Shocking! Five men are in love with the same woman!

After Mu Feng secretly escorted Ling Yan to Chu Xiyao's residence, Mu Feng stood guard outside the door, and Ling Yan pushed open the door and went inside.

Chu Xiyao knew she was coming, so he had been waiting and looking forward to it.

He was overjoyed when she finally arrived, so he immediately got out of bed, rushed to her side, hugged her tightly, and whispered sweetly, "Do you know how much I've missed you these past few days?"

Lingyan sensed his warmth and longing, and gently comforted him, "Alright, I came to see you, didn't I?"

Chu Xiyao did not let go of her even after hearing this.

Instead, he simply carried her to the bedside and sat down.

Lingyan then sat down on his lap.

Then she looked him over carefully and found that he had indeed recovered very well, which put her mind at ease.

Chu Xiyao looked at her expectantly and asked, "Have you missed me these past few days?"

Lingyan didn't want to lie to him, so she told the truth: "I only remembered you when I got back to the manor today."

Although Chu Xiyao was somewhat disappointed upon hearing this, he had already anticipated it.

So he deliberately said in a displeased tone, "Yes! You've been with Shen Qingchen these past few days, living a life of blissful pleasure, so you probably don't even remember me."

Ling Yan chuckled and replied, "Of course I can't remember! Not just you, I can't remember anyone else either!"

Chu Xiyao was pleased to hear this.

Then, out of curiosity, she asked, "Is Shen Qingchen exceptionally handsome? Otherwise, you wouldn't be with him..."

Ling Yan nodded and smiled, "It is indeed very beautiful. You know, I'm a top-tier looks-obsessed person. When I look at someone, I look at their face first, and only if their face passes my test do I look at anything else."

Chu Xiyao smiled and said happily, "Not bad. Now it seems I should thank you for catching my eye, otherwise you would never have paid any attention to me."

Lingyan agreed, "Yes, you're right."

Upon hearing this, Chu Xiyao seized the opportunity and said, "Since you're so satisfied with my face, then could we...?"

Seeing her shake her head, he immediately said eagerly, "My body has almost recovered, I can have sex again. It's been so many days since I've touched you, I miss you so much..."

Lingyan then shook her head and said, "You misunderstood. It's not that you can't, but that I can't. I'm on my period."

Upon hearing this, Chu Xiyao understood and immediately asked with concern, "Are you feeling unwell?"

Lingyan didn't hide anything from him and told him, "I did have some discomfort in my lower abdomen, but Shen Qingchen has already used his internal energy to help relieve it, and I'm fine now."

Upon hearing this, Chu Xiyao immediately said, "Then you should lie down and rest. You can't overexert yourself now."

Ling Yan laughed and said, "It's not that exaggerated. If I hadn't been exposed to the elements and drunk untreated water this time, I wouldn't have felt any discomfort at all."

Upon hearing this, Chu Xiyao lowered his head and blamed himself, saying, "It's all my fault for being useless, that's why you're like this."

Lingyan sighed upon hearing this.

Then she raised her hands and lifted his head, looking into his eyes with gentle yet firm eyes, and said, "Ah Yao, don't blame yourself like this. This is not your fault. Their target was me."

Then, a hint of heartache flickered in Lingyan's eyes.

She gently stroked Chu Xiyao's cheek and continued, "If it weren't for you, I probably would have been captured by them long ago. You did your best, and you did a very, very good job."

Chu Xiyao felt the warmth of Ling Yan's hands, and the self-reproach in his eyes lessened slightly.

Yet he was still filled with guilt: "But if I were stronger, I could protect you and prevent you from suffering so much."

Ling Yan shook her head slightly, a faint smile playing on her lips: "A Yao, you did everything you could back then, so don't blame yourself anymore. I'm fine, I'm really great. If I couldn't even endure this little bit of hardship, I would despise myself. So try to think more positively, okay?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Xiyao gripped Ling Yan's hand tightly, as if drawing strength from her words.

He nodded solemnly: "Yes, I understand."

Ling Yan then stayed with Chu Xiyao for a while longer before leaving.

The main problem is that there are many people and eyes in the Crown Prince's residence, so it's best to be careful. There's no way I could stay overnight with him.

Chu Xiyao reluctantly saw Lingyan off and then immediately went to bed.

When Lingyan returned to her and Xiao Muyao's bedroom, she found that Xiao Muyao was still awake.

