This was the first time in Gan Qiongying's life that a man had held her so tightly. She struggled but couldn't break free, and her face gradually turned red.

The two were standing too close. This was a normal, healthy man; he was erect every morning. Clearly, Li Hua was very healthy.

Not only is it healthy, it's also spectacular...

Gan Qiongying had never felt such "oppression" so directly in her life. She looked up at the dragon and phoenix candles on the table, which were about to burn out and were as thick as a child's arm, and swallowed hard.

She took a deep breath to calm herself down, at least she couldn't appear too shy, after all, Princess Duanrong had 160 or 170 male concubines!

However, she woke up, her breathing suddenly changed, and she tried to quickly retreat away from the "oppression", which naturally startled Li Hua as well.

The two looked at each other, and after a moment, as if a spring had been pressed between them, they sprang apart.

Gan Qiongying tried to calmly turn around to hide her panic, but her expression couldn't hide it.

Li Hua tried to say something, but when she opened her mouth, she was in so much pain that her whole body twitched, and a little blood even flowed from the corner of her mouth.

He was forced to endure the pain until he recovered from his upright and indomitable state.

"Someone come here." Gan Qiongying stood up, pulled back the bed curtains, and told Li Hua to tidy herself up. She then called in a maid to serve her.

Yesterday, after receiving her punishment, Man Yue actually returned and helped Gan Qiongying wash up and get dressed, though her little face was pale and her movements were somewhat slow.

Yinyue stayed close to Manyue, assisting her nimbly without overshadowing her.

"You're not fully recovered, so rest for now. Yinyue is quite clever, so let her serve you for now," Gan Qiongying said to Manyue as she finished dressing and touched the hairpin on her head.

Gan Qiongying didn't know what fate awaited the servants who offended Princess Duanrong. Anyway, she made Manyue take the punishment, and Manyue was still able to stand and serve her today, which meant that the punishment wasn't life-threatening.

Upon hearing that she wanted Yinyue to serve her, Manyue was struck dumb. A moment later, she knelt down with a thud and said anxiously, "Princess, Manyue knows she was wrong. Manyue is fine and can serve the princess!"

Gan Qiongying sat at the dressing table, and upon hearing this, she lowered her head to look at the full moon's face, which was not pale but sickly red.

She felt sorry for these young maids. If she had been dressed as a maid instead of a princess, she probably wouldn't have survived the night and would have been beaten to death for angering her master.

However, she was unable to show tolerance.

Ever since she discovered that there were eighteen hidden cameras around her, she always remembered that she was Princess Duanrong, the wicked, unpredictable Princess Duanrong.

How could Princess Duanrong possibly have any sympathy for her servants?

Therefore, Gan Qiongying simply reached out her hand, her slender fingertips gliding across the full moon's eyebrow tail before landing on her face.

Her tone was even more condescending than her posture, as if she were teasing her own dog: "I'm keeping you this time only because you've been by my side for many years and have been quite devoted."

"If you make any mistakes after you recover, I will sell you to a brothel to sing songs."

They were trying to tell me to take good care of myself, but they couldn't say it properly.

Gan Qiongying was also suffering a lot.

However, this sarcastic tone was remarkably effective. Manyue, who had been trembling with fear all morning for fear of being rejected or killed, was moved to tears upon hearing that she was to be sold to a brothel.

She kept kowtowing to express her gratitude, but Gan Qiongying, in order to maintain her public image, stopped looking at her and let her cry pitifully at her feet.

Fortunately, Manyue left after crying for a while and went to recuperate. Yinyue took Manyue's place and arranged breakfast... or rather lunch, in a way that suited Gan Qiongying's taste perfectly.

Moreover, as Gan Qiongying sat down, Yinyue said at the opportune moment, "The Prince Consort has already washed up, but his tongue is injured, so it may be difficult for him to eat normally. We have already ordered people to prepare porridge and ginseng soup. Would the Princess like to bring the Prince Consort over?"

Gan Qiongying had almost forgotten about Li Hua that morning. Upon hearing this, she nodded and said, "Bring him here. And remember, from today onwards, I will eat, live, and go out with the Prince Consort."

Silver Moon replied softly, "Yes."

