Song knew he was angry, so she let him rant.

"The ground is cold, get up."

Chu Huaixu still wouldn't let him touch it: "Get away from me, I find it dirty!"

Song Ting looked blankly at her hands, then at her body, but found nothing dirty.

"Get out! You reek of perfume, get out!"

"..."

A sudden thought popped into Song Ting's mind, causing his heart to pound uncontrollably. Ignoring Huai Xu's struggles, he pulled him into his arms.

One hand cushioned Huaixu's head on the ground, while the other hand gently cupped his swollen cheek, placing a tearful kiss on his slightly burning face.

His voice was hoarse, each word uttered slowly and deliberately, as if he were in excruciating pain, as if he dared not even breathe heavily:

"It's not dirty."

"I swear."

Chu Huaixu, however, didn't believe him at all, and glared at him with reddened eyes:

"That sir is truly skilled. Just an hour ago, his life was hanging by a thread, and he couldn't even get the door opened. In such a short time, he even got his hands on the Empress Dowager's jade token?"

"No wonder the lord has enjoyed such favor for so many years, I've seen it all now... um..."

"No." An impatient kiss cut off Chu Huaixu's unfinished words. "Are you jealous? I'm so happy..."

"Bullshit!" Chu Huaixu bit his lip hard, wishing he could tear off a piece of flesh, and kicked him fiercely. "Get lost!"

If Song Ting hadn't dodged in time, he would have been kicked in a certain place by now.

But the commander wasn't afraid at all. He clung to the person in his arms, kissing him incessantly. Huai Xu was so angry that he trembled: "You mad dog!"

"Yes, I am a mad dog, young master, I'm almost insane..."

The mad dog, who had been living in fear all night, couldn't control himself when he saw his god and kissed him passionately for a long time.

From initial struggle to eventual takeover, Chu Huaixu and Chu Huaixu engaged in a fierce battle of wills, their entanglement moving from the cold, hard floor to the bed.

Song Ting grasped Chu Huaixu's two hands with one hand, raised them above her head, and leaned down to bite the man's protruding collarbone, like a wolf hunting its prey.

Not to be outdone, Chu Huaixu bit Song Ting's lip hard when Song Ting kissed him, as if he wanted to tear a piece of his flesh off.

The smell of blood filled their mouths. Song Ting held Huai Xu's waist, and if Huai Xu were to look up at this moment, he would see the possessiveness about to overflow in Song Ting's eyes.

But when Chu Huaixu actually looked over, those emotions were instantly suppressed, so he didn't see anything.

He assumed that Song Ting had suffered a loss in his hands, and even raised his eyebrows triumphantly when he let go.

Blood stained his rosy lips, and he stuck out his tongue and licked it… as if it were a provocation to Song Ting.

This scene was extremely impactful to Song Ting; the smell of blood acted like the most potent drug, burning his throat until it was dry.

He squeezed his eyes shut, his voice hoarse as he spoke: "You didn't do it, did you?"

A strange light flashed in Chu Huaixu's eyes. He stared at him for a while and then laughed, "I didn't expect the Commander to have such a strange hobby. He likes to use this method every time he interrogates prisoners. No wonder you are so successful."

Song Ting admitted it very frankly: "Only you, only you."

Chu Huaixu chuckled lightly, clearly not believing his words. Song Ting didn't press further, but simply kissed his swollen right cheek again.

Looking at the red mark he had personally made, Song Ting felt as if a handful of silver needles had been scattered across his heart, leaving it riddled with holes and bleeding profusely.

"Don't look at me like that." Chu Huaixu slapped his face away. "Every time I see you looking like that, I feel disgusted."

Because of those words, Song Ting froze instantly, and her eyes dimmed.

To an outsider, it might seem that he was deeply in love and valued Chu Huaixu highly.

But in Chu Huaixu's eyes, it was just hypocrisy. The more Song Ting acted this way, the more he hated her.

He grabbed Song Ting by the neck, and with a fawning smile that would surely anger Song Ting, said to her:

"Do you want it, sir?"

Song Ting's face indeed turned somewhat ugly, his eyes bloodshot, as if he was angry about something, yet he held back his anger.

Chu Huaixu enjoyed seeing him like this. Now, their social statuses were worlds apart, and this was the only revenge he could take against this person.

How ridiculous.

How tragic.

The sadder he felt inside, the happier he smiled. In front of Song Ting, he put one hand on his shoulder and, just like he had done in the Empress Dowager's room before, slowly let his clothes fall down inch by inch.

Song Ting tried to stop him, but Chu Huaixu stepped back, his watery eyes filled with affection and resentment: "My lord, as the Empress Dowager's most trusted henchman, don't you want to do your duty and take a good look at my body?"

"Don't do this, Huaixu, please." Song Ting clenched her fists tightly, unwilling to listen any longer.

"What are you doing, sir? Isn't my body beautiful? Don't you like it? Every patron who has seen me has praised me highly. Why is it that you don't like me?"

"Is that dead man the only person in your heart, sir?"

Even knowing that all of Song Ting's deep affection was a pretense, Chu Huaixu still wanted to see him break down.

Song Ting couldn't resist any longer and pulled him into her arms, silencing him with a deep kiss before he could finish speaking.

"Stop talking, please don't say that, Huaixu..."

...

The bed creaked and shook for most of the hour, and Chu Huaixu's arm, which was hanging off the edge of the bed, was pulled back and pinned to the pillow.

The marks left on her fair skin were like specks of red plum blossoms scattered on a glistening snowfield...

There was a kind of humiliating pleasure in provoking others, but once he was truly humiliated, Chu Huaixu was filled with regret.

—Song Ting, this mad dog.

"Ouch..." The moment he moved, something yanked his hair, causing him to gasp in pain. "My hair...you're pressing on my hair..."

"It doesn't seem like it's pressing down, it's tangling up." Song Ting pulled him into her arms from behind, carefully holding both of their hair in her hands.

Chu Huaixu looked down and, sure enough, found a tuft of his hair tightly tangled with the other person's: "..."

His expression was unfriendly as he ordered Song Ting, "Where's your broken sword? Take it out."

Song Ting, worried that he might do something reckless, didn't move. Chu Huaixu was even more displeased, his eyes narrowing, his voice turning even colder: "Take it out!"

Song Ting gently cupped his hair and coaxed him softly, "Our bodies and hair are gifts from our parents, and we can't just break them. I'll untie them, don't worry."

"Hmph." Chu Huaixu coldly snorted, crossing his arms and waiting, which meant he had agreed.

Song lowered her head and carefully tried to untangle the tuft of hair.