Gu Yueyi felt his hairs standing on end. He awoke from his lustful daze and hurriedly explained, “Junior sister, I was confused earlier. I never intended to provoke you.”

Qiu Honglei’s voice was cold. She retracted the bright yellow light. “If it happens again, do not blame me for being impolite, even if you are a fellow sect member.”

“Yes, yes, yes, this was an accident! There definitely won’t be a second time.” Gu Yueyi backed away hurriedly, drenched in cold sweat. Even though there was a screen between the two of them, he still lowered his head as close to the ground as possible to avoid angering her.

Even though he already rated this girl extremely highly, he had never expected her to be this formidable.

Also, what’s the deal with this lantern? Is it something Master gave her?

Master really is biased!

More cold sweat broke out as he remembered the many times he had tried to take advantage of her previously. He mopped at his face discreetly.

However, something didn’t add up. Usually, whenever he provoked her, she would always reply with a sweet smile. Why was she suddenly so angry today?

“Also, in the future, if you are going to escape, then just do it. Don’t treat your own people like shields.” Qiu Honglei snorted coldly. It was clear that she was extremely dissatisfied with his actions on the boat.

Gu Yueyi hurriedly nodded. “Yes, yes, yes. Most definitely.” 

He cursed her silently in his heart. Since you’re so formidable, couldn’t you have just made your move on that boat? If the two of us had worked together, I wouldn’t have had to run from Chen Xuan in such a sorry state!

He kept his thoughts to himself, not allowing them to show on the surface.

“Just go.” Qiu Honglei waved her hand dismissively, clearly not in the mood to pay him any more attention.

Gu Yueyi felt as if he’d just received a great pardon. He fled in a hurry.

Qiu Honglei fiddled with the seashell in her hands, a smile returning to her face.

It was all that Chen Xuan’s fault for ruining her plans this time around. However, things were still all right overall. She was sure that this man was worth her investment.

...

“Achoo~” A chill swept across Zu An as soon as he returned to the Chu Estate, making him sneeze violently.

He found a set of clean clothes to change into, then hurried over to Chu Chuyan’s room.

I wonder if she remembered to leave me a way to get in. Zu An gave the sky a quick glance. A bright moon hung overhead. It was already extremely late.

He snuck his way over to Chu Chuyan’s courtyard. Qin Wanru had personally ordered the number of guards to be increased, ever since the previous incident with the intruder.

The security here was practically airtight, but Zu An had the strengthened ‘Sunflower Phantasm’ at his disposal. When there was no way to evade the guards’ line of sight, he resorted to using Grandgale to dash across. This allowed him to sneak in without encountering any trouble.

Zu An was incredibly upset. What the heck is this? Why do I have to act like a thief just to get into my own wife’s room?!

When he arrived in front of the previously agreed-upon window, Zu An noticed that the lights inside had already been turned off.

My wife’s skin really is too thin. She must be worried that others would become suspicious if the lights were still on.

He looked all around him to make sure there was no one around. Then, he placed his hand on the window and gave it a gentle push.

Hm? Why isn’t it moving?

Zu An tried again, this time with more strength. However, it still didn’t budge.

Is this the wrong window? He thought back to the conversation the two of them had had. Perhaps he remembered it wrongly.

He tried a different window, but it wouldn’t budge either. What the heck?

He tried the rest of the windows. Not a single one was unlocked.

Zu An’s eyes grew wide. Hadn’t they reached an agreement beforehand?

He had just rejected such a powerful temptation by refusing Qiu Honglei, and yet, this was what he came back to?

He turned the situation over in his mind, and figured that Chu Chuyan was probably still too shy, and was still unused to this arrangement.

However, the removal of frost during this initial period was too important, and absolutely couldn’t be delayed!

He didn’t dare call out to Chu Chuyan, for fear of alarming the guards outside. Instead,  he drew out a dagger. He gently inserted it into the crack between the window panes, and used it to push the bolt to the side.

He tiptoed his way in, and then closed the window again.

Why do I feel like a thief?

This was clearly his own wife’s room!

Zu An felt incredibly unwell inside. He immediately straightened from his crouch. 

When he walked to the bedside, he could vaguely make out a wonderfully graceful figure laying on her side.

This girl really needs a good spanking. Just look at how gentle and sweet that Honglei is!

Chu Chuyan had clearly already agreed to leave a window open. Zu An felt his teeth start to ache. He really had to find a way to keep his wife in line.

Without saying a word, he slipped under the sheets and hugged her.

Either way, the two of them already interacted so intimately in the dungeon. Later on, Chu Chuyan had even removed her clothes for him as he performed her treatment.

He felt like he had to be slightly more proactive. Maybe then she wouldn’t resist him so much.

As his hands caressed her warm and fragrant body, Zu An grew puzzled. Less than a day had passed since he’d last seen her. How did Chuyan’s body suddenly become so well-rounded?

“Dear, don’t be so fidgety~”

The beautiful woman fidgeted in her sleep, muttering quietly.

Zu An nearly jumped right out of the bed. He was scared out of his wits. This was clearly Qin Wanru’s voice!

Just then, Qin Wanru seemed to have noticed that something wasn’t right either. She awoke groggily, and began to turn around to take a look.

A finger shot out from the side, striking her acupoint.

Qin Wanru moaned quietly and fell back to sleep.

