Sheng Li applied the ointment over the wound while blowing the air over it. Once he was done, he closed the bottle and wiped his finger with a clean towel. "Let it dry," he told Ying Lili, who hummed at him.
"You usually eat fruits at this time. Which fruit do you want to eat?" Sheng Li asked her.
Ying Lili tilted her head slightly to peer at him. "Strawberries," Ying Lili replied. Sheng Li nodded and looked at the Court Lady.
"Send fresh strawberries for the Crown Princess," he ordered. Court Lady Xu bowed and walked out of the chamber. Sheng Li looked back at Ying Lili and turned her towards him. "Hu Jingguo said that you will feel weak for some time. So, you are not allowed to even move from this bed for at least a week."
"Isn't that too much? I will get bored here," Ying Lili complained.
"I will be with you all the time. I have taken leave from work for some time," Sheng Li asserted.
"The Empire is more important than me. You cannot slack off. I am expeditiously recovering from this so, do not neglect your duties as the Crown Prince. Before a husband, you are the Crown Prince, who shall work for his people at all times," Ying Lili opined.
Sheng Li chuckled. "I am a husband before a Crown Prince. You are my crucial work whom I have to take care of. If the Crown Princess is healthy, then the Crown Prince can lead the Empire in a right mind," Sheng Li gave her the reasons. Ying Lili ended up smiling upon hearing those words.
"You should have been a dramatist. Where did you find these lines? Huh?" she inquired from him.
"These came from my heart," he placed his hand over his chest. "This is what I truly feel. How would a leader lead in his right mind if the person most precious to him is sick?" Ying Lili was going to open her mouth when Sheng Li shut her up by placing his index finger over her lips. "You are speaking too much these days. Just keep quiet and let your husband perform his duties," Sheng Li whispered, gazing into her eyes. Their noses touched when Ying Lili placed her hand on his chest to push him away. However, Sheng Li did not budge from his place.
She leaned back and glared at him. "Don't disturb us until unless the matter is important," Sheng Li ordered the maidservant, who had lowered her head. She placed the tray on the table there and left quietly. Sheng Li got down from the bed and picked the bowl full of strawberries.
"Can you not stop in front of the Palace maids? Do you want everyone to talk about how the Crown Prince becomes shameless?" Ying Lili questioned him, who sat back on the mattress in front of her.
"Isn't it good?" Sheng Li asked as he picked a strawberry and peered into her pearly eyes.
"How?" she asked.
"Your husband does not care about the world in front of you. Women desire such husbands," Sheng Li answered as he put the strawberry between her lips, who swallowed it a chewed and swallowed it. "Umm… it's tasty," she mumbled. "So, do you mean you want to become the choice of women?"
"What?" "No. I just want to become your choice in every birth," Sheng Li replied as he put another strawberry between her teeth. Ying Lili smiled as she chewed it.
"My heart fluttered when you said that," she stated.
"I will marry you in every birth," Sheng Li put another strawberry in her mouth.
"And how will I recognize that you were Sheng Li in the past?" Ying Lili amusingly queried him.
"Maybe through our bonding, our heartstrings," Sheng Li replied. Ying Lili had picked the strawberry and pushed it inside Sheng Li's mouth.
"Eat," she said. Sheng Li chewed it while looking at her. Ying Lili had lowered her eyes as she was picking the strawberries from the bowl. Sheng Li curled his fingers under her chin and made her look at him.
"I almost forgot that I told you if you ever eat the strawberries in front of me, I will kiss you," Sheng Li suddenly turned serious while a grin did not leave his lips.
He closed the distance between them. His hand moved to her nape as he pulled her closer. With a swift push, he plunged his tongue inside her mouth. Ying Lili moaned inside his mouth as their tongues played with each other. Savoring the taste of her mouth, he pulled back and did not leave her lips, though. He nibbled them and did not want to leave them. After a while, he pulled back, leaving Ying Lili gasping for her breath. She was in a mess after the heated kiss. His thumb was stroking her cheek while his forehead touched against hers.
"You are not feeling pain in your shoulder, right?" Sheng Li asked, catching his breaths.
"N-no," with quivering lips, a response came from Ying Lili, who had closed her eyes. Sheng Li leaned towards her ear and nibbled her earlobe. Another moan came out of her mouth when Sheng Li kissed the sensitive spot on her skin, right below her ear, where the neck started. He slowly put Ying Lili on the mattress, her head resting on the pillow.
Sheng Li had put the bowl, half filled with strawberries, aside. He leaned down above her and stroked her hair. Ying Lili kept her gaze fixed on Sheng Li, who said, "If you are feeling pain in your back or shoulder then we can postpone it for some other time." He waited for Ying Lili's response, who lifted her both hands and grabbed the robes of Sheng Li.
Pulling him closer to him, she said, "My shoulder is fine. Don't worry." She sealed their lips with a kiss, giving consent to Sheng Li. Sheng Li kissed the top of her forehead and then gazed back into her eyes while his one hand traveled down and rested on the knot of her dress.