Spring arrives and the land smiles

Dinner was made again with the ingredients Cao Yu had brought. Amidst Yunxuan's astonished gasps, Qingyan hastily ate a few mouthfuls and sat down in the pavilion. Before leaving, she repeatedly warned him not to presume to clear the table and wash the dishes, her reasoning simple: there weren't many bowls, and if they broke, what would they eat? Qingyan simply couldn't believe these wealthy young men would be as capable as they promised, so she issued a warning to avoid upsetting herself later.

Counting the days, it's been over two months since we left the capital. The dead of winter outside should be coming to an end by now. Qingyan scratched her head, thinking that if it weren't for the calendar in the room reminding her, she would have thought it was already early summer, given how beautiful the lotus pond looked all day.

"The lotus blossoms brightly, rising gracefully from the water. A single stem draws forth green, while two shadows share the red. Their color outshines the singer's face, their fragrance stirs the dancing robes in the wind. The lotus is already worthy of admiration, let alone when two hearts are united."

Leaning leisurely in the pavilion in the middle of the pond, enjoying the gentle caress of the evening breeze, Qingyan unconsciously recited this poem about lotus flowers when she saw a sea of ​​flowers rolling before her eyes. Of course, it was also because of the twin lotus flowers that caught her eye.

Looking at the twin-flowered plant, her thoughts became conflicted again.

While agreeing to the marriage proposal today wasn't exactly rash, it was certainly ill-considered. What should we do next?

“A beautiful lotus is worthy of love, especially when two hearts are of one mind. Yan’er, do you think I’m disturbing your peace?” Yun Xuan strolled over leisurely and stood behind Qing Yan. His slightly distorted voice made the air feel a little sour.

She turned her head, not wanting to look him in the eye, but she couldn't help but glare at him fiercely: "Go cool off somewhere else."

"Is Yan'er angry with me, or with that twin-flowered lotus?" Yunxuan smiled dismissively, his gaze falling on the lotus pond and locking onto the twin-flowered lotus.

"You're happy that your wife was raped, aren't you?" Qingyan glanced at him sideways, her expression full of displeasure.

"Huh?" Yunxuan was stunned, looking completely bewildered.

"Yan'er is asking if you don't mind her taking another concubine?" Ning Yuan kindly patted Yun Xuan's shoulder and explained, then sat down opposite Qing Yan with Yun Xuan.

Yunxuan glanced at Qingyan, then looked back at Ningyuan, before finally fixing his gaze on Qingyan with a questioning look in his eyes.

Qingyan did not deny it.

"He's always been using strange words and phrases since he was little, I don't know where he learned them from." Ning Yuan smiled faintly, the doting look in his eyes as a childhood sweetheart made Yun Xuan extremely envious.

"Wife?" Yunxuan narrowed his eyes. "Is it synonymous with 'madam'?"

Ning Yuan nodded; his comprehension was indeed very strong.

"That's so fitting!" Yunxuan laughed even harder.

"Laugh all you want, but be careful not to laugh yourself sick." Qingyan rolled her eyes at him, stood up, and pulled Ningyuan away. After a few steps, she realized something was wrong, shook off Ningyuan's hand, and walked away on her own. "You two should just call each other brothers, you're birds of a feather."

"What... what did I do to offend her?" Ning Yuan asked, looking completely bewildered.

"Hahahaha! You didn't provoke her, you just look like you're easy to bully." Yun Xuan laughed heartily, patted Ning Yuan's shoulder casually, and looked on with envy.

The two naturally followed Qingyan into the room, not caring that the force with which she closed the door almost broke their noses.

"Why didn't you tell me your plans?" Qingyan sat on the edge of the bed, sulking. "Are your injuries all healed?"

In fact, Qingyan knew a little about it. She had left Yunxuan many coded messages along the way so he could find her. Knowing that Lan Zhen, the transvestite, had discovered the messages and intended to use her to lure Yunxuan out, she used an acrostic poem during her performance to inform Yunxuan to observe the situation. Unexpectedly, he walked right into her trap and was captured. However, given Yunxuan's cautious nature, he must have planned everything carefully. Didn't he have Qin Mian and Chu Huai by his side? Even if Chu Huai was unreliable, Qin Mian was the best candidate for an inside job. But—

"Two days of rest will suffice," Ning Yuan replied to only the second question.

"Two days?" Qingyan's voice suddenly rose two octaves. "The wounds are so deep that you can see the bone. Even iron can't withstand this kind of torment."

"It's just a superficial injury, nothing serious," Ning Yuan said with a smile.

“We’ll leave once you’ve all recovered,” Qingyan said, her face sour. “You don’t need to tell me about your escape plan. I don’t want to know, and I don’t need to know.”

