Who said the eldest daughter is crazy? She's clearly a woman of high rank and influence in the

Xi Yueli arched her body suddenly in his arms, her ten fingers gripping his clothes so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She lifted her head from his chest to look at him, her unfocused eyes focusing for a moment, her voice hoarse like sand grinding on a stone.

"Helian Jing...is there any other way...to distract me? Acupuncture is too slow, I can't take it..."

As she finished speaking, she curled up again, her forehead pressed against his collarbone, her fingers almost digging into the fabric of his clothes.

Helian Jing looked down at her. Seeing her like this, he felt a sudden, dull pain in his heart. He lifted her chin and pressed his lips to hers.

His kiss was devoid of any probing or restraint, carrying a force that seemed to shield her from all pain.

Xi Yueli suddenly froze, her pupils narrowing back to their normal size in that instant.

Helian Jing's lips parted half an inch from hers, his forehead pressed against hers, his breath still ragged: "Was it effective?"

Xi Yueli looked at his face so close to hers. The pain in his almond-shaped eyes was still there, but it was mostly covered by a layer of surprise that had not yet settled.

She opened her mouth, her voice hoarse: "...It seems I've forgotten."

Helian Jing looked at the surprise rising in her eyes from the intense pain, and a slight smile curved his lips. He lowered his head and gently kissed her forehead, his voice soft against her skin:

"It's good that it works... You've forgotten our first time, let me help you relive it."

"If this doesn't make you forget the pain, I'll admit defeat."

Before Xi Yueli could even process what he meant, he had already scooped her up from his arms and laid her flat on the bedding on the couch.

His arm went under her knees and lower back, and the hem of his pale white robe fell down as he leaned over, brushing against her neck and collarbone.

Xi Yueli lay on her back among the bedding, the pain in the back of her head still lingering, but now that pain was covered by something even hotter.

She looked into his eyes, which shone brilliantly in the darkness, her fingertips resting on the edge of his silver-gray mask. With a gentle push, the mask slid to the side of her pillow.

The face, clearly illuminated by the moonlight, was finally fully revealed, with high brow bones, slightly upturned eyes, and a sharply defined jawline.

His lips slid down her chin to the side of her neck, landing on the faint old mark above her collarbone, and then slowly moving down along the gap in her open clothes.

The rustling sound of fabric rubbing against each other was especially clear by the quiet edge of the bed. He kissed her, and she gradually softened, the taut string at the back of her head slowly loosening.

Her thoughts were completely jumbled. Those fragments of memories, the layout of the court, and everything that she needed to hold on to were all covered by his warmth. She tilted her head back, her fingertips sinking into the fabric of his shirt on the back of his shoulder, and she felt dizzy.

The boudoir was warm, and the candlelight flickered inside the copper lampshade, casting a swaying shadow on the brocade above the tent. The long night stretched on, and the soft rustling of the bedding and the mingling of breaths mingled together, making the silence of the winter night all the more distinct.

Outside the courtyard gate, Xiao Yanzhi left and then returned.

He walked to the outside of the Imperial Preceptor's palace courtyard, originally intending to wait and see if there was anything he could help with, but he stopped at the base of the wall—

He heard Doctor Lian's voice, which carried a gentleness and possessiveness. He also heard Xi Yueli's voice, which was usually clear and sharp like black jade, but now it was soft and broken, as if it had been melted by something.

The sounds came from across a room and a courtyard wall, cut into fragments by the winter night wind. Xiao Yanzhi stood at the base of the wall and understood what was in those sounds.

He gripped his cuffs tightly, his fingers digging into his palms, leaving a row of shallow crescent-shaped marks. His back pressed against the cold courtyard wall, the winter night wind blowing in from the end of the corridor onto his face, causing the stray hairs on his forehead to flutter slightly.

He stood at the base of that wall for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the faint sounds coming out intermittently. He stood in the night, his face expressionless.

Then he slowly loosened his grip on his sleeve, looked down at his hands, which had just been clutching the silver needle pouch, intending to treat her headache, but now hung limply at his sides.

Xiao Yanzhi took one last look at the half-closed courtyard gate, then turned and left, his steps faster than when he first left. He paused for a moment at the end of the corridor, a thin layer of something in his eyes that he forcefully suppressed.

Inside the courtyard, Helian Jing tucked Xi Yueli's stray hairs behind her ear and looked down at her face slowly unfolding in the candlelight.

Her tense body had completely relaxed, her breathing was steady and long, her forehead rested against his shoulder, her brows relaxed, and the throbbing vein at the back of her head had finally calmed down.

He glanced out the window again. When Xiao Yanzhi first came, he had instructed his guards not to stop him if he came again. Although he did not know that such a scene would occur tonight, the result that Xiao Yanzhi saw was what he wanted.

Helian Jing chuckled softly, placed a very light kiss on Xi Yueli's forehead, then pulled the blankets up, wrapped her up in the bedding, leaned back against the couch, and put his arm around her waist, confirming that she now completely belonged to him.

A moon-white robe lay scattered on the edge of the bed, a silver-gray mask rested beside the pillow, and the winter night wind outside the window was still blowing the withered branches of the old locust tree outside the courtyard wall. The rustling sound seeped in through the window paper and lingered in the quiet bedroom for a long time.

When the winter morning light seeped in from behind the window paper, the warmth on the tatami mat had not yet dissipated.

Helian Jing woke up first. He leaned back on the couch, one arm around Xi Yueli's waist, his palm against her lower back. He could feel her steady body temperature through the thin nightgown.

She curled up in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder, her breathing long and even, her brows relaxed, a stark contrast to how she had curled up and banged her head against the wall the night before.

He looked down at her. She had been up most of the night, and although he had distracted her in that way, the physical exhaustion wouldn't just disappear.

Xi Yueli opened her eyes, her gaze first falling on the face so close to hers. Helian Jing's face was clearly illuminated by the morning light, carrying a hint of a smile and tenderness, with a thin layer of dark circles under his eyes, clearly indicating that he hadn't slept much last night.

He watched as her eyes slowly focused from confusion, his voice still hoarse from just waking up: "Awake?"

Xi Yueli moved slightly in his arms. The tendon on the back of her head, which had been clenched yesterday, was now relaxed and quiet, without any pain.

She subconsciously recalled the events of last night, those images surfacing frame by frame, and then those even more ear-splitting images…

"Your Highness," she began, but her voice carried the languor and confusion of someone just waking up, "...I don't remember anything from last night."