All of Zhong Wan’s tendons and bones hurt because of his fever. He didn’t sleep too peacefully. When someone walked into the room, he noticed it. He assumed that it was the imperial doctor, so thought that he ought to get up, but he was also so tired that he couldn’t open his eyes.

A while later, everything grew quiet. Thus, Zhong Wan fell asleep again. Until he felt someone touching his waist.

Unlike Yu She, Zhong Wan was actually the one who had grown up with maids and nannies surrounding him. He was completely unbothered by others dressing him, tucking him in, or other similar actions. The only thing was, since young, Zhong Wan had done all things relating to touching his body by himself. This wasn’t because he knew to maintain proper distance at a young age, but was actually because he was ticklish in too many places.

Zhong Wan instantly woke up when Yu She tried to take off his belt. He had originally had his head turned to the side anyway. As soon as he looked over, he saw that it was Yu She. Because of this, he didn’t fidget.

Upon making certain that Yu She was fine, Zhong Wan relaxed slightly. At first, Zhong Wan had thought that Yu She was worried about him feeling uncomfortable while sleeping with a belt on. Thus, he continued pretending to be asleep so as to allow Yu She to get handsy with him.

Yu She had too many stupid rules. Maybe he wouldn’t help Zhong Wan anymore if he noticed that the other was awake.

Thinking of the pains of yesterday, Zhong Wan even secretly planned to suddenly open his eyes to tease Yu She when the other finished taking off his belt. So many years had passed. Now, the two of them knew of each other’s feelings. What tragedies couldn’t be overcome?

But the following events slightly deviated from Zhong Wan’s predictions.

He really couldn’t keep faking it.

There was still a row of silver needles sticking out of Zhong Wan’s back. He couldn’t sit up; this helplessness made him feel a bit awkward. He lowly said, “Don’t play around.”

If this were normally, Yu She would’ve definitely let go. But right now, he believed that the two of them had already consummated their relationship. Yu She felt that there wasn’t anything he couldn’t lay eyes on anymore.

Yu She thought that Zhong Wan was probably feeling embarrassed. Or, he was possibly angry. Thus, Yu She could only soften his tone and say, “You and I have already.. Are you still scared of me looking?”

“That’s not it.” Zhong Wan was confused. He didn’t know either if Yu She was of clear mind or still in a fit. He lowered his voice and hurriedly said, “If you suddenly want to do something, that’s fine, but who knows when the imperial doctor is going to come in again. What if he sees us? You.. you..”

Slightly displeased, Yu She glanced at the?golden sore medicine?on the bed. “Even better if he comes in. I have questions to ask him. Also, he can take this chance to take a look at your area too.”

“Say that again?” Zhong Wan suspected that he had gone deaf. He was so scared his tone changed. “You want him to also.. take a look at my area?!”

Zhong Wan furiously stated, face red, “I refuse!!!”

Yu She didn’t dare to forcefully tug the clothes off. He feared that in the struggle, Zhong Wan would touch the needles on his back. He sighed and let go.

Before waiting for Zhong Wan to relax, Yu She stood up and locked the door to the bedroom from the inside. Then, he lowered the bed curtains. This time, Yu She didn’t use force. He sat down next to Zhong Wan and used up all the tenderness he had saved up this lifetime to softly say, “I was wrong. I hadn’t expected for you to mind so much.. But you really need to let the imperial doctor check. Otherwise, I won’t be able to rest at ease either.”

Scalp numb, Zhong Wan thought, rest at ease about what?! Why do you want the imperial doctor to take a look? Yu She is about to be named a prince of the first rank. Could it be that he told the emperor he’s going to marry me? Which is why he needs the imperial doctor to prove that I’m still a virgin?

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All the hairs on Zhong Wan’s back stood on end. “Wait no. You..”

“Okay.” Yu She didn’t dare to force anything. “We won’t call the imperial doctor in. I’ll check on it myself, okay?”

Yu She felt great worry as he observed Zhong Wan’s pale face. He lowered his head to kiss Zhong Wan’s cheek, then softly said by the other’s ear, “Guiyuan, I promise that this will be the last time. From now on, I’ll never hurt you again.”

Upon hearing this, Zhong Wan’s heart hurt even more. He stuttered out, “A-as expected, it’s only?once?”

