The two entered, and Wu Yan, remembering his injury, said, “Your wound… quickly put me down. Take out the medicine—I’ll bandage it for you.”

Huo Chang’an carefully placed her on the bed and lit the lamp again, then stood motionless for a long time.

Wu Yan saw him standing by the bed, staring straight at her with a foolish smile, still holding the dagger in his hand. She was pained and anxious. Getting up, she snatched the dagger and threw it far away. “Never carry this thing with you again!”

“Mm?”

Only then did Huo Chang’an seem to wake from a dream and respond, but he was clearly still absent-minded about this.

“You…” Wu Yan saw his gaze becoming increasingly bold. She had just started to speak when he stepped in front of her and lowered his head to urgently kiss her lips.

His hands also eagerly caressed her body, immediately grasping and kneading the two mounds at her chest. Before, Huo Chang’an had been quite proper, only daring to embrace and kiss her. He was afraid of making her angry with overly transgressive acts, sometimes running away when he couldn’t control himself. Only in Minzhou and at the Court of Justice had he acted under the influence of anger, but then they had misunderstandings between them. Now the situation was completely different. Wu Yan felt her whole body go numb and couldn’t help but moan softly. Feeling extremely embarrassed, her face burned with shame. Her skin was very fair, making her flushed cheeks even more apparent.

Huo Chang’an’s obsessive infatuation with her was already extremely deep. Seeing her look at him with shy restraint, his ears rang with a thunderous sound. How could he control himself? He felt that part of him swelling painfully. He lifted her horizontally and placed her on his robe on the bed, tearing off her outer robe and inner garment in a few moves. She wore a bamboo-green dudou underneath. His eyes reddened—too impatient to remove this garment, he urgently began sucking on one side through the fabric, licking and nibbling.

His other hand moved inch by inch along her lower abdomen, finally working to untie her pants.

His lips and tongue were skillful as a snake. The wet heat at her chest was burning. Wu Yan felt moisture below and her lower abdomen was taut and tingling. She couldn’t help gripping the bedsheet beside her tightly. “Chang’an…”

Hearing her call, Huo Chang’an felt his soul almost fly away. He immediately went to loosen his own pants, but Wu Yan slapped his head. He paused, and she had already pushed him to sit up. Her almond eyes held reproach. “Treat the wound first!”

But as he half-rose, she looked through her haze and saw his inner garment was completely blood-red at the chest. She couldn’t help but cry out in alarm.

Huo Chang’an’s eyes were turbid and dark. He sucked on her earlobe, his pronunciation unclear: “This is treating the wound…”

Heaven knows, though he had stabbed himself harshly earlier, he hadn’t hit a vital spot—it was only dangerous from blood loss. When she came out and spoke clearly, he had stopped the bleeding. What was really threatening his life wasn’t this wound but the drug in his body—and her!

But seeing her eyes full of concern, he felt completely comfortable and reluctantly nodded, quickly stripping off his upper garments, then wanting to remove his pants too.

“You’re not injured down there!” Wu Yan was embarrassed and annoyed, giving his other shoulder a punch. She knew his habits and quickly found a medicine bottle in his inner garment.

With no clean cloth available, she thought for a moment, picked up her own inner garment that he had torn and thrown aside, stuffed it into his hands, and commanded: “Tear it up.”

“Yes, wife.” Huo Chang’an was extremely excited hearing the word “tear” and immediately complied.

“You…” Wu Yan was both angry and amused.

His muscles were solid and robust. Wu Yan couldn’t help blushing as she looked. Throughout this, he stared at her intently. Wherever her cool fingers went, his burning body trembled slightly.

She had just tied the final knot with effort when he pulled her to sit on his lap. She clearly felt his burning arousal and couldn’t help crying out. But he impatiently grabbed her fingers and put them in his mouth, sensually licking and sucking.

Huo Chang’an was experienced in romance with considerable expertise. Facing the woman he loved to his bones, he was both unrestrained in his release and worked hard to please her…

Wu Yan was completely inexperienced and was quickly manipulated into mental confusion, only able to grip his robe beneath her tightly.

He conquered territory, soon leaving her completely bare! He looked at her deeply and obsessively, his eyes showing naked lust… At that moment, Wu Yan’s hands circled his neck, as if declaring to herself: “From now on we’ll be together. You’re only my man, just like before—you can’t have anyone else unless I die.”

Hearing these words, Huo Chang’an felt his heart come alive. He pressed her firmly beneath him. “Wei Wu Yan, you have no conscience! I was always only yours—it was you who pushed me away. Listen well and remember: Huo Chang’an will forever be yours. Whether you live or die, he loves only you!”

Wu Yan’s tears flowed freely, but he blocked her words, lifted her legs high, and firmly thrust into her body… Those fierce, repeated impacts, the continuous waves of heat surging below—pain and pleasure were transmitted to her with each powerful movement of his vigorous body. Wu Yan felt everything go white before her eyes, seeing only the lamp flame on the table flickering and continuously falling…

Huo Chang’an’s sensation was a thousandfold more intense than hers. That tight embrace around him made him want to die inside her with each thrust. From now on, regardless of everything else, he would stay by her side, never to be separated again.

Several Zhang Away from the Wooden Hut

On a large tree several zhang from the wooden hut:

“They’ve gone into the bridal chamber—let go… can’t breathe…” Su Zhen reached up to pry away the large hand covering her nose and mouth.

The other person laughed coldly and finally released her, but knocked her on the head. “With your pathetic martial arts, if Huo Chang’an hadn’t taken the drug and been completely besotted, and if I hadn’t helped you lie and lent you people while helping you hold your breath, you would have been discovered long ago!”

“Damn…” Su Zhen refused to acknowledge the favor and cursed.

This angered Lian Yu so much that he leaped down from the tree in one bound, leaving her alone among the branches.

“Fine, you can spend tonight here keeping company with the creatures of the forest. I see this forest is quite large with all kinds of birds, and plenty of flying and walking beasts. I’ll return to the palace first.”

Lian Yu looked up with a sinister smile.

Su Zhen sat on the branch with a mournful expression. “I meant ‘numb’—sitting in this tree too long has made my legs numb. Help me down first. I’m no good at climbing trees, my lightness skills are poor, and I’m afraid of wolves.”

Lian Yu’s mouth twitched. Remembering her bold actions tonight still made him angry in various ways. That tent was just a decoy—the assassins and wooden hut were what she had prepared for those two, wanting them to have no way to retreat. Relying on his favor, this dog-head dared to do anything. If this continued, wouldn’t she ride right over his head! He said coldly, “Being afraid of wolves is perfect—reflect on things together with the wolves.”

“Fine, you go. I’ll jump down myself.”

Behind him, Su Zhen’s voice rose, sounding like she was going all out.

“Excellent. Come on, Chief Investigator Li, I’ll watch you jump and cheer you on.” Lian Yu turned around, raising an eyebrow as he looked at her. He didn’t believe this coward who had just been clinging tightly to his clothes would dare to jump down.

Unexpectedly, she leaned out to look at him. Just as his gaze fixed on her, she lost her balance and fell from the tree. This tree was quite tall, higher than ordinary rooftops. Lian Yu’s expression changed, and without thinking, he opened his arms wide. She landed in his embrace with a “thud”—the impact was considerable. He cushioned with his back, holding her tightly as they rolled backward to dissipate the force.

Two black shadows quickly leaped down from another tree, alarmed: “Master…”

They were the two guards who had gone out for help earlier.

“No problem.” Lian Yu waved his hand. The two hesitated, but seeing Lian Yu’s darkened expression, they quickly hid back in the darkness.

On the ground, Lian Yu pulled Su Zhen up and looked around. Seeing this dog-head was perfectly fine with no injuries, but staring guiltily at his hand, he glanced casually and saw his hand was scraped raw. Even angrier, he drew his folding fan from his waist and knocked her hard on the head several times.

This time Su Zhen didn’t dodge, putting on a pitiful expression as she looked at him. “Really angry?”

“If someone tricked you into coming out to feed mosquitoes and then you fell face-first in the dirt, would you be angry?” Lian Yu sneered.

Su Zhen felt guilty and ingratiatingly brought her face close to his. “How about I let you kiss me ten times? Don’t be angry anymore.”

Lian Yu pressed one hand against her face and scolded, “I’ve seen shameless people, but I’ve never seen anyone as shameless as you.”

