Shen Qingyao rested quietly for a few days. She took medicine when she was told to take medicine and slept when she was told to sleep. She was very obedient. However, Lu Zhao still keenly noticed the difference of the little girl.
Lu Zhao gently turned a page of the book in his hand. Since Shen Qingyao fell seriously ill, Lu Zhao did not even use the study room prepared for him at the inn. He directly moved all the affairs in Nanzhao to the room and casually arranged a set of tables and chairs. When handling official business, he could see the little girl who was either in a daze or sleeping on the bed.
But he felt that Shen Qingyao was more attached to him.
He sighed and put the book down. After the negotiations in the past few days, they did not have so many things to do. They could set off to return to Lingnan after Shen Qingyao got better. He raised his hand to pick up the cup, but found that the tea in the cup was empty. Cui Qiao and the others were outside the house, and he didn’t want to call them in to disturb them, so he had to carry the cup to the table himself. As soon as he moved, a pair of big watery eyes followed him like a shadow.
Lu Zhao lowered his head and laughed secretly. This happened every day these days. As long as he was there, no matter what he did, Shen Qingyao liked to stare at him intently. Lu Zhao claimed that he was not a saint, and being looked at by the girl he liked with such a fiery look, it was inevitable that he felt restless.
The dryness in his throat could not be relieved by drinking water. Lu Zhao gently put down the cup and turned around. It happened to bump into Shen Qingyao’s guilty glance.
“Yaoyao, do you have anything to say to me?”
Shen Qingyao was stunned and shook her head, “No.”
“Really?”
Shen Qingyao really didn’t have anything to say, but after knowing that she was the little girl who grew up with Lu Zhao, she couldn’t help but feel a little proud. At the same time, she felt that Lu Zhao was really handsome and couldn’t get enough of him. But she didn’t expect to be caught red-handed.
She was thinking of finding an excuse to fool around, and saw Lu Zhao approaching with a wicked smile, and stretched out his long arm and place it next to her ear, and the warm breath with a cold fragrance sprayed on her ear. Being wall-banged for no reason was… quite exciting.
Shen Qingyao blinked her eyes, looked at the face so close, and suddenly felt her throat dry.
“But Yaoyao looked at me like this, I thought…” Lu Zhao laughed, but before he finished speaking, his face was already very close.
“What did you think?” Shen Qingyao raised her head slightly, and their noses touched each other. It was unknown who moved first. When their lips touched, Shen Qingyao gently closed her eyes.
“I thought Yaoyao wanted to kiss me.” Lu Zhao retreated a little after a light kiss. He had already finished kissing her when he whispered so.
Who wanted to kiss whom? Shen Qingyao laughed secretly in her heart, and suddenly found that Lu Zhao was also good at lying.
Lu Zhao thought the little girl would be shy and hide. He just intended to tease her lightly, but he didn’t want to do anything to her. After all, she was still sick and couldn’t stand it.
Just as he was about to step away, Shen Qingyao in front of him suddenly moved. She raised her hands and wrapped them around Lu Zhao’s neck. Her eyes were full of tenderness and she said with a red face, “I am…”
“When I see Elder Brother Lu Zhao, my heart surges and I can’t help myself. I am also…” She bit her lips. She had originally wanted to tease him back, but it was too embarrassing to say this. She couldn’t stand it halfway through, so she could only hold on and said shyly, “I would also want to be close to Elder Brother Lu Zhao…”
Lu Zhao’s breathing immediately became heavier. He stared at Shen Qingyao with undisguised desire in his eyes, like a beast ready to attack, staring at his prey.
Shen Qingyao was a little nervous when she saw that he hadn’t spoken for a long time. She shrank her hands around Lu Zhao’s neck and hesitated whether to put them down. Then she heard Lu Zhao sigh and covered her lips again.
This time the kiss was less careful and more eager. The hand that was next to her ear had slid to her shoulder without her knowing when. Shen Qingyao was held tightly by him and could not move. She could only raise her head to endure his somewhat crazy kiss.
“Hmm…”
After an unknown period of time passed, a sound spilled from the corner of Shen Qingyao’s lips. She had no strength left to resist, only able to pant lightly as she clung to him. Their clothes were somewhat disheveled; Lu Zhao’s outer garment had been pulled open by Shen Qingyao at some point, adding to the disorder.
