“Zhou Liang, tell me everything that’s been happening in the court lately, every last detail. What’s been going on?”
“Yes, Miss… There haven’t been any major incidents recently, nothing I’ve heard about, just… on the court, I heard people say it seems the Princes and the Left Prime Minister had some sort of quarrel.”
“What were they arguing about?”
“This subordinate isn’t too sure, only heard that lately there’s talk of Crown Establishment, so it seems that’s what the quarrel was about.”
Crown Establishment?!
Li Yuer’s mind sank.
Has His Majesty’s health really deteriorated to this point?
Across all of Great Qi, inside and out, is there really no one who can cure the Emperor’s poisoning?
In that instant, the image of Xu Ping’an flashed through her mind again, but she shook her head right after.
After knowing what Xu Ping’an went through, it would be absolutely impossible to persuade him to return.
“Oh right, there’s another big event.”
“What is it?”
“They say Number One Sect Under Heaven, the Liuyun Sect, has erupted in civil war. The various peaks seem to be fighting openly. I heard an Elder Kang was gravely injured and seems… might be dying.”
Just as these words left his mouth, a loud ‘clang’ sounded from the main hall.
“Who’s outside the door?!”
Zhao Pingzhi jumped in fright and quickly pushed open the door, only to see Xu Family Madam holding a cup, looking at him with a puzzled expression.
“Old Zhao, what’s wrong?”
“Oh~ it’s nothing…”
Zhao Pingzhi glanced at the chair fallen on the ground.
“Did the chair fall over?”
“Mm~ I knocked it over by accident~ Husband won’t scold me, right?”
Pei Qingxuan smiled, and seeing that, Zhao Pingzhi dropped the matter and closed the door again.
What he didn’t know was that after he closed the door, the innocence on that girl’s face flashed with a shadow.
Meanwhile, Xu Ping’an, who was drinking tea in the courtyard, also heard the noise from the main house and quickly got up to check.
“Lady, are you alright? Did you fall?”
The moment he entered, he saw his lady lifting the toppled chair. He didn’t worry about the chair, hurrying forward to ask.
“Husband, I’m fine~”
Seeing Xu Ping’an, Pei Qingxuan immediately threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and clinging to him.
“Husband~”
“Hmm? What’s the matter?”
“Nothing… just wanted to call you.”
“Alright, call me if you want. Husband will always be here.” “Husband~ Husband… Husband!”
“I’m here, here, mm.”
He didn’t know why Pei Qingxuan’s aura had suddenly changed, tinged with sadness. Was she recalling something?
But no matter what, Xu Ping’an quietly soothed his lady.
She called him again and again, and he answered each time. Who knew how many times it was before Pei Qingxuan finally calmed down.
Xu Ping’an said nothing, just held Pei Qingxuan, staying with her.
“My silly lady, I wonder if you remembered something. If you regained your memories, why haven’t you told me?”
Xu Ping’an gently brushed the girl’s hair from her forehead, tucking it behind her ear, gazing at her face, cold yet beautiful even in sleep, with doubt in his heart.
Since he’d returned yesterday, his lady had been acting strangely, and lately, the Hui Guang around her was tinted with shades of gray and black.
When a person is sad, their Hui Guang not only shortens and weakens, but its color shifts to gray and black.
At such times, a person’s aura is extremely feeble, making them vulnerable to invasion by Evil Spirits.
Hui Guang is one of the body’s self-defense functions; normal people have Hui Guang wandering their surface, which wards off some Evil Spirits.
The healthier the Hui Guang, the better the mood, and the harder it is for Evil Spirits to invade.
But if the Hui Guang weakens and the mood darkens, Evil Spirits can invade far more easily.
That’s when people are most likely to fall ill.
Though her Hui Guang was always faint and weak, her constitution was extraordinary, so ordinary Evil Spirits couldn’t touch her. But today,
Her Hui Guang was clearly retracting, mixed with more gray-black hues—especially just now when she called him Husband, that dark color almost took up a third of it.
What could make her so sad?
Xu Ping’an’s heart ached as he hugged Pei Qingxuan tightly.
“You silly girl, if there’s something on your mind, why not just tell me? Why keep it all inside?”
He couldn’t figure out why she was hiding it.
Did she really recover her memory, or was there something else making her so sad?
He couldn’t understand, so he could only hold her quietly, comforting her.
In the end, he simply didn’t want to force his obedient lady to say anything.
After all, their marriage was always a bit strange, and he was the unreasonable one. Even if his lady ended up hating him, he’d have nothing to say.