“Oh, you’ve seen other shameless people? Who? Do I know them?” Su Zhen became curious and wasn’t in a hurry to offer herself up anymore.

Lian Yu wanted to slap her dead. With a dark face he said, “The shameless one is you, and the even more shameless one is also you.”

Su Zhen was delighted by his words and pounced on him, repeatedly kissing his lips. “Yu-zi, you understand me too well. We really are a match made in heaven. I’ll stick with you from now on.”

Having been smeared with saliva several times, Lian Yu was driven crazy by her and lost his temper. Looking into her eyes, he couldn’t say a word of the lecture he’d planned.

Earlier, when he saw Huo Chang’an resist the drug by injuring himself, though not without shock, he thought it was somewhat undignified for a man. But now, suddenly, he thought—if it were him—

Of course not! he thought, then gave Su Zhen another hard knock. But Su Zhen nestled happily in his arms and said quietly, “This time they’re finally together.”

“Yes, they’re finally together.” Lian Yu thought of what he’d witnessed earlier, not without shock and emotion. But remembering these underhanded tactics, he put on a stern face. “If you dare use such crooked methods again, I won’t acknowledge you next time! You’re supposed to be investigating cases, but now you’re meddling in other people’s private affairs too?”

“Yes, yes, yes, Your Majesty is right.” Su Zhen broke free from him, smiled, and bowed. After thinking, she said, “Back when I first came to the capital, they showed me kindness. ‘A drop of kindness should be repaid with a spring.’ Besides, they belonged together anyway. When young, everyone has some pride. Living in this world, everyone has responsibilities. I felt bad seeing them miss each other like this. Later, that brat Huo Chang’an courted death—though there were reasons for saving the Fifth Madam, if you love her, must you force her to feel your pain too? Wu Yan was the same—could Huo Chang’an be happy without her? Everything about life and death could be dealt with later.”

“The best state in love isn’t one person’s effort, but two people’s compromise. One person’s sacrifice is actually also a kind of selfishness.”

Seeing her shake her head while speaking with bright, sparkling eyes, Lian Yu’s heart couldn’t help but flutter. He calmly pulled her back into his arms. The two leaned against the tree, and he looked at her sideways. “From what you say, you sound quite experienced. Tell me honestly—how many men have you been with?”

Su Zhen didn’t know if he was scaring her or truly unhappy. Seeing his dark expression, she quickly fawned: “Just Li Zhaoting and you—no, just you. Young Master Li didn’t like me, and now I only think of him as… Young Master Li.”

Lian Yu gritted his teeth but couldn’t help laughing, his heart soft as mush. He sighed inwardly, lifted this little winter melon’s face, and lowered his head to kiss her.

But she burrowed her head into his chest.

“Mm?” He patted her head.

“Lian Yu, I’m afraid we’ll end up like Wu Yan and them, but then there might not be anyone to meddle for us. You’re the emperor too—who would dare interfere? So whatever happens to you, you must tell me. We can be proud and have responsibilities, but we need to discuss things properly, okay?”

Hearing her careful tone, Lian Yu felt a slight ache in his heart. He rested his chin on top of her head and said warmly, “Silly, Huo Chang’an and their problems might be common, but not everyone’s misfortune is the same. Perhaps what we have to face will be different from them.”

“Then,” Su Zhen suddenly looked up—too abruptly, bumping into Lian Yu’s chin. Lian Yu winced in pain and was about to give her another knock when he saw her smiling mouth but slightly furrowed brow. His hand stopped on her hair, unable to come down.

“If you ever fall in love with another woman, you must tell me early. I’ll know what to do.”

She thought about it and said.

Lian Yu’s voice turned cold. “This is what you’re worried about? You think I’m not someone you can entrust your life to?”

“You told me I couldn’t be replaced by anyone.”

She stared at him intently, really wanting to hear him say something definitive.

“Fine. If I fall in love with someone else, I’ll tell you.”

What reached her ears was this statement. Su Zhen felt awful but thought she’d just keep competing with him until someday he couldn’t let go.

“Okay.”

She smiled carefreely. Lian Yu’s face darkened, and finally he only said, “It’s time we went to see that person.”

Su Zhen nodded. He pulled her forward. On the dark road, he didn’t say a word, but her hand was gripped so tightly in his palm that it hurt.