After an unknown amount of time, the two separated, both breathless. Song Yaozhu was too ashamed to speak, burying her face in his neck. This was even more shameful than looking directly into her heart.

She's clearly ten years older than him, almost a full cycle, yet she acts so frivolously... Ah—! How shameful.

She could only console herself that she was currently wearing a disguise, and that the other party only saw her as Song Yaozhu.

Logically speaking, she should be much older than him, but she has been dead for ten years. For her, those ten years have been frozen in time, and her mindset is still that of someone in their twenties.

So, by that calculation, I'm roughly the same age as Xie Liwei?

Fantastic ideas kept popping into her mind, and her body temperature was gradually rising. Song Yaozhu wanted to push him away, but whether it was because he had taken too much oxygen from her earlier, or because she was so ashamed that she wanted to disappear into the ground, she had no strength and could only be held in Xie Liwei's arms.

The other person gently stroked her back as if it were tenderness, making her spine tremble and her waist go weak.

Even in the quiet of the dark room, she could hear Xie Liwei's heartbeat, and she thought that Xie Liwei must be able to hear her heartbeat too.

"You just asked me if I had different feelings for you because you look so much like my older sister." Xie Liwei's voice was hoarse, but his tone was flat, with an air of seriousness that was inexplicable.

Song Yaozhu was slightly taken aback, a little afraid of the answer she would hear later.

He said very solemnly, "It has nothing to do with appearance, but only with your soul."

Song Yaozhu's body trembled, her pupils contracted, and a wave of fear surged within her. Please, please don't let it be the result she feared!

"We want to be soulmates."

Hearing this, Song Yaozhu breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, they hadn't seen through her true identity, otherwise she would have been utterly humiliated.

"Shouldn't we try to find a way out of here?"

The two lingered there for quite a while, not knowing how much time had passed. They could only hear the sounds outside getting quieter and quieter, so they figured it was past lunchtime.

But the noise outside didn't subside; the servants would squat down and chat idly when they had free time.

"Miss Zhao is really lucky. She's already twenty-four and she can still marry Prince Yong as a concubine. She must have earned this blessing in her past life."

"Yes! I heard that she originally asked the Emperor to grant her marriage to Prince Xiaoyao. But Prince Xiaoyao didn't like her, so she tried to kill herself, but Prince Yong saved her."

"This is quite a stroke of luck for her. Prince Yong is a prince with a fiefdom. That Prince Xiaoyao sounds impressive, but look at his wife. She has to kneel before the Imperial Concubine. Tsk tsk."

"Shut your mouth! Be careful someone hears you and they'll beat your mouth to a pulp!"

"I'm telling the truth. How can a princess kneel before a noble consort? She's not an imperial noble consort."

"Although the Imperial Concubine is not the Empress, she holds the Phoenix Seal, making her practically the Empress's deputy. The Princess is kneeling before the Phoenix Seal!"

"That's still a pathetic mess."

In the dark room, Song Yaozhu stuck a finger into Xie Liwei's chest and laughed in his ear, "Did you hear that? You coward."

Xie Liwei grasped that finger, then inserted his own five fingers into the gaps between Xie Liwei's fingers, their ten fingers interlocking.

Those who achieve great things do not concern themselves with trivial matters.

"Hmph~"

The two stayed in the dark room until everyone else left before they went out.

Yongle was having so much fun that she forgot about Song Yaozhu. When she started looking for her, she realized that Song Yaozhu was missing.

Yuwen Xian reassured her, "Miss Zhao fell into the water and was taken away by a pleasure boat. The Princess Consort may also be on board."

"But surely they wouldn't not even say hello?"

"The prince is not here either."

"It must be that Xie Liwei who corrupted her!"

Yuwen Xian: "......"

When everyone returned to the manor, someone was sent to inquire, and it was only after they learned that the carefree king and his wife had already landed and gone back to rest that they were relieved.

During dinner, Caijin and Caiyin served the two masters, and they felt that the way the two were together was different. The prince served the princess food many times, and spoke to her in a doting tone, as if he were coaxing his own darling.

If Granny Qin were here, she would be overjoyed and would want to kowtow ten times in the direction of the Temple of the Old Man Under the Moon.

After washing up, Xie Liwei stood by the bed, propping his chin on his hand and deep in thought. Song Yaozhu, while drying her hair, walked over and asked him, "What are you doing?"

"I'm asking my bed if I can sleep in it tonight."

Song Yaozhu slapped him on the back in an annoyed tone, "Get up there now!"

"Yes, sir!" Xie Liwei immediately slipped off his shoes and got into bed, moving swiftly.

After drying her wet hair, Song Yaozhu sat on the edge of the bed and saw him leaning against the armchair, waiting for her lazily.

Upon seeing the spare mask on his face, Song Yaozhu's mood suddenly became somewhat heavy.

"Tell me about your face," she said, moving closer with delicate, cautious movements.

Xie Liwei watched as she carefully lay on the bed, tilting her head back to look at him, her eyes filled with nothing but him. He lowered his eyelids to meet her gaze, his voice a little strained, and said, "You pick it."

Song Yaozhu suddenly sat up, but as soon as she raised her hand, she put it down again.

"Was it that dog emperor who caused this?"

Xie Liwei raised his hand and gently touched the tip of her nose, finding her appearance too adorable and wishing he could crush her in his arms.

"I guess so, since I haven't found any evidence to prove that he did it."

"Then let's put it on his head!" Song Yaozhu said fiercely.

But as soon as she finished speaking, he lifted her chin, swallowing the rest of his angry words.

Their lips intertwined, a subtle fragrance wafted in the air, the summer night was hot and dry. Song Yaozhu was immersed in the whirlpool of desire, but after kissing for a while, she pushed Xie Liwei away and said breathlessly, "It's time to sleep."

Her voice was dry, but she was actually conflicted.

Although she had taken the first step and wanted to become a real couple with Xie Liwei, she didn't want to rush things. You could call her being coy, but kissing and consummating the marriage were two different things. In her heart, Xie Liwei had only recently been promoted from a younger brother to a man, and she needed some time to prepare herself.

Fortunately, Xie Liwei did not go any further. He lowered the bed curtains, turned off the light, and went to bed to rest.

The summer temperature was so high that even ice blocks inside the house couldn't relieve the heat. Adding to the discomfort was a blazing furnace-like structure nearby, and Song Yaozhu tossed and turned several times, unable to find any comfort.

"Too hot to sleep?"

"Hmm." Song Yaozhu sat up and took off all her cumbersome nightgowns, leaving only her close-fitting undergarments, which made her feel a little more comfortable.

Xie Liwei, who had been listening to everything, swallowed hard before finally sitting up and picking up a fan to fan her.

"Go to sleep, I'll fan you."

“Okay.” Song Yaozhu turned over to face Xie Liwei. Moonlight shone into the room through the window, and the bed curtains were thin, so she could vaguely see Xie Liwei’s outline.

He kept his head down, as if he was looking at himself the whole time.

As Xie Liwei listened to her breathing gradually become longer and more even, he couldn't help but place a kiss on her forehead.

He couldn't sleep at all. His long-cherished dream had come true in a single day. He feared it was all just a pipe dream, and that he would wake up to find nothing.