I said embarrassedly, “I told you to let go!”

He frowned and asked, “Is it that painful?” As I was about to speak, I retched again.

He gripped my wrist, his gaze shifting uncertainly. After a long while, he released me and instructed the boatman to find a nearby dock to stop.

I suddenly jolted and blurted out, “Could I be pregnant?”

He smiled and embraced me, though his movements were somewhat cautious, and said, “The symptoms seem like it, but we need to find a doctor for a proper diagnosis.”

My mind instantly went blank. There was an indescribable feeling in my heart—I wasn’t yet prepared to have a child.

Seeing my silence, he smiled and asked, “That expression of yours, how should I interpret it?”

I answered honestly, “It’s an indescribable feeling.”

He frowned slightly, looking at me with confusion.

I also frowned. “I’ve heard childbirth is very painful.”

The smile at the corner of his lips deepened as he leaned down to kiss my face, his black eyes full of teasing. “You won’t let another woman take this opportunity just because it’s painful, will you?”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

He laughed heartily.

I pushed him away and said with an awkward smile, “Let me help you change your clothes first.”

He replied, “I’ll do it myself.”

As I got up to fetch his clothes, the boat suddenly rocked. He quickly wrapped his arm around my waist and said, “Careful.”

I had never seen him so anxious. Was this truly a case of ‘a child brings prestige to the mother’? I couldn’t help but ask sourly, “Are you worried about me, or the child in my belly?”

He took off his outer garment and pulled me back into his embrace, saying with a smile, “Silly girl, you will always be irreplaceable.”

I thought for a moment and said, “During my pregnancy, you’re not allowed to fool around with other women.”

He couldn’t help but laugh. “What is that little head of yours always thinking about?”

I persisted, “You can’t despise me for growing old or ugly after I have the child.”

His eyes curved into beautiful crescents as he smiled. “I promise to be faithful till the end.”

I snorted, “That’s what you say now. If I catch you at anything, I’ll—”

He gently bit my finger and asked with a smile, “You’ll what?”

I grinned and said, “I’ll take the child back to my parents’ home and leave you to enjoy yourself alone in the great Ming Dynasty.”

He suddenly grabbed my hand, looked into my eyes, and said seriously, “I will never let that happen.”

I said nothing.

He continued, “You must promise too.”

I quickly nodded. “I promise.”

He began to smile, with tenderness overflowing from his eyebrows and eyes, seeping into my heart bit by bit, converging into a powerful, painfully gentle love. At that moment, I felt that bearing a child for him was such a happy and proud thing.

## Chapter Twenty-Six (3)

When the boat docked at noon, Dudu Niao was shouting about being hungry, looking just like a reincarnated hungry ghost. Everyone found a restaurant to eat, but I had no appetite at all. Yan Shao called over a waiter and inquired about nearby medical clinics.

Hong Yu asked curiously, “Oh? Is Miss Rong not feeling well?”

“A little,” I smiled.

Usually, I didn’t feel that the term “Miss Rong” was inappropriate, but today it felt particularly awkward. I was about to become a mother, a wife to someone.

As she was about to ask something else, Yan Shao stood up and smiled at me, “Let’s go.”

I followed him downstairs and out the door, turning left onto the main street. After walking for a while, he suddenly frowned and said, “Someone is following us.”

Being with him, I never had to worry about safety issues. Hearing this, I was startled and asked, “Who is it? Why would they follow us?”

He smiled and said, “Let’s go ask them.” With that, he took my hand and turned around, walking directly toward two men who looked like merchants.

I was both amused and exasperated—his actions often left me feeling that way. However, when those two men saw us walking toward them, they showed no panic at all, standing firmly in place, waiting for us.

This made me secretly curious.

When we reached them, before we could speak, one of them stepped forward and asked, “May I ask if the lady is Rong Shu Kuang?”

I was startled and exchanged a glance with Yan Shao before nodding, “That’s right. I am Rong Shu Kuang.”

The man took out a letter from his bosom and said, “By order of the young marquis, this letter is to be delivered to the lady.”

Young marquis? I didn’t immediately react, but Yan Shao had already reached out to take the letter.

The man pulled back his hand and said, “I was instructed to personally deliver this letter to Miss Rong.”

Yan Shao lightly flicked his sleeve, causing the letter to fall from the man’s hand. With a twist of his sleeve, he caught the letter. After carefully examining it twice and ensuring there was nothing amiss, he handed it to me with a snort, “What is that Shen Zui Tian boy up to now?”

