Cloud Shadow felt the foot on her face growing heavier, nearly fainting from the shock and pain. Suddenly, she heard Fu Yixiao shout, “Don’t…” The pressure immediately eased. Cloud Shadow seized the opportunity to gulp in a few breaths of damp air, her vision slowly returning. She saw Fu Yixiao half-embracing Feng Suige’s body, having pulled him aside.

Feng Suige, still angry, turned to glare at Yixiao. “Don’t what?” Yixiao met his gaze, startled, and released her hold, about to step back. Feng Suige, already aware, spread his arms and firmly held Yixiao in his embrace. “Speak!”

Yixiao turned her head to avoid his scorching breath, saying awkwardly, “I meant don’t hurt her.” Feng Suige sneered, “You’re quite magnanimous—didn’t you hear what she said?” “I heard clearly,” Yixiao replied, meeting his gaze frankly.

“She spoke of you so despicably, why didn’t you refute? Are your sharp teeth and claws only prepared for me?” Feng Suige was so angry his eyes almost shot fire.

“If she believed me, she wouldn’t believe rumors. If she doesn’t believe me, why should I explain to her?” Yixiao frowned slightly. “You’re hurting me.” Feng Suige hesitated, loosening his grip a bit, his voice softening, “So you’ll just let her insult you like this?”

Yixiao pushed back dissatisfiedly, trying to create more distance, but couldn’t overcome Feng Suige’s strength. She had to answer honestly, “If you hadn’t come, I would have beaten her myself. Since you’re here, I’ll leave it to you.”

Feng Suige couldn’t help but chuckle. Nearby came the sound of movement; Cloud Shadow had managed to sit up. Her once-exquisite makeup was now smeared with dirt, finger marks, and tear stains crisscrossing her face, looking quite disheveled. Yixiao finally felt pity and said softly, “Let’s forget about what happened before—go downstairs and apply a cold compress, it’ll help your face.”

Cloud Shadow was extremely embarrassed but didn’t dare act rashly. She could only half-cover her face as she stood up and bowed, turning to leave when Feng Suige called out to her, “I’ll have someone send the severance gold. Don’t come again in the future.” Cloud Shadow finally broke down in tears, kneeling to beg, “Cloud Shadow knows her mistake, please, Your Highness…”

“Get out,” Feng Suige said coldly. Yixiao looked at him hesitantly, about to speak, but was already being led away by Feng Suige towards the back.

“Not angry anymore?” After half-dragging, half-carrying Yixiao back to the room, Feng Suige finally let go and asked with a smile, “You’re quite heartless towards women.” Yixiao straightened her crumpled clothes and asked casually, “That Cloud Shadow, you just sent her away like that?”

Feng Suige raised an eyebrow, “If you think the punishment is too light, I can have someone go and put her to death.” Seeing him deliberately misinterpret her meaning, Yixiao also raised an eyebrow, “If you don’t mind, I’d like to do it myself.”

Feng Suige agreed without hesitation, “Of course, I don’t mind. She spoke ill of you, by law she should be beaten to death in the central court. But since our wedding date hasn’t passed, it’s not appropriate to see blood, so…” He paused and glanced at Yixiao, who was calmly looking at him, seeming quite certain he would speak words of mercy.

Feng Suige rubbed his nose to hide his emerging smile and continued, “I have a better way. Dip her lower body in hot wax, and once it’s dry, she’ll be sealed. Then hang her up and force her to keep drinking water.” He wasn’t surprised to see Fu Yixiao’s eyes widen. “After a day, her abdomen will swell as if ten months pregnant, and her skin will become transparent. Within days, she won’t die or lose consciousness, and her skin will be as smooth and beautiful as porcelain. It would be perfect to place by your bedside, and she could even sing for you at night…” He finally couldn’t hold back his laughter.

“Feng Suige!” Yixiao, both gritting her teeth and laughing, pounced on him to pinch him. “Say that again, I dare you!” Feng Suige managed to block a few attempts before finally getting pinched hard. He jumped high in pain, hurriedly backing away and inhaling sharply, “I forgot you have a military background. You don’t hold back—hey, have you calmed down now?”

The laughter in Yixiao’s eyes hadn’t fully subsided. Hearing him ask this, she couldn’t bring herself to frown again and just snorted, “How can I be like you?” Seeing his relieved expression, she added, “I told you before, I remember everything.” Feng Suige couldn’t help but laugh again, “You really can’t stand to lose even a bit, can you? Alright, keep remembering. We’ll see who settles accounts with whom in the future.”

