Regent, please maintain your aloof image.

Mu Jinchen sat down by the bed and asked, "How are you feeling? Are you feeling better? Does your wound still hurt?"

"It hurts, it hurts so much," Su Qianrou said coquettishly.

Mu Jinchen held her hand and said with self-reproach, "I'm sorry, it's all my fault. If you hadn't been protecting me, you wouldn't have gotten hurt."

“This is my own choice, it has nothing to do with you, you don’t need to blame yourself,” she said, then added, “Why do you look so tired? Did you not get enough rest last night? Why don’t you come up and get some sleep?”

"Okay," Mu Jinchen said, and then lay down on the bed.

Su Qianrou held his hand and said, "Go to sleep, don't think too much."

Mu Jinchen was silent for a moment, then called out, "Rou'er."

"Ok".

"Next time... don't block my way again."

Su Qianrou looked at him, puzzled.

Mu Jinchen continued, "If something like this happens again in the future, don't worry about me. Run if you can, don't look back, and definitely don't stand in my way."

"You mean you want me to abandon you and run away?"

"Ok".

"If that's the case, will you still like me?"

Mu Jinchen looked at her and said firmly, "Yes, because you are more important than my life."

“Fool, if I really did that, I wouldn’t be worthy of your affection,” she said, then asked, “If I were in danger, would you abandon me?”

"No, I will definitely save you, no matter what the cost."

"So, I will never abandon the person I love and run away. I didn't yesterday, and I won't in the future."

Mu Jinchen froze, staring blankly at her, then asked uncertainly, "You mean, you like me?"

"Did I say that? I didn't say that."

"You didn't say it, but that's what you meant, Rou'er, you've already fallen for me, haven't you?" Mu Jinchen sat up excitedly, looking at her with ecstatic joy.

Seeing him so happy, like a child, Su Qianrou couldn't help but chuckle. Then she said, "Do you think I'm such a casual person? I don't like you, yet I did that kind of thing with you."

"In other words, you've liked me for a long time."

"What do you think? Why do you think I stood in front of you without hesitation? Is it for fun?"

Mu Jinchen was so happy that he danced with joy and wanted to hug her, but he was afraid of hurting her, so he didn't know where to put his hands. In the end, he couldn't help but lower his head and kiss her red lips to express his excitement. Then he said, "Rou'er, thank you, thank you for falling in love with me."

"That's because you deserve it."

Mu Jinchen looked at her with a smile on his face, his lips almost reaching the sky.

Su Qianrou felt a little embarrassed by his gaze, so she said, "Alright, aren't you sleepy? Go to sleep."

"Not sleepy at all, I'm so happy right now."

"You're not sleepy, but I am. I'm going to sleep now," she said, then closed her eyes and went to sleep.

Mu Jinchen then lay down again, then held her in his arms, whispered in her ear, "Rou'er."

"Ok".

Rou'er.

"what".

"It's okay, you go to sleep."

Su Qianrou was speechless and too lazy to pay attention to him anymore. She was indeed sleepy and fell asleep soon after.

Mu Jinchen was so excited that he couldn't sleep. It took him a while to finally fall asleep.

However, he only slept for an hour before waking up and then went to the study.

At this moment, Yingfeng was reporting the results of the investigation to him, "Your Highness, the people of Baixing Pavilion seem to have vanished into thin air. There is no trace of them at all. The same goes for their pavilion master. Apart from knowing that he wears a silver mask, we have no other information."

"Continue the investigation. Even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, find them. I will make sure they die without a burial place."

"Yes".

"Has the place where Prince Qing is hiding his private soldiers been found?"

"not yet".

"They can't find this or that. What are they good for? Tell them that if they still can't find anything, they will be dealt with according to military law."

"Yes... By the way, Your Highness, An Yi reported that there seems to be someone else behind the strategist beside Prince Qing."

"It is possible to find out who it is."

"Not yet," Yingfeng said softly.

Mu Jinchen's face darkened further. "Summon An Yi to see me."

"Yes".

Yanxi Palace

For the next two weeks, Su Qianrou could only spend her time in bed. Fortunately, Yang Shanshan, Chang Le, and others would come to keep her company and talk to her from time to time, which made her feel less bored.

Mu Jinchen also completely settled down in Yanxi Palace. Apart from attending the morning court, he spent almost all his time there, either accompanying Su Qianrou in her bedroom or handling political affairs in his study.

One night, Su Qianrou woke up in the middle of the night and found no one beside her, so she called out, "Chunzhu".

"You're here," Chunzhu said as she quickly entered, asking, "Your Highness, why are you awake?"

"Where is the prince?"

"The prince is still in his study."

"What time is it now?"

"More often around midnight."

Su Qianrou thought for a moment, then got up and walked outside.

"Your Highness, it's cold outside. Please put on your cloak," Chunzhu said, hurriedly picking up the cloak and chasing after her.

Afterwards, Su Qianrou went to the study, where Mu Jinchen was engrossed in his work, focused on handling official business, and did not notice her coming in at all.

Su Qianrou walked to his side and asked, "Aren't you done yet?"

Mu Jinchen then looked at her and asked, "Why aren't you asleep yet?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that? When I woke up and you weren't there, I thought you were out having a secret rendezvous with another woman."

Mu Jinchen chuckled, pulled her onto his lap, and then hugged her waist, saying, "Yes, it's a night of meeting a beauty, and here I am, with a beauty in my arms."

Su Qianrou wrapped her arms around his neck and said, "Then it seems you don't like me, this beauty, that much. It's the middle of the night, and you're leaving me alone in this empty room."

Mu Jinchen had been abstaining for almost a month and was already incredibly horny. He couldn't resist the temptation and couldn't help but kiss her passionately and urgently. He didn't release her for a while, and then whispered in her ear, "Behave yourself." His voice was slightly hoarse, and the deep tone contained a dangerous undertone.

To be honest, Su Qianrou had also been thinking about it, so she provocatively said, "What if I refuse?" After saying that, she gently blew into his ear.

Mu Jinchen trembled, his last bit of self-control vanished instantly, and the raging fire within him was ignited. He threw reason to the back of his mind, quickly picked her up, and said, "You asked for this. Don't beg for mercy later." With that, he carried her out.

Su Qianrou retorted defiantly, "It's still uncertain who will beg for mercy."

Mu Jinchen quickened his pace and strode towards the bedroom.

Soon, sounds of pleasure filled the room, making everyone blush.

Chunzhu stood outside the door, looking somewhat shy. If you looked closely, you could see that her ears were red.

Yingfeng couldn't help but tease, "Why are your ears red? Are you shy? It's not like it's the first time you've heard it. Why are you shy?"

"Do you think everyone is as shameless as you?"

"If you're shy now, what will you do if you experience it firsthand? You'll be so embarrassed you'll hide under the covers."

"You...you scoundrel."

Yingfeng couldn't help but laugh, and then said, "Why don't you stand further away?"

Chunzhu ignored him and silently stood guard at the door.

Yingfeng smiled and said nothing more.