"???"

Xie Wanqing blinked, utterly baffled. "How should I know what to do?"

"...Wanwan," Lu Ziyuan swallowed, his gaze falling on her lips, "just coax it a bit, be nice to it."

Xie Wanqing still didn’t understand until she felt his gaze and pressed her lips together. A scene flashed before her eyes of Cao Yingying serving the Second Prince on her knees. She almost jumped up and shook her head hurriedly, "No way!"

Lu Ziyuan reached out to hug her, "Why not? I’m not dirty."

But no matter what he said, Xie Wanqing remained silent.

In the end, Lu Ziyuan sighed in defeat, "Wanwan, you’re such a tease. You hurt it and won’t even soothe it."

"..." Xie Wanqing’s lips twitched hard, "Don’t make such requests again, I can’t do this kind of servile work."

So unromantic.

"It’s alright," Lu Ziyuan cupped the back of her neck, lowered his head, and kissed her hard, biting his teeth and smiling, "I can do it; I love serving Wanwan the most."

Saying that he pushed her down on the couch and bent over to kiss her.

"No, no!" Xie Wanqing hurriedly pinched his neck, "It still hurts!"

The kiss that had already fallen on her shoulder paused, and the eyes that lifted were full of deep desire.

"Two days..." he bit his lip, undoing her belt, "Let me take a look."

How could Xie Wanqing let him see? She held her clothes tight, "I said it hurts, so it hurts!"

Her strength couldn’t stop anything, but Lu Ziyuan stopped anyway, just looking at her, asking, "When will it not hurt?"

Xie Wanqing was somewhat speechless by the question, mumbled for a while, then said, "Can’t you wait until after the wedding to do such things?"

It’s October now, and getting married before the New Year means only about a month at most. Can he really not wait even a month with such heavy desire!

Lu Ziyuan actually counted the days and shook his head decisively, "Can’t wait."

"Wanwan, I can’t hold it in."

He went to kiss the tip of her ear, words so straightforward that they made one blush, "Just these two days, I’ve been counting the days holding on."

It’s been too long, and with his beloved so close, how could he accept going back to a monk-like existence?

Xie Wanqing wasn’t careful, and his hand slipped inside her collar.

This was the girl he had pined for over two lifetimes.

He knew her extremely well.

The callous on his palm was light yet firm, the strength just right.

Every touch elicited a shiver of excitement.

He wasn’t as rushed as last time, particularly leisurely.

Gently twirling and teasing.

As he bent down to kiss her, a pair of hands cupped his face.

"Don’t do this," Xie Wanqing’s eyes reddened, "It really still hurts."

Even the marks he left the night before hadn’t completely faded, visible all over her chest and stomach.

Lu Ziyuan was almost at the point of no return, but her big, watery eyes looked at him, full of grievance, as if continuing would make her cry.

He paused for a long moment, finally sighed in defeat, and got off her.

Just as Xie Wanqing was pulling her robe back together, she heard the man beside her curse.

Seeing her glare up at him, he said, "Go ahead, wear me out slowly; I’ll eventually be ruined at your hands."

"..." Xie Wanqing was silent, not daring to provoke the unsatiated man, and shrank away a bit, wrapped in the blanket.

She really wanted him to go to the martial arts field to let off some excess energy.

Never met such a relentlessly demanding man!

That night passed quietly under Xie Wanqing’s timid silence, and when she woke up the next morning, the spot beside her was already cold.

In the following days, she personally experienced Lu Ziyuan’s busyness, busy to the point of being unable to be in two places at once. When she woke up in the morning, he was already gone; when he returned each night, she was already fast asleep.

Not to mention engaging in anything else, they didn’t even have time to talk.

In less than three days, it was Lu Ziyuan who couldn’t take it anymore. Only then did she truly realize how much this man had changed.

Entangled for two lifetimes, knowing each other inside and out, in the past when he was busy, how could he care about the back courtyard, care about women? Not entering her courtyard for ten days to half a month was common.

But now, as busy as he was, he still thought to send Mingjian to check on what she was doing, telling her if she was free, she could go to the study to play.

Yes, just to play. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Mingjian said: "Miss might not know, our Prince hasn’t been feeling well lately. If you stew a pot of tonic soup and send it over, he’ll be pleased,"

His eyes were full of expectation, but Xie Wanqing was skeptical.

Not feeling well?

Are you talking about Lu Ziyuan?

With his healthy and robust body, she’d believe it if someone said he could punch a bull to death with sheer brute strength.

However, she indeed had nothing to do, and since they were starting over, she shouldn’t always resist his closeness.

With that thought, Xie Wanqing did indeed carry a food box into Lu Ziyuan’s study.

When she arrived, the people inside were discussing matters. After Mingjian went in to inform them, he welcomed her in.

Xie Wanqing stepped in, glanced at the few people inside, recognizing a few familiar faces.

They were all smart, and seeing Lu Ziyuan permit a young lady to enter openly, they could gauge her significance.

Let alone, she was brought here at great risk, against all odds.

The few of them saluted together, and Xie Wanqing didn’t consider herself their mistress just yet, so she stepped aside slightly, accepting only a half salute, and sat on a side chair, not interrupting them.

Yet, with so many men in one room, she inevitably felt a bit uneasy.

After a while, the crowd bid farewell in succession, the noisy study quieted down, and her face looked a bit better.

Lu Ziyuan had been watching her the whole time, seeing this, he called the guards at the door in and gave them a couple of instructions.

Soon, a screen was added in his study, and he said, "Next time they come, you can rest in the inner room."

He didn’t say you can leave first, but found a way to keep her there and was willing to make her comfortable.

Xie Wanqing neither agreed nor disagreed, opened the food box, and brought out the old ginseng chicken soup inside, "It’s already cold, use your Inner Strength to heat it up and drink it."

"Did you make this yourself?" Lu Ziyuan’s eyes were filled with a smile, "Be careful not to burn your hands, don’t do it next time."

"..." Xie Wanqing paused, didn’t tell him the truth, and changed the subject instead, "Mingjian said you’re not feeling well, is everything okay?"

Just now, sitting beside them watching them discuss matters, she suddenly remembered this person on several occasions with a pale face, spitting blood.

Indeed, not looking very healthy.

Lu Ziyuan was slightly taken aback by this question, quickly reacting, "Concerned about me?"

He curled into a smile at the corner of his mouth, "What could be wrong with me, just don’t get me angry a few more times."

What a thing to say!

Xie Wanqing disagreed, wanting to retort a few words, but then soon remembered the reasons for his several episodes of spitting blood, and the words reached her lips but held back.

Could it really be... because of anger from her?