She quickly took off her clothes, lay down next to him, and asked, "Why aren't you asleep yet?"

Xiao Muyao smiled gently and said, "I'll be waiting for you."

Lingyan immediately got angry upon hearing this and said, "Didn't I tell you to go to bed early? You're so tired every day, why do you still wait for me? Aren't you listening to me?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Muyao immediately admitted his mistake, saying, "I'm sorry, Yan'er, it was my fault. I didn't listen to you, but I just missed you so much and wanted to see you when you came back."

Upon hearing this, Ling Yan immediately lost her temper.

But he still warned, "This is a one-time exception."

Xiao Muyao immediately obeyed and said, "I understand, there won't be a next time."

Lingyan then let him go.

Xiao Muyao also breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he cautiously asked, "Can we rest now?"

Lingyan replied, "Mm."

Then Xiao Muyao held her tightly in his arms, closed his eyes contentedly, and said, "Your period has started, get some rest."

Lingyan asked in confusion, "How did you know?"

Xiao Muyao replied, "I smelled blood, and after calculating the time, I guessed it."

Ling Yan replied with an "Oh".

Then she gently rested her head on Xiao Muyao's firm chest, listening to his steady and powerful heartbeat, and felt incredibly peaceful.

The tranquility of the night gradually enveloped them, and the candlelight in the room flickered gently, casting a hazy and warm glow.

Xiao Muyao's arms never loosened their grip on her. Lingyan felt the warmth of his embrace, and the familiar scent gradually relaxed her body and mind, and drowsiness slowly crept in.

Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, so she gently closed her eyes, and her breathing gradually became steady and even.

Xiao Muyao felt the person in his arms relax, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up. He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

He gazed at her peaceful sleeping face, his eyes filled with doting affection.

Then he slowly closed his eyes, and together with Lingyan's breathing rhythm, he drifted into a sweet dream.

Moonlight streamed through the window lattice, bathing their sleeping figures in each other's arms, as if draping them in a silver veil, making this heartwarming scene even more dreamlike.

………………

As the next day quietly arrived, the morning light shone through the window lattice onto Lingyan, bringing a touch of warmth and peace.

When Lingyan got up, Xiao Muyao was already in the palace handling court affairs.

After a quick breakfast, she left the mansion with Yunmeng, Yingshuang, and Yingdie.

When she arrived at the private room in the teahouse where the group had agreed to meet, she found that they were all already there, anxiously waiting for her arrival.

When Lingyan finally appeared before the five of them, the Eighth Princess was the first to rush forward and hug her tightly, her voice trembling as she said, "Sister-in-law, you scared me to death! I'm so glad you're alright! I couldn't sleep for days because I was so worried, afraid that something might have happened to you."

Lingyan gently patted her back to comfort her, "I'm fine now, I'm back safe and sound! Don't worry."

After hearing this, the Eighth Princess released her, but her eyes never left her.

The other four people then surrounded them.

The Seventh Princess looked at Lingyan and said in a gentle and concerned voice, "Sister-in-law, you have suffered."

Lingyan noticed that her eyes were red and her voice was choked with sobs.

He smiled and comforted her, saying, "I didn't suffer much, but I made you worry."

At this moment, the Ninth Princess held Lingyan's hand and looked her up and down repeatedly: "Sister-in-law, who on earth dared to assassinate you? I really want to teach them all a lesson!"

Lingyan smiled and patted her head, replying, "Okay, once we find the culprit, we'll definitely make Xiao Jiu avenge my sister-in-law."

Jiang Muxue stood aside, her eyes filled with heartache, and said, "Your Highness, you must have suffered a lot to return safely from this trip. I really don't know how you got through it."

Seeing her like this, Lingyan smiled and replied nonchalantly, "I didn't suffer much, really not."

Xie Zhiyi carefully examined Ling Yan's entire body and said with lingering fear, "You have no idea how scared we were when we heard the news that you had been assassinated and gone missing. We sent so many people to look for you, but we never heard from you. Fortunately, you came back safely."

Lingyan smiled and looked at her, replying, "I'm fine. I just hid, so you couldn't find me. Don't worry, I'm perfectly fine now."

Then, looking at her friends surrounding her, Lingyan felt a warm current welling up in her heart.

Her eyes welled up with tears, and she said in a hoarse voice, "Thank you all, I'm fine, I'm sorry to have worried you."

Everyone said that her safe return was the greatest blessing, and nothing else mattered.