Chapter 59 A secret affair cannot be made public, naturally…

I was exhausted last night, and my back is still sore and has a strange swelling sensation.

Therefore, after having dinner, she went to bed early on her canopy bed.

I had lived in Lanfang Courtyard for over ten years, but when I went back a few days ago, I felt restricted and constrained.

Now that I've moved into my own yard, I feel a sense of relief and a relaxed feeling has washed over me.

The canopy bed was much larger than the one in Lanfang Courtyard. She stretched out her arms and legs and moved around. This was a place that truly belonged to her, but she needed He Sheng to cover for her.

There's also his strange relationship with Yuhe An.

"Lover." She hurriedly pulled the blanket over herself. How could things have turned out like this?

Ultimately, when the plot twists to involve her and Yu He'an, their relationship may not be entirely innocent.

She shook her head, deciding not to think about it if she couldn't figure it out, and let out a long breath.

She planned to think about something happy, that in the future she would have a place of her own, where she would no longer have to worry about rumors.

She and Yu He'an will both be doing well, each of them will be doing well.

All three first-class maids from Lanfang Courtyard became her dowry. After finishing her wedding ceremony, Qiaoxin blushed and asked for a few days' leave to prepare for her wedding. Huixin was assigned by her to contact Zhao Qin and discuss business matters.

Only Lanxin remained, and she has been busy with various tasks these past few days, which has been truly exhausting.

She no longer bites herself in nightmares, and Lanxin has been exempted from keeping watch these past few days.

The night watchman's lamp was extinguished, and she lay on the canopy bed. The red gauze had been replaced with the light gauze she usually wore, and the incense burner still held the antidote for the curse.

Yu He'an had said before that he would remove the Gu after he returned, but given yesterday's situation, he hadn't had a chance to ask about the Gu worms yet.

And what exactly happened when he blurted out that he killed those people?

Ji Yushang and Chu Minglang, in the end, brought this upon themselves and deserve to die. Yu He'an's intervention saved her a lot of trouble.

Of the three entangled individuals, only Jiang Tingfeng remained. He harbored only malice towards her, and if the case were solved, he would at least be able to part ways amicably and no longer make things difficult for her.

She recalled hearing not only heavy breathing yesterday, but also plot hints and voices restricting the completion of the storyline ahead of schedule.

I was too busy taking care of myself at the time to pay attention to it.

Does that mean all the restricted events that occurred during her imprisonment are going to happen between her and Yu He'an?

Just thinking about it made her legs go weak. She pursed her lips and looked towards the windowsill.

The moonlight shone softly on the windowpane.

There were deliberately soft footsteps outside the window. A slender hand placed a few stalks of dry grass on the windowsill, without even glancing inside, for fear of being impolite.

After finishing this task, they paused for a few moments before the footsteps faded into the distance.

She had to go back to her parents' home tomorrow, and closed her eyes.

The footsteps that had disappeared resumed, this time more steady and forceful than before, as if deliberately making a noise to alert the people in the room.

The window was flung open, and she suddenly opened her eyes. A lithe figure leaped in through the window, landing nimbly. Moonlight fell on his shoulder, and his face remained as calm and indifferent as ever, showing no sign of panic at having entered through the window.

Why did Yuhe climb in through the window instead of leaving the perfectly good door?

She quickly closed her eyes, pretending to be fast asleep.

Once she's asleep, Yu He'an will naturally leave.

The slow, leisurely footsteps seemed to be strolling in the courtyard, growing closer and closer until they stopped beside the canopy bed. The tall figure blocked the light, casting a large shadow.

Although she couldn't see it, she could sense that in the darkness, two burning gazes were brazenly scrutinizing her.

She slowed her breathing, intending to play dumb and get away with it, as was her usual practice.

The hot, humid spray hit her face, and she clenched her hands, which were hidden under the covers, as if afraid of giving herself away.

Suddenly, a pain shot through my lip as my teeth struck my lip. I don't know if it was Yu He'an doing it on purpose or if I bent over too hard and couldn't stop myself.

Her tongue was still licking the wound wantonly, sucking hard. The pain was so intense that she couldn't pretend anymore. She opened her lips to breathe, but a nimble tongue barged in, bringing with it a hint of blood.

He must have been hit and bled.

Unable to continue pretending, she opened her eyes resentfully. Yu He'an bent down and encircled her in front of the bed. The gauze curtains fell, isolating them in a closed space.

There was a glossy sheen on his thin lips; it was from the anti-swelling cream she had applied before bed, which had gotten onto his lips.

"Pretending to be asleep? Is this a way of denying everything?"

Knowing her secret had been exposed, she clutched the blanket, glared at Yu He'an warily, and changed the subject.

How did you get in through the window?

"Yaoyao, it's not that I shouldn't let anyone know about our relationship. A relationship between lovers can't be made public, so naturally we have to sneak in through the window at night." Her tone was slow and leisurely, but she emphasized the word "lover," seemingly extremely dissatisfied with the relationship.

She whispered, "If you know it's inconvenient, then you shouldn't have come."

"If you don't come over, how will you know which lover you'll be with tonight?" Yu He'an sat down on the edge of the canopy bed, invading her territory.

She muttered under her breath, "There's no such thing as a lover."

After the two of them shared a quilt, she was pulled into someone's arms.

