The Prince Consort's Secret (GL) - Chapter 19

What unexpected incident could really happen? At worst, if those two Khitan spies were wrong and Mu Han truly was a man, then just like on the wedding night, I’d stop him the moment he laid a hand on me, give him a good few kicks, and follow it up with an unconventional punishment—hm, perhaps make him kneel with a stack of books on his head for an hour.

I lounged in the side hall for a while, and before long Mu Han entered, fresh from his bath, accompanied by his two maids. I gave him a cursory glance and yawned—this princess is hardly one to be bewitched by mere looks.

Mu Han greeted me properly and sat down across from me, saying, “There is one more matter I must inform Your Highness of. Tomorrow is Lord Zhang, the Chief Minister’s birthday. There will be a banquet after court is adjourned, and His Majesty along with many officials will attend. Thus, I won’t be able to train Your Highness in martial arts tomorrow.”

A prime minister’s birthday banquet, graced by the emperor himself—how grand. I smirked, “Be careful not to drink too much and make a fool of yourself.” If he got drunk, he might just slip up and reveal something. Actually… getting him drunk might be another tactic. Should I try to get him to down a few jars of wine at dinner? On second thought, better not—what if I end up drunk instead?

Dinner was served shortly after. Once we’d eaten, rinsed our mouths, and washed up, I followed my usual routine. It wouldn’t do to skip the visit to the study just because I was eager to unmask the consort—it might arouse suspicion. Smiling at Mu Han, who was just about to excuse himself, I said, “It’s still early. Why not accompany me to the study for a while?”

He replied with a slight smile, “As Your Highness wishes. I hadn’t expected Your Highness to be so studious.”

Well, in an age without phones or computers, a little reading by lamplight is the most refined form of nighttime entertainment~

Yun Xi eagerly led the way with a lantern. She wasn’t one of my four official maids, but after a month of accompanying my zither practice, she had grown closer to me than most. Normally, she and Qiu Wen were quite the vibrant pair. But tonight, with the presence of a “man,” both were unusually reserved. Truly, women are the same in every era when it comes to these things.

Inside the study, I glanced at the packed bookshelves and the scrolls lining the walls. It reminded me of our wedding night, just four days ago, when I’d thrown a bunch of scrolls at Mu Han and joked about him being a human bookshelf. Back then I’d teased that I’d have him stand nearby whenever I read.

And here we were, already back to that moment, the consort at my side as I picked out something to read. The symmetry was hilarious.

As I browsed, my eyes fell on the giant map of Great Qi’s territory. I was getting used to the absence of Yunnan, Tibet, Xinjiang… Even the future capital of Yanjing lay within Khitan land. I traced the map until I found Yue Prefecture in the Two Zhe Circuits—so very far from Bianjing. Turning, I caught sight of Yinger tending to the brazier.

Once the daughter of a prominent magistrate, now reduced to performing menial tasks… I sighed and resumed selecting books.

Eventually, I picked a biography of a famous general and a copy of Guidelines for Ministers, then turned to Mu Han with a smile. “No need to stand like the others—just sit and read or practice your calligraphy.

Here, I picked one for you.” I handed him the book, noting the slight twitch of his brow. Uh-oh, did I get too bold too soon? What if he retaliates by bringing up my brothel escapade?

Thankfully, he said nothing, nor did he force me to read something like The Women’s Canon. She merely accepted the book with a demure “Thank you, Your Highness,” and sat down to read. Not that I believed for a second he was focused on that book—his mind was probably running wild.

I smirked to myself and opened my own book. Stories were always my favorite, though biographies hardly compared to novels. Normally, I could handle them, but tonight, my mind kept drifting to my big “liberation of the oppressed princess” plan. When I came to, I caught Yun Xi gazing at my book with a thoughtful expression. I teased, “What’s this? You want to read it? Go on, take it.”

Yun Xi waved it off, laughing. “What maid reads in the study instead of serving her mistress?”

I smiled, not buying it. “You’re just not interested in this book, are you? I bet you’ve got something better hidden away—holding out on me, are you?”

She giggled and agreed, but a mischievous glint flashed in her eyes. I narrowed mine in suspicion. She quickly adopted an innocent look. Whatever scheme she was hatching, I was sure I’d hear about it soon enough.

After reading a bit more, I grew bored and got up to return my book. I glanced at Mu Han and saw he’d already set Guidelines for Ministers aside. He was now practicing calligraphy, his strokes elegant and lively, with Lingyun grinding ink beside her.

Intrigued, I strolled over. He moved to stand, but I waved him off and peered at his writing—refined, energetic regular script. I shook my head, took a brush, dipped it, and swiftly wrote a line in my signature flowing cursive. It looked beautiful.

Mu Han smiled, took his own paper, and effortlessly wrote a few lines of cursive himself. I peeked over, and… ouch. He was better. I praised him with a laugh. He deflected humbly. It was all very harmonious.

If only it could always be like this…

Still smiling sweetly, I glanced at the sky and said gently, “It’s getting late. Let’s retire. No need for you to return to the side chamber tonight—come to my quarters instead, hmm?”

At long last—I saw it! A flash of surprise flickered in Mu Han’s eyes before he regained composure. I was thrilled. Don’t blame me—I didn’t want to unmask you so early, but you leave me no choice.

With a wave, I dismissed the maids, instructing them to retire for the night. Once inside the bedchamber, as Yinger calmly removed Mu Han’s bedding and closed the door behind him, leaving just the two of us, the atmosphere turned… odd.

But I savored the tension.

I gazed at Mu Han with a smile. He sat watching the flickering candlelight, his expression calm and soft, the firelight casting a faint, enchanting glow over his face. He was lovely. And surely his heart was in turmoil—ha!

If we were a normal couple, now would be the time for something to happen—the man would take the initiative. So Mu Han would need to lean in, perhaps go in for a kiss…

Wait—hold on.

With his composure, he’d definitely be able to push things just far enough to pass the test but leave me totally flustered. He wouldn’t even need to do much—just lean close and look like he might kiss me…

The very thought made me shiver. Right. That alone would be enough to make me push him away and abort this whole unmasking mission. I can’t very well just come out and say, “Hey, I think you’re a woman—strip so I can confirm.” That’d destroy any chance of us ever getting along again, no matter what gender he really is.

I mentally slapped myself. How did I forget this? This is exactly like our wedding night—he slipped through then, and he’d probably manage again tonight.

I fumed silently. If tonight’s plan failed, then I’d just go with the bathhouse plan next time—find a reason to send Ling Yun and Ling Yue away, and have my own maids attend him. Then we’d really see the truth.

Just as he reached me with that infuriatingly serene smile, I steeled myself. If he dared cross the line, I didn’t care if he was a woman—I’d kick him out of sheer spite!

But just as he leaned close… he abruptly turned her head, furrowed his brows, and awkwardly stepped back.

I blinked.

Then burst out laughing.