Shen Qingyao was in an even more disheveled state, her clothing even more undone, revealing a glimpse of a tender red undergarment.
Leaning against Lu Zhao’s chest, Shen Qingyao’s hand was held tightly by him. Thinking back to where his hands had been just moments ago, her face flushed…
The cool touch lingered longer than expected, causing Shen Qingyao’s lips to feel warm and tremble slightly. It took her a while to recover.
“Elder Brother Lu Zhao…” Shen Qingyao called out softly, surprised by how tender her voice sounded. Even she felt her ears heat up.
As expected, Lu Zhao’s breath hitched again. After a long pause, he responded with a satisfied, low grunt. His hands remained in place, but there were no further advances.
Blushing, Shen Qingyao gathered her courage and asked, “ELder Brother Lu Zhao, are we not continuing?”
His grip around her waist tightened immediately. Lu Zhao lowered his head fiercely, biting her lightly before tenderly soothing the mark with his cool lips.
“Don’t provoke me,” Lu Zhao released her, his voice husky, breathing heavily. His self-control was all that kept him composed. “You’re still unwell…”
“I…” Shen Qingyao wanted to say she was fine. But she hesitated in the end. “Oh…”
She could only think to herself silently that she needed to recover quickly!
Neither of them spoke again, quietly leaning against each other to calm their agitation. Lu Zhao’s usually cold scent now carried a subtle warmth in the air, causing Shen Qingyao’s heart to race.
Eventually, their breathing gradually returned to normal.
Lu Zhao shifted slightly. The climate in Nanzhao was humid, and he was afraid she might catch a cold. He helped Shen Qingyao sit up straight, then sat half-leaning on the edge of the couch. His slender fingers carefully tidied up her disheveled clothes one by one, paying no mind to his own disheveled appearance.
Shen Qingyao blushed as she enjoyed Lu Zhao’s care. Watching his serious expression, she smiled gently, feeling her heart filled to the brim. After he finished tidied her up, Shen Qingyao leaned back bonelessly again, suddenly remembering something and asked, “Brother Lu Zhao, is everything settled in Nanzhao?”
The documents on Lu Zhao’s desk had become increasingly sparse. Even Shen Yushu, who used to be busy every day, had more free time to visit her. Thus, Shen Qingyao had this question.
“Mm,” Lu Zhao responded, squeezing the girl’s hand playfully.
Shen Qingyao let him play, then asked again, “What about… Princess Yonghe? Is that matter resolved?”
Wasn’t Nanzhao opposed to Princess Yonghe becoming Queen?
“It’s considered resolved,” Lu Zhao replied indifferently. “The false imperial decree and the unauthorized entry into the palace were all accusations. Moreover, Princess An’yu’s harm to you was unjustifiable. How could Nanzhao still dare to challenge Great Liang?”
There was a hint of hostility in Lu Zhao’s eyes as he spoke, not bothering to conceal his disgust for the Nanzhao royal family. He then carefully recounted the developments of the past few days to Shen Qingyao.
Princess Yonghe could not be crowned Queen of Nanzhao in the end. However, Nanzhao was also caught with a handle and could no longer hide the Great Liang princess silently in the palace without even giving her a title.
In the end, Princess Yonghe was granted the title of Noble Consort, which was second only to the Queen, so it was a good result.
Shen Qingyao nodded after listening, feeling somewhat lamenting. She wondered if someone as proud as Princess Yonghe could accept this outcome.
When she thought of the actions of the Nanzhao people, Shen Qingyao couldn’t help but think of the Gu that had stayed on her for a few days, shuddering instinctively with a touch of nausea.
“What’s wrong?” Lu Zhao thought she was cold and pulled the thin blanket over her again.
Shen Qingyao shook her head hesitantly and asked, “Then… what about An’ya and An’yu?”
At this point, she knew these two were the masterminds behind everything.
Lu Zhao’s face grew cold, clearly still filled with lingering anger. After a while, he spoke in a cold voice, “An’ya is an accomplice, sentenced to a year of house arrest. As for An’yu…”
There was a hint of murderous intent in Lu Zhao’s eyes, but out of concern for Shen Qingyao, he restrained himself from showing too much.
