The young lady is delicate and soft, yet she criticizes the powerful minister for bowing and scrapin

"Cousin misunderstood. I was just speaking in a normal tone as a gentleman, I wasn't being rude to you."

Qi Yunli immediately suppressed her anger and smiled as she spoke.

The shadows gradually grew longer. The two started practicing in the afternoon, timing it exactly one hour.

An hour was more difficult for Qi Yunli than three hours, as the student was extremely clumsy on the strings.

Qi Yunli wanted to leave as soon as the time came. She stood up, wanting to ask Rufeng for money, but her eyes were slightly red as she looked at Wei Jun's fingertips.

"Soak it in warm water at night for a while. If you don't want calluses to form, apply the medicine earlier."

Wei Jun sat there motionless, looking up at her.

Qi Yunli looks beautiful from any angle, whether you're facing her directly, looking down at her, or looking up at her.

Her hand had felt so soft when it touched the back of his hand. Images began to form in his mind, swirling together and making him somewhat distracted.

"I'm leaving," Qi Yunli said.

"No rush." ​​Wei Jun reached out and pulled her, his eyes burning with passion.

Qi Yunli met that gaze; she recognized it all too well—it was a burning desire.

But when she said she was leaving, she was also implying that he wanted money.

"Stay with me."

Wei Jun's tone shifted from that of a studious student to that of the dignified and imposing heir of the Marquis of Dingyuan.

She was somewhat flustered; if he insisted on using force, she would have no way to break free.

Qi Yunli still remembers that first evening. She had just entered the manor and, in order to please the masters of the various manor houses, she embroidered brocade pouches for the ladies and sisters.

Because Wei Jun had taken her in, she specially embroidered a brocade pouch. While the other pouches were embroidered with different flowers, she uniquely embroidered two orchids for the eldest son. The orchids were elegant, and she felt they perfectly suited Wei Jun's image when she embroidered them.

The brocade pouch contained her heartfelt wishes, but on the very night she gave it to him, he grabbed her hand and forcibly kissed her.

Wei Jun's orders were never to be refused. That night, he asked her a question: "Do you want to stay? If so, stay by my side."

His words carried a threat: if she didn't obey him, he would have many ways to get her out of the Dingyuan Marquis's mansion.

"I'm tired from playing the piano today, and my arms hurt," Qi Yunli said, trying to use her medical history as an excuse.

"I won't touch your arm." Wei Jun's eyes were deep.

Qi Yunli seemed to have no reason to refuse. She walked over step by step, her head down.

They didn't go back to their room. Qi Yunli sat beside him, and once again transformed from a flustered little rabbit into a docile one.

Her arm was still simply bandaged. The two were looking at each other when Wei Jun suddenly stopped what he was doing and paused to look at her.

Her right hand, arm, and palm were all injured.

"If you need any help, just come to me." Wei Jun frowned, trying to hold back his emotions.

"Your Highness is busy with countless affairs, and besides, what trouble do I have?" Qi Yunli looked away; she didn't want to look at him at this moment.

"That's true, you need to get something in return for asking me for help."

Wei Jun then said, "The time I took you in, it was because I saw that your younger brother seemed quite intelligent."

Qi Yunli lowered her head and gave a mocking smile: "Is that so? Thank you for your good judgment, Your Highness. If he passes the exam in the future, I will make sure he repays you properly."

This means he got her for free.

Suddenly, dark clouds filled the courtyard. The clear sky, which had just been bathed in sunshine, was now obscured by gloomy clouds that seemed to have drifted in from nowhere.

The two people in the courtyard separated before the torrential rain arrived.

Qi Yunli slowly recovered from her chair, her hand touching the strings of the piano the two of them had just practiced on, and she plucked them haphazardly.

He stopped before the heavy rain started, panting, and looked at Qi Yunli, who was covered in sweat, with suppressed emotion.

"We can't leave yet."

Wei Jun pulled her close, gently pressed his forehead against hers, closed his eyes, and looked somewhat pained.

Qi Yunli could only stay with him in the courtyard until the rain started to fall lightly from the horizon, soaking them both and making their clothes completely wet.

The rain was pouring down, the raindrops pattering down. Qi Yunli was in Wei Jun's arms, raindrops running down her hair and wetting her eyelashes.

The rain washed away her scent, leaving behind a lighter, softer fragrance, mixed with the lingering scent of fallen flowers, faintly blending into the rain.

"I'm leaving." Qi Yunli covered her arm, her left hand was dirty, and she was going to wash it.

Getting soaked in the rain will really hurt the wound on my arm. It had already started to scab over, and there were other wounds that were slowly healing.

The outer bandages were soaked through by the rain, clinging softly to the skin and feeling very sticky. Some dirt from the water seeped into the unhealed flesh, causing intense itching and pain.

Wei Jun simply picked her up and carried her into the house.

He found a clean handkerchief and wiped the rain from her face, then slowly untied the soaked bandage. The skin around the wound was red and swollen.

"If you had agreed earlier, you wouldn't have gotten caught in the rain," Wei Jun said in a gloomy voice, his tone reproachful.

Qi Yunli was like a mute eating bitter herbs, unable to express her suffering. She was taken advantage of and then criticized for not giving up the advantage sooner.

Wei Jun applied ointment to her wound, carefully wiping away the dirty water from the wound, then changed the dressing, rewrapped a clean bandage, and rolled up the sleeve of her right arm little by little.

"Wait until the rain stops before you leave."

Qi Yunli withdrew her arm: "I'm soaking wet now, I need to go back and change my clothes as soon as possible. I can go back by myself in the rain."

Seeing her stubbornness and the pain she was enduring, Wei Jun asked, "You're not listening to me?"

"Cousin, I already agreed to your request."

"Wei Ruolan has gone to Jingxin Nunnery, so she can't bully you anymore. You can live more freely in the manor."

Wei Jun remembered her tears; she cried bitterly that night because he couldn't bear to see the people in the manor bully her time and time again.

"I can grant you one request. Just tell me what you need my help with."

Qi Yunli's face, washed by the rain, appeared even drier and paler than before, her already unadorned complexion now bare. Her lips were tightly pressed together, but upon hearing these words, her trembling body relaxed.

She looked up at him, her eyes, still wet with rain, shining brightly, a glimmer of hope and stubbornness in them.

I need your help with something.

"explain."

"My cousin is already engaged and will be getting married soon. If I accidentally become pregnant during this time, it will definitely ruin the reputation of the Marquis's mansion... My cousin and I are ultimately of different statuses, so it's best not to do anything too intimate."

Wei Jun looked at that plain face. The rain outside was loud, but he could hear his own heart pounding, and his mind cleared up a bit.

Qi Yunli added, "Once everything settles down, I'll have a legitimate reason to stay by my cousin's side. That would be best."

"You haven't gotten pregnant this past year, what are you worried about? If you are worried, starting today, after every time we get together, I will have Rufeng bring you contraceptive medicine."

"Cousin!..." Qi Yunli suppressed her anger, her long eyelashes trembling violently, finally transforming her anger into a wronged expression:

"The thought of you being engaged to someone else still fills me with jealousy. I don't want to remain a nameless, powerless servant, at my cousin's beck and call... I'm no different from a maidservant now. Please, cousin, grant my request!"

Wei Jun's Adam's apple bobbed, and he wanted to reach out, but ultimately he clenched his fist.

"I promise you, but you'd better not throw yourself at me," he said coldly.