Spring arrives and the land smiles

Qingyan had been waiting anxiously all day, and as the sunset over the long river drew near, her anxiety grew even stronger. Because of Lan Zhen's words, Qingyan hadn't dared to leave her room for even a moment, counting down the seconds in her mind, as if an eternity had passed.

At this moment, Qingyan was resting her cheek on her hand, fiddling with the lamp wick with extreme boredom. Another hour passed, and the sky finally turned pitch black. The food on the table had gone cold, making it impossible to muster any appetite. She could only stare blankly at it. Midnight was fast approaching, and if she didn't send the person over soon, Lan Zhen would be breaking her promise.

Just as she was considering how to make Lan Zhen keep his promise after he broke it, a knock sounded at the door at just the right time. Qing Yan immediately went to open the door as if she had just realized what was going on.

She stopped in front of the door, took a deep breath, and then opened it with trembling hands. The familiar figure in front of her made her eyes well up with tears.

Countless times, she had imagined Ning Yuan being tortured and left a bloody mess, even waking up in terror from nightmares. But now, the living person before her was so clear. Apart from looking haggard, his body wasn't as covered in wounds as she had imagined, much better than the horrific injuries she had witnessed in her nightmares over the past few days. Qing Yan disregarded the presence of others and threw herself at Ning Yuan, hugging him tightly, leaving no gap between them.

"Alright, let's go inside and talk." Ning Yuan gently patted Qing Yan's back, but the smile on his face wrinkled slightly the moment Qing Yan rushed towards him.

Qingyan didn't move. She just shook her head at Ningyuan's request and rubbed against his chest like a rascal until her tears soaked a large part of his clothes. Only then did she reluctantly raise her head, sobbing with tears streaming down her face. She threatened him without any force, "If you dare to leave my side even half a step again, I will tie you to my body with chains and make sure you lose your freedom for all eternity."

Ning Yuan smiled and gently lifted her face, tenderly wiping away the tears on her cheeks, and said with a smile, "Okay."

"cough--"

The scene of the long-awaited reunion was touching, but Cao Yu, who was standing to the side, couldn't bear to watch any longer. He coughed lightly to remind her, but unexpectedly, he was met with a sharp rebuke from Qing Yan.

"What are you coughing for? Why are you interrupting a couple's reunion? How can you serve your master with such poor judgment? Go find somewhere cool to stay."

After being reprimanded by Qingyan, Cao Yu's face turned red and white in turns. He stood there, not knowing whether to go forward or retreat. If it weren't for the task assigned by his master, he probably would have wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Ning Yuan was also taken aback. He tugged at Qing Yan's sleeve, indicating his disapproval of her behavior.

"Hmph—" Qingyan scoffed, rolled her eyes at Cao Yu, and pulled Ning Yuan into the room, leaving a bewildered Cao Yu still wondering if he had offended the princess in private, that she would treat him so coldly. He only came to his senses when he heard the loud slam of the door shut. Remembering that he hadn't yet done what his master had instructed him to do, he raised his hand to knock on the door. But then, Qingyan's violent face flashed through his mind, and he immediately withdrew his hand and left dejectedly.

Inside, a single lamp cast a dim light, illuminating the two figures pressed close together in an atmosphere of mingled joy and sorrow. Their hearts, unable to contain their breaths, breathed in each other's scent; even their intertwined necks could not erase the pain that had once cut like a knife.

Qingyan remained silent for a long time, only holding Ningyuan tightly, wishing she could release all the fear she had accumulated over the past few days. This bone-deep fear was still so clear to this day. Even though Ningyuan held her in his arms for a long time, her body and mind still trembled uncontrollably. It wasn't being coy, but rather that she couldn't stop.

"Yan'er." Ning Yuan couldn't bear it and called her softly, but he held her even tighter with heartache.

Lifting her head from Ning Yuan's embrace, Qing Yan used her tear-filled eyes to deeply imprint him in her mind, merging him into one with her.

"I swear, if anything happens to you, I will go with you immediately without hesitation."

