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"What do you mean?" Although Tian Xinrong did not move, I could clearly sense his hesitation and surprise, and the scarred man on the side dared not make a move.

I gave a bitter smile. If no one comes to save me soon, I might as well just die here. The man with the rouge said that if I didn't do *that* within an hour, I'd die. Half the hour should have passed by now; it seems he's truly determined to defend his chastity to the death. But if someone comes to save me, what about the aphrodisiac incense on my body? Who will remove it for me?

"What do you mean?" I said weakly, then lay sprawled on the ground, my