Yang Qinglan didn't speak. She placed her hands on Li Changzhou's shoulders, her face so close it seemed to be gently resting against his chest.

Li Changzhou trembled slightly as he smelled the fragrance of her hair.

Yang Qinglan's originally slender and well-proportioned figure appeared surprisingly petite in his arms, as if he were holding a fledgling bird in his hands, warm and tender.

He took a deep breath and tried to pull her closer, holding her even tighter.

"What's wrong with you?" Yang Qinglan suddenly asked.

"Huh?" Li Changzhou immediately released the strength he had been holding in his hands, denying it to the end, "I didn't use any force, really."

"I'm talking about your lower part."

"......"

Yang Qinglan didn't lift her face, but she felt a burning warmth in her lower abdomen.

"This, I—" Li Changzhou only then realized his own state.

Unable to think of an excuse, he had no choice but to confess, saying, "Since I met you, I haven't interacted with it, you know, so it might have a bit too much energy."

"And now? What mischief are you thinking about?" Yang Qinglan's voice didn't sound angry, but rather curious.

"...Does it count as wanting to hold you a little... tighter?"

Yang Qinglan was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed and said, "This is what a virgin is like?"

“Yes.” Li Changzhou also laughed, taking the opportunity to hug her a little tighter. Both of them were slightly burned by the amazing warmth.

Yang Qinglan seemed to make a slight nasal sound, and Li Changzhou immediately followed suit.

"Get bigger? What are you thinking?" She was surprised, embarrassed, and a little annoyed.

Although she tried to restrain herself, you could still hear the immense shyness in her voice, but there wasn't much rejection or disgust.

She had already buried her face in Li Changzhou's chest, and now her voice tickled him directly into his heart.

"It can even jump?" Yang Qinglan was even more surprised.

“…Never mind!” Li Changzhou gave up.

He gritted his teeth and released her; if this continued, even just being pressed together would have unimaginable consequences.

How pathetic, a virgin!

Yang Qinglan then realized what she had done and said out of shyness.

She didn't dare look down at all, turning her gaze away. The wind blew, making her face feel cool.

Li Changzhou quickly turned his back, pretending to admire the peonies.

After a while, Yang Qinglan brushed aside her wind-blown hair and composed herself.

"Let's go."

"You go first."

Upon hearing this, Yang Qinglan glanced at him subconsciously, only to see his back.

She tossed her long hair again, but this time the wind didn't have time to mess it up.

"How much longer?" she couldn't help but laugh and scold.

"I estimate it will take quite a while." Li Changzhou slowly began to feel more at ease.

He tried desperately to convince himself that there was nothing to be ashamed of as long as he faced his desires honestly.

Yang Qinglan laughed a few times and was about to leave when Li Changzhou suddenly called out to her.

"Qinglan!" He didn't dare turn around, but only tilted his head slightly. "Are we dating now?"

"Dating? Why?" Yang Qinglan asked, puzzled.

"Not even this?"

"What do you mean by this?" Yang Qinglan asked in return.

"you--"

Seeing his expression of being played and then abandoned, Yang Qinglan laughed again.

She couldn't help but scrutinize him. He appeared tall and slender, but when she leaned closer, her shoulders were so broad and her chest so expansive.

"Once I'm confident that I can be with you, I promise I won't be jealous of you and your sister anymore, and then I'll be with you."

"Why? There's absolutely nothing between me and Qianxia." Li Changzhou asked, puzzled.

“It’s precisely because there’s nothing wrong that I need time,” Yang Qinglan said. “Even though there’s nothing wrong, I’ll still get jealous—I mean in the future. We’re not together yet, and if you pamper her, I’ll only think of you as a good older brother.”

"Then how can you be so sure that you'll be jealous after we get together?" Li Changzhou pressed.

"Because I am a woman."

"No, you are a fairy."

Yang Qinglan chuckled softly: "Hmm, you're handsome too."

"You're not swearing, are you?" Li Changzhou remembered that Yang Qinglan never sweared, so she always praised people when she did swear.

"Yes and no," Yang Qinglan said with a smile, then paused and asked, "Aren't you ready yet?"

"......without."

"Then I won't wait for you."

"You're the one who's in my way!"

"So I'm the one in the way?" Yang Qinglan pretended to ponder.

"No, I'm sorry, it was I who had impure thoughts about you," Li Changzhou apologized.

Yang Qinglan gave a satisfied hum: "Bye~"

"Bye-Bye."

Just as Yang Qinglan was about to leave, she suddenly smiled and said, "If Qianxia ever says you're indulging in excessive sexual activity again, I can testify for you."

“Ms. Yang, if there is a conflict of interest, the evidentiary value of your testimony will be weakened. You—”

Before he could finish speaking, the overly composed Li Changzhou was "thrown" into the peony bushes by Yang Qinglan.

Yang Qinglan walked lightly up the covered walkway.

She couldn't help but reach out and stroke each pillar on the veranda, as if plucking the strings of a musical instrument.

When Li Changzhou, having cleaned himself of the peony blossoms, branches, and leaves, entered the palatial living room in the backyard, Yang Qinglan had already returned to her usual self, transforming from a girl who could say, "I can still dance," into a fairy as pure as a snow lotus.

The two exchanged a glance, remaining silent.

After exchanging glances, Li Changzhou realized that everyone was playing mahjong.

Those concubines, along with Chunhuang and Li Qianxia—the two of them sat at a table with the second concubine and the fourth concubine of Gusu.

“Qianxia, ​​in Songcheng, it’s not called ‘playing mahjong,’ it’s called ‘rubbing mahjong,’” Chunhuang said to Li Qianxia while playing. “In the 1950s, there was still a children’s song like this in the alley: ‘Wash rice and cook dinner, dinner is done, turn on the lights, take out the mahjong tiles…rub the little mahjong tiles, come and have some fun.’”

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