But now, it was obvious his lady didn’t hate him; then why… wouldn’t she confide in him?
He sat there holding Pei Qingxuan for most of the day.
Not until past noon did the sleeping Pei Qingxuan finally wake up, and as she opened her eyes,
the first thing she saw was Xu Ping’an’s pampering smile.
Instantly, her mood seemed to lift, and the Hui Guang around her radiated with gentle warmth.
“Husband~”
“Hmm, are you hungry? Want Husband to make something delicious for you?” “No, I just want you to hold me~”
She curled up, squeezing closer into Xu Ping’an’s arms. Seeing this, Xu Ping’an could only laugh helplessly, hugging her tighter.
The two pressed so close together that even his white robe was wrinkled from the pressure.
His suddenly clingy lady was so cute.
Xu Ping’an’s heart brimmed with happiness; he even had the urge to eat her up.
It was a biological instinct, using the mouth to touch, a way to show love.
He lowered his head and gently kissed her forehead. Pei Qingxuan blinked in surprise, then widened her eyes.
“Mmm! Husband, you’re so sneaky, you ambushed me~ I want to too!”
She wrapped her arms around Xu Ping’an’s neck, pushed up, and her red lips landed on the corner of his mouth.
“wu~ma!”
“Gently, gently, you’ll suck the skin right off.”
Pei Qingxuan, unsatisfied with just a kiss, bit his lips lightly with her white teeth.
“Stop, stop, it hurts~ hurts~”
Xu Ping’an hurriedly begged for mercy, and only then did Pei Qingxuan break into a happy smile and release his lips.
Then she buried her head into Xu Ping’an’s chest, playing with his sideburns with her fingers.
“Husband~”
“Hmm?”
“If…”
“If what?”
“If… I regained my memories and became someone else, would you still spoil me like this?” “I would, not only would I, I’d bring you back no matter what.”
With his skills, making two souls share one body was no problem. Even merging two sets of memories, he would never let his lady disappear so easily.
But truly, their situation was extremely complicated.
Xu Ping’an sometimes wondered, if Pei Qingxuan recovered her memories and became someone else, how would he cope?
Every time he thought about it, he felt a headache—there was no answer!
But since his lady was worried about it, he had to give his promise!
That’s what a man should do!
“I knew Husband wouldn’t let me down…”
“Oh? So you thought Husband might let you down?”
“No… not at all~”
“Hmm? You don’t dare look me in the eye—did you really think Husband would leave you?” “Uwu~ Husband, I was wrong~” “You deserve a spanking!”
A crisp “pa!” sounded, and her soft, plump bottom quivered slightly.
“Uwu~”
Immediately, her watery eyes looked up at Xu Ping’an, making his waist ache!
Good heavens, after not sleeping all night, still not satisfied?
Innate Alluring Bones, truly terrifying!
Xu Ping’an broke into a cold sweat and quickly looked away.
“Ahem~ Time to cook. What does Lady want to eat? Husband will make it for you~”
But his lady, still clinging to his neck, slowly rose and whispered in his ear.
“What I want to eat… doesn’t Husband already know?”
Who could stand this?
Even a robot needs to cool down, right?
“Then, I’ll make red-braised pork for you tonight. For now, just wait here, I’ll go prepare it.” Xu Ping’an quickly set Pei Qingxuan down and rushed to the kitchen.
Pei Qingxuan couldn’t help but giggle, then looked up at Xu Ping’an busying himself.
A wave of happiness washed over her, making her reluctant to part.
However… she had no choice but to leave.
That night, Li Yuer didn’t leave her room, and his lady also seemed off.
She went to bed at seven and didn’t let him go until past two in the morning.
For once, they didn’t stay up all night, and Xu Ping’an, tired, soon dozed off.
Hugging his lady, he drifted to sleep, feeling blessed.
But as his breathing grew steady, the Pei Qingxuan who’d been lying quietly in his arms suddenly opened her eyes.
Gone was the innocence and gentleness she showed Xu Ping’an, replaced by cold indifference.
Yet, as she looked at Xu Ping’an sleeping on the bed, her gaze softened again.
She raised her slender hand, gently stroking her face, as if trying to remember Xu Ping’an’s features with her own touch.
The girl opened the cabinet, took out a longsword wrapped in thick cloth, and walked to the desk to write a letter.
She looked back at Xu Ping’an, her phoenix eyes complicated, then slipped out of the house under the cover of night, leaving the courtyard behind.
Only after a hundred paces did she suddenly step onto her sword, disappearing into the moonlit sky.
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