Her lips were captured by warm lips again. The kiss was anything but gentle; the tongue pried open her teeth with a hint of urgency. She could even feel the hand caressing her waist trembling slightly.

She used to mistakenly think that Yu He'an disliked her touch, but now she understands that it was an uncontrollable excitement.

This older brother, who had protected her since childhood, broke down the barrier between them, and his restraint and forbearance turned into unbridled behavior.

Half an hour later, he finally released her lips, and the ambiguous threads of blood between them were pulled apart, his calloused fingertips caressing the water stains.

The heat spread to all parts of the body.

His face rested against a firm chest, he breathed softly, and the familiar scent of cedar filled his nostrils.

She belatedly realized something was wrong; how could she have tacitly approved of this absurd behavior?

He quickly stepped back, his hand gripping her waist, preventing her from moving.

"If you don't want to sleep, then don't sleep."

Her voice was hoarse, something strong was pressing against her, and the swollen area was starting to feel wet and muddy again. She couldn't stand herself like this anymore.

They had clearly planned and handled everything before leaving.

She froze, her face pressed against Yu He'an's chest, feeling the slight vibration in his chest as he spoke. "Brother, has my love potion been cured?"

"No." The two cold, hard words came crashing down.

She secretly breathed a sigh of relief; it turned out to be the love potion causing trouble, not that she had become too depraved.

She complained and scolded, "Why haven't you cured me yet? Didn't you say my love curse would be cured once you returned to Bianjing? You even killed Chu Minglang, what am I going to do with my love curse now..."

Is she going to live like this forever?

"You said you'd give me an answer when you got back, and this is the answer you've given me." Her tone grew colder.

She was so choked up that she couldn't say a word.

"Or do you think I would use something like that to control you?" His tone was sarcastic and disdainful.

No, not at all.

No matter how angry Yu He'an is, he would never harm her.

She could only turn away and face the wall alone, wondering when this strange love potion would be cured.

After a while, an even more dry voice came from behind.

"It's been untied for a long time, so you don't need to burn incense anymore. Don't worry."

This statement made her even more preoccupied, and in the end, she had no resentment left at all.

She simply couldn't resist temptation and willingly fell into depravity.

"The Gu worms were released after Chu Minglang died, so don't worry."

They knew that getting Yu Tan to accept their relationship wouldn't be easy, but if they kept trying to slowly boil her down, Yu Tan would only run away. She would choose all sorts of excuses to maintain the appearance of a close brother-sister relationship.

This will only push them further away.

Each lost in their own thoughts, they slowly drifted off to sleep in the darkness.

The next morning, when she woke up, it was still dark. The spot beside her was empty. She touched it, and all the warmth had dissipated.

Lanxin knocked on the door three times and then came in with a copper basin to help her wash and dress.

She returned to the Marquis's residence with He Sheng. Since she was no longer the Marquis's wife, there was no homecoming banquet. She simply came back to pay her respects to Old Madam Song.

She and He Sheng stood outside He Xiang Courtyard, her hand on He Sheng's arm, and He Sheng did not show any timidity.

"The lady is back." Granny Liu's gaze fell on their linked arms, and she happily welcomed them inside.

She specially changed into a peach-colored ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) for her homecoming, paired it with a crimson shawl, and added a ruby-embroidered hair comb to her hair, looking very festive.

"grandmother."

Old Madam Song sat at a stone table under the locust tree, holding a white piece in one hand and a black piece in the other, playing chess alone with a worried expression.

Seeing her return, he took her hand, lingered his gaze on her for several breaths, and then looked at He Sheng.

"Vast and distant."

Seeing that Yu Tan's complexion was rosy and that although her relationship with He Sheng wasn't particularly deep, their marriage was harmonious, the tension finally eased a bit.

Yu Tan sat next to Madam Song and saw that the chessboard contained a famous chess puzzle. She had tried to solve it with Madam Song several times, but they hadn't been able to. So she gave up and started to make tea for Madam Song.

He Sheng's gaze fell on the chessboard. Seeing his interest, Old Madam Song asked him to solve the game.

With one black and one white piece placed, the endgame was surprisingly solved.

“Young people have courage and enough patience. They are promising talents. No wonder Yao Yao chose you.”

"You flatter me, Madam."

Madam Song smiled and saw Yu Tan sitting next to He Sheng, who was patiently explaining the key points.

"I'll find you a good job sometime in the future."

"Thank you for your kind offer, Madam, but there's no need. In a few days, Yao Yao and I plan to head south to visit my ancestral home."

Old Madam Song was taken aback. She wanted them to stay, but taking her new bride back to her hometown was perfectly legitimate. "When are you leaving? When are you coming back?"

He Sheng looked at her. They hadn't discussed it to this point yet, but to others, it seemed like they were waiting for her to make the decision.

She forced a smile. "It'll take a while longer." Until the case is closed.

Her mood dipped slightly, but Madam Song instructed that a small banquet be held in the small hall. After the homecoming banquet, the matter was considered settled.

Just as she sat down, Granny Liu rushed in and said, "Madam, the young master has returned."

Madam Song's expression changed slightly, but before she could order anyone to stop her, Yu He'an strode in.

The small hall suddenly felt cramped, and the atmosphere became tense.

He Sheng was taken aback. Wasn't this the person who was standing outside the courtyard when the wedding banquet was almost over?

Author's Note: Thank you lappland and MiCatAQ for the nutrient solution. [Lop-eared rabbit head]