Shocking! The actress was dragged to the regent's bedchamber every night.

Yu Chen spoke very softly, almost like a breath, yet it felt like a feather brushing against the heart.

It makes you feel weak and tingly.

"I...I didn't," Su Wuli retorted instinctively, but her voice was weak and unconvincing.

She clearly held it in her hand before going to sleep, but then... then she doesn't know how...

As Su Wuli spoke, she met his deep eyes.

She couldn't help but wonder if he was upset because she had touched his clothes.

Although they did those things in their dream, Su Wuli didn't actually understand him at all, nor did she know what his taboos were...

Yu Chen did not immediately refute her, but stared at her for a few seconds.

Just as Su Wuli was secretly speculating about several possibilities, thinking that it would be better not to anger him and to apologize, she realized that...

But a barely perceptible smile seemed to flicker in those deep eyes.

"No?" he asked back, his fingertips suddenly lifting to touch her burning earlobe.

The icy touch made Su Wuli tremble. She tried to dodge, but he pressed her shoulder down with his other hand.

"You've got some nerve," he finally uttered.

The tone didn't sound like a reprimand, but rather like a playful comment.

But the next second, the large hand gripping her shoulder suddenly tightened.

Su Wuli was caught off guard when he pulled her into his arms and captured her lips with his.

It started with a punitive tone, but quickly changed its nature.

He seemed to be savoring, exploring, entwining himself with her softness, his breath hot.

Su Wuli unconsciously clutched the undergarment that still carried her scent and lingered her body heat.

Her body heat burned through her clothes.

A man's kiss can be deep or lingering, but it always turns into a domineering act of possession.

Su Wuli was dizzy from his kisses.

She could clearly smell her own scent emanating from his clothes.

The combination of his own coldness and the burning heat of his lips and tongue was breathtaking.

Su Wuli even vaguely felt that his kiss was...more patient than ever before.

The dream was chaotic and long.

The inner garment never left his body, and the mixed scent lingered between the two of them.

As she moved, the hem of her clothes brushed against her skin.

This made Su Wuli more sensitive than ever before.

She twisted her body, trying to avoid the hem of his clothes, but the man seemed to see through her thoughts and held her down, preventing her from moving.

"Why are you hiding?" The man's voice was unusually deep and husky. "Sleeping in your arms, isn't that what you like?"

"Hmm..." Su Wuli shook her head, denying it.

However, it was misinterpreted.

"Hmm, you're saying you don't like it?"

Upon hearing the man's words, Su Wuli opened her eyes.

Her eyes, misty with tears, held a accusation she wouldn't normally dare to show in front of men.

No, that's not what she meant; he was clearly misinterpreting it on purpose.

Su Wuli wanted to say something, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she bit her lower lip in embarrassment.

They couldn't even speak in a complete sentence, let alone explain it.

In the end, they had no choice but to give up the fight...

……

At the third quarter of the hour of Yin (3:45 AM), it was still dark.

The man on the rosewood couch slowly opened his eyes.

The candles had long since burned out, with only a single lamp burning in the corner.

He sat up, his undergarment neatly put on, the collar slightly open.

Almost the instant my consciousness returned, that clean and soft fragrance entered my nostrils.

She seemed out of place in his space.

Yu Chen looked down at the undergarment he was wearing.

His brow twitched almost imperceptibly, and his fingertips brushed across the spot on his shirt where he had once gripped it tightly.

Traces remain.

His gaze lingered for a moment, his eyes filled with an inscrutable expression.

Footsteps could be heard outside.

He was Shadow Falcon, the commander of his Shadow Guards.

Every day at the end of the Yin hour (3-5 AM), the Shadow Falcon would be waiting in the outer hall to receive orders and report back on the night's important matters.

"Come in," Yu Chen said calmly.

The door slid open silently a crack, and Shadow Falcon's figure slipped in like a ghost.

He knelt on one knee three steps from the bed, head bowed, "Your Highness."

However, almost instantly, the Shadow Falcon paused.

He had developed an extraordinary sense of smell through years of training, and thus detected a very unusual scent.

A faint, unfamiliar, and even subtly sweet and warm...feminine fragrance.

A sense of doubt arose in Shadow Falcon's heart.

He had followed the prince for nearly ten years and had never smelled such an incongruous aura about the prince or even in the entire prince's mansion.

The prince was averse to women, and all the items he used were strictly regulated.

Where does this distinctly feminine fragrance come from?

How could it possibly get close to the prince? And yet... it remains so clearly visible on his robes?

A tremendous shock and disbelief gripped him instantly.

He dared not look up, nor even let his breathing change in the slightest.

He could only lower his head even further, using all his self-control to suppress the turmoil in his heart.

"Speak." Yu Chen didn't look at him, his gaze fixed on his own clothes.

Shadow Falcon's Adam's apple bobbed as he tried his best to steady his voice.

They began reporting back to the sentries from various locations the previous night, including information on the movements in the capital and secret reports from the border.

After listening to the report, Yu Chen pondered for a moment and gave a few concise instructions.

He then casually asked, "How's the situation at the hunting grounds?"

"All defenses are in place."

"Yes, you may leave."

"Yes, I'll take my leave."

Shadow Falcon accepted the order and rose to leave.

Until the palace doors closed silently behind him, completely shutting out the unfamiliar female fragrance that had shaken him to his core.

Shadow Falcon finally let out a breath he had been holding for a long time, almost collapsing from exhaustion in the cold morning mist under the corridor.

He raised his hand and wiped away the cold sweat that had appeared on his forehead without him noticing.

……

The next day, Su Wuli woke up and looked at the marks that the man had deliberately left on her body.

She couldn't understand why she had been holding that undergarment in her arms.

She couldn't explain it to herself, nor could she guess whether Yu Chen was angry because of it.

The man didn't give her a chance to speak at all, and even when she did, what she said made her blush.

However, she didn't have much time to think about it.

When I received the script for "The Beauty in the Flames of War," I knew that horseback riding was an unavoidable hurdle.

Su Wuli plays a princess who is sent to a political marriage, and spends the first half of her life on horseback.

The problem is that, in all her life, she has hardly ever ridden a carousel at an amusement park, let alone a real horse.

So before filming begins, she will have to learn to ride a horse.

The company acted swiftly, enrolling her in what was supposedly an industry-standard, accelerated equestrian course.

Lin Liwen patted her chest and assured her that she would definitely make her look like a pro at horseback riding in the shortest possible time.

The training ground is in the suburbs, and it's very windy.

The air smelled of hay and livestock.

Su Wuli's coach was a middle-aged man with a dark tan who didn't talk much.

When Su Wuli met his gaze, she saw that his appraising look was somewhat perfunctory and taken for granted.

The coach has seen many celebrities who cram at the last minute and have delicate skin.

He chose a brown mare with the gentlest temperament for Su Wuli.

However, it didn't take long for her to lose most of her courage.

Having never filmed a period drama before, nor being from ancient times, the sudden decision to ride a horse left her completely at a loss.