Back when the Immortal Palace of the Desire Realm still existed, there were clients with peculiar tastes who deliberately fed Five Stones Powder to courtesans, making their bodies burn with fever, creating an irresistible pleasure that one couldn’t get enough of.

Ning Yin’s thinking was simple: anything others found enjoyable, he wanted to give to Yu Lingxi, even if it was his own body.

“When husband and wife love each other, they share the same breath, connected like branches from the same tree.”

Yu Lingxi sighed, turning to look at Ning Yin’s crimson-tinged eyes. “When you’re sick or hurt, my heart suffers too, for a long time. I have no desire for pleasure then.”

Last year, after the famine relief grain incident, she had told Ning Yin in the Yu residence: that those important people lived in her heart, and killing any one of them was like stabbing a knife into her heart.

“You are the most important person in my heart, Ning Yin.”

She pressed her forehead against his. “So, please get better soon.”

Ning Yin seemed to take a long time to understand this principle. The usually unrestrained little madman suddenly grew quiet.

He said nothing, only rested his chin on the hollow of her shoulder, and very slowly, very gently, closed his arms around her slender waist.

The imperial bedchamber was peaceful, two shadows quietly nestled together.

The prepared medicinal soup was brought over, still giving off steaming heat.

Yu Lingxi asked the attendants to withdraw first, then held the medicine bowl herself and stirred it. “This medicine is also for detoxification and strengthening the body; it should be somewhat effective.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Ning Yin reached out without hesitation to take the medicine bowl from her. Perhaps due to his illness, his voice was slow and deep. “Even if what Suisui gives me is poison, I would drink it happily.”

Ning Yin’s way of expressing emotions was always somewhat extreme and frantic, but Yu Lingxi understood his intentions.

She muttered something under her breath, quietly watching Ning Yin, guessing that he was about to propose some strange way of “feeding medicine,” such as from mouth to mouth.

But unexpectedly, Ning Yin was unusually well-behaved this time, tilting his head back to drink the bitter medicine in one go.

Only after he placed the empty bowl on the table did Yu Lingxi come back to her senses, reaching out to wipe away the light brown medicinal liquid that stained his thin lips.

“Was it bitter? Let me get you a piece of preserved fruit.”

She curved her eyes into a smile, knowing that at this moment he certainly wouldn’t want to trouble her.

Ning Yin held her hand and leaned in closer.

After a pause, he gently pressed his burning lips to her forehead and said in a low, hoarse voice: “Sweet enough.”

The sky was almost brightening, and fatigue washed over after the high fever.

Yu Lingxi curled into the bedding, her lips still upturned, embracing Ning Yin back. “Rest now, tomorrow you’ll be better.”

Ning Yin lay on his side; his body, still hot from the toxin, was uncomfortable, his breath fiery.

But he was long accustomed to it. He stared at her long, closed eyelashes for a long time before reluctantly closing his eyes, ignoring the burning pain throughout his body, holding her tighter, even tighter.

Ning Yin was robust; after two or three days of rest, he no longer had a fever.

Yu Lingxi, however, had just recovered from her high fever when she began to cough and wheeze again, suffering repeated episodes for about ten days before it gradually subsided.

During the ten days Yu Lingxi was bedridden with illness, Ning Yin stayed by her side for all ten days, with all important matters being brought to him by trusted attendants.

In early March, it happened to be the time when the results of the imperial examination were announced. The Ministry of Rites hosted the Qionglin Imperial Banquet to entertain the newly qualified scholars.

After several upheavals, the court had numerous vacancies, and with a large number of new nobles entering the court, it was an excellent opportunity to cultivate one’s forces. Therefore, for such a banquet, Ning Yin had to personally attend court to screen and select candidates.

Yu Lingxi had also wanted to go to the banquet to enjoy flowers and relax, but having just recovered from a serious illness, Ning Yin refused to let her go out and exhaust herself.

Yu Lingxi knew that when the Third Prince had previously abducted someone from right under Ning Yin’s nose, though he didn’t say it, he was still concerned about it.

With Ning Yin away, she went to the study to browse through books for entertainment.

On the desk lay a register of names—the list of scholars who had passed the imperial examination this year. It seemed Ning Yin was still deliberating on which ones to support.