Ning Yuan was shocked, but then he understood. Such extreme insistence filled his heart with joy, and he tightened his grip on her. His eyes curved into a happy smile, filled with warmth: "If anything happens to me, I won't let you live alone."

Pfft—, Qingyan laughed and fell into his arms. This taciturn man had always stood humbly behind her as a protector, but now he could finally walk alongside her: "A gentleman keeps his promise, you can't go back on your word!" Qingyan winked playfully and planted a light kiss on his cheek.

Before she could leave, Ning Yuan lifted her chin and suddenly felt a warmth on her lips. Qing Yan was so surprised that she opened her beautiful eyes wide. When did this blockhead become so clever?

"Close your eyes!" The gentle voice was like a seductive spell.

What? You've even learned how to flirt?

"If you like, you don't have to close it." Before the words were finished, the breath on his lips became even hotter, burning with passion that devoured each other, sucking out the surrounding air and leaving only panting.

After a long while, until Qingyan could no longer climb onto his arm and collapsed in his arms, Ningyuan reluctantly left.

With almost all the air in her lungs depleted, Qingyan gasped for breath, her slightly swollen lips trembling, glistening with an alluring red.

"You've gone astray." A blush of pink appeared on Qingyan's face.

"But you like it."

What? Am I really that much to be teased? Qingyan was speechless.

She turned her head away, mourning that the innocent man was gone forever; from now on, there would be one less person to bully.

Suddenly, the medicine took effect, and Qingyan felt nauseous, followed by a bout of dry heaving.

"What's wrong?" Ning Yuan quickly patted her back to soothe her.

I've been worried about Ningyuan all day and haven't eaten. Now I feel nauseous but can't vomit anything, so I just vomited up bile instead.

The bitter taste in her mouth made Qingyan so angry that her teeth itched. If Lan Zhen were in front of her, she would really want to bite him a couple of times to vent her anger. She couldn't help but curse, "He made me vomit like this. He'll die a horrible death sooner or later."

Having known each other for so many years, Ning Yuan had long been accustomed to Qing Yan's unconventional way of speaking eloquently, but what she said today sounded rather...

Looking at Qingyan's pitiful face, Ning Yuan's heart suddenly clenched, and he reached out to grasp her pulse.

A moment later, Ning Yuan felt completely devastated. His hands trembled slightly, and his eyes were filled with painful turmoil. He didn't want to believe it, but he had no choice but to accept the fact.

"Yan'er, you, you—you're pregnant!" Ning Yuan's voice was low and almost choked with sobs, his brows furrowed into a deep knot.

"It's all because of that perverted transvestite Lan Zhen that I've been reduced to this state. One day I'll get it all back with interest." Qingyan gritted her teeth, venting her anger.

"The child isn't Yunxuan's? Could it be that you were taken advantage of by Prince Zhao—" Ning Yuan was shocked. He turned Qingyan's body to face him, his eyes filled with anger and intense killing intent.

"A child?" Qingyan paused for a moment, then immediately realized that Ning Yuan had misunderstood. Of course, it was also her fault for not explaining clearly. So, she smiled and patted Ning Yuan's shoulder, which was trembling slightly from tension, and said in a soothing tone, like comforting a child, "There's no child. It's all an illusion." Then she told Ning Yuan everything about her cooperation with Lan Zhen, Hai Tu's ambition, the Prince of Jin's conspiracy, and this desperate measure to make Hai Tu give up—using drugs to make her pretend to be pregnant. Finally, she didn't forget to spit on Lan Zhen.

"Yan'er, you've suffered." Ning Yuan's deeply furrowed brows relaxed, and he tenderly stroked her cheek, placing a light kiss on her forehead.

Qingyan smiled faintly: "I told you I would wait for you to come back."

In the dim light, the two intertwined figures lingered, unwilling to separate, as if trying to make this moment eternal.

Ning Yuan gazed at the delicate face in his arms. Her pale face, caused by worry and the effects of the medication, was heartbreaking to see. He buried her in his arms, wishing that he could bear all the pain himself. As a guard and as a husband, he had failed in his duty.