I took the letter and waved it in front of the now-stupefied man, who seemed to awaken from a dream and instinctively moved two steps away from Yan Shao.

I asked, “Shen Zui Tian asked you to give this to me?”

The man replied, “Yes. The letter has been delivered. We shall take our leave.”

With that, he gave a slight bow and fled with his companion as if escaping for their lives.

I wasn’t in a hurry to read the letter. Instead, I turned to ask Yan Shao, “Why would Shen Zui Tian send me a letter?”

His face remained impassive, but his tone suggested otherwise. “That’s something you should ask yourself.”

I couldn’t help but laugh as I tore open the envelope and pulled out a sheet of paper. Hmm, the handwriting was strong, and practiced, and the phrasing had an ancient flavor. I tried to translate it as follows:

“Rong Shu Kuang, I feel compelled to warn you, though you may not consider it important. Frankly, even I cannot believe that I am doing such a foolish thing. From childhood, I was strictly taught to be ruthless and decisive in all matters. Only with you have I repeatedly hesitated, which has led to my defeat today, or perhaps my fate.

Previously in Taiyuan, Lin Wan Ci offered the treasure map in exchange for not only releasing Lin Qian Yi but also for killing you. You have always been foolish, asking many stupid questions, and will surely ask why I didn’t kill you. I can now honestly answer: First, I was unwilling to kill you. Second, before I saw the treasure map with my own eyes, I was unwilling to kill you and offend Chu Tian Yao. Third, the situation in the martial world was delicate at that time, and I wished to observe quietly and act according to circumstances. You know what happened afterward. What I want to say is that Lin Wan Ci is not your friend, and you are certainly no match for her. I have said all I can; whether you believe it is up to you.”

After reading it, I passed the letter to Yan Shao.

He didn’t take it but pursed his lips and said, “It was specifically meant for you. I won’t read it.”

I smiled and reached out to take his arm, saying, “What’s mine is yours, isn’t it?”

He snorted and said, “I still won’t read it.”

“Then let me read it to you—” I cleared my throat, preparing to read the letter.

He interrupted me, saying, “We’ve reached the clinic.”

A while later, we came out of the clinic and walked back in silence.

I stole a glance at Yan Shao. He snorted coldly, signaling from the corner of his eye that if I dared to laugh, the consequences would be dire.

I suppressed my laughter, lowering my head as I followed behind him.

He suddenly stopped and said angrily, “That person must be a quack doctor.”

I couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.

He frowned at me, and after a while, he finally laughed too.

I laughed even harder.

He suddenly asked, “How do you feel now?”

I stopped laughing and answered, “Much better.”

He nodded and said, “Very good.”

I waited for him to continue, but he said nothing more.

I asked, “What’s very good?”

He looked at me with a half-smile and said, “Since you don’t adjust well to water travel, let’s switch to land travel instead. We’ll rest here tonight and continue tomorrow.”

Looking at him, I suddenly felt a pang of guilt. Originally, I had thought there was an eight or nine out of ten chance that I was going to be a mother. But after the doctor’s examination, it turned out that I was just seasick, not pregnant at all.

Our excitement had been for nothing.

I held his hand and said softly, “I’m sorry.”

He smiled and said, “It’s alright. From now on, you need to take care of your health.”

I was startled.

He looked at me and asked, “Shouldn’t we make an effort for the sake of the child?”

I started coughing.

He held my hand and headed straight for the restaurant, ordering seven or eight of my favorite dishes and setting them on the table, saying, “Eat up, you urgently need to recover your strength. Because tonight, I won’t let you off easy.”

Hearing this, I nearly choked on my tea, feeling as if I were sitting not on a wooden stool but on a beam of intense, burning light.

For a long time afterward, I often recalled that night, savoring it like a cherished adult movie. Yan Shao was quite indifferent to this, believing that he was just as powerful every time. While this was indeed true, it gave me further insight into male pride.

The next day, I climbed out of bed and habitually pushed open the window to stretch and breathe in some fresh air. Halfway through my stretch, I saw Dudu Niao loading luggage into the carriage downstairs and remembered that today we would be traveling by land instead of by boat.

After washing up and going downstairs, I didn’t see Yan Shao, so I asked Dudu Niao.

He jerked his chin to the left and said, “He just went that way.”

I asked, “Did he say what he was going to do?”

He shook his head as he stacked two boxes together.

Helpless, I started walking left to look for him. After a few steps, I turned back and asked, “By the way, where are Feng Ming and Hong Yu?”

