tone became unrecognizable even to herself. She grit her teeth and finally squeezed out a smile, "But, Your Majesty, you haven't officially conferred my title yet, so you won't... do *that* to me, right?"

"Which 'that'?" Dongling Jue raised an eyebrow, playing dumb with infuriating perfection.

Mu Lan had no choice but to lay it all out: "I mean, sharing a bed is fine, but sexual matters are not!"

Seeing her face turn red, Dongling Jue finally laughed, "Rest assured, how could I possibly be interested in a duck?"

"You..."

Because they needed to speed up their journey, none of the frail maidservants had followed. Mu Lan and Dongling Jue truly became a man and a woman alone in a room.

Although Dongling Jue had left the room upon her request while she was bathing, the two of them inevitably stood before the bed after dinner.

"Sleep," Dongling Jue commanded indifferently.

"Then let's sleep." Mu Lan didn't want to lose her momentum in front of him. She went through the motions of getting into bed, then curled up at the very edge, facing away from him.

Unexpectedly, Dongling Jue did not tease her. She only heard the sound of the quilt being lifted at one corner as he lay down, though he deliberately maintained a bit of distance from her.

"Continue tomorrow?" Dongling Jue suddenly asked.

Mu Lan was stunned for a moment before realizing what he was asking. Without thinking much, she said, "Of course." She was not the type of person to back down just because of a little hardship.

After that, neither of them spoke again. Mu Lan was already very tired and fell into a deep sleep shortly after.

When Mu Lan woke up, Dongling Jue was no longer in the bed.