"Your Highness, please turn slightly to the side. I will massage your chest and under your ribs. This is also a key area where qi and blood can stagnate." Ye Yin's tone was calm and unruffled, as if he were discussing something perfectly ordinary.
Chest?!
Qian Renxue's heart felt as if it were being fiercely gripped by an invisible hand. All the blood in her body seemed to freeze solid. She turned around abruptly, using almost all of her willpower to keep from slapping him across the face. Her smile was still plastered on, but it was as stiff and brittle as a mask.
"Junior Brother Ye, there's no need! I feel… much better already! Unprecedentedly comfortable! This Netherworld Essential Oil's effect is truly immediate!" Her words came out in a rushed, urgent tumble.
"Oh? It's good that Your Highness feels it's effective," Ye Yin said, looking a little surprised. A relieved smile then appeared on his face. "However, since we've started, we naturally need to complete the entire process for the effect to be maximized."
His eyes were clear and persistent, holding the pure, unwavering insistence of a dedicated healer. "Come, Your Highness, just relax a little." He gestured for her to turn sideways again.
Qian Renxue looked at his candid eyes, which seemed completely devoid of any impure thoughts, and fell into an unprecedented state of struggle and powerlessness. Refuse? What reason could she possibly give? She had just praised how effective the treatment was. To refuse a chest massage now would be a blatant contradiction, making her look even more suspicious. But to accept? Then…
Her gaze swept over Ye Yin's long-fingered hands, which were still slick with the cool oil. He's going to use those hands… to directly massage… my…
Qian Renxue felt a wave of powerful dizziness wash over her. Under Ye Yin's sincere yet unquestionable gaze, and crushed by the immense pressure of maintaining her disguise, she turned her body. The movement was incredibly slow and stiff, performed with a desperate sense of tragedy. Her heart pounded wildly, feeling as if it would burst through her ribs.
Hold on! I must hold on! she roared in the silence of her own mind.
[Resentment from Qian Renxue +99!]
Ye Yin seemed completely unaware of the raging storm within the Crown Prince before him. He looked at Xue Qinghe's slightly thin (after being powerfully suppressed) chest and frowned slightly. "Your Highness is indeed overworked. Even your chest and rib muscles are incredibly tense."
As he spoke, his hands, covered in the cool, viscous oil, pressed firmly onto Xue Qinghe's chest with a professional force. His palms landed perfectly, covering the crucial areas that were tightly bound beneath her robes.
His hands did not pause or hesitate for even a moment. He began to knead.
His fingers were strong and skillful, following the direction of her ribs as he carefully pressed and massaged. Every press, every rub, was like a heavy hammer striking Qian Renxue's soul. She could clearly feel every inch of movement, the sensation of the cool oil penetrating her clothing… What was worse was that Ye Yin, in order to clear the "stagnation," was using a great deal of force and covering a very wide area.
Those deft hands repeatedly pressed, circled, and massaged her chest, from below the collarbone to the edge of her ribs. Every press landed precisely on the thin barrier of spirit power she was maintaining, causing it to tremble violently with every powerful knead, as if it could collapse at any moment. The soft parts of her body that she was forcibly suppressing struggled painfully within their cage, and every press of Ye Yin's palm brought an unspeakable, peculiar sensation mixed with intense pain.
Her body began to tremble uncontrollably from the extreme tension. Fine beads of sweat on her forehead gathered into large drops, sliding down her temples. Her cheeks flushed an abnormal red from shame and indignation, and her breathing became rapid and suppressed.
Ye Yin finally seemed to notice her discomfort. His movements slowed a little as he asked with concern, "Your Highness? Your complexion… doesn't seem so good. And… your heart is beating very fast."
Qian Renxue found it incredibly difficult to even maintain her facial expression at this point. She didn't dare to speak, fearing that a single word would escape as a groan of pain or a snarl of anger. She could only shake her head with difficulty, squeezing out a few broken syllables from her throat. "N-nothing… it's just… the oil's… medicinal power… is too strong… I'm a bit… overwhelmed…" Her voice was incredibly dry and hoarse, with an obvious tremor of weakness.
"So that's it," Ye Yin said, as if in realization. His tone then carried a hint of apology mixed with admiration. "Your Highness's endurance is astonishing. But this only proves how good the effect is! In that case, you should just take off your upper garment completely. It's always difficult for the medicinal effect to fully manifest through clothing. Just bear with it a little longer. After a thorough massage of your upper body, you'll be fine."
Still going?! And taking off clothes!
Qian Renxue's vision went black; she almost fainted. Before she could even form a refusal, Ye Yin moved behind her, embraced her, and easily removed all of her upper garments.
"Oh!" Qian Renxxue gasped in surprise, her arms instinctively wrapping around her chest to cover herself.
"Your Highness? What's wrong? Is it cold?" Ye Yin asked calmly. "It's normal for it to feel cold. Relax."
He gently but firmly pulled her arms away, pressing his hands onto the crucial areas from behind and beginning his precise kneading once more.
[Resentment from Qian Renxue +99]
Ye Yin gently kneaded, massaging and, at the same time, enjoying the sensation. This feel, this surface… it was simply amazing. He caressed her smooth lower abdomen. There was no excess fat at her waist. Although she had been trying her best to disguise herself, without the outer garments, a hint of the truth could be seen. The identity of the Crown Prince was definitely problematic.
Ye Yin's fingertip lightly flicked a very inconspicuous spot.
Qian Renxue let out an extremely short, utterly suppressed, yet soft and startled muffled groan. The sound was completely unlike Xue Qinghe's usual calm male voice; instead, it carried the trembling tone of a startled woman.
At that exact same moment, Ye Yin's caressing hands and focused mental force acutely captured a special sensation. The flesh beneath his hands had undergone a subtle change at that instant. It was an indescribable touch, astonishingly soft and warm.
Hiss! Ye Yin exclaimed in his heart. This feeling… it's simply amazing. No wonder she had to suppress it so desperately; otherwise, it would burst right out. It was only for an instant… but it was worth it.
----------------
You can read advanced chapters here: patreon.com/GregariousLion