Yu Lingxi sat behind the desk, picked up a cinnabar pen, and marked seven or eight names from memory, including the third-place scholar Zhou Yunqing.

If nothing unexpected happened, these people, led by Zhou Yunqing, would soon become loyal supporters and pillars under Ning Yin.

Just as she put down her pen, an attendant came to report: “My Lady, Madam Yu, and Miss Yu have come as arranged.”

Upon seeing her mother and elder sister, Yu Lingxi was very happy.

The attendant said they had “come as arranged,” which surely meant that before Ning Yin left, he had arranged for her relatives to come and keep her company, fearing she would be lonely in the residence alone.

Her heart warmed, and her steps carried a light breeze as she walked.

“Suisui, are you completely better now?” As soon as they met, Madam Yu couldn’t even sit down, looking worriedly at her daughter. “When I heard you were ill, my heart was truly distressed.”

“It was just a minor cold; I’m better now.”

Yu Lingxi helped Madam Yu sit down, then asked the spirited female warrior in military attire beside her, “Elder Sister, why didn’t Father and Brother come?”

Yu Xinyi said, “Military affairs have been busy lately. Father and Yu Huanchen are running between the military camp and the court, so busy they barely touch the ground.”

In previous years, spring and summer military affairs were not numerous. Yu Lingxi sensitively asked, “Has something happened?”

“The Yan people are rising in the Northern borders. Just when they need grain and supplies to expand, they take advantage of the Great Wei’s recent loss of its ruler and repeatedly intrude from the south. The court’s war and peace factions are already arguing bitterly. It all depends on how the Prince of Jing will issue orders, and the Yu family army naturally needs to prepare for battle on the front lines.”

Speaking of this, Yu Xinyi found it a bit strange. “Suisui is in the Prince of Jing’s residence, yet you don’t know about this?”

Then she nodded, saying to herself, “That’s right, you’ve been ill these days.”

Yu Lingxi knew of this war.

In her previous life, Ning Yin had become the Regent, supporting a year-old little emperor to ascend the throne. The Yan people took advantage of the Wei Dynasty’s power falling into others’ hands and the ruler being a nursing infant, repeatedly invading. Despite the opposition from the peace faction, Ning Yin had strongly fought back.

By then, the Yu family army no longer existed, and the court lacked military generals. That war lasted a full two years, nearly depleting financial and human resources.

Although victorious, it also added new infamy to Ning Yin’s name: war-loving, bloodthirsty, cruel, and merciless.

With the emperor being young, naturally, Ning Yin became the scapegoat. Yu Lingxi didn’t want to repeat the same mistake…

She needed to think of a way.

Seeing her daughter deep in thought, Madam Yu smiled and changed the subject. “Your sister-in-law made golden osmanthus pastries for you, try some.”

Yu Lingxi then smiled again, picking up a piece of the milk-yellow pastry and putting it in her mouth.

After lunch, her mother and elder sister prepared to return home.

Just before leaving, Yu Xinyi seemed to remember something and turned back with a smile. “Oh, by the way, Suisui, if it’s not too difficult, please do your sister a favor and ask the Prince of Jing not to torment Ning Zishuo anymore, would you?”

How did the little Prince of Nanyang get involved in all this?

Yu Lingxi rested alone on a small couch in the study, unable to understand where her sister’s words had come from.

As she dozed off, she felt something cold and ticklish on her chest.

She instinctively reached out to scratch it but was caught by a large hand. Half-awake, she opened her eyes to find a handsome face magnified right before her.

Yu Lingxi was startled, her soft eyelashes trembling as she murmured in confusion, “When did you return? I didn’t hear anything.”

Her languid appearance after spring sleep was particularly charming. Leaning on the couch, her delicate figure was exquisitely graceful, making her face as vivid and alluring as a peach blossom.

“Just returned a quarter of an hour ago.”

Ning Yin held a purple jade brush in his hand, dipped it in the red dye on the table, and said, “The peach blossoms at the Qionglin Banquet were beautiful, so I broke off a branch to bring back and paint for Suisui.”

Only with his explanation did Yu Lingxi notice that a charcoal fire had been thoughtfully lit beside the couch, and a branch of brilliant peach blossoms was placed in the porcelain vase on the table. Her clothes had been loosened somewhat, with half of her thin shoulder exposed like snow.