"I just didn't want you to worry. It would have been fine if I wasn't by your side, but now that I'm here, how could I let you suffer?" Yun Xuan's doting words made Qing Yan blush a little. She glanced at Ning Yuan and found that he was actually calm as still water. Doesn't this silly guy get jealous?

She turned her head away angrily and stopped talking.

A gentle knock on the door broke the silence.

"Who?" Qingyan was startled, glanced at the two of them, and asked cautiously.

“Miss, it’s me, Cai’er.” Cai’er’s voice was a little choked up outside the door.

Qingyan gave the two a wink, and they immediately understood and hid.

When the door opened, Cai'er stood there with tears streaming down her face, twisting her clothes and looking pitiful.

"Girl." He knelt down as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Get up and speak." Ever since she learned that she had been bribed by Haitu, Qingyan had only been wary of her, but now she looked so pitiful.

"Girl, I'm so sorry." As she said this, Cai'er cried even harder.

"If you have something to say, come in and talk. What kind of behavior is this, crying and sobbing like this?" Qingyan frowned. Was this girl up to something again?

“Girl, just let me kneel, it will make me feel better,” Cai’er’s sobs paused. “I originally thought that Young Master Hai Tu was just an ordinary brothel owner who admired your beauty. I thought that since you were Young Master Lan’s woman, he wouldn’t dare to do anything out of line, so I reported everything about you to him. But then—” At the crucial point, Cai’er stole a glance at Qing Yan and met her scrutinizing gaze. A wave of guilt washed over her again.

"What was the result?"

"I just heard Young Master Hai Tu say that he wants to take you in." Cai'er looked at Qing Yan with concern, but her gaze was somewhat sincere.

“Young lady, I advised you not to go on stage. You have angered Young Master Lan. If he ignores you and gives you to Young Master Haitu, you will not even have a proper status. How will you live in the future? What will happen to the child in your womb?” Cai’er said anxiously.

"Miss, I'm so sorry, you should run away quickly!" Cai'er knelt forward excitedly and hugged Qingyan's leg. "Get out of this hellish place and beg Young Master Lan. Maybe there's still a glimmer of hope for the sake of the child."

"You told me to go find Young Master Lan after I leave. Isn't he at Flower Pavilion?" That's some good news.

"Young Master Lan left in the afternoon."

Qingyan only paid attention to the most useful information, which was that Lan Zhen had left Hua Manlou, so there was only a sea chart left. Compared to Lan Zhen, this sea chart was much easier to deal with.

"You should go back first, I'll think about it some more." Qingyan wanted to send Cai'er away so she could discuss a solution with the two people in the room.

“Miss, you must hurry. I heard from Granny Liu that the auspicious day is in five days.” Cai’er stood up. “Cai’er knows she has wronged you. If you have any instructions, Cai’er will definitely, definitely…” As she spoke, she choked up again.

Qingyan patted her trembling shoulder, "Alright, I know what I'm doing."

As soon as Cai'er left, Qingyan couldn't wait to share the good news with the two people hiding in the inner room.

“This is Lan Zhen’s territory. Now that he’s gone, isn’t this a golden opportunity?” Qingyan rubbed her hands excitedly.

“It is indeed a good opportunity,” Ning Yuan nodded, looking at Yun Xuan.

"However, there are only five days left. What about your injuries?" Qingyan hesitated again.

"It seems the plan has to be moved up. You don't want your wife to be taken away by someone, do you?" Yunxuan looked back at Ning Yuan with a teasing expression.

"If I get raped, I'll haunt you two even as a ghost," Qingyan threatened angrily, clearly annoyed, as if she were teasing her.

"Nonsense." Yunxuan flicked Qingyan's forehead lightly with his finger, but a hint of worry appeared in his eyes.

"I'm not talking nonsense. If this Hai Tu dares to force me to marry him here, I'll fight him to the death." Qing Yan gritted her teeth.

"You promised her this, how can it be considered forced marriage?" Yunxuan looked like he was looking forward to a good show.

"Besides, even if you risk your life, it won't be your turn." Ning Yuan picked up where Yun Xuan left off, looking at Qing Yan's stern face, and couldn't help but find it amusing.

"Go ahead and laugh at me, it's fine. It's not the first time I've embarrassed myself. I know you're all confident, and I'm too lazy to argue with you. I'm going to sleep. You can keep it to yourselves if you want."

Qingyan turned and walked into the inner room, intending to lie down on the bed, but she paused for a moment as she approached. These past few days, only Ning Yuan had been there, so she had simply slept in the same bed with him, especially since Ning Yuan was her rightful husband. But today, with Yun Xuan also there, there was only one bed.

Qingyan looked around the bedroom, feeling utterly helpless, hoping to find a solution on the spot.

Oh right, the chaise lounge. Qingyan happily took a quilt from the bed and placed it on the chaise lounge. Everything was OK.

