The abstinent prince, practicing Buddhism, is seduced by a voluptuous beauty into breaking his vows.

Meanwhile, in the hidden underground palace...

He Qing lay naked on the cold jade bed in the underground palace, his back covered with more than a dozen hideous whip marks, his skin torn and bloody.

A familiar-looking burly man was carefully applying medicine to him. The powder sprinkled on the wound made He Qing shudder with pain, and cold sweat instantly soaked his forehead.

"Young Master, why are you doing this..." The burly man's voice was hoarse and filled with heartache, "For a woman, you're going to clash head-on with the Lord..."

He Qing twitched the corners of her mouth, her smile sarcastic: "I'm happy to."

The underground palace was cold and damp, the candlelight flickering, illuminating his pale, paper-white face. His once smiling, almond-shaped eyes were now dull and lifeless, and his lips were bleeding from being bitten.

"How is she?" he asked in a hoarse voice.

The burly man paused, then whispered, "The scouts report that he hasn't left his room these past few days..."

He Qing closed his eyes.

...It's obvious what happened.

He suddenly laughed, a self-deprecating laugh: "So be it... Xiao Chenyuan will protect her after all."

"Young Master!" the burly man cried out anxiously. "You're still thinking about her? She's already had two relapses from that drug... and everything that could happen between her and that man has already happened! Besides, the Master has already said that the next mission will be assigned to the Second Young Master. If you interfere again, it won't be as simple as just a whipping!"

He Qing opened his eyes, staring blankly at the ceiling of the underground palace—

That was the totem of the Liang Kingdom, a phoenix reborn from the ashes.

He grew up looking at this totem, listening to his father recount the hatred of the fall of the Liang Kingdom and the grand ambition of restoring the kingdom.

He lived for twenty years, living only for revenge, for that unattainable dream of restoring his country.

But that day at the villa, looking into Su Yaoyao's clear yet cunning eyes, he suddenly felt... tired.

Although he was instructed by his father to drug her, he also had his own ulterior motives. He never expected...

When the drug takes effect for the third time...

He Qing crushed the medicine bowl in his hand with a heavy grip, blood streaming down his face, yet he remained completely unaware.

Then his face showed deep disappointment.

"Ah Da..." he suddenly spoke, "Tell me... what would happen if I didn't have the surname He, and didn't bear the identity of the last surviving member of the Liang Kingdom?"

The burly man's hand trembled, and the medicine bottle almost fell to the ground.

"Young Master! You can't say such things carelessly!" He lowered his voice, sweat beading on his forehead. "If the Master hears this—"

"So what if I heard it?" He Qing smirked. "Anyway... I don't care about anything anymore."

He reached out and took out the epiphyllum earring from beside his pillow, and He Qing's eyes gradually softened.

That day, she wore these earrings and was picking out jewelry in the jewelry store. Her profile was as smooth and lustrous as jade in the sunlight, and her eyes crinkled with laughter.

He hid in the shadows and watched for a long time, so long that he almost forgot what he was supposed to be doing.

"Ah Da," he said softly, "if I die... quietly return this earring to her."

The burly man's eyes reddened: "Young Master!"

"Why are you crying, you big man!" He Qing smiled, clutching the earring tightly in his hand as if holding onto the last bit of warmth. "I was just... saying it casually."

Slowly, his gaze hardened. "Is everything arranged over there?"

The burly man wiped away his tears, his expression turning strange. "Young Master, the arrangements are all set; they're just waiting for you there. But... you're a grown man, are you really going to..."

He Qing raised an eyebrow, "So what? Maybe... there will be an unexpected bonus!"

After the medicine was applied, the big man covered him with a thin blanket and left.

He Qing was the only one left in the underground palace.

He turned his head to look at the flickering candlelight on the wall, but what appeared before his eyes was the image of the couple embracing by the hot spring.

He knew that Xiao Chenyuan must be holding her right now, gently coaxing her and making earnest promises.

And what about him?

He could only lick his wounds alone in this cold, dark underground palace, thinking of the woman who would never belong to him.

He Qing closed her eyes, and a tear silently slid down her cheek and disappeared into her temple.

"I'm sorry..." he murmured, "This time... I really couldn't protect you."

Meanwhile, in the secret chamber of the Second Prince's residence in the capital.