She had her maid bring the prince consort over, then went to Gan Qiongying's side to serve her soup and vegetables, saying, "Princess, the prince consort's attendant Sanjiu has been kept out of the mansion since last night. This morning, he brought a group of the prince consort's usual maids and waited outside the gate, requesting an audience several times."

"Should I have someone send them away?"

Yinyue's voice was gentle and not shrill; it was close enough to be pleasant to listen to.

Gan Qiongying glanced at her, and Yinyue lowered her voice slightly and said, "If the princess wants her consort to be obedient, she cannot allow him to have too many people around him who are easy to please."

This is a common trick used by women in the inner quarters to torment each other. When no one is around, no matter how fierce they are, they can't escape the high walls at the four corners.

Yin Yue was genuinely planning to help Gan Qiongying win over the prince consort.

She got up early and led people to tidy up the bed, having confirmed that the princess had failed to succeed last night. These words were also made in the name of guessing Gan Qiongying's intentions.

However, Gan Qiongying had no intention of tormenting Li Hua. She was simply looking for an "ally," not only to ensure that Li Hua could continue to receive 200,000 taels of silver every month, but also to use Li Hua to deal with some plot points that she had to participate in.

Therefore, Gan Qiongying scoffed upon hearing this and said lightly, "Let everyone in, and send a few people to follow the prince consort's men, and have them move all the things the prince consort usually uses to the princess's residence."

"Yes," Silver Moon replied.

At this moment, Li Hua was also led to the table.

Gan Qiongying looked up at him and noticed that he was wearing a dark brocade robe and had a slender figure, unlike his previous hunched and slouching appearance. He was obviously too lazy to pretend anymore.

However, as he walked slowly and unhurriedly, Gan Qiongying noticed that even when he tried his best to maintain his balance, he still limped a little.

Could it be that yesterday, the shadow guards dragged him off the bed and twisted his legs?

Although the two had slept in each other's arms all night yesterday and there was a bit of awkwardness from being too intimate this morning, they had clearly sorted out their feelings by now and were looking at each other with the same intense hatred as if they were enemies meeting.

Li Hua was very nervous, looking at Gan Qiongying's indifferent face, and refused to sit down.

He couldn't wait for Gan Qiongying to get tired of him. That way, he would rather be beaten and humiliated as before than have Gan Qiongying look at him with that meaningful gaze.

Unexpectedly, his cold and indifferent attitude did not anger Princess Duanrong, who was known for her bad temper.

Gan Qiongying even smiled gently at him, her tone exceptionally soft as she said, "The prince consort is here. Are you hungry? Sit down. Your tongue isn't better yet, so drink some chicken soup first. Later, I'll have a maid bring you some mouthwash medicine prepared by the imperial physician."

Upon hearing this, the maidservants immediately stepped forward to serve soup, and two other maidservants prepared to help him sit down, but Li Hua stood there refusing to move, raising his arms to refuse the touch of the two maidservants, stubbornly looking at Gan Qiongying, his eyes blazing with anger.

Gan Qiongying: "Has anyone ever told you... that your eyes are very beautiful?"

Upon hearing this, Li Hua's eyebrows twitched violently, but she managed to suppress her expression.

Everyone in the entire capital city of Yin knew that Princess Duanrong was infatuated with Zhongli Zhengzhen, the hostage prince of Jinchuan, and had even made several excessive moves that angered the emperor.

In a fit of anger, the emperor arranged a marriage for her with a merchant, intending to thwart her desire to marry a hostage from an enemy country.

After getting married, she became self-destructive for a while and even gathered a whole house of handsome men as her male concubines, living a dissolute life every day.

But not long after, she couldn't resist going to find Zhongli Zhengzhen again, and even fell off her horse and was injured while chasing after his horse.

She was deeply in love with him, pleading humbly and resorting to any means necessary.

As for the sudden change in her husband's attitude towards her marriage... even if Li Hua could disguise her face, she couldn't replace her eyes.

No one in the entire Nanzhao Kingdom knew that he and Zhongli were truly brothers, and their eyes were even identical.

Li Hua instantly understood why Princess Duanrong suddenly insisted on sharing a room with him—it was because of his eyes!

I should have known he would pretend to be blind!

Knowing that Princess Duanrong might be using him as a substitute for Zhongli Zhengzhen, Li Hua was shocked, but she did not show it on her face; her eyes only grew colder.

What he hated most in his life was being compared to his younger brother.