She blinked her eyes, hurriedly trying to get up. “What are you doing…”

“Don’t move. There’s just a little bit of red blood left; if it smudges, there won’t be anymore.”

Ning Yin pressed down on her body, his brush steady and precise, moving across her expanse of fair and tender skin.

“Red blood?” The name sounded familiar.

Ning Yin was focused on his painting and gave a light “Mm.”

“The dye for my chest tattoo.”

He lowered his eyes, a light smile spreading in the depths of his black eyes. “I said I couldn’t bear to let Suisui suffer the pain of needles, so painting a flower is just as good.”

So he had brought back the most beautiful branch from the spring banquet and painted it on her shoulder.

He indulged Yu Lingxi in his unique way, and how could Yu Lingxi not indulge him in return?

For instance, while she called him “little madman” now, she obediently softened her body, yawning as she watched him act willfully.

Ning Yin’s hand was extremely skillful; the expansive peach blossoms grew diagonally down from her shoulder, blooming brilliantly.

Yu Lingxi asked Ning Yin to bring a mirror, looked at herself from various angles, and praised him: “It looks quite good. It’s a pity it will wash off when I bathe tonight.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Ning Yin picked up a silk cloth to wipe his hands and said softly, “To bloom twice on Suisui’s body is already its great fortune.”

“Twice?”

Yu Lingxi didn’t think much of it, shrinking into the blanket and saying, “By the way, what’s the story with the Prince of Nanyang? Did he offend you?”

Ning Yin didn’t need to ask, knowing it must be Yu Xinyi who had come to plead with her.

He didn’t answer directly, instead asking, “Does Suisui want to stay away from court affairs and live the leisurely life of an ordinary couple?”

His sudden mention of this caught Yu Lingxi off guard.

The all-powerful Regent of her previous life, the madman who couldn’t live without being insane in this life, actually harbored thoughts of retirement?

“If we could live carefree days and grow old together, that would naturally be good…”

“So, I don’t have the patience to wait for that milk-drinking infant to grow up.”

Ning Yin gently interrupted her. “And among the Ning family’s royal clan, only Ning Zishuo barely has some human-like qualities.”

“What?”

Yu Lingxi couldn’t fathom his meaning. “You want to abandon the little emperor and support the Prince of Nanyang?”

“Originally, I was preparing two options, but Ning Zishuo dared to publicly defy me, saying he has no interest in the throne.”

Ning Yin bragged shamelessly, “I’ve always been vengeful, unable to tolerate others jumping up and saying ‘no,’ so I’m teaching him a small lesson.”

“Is the little Prince someone who views power and status as dung and dirt?”

Yu Lingxi recalled the childish and flamboyant young noble she had met for the first time, then thought of his courage to stand against Ning Yin. For some reason, she couldn’t help but feel a solemn respect.

“Is he as great as you imagine? It’s just for a woman.”

Seeing through Yu Lingxi’s thoughts, Ning Yin snorted. “He wants to marry Yu Xinyi.”

“What?” Yu Lingxi’s eyes widened.

Then, thinking carefully, Ning Zishuo had generously rescued her sister several times from danger; it all seemed reasonable.

“If he became emperor and married my sister as his empress, my sister would no longer be able to gallop across battlefields.”

Yu Lingxi murmured, “Was it for this reason that he summoned the courage to contradict you? If so, I rather admire him.”

The courage to give up boundless power and authority over rivers and mountains for the sake of one person was not something everyone possessed.

Seeing her sighing over another man, Ning Yin’s eyes darkened.

He gently turned Yu Lingxi’s face, his gaze scanning downward, and suddenly said, “It’s faded.”

“What…”

Yu Lingxi followed his gaze downward, her eyes pausing.

The brilliantly red peach blossoms had already disappeared with the drop in temperature.

She sensed danger and hurriedly drew her clothes tighter, shrinking back.

“Wait, I still have something to discuss with you. About the Yan people at the northern border, you…”

But it was already too late; the topic twisted suddenly. “What are you doing?”

“Blossoming.” He bit gently, smiling.

Spring days intertwined. After recuperating for over ten days, the flower season burst forth, gloriously blooming on the finest quality “white scroll” skin.

Yu Lingxi finally understood why these peach blossoms could bloom twice.