“Don’t worry. Yes.” Yu She held onto Zhong Wan’s hand and leaned in close to his face . While Zhong Wan was distracted, he tied the other’s wrists together using the belt he had just removed. Before Zhong Wan could say anything else, Yu She lowered his head and pressed a kiss to Zhong Wan’s lips. Voice hoarse, he said, “Don’t move. It won’t do to drag out the time before the check-up..”

Both of Zhong Wan’s hands had been tied to the head of the bed. He was so angry he didn’t even have a temper anymore. Instead, he simply decided to bury his flaming red face into the pillow. “Okay.. okay! Whatever you want!”

Yu She stood up and observed how Zhong Wan was now at his mercy because he had been tied to the bed. A strange feeling rose in his heart. He scolded himself for being a savage beast and took a deep breath before taking off Zhong Wan’s undergarments.

Yu She: “..”

Zhong Wan’s blush had extended from his face to his neck. Voice muffled, he asked, “What do you see? Do you see that I’m still a virgin?”

Yu She finally noticed that something seemed a bit off.

Yu She carefully pulled up the blankets to cover Zhong Wan and did his best to calm himself down. “I.. I still have other business to attend to. Someone in the palace is looking for me.. I’ll be back soon.”

In a daze, Yu She left.

Half an hour later, the imperial doctor returned to remove the needles. He suffered a fright after seeing the way Zhong Wan’s hands had been tied up. Zhong Wan was already too embarrassed to see anyone. Completely giving up on saving his reputation, he laughed dryly. “What do they say? Life in a noble family.. isn’t easy.”

Heart beating rapidly, the imperial doctor released Zhong Wan. After taking the needles out, he carefully said, “Young Master, you absolutely cannot engage in those activities given the state of your body.”

Zhong Wan bitterly muttered to himself, “Yes.. But I’m.. too greatly adored. There’s nothing to do about it.”

The imperial doctor glanced at Zhong Wan in disagreement. After, he nodded in understanding. “Then should I go tell Heir?”

Zhong Wan waved his hands. He swallowed his complaints into his stomach. “Okay.. if you think you’d be able to persuade him.”

The imperial doctor left with a sigh. In a daze, Zhong Wan laid back down. The sorrow in his heart had completely dissipated after Yu She’s interruption. Only disappointment remained.

“He looked at it.. then left without even doing anything. Left..”

Zhong Wan muttered, “How disappointing.. is my area..”

The side courtyard of Prince Yu’s estate. In great anger, Princess Royal Anguo shouted, “What’s wrong? Who’s blocking the path up front?”

Princess Royal Anguo’s coachman rushed forward and replied, “In response to your question, Princess, the horse carriage of Prince Qian An’s estate is up front. However, I don’t know who’s in the carriage.”

“Prince Qian An’s estate?” Princess Royal Anguo burst into laughter. “Hasn’t Prince Qian An been stripped of his title? Prince Qian An’s estate doesn’t exist anymore. Go.. Tell the horse carriage up front to get out of the way.”

The coachman departed. Shortly after, he returned and said, “Princess, the original Prince Qian An’s younger sister is in the carriage. She seems to have come to visit Heir too. Their servant is talking to the family soldier at the door right now. They’re waiting to be announced.”

Princess Royal Anguo scoffed. “Ziyou won’t even see me. Would he see her? Go, tell their horse carriage to wait in the outside streets. Don’t stay here and block the road.”

The coachman felt that this wasn’t very appropriate. These days, everyone knew that Zhong Wan was a valued guest at the side courtyard of Prince Yu’s estate: he was someone Yu She truly cared about. Additionally, Zhong Wan had been brought up in Prince Ning’s estate. It seemed a bit too extreme to be shaming Prince Ning’s daughter outside Yu She’s estate. He lowly said, “Her carriage isn’t on the actual road. It won’t get in Princess’ way. This lowly servant can avoid them by simply going around them.”

Princess Royal Anguo had already been holding back her fury. She screamed, “What? These days, I even have to fear a trivial little clan relative who doesn’t even have an estate? I was sympathetic about the fact that she hasn’t?debuted?yet. I’ve already been lenient by not forcing her to get out of the carriage and kneel to greet me in the middle of the street. Tell her to wait off to the side!”

The coachman didn’t dare to infuriate Princess Royal Anguo anymore. He quickly scurried off. A short while later, Xuan Congxin’s horse carriage departed from the main path, as expected.