Busy organizing the luggage, he didn’t look up as he said, “Don’t know. Early this morning, Master Chu gave Hong Yu Jie a letter, and she left with Brother Feng Ming.”

I was shocked. “What happened?”

“Don’t know,” he said as he plopped down on the carriage, looking at me pitifully and complaining, “Miss Rong, I feel like Master Chu is deliberately making things difficult for me. These boxes should be handled by the porters…”

I had no time for his nonsense. I took off running, calling back from a distance, “Just consider it physical exercise!”

It was around nine in the morning. The weather wasn’t good, with fog and gloom. The town was near the river, making the air feel even more humid. The whole town seemed shrouded in a layer of white gauze. Walking a short distance to the left led to a narrow, long embankment planted with a few elm trees, which in the thin white fog had a desolate feel. Yan Shao wore a white wide-sleeved robe, his arms crossed over his chest as he stood on the embankment, silently gazing at the flowing water. His posture was as straight as a tree trunk, his hair flowing like a mirror, his face like a frozen lake.

I walked up to him, and he didn’t react. His jet-black eyes were as deep as a cold pool, with a contained intensity that inexplicably made one’s heart race. I chose to remain silent, leaning against a tree trunk, and watching him steadily.

Finally, a smile crept onto the corner of his mouth, and he turned his head to smile at me, asking, “Did you sleep well last night?”

I shook my head.

He teased, “Was I not diligent enough?”

I deliberately kept a straight face and didn’t look at him, saying, “You disappear as soon as I wake up. Who knows what you were doing last night?”

He deliberately exclaimed in surprise, “People say a woman’s heart is fickle, but they don’t know women have another special skill—” He stopped, smiling as he waited for me to ask.

I snorted and asked, “What is it?”

He said softly, “Turning the tables!”

I widened my eyes, “Did I?”

He snorted, “And you say you didn’t. You’re too lazy to get up and attend to your husband, yet you blame me—”

I immediately interrupted him, exclaiming, “Ah! There’s a fish in the river.”

He wasn’t fooled and stepped closer, his left hand leaning against the tree trunk, his right index finger wagging in front of my eyes as he smiled, “That trick won’t work on me. Within a hundred paces, even the slightest change doesn’t escape my ears.”

I caught his finger and bit it lightly. His thumb slid across my lips, and he slowly leaned down.

I smiled and said, “This doesn’t seem appropriate, doing such things in broad daylight…”

He paused, frowned, and sighed, “Indeed. Then forget it—”

He made it as if to leave, but I quickly grabbed him and laughed, “I don’t think anyone has forbidden doing such things in broad daylight…”

He burst out laughing, holding my waist and staring at me for a long time before saying, “People say beauty is best viewed by lamplight, but how is it that you look so beautiful even in daylight?”

Although I’ve always welcomed praise, this time was an exception. I believe I must have blushed.

So I spoke with rare modesty, “People say ‘to each his own.’ It must be because you love me so much that you see me as beautiful no matter what.”

He let out a derisive laugh and lowered his head to kiss me.

After a while, I pushed him away, took a deep breath, and said, “Let’s go back quickly.”

“Hmm?”

“Once I start, I can’t stop—”

He seemed to freeze for a moment before bursting into laughter and kissing me again. I felt I was going crazy.

When I came to my senses, I realized fine rain had started falling. Yan Shao’s face was close to mine, his gaze fixed on me intently. Crystalline raindrops clung to his thick eyelashes, making his eyes look even clearer and more captivating.

I traced his long eyebrows, straight nose, lean face, and sensual chin with my fingers and asked softly, “What’s happened?”

He didn’t answer, just smiled at me.

After a while, he said, “Let’s go back. Be careful not to catch cold.”

He took my hand and turned to walk back. Since he wasn’t saying anything, I didn’t ask. We walked back hand in hand and saw Dudu Niao busy moving valuable luggage into the inn, muttering to himself, clearly complaining.

I couldn’t help but laugh. This poor child. I let go of Yan Shao’s hand and was about to help him when Yan Shao said in a deep voice, “Come back.”

Dudu Niao stole a glance at him and quickly put on a smile, saying, “Miss Rong, I can manage by myself.”

Yan Shao said nothing and walked straight inside. I had no choice but to obediently follow him upstairs.

As soon as we entered the room, he began removing my clothes. I thought he wanted to continue our earlier activities and was naturally eager to cooperate. To my surprise, he turned and picked out a garment from a pile of clothes and handed it to me with a smile, saying, “Be careful not to catch cold.”

