Shocking! The actress was dragged to the regent's bedchamber every night.

The military camp in Kitahara was brightly lit.

The curtain of the central command tent was lifted, and firelight poured out from inside.

It fell on the snow, turning the white snow orange-red.

The scout who had escaped was kneeling on the ground, his clothes on the back torn in several places by tree branches.

The blood had congealed into a dark red scab, sticking to the fabric.

His face was purple from the cold, and he knelt there with his head down, his shoulders still trembling slightly.

Qi Zexun, the third prince of Beiyuan.

He was sitting behind a low table, holding a dagger in his hand.

The blade reflected the light of the candlelight.

A thin layer of sawdust covered the tabletop as he whittled a twig.

The movements were slow and deliberate.

He was wearing silver-gray armor, with no patterns on his shoulder armor.

Her hair was tied up and held in place with a silver hairpin, with a few stray strands of hair hanging down her forehead and resting on her eyebrows.

He doesn't look like a prince leading troops; he looks more like a young nobleman reading in his study.

"You said there are women in the Nanhuai Camp?" His voice carried a hint of amusement.

That kind of laughter wasn't just from happiness, but from finding something interesting.

The scout lowered his head, his voice dry and hoarse, "He looked slender, clearly a man. Nanhuai and that regent came out of the same tent."

After he finished speaking, he lowered his head even further.

Qi Zexun paused for a moment, resting the blade on the tree branch without cutting any further.

He then placed the dagger on the table, leaned back, and the chair back made a very soft sound.

"The Regent of Nanhuai..." He chewed on those words, as if savoring their meaning.

The corners of his mouth slowly turned up, revealing an amused expression.

Like a cat that finds a lone bird but doesn't rush to pounce, it will first squat down and watch for a while.

The deputy general standing next to him stood by the low table, his gaze shifting from the scout to Qi Zexun's face, and then back to the scout.

He asked, "Your Highness, should we send someone else to investigate?"

Qi Zexun picked up the dagger on the table again and continued whittling the unfinished branch.

Wood shavings rolled up from the edge of the blade and fell piece by piece onto the table.

Without looking up, he spoke slowly and deliberately, "No need, lest we alert them."

After saying that, he placed the sharpened branch on the table.

The branches were shaved smooth, one end pointed and the other blunt.

He picked it up, looked at it, and then put it down.

The scout was still kneeling on the ground. Qi Zexun neither told him to get up nor to leave.

Let him kneel.

Qi Zexun stood up and walked to the tent flap, lifting it a crack, letting the sunlight from the snow pour in and fall on his face.

His skin was fair, and reflected in the snow, it looked like transparent jade.

"The Regent," he murmured, as if talking to himself. "I've heard that this King of Hell is indifferent to women; so many people from the court send women to his residence, but he hasn't kept a single one."

He paused, his eyes brightening slightly. "Now there's suddenly a woman by my side. Interesting..."

After he finished speaking, he lowered the curtain, turned around, and walked back to the low table to sit down.

He picked up the sharpened twig and twirled it between his fingers twice, looking at the scout kneeling on the ground.

"What did that woman look like?"

The scout looked up at him, then looked down again. "I couldn't see clearly from that distance."

Qi Zexun placed the branch on the table, picked it up and put it down again.

He didn't ask any more questions and waved his hand.

The lieutenant next to him stepped forward, pulled the scout up from the ground, and took him away.

When the tent flap was lifted, a cold wind rushed in.

Qi Zexun sat behind the low table, gazing thoughtfully at the tent curtain that was still swaying gently.

"woman."

He read it aloud, and the upward curve of his lips widened a little more.

He stood up, walked to the tent flap, and lifted the curtain.

The snow was still falling outside, and the campfire in the camp was dimmed by the snow, its light flickering in the snow.

He stood by the tent flap, looking south, where it was pitch black and he couldn't see anything.

…………

When Su Wuli opened her eyes, she saw the ceiling of the apartment.

She rolled over, curled the blanket into a ball, hugged it to her chest, and buried her face in it.

After lying down for a while, he suddenly sat up, picked up his phone, found Lin Liwen's number, and dialed it.

The phone rang three times before Lin Liwen answered it.

Her voice was hoarse, as if she hadn't fully woken up, "What's wrong?"

"Sister Wen...we need another batch of medicine." She paused. "Same as last time, plus some hand warmers, buy a larger quantity."

Lin Liwen paused for a moment, then asked, "Did you...use all of those before?"

Hearing the surprised tone on the other end, Su Wuli responded calmly.

Even the most considerate Lin Liwen sensed something was wrong and was afraid that she might really cause trouble.

After all, it might be okay once or twice, but if it happens a third or fourth time, it will eventually attract attention.

"Mulberry, it's not that Sister Wen doesn't want to help you," Lin Liwen said earnestly, "Just tell me the truth, what do you need so much medicine for?"

Su Wuli didn't find Lin Liwen's question strange at all; on the contrary, it was quite normal.

"Well..." she stammered, unsure of what to say.

Lin Liwen, however, thought she was in a difficult position and backed down a bit, saying, "You don't have to tell me everything, but you should at least give me a general idea so I have a better understanding."

Lin Liwen was terrified that one day this obedient, childlike artist would do something earth-shattering.

Su Wuli went over it in her mind a few times before saying, "It's because there's a war going on on his side, and he needs medicine."

After she finished speaking, she heard a long silence on the other end of the phone.

Then came Lin Liwen's surprised voice, "You mean your man?"

"Mm." Su Wuli nodded.

After he finished speaking, silence returned on the other end.

Su Wuli bit her lip nervously and tentatively asked, "Sister Wen?"

Then Lin Liwen took a deep breath and said, "I'm here."

"Oh." Su Wuli nodded.

"Okay," Lin Liwen said helplessly. "I'll go get it for you."

"Thank you, Sister Wen," Su Wuli said hurriedly.

…………

Lin Liwen moved very quickly.

The box arrived the following afternoon.

There were more this time than last time, piled up at the entrance like a low wall.

She pushed herself into the bedroom as usual and then tied herself up with a rope.

I went to bed early that night.

She thought she would have to wait several days like last time, but when she opened her eyes again, she felt a chill.

She woke up on the bed, wearing only a thin nightgown that offered little protection from the cold.

He propped himself up on his elbows and quickly pulled a cotton robe from the side to put it on.

My fingers were shaking when I was tying the strap, and it took me two tries to tie it right.

She was alone in the tent; she didn't see Yu Chen.

Sitting on the bed, pulling her collar together, looking at the extinguished oil lamp, she suddenly remembered that the last time she didn't appear directly beside him was in that alley.

Then I met Xiao Junyi.

My heart clenched suddenly.

Before I could think about it, a commotion came from outside the tent.