After saying that, Song Yaozhu just wanted to raise her hand and slap her own mouth until it bled.

What does it mean to confess without being asked? What does it mean to add unnecessary details? What does it mean to make a mess of things?

The first time Song Yaozhu lived her life, she acted foolishly in front of men; the second time she lived her life, she acted foolishly in front of men again!

Song Yaozhu felt her heart pounding wildly, as if it were about to leap out of her throat. But Xie Liwei remained silent, as if he had vanished. This made her even more panicked.

She felt like a death row inmate about to be executed, every second was excruciating, causing her unbearable pain and leaving her with no way out.

"You... say something." Her voice was filled with grievance and anxiety, which reached Xie Liwei's ears.

Xie Liwei sat cross-legged, looking as bewildered as if he had been beaten to death by her wild punches.

"I thought the princess would continue to pretend she didn't know."

Song Yaozhu: "......"

She was definitely pretending not to know, and it must have been a complete lapse of judgment for her to say something like that. Things have gotten out of control now; should they just cut ties today and go their separate ways?

Thinking of this, Song Yaozhu felt extremely annoyed with herself for what she had just said. If she hadn't said those words, she could have kept up the act.

They wouldn't have been in this dilemma if they hadn't broken through that barrier.

There are only two possible outcomes: she accepts Xie Liwei's feelings and they become a loving couple; or she abandons Xie Liwei and goes on to accomplish her own great cause.

Her conscience and morality wouldn't allow the former, and she didn't want the latter either, since she couldn't possibly match Xie Liwei's power, which had been lying low in the capital for ten years, by fighting alone.

The best thing would be to maintain the status quo, but unfortunately, her mouth is so unhelpful that she ruined such a good situation.

The silence inside the hidden door felt like an insect gnawing at Song Yaozhu's conscience. She was even thinking that since Xie Liwei didn't know her true identity anyway, as long as she hid it well enough, was it okay to be immoral?

Just as she was overwhelmed with a thousand and one thoughts, Xie Liwei suddenly spoke up: "I will pretend I did not hear what the princess said just now."

Song Yaozhu's conscience ached even more.

This had happened once before, at the Jokhang Temple, when Xie Liwei impulsively kissed him. At that time, he claimed he was just too angry, but now it seems he had been planning this all along, just holding back.

In other words, didn't she realize it at the time? She did realize it, but she didn't want to face the awkward situation, so she took the easy way out and maintained the status quo.

But will this work?

It's no use; people's hearts are the hardest thing to control.

Song Yaozhu hugged her knees and curled up. Although she was in a stuffy cabin, there were too many ice cubes in the cabin, making her head increasingly clear from the cold.

She was a little lost. Should she follow Xie Liwei's advice and continue to pretend that she didn't know about his feelings, or should she break up with him?

He seemed to be willingly being used by himself, but that was really unfair to him.

There was another crucial point that made Song Yaozhu shudder.

In the darkness, Xie Liwei stroked his shattered mask, a bitter smile playing on his lips. He'd died before he even got started... He'd originally planned to take things slowly, but now his plan had been nipped in the bud.

Uh, no, there's not even a fetus.

His heart sank to rock bottom. He knew Song Yaozhu wouldn't have romantic feelings for him, but people are always prone to greed. Whatever those feelings might be, as long as he could keep her by his side, that would be enough.

But then again, what's the point of binding her with such feelings and turning her into a caged bird in the inner quarters?

Just as he was trying to convince himself not to indulge in wishful thinking, he heard Song Yaozhu ask, "It's said outside that you like your older sister and have an immoral relationship. Is that true?"

"......"

Xie Liwei propped up one leg, resting his elbow on it, and asked in return, "How do you know?"

“I heard from others that when you escorted the coffin back to your hometown, you slept in the same coffin as the corpse.”

"..." Xie Liwei sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"You don't like me because I look like your older sister, do you? That's not romantic love, wake up!"

Xie Liwei chuckled softly. He gradually adjusted to the darkness and could roughly make out Song Yaozhu's outline. He leaned closer to her, his tone puzzled.

"In your opinion, Your Highness, what constitutes romantic love between a man and a woman?"

Song Yaozhu opened her mouth, never expecting that one day she would have to teach her younger brother what love between men and women was.

"Of course, there must be desires. To put it bluntly, romantic love between men and women is lust at first sight." She pouted, sounding incredibly guilty as she spoke.

Think about it, she had secretly touched his chest muscles before... At the time, she just wanted to keep the good stuff in the family.

"Does the Princess Consort have such thoughts about me?"

"Of course not!" she stubbornly insisted.

"But I have it."

As they spoke, Song Yaozhu felt the other person's breath getting closer and closer, as if they could hold her breath with a single breath. She couldn't help but hold her breath, feeling that everything that had happened that day had fallen apart.

This is outrageous, absolutely outrageous.

When Xie Liwei said those words to her, she didn't immediately push him away. Instead, she panicked and her breathing became labored because of them.

Her mind was completely in turmoil; she couldn't imagine what the future held, only the danger lurking before her.

She couldn't see anything inside the room, but she knew Xie Liwei was right in front of her. His breath gently touched her cheek; she could have easily turned her face away, but she didn't.

Perhaps she was too flustered and forgot, so when Xie Liwei's soft lips landed, her mind went completely blank.

Morality and conscience, future prospects and consequences—all were thrown to the back of their minds!

—My mind was completely blank except for the softness on my lips.

After months of careful nurturing, Xie Liwei's lips were as soft as the konjac she had eaten. When she gently parted her lips and bit down on them, he seemed to respond, as a large hand wrapped around the back of her head and held her tightly, deepening the kiss.

Their tongues entwined, their saliva exchanged—this was a common thing between husband and wife, but she felt as if she had broken a taboo, her heart pounding with nervousness—she shouldn't be doing this.

After a few breaths of kissing, she realized that his kissing skills were so childish that he could only lick her, so she took the initiative. This was completely beyond Xie Liwei's imagination. He thought that what he would get in return was a slap from her when she came to her senses, but he never expected a skillful kiss.

His other hand couldn't help but cover her waist, wanting to pull her into his arms. Song Yaozhu, as if she had nothing to lose, wrapped her arms around his neck, ran her fingers through his hair, and enjoyed this moment of surrender.

Forget about embarrassment, forget about morality and conscience; at this moment, her heart belonged to the man before her, Xie Liwei.

Inside the dark room, the sound of water dripping could be heard softly. Outside, there was a commotion, but inside, a struggle to break taboos was taking place.