When I stopped licking, the lady panicked.

"Lin Xuan! I want you..."

"You want me?" Lin Xuan stopped and looked at Luo Qingxue in surprise.

Luo Qingxue blushed and added, "I demand an explanation from you."

"What do you mean?" Lin Xuan stopped what he was doing, wiping the sweat off his body as he walked towards Luo Qingxue.

As Lin Xuan approached, his masculine aura grew stronger, and Luo Qingxue's heartbeat and breathing became more rapid.

She lowered her head, unusually shy, and said, "You...you kept me up all night, you owe me an explanation."

"I kept you up all night? What does that have to do with me?" Lin Xuan asked again.

Luo Qingxue retorted defiantly, "I said it's you! If it weren't you, how could I... how could I..."

"What could be?" Lin Xuan asked, puzzled.

Luo Qingxue found it difficult to say what followed. After all, she was a lady from a prominent family, the daughter of the Left Prime Minister, and already married. How could she tell a man other than her husband that she was having sleepless nights and tossing and turning because of her physical desires?

"You...it's because of you..." Luo Qingxue stubbornly resisted.

Lin Xuan tilted his head and asked with interest, "Could it be that the Third Prince didn't show enough affection to the Imperial Consort, causing her to feel lonely, which is why..."

"How dare you!" After being exposed by Lin Xuan, Luo Qingxue was furious and raised her hand to slap him.

However, she did not use her true energy in this slap; it was just a casual slap.

Lin Xuan caught it easily. The delicate and tender hand was held in Lin Xuan's hand, and the smooth touch made Lin Xuan's heart flutter.

The rough and powerful friction and brutality brought by Lin Xuan's hands stirred Luo Qingxue's heart, who had never experienced the pleasures of love between men and women. Her legs went weak and she almost fell over.

Those powerful hands and that aggressive gaze made Luo Qingxue's heart race, her mouth go dry, and her eyes bulge, as if she were about to suffocate.

"Let...let me go..." Luo Qingxue struggled weakly, seemingly forgetting that she was still a martial arts practitioner.

Seeing her flushed cheeks and dreamy eyes, Lin Xuan was also infected by her beauty, and his heart began to beat faster.

Lin Xuan simply assumed it was his heart racing after practicing martial arts and didn't think much of it. However, when Luo Qingxue struggled and had more physical contact with Lin Xuan, Lin Xuan's physical reaction told him that the heat was not from practicing martial arts, but from Luo Qingxue.

Luo Qingxue twisted her body, and her cries for help were very delicate.

She kept shouting "Let me go, let me go," but her struggles were very weak.

Lin Xuan blushed crimson, as if he were about to lose his mind, and pulled Luo Qingxue into his arms.

He and Luo Qingxue were kindred spirits, both failures in their marriages.

After Lin Xuan held Luo Qingxue in his arms, Luo Qingxue immediately stopped making a fuss.

She stared blankly at Lin Xuan, as if she were lost in thought.

Lin Xuan's throat bobbed as he swallowed, bringing Luo Qingxue back to her senses.

"You...you let me go..." Luo Qingxue said in a coquettish voice, weakly pushing against Lin Xuan's chest.

Lin Xuan hugged her tighter and tighter, saying, "Luo Qingxue, you came to see me so late, did you really just come to criticize me?"

"I..." Luo Qingxue stammered.

"We're in the same boat, why must we be at odds? Can't we join forces?" Lin Xuan asked again.

Yun Zhenting's words had enlightened Lin Xuan. He had never served as an official in the court, so he was completely ignorant of the ways of officialdom. He thought that the officialdom was like the martial arts world, where outstanding ability would lead to rapid advancement.

But Yun Zhenting's words changed his mind: if you don't have connections when you're an official in the court, your potential is limited.

Therefore, Lin Xuan needs Luo Qingxue.

Luo Qingxue, this lonely woman who lacks a man's love and may one day fall into prostitution and die in the wilderness, also needs Lin Xuan.

Lin Xuan's words provided a fig leaf for Luo Qingxue's unspeakable thoughts.

Yes, he's right. I came here not to see him, but to form an alliance.

After comforting herself for a while, Luo Qingxue forced herself to remain calm and said, "Then... then let me go first."

"You have to promise me first," Lin Xuan said, actually wanting to hug him a little longer.

"What did I promise you?" Luo Qingxue replied, actually wanting to be held by Lin Xuan a little longer.

It's truly endearing that they both share the same thoughts but use excuses to conceal their true feelings out of shame.

"Promise me you'll help me," Lin Xuan said.

"How can I help you?" Luo Qingxue asked.

Lin Xuan hugged her a little tighter, and Luo Qingxue couldn't help but let out a barely audible "hmm" sound.

"Form an alliance," Lin Xuan said.

Luo Qingxue lowered her head; the pounding of her heart and the intense heat in her body seemed to have rendered her incapable of thinking.

"I...I promise you, just let me go..." Luo Qingxue said in a soft, sweet voice.

Lin Xuan asked, "Really?"

"Hmm..." Luo Qingxue nodded her chin.

Upon hearing this, Lin Xuan had no reason to continue holding her, and reluctantly let her go.

Luo Qingxue looked lost and dejected, but pretended to be doing nothing, silently tidying up her disheveled clothes.

Watching Luo Qingxue's slender figure recede into the distance, Lin Xuan took a few steps closer and asked, "Luo Qingxue, why are you sleepless at night?"

Luo Qingxue pursed her lips, cursing inwardly: It's all your fault for hugging me in the hot spring that day, making my mind full of you, and now you're asking me why, how annoying.

"I'm feeling very upset," Luo Qingxue said.

Lin Xuan continued to probe: "Then why did you come to the Lin residence?"

"Because...because you told me that you are a reborn person, so I came to you to find some answers." Luo Qingxue quickly came up with a seemingly plausible reason.

This reason was indeed quite good; it not only fooled Lin Xuan but also Luo Qingxue herself.

Lin Xuan smiled and said, "I made that up."

"As expected, you were lying to me." Luo Qingxue pouted.

Lin Xuan said, "Otherwise, you'll kill me."

"You saw my body, shouldn't I kill you?" Luo Qingxue retorted.

Lin Xuan smiled, opened his arms, and said, "Then kill me."

He knew that Luo Qingxue was no longer capable of harming him, so he decided to play the innocent.

Luo Qingxue was taken aback for a moment, then said, "You've already allied with me, why would I kill you?"

"I thought the princess was going to break the alliance and protect her chastity," Lin Xuan teased.

Luo Qingxue snorted and said, "My chastity is still intact, why should I protect it?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Xuan chuckled.

"What are you laughing at?" Luo Qingxue asked.

Lin Xuan said, "So that's why you couldn't sleep at night. It turns out the monotonous days made you lonely, which is why you came to my Lin residence, right?"

Luo Qingxue's face flushed crimson instantly. Enraged and humiliated, she stomped her foot and shouted, "Lin Xuan, how dare you humiliate me!"

He immediately swung his palm straight at Lin Xuan.