After flirting with the aloof prince, the concubine ran away pregnant.

When Afu later recalled those three days, her memory was fragmented.

Like drowning in water, with the ebb and flow unpredictable, she was immersed in it, losing track of time.

Xie Xun didn't give her a chance to return to Baoxia at all.

The first night, she had just curled up on the low couch and dozed off for a while when she was pulled up. She vaguely met those burning red eyes, but she was too lazy to struggle.

When the curtains fell, all she remembered was that his palms were burning hot. She cried out in pain, and he paused for a moment, then eased his touch a little, but only for a fleeting instant.

By the second night, Xie Xun seemed like a completely different person.

She was still a bit awkward the day before, but she became quite adept at it all that night, gradually developing more and more techniques, each one hitting her most vulnerable spots, until she couldn't even curl her fingertips.

Every time I wake up it's already afternoon, the side of the bed is empty, and the mattress has been changed.

Bai Zhi came to deliver the food, but her ears turned red and she didn't dare look at her for long. She put down the food box and ran away. People in the courtyard whispered that she was probably about to be promoted.

She heard it, but didn't reply. She lowered her head and finished her porridge.

Later on, he became completely proficient.

Unable to resist, she tried to push against his chest, but her wrist was grabbed and pressed back to the side of the pillow, unable to move an inch. She could only turn her head away, bury her face in the mattress, and let him continue.

In her hazy state, she only remembered that he applied the medicine for her, his cool fingertips dipping into the ointment and placing it on the painful spot. She flinched, so he stopped and waited for her to calm down before continuing.

On the day the three-day period ended, just before dawn, Afu woke up first.

The person next to her was still asleep, with faint scratches from the night before on her shoulders and back.

His breathing was deep and steady, and the abnormal blush between his brows had faded by more than half, as if the simmering fire that had been suppressed for several days had finally been released.

She propped herself up on her arms and sat up. As she stood up, her vision went black for a moment; she was extremely weak.

She gritted her teeth and carefully gathered her clothes one by one. Her fingers were so weak from tying the ties that it took her three tries to finally get them tight.

She glanced back at the person on the bed; he was still asleep, fast asleep.

This person's eyes and brows weren't so cold when he was asleep; if he were an ordinary man, I might consider him...

But the thought only lasted a moment. She didn't linger. She moved to the door, opened it, and felt the cold wind from the corridor hit her face.

The Sean-in Temple was unusually quiet in the early morning.

Afu held onto the wall, taking very small steps. With each step, she rubbed her chafed skin, so she had to take slow, deliberate steps.

Turning past the moon gate leads to the side room. Her bundle was already packed, and she would leave once Xie Xun woke up.

If this continues, she's afraid she'll drown in this bed.

"Miss Afu."

She paused in her steps.

Changsong stood a few steps away by a pillar, as if he had been waiting for some time. He lowered his voice and said, "The young master hasn't told you to leave yet, young lady, please wait a little longer."

She forced a smile and turned around, opening her mouth as if to say, "The three days have passed," but before she could finish speaking, footsteps could be heard coming from the other side of the courtyard gate.

A young maidservant approached carrying a black lacquered tray. The blue-and-white porcelain bowl contained a dark brown medicinal soup, with wisps of white steam rising from it. The familiar bitter smell of the medicine could be detected from several steps away.

Granny Cui followed behind, stopping in the courtyard with a calm expression: "Miss Afu, the medicine must be drunk while it's hot."

Afu looked at the bowl and curled her fingers.

For the past three days, she has been given a bowl of contraceptive soup every day, with Granny Cui personally overseeing the process, ensuring that not a single drop is wasted.

She has been experiencing a dull, aching pain in her lower abdomen lately, a feeling she can't quite describe, as if something heavy is pressing down on her.

But with Granny Cui around, I couldn't refuse to drink.

She walked over, picked up the bowl, tilted her head back, and gulped it down in one go.

The bitter taste slid down her throat into her stomach. She placed the empty bowl back on the tray without looking up. Her throat felt like it was coated with bitter medicine, and it took her a long time to squeeze out two words: "Thank you, Granny."

