The sharpness in those eyes filled Fang Xuan with fear.

These eyes appeared more and more frequently in his dreams, making Fang Xuan afraid to fall asleep every night, and increasingly unable to leave Shen Wangshu even for a day. Looking into those gentle, loving eyes before him, he couldn't help but feel a little dazed and curious.

What could have happened to make his lover look at him with those eyes?

Is it the past, or the future?

Fang Xuan quietly closed his eyes, slowly suppressing all his fear deep inside.

.

He didn't want to know so much; as long as he was certain that the woman before him loved him and believed she would never hurt him, that was enough. Those dreams… whatever their origin, he didn't want to think about them anymore. Those images, he didn't want to remember them anymore. He suddenly felt a sense of relief and whispered, "What's real now is real."

He would only cherish the happiness before him, no longer troubled by those dreams, nor afraid of them. As if he had let go of these things, the heavier burden in Fang Xuan's heart had disappeared.

Shen Wangshu keenly sensed that he was becoming more relaxed.

The nameless, seemingly inescapable burden weighing on this man was slowly disappearing.

"That's a good boy." She hoped Fang Xuan would live a happy life, and tiptoed to give him a reward kiss.

A faint smile appeared at the corner of Fang Xuan's mouth.

"If I'm not nice to you, who else can I be nice to?" Shen Wangshu slyly wrapped her arms around Fang Xuan's strong waist, and then her lips twitched.

Um... supposedly the standard for beautiful boys in this world is a slender waist that's so delicate it's almost impossible to hold. But Ah Xuan's waist... it's a bit thick, a bit hard, not soft and slender at all.

However, the aesthetically inclined Shen Wangshu couldn't resist, and with a broad smile, she grabbed the thick waist of the man she liked and said with satisfaction, "We are a perfect match."

Fang Xuan's smile deepened.

He never doubted that this stunningly beautiful, ever-smiling woman would one day come to loathe him.

This confidence made him no longer have any fear or worry, and he no longer felt inferior about his own image.

However, although Fang Xuan was confident, there were many people in the capital who were not confident in him.

Although Prince Luan is a good-for-nothing, he is favored by the Empress, and his elder sister is the Empress's trusted eldest princess, possessing stunning beauty. Even though his husband is an ugly man, it makes countless noble young men weep. But then again, it would be more fitting if the husband were ugly. If he weren't ugly, how would the concubine appear? How would she gain favor?

An ugly, unloved woman is nothing more than a figurehead even if she becomes the emperor.

Although Her Highness the Princess Luan has been showering General Fang with attention lately, seeing how much she cherishes even an ugly man, the young masters who want to marry her...

There are more.

Therefore, when Shen Wangshu returned home happily, filled with love for Fang Xuan, she was surprised to find that her palace seemed to have become busier.

More and more people came to visit. At first, she didn't know why they came. But when a man from a noble family mentioned to her that he wanted to make his youngest son her concubine, Shen Wangshu's friendly smile suddenly disappeared. She looked at the middle-aged woman in front of her and said coldly, "I have never thought about the matter of a concubine."

"Your Highness, there's no need for such formalities. My son has long admired you. Though he may not be your principal consort, he is certainly a concubine..."

The concubine of the Third Princess was considered to be of noble birth.

Besides, Fang Xuan is so tall and strong that he doesn't seem like a man, and he's spent so much time in the army, enduring wind, frost, rain, and snow, that it's uncertain whether he can have children. If he can't, then even if his son is a concubine, he'll be no different from the principal wife.

.

This woman wasn't the first to have this idea, but she was the first to speak up. With a friendly smile, she said to Shen Wangshu, "That child is well-behaved and will take good care of Your Highness and General Fang in the future."

The fact that she could hold a place in front of Shen Wangshu shows that she was of noble status, but Shen Wangshu found her extremely disgusting.

She took a sip of tea and suddenly realized that this was a very important issue. Even though she was determined to spend her life with Fang Xuan, these outsiders didn't believe in her feelings for him at all.

Or perhaps... even if they saw the relationship between her and Fang Xuan, they would still try to interfere in their own palace. After all, the presence of three emperors and four concubines was nothing compared to that. Even without feelings, the fact that she could bear his bloodline would put pressure on Fang Xuan. Shen Wangshu quietly looked at the list that the woman in front of her had secretly handed her.

"What is this?" She didn't take it, and said calmly.

"This is General Fang's pulse diagnosis from the imperial physician," the woman said gently. "It's not good."

Shen Wangshu's gaze slowly drifted into the distance.

She seemed to see her past experiences reflected in the past.

That seemed to be the first life she had with Ah Xuan. At that time, she still called him King Wei. They had been married for ten years without having any children. Someone secretly sent the list of the imperial physician's pulse diagnosis to King Wei.

The knife she took for the Empress Dowager had damaged her body and her foundation, making it difficult for her to have children. Although the Empress Dowager didn't say much, some observant courtiers secretly wanted to send their daughters to the Prince of Wei's residence to "share the burden" for the couple.

Shen Wangshu's lips curled up, and she slowly repeated the same words that King Wei had spoken years ago, asking softly, "Can't have children?" Seeing the woman in front of her nodding frantically, she felt as if time had turned back, and her eyes stung with tears. She continued softly, "If you can't have children, then you won't. I'll tell you the truth, even if my bloodline is severed in this life, I will never be close to a second person."

He had protected her so well; now, it was her turn to protect him.

"Your Highness?!" The woman's expression changed slightly as she looked at Shen Wangshu in disbelief.

The Third Princess, is she really going to sever her own bloodline?

"In this life, I will only have children with the man I love." Shen Wangshu said calmly as he poured tea. "If I were an adult, I would shut up, otherwise, if I were to say anything outside, the reputation of your young master, and the reputation of all your young masters, would be ruined!"

She opened her eyes, a faint ruthlessness in them, and looked at the woman whose expression had changed. She said sweetly, "If there are any unpleasant rumors about Ah Xuan outside, I will hold you responsible. Although the noble families are powerful, I am not afraid of mutual destruction."

"Believe it or not, with a single word from me, the Queen Mother will wipe out your entire family?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the woman who saw her as if she had seen a ghost, and who could never have imagined that the usually mediocre Luan King would reveal such brilliance, fled in panic.

She didn't say much outside, but Shen Wangshu was annoyed and too lazy to deal with these annoying people anymore.

Two days later, a tall sign was erected in front of the magnificent vermilion gate of the Prince Luan's Mansion, with a line of powerful and vigorous characters, written in bold and elegant strokes.

"No sirs or dogs allowed inside!"