Chapter 154

“Zhao…”

Yingning put her arm around Yan Qizhen's waist and stood firmly on the roof. She covered his mouth to stifle his cries and looked down with her phoenix eyes, signaling him not to make a sound.

When Yan Qizhen was touched on the side of his waist like that, a sense of shame he hadn't felt in many years enveloped him once again.

He was a man, yet he possessed a misty, ethereal appearance.

But what's even stranger is that his own body is quite sensitive. If someone touches his sensitive spots even slightly, he will become weak and limp.

As a child, he was an unfavored prince and suffered a lot as a result.

Yan Qizhen swallowed the sound that was about to escape his throat, clenching his teeth and refusing to let out a sound. His eyes...

How could he let...

Others know about his physical appearance...

But...

Yan Qizhen's rapid breaths spread across her palms, and the warmth of her touch on the soft parts became extremely hot, almost tearing away the misty, veiled mask of her beauty.

Yan Qizhen did not brush her hand away, but instead suppressed the discomfort in his body.

"Be careful." Her voice came with the wind.

He was still tightly embraced by her waist, and only when she felt safe did she slowly let go. She looked up and saw the reflection of his blushing face in her phoenix eyes.

"Your Highness, please don't make any more noise." After she finished speaking, she made a shushing gesture.

His slender fingertips lightly touched her lips, then abruptly separated, reminding the man opposite him of the sensation of his lips pressed tightly against her palm just moments before.

A petal, painted in the misty rain, was swept away by a gust of wind.

Before the petals fell to the ground, they were gently lifted up by a delicate hand. For a moment, it was unclear who was craving whose softness.

Would a person be tempted by fragments?

Or are the broken petals desperately seeking the scorching temperature, yet reluctant to fall?

"Hmm." Yan Qizhen responded vaguely. Only after she was no longer touched did his body slowly return to normal, and the burning, soft sensation on his waist gradually subsided like the receding tide.

He glanced at Yingning out of the corner of his eye and saw that she seemed to be looking for a place, then gently selected a tile and moved it away.

Did they not notice it?

Yan Qizhen suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

But what he couldn't see was that the desire still lingered on his thin lips.

.......…

The scene inside the private room was completely different from the environment of the private room where Yingning and Yan Qizhen had just been.

The four or five young masters were all dressed in brocade robes and jade crowns, exuding an air of pampered wealth and luxury. Among them was An Lin, who had met Ying Ning once before.

They were drinking to their hearts' content, seemingly having already had a drink at other taverns. Almost all of them were now passed out drunk, except for two or three who were not completely drunk yet, still saying, "Come on, brothers, drink."

"Young Master Chen, your alcohol tolerance isn't so good today."

"What nonsense... Young Master Chen spent the whole night... hiccup... drinking at Little Narcissus's place."

"Little Narcissus's figure... Ouch, Young Master Chen, why are you kicking me?"

........

These two or three people were inevitably somewhat out of their minds.

The people around An Lin were mostly illegitimate sons or younger sons of officials of the Min Dynasty. They were not the ones to bear the responsibility of the prosperity of their families, so they gradually developed a spoiled nature.

These young masters would gather together and spend their days eating, drinking, having fun, riding horses, and hunting. They were led by An Lin, the only son of An Nan County, and they always fawned over this young master.

"Young Prince... why haven't you come to meet with your brothers these past few days... have you... found some new fun?" The blue-robed young master, who had been kicked by Young Master Chen, came up to An Lin as he drank.

"This young master... hasn't been idle." Seeing this, An Lin, who had also drunk quite a bit, stood up unsteadily.

"What is the Prince busy with... Tell me, brother."

"Imperial secrets... cannot be spoken of, hahaha." An Lin raised his head and laughed arrogantly, his face flushed with pride.

"It cannot be spoken of..."

"Wow, what's the big deal?"

"I'm sorry to trouble you, young prince, so please tell me... and see if there's anything I can do to help you." The young man in blue robes asked casually, seeing An Lin's smug expression.

