Mistakenly recognized as a cousin, thousands of pampered

An hour passed quietly until a servant passed by Shen Zhiyi's study and saw the door was wide open. Remembering that Duke Shen had not slept for many days and had been busy all the time, he was afraid that something might happen, so he mustered up the courage to go in.

When he saw the situation clearly inside, he found that it was Duke Shen sitting on the ground leaning against his master. The servant was very surprised and stood there for a while, at a loss as to what to do.

Tao Jiuxi was alert. When he saw the servant coming in, he quickly made a gesture to keep quiet and signaled him to bring two quilts.

The servant understood and did it quietly. After spreading the quilt, he could only sigh silently and whispered to Tao Jiuxi that Duke Shen had not slept for six days. Then he gently closed the door and left.

The next day, before dawn, Tao Jiuxi was still in a daze when he noticed that Shen Zhiyi beside him was moving. He hurriedly opened his eyes and saw Shen Zhiyi with a frown on his face, as if he was haunted by a nightmare. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, which was heartbreaking to see.

"Ayi, wake up, wake up..." Tao Jiuxi called softly, his voice gentle and urgent.

Shen Zhiyi opened his eyes suddenly, his eyes filled with fear. When he saw that the person in front of him was Tao Jiuxi, his panic gradually faded, replaced by a mixture of disbelief and surprise. His voice trembled a little: "I thought... I thought I was dreaming, Ah Xi."

"It's really me, it's not a dream." Tao Jiuxi smiled, his eyes full of tenderness, and looked at Shen Zhiyi with affection.

"How did you get out?" Shen Zhiyi asked hurriedly with a puzzled look on his face.

"It was your mother who came to me and said that His Majesty was worried that you would not be able to bear it after working day and night, so he allowed me to come out and persuade you to take a couple of days off before continuing to investigate my family's case. That's why I was secretly released." Tao Jiuxi explained patiently, his words full of concern for Shen Zhiyi's health, and he held his hand as he spoke.

"Is this really the case?" Shen Zhiyi was still a little bit unbelievable.

"We've only been apart for a few days, and you don't believe what I say?" Tao Jiuxi pretended to be angry, curled her lips, and said with deliberate disdain: "Shen Zhiyi, you stink, you're so sloppy. If you continue like this, I'll regret the engagement."

This is not intentional disgust, it really stinks.

Tao Jiuxi pretended to be relaxed, just wanting to cherish these only two days so that there would be no regrets between the two of them. Even if they could only live on memories in the future, it was better than being full of regrets.

"I'll go wash up right now." Shen Zhiyi spoke in a muffled voice, his voice a little hoarse due to days of fatigue, and his body was a little stiff and slow when he stood up.

"Just wait for me here and don't go anywhere."

Shen Zhiyi quickened his pace, just wanting to wash off the dirt as soon as possible.

Tao Jiuxi looked at his back, his heart ached, and he followed him unconsciously.

Shen Zhiyi soaked in the tub, the hot water covering his body. He looked up at Tao Jiuxi standing beside him, pulled the corner of his mouth, and tried to make his tone lighter: "Your habit of watching people bathing hasn't changed at all."

Tao Jiuxi crossed his arms, tilted his head, and replied in a forced, playful tone, "I've been locked up in that dark prison for so long, facing the cold stone walls all day long. There's nothing 'pleasing to the eyes' about it. Now that I've finally been released, I have to take a quick look at you. It's also a way to comfort my poor eyes."

Shen Zhiyi raised his eyebrows slightly, raised his hand and threw the towel towards Tao Jiuxi: "That won't do. How can I let you watch as much as you want while I suffer the loss? Come here, help me bathe, and then we'll be even."

Tao Jiuxi caught the handkerchief and slowly approached the tub. When the handkerchief in her hand touched Shen Zhiyi's skin, she pretended to tease:

"Every time before, unless it was in the dark, I never got a good look at you. Today, in broad daylight, I took a good look, and you're really not bad."

Shen Zhiyi stared at her, his eyes burning with passion yet concealing a hidden pain, and asked, "Ah Xi, how many days will His Majesty allow you to be out?"

"Two days."

"Two days." Shen Zhiyi repeated, his tone full of reluctance and helplessness, as if accusing fate of being stingy and only giving them this brief respite.

Recently, he was so focused on proving Tao Hongyuan's innocence that he failed to delve into the arrangements behind it.

But when he saw Tao Jiuxi today, he understood many things in an instant.

Shen Zhiyi was rethinking how to break the impasse, and while he was lost in thought, Tao Jiuxi could no longer suppress his inner emotions.

She knew that time was running out, and every minute and every second that passed meant that the reunion was getting shorter and shorter, and she absolutely did not want to leave any regrets.

Tao Jiuxi threw the handkerchief in his hand aside, stretched out his hand, first gently touched Shen Zhiyi's shoulder, and then slowly slid across Shen Zhiyi's firm chest.

In the past, Shen Zhiyi was always the one who took the initiative, and Tao Jiuxi often responded shyly.

But today was different. She mustered up her courage and continued to explore with her hands.

Shen Zhiyi felt his whole body go numb, and the fatigue of the past few days seemed to be relieved all of a sudden. He relaxed his body, leaned against the edge of the bathtub, closed his eyes, and immersed himself in this rare intimate atmosphere.

The caressing of the body suddenly stopped, and then the sound of clothes slipping off came to my ears.

Before Shen Zhiyi could react, Tao Jiuxi had already stepped into the bathtub, and the water in the tub rose a little, splashing some water.

Then, a series of light kisses fell on Shen Zhiyi's neck, with shyness and attachment. Shen Zhiyi's neck gradually turned red, and then, those kisses moved to the shoulders, and then to the chest exposed above the water. Every place that was kissed was full of heat.

Tao Jiuxi's hands were not idle underwater, and he moved more and more boldly.

Shen Zhiyi still had his eyes closed, uttering a few muffled groans. His body unconsciously tensed up, his hands tightly gripping the edge of the bathtub, the veins on the back of his hands slightly bulging.

"Ayi..." Tao Jiuxi called softly, his voice full of expectation, hoping that Shen Zhiyi would respond and break the situation where he was the only one taking the initiative, like before.

But Shen Zhiyi seemed to be frozen, without any movement, only the violent heaving of his chest showed that he was not at peace inside.

Seeing this, Tao Jiuxi was extremely angry, his face flushed red. He reached out and grabbed the handkerchief hanging on the side of the bathtub, threw it hard at Shen Zhiyi's face, and said angrily: "Are you a man?"

At this time, Shen Zhiyi slowly opened his eyes, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and his eyes were mischievous. He took the opportunity to grab Tao Jiuxi's hand that was still waving in the air, gently squeezed her palm, and whispered: "You ask me?" His voice was a little hoarse due to emotional fluctuations.

Tao Jiuxi was stunned by these words, and after being squeezed by him like this, he lost all his strength and his face became hotter. He held it in for a long time but couldn't say a word.

Seeing her like this, Shen Zhiyi exerted a little strength in his hands, pulled Tao Jiuxi into his arms and hugged her tightly, resting his chin on the top of her head, and uttered three words seriously and firmly: "Wait until we get married."

Tao Jiuxi nestled in his arms, and after a while, she slowly relaxed, wrapped her arms around Shen Zhiyi's waist, looked up at him, and asked softly, "Can we still get married?"

Shen Zhiyi tightened his arms and hugged Tao Jiuxi tightly: "I'm sure you can do it."