Yixiao ignored him and walked back to the table to pour herself a cup of tea. Feng Suige couldn’t think of what to say for a moment, and the atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

“Um… When is your birthday?” After a while, Feng Suige suddenly squeezed out a question. Yixiao’s eyes dimmed for a moment before she smiled and said, “Why are you asking? Isn’t it a bit late to be matching our birth charts now?”

“Of course not,” Feng Suige rarely looked embarrassed, scratching his head. “I suddenly thought, well, we both rarely talk about ourselves, so, um, I just asked.” Yixiao looked at him suspiciously, “Is that so? Why did only the first four words and the last four words of that sentence sound smooth? You’re not up to something again, are you?”

Feng Suige said angrily, “What could I be up to? Am I going to use your birth date for some kind of sorcery?” Yixiao also looked at him alertly, “Oh yeah, I guess you could do that too.” He was instantly speechless. Just as the atmosphere was about to freeze again, Yixiao suddenly laughed, “But even if you wanted to do something bad, you couldn’t. I don’t know my birthday.”

Seeing Feng Suige staring at her in disbelief, Yixiao immediately glared back, “You know my mother was just a maidservant, so no one ever celebrated my birthday when I was young. I never asked my mother when she gave birth to me. It’s normal not to know your birthday, what’s so—” She suddenly couldn’t continue because a complex emotion had appeared in Feng Suige’s eyes as he stared at her. Unconsciously, his expression softened. Yixiao’s brows twitched imperceptibly, and she turned her head angrily to look out the window. “What’s with that face? Are you pitying me?”

“It’s not pity,” Feng Suige blinked, lowering his head to look at the ground. He said softly, “With your temperament, you were probably born in summer. Anyway, um, it’s only a few days away. Let’s celebrate together then.”

Yixiao turned her head back, puzzled. “What do you mean by ‘only a few days away’?” Feng Suige suddenly shouted awkwardly, “Why do you have so many questions? It’s not like I’m taking you to be executed!”

Yixiao, bewildered by his sudden outburst, also became angry. “You’re not comfortable if you don’t argue with me for a few days, are you?”

Feng Suige’s hand at his side clenched into a fist, raising it half an inch in agitation before forcibly lowering it. He said resentfully, “You are the most stupid, most oblivious woman in the world!”

Yixiao narrowed her eyes and looked at him with her hands on her hips. “You’d better explain yourself clearly. Even if I’m really stupid and oblivious, so what? How much smarter are you than me? What right do you have to scold me?!”

“What right?!” Feng Suige was almost jumping with rage. “I kindly want to celebrate your birthday, and you ask me what right I have?!”

“Hey, are you being reasonable?” Yixiao glared at him for a while, then suddenly showed a strange expression. “You said you want to celebrate my birthday? I don’t even know my birthday, how are we supposed to celebrate?”

Feng Suige was so angry he pointed at her, “You’re not listening to me at all…” Seeing Yixiao’s face darken again, he swallowed the rest of his words and lowered his voice. “I just said, judging by your temper, you should also be born in summer. Let’s celebrate together then!”

“Oh,” Yixiao responded absent-mindedly, her brain still not quite catching up. “Why can you tell someone’s birthday from their temper?”

With a bang, Feng Suige kicked the nearby palace stool far away in anger. “Are you listening to me at all?” Yixiao was startled and scolded with raised eyebrows, “Feng Suige, what’s wrong with you? What exactly are you trying to say?!”

“What am I trying to say?! I’m saying in a few days we’ll celebrate our birthdays together!!!” Feng Suige glared at her, gritting his teeth. Yixiao’s mouth was slightly open, seeming to have realized something. Suddenly, she gave him a coquettish smile. “I know what you’re saying now.”

Feng Suige was stunned for a moment. He hurriedly turned his gaze away, a suspicious blush appearing on his face. He said gruffly, “As long as you understand. I’ll make arrangements when the time comes… I still need to go to the library to read. I’m leaving first.” With that, he walked out with his head down.

Yixiao smiled with her eyes curved, calling out just before he stepped out the door, “You could have just said directly that it’s your birthday in a few days!”

Feng Suige tripped on the threshold and almost fell, stumbling forward a few steps. Fortunately, he managed to steady himself by grabbing the wall in time. Behind him came Yixiao’s unrestrained laughter. He didn’t look back, but his steps quickened.