Granny Cui nodded and left with her maid.

Afu leaned against a pillar for a while, waiting for the nausea to subside, then turned to Changsong: "Has the young master woken up?"

"Not yet." Changsong paused. "Miss is not feeling well. Why don't you go back to the side hall to rest and wait for the young master to wake up before making any plans?"

Afu didn't respond. She loosened her grip on the pillar and took a step forward.

Just one step.

The blue bricks underfoot suddenly seemed to be pulled away, collapsing softly.

She heard a buzzing sound in her ears, and Changsong's voice seemed to come through a layer of water, and then she couldn't feel anything anymore.

The wind blew through the corridor, carrying the lingering morning dew, and brushed against her disheveled hair. As she fell, her fingers slipped through her fingers; she grasped nothing.

.

When Afu woke up, the first thing she saw was the bluish-gray canopy ceiling of the side room.

It was already dark outside the window, and I didn't know what time it was. I was covered with a thin blanket, and a warm hot water bottle was placed under my lower abdomen. The pain was less severe than before I fainted, but it was still heavy and pressing down on me.

She had barely moved when Bai Zhi sprang up from the stool next to her.

"Sister's awake? Don't move, Doctor Lu said you should lie down properly."

Afu slowly sat up, propping herself up on her arms. A sharp pain shot through her abdomen, making her hiss in pain. Baizhi quickly helped her up and propped a pillow up behind her back.

"What time is it?"

"It's three-quarters past Xu hour," Bai Zhi brought warm water and fed it to her. "Sister slept all day, it scared me to death."

Afu took a few sips of water, and her hand unconsciously went to her lower abdomen, where a dull, aching pain made her feel uncomfortable.

"What's wrong with me?" she asked.

Bai Zhi put down the bowl, leaned closer, and whispered, "When you were unconscious, you had your period. I cleaned you up, boiled hot water to wipe your body, and no one saw."

Afu paused for a moment.

"Dr. Lu came to see me and said it was caused by the medicine, that it came early," Bai Zhi's voice trailed off, "and also said that the pain would be especially bad these next few days, and that I should take good care of myself."

Afu looked down at her clean clothes and the hot water bottle next to her abdomen, then looked at the heartache in Baizhi's eyes.

This little girl cleaned up all the mess for her while she was unconscious and took great care of her.

She felt a warmth in her heart.

"What else did Dr. Lu say?" Her voice was hoarse.

Bai Zhi hesitated for a moment before leaning closer. "The doctor said that my sister drank the contraceptive soup for four days in a row. The medicine was too strong, and coupled with overwork, it damaged her body, which is why she had abdominal pain and fainted."

"You absolutely must not drink that herbal medicine anymore. If you continue to drink it, I'm afraid you'll have a hard time conceiving in the future."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Afu leaned against the pillow, her fingers resting on her lower abdomen, slowly tightening and then relaxing.

She didn't know whether she should breathe a sigh of relief or feel sad. She thought that drinking a few bowls of wine in a short time wouldn't be a problem, but she didn't expect that it would damage her to this extent in just three or four days.

"Bai Zhi," she reached out and grasped Bai Zhi's wrist, her voice hoarse, "thank you."

Bai Zhi's tears fell in a patter, but she quickly wiped them away with her sleeve: "Sister, what are you saying... I just did what I was supposed to do."

Afu squeezed her hand, then released it: "Anything else? Did the doctor say anything else?"

"She said that my sister needs to take good care of herself these days, avoiding overexertion and exposure to cold, and eating some warm and nourishing foods. She should stop taking the contraceptive soup, but she should also take a few doses of other herbal medicines to regulate her body."

Bai Zhi paused, then lowered her voice even further: "Also... Granny Cui came by."

Afu's eyelids twitched: "When?"

"My sister had just fainted when Brother Changsong went to fetch Doctor Lu, and the news reached the main courtyard. Granny Cui came in person and had Doctor Lu examine her again."

Bai Zhi lowered her voice and spoke very quickly, "After examining Granny Cui, her face changed color, and she immediately sent someone to report to Madam. Later—"

Before she could finish speaking, footsteps sounded outside the courtyard gate.