Gan Qiongying chuckled softly and said, "What are you afraid of? We are husband and wife, in accordance with the laws of Nanzhao, and the emperor himself bestowed this marriage upon us. I'm not stupid. You do this every time you kiss me. Are you going to keep enduring it?"

"It's only natural for us to do whatever we want." We're both adults. If Gan Qiongying hadn't been too busy lately, and if the two of them hadn't just confessed their feelings, she would definitely have already been researching the Great Harmony of Life with Li Hua.

This feeling is very natural; every time we kiss and hug, it's not just Lihua who feels it.

Li Hua remained silent for a long time, staring intently at Gan Qiongying, his breathing becoming increasingly rapid. Many words were stuck in his throat, and he didn't know which one to utter first.

"Let's go home first." After a long while, Li Hua finally spoke, uttering these words.

Regardless of whether the two people want to... or whether they want to consummate their marriage.

He wanted to first explain things to Gan Qiongying, express his feelings, and then ask her if she was willing to be his family.

Only after all these things were done could Li Hua be completely at ease. These things were far more important to Li Hua than physical intimacy between men and women.

However, he was indeed in a daze and did not understand what Gan Qiongying was saying.

Gan Qiongying said, "Wait for me to leave the palace," not "Wait for us to go home."

Therefore, when Li Hua pulled Gan Qiongying to leave, Gan Qiongying grabbed Li Hua's hand and smiled, saying, "My husband, I haven't seen His Majesty for so long. I really miss him. You know I dream about him all the time at home."

“We had some disagreements before, and I want to clarify things thoroughly this time,” Gan Qiongying said. “So you can go home by yourself tonight.”

She went through a lot of trouble, kissing, coaxing, and hugging him, and even used the "cohabitation" that men like to mislead Li Hua, all in an attempt to coax him back first.

Gan Qiongying didn't want Li Hua to get involved in their feud with the old witch and the little demon king.

In her eyes, Li Hua was just a businessman; when money is compared to power, he will always be the loser.

Gan Qiongying had already planned all the escape routes for Li Hua. She had already instructed Chen Wa to have the two thousand elite troops act as ordinary servants, and to have some of the leaders make more contact with San Jiu. As long as Li Hua had any needs in the future, they would definitely do their best to help.

Moreover, Gan Qiongying assigned two of her shadow guards to Li Hua's side, and they have been following Li Hua since tonight, and will continue to do so in the future.

If the plot really falls apart and it's too late, at least she will send Li Hua away before she and Gan Lin escape.

Anyway, he was just a merchant and had never appeared in the eyes of the Regent and the Empress Dowager. Moreover, he was on Zhongli Zhengzhen's side and had Jinchuan as his backer, so he would always have a way to survive.

Gan Qiongying was grateful for the money Li Hua gave her, and she genuinely liked Li Hua's personality.

However, she couldn't possibly drag Li Hua into the mire and make him struggle and risk his life along with her and Gan Lin.

In fact, in Gan Qiongying's plan, if it weren't for tonight's incident, when the plot reached its breaking point, Gan Qiongying and Li Hua would have staged a scene of marital discord.

That way, the Regent and the Empress Dowager won't be able to find fault with Li Hua in the future.

However, plans can change quickly, and Gan Qiongying couldn't be sure what the old witch might do after being provoked.

So she smiled and said to Li Hua, "I'll stay in the palace for two days and ask the emperor for more ginseng so I can go back and help you recover."

"Go back and wait for me. Oh, by the way, after the Mid-Autumn Festival, I heard from Manyue that a temple fair will be held at Fenglin Temple outside the city."

"Manyue said that place is very efficacious, so let's go there together to offer incense and pray to Buddha."

Gan Qiongying painted a huge picture of a pie and, without a word, shoved it all at Li Hua. Then, she pushed Li Hua out of the palace, saying, "I'll have Eunuch Li's men escort you out of the palace later. If you don't have anything else to do these next few days, don't go inspect the shops. Take good care of the gyrfalcon in my backyard for me, and also..."

Gan Qiongying leaned close to Li Hua's ear and said, "You probably don't know anything, right? Ask the doctor in the palace these next few days, and read some storybooks or something, and prepare yourself properly."

Gan Qiongying kissed Li Hua on the cheek: "When I get back, we'll have a good time getting to know each other, so you can learn better and not hurt me."

Li Hua was so moved by Gan Qiongying's words that he almost wanted to cover her mouth. He was a gentleman by nature, and that day he couldn't help but kiss Gan Qiongying. He was so anxious that he didn't take her back to the room but kept her in the carriage. In Li Hua's eyes, that was already a very, very reckless act.

In Li Hua's mind, two people should always be in sync first, but it seems that things have never gone according to plan between them.

Gan Qiongying said such things directly... Li Hua was so embarrassed that his face turned completely red. The redness had even flowed down his human skin mask to his cheeks, showing that he was now as red as a shrimp in boiling water.

"Stop talking!" Li Hua reached out and covered Gan Qiongying's mouth.

Gan Qiongying smiled at Li Hua with her eyes crinkling, and Li Hua gave her a warning look. As soon as Li Hua let go, Gan Qiongying said again, "I'm not kidding you. If you don't do it well, I won't be happy."

Li Hua's back began to sweat. He looked around but saw no one. Somewhat annoyed, he pulled Gan Qiongying to a more secluded place.

"Don't talk nonsense, be careful, walls have ears. Let's talk about this later."

Li Hua asked, somewhat embarrassed and annoyed, "Why aren't you going home tonight? Is it because of the palace...?"

"What do you mean, 'we'll talk about it later'?" Gan Qiongying interrupted Li Hua, constantly changing the subject. "You also had a reaction in the Bixi Palace today. Don't think I didn't know. Is it comfortable to hold it in?"

“You…” Li Hua turned her head away, took a deep breath, and reached out to pat Gan Qiongying’s head.

What are you thinking about?!

Gan Qiongying covered her head and laughed.

However, there was some regret in her eyes. She really wanted to get along well with Li Hua. There was probably no one in the world who wouldn't like such a gentle and lovely Li Hua.

But it seems that God has given her not much time left, and although she has taken so much money from Li Hua, all she can give him seems to be the security of severing ties.

If... if she and Gan Lin can escape safely, she will try to contact Li Hua.

If Li Hua were still willing to be her husband at that time...

After being given several large bowls of this "bewitching soup," Gan Qiongying led Li Hua back to the road with the palace lanterns.

She spoke to Li Hua with a smile, but when she turned to direct the two maids, her face turned serious.

Gan Qiongying carefully instructed, "Take the prince consort to the palace gate properly. Only return to report after you see him get into the carriage and leave the palace gate. The prince consort doesn't like crowds, so take him on a less crowded path."