Princess Royal Anguo had come to take punitive action. Without even asking, she told the servants to open the side courtyard’s main doors. While remaining in her horse carriage, she entered the side courtyard.

Off to the side of the main road, Xuan Congxin drew back the curtains of the horse carriage. She furrowed her brows and asked, “Whose carriage was that?”

Lin Si signed a few times. Xuan Congxin barely managed to decipher his gestures. “Princess Royal Anguo.. Then yes, a trivial little clan relative such as myself should get out of the way for her.”

Lin Si could tell that Xuan Congxin was in a bad mood. He gestured, “Princess Royal Anguo is Heir’s adoptive mother. Additionally, she’s of high and noble status. She should naturally be first.”

Xuan Congxin laughed bitterly. “You don’t need to placate me. It’s been so long. No matter how many gifts and greetings we’ve sent here, Zhong Wan still refuses to see me. What else dare I say? If not for the fact that the master of their estate has now changed his surname to Xuan, I wouldn’t even dare to come.”

Xuan Congxin and Yu She were technically related, but were ultimately relatives with different surnames. The side courtyard of Prince Yu’s estate didn’t have any female servants in charge. Xuan Congxin was an unmarried young woman. She couldn’t visit this estate herself. Xuan Yu had originally wanted to come in her stead, but Xuan Congxin couldn’t trust him. Their eldest brother had been personally sentenced by Yu She. Xuan Congxin feared that in a lapse of judgement, Xuan Yu would say something wrong and cause more trouble for Zhong Wan. Yesterday, Xuan Congxin heard the imperial decree and learned that the emperor had admitted Yu She as his son. The two of them were now relatives of the same surname. She finally didn’t need to keep her distance anymore. The next day, she had rushed over.

Xuan Congxin furrowed her brows and asked, “Princess Royal Anguo wants to see Yu She. I want to see Zhong Wan. This shouldn’t.. clash, right? Could it be that I’ll need to wait for her to come out before entering?”

Lin Si didn’t know either. He signed, “Let’s wait and see first.”

Xuan Congxin glanced at the objects in the carriage. “Nevermind.. If we can’t see him today, we’ll come next time. If they don’t let us in later, just take the clothes and box of food inside for me. Also, tell Zhong Wan that if.. if he has the time, tell someone to tell me. He doesn’t need to return to our estate. I’ll come see him.”

Xuan Congxin sighed. She held back her anger. “Rumor has it that Yu She isn’t easy to get along with. After so much time, I don’t even know if Zhong Wan’s getting bullied here or not. Is he missing anything? How is he actually doing?”

Lin Si signed, “Let’s wait a bit longer.”

Xuan Congxin let go of the curtain. She waited, fully expecting to be rejected. Surprisingly, merely ten minutes later, a family soldier from the side courtyard of Prince Yu’s estate quickly walked over. After bowing, he said, “We’ve neglected you. We’re here to invite Young Miss into the estate.”

Lin Si tugged on the ropes. He originally thought that they would be entering through the side doors. Unexpectedly, the family soldiers opened the main doors and politely escorted Xuan Congxin inside.

Xuan Congxin entered the estate and got out of the carriage. Then, she was led into the main hall by the servants of the inner courtyard.

At the head of the main hall, Princess Royal Anguo was in the midst of drinking tea with a dark expression.

Xuan Congxin stepped forward and bowed. Princess Royal Anguo slightly lifted her gaze and made a low sound of acknowledgement.

Xuan Congxin stood up. Before she could sit down, Steward Feng jogged out from inside the inner courtyard. Steward Feng smiled at Princess Royal Anguo in embarrassment while bowing, then turned around to tell Xuan Congxin, “Young Miss, this way please.”

Princess Royal Anguo was in complete disbelief. “What?”

Steward Feng groaned to himself. He thought,?you wounded Heir’s heart only a few days ago. Just now, Heir offended Young Master completely and utterly. He was originally already feeling guilty when he heard that someone had come from the maternal family. How could he have the energy to bother with you?

Steward Feng made himself smile and say, “Heir probably thinks that it’s quite difficult for Princess to make such a trip. Thus, he wants Princess to stay and rest a bit longer.”

Princess Royal Anguo’s expression had changed due to anger. “Okay, okay.”

Xuan Congxin glanced up at Princess Royal Anguo. She forced down the corners of her lips that were threatening to quirk up and curtsied at the other before following Steward Feng into the inner courtyard.