Everything was quiet and perfect; this atmosphere was just right for doing things that respectable people shouldn't do.

Wei Li thought he wasn't a decent person, so he was able to do it.

His face turned as red as a ripe shrimp. He unconsciously swallowed and looked around to make sure no one was there and the doors and windows were tightly closed.

He shakily pulled the box containing the gilded jar from his pocket, his hands trembling so much that he almost knocked it over.

His palms were a little sweaty, so he wiped them on his body and then continued to open the box with trembling hands, taking out the gilded jar inside.

Wei Li took a deep breath and unbuttoned his shirt.

"My lord! Urgent report!" Deputy General Chen shouted, pounding on the study door.

"Get out!" Wei Li's heart stopped. "Don't bother me!"

After a brief silence outside, Chen Ruojiang paced back and forth in the courtyard with an urgent report in his hand. It was indeed an urgent report, so urgent that it couldn't be more urgent.

He mustered his courage and knocked on the door again. "My lord, it is truly an urgent report!"

"Get out!" Wei Li had just opened the box of the gilded jar when Chen Ruojiang called out to him, and his heart stopped beating again.

He opened the study door, gritted his teeth, and smashed the inkstone at Chen Ruojiang, yelling, "Either get out, or leave your life behind!"

Chen Ruojiang's shoulder ached from the impact. "My lord, this is truly a momentous matter, the Crown Prince of Goguryeo..."

"Get lost! What does the Crown Prince of Goguryeo have to do with me? Even if the sky falls, it's not a big deal. If you dare to utter another word, I'll twist your head off and use it as a football!"

Chen Ruojiang paused for a moment, then immediately left.

Because Wei Li had been working so hard these past few months, he was completely different from his usual self. This time, Chen Ruojiang didn't think Wei Li was acting strangely. Instead, he began to reflect on himself, wondering if he was too impatient and inexperienced.

Finally, all was quiet. Wei Li pinched the bridge of her nose, recalling the fleeting glimpse of the contents on the lid, and blushed from her neck to her face.

His hands were a little unresponsive, and he cursed himself several times.

Look at you, so pathetic. You don't even dare to look at it, yet you want to do it?

Coward!

The lid closed automatically again. He lifted the lid in one go, but at the same time, he closed his eyes.

After a while, when he was sweating profusely, he looked down and opened one eye to look.

The lid depicts two people, a man and a woman. The woman's clothes are half undone, and she is being embraced in someone's arms. The two are kissing.

"Buzz..." This sound filled Wei Li's mind. The tips of his ears were so red they could bleed.

He felt that the air he exhaled was scorching hot.

I touched my philtrum; thankfully, there was no bleeding.

Wei Li, are you nineteen or twenty this year? That's fine, you're good to go.

He swallowed hard and continued reading.

Um……

There seemed to be nothing substantial left; the two of them just hugged and kissed. He stared intently at the candlelight, trying to find some clues or details.

It looks like the man's hand is going somewhere!

On my waist, and...and that indescribable area in front...

Wei Li bit her lower lip.

Before Zhao Xiheng, it seems there aren't many...

Perhaps he didn't have enough time to look closely.

Then what?

He fiddled with the box, trying to find the next frame, but unfortunately, it seemed to be the only frame.

He, Wei Li, spent a piece of gold to buy something that he could touch and kiss, but which made no real progress.

Wei Li angrily smashed the box and sat down in a chair to calm down for a while.

After a while, he picked up the box again and looked at it twice.

It wasn't a complete waste of time; at least he learned a little bit. Next time Zhao Xiheng pounces on him, he'll be able to hold her head down so she won't pull away. So the money was well spent.

Wei Li was unaware that a crude erotic picture book on the market cost only two coins, while a single piece of gold could buy a finely bound book with exquisite details down to the last hair, even including thirty-six different positions.

Wei Li circled around twice, found a box in the study, locked the thing inside, took two steps, turned back, found a larger box, put the inner box inside the larger box, and locked it up again.

He held the key in his hand and tossed it under the pine tree by the window.

Okay, now no one can open it. He can just memorize it after he's seen it.

Wei Li stepped outside, calming down, and remembered that Chen Ruojiang had just approached him, saying that he had something important to report.

The person has already left, so he can't hear anything now. Let's just talk about it tomorrow.

He's just learned how to do this and that first step, and needs to calm down.

Zhao Xiheng touched her earlobe, looked at herself in the mirror, and thought that wearing earrings should look pretty good, since she was quite pretty after all.

She touched her face and thought, "Yes, I'm satisfied."

It must have been because she hadn't left the house all winter, which made her even whiter, so fair and translucent, so delicate and flawless. She liked it herself and wished she wasn't a man.

Tsk tsk tsk, Wei Li lived with her for several months, slept together every day, and didn't react at all when he looked at her.

Maybe he's just not good enough?

It's good that she's not in a good position; she has peace and quiet.

Zhao Xiheng caught a glimpse of the lip gloss box on the table out of the corner of her eye; it was a gift from Wei Li to compensate her for the purchase.

She opened it and took a look.

She should have kept quiet; after reading it, she cursed Wei Li in her heart for being such a spendthrift.

Why don't you buy any other color? Buy this one!

