The Marquis's line has ended? The pregnant maid is pregnant again!

Seeing that she honestly admitted her mistake, Lu Jihan finally let go of her.

Shen Qinghe rubbed her cheek and gave him a coquettish look: "You really are something, my lord. You did a good deed for the country and the people, and you're injured like this, yet you won't even let your servant say a few words of praise."

"Um?"

Seeing that her little mouth was about to start again, Lu Jihan curled his knuckles and flashed them in front of her, full of warning.

Upon seeing this, Shen Qinghe immediately became obedient and changed the subject, "Then... why did you come to my courtyard, Master? Why didn't you go to Madam's... or the Old Madam's courtyard?"

When she looked over, Lu Jihan realized that they were too close, almost skin to skin through their clothes, their breaths mingling.

The person beneath her was soft and warm. As she spoke, she boldly used her fingertips to play with his hair.

Lu Jihan looked at her, his eyes dark and deep, and a heat rose up from his body.

Shen Qinghe picked up a strand of long hair that fell across his chest, twirled it around her fingers, and looked at him as she did so.

"At the very least, doesn't the young marquis always prefer to stay in his study? As for applying medicine, either Linfeng or Yunchen could do it, right?"

As she spoke, Shen Qinghe lightly touched his bare shoulder with her fingertips, tracing its path, and looked up at him: "Why... choose a servant?"

Lu Jihan remained silent, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. His usually bright eyes now seemed to burn with a fiery intensity as he stared at Shen Qinghe.

He turned his head, wanting to get up and leave, to get away from this alluring girl in front of him.

But her soft, boneless hand gently caressed Lu Jihan's chest, then his collarbone and neck, igniting a fire everywhere.

The more silent he became, the more arrogant and daring she seemed. Her face was bright and lively, yet possessed a unique allure.

She was being pressed down, and since her neckline wasn't tight when she was sleeping, it was pulled open during the movement, revealing her snow-white, round, soft flesh, which was extremely noticeable.

Lu Jihan's throat went dry, his gaze fixed on her with a dark expression, and the instinct surging within him made him want to tear her apart and devour her right now.

Shen Qinghe stared at him with seductive eyes: "Why aren't you saying anything, Master? Is it because..."

No sooner had she finished speaking than he grabbed her mischievous hand. Seeing the difficulty and restraint in his eyes, Shen Qinghe smiled provocatively: "Has my mind wandered elsewhere, sir?"

Lu Jihan ignored her and went straight to her initial question, a cold smile playing on his lips: "Why was you chosen? Wasn't it because you begged for it?"

Shen Qinghe's smile froze slightly; she hadn't expected such an answer from him.

He forced a laugh, thoroughly amused by her words: "For half a month straight, you've had the kitchen send people to deliver food to me, while you went to Grandmother's courtyard. Wasn't that all to pique my curiosity? And these past few days, you've been feigning illness, avoiding me completely. You want me to miss you, to think of you, yet never see you! You're playing hard to get, hoping I'll come looking for you? Do you really think I can't see through your little tricks?"

He saw through it?!

The answer is yes, and perhaps Lu Jihan was already on guard from the very beginning.

Shen Qinghe was surprised, but quickly recovered. She never expected to be able to keep setting traps for Lu Jihan behind his back.

As a dignified general of the cavalry, well-versed in military strategy, how could he possibly fail to see through her little act of feigning indifference?

Shen Qinghe's eyebrows curved into a smile, which became even brighter. She then wrapped her arms around his bare waist and whispered in his ear, her expression extremely provocative:

"But Master, you still came, didn't you?"

Yes.

Even though she saw through it, she still followed her plan, which was the part that Lu Jihan found most difficult to talk about.

Even though he knew she was trying to win his favor, he still fell for her charms; it was practically testing his limits.

Lu Jihan closed his eyes, then, in a fit of rage and embarrassment, scooped her up in his arms, strode to the bedside, and threw her down.

The bed curtains fell, covering the lingering spring light of the night.

-

Early the next morning.

When Shen Qinghe got up, Lu Jihan hadn't opened his eyes yet. He was injured, and the wound that had been bandaged last night bled several times.

He was so engrossed in the moment that he didn't stop, as if he wanted to crush Shen Qinghe to pieces.

It wasn't because I liked her that much, I just wanted to punish her and shut her up with her provocative and teasing words.

Shen Qinghe reapplied the medicine and bandaged him up. She was about to go prepare breakfast when, after leaving her own courtyard, she heard the maids and servants nearby gossiping—

"Last night, they asked for water several times in that small courtyard in the southeast corner of the bamboo garden! They kept saying it was the young master and Shen Qinghe!"

"Young Marquis?! Where did you get this news? Is it reliable? Have you forgotten how abstinent our Young Marquis is? He wouldn't even enter a maid's courtyard, let alone consummate his marriage with his wife. How could he have favored a concubine and even consummated their marriage?!"

"Don't you believe me? The cooks told me all sorts of stories. It was Linfeng, the young marquis's personal guard, who asked for that water four or five times last night!"

"Moreover, I've heard that the young marquis hasn't been attending court these days. This is most likely true; by now, probably almost everyone knows about it."

Shen Qinghe was prepared, and she deliberately let everyone know so that she could stand out in front of the maids and servants.

Besides, this kind of thing can't be hidden for long.

Presumably, Madam Qin and her three concubines already know that from this moment on, the real, bloodless struggle will begin.