The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

Inside the studio, time seemed to be ground into ink, flowing exceptionally slowly.

As the last rays of the setting sun slid across the bluestone pavement, the previous clamor dissipated, leaving only the lingering scent of pine soot ink in the air.

On the main seat, Hua Rongshi lowered her eyes and reviewed the last few scrolls of paintings.

His pen-holding posture was extremely elegant, his wrist suspended like a crane's neck, the tip of the pen dipped in cinnabar, writing annotations on the rice paper with varying degrees of emphasis.

The bright red handwriting gleamed with a moist light in the twilight, like plum blossoms blooming in the snow.

"My cousin has such a discerning eye... It's a real waste that he doesn't work as a pawnbroker and find a bargain."

Bei Chenji sat idly in a rosewood armchair to the side, with an ebony painting box resting on his lap, its surface gleaming with a dark luster.

His slender fingers tapped the lid of the box lightly and casually, producing a very regular, soft sound.

Irony is like a needle, wrapped in down.

While her face was radiant, her brushstrokes never ceased, and her peach-blossom eyes narrowed slightly.

In the blink of an eye, it was as if a spring breeze had swept across the ice, rippling out tiny golden sparks.

"Cousin, how many nights have you not slept?" His voice was languid, like aged wine flowing over jade. "Your temper is so fiery."

Having said that, he dipped his brush in the cinnabar in the inkstone and neatly wrote the two characters "丙下" in the corner of a scroll.

The cinnabar was so bright red it seemed to drip, reflecting off his fair fingertips with a breathtaking brilliance.

After finishing his comments, he leisurely put down his pen, and as his wide sleeves slid down, a section of his jade-like wrist was revealed.

Her wrists were slender yet not frail, with lines as smooth as the curves of ancient porcelain.

When the five fingers are outstretched, the nails are trimmed neatly and rounded, with a pearly pale pink luster.

"I'm the kind of person who cherishes and pities women the most."

He leaned back, sinking into the shadow of the chair back, with only his eyes shining brightly.

"It is evident that one cannot bear to see a beautiful woman suffer injustice, much less to see her shed tears."

Her gaze was fixed on Bei Chenji, and a smile played on her lips like the first bloom of peach blossoms in March.

"Cousin, you... don't bully her."

Bei Chenji's brows furrowed slightly.

Before she could even speak, that smiling voice slowly added another blow:

"Wasn't she just young and naive, peeping at you while you were bathing?"

Hua Rongshi tilted her head, and a few strands of her dark hair slipped down her shoulder.

"If you were even uglier, with an unattractive appearance, she probably wouldn't even bother to look at you."

"Isn't this... an affirmation of your beauty?"

"..."

The air suddenly froze.

The veins on Bei Chenji's forehead were faintly visible, and his slender fingers slowly closed, the knuckles turning a cold white.

The pent-up restlessness and irritability of the past few days were stirred up by these few words, surging and burning in my chest.

"My affairs are none of your concern." His voice was deep and cold, each word sharp and icy.

Qian Su, who was standing to the side, lowered his head and held his breath. Seeing that his master's face was as cold as an icy pool, he hesitated for a moment before whispering:

"My lord, originally... Miss Shen promised to play the zither for you at the Qin Pavilion after today's examinations." His voice trailed off, "but now she's been punished with caning and is injured, I'm afraid..."

"Too talkative."

Bei Chenji interrupted coldly.

A fleeting hint of impatience flashed in his eyes, so fast it seemed like an illusion.

But the trembling fingertips hidden in her sleeve betrayed her true frustration.

This body, this damned illness—

Thirst.

Two seemingly insignificant words, yet they are a torment branded into the soul.

When the night is deep and quiet, and all is still, countless tiny thirsty creatures awaken beneath the skin, like ants gnawing at the bone marrow.

That burning, empty feeling spread from every part of the body to the heart, driving one to the brink of madness.

Shen Yan's zither music was one of the very few remedies that could temporarily calm his mind.

Those clear, melodious strings, like moonlight transformed into a stream, slowly washed over my anxious nerves, bringing a moment of false peace.

Now even that moment of solace has vanished.

This only added to the oppressive feeling.

"That Yanxue Residence..." Qian Su carefully continued, observing the situation, "It was originally carefully prepared by the master for Miss Shen. It's close to the Prince's mansion, making it convenient to travel to and from, and also convenient for listening to the zither. Now it's been taken by Princess Jing..."

"We'll find another suitable house."

Bei Chenji leaned back on the soft couch and closed his eyes.

His body, clad in a deep purple brocade robe, revealed obvious signs of fatigue.

"Such a trivial matter, does it really need to be reported?" His voice was icy.

"Yes, I understand." Qian Su bowed his head and replied, not daring to say anything more.

"I thought my cousin was going to keep a mistress in a gilded cage."

Hua Rongshi was toying with a white jade pen holder. The jade was warm and smooth, flowing between his fingers, making his skin appear even more translucent.

"So it was to listen to music to calm your nerves." He paused, his tone becoming more serious, a rare departure from his usual nonchalant facade. "But cousin, what you need for your illness is real medicine. Listening to a few pieces of music is ultimately just treating the symptoms, not the root cause."

His cousin...

Suffering from this strange skin thirst disease, he was proud and arrogant, with a guarded heart as heavy as a lock forged from millennia-old cold iron.

I would rather endure the excruciating torment than let anyone get close to me, let alone seek the fundamental cure—skin-to-skin contact, to fill that bottomless thirst with warm, real touch.

"Cousin, in my opinion, you really should find a proper princess." Hua Rongshi sighed softly, and there was a rare sincerity in that sigh. "That was the right answer."

Bei Chenji, with his eyes still closed, scoffed upon hearing this.

Long eyelashes cast two cold shadows beneath pale eyes, like reflections in a cold pool under the moon.

"With your abilities, you spend your days chasing after women and living a carefree life." His voice was cold and detached, each word like a knife, precisely piercing the other's most vulnerable spot. "Why don't you find yourself an antidote first? Your love potion takes effect every month; the sensation must be indescribable."

A mocking smile curved at the corners of his lips.

"Not seeking a cure, is it because you don't want to?"

The smile on Hua Rongshi's face suddenly froze.

The white jade pen paused between his fingers, the tip turning slightly white from the force applied.

After a long pause, he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence through gritted teeth:

"Yes!" Her voice was sharp and defiant, tinged with embarrassment and anger. "I just don't want to, so what?"

A dreamlike city of flowers, a royal lineage.

Peach Blossom Love Poison.

After reaching adulthood, every full moon night, the tide of passion would sweep over me like a raging flood, burning away all reason. I could only curl up on the cold jade floor, enduring the long night with self-destructive restraint.

Unfortunately, he has a special constitution and is allergic to being touched by others.

Regardless of gender, whenever their skin touches, large patches of peach-blossom-shaped red marks will bloom on his body.

It wasn't the mark of passion, but a piercing pain—each petal felt like it had been branded with a hot iron, causing him to convulse and his clothes to be soaked with cold sweat.

Therefore, even though the rumors of "the drunken young master's romantic reputation resounding throughout the land" spread like wildfire...

In reality, he has never even held a girl's hand.

In addition, he has an extremely discerning eye.

Those whose appearance is inferior to others are too much trouble to even glance at.

There are very few people in this world who can catch his eye.

"Fine, I'll assume you don't want to."

Bei Chenji was too lazy to argue with him, and simply said a few words.

He closed his eyes again, trying to calm the turmoil in his mind.