The mistress who remarried has returned.

Qin Huai sensed that the defense had been breached. As their breaths mingled, his hot breath was hotter than his lips and tongue. His moist scent was accepted into her territory. He raised his hand to cup her face, his fingertips caressing her cheeks and brow bones with the lightest touch, as if he were stroking a fragile piece of porcelain.

Every time his tongue brushed against her palate, she could feel the tightening of his hands as he cupped her cheeks.

Su Yunxi was too sad tonight. Because of her father's favoritism and because of Qin Huai's dagger, her tongue initially retracted to avoid contact with his breath, but in his kiss, she gradually had a kind of illusion of being cherished. Her hands, which did not know where to go, initially gripped his chest, but as he pressed down harder, she worried that she could not bear the weight, so she subconsciously raised her arms to cling to his neck. Her tongue had been retracted for too long, and perhaps it was tired, so she relaxed her guard and accidentally touched his tongue between her teeth.

In the quiet night, Qin Huai let out a soft sigh, a mixture of pleasure and discomfort, as he felt that wet, slippery touch.

Qin Huai abruptly pulled away from her lips, his eyes fixed on her moist lips and the water stains he hadn't had time to wipe away. His eyes held an unbridled restraint and arrogance.

Su Yunxi called his name in confusion, "Qin Huai..."

"Mmm." Qin Huai lowered his head and kissed her again. This time it was no longer a test or a cautious kiss, but a plundering attack. He picked her up, walked quickly to the bedside, and pressed her down on the bed. He said in a hoarse voice, "Take off your bloodstained outer garment. It won't dirty your bed."

The sheets became wrinkled from their intertwined movements, and their clothes gradually became disheveled. He pulled her hand inside his shirt to touch himself.

The cold wind blowing in through the window blew out the kerosene lamp.

The only sounds in the room were the rustling of fabric, suppressed breathing, the soft, sticky sounds between their lips and tongues, and the sounds of them swallowing, all amplified in each other's ears.

"Qin Huai, I don't want to..."

"I know... I know what the terms we discussed were." Qin Huairu said to himself.

"I'm scared... Qin Huai, I'm scared of you like this..."

"Hasn't he ever pinned you down on the bed like this?" Qin Huai stopped his physical contact, rolled over to lie down beside her, calming his breathing; his body was so tense it ached. "Why aren't you afraid of him?"

Su Yunxi had originally thought it would be a short and punitive kiss like the one in the Eastern Palace, but today's long and lingering entanglement with physical changes made her feel unfamiliar and afraid. When she saw that Qin Huai had stopped, she knew that the matter of the cloak had been settled.

However, Qin Huai did not reveal that he would arrange for Kang Yin to have a follow-up examination at the East Palace.

Although her helpless mood had improved a lot, the matter concerning the Crown Prince still needed to be taken care of, and she only had one dose of medicine left.

So even though she was afraid of Qin Huai at this moment, she still carefully held Qin Huai's hand and wouldn't let him leave.

Seeing that she was still clinging to him like this, Qin Huai couldn't quite describe how he felt, but he didn't push her hand away.

"Hmm, Qin Huai, hurry up and light the lamp..."

"What's wrong?" Qin Huai hurriedly lit the oil lamp. When he brought the lamp over, he saw that her face, neck, and half of her neck exposed by her torn clothes were flushed red. At this moment, she covered her nose with her hand, and some bright red blood was oozing out from between her fingers.

Qin Huai handed her some paper and a cloth.

Su Yunxi felt like her head was steaming. She had just touched Qin Huai's body, feeling a firm and intimate touch, and kissed him so deeply. She had originally planned to just turn the page and pretend it wasn't strange, but who knew... she would get a nosebleed.

How embarrassing...

As Su Yunxi wiped the blood from her nose, she glanced at Qin Huai across the room. He was quietly watching her, deep in thought.

Su Yunxi twisted a piece of soft paper into a vertical strip and stuffed it into her nose. Then she lay down silently and pulled the blanket up to cover her face. Afterward, she stretched her hand out from under the blanket and continued to hold Qin Huai's hand.

Qin Huai actually smiled. Even in this situation, she was still clinging to him. She never forgot the important matters of the Eastern Palace.

After a long day of rescuing her brothers at the Xue residence and attending to the Crown Prince at the Eastern Palace, Su Yunxi was exhausted from dealing with the cloak incident. Now that the matter was settled, with Qin Huai by her side and Lord Su no longer daring to bully her and her mother, she felt safe. Sleepiness washed over her, and she subconsciously snuggled closer to Qin Huai, soon falling into a deep sleep.

Qin Huai was exhausted from being pestered by her from day to night, so he leaned down beside her. He heard her even breathing in his ear, and in the darkness, the emotions in her eyes were revealed. She had used him, but she was asleep. She only cared about starting the fire and not about putting it out, and she didn't care about his life or death at all.

Su Yunxi dreamt of herself four years ago, soaked to the bone in the rain at the barracks, and of her aloof and superior mother, Qin. In her sleep, she kept calling out, "Husband..."

Qin Huai listened quietly as she called him "husband," even dreaming of Zhou Yu. He wrapped Su Yunxi's body around him, pulled the blankets over them, and thus, fully clothed, embraced the Crown Prince's concubine in the backyard of the official's house. The resentment in his eyes poured out like a flood in the night, unnoticed by anyone. She had always hated him so much, finding him disgusting every single day of those seven years. "You're so bad, Su Yunxi, let's see how bad you can be to me."

***

Su Yunxi didn't know how long she had slept. In her dream, she was held in someone's arms, and the six arrow scars felt like they were being gently touched. It was so warm in the winter night. She could faintly hear the sound of the night watchman's drum, and at the same time, she noticed a rustling sound beside her.

Su Yunxi opened her sleepy eyes and sat up. The morning light was already streaming in through the window.

The rustling sound was Qin Huai quietly searching for something on her bed. When he saw that she was awake, he glanced at her and said, "Feel over under your mattress to see if you can find my socks."

Su Yunxi realized he was looking for his socks; the two of them had been tangled together last night, and he had probably kicked them off.

"Oh. Okay."

Su Yunxi reached down to look for something, then pulled it out. It turned out to be the pocket that he had pulled off her collar last night. She quickly stuffed the small clothes under her pillow, then groped around for a moment to feel for his socks.

"Found it."

When Su Yunxi couldn't find it, Qin Huai first found his socks in the folds of the mattress. He looked back at her and saw that her eyes were still sleepy, her hair was loose on her shoulders, her undergarments were wrinkled beyond recognition, and the marks on her neck had turned bluish-purple after several hours. He looked away, put his socks on, slipped one of his short boots on the bedside, walked to the chair next to him and slipped the other one on, and at the same time picked up her outer garment that she had left on the ground and casually put it on the bedside.

I almost couldn't stop last night.

Then, Qin Huai put on his outer robe, tightened his belt, and meticulously styled his hair in front of the mirror. He tucked the dagger he had placed on the table into his sleeve, picked up the torn cloak, and prepared to leave without saying goodbye.

Su Yunxi hurriedly got out of bed. Before he left, she reached out from the bed and grabbed Qin Huai's clothes. She originally planned to hold onto his clothes as usual, and pester him silently until he got annoyed and she achieved her goal. However, he was in a hurry and dragged her off the bed. She subconsciously hugged his thigh, half-knelt on the ground, and sat down on his feet.

Qin Huai paused, turned around, and stared down at the pendant hanging on his leg. "Didn't you kiss enough last night?"