Gu Yanan gave Yan An a wicked smile, her expression meaningful... Yue Xiyuan, that cold-faced devil, is no pushover.

"Since you're so tired, why don't you go soak in a hot spring?"

Seeing Gu Yanan's listless appearance, Yan An thought she should take a bath to relax.

"Okay, okay, I wanted to soak in it last time, but the Simmons mattress kept beckoning me, so I could only wash up and go to sleep."

Yan An pulled Gu Yanan along, and his consciousness flashed into the space.

With arms as soft as snow lotus roots, long and shapely legs, slender and smooth calves, and delicate, tender, and moist skin, the two of them enjoyed a relaxing soak in the hot spring.

The feeling of fatigue vanished instantly.

"Oh no, I forgot to send them the mosquito coils."

Yan An was enjoying his soak when he suddenly remembered something he hadn't done. He slapped his thigh, splashing water everywhere.

"It's alright, you took two tablets, that should be enough for the Empress Dowager tonight."

Mosquito coils are usually made in two strips. Yan An used one strip when he was at Shou Kang Palace, and gave the remaining strip to Granny Rong.

"Fine, let the Emperor and Yue Xiyuan feed the mosquitoes for another night."

It's getting late, and besides, soaking in the hot spring is so relaxing, so let the two of them stay another night.

"Exactly, it's because when I got bitten by mosquitoes, Yue Yufeng... he even..."

"What else? Sister Ya Nan, why are you stuttering?"

"They even laughed at me." Gu Yanan's face flushed red as she recalled that scene.

Yan An looked at Gu Yanan's face, which was as red as an apple, and quickly sensed the gossip. Things were definitely not that simple...

Of course, things weren't that simple. It was true that Gu Yanan was bitten by mosquitoes, and it was also true that she was ridiculed by the Emperor.

However… Gu Yanan was bitten on the lip, but she didn’t say so. The Emperor said he would punish the mosquito, but he only bit her other lip to make it symmetrical, and she didn’t say that either.

After soaking in the hot spring, Yan An and his companion lay in bed and slept soundly through the night.

Yue Xiyuan lay on the couch, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep for a long time. Yan An seemed to have become his "sedative".

It's all Gu Yanan's fault. Otherwise, I would be happily in love with An'an right now.

The next day, the two of them still didn't get up until late morning. "Miss, General Gu, the head maid from the palace has arrived and has been waiting for a long time."

"Auntie, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." Yan An took out a handful of golden melon seeds and placed them in the hand of the steward aunt.

"This servant greets Princess An. Princess An, please don't flatter this old servant. His Majesty has already instructed that he will come to pick up General Gu later. This old servant has come a little early."

Gu Yanan finished tidying up and came out of Yan An's boudoir. "This old servant greets General Gu."

"I'll go to the palace with you. Wait for me." Yan An took a box out of the room, and Bai Zhi took it from her.

In Chengqian Palace, when the Emperor saw Gu Yanan and Yan An arrive, a light suddenly lit up in his eyes. He bypassed Gu Yanan and walked straight toward Yan An.

"Fourth sister-in-law, you've finally arrived! You have no idea that the fourth brother came to the palace in the middle of the night and woke me up. He insisted on playing chess with me, and it lasted all night. Even after the morning court session, he still wanted to play. You should keep an eye on him. Most importantly, you didn't send over that... mosquito stuff yesterday. The mosquitoes in Chengqian Palace only bite me, not him."

Gu Yanan was touched that Yue Yufeng was so concerned about her after not seeing her for a day, but she never expected that he was thinking about Yan An's mosquito coils.

Well done, Yue Yufeng! You've got some nerve, daring to ignore me like this. Are you itching for a beating?

Yan An nudged Yue Xiyuan, "Why are you playing chess with the Emperor so late? Let me tell you, staying up late all the time can lead to sudden death."

What is sudden death?

"Sudden death refers to the unexpected death of patients who are normally healthy or appear to be healthy, due to natural causes within a short period of time."

“I am not a patient, and I am in good health.”

"Yeah?"

Yan An tilted his head, his gaze slowly moving down from Yue Xiyuan's cold face, finally settling on Yue Xiyuan's abdomen.

"yes."

A look of confusion gradually appeared on Yue Xiyuan's face. Why was Yan An looking at him like that? He blinked and stared blankly at Yan An in front of him.

"Never mind, there's plenty of time later. Let's go deliver mosquito coils to Auntie."

Yan An smiled slightly, a captivating and touching smile that landed on Yue Xiyuan's heart, tickling and soft, like a gentle caress, comforting him and making him feel intoxicated.

"You may go ahead. I still have some memorials to submit. I will have lunch at Shou Kang Palace later."

"I'll go later too. I'll stay here with Yue... Yu... Feng."

Although Gu Yanan was smiling, the Emperor felt a chill run down his spine, as if he had a bad feeling.

No sooner had Yue Xiyuan and Yan An left than a voice pleading for mercy came from Chengqian Palace, "Ah!"

"Nan'er, it hurts~"

Yue Yufeng buried his head in Gu Yanan's arms, rubbed against her, and mumbled a few words.

"Don't whine, I didn't use any force at all."

Gu Yanan appeared indifferent, but her heart was already in turmoil; how could she not be flustered with such a handsome man in her lap?

"I knew Nan'er was the best. Nan'er would never hurt me."

Yue Yufeng gently shook Gu Yanan's arm, his bright eyes looking at her pitifully, trying to get her attention and hoping for a response from Gu Yanan.

"Then why didn't you come over and hug me the moment you saw me?"

"Hmm... It's all the fourth brother's fault. If he hadn't made me play chess with him in the middle of the night, I wouldn't have been bitten by so many mosquitoes. When I'm bitten by mosquitoes, my brain doesn't work properly. Look at all the mosquito bites I've gotten."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!