"Yan'er, I swear I will protect you with my life."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ning Yuan received a sharp rap on the head. He winced in pain and, seeing Qing Yan's furious expression, was at a loss for what to do.

“You should swear like this,” Qingyan cleared her throat dramatically, “Yan’er, I swear I will never leave your side again.”

"So that's how it is," Ning Yuan said with a smile, gently rubbing her little face. His heart, which had been calmed down, began to ripple again, unable to remain still.

The sound of the night watchman's drum came from outside the door. It turned out that it was already past midnight. Qingyan squinted her eyes, and sleepiness gradually crept in.

"I'm sleepy." Qingyan said coquettishly, pulling Ningyuan's hand and leading him into the inner room, deliberately ignoring the suspicious blush on his face.

Standing by the bed, Ning Yuan nervously twisted his hand, which Qing Yan had released, then watched as Qing Yan calmly undressed. His face flushed, and he couldn't help but stammer, "Yan'er, I..."

"Stop bothering me, I'm so sleepy, I'll sleep inside, don't squeeze me." Qingyan winked at him playfully, threw her clothes on the bedside table, and then reached out to undo Ningyuan's belt.

Ning Yuan's face turned even redder than before, and he quickly reached out to stop her, but Qing Yan blocked him: "A wife should undress her husband."

Wife? Yes, she is his wife. No matter how many men are around her, she will always be his wife.

Taking off his coat, the striking bright red stain on Ning Yuan's undergarments brought tears to Qing Yan's eyes. Her hand trembled slightly as she touched the wound. "Does it hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt," Ning Yuan said with a smile.

"You're lying. How could it not hurt when it's like this? Come sit down." Qingyan carefully tried not to touch the wound.

The bandaging was very professional, and the medication was excellent, but the wound was too deep and had previously ulcerated and become infected, so it has not yet fully healed.

"It doesn't hurt anymore, really." Ning Yuan smiled faintly as he held her hand.

"But it hurts." She placed Ning Yuan's hand on her chest, and the emotions that had been bottled up inside her burst forth like a dam breaking, filling the space between them. "Promise me, even for my sake, you can't let yourself get hurt again." Because the gruesome wounds were enough to tear her apart.

"it is good."

Qingyan bypassed Ningyuan and climbed onto the inside of the bed to lie down on her side. She glanced at him and saw that he was blushing and looked at a loss. This made Qingyan speechless: Do I look like an impatient female pervert?

Qingyan gently nudged Ning Yuan, who was still sitting helplessly on the edge of the bed, with her foot. She could feel the tension in his back muscles, and she felt another urge to puff herself up. God, my thoughts are truly pure, I swear.

However, it seems that was just an illusion; this man is actually quite naive.

After being pushed by Qingyan, Ning Yuan turned around and smiled at her, but the smile made Qingyan feel extremely awkward.

After a pause, Ning Yuan lay down next to Qing Yan, being careful not to bump into her.

"You were holding me so tightly just now, and now you're shy? Too late." Qingyan chuckled, moved closer, wrapped her arms around Ningyuan's waist, and snuggled into his embrace. "I'm your wife, we're legally sharing a bed. Don't worry, I'm very gentle with you, I won't touch you in your current state."

"I, I didn't mean that, I just, I..." Ning Yuan, who was already nervous, blushed even more after Qing Yan said that.

Haha, it turns out it was all a bluff just now. Qingyan chuckled to herself, but couldn't help laughing out loud.

"Yan'er." Ning Yuan's face fell when he realized he had been tricked again.

"Okay, I was wrong, I really know I was wrong." Qingyan patted Ningyuan's arm gently and smiled ingratiatingly, "Go to sleep, it'll be dawn soon."

Seeing Ning Yuan's body gradually relax and his smile widen, Qing Yan fell into a peaceful sleep.

It was already past noon and he was still lying in bed. For someone like Ning Yuan who was on military campaigns, this was probably a rare occurrence. However, for Qing Yan, who was sleeping soundly, it seemed to be more than just an occasional thing.