Aside from its collectible value, this color is almost entirely useless.

The death of pink, the disgust of pink, pink that makes people upset...

She closed her eyes and pinched the space between her eyebrows.

Don't be angry. It wasn't your money that was spent. Wei Li should be the one who feels sorry for you.

Zhao Xiheng shifted her gaze from the wasteful lipstick back to the mirror. She decided to look at herself. She was pretty, and looking at herself made her happy and able to eat an extra bowl of rice!

When Wei Li returned from outside the courtyard, the guards at the gate greeted him, but Wei Li kept walking without looking at them.

He took two steps back before asking, "Does Madam still not intend to leave the courtyard today?"

All winter long, Zhao Xiheng didn't step out of the courtyard once. Wei Li was still waiting to tell her, "Give up, you can never leave this courtyard in your entire life."

The guard shook his head, quite puzzled. His lord forbade his wife from leaving the courtyard, yet every day he would ask her if she wanted to leave the courtyard, his tone even carrying a hint of anticipation. This was simply a contradiction.

Does the lord want his wife to leave the courtyard?

Wei Li's tongue swept across his canine teeth, his gaze deep and intense.

It's understandable that Zhao Xiheng doesn't want to go out in winter; it's cold, and like a cat, she doesn't want to leave a warm place. But it's spring now, and the days are so warm.

How could I not want to go out?

He stepped inside and saw Zhao Xiheng still sitting in front of the mirror.

When he returned to deliver the lip rouge, he remembered that Zhao Xiheng was already sitting in front of the mirror. Almost an hour had passed, so why was she still sitting in front of the mirror?

Wei Li leaned closer and looked in the mirror too. "What's so interesting in there? You've been staring at it for so long?"

Zhao Xiheng clicked her tongue and raised her chin. "Me?"

Wei Li pinched her face, turned her towards him, and looked her up and down. Zhao Xiheng proudly and generously gave him a once-over.

His gaze fell on Zhao Xiheng's lips, which were glossy, full, and a sweet pink.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and the erotic image flashed into his mind.

They were...that close, weren't they...?

But, if you haven't learned everything, just kissing won't be enough...

His gaze was fixed on Zhao Xiheng's lips, unable to look away. Her eyes were beautiful, her nose was beautiful, her eyelashes were beautiful, her lips were beautiful, her eyebrows were beautiful, and her face was beautiful.

No, I can't watch this anymore.

It made him seem very ignorant.

Wei Li forced himself to look away, his mouth still running, "It's as thick as a vat but not as tall..."

...

He shut his mouth, realizing he had spoken without thinking. He didn't know why he had said those words, but there was no going back on what he had said. So Wei Li proudly raised his chin and refused to admit his mistake.

If Zhao Xinglie were still alive, Zhao Xiheng would have slapped Wei Li across the face long ago.

Late at night, Zhao Xiheng patted her chest and told herself that she couldn't get angry, because getting angry would make her age, become ugly, and get pimples.

Why would you, a human being, get angry with a dog?

"Have you heard the story of borrowing arrows with straw boats?" Zhao Xiheng asked, a smile curving her lips.

Wei Li didn't know why she kept asking that question, but he realized he had said the wrong thing. Zhao Xiheng had offered him a way out, so he couldn't refuse.

Although he was quite puzzled as to why she wasn't angry this time, as long as she wasn't angry, that was fine; if she was angry, they would end up arguing again.

Wei Li nodded, though he only had a vague understanding of the story.

"If you had been there at the time, Zhuge Liang wouldn't have had to go to such great lengths."

After finishing her conversation with Wei Li, Zhao Xiheng happily applied a thick layer of lip balm to her lips and then went to sleep.

Wei Li was a little smug, feeling that Zhao Xiheng's words were praising his abilities, but also feeling that praising him in this situation was definitely inappropriate.

He grabbed Zhao Xiheng's hand and pulled her into his arms. "What do you mean?"

Zhao Xiheng looked at him with bright, slightly admiring eyes, her arm around his neck, close to his ear, and said, "You're amazing."

She was soft and fragrant, and the sweet scent became even stronger as he got closer. Wei Li's heart fluttered, and he tightened his grip on her waist.

"..." But he still felt something was wrong.

This growing suspicion made him forget the picture he had looked at that night, his mind filled with the image of "borrowing arrows with straw boats."

He tossed and turned, unable to sleep, and in the middle of the night, he lit a lamp, went to his study, and took out the "Records of the Three Kingdoms".

After finishing reading, he returned covered in frost. Wei Li poked Zhao Xiheng's arm, but Zhao Xiheng didn't wake up, with only a section of her smooth neck exposed.

Wei Li gritted his teeth, wanting to bite her throat.

He lowered his head, tossed his hair back, pressed his teeth against Zhao Xiheng's neck, and before taking a bite, quickly moved to her face and nibbled at her.

"Pah!" His mouth was full of bitter taste, with a floral fragrance and a slippery feeling.

What did Zhao Xiheng put on her face before going to sleep?

Wei Li wiped his mouth, which was bitter yet slightly sweet, like honey or milk. His gaze shifted to her lips, which were glistening as if coated with some kind of oil.

Why does she always apply this weird stuff before bed?

"Pah!" He spat again, not knowing where to begin.