“Princess An’yu had previously used Gu to harm the former Queen of Nanzhao, but it was suppressed at that time. Now she has again used Gu to harm the envoy from Great Liang and disrupt diplomatic relations between the two countries. This should have been a capital offense, but there is a precedent in Nanzhao that members of the royal family cannot kill each other. Therefore, she was only demoted to a commoner and sentenced to lifelong imprisonment.”
Seeing Lu Zhao’s expression, it was clear he thought this punishment was too lenient. Shen Qingyao had no doubt that after they left Nanzhao, news of Princess An’yu’s sudden death might be spread.
Shen Qingyao lowered her eyes and said nothing. Although it was because of this Gu that she could remember her own identity, she was not a saint. Since An’yu had harmed her for no reason, she wouldn’t sympathize with An’yu.
However, at this moment, she was more interested in another piece of gossip.
She arched her brows restlessly, which ignited the evil fire that Lu Zhao had not completely suppressed. Unable to bear it any longer, he pressed her down and said in a deep voice, “Ask whatever you want, but don’t move!”
Shen Qingyao giggled, her trick successful. She tilted her head slightly and asked, “But why did An’yu want to harm the former Queen and me?”
She couldn’t understand at all.
Lu Zhao sighed helplessly, “Why are you so curious about everything?”
But he still explained patiently.
It turns out that Princess An’yu once liked a guard by the side of the former Queen. The former Queen had a gentle and amiable personality, so they had a very close relationship. And they became closer due to this guard.
However, the guard died protecting the former Queen when she was attacked by assassins. An’yu blamed the former Queen for not saving him and held a grudge.
Over time, her feelings twisted due to her lover’s death. As a result, she also took out her anger on Shen Qingyao, who had similar personality as the former Queen.
She believed women from Great Liang were hypocritical, which caused all these troubles.
After listening, Shen Qingyao remained silent for a long time. She deeply felt that she was very innocent.
Lu Zhao thought she was still scared, reached out and patted her gently, saying softly, “It’s all in the past now. There won’t be such things in the future.”
“Mm…” Shen Qingyao nodded, trusting him. In a way, it wasn’t all bad; at least it made her remember her two transmigrations ahead of time. Thinking of this, Shen Qingyao smiled again.
“Why are you smiling?” Lu Zhao was puzzled.
“Elder Brother Lu Zhao, did you come to see me during the years I lost my memory?” she suddenly asked.
In fact, she knew since she had seen those long nights he spent alone with the moon in her dreams, but she still deliberately asked him like this.
Lu Zhao was stunned, somewhat surprised, and then asked somewhat unnaturally, “Wh… why do you suddenly ask about this?”
“Just tell me, did you?” Shen Qingyao looked at him and saw his expression, knowing what he was thinking. How could that expression mean he hadn’t come?
“Well… if not, who did Elder Brother Lu Zhao give the osmanthus and jade cakes to?” She suddenly asked softly.
“What?” Lu Zhao didn’t hear clearly, but in an instant his heart raced.
“Osmanthus and jade cakes.” Shen Qingyao repeated, looking at him seriously, tears welling up in her eyes. “Elder Brother Lu Zhao, before you went to Xiling that year, didn’t you promise to bring me osmanthus and jade cakes from there? I haven’t tasted them yet.”
But Lu Zhao couldn’t care less about osmanthus and jade cakes now. He only heard buzzing in his ears, unable to say whether he felt more surprise or sadness. He just held Shen Qingyao’s shoulders tightly, hesitated, and asked, “Yaoyao, have you… remembered?”
Shen Qingyao suddenly smiled, tears falling from her eyes. She gently raised one hand, extending two fingers in front of him mischievously, “Mm… just a little bit. Probably… this much, hmm…”
Lu Zhao didn’t bother to count how much “this much” was. He pulled her hand down and once again bent down to seal her lips with another passionate kiss.
She remembered. Those past events were no longer remembered by him alone. Lu Zhao’s turbulent emotions had nowhere to vent, so he could only hold her, using one fiery kiss after another to confirm the reality of this moment.