He took off his coat and threw it aside, then crawled into the covers and went to sleep.

Haha, Ning Yuan and Yun Xuan are sleeping in the same bed and sharing the same blanket. I wonder if there will be any taboo scenes. Qing Yan's mind started to wander.

Hiding under the covers, I couldn't stop daydreaming. The fujoshi thoughts in my mind from my past life were still so damn fujoshi after a thousand years. Daydreaming is indeed everywhere, absolutely unrelated to time and space.

As she thought about it, Qingyan burst out laughing, trembling slightly under the covers, unable to stop herself from laughing.

Are you laughing?

Suddenly, Qingyan felt a lightness on her head. A corner of the blanket was lifted, letting in a gust of cool air. She also heard Ning Yuan's deep and sexy male voice. Qingyan's daydreaming immediately stopped, and all her senses returned to reality.

"I wasn't laughing." Qingyan swallowed hard. If they knew what she was thinking just now, she'd probably be torn to pieces!

Pulling the blanket back over her head, she looked at Ning Yuan and Yun Xuan standing by the bed and couldn't help but laugh. She quickly urged them, "What are you doing standing here? Go to sleep! I'm sleepy even if you're not." Then she continued to cover her head and pretend to be asleep.

The charming and mischievous girl was laughing hysterically, clearly harboring some ill intentions. Ning Yuan and Yun Xuan exchanged a glance and smiled at each other, seemingly thinking the same thing.

Suddenly, Qingyan felt a chill on her body. Before she could react, she was immediately lifted off the chaise lounge and fell into a firm embrace.

What's going on? Qingyan quickly opened her eyes, only to meet Ning Yuan's eyes, which were filled with a deep smile.

"What are you doing?" Qingyan was stunned, her body nestled in Ning Yuan's arms and the blanket in Yun Xuan's hands.

"Go to sleep!" the two said in unison, as if on cue.

As she watched her body get closer and closer to the bed, Qingyan immediately realized that perhaps they felt sorry for her and wanted her to sleep on the bed.

“You’re both injured, so I’ll sleep on the couch and you can sleep on the bed.” Qingyan pretended to jump off Ningyuan’s arms.

“We don’t want to be called homosexuals,” Yunxuan threw the blanket onto the bed, “so,” he glanced back at Ningyuan, their eyes meeting in understanding, “you’ll have to make do tonight.”

"You're making me feel wronged?" Qingyan's eyes widened, and she seemed to understand most of what was going on.

"I'm sorry to trouble you to be the middleman." Ning Yuan placed her on the bed, casually covered her with a blanket, his eyes revealing an undisguised mockery.

"You two!" It was one thing to guess, but it was quite another to see it in front of her. Qingyan was shocked. She never expected that these two would be so, so—close.

"Go to sleep, there's still a lot to do tomorrow." Yunxuan said, taking off his coat and lying down in Qingyan's quilt, wearing only his undergarments.

Qingyan subconsciously moved further in. Even though Yunxuan had moved to Caiyi Palace during the wedding, and the two had been "living together" for a long time, they had never slept together. Although she was no longer distant from him, she still couldn't accept such intimacy, not to mention...

Qingyan turned to look at Ning Yuan, who was undressing beside her. Wasn't he jealous? Or had he already tacitly approved of Yunxuan's position as the consort for her sake?

My gaze followed Ning Yuan past the two of them to lie down at the far end of the bed. This ridiculously large bed could actually accommodate the three of them, although it was a little cramped.

Seeing the two so calm, Qingyan couldn't hold back any longer and sat up: "Hey, listen up, I have a habit of sleeping naked. If you're not afraid that I'll lose my temper and force myself on you two tonight, then feel free to lie in bed with me." After saying that, she swallowed and hesitated for a moment before starting to take off her undergarments.

These words and actions startled the two men, but they quickly regained their composure and, with remarkable tacit understanding, said in unison once again, "I'll help you." As soon as they finished speaking, all four hands reached out to her.

How could this be? Qingyan was completely dumbfounded, letting the two of them frantically strip off her inner garments. It wasn't until her clothes were slightly open that she realized what was happening. She quickly covered her clothes and awkwardly crawled into Ningyuan's quilt: "Never mind, forget I said anything, let's go to sleep."

She pressed herself against Ningyuan's strong waist, buried her head in his chest, and mischievously slipped her hand inside his clothes to gently caress his skin. Hearing his brief gasp, Qingyan's bad mood instantly improved.

Ning Yuan, are you deliberately confirming Yun Xuan's status as the Prince Consort? Is it out of helplessness or to fulfill his wishes? What exactly makes you willing to share me with someone else? Don't expect me to forgive you unless there's a very good reason.

Lost in her fierce thoughts, Qingyan unknowingly fell asleep.