A slim and graceful figure sat up on the other side of the bed, revealing a lovely but displeased face. Who else could this be but Chu Chuyan?

Zu An was dumbfounded. He lowered his head to look at the woman in his embrace. She was clearly much more endowed than his wife. She was none other than his mother-in-law, Qin Wanru. 

What in the world is going on? Zu An’s mind went blank.

“My mother was worried about my condition, so she insisted on sleeping here, to take care of me. I refused several times, but she continued to persist. I didn’t want her to become suspicious, so I had to agree in the end.” Chu Chuyan had an embarrassed expression on her face.

Zu An was momentarily struck speechless.

What kind of stupid plot is this? How could I have expected this?!

“Why didn’t you tell me ahead of time?” Zu An said in confusion. He’d really suffered a huge fright earlier. His frail mind had been dealt a devastating blow, and he had yet to fully recover from his daze.

Chu Chuyan’s gaze drifted downwards. “Aren’t you going to let go?” she asked, her tone clearly disappointed.

Zu An lowered his head, his face identical to a sad emoji.[1] He hurriedly withdrew his arms. “This… I was in a daze just now and couldn’t react.”

Chu Chuyan snorted. Finally, she said, “I asked Huanzhao to find you, but she said you weren’t in the manor, so how could I let you know? That was why I locked all of the windows to warn you about the situation. How was I to know that you would just barge in?!”

“I thought that you were feeling slightly embarrassed about leaving your room open for the first time... The first few treatments for your illness are extremely important, so I had no choice but to enter.” Zu An explained. If he ended up becoming some freak in her eyes, that really would be the end of him.

Chu Chuyan bit her lips, hesitating, before she replied, “Fine. But you cannot act so recklessly in the future. I cannot strike mother’s acupoint so quickly every time. If she finds out that you… disrespected her, I fear that you won’t be able to remain in the Chu clan anymore.”

She knew that her mother had never treated Zu An well. If she found out about this, she would definitely go crazy. That was why she’d had no choice but to knock her unconscious.

“As expected, my wife really does worry about me!” A faint smile appeared on Zu An’s face. All the energy he’d spent saving her hadn’t been in vain.

“Who is worried about you?” Chu Chuyan’s face reddened slightly. “I only wanted to warn you, since this could drag the entire family into an awkward situation,” she explained hurriedly.

“All right, all right. Hurry up and strip already.” Zu An said while opening the pouch containing the silver needles.

Chu Chuyan glared at him without speaking.

This fellow really doesn’t know how to have a proper conversation. This is clearly just a normal procedure, so why did it sound so strange coming from his mouth?

She snorted quietly, then began to slowly undo her clothes.

She had always been a prodigy at cultivation, so she obviously wouldn’t settle for spending the rest of her life as a cripple.

Of course, if the one who was carrying out the acupuncture was anyone other than Zu An, she would never have agreed to it.

After the intimate events that had transpired in the dungeon, it seemed her resistance to the idea had been subconsciously weakened. 

Of course, she wasn’t aware of this change in her at all.

Zu An sighed in admiration of Chu Chuyan’s fine, snow-like skin. Her body didn’t possess Qiu Honglei’s strong fragrance, but her faint scent was still enough to leave a deep impression on him.

He removed a silver needle, and began the acupuncture procedure meant to remove the cold energy from inside her.

“Don’t alarm my mother,” Chu Chuyan warned him.

Zu An stared blankly, then moved further away from Qin Wanru. “Understood!”

…

The procedure took a while, after which Zu An collected back all of the silver needles. He sighed deeply. “Today’s procedure has been successfully completed.”

He was still struggling with how he was going to give her the next treatment. I can’t scare her away. I have to do things slowly.

“Thank you…” Chu Chuyan quietly put on her clothes. When she noticed the fine beads of sweat on his forehead, her heart softened. She took out a handkerchief, about to help him wipe away his sweat.

However, her hand suddenly froze, her expression turning cold. “Where did you go today?”

“I went for a stroll with Yucheng and Hongcai.” Zu An said ambiguously. There was no way he could just tell his wife that he went to a brothel, right?

“That’s it?” Chu Chuyan gave an indignant huff.

“What else could it be?” Zu An said guiltily.

Chu Chuyan became quiet for a while. She finally said into the silence, “You have the smell of another woman on you.”

“What?!” Zu An immediately smelled his sleeves. I don’t smell anything! Besides, I’ve already changed into a new set of clothes! As a keyboard warrior, how could I possibly make this type of elementary mistake?

How was she still able to notice?

Were women that sensitive towards the smell of other women?

Bracing himself, he said, “Could you be mistaken? Perhaps I still have some of your mother’s smell on me?”

Chu Chuyan sneered. “There’s lipstick on your mouth.”

Zu An was stunned speechless.

He finally realized what happened. Qiu Honglei had pressed her lips against his while in the river.

This damned lipstick is killing me!

Zu An wanted to flee. He continuously cursed the unscrupulous businessmen of this world. Qiu Honglei had definitely used the most expensive rouge and lipstick, which caused him this problem!

Wait, didn’t she already give me permission to seek out other women before? What am I feeling all guilty for? Zu An subconsciously wanted to turn around and run, but after taking a few steps, a thought emerged in his mind.

Forget it, I won’t poke at this mess.

When he returned to his own room, his body suddenly went rigid. A sword was pressed against his neck.