An Lin found the man's words quite agreeable.

Drunk people are often prone to speaking recklessly, and with such a flattering person beside him, An Lin immediately sat down at the table again and began to speak mysteriously.

"Do you... know who this young master has been with these past few days?" His face was full of the expression of someone who had climbed up to a big shot.

"Who is it... Young Prince, stop being so mysterious..." Another young master in a maroon robe lay on the ground, holding a wine cup in his right hand, and asked curiously.

"Yeah... hiccup, yeah."

"Young Prince, speak quickly... speak quickly..."

An Lin waved his hand, and after his group of cronies had gathered together, he made a gesture before slowly speaking:

"Three...your highness."

"Oh... no wonder the young prince mentioned earlier that it's the Third Prince's birthday... you should prepare a grand gift."

"Brother, I thought the young prince was working for An'nan County... but it turns out... the young prince has become friends with the Third Prince..."

Although these young masters did not get involved in court affairs, they knew that the Third Prince was a formidable rival to the Crown Prince in his pursuit of the throne.

Hearing An Lin's words, the two men, who weren't completely drunk, immediately realized what was going on and congratulated him: "Young Prince, if you become rich and powerful in the future... don't forget your brothers..."

"Young Prince...you are truly remarkable."

"We...admire you."

...

After a few drinks, two more people got drunk and passed out, and the private room was soon filled with the sound of people snoring away.

The only two who were not completely drunk were the young man in the blue robe and An Lin.

The young man in the blue robe seemed to have drunk too much, feeling hot all over. He tugged at his robe and muttered, "The wine at Xianglou... is strong."

Upon hearing this, An Lin seemed to feel a surge of heat throughout his body, so he pulled open his collar, revealing a red mark.

"Which beautiful lady planted this seed for... the young prince?"

An Lin waved his hand, and before collapsing from drunkenness, he mumbled something in a daze:

"I went there last night..."

"Jiaohe... Jiaohe Tower".

...

Yan Qizhen had just recovered from his physical discomfort and was listening to the conversation in the private room with his head down.

He never imagined that An Lin would be involved with his third brother. Judging from his tone, it seemed that they had been dating for some time, which suddenly struck him as odd.

An Lin's status was quite prestigious among this group of idle young masters.

But as far as the princes were concerned, what was the point of befriending a young master who had not yet inherited the title of Prince and was incompetent and talentless?

Third brother, do you want the assistance of An'nan County?

As he was pondering, he saw the woman in vermilion beside him put down the tile, seemingly no longer curious about what was happening in the private room. Yan Qizhen's gaze involuntarily fell on her.

Yingning turned her head and immediately whispered to Yan Qizhen:

"Walk."

Before Yan Qizhen could react, he felt a sudden, soft, and tingling sensation on his waist. As he was airborne, an indescribable feeling began to gnaw at his tailbone, leaving a burning heat everywhere.

Fortunately, she was covered by her robes, so no one could see that the beautiful woman in the misty rain had become flushed.

The misty rain tore through the landscape, and fallen petals scattered, stained with the dust of desire.

The softness at the corners of his eyes was captivating, though he was unaware of it.

Yan Qizhen tried his best to suppress the restlessness in his body, and dared not make the slightest movement, for fear that the person holding him would touch an even more sensitive spot.

This body...

As soon as she landed, Yingning's hand tightened slightly due to the force of the landing, which further agitated the stunningly beautiful spirit.

"....."

This time, he didn't have time to hide his voice. After he uttered the sound, the air suddenly froze.

As soon as the sound stopped, Yan Qizhen immediately realized what was happening. He was filled with shame and apprehension, so he quickly stepped away from Ying Ning, instantly creating distance between them.

Yan Qizhen concealed the expression in his eyes, about to speak and explain.

But Yingning seemed oblivious to the source of the voice; the dark green jade on her forehead remained aloof, and the rouge at the corners of her eyes was barely visible.

"Your Highness, Fourth Prince."

"We should go to Jiaohe Tower."