Xiao Qiming stared at the man in black in front of him, his face grim:

"You mean...you can really wish me success?"

The man in black nodded: "Yes. As long as Your Highness agrees to our conditions, we will take care of the Crown Prince..." He made a throat-slitting gesture.

Xiao Qiming sneered, "You're much more useful than your brother!"

The pale moonlight outside the window shone on Xiao Qiming's distorted face.

He held the wine glass, and Su Yaoyao's bright face flashed before his eyes again.

"Yaoyao..." he murmured, "Soon...you'll be mine."

The wine glass was smashed hard on the ground and shattered into powder.

---

When they arrived at the bedchamber, Su Yaoyao was already dozing off in Xiao Chenyuan's arms.

Xiao Chenyuan held her in his arms.

The person in his arms was so light that he frowned, a mixture of satisfaction and heartache in his heart.

How will this body withstand him in the future?

Although he had tried to restrain himself, he inevitably lost control when he was moved, and ended up doing this to her.

later……

He mentally calculated the date of his wedding and thought about the decades to come, and for the first time, he had a deep doubt about his self-control.

One can only truly appreciate the flavor of something after tasting its marrow.

He now truly understands those four words.

The emptiness in my heart that had lasted for more than a decade was filled to the brim, and the sense of satisfaction was almost overflowing.

So this is what it feels like to hold your loved one—you want to meld her into your very bones, yet you're afraid of breaking her.

Looking at her thin shoulders, he couldn't help but frown again.

Aunt Liu...

Xiao Chenyuan's eyes turned cold.

That woman treated Yaoyao so harshly; her life in prison must have been too comfortable.

Ling Feng needs to go to the Ministry of Justice prison and give that guy a good "talking to". Raising his precious son like this, this debt will have to be settled slowly.

He lowered his head, his lips gently touching her damp bangs, muttering that he would have to find people from the Imperial Hospital and the Imperial Kitchen tomorrow to give his precious child a good nourishing treatment.

Su Yaoyao vaguely heard these words and wanted to retort, "I'm not ashamed as I thought," but she could only utter a muffled syllable before falling asleep again.

Xiao Chenyuan carried her back to the bedroom and gently placed her on the softly cushioned bed.

The mattresses were all newly changed, scented with her favorite night-blooming cereus fragrance, so soft that you could sink into them.

He fetched a dry cloth, sat on the edge of the bed, and carefully dried her long hair.

After finishing, he picked up the bottle of blood-activating and stasis-removing ointment, dipped his fingertip in the medicine, and applied it little by little to the marks on her body.

The ointment has a cool, refreshing feel, and it feels very comfortable when applied to hot skin.

Su Yaoyao unconsciously hummed in her sleep and snuggled closer to his hand.

Xiao Chenyuan paused, his eyes darkening.

This girl... she's restless even when she's asleep.

He composed himself and continued applying the medicine.

From the side of the neck to the shoulder, from the waist and abdomen to the groin, every bruise was carefully covered.

The skin beneath his fingertips was soft and smooth, like the finest mutton fat jade, making his breathing unconsciously become heavier.

After finally finishing applying the medicine, Xiao Chenyuan's forehead was already beaded with sweat.

Just as he was about to get up to take a cold shower, his wrist was suddenly gently grasped by a slightly cool hand.

"A-Yuan..."

Su Yaoyao mumbled something groggily, her eyes still closed, but her hand gripped his sleeve tightly.

"A-Yuan...I like you..."

Xiao Chenyuan paused, looking at her peaceful sleeping face. His heart felt as if it had been hit hard by something, a mixture of soreness and fullness, almost overflowing.

"Call me again." He leaned down and whispered coaxingly in her ear, "Yaoyao, call me Ayuan again."

Su Yaoyao wrinkled her nose, mumbled an "um," and then fell silent.

He looked at the person curled up in a ball on the bed. In the candlelight, her long eyelashes drooped, her cheeks still flushed from soaking in the hot spring, and the corners of her mouth were unconsciously slightly upturned. She was sleeping soundly without any guard.

He reached out and lightly touched her eyelashes with his fingertips.

It's soft and itchy.

A certain part of my heart softened completely.

He leaned down, his lips gently brushing against her ear, his voice so hoarse it was almost inaudible:

"Yaoyao, I love you."