“Thank you for your concern!” I took the garment and tossed it onto the bed, smiling as I said, “Don’t you catch cold either.”

As I spoke, I reached out to undo his belt, my hands moving downward to caress and squeeze. He frowned slightly, glaring at me in mock anger.

I looked at him and smiled, “If you don’t like it, then forget it.”

He snorted and pushed me back onto the bed, his wide sleeves and his essence enveloping me like a canopy. Outside the window, a drizzling rain fell, making the light in the room dim and soft. From a bed of fine silk, I embraced Yan Shao as if embracing a stable and leisurely world. His warm lips covered mine, and I felt secure as if my life had been properly settled.

We kissed again and again, separated, stared foolishly at each other for a while, then kissed again. Finally, he lost patience, his lips and tongue trailing downward, his fingers relentlessly fanning the flames. I felt as if I were on the edge between life and death, dream and wakefulness, my mind both confused and clear. I heard my voice, silk-like and moaning, soul-consuming and bone-melting, heart-stirring.

I dedicate this short H-section to my friend Xiao Shu who loves this genre.

The room was very quiet. Outside, the rain grew heavier, falling like broken pearl strings from the eaves, the pattern of raindrops emphasizing the stillness inside. I lay beside Yan Shao, listening to his steady heartbeat, feeling it was the most wonderful sound in the world.

He remained silent, his broad palm holding mine, caressing it now and then.

Suddenly, he softly uttered three words: “There’s killing intent.”

I was startled and instinctively tried to get up. He raised his hand to hold me down, smiled slightly, and pulled me back into his embrace.

I asked in a low voice, “Why can’t I sense any killing intent?”

“With time, you’ll be able to sense it,” he said.

“Is the opponent formidable?”

“That depends on your standard of formidable,” his voice carried a hint of amusement. “A truly first-class assassin—you wouldn’t be able to sense their killing intent at all.”

That meant the person wasn’t that skilled. I secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but in our current state, we weren’t in the best position to face an assassin. I pulled up the thin silk coverlet to hide his bare, muscular upper body—what if the assassin was a woman? It would be giving her an eyeful.

The smile at the corner of his lips deepened, but his eyes suddenly turned cold.

Then I saw an arrow pierce through the window paper and shoot in. Looking closer, I realized it wasn’t one arrow but three; and closer still, it became six, arranged in the shape of the character for “mountain,” with the peak aimed at the person on the bed, advancing with an extremely slow and heavy pace.

With each inch the arrowhead advanced, the killing intent intensified. My skin seemed to feel the cold metal, involuntarily raising goosebumps.

The arrows reached the front of the bed and, just as they were about to pierce the curtains, suddenly stopped as if they had hit an invisible wall of copper and iron, unable to advance even a fraction more. They fell limply to the ground in unison.

At the same time, I felt a powerful force sweep across my abdomen, like an electric shock with an almost orgasmic tingling sensation. A cry of surprise escaped my lips.

Yan Shao burst into laughter.

Then I heard Dudu Niao shouting, “Who’s there? Hey, don’t run if you’ve got the guts!” followed by a series of knocks on the door. “Miss Rong, are you alright?”

I quickly replied loudly, “I’m fine! You be careful yourself.”

But he didn’t leave and continued asking, “I just heard you cry out. You’re not injured, are you?”

As I was about to speak, Yan Shao suddenly rolled over and pressed against me, his warm palm sliding down my abdominal muscles like he was playing a prank. I immediately couldn’t breathe and glared at him seriously, while he looked at me with a mischievous smile.

Dudu Niao persisted outside the door, “Who was that person? What grudge do they have against you?”

As I tried to catch Yan Shao’s hand, I shouted in exasperation, “I told you I’m fine—”

Finally, Yan Shao burst out laughing.

Outside the door, Dudu Niao made a sound of sudden realization, seemingly unable to believe that someone would be so blatantly engaging in daylight intimacy.

I quickly put on my outer clothes, placed a chair by the bed, and sat down with a formal posture. Using the tone of a judge, I repeated Dudu Niao’s question:

“Who was that person? Why did they try to assassinate us?”

He didn’t answer, leaning obliquely against the headboard wrapped in embroidered silk. He looked at me with half-smiling, half-mocking peach blossom eyes, his silver hair cascading like a waterfall, highlighting a face that was truly handsome and tempting. My heart fluttered, and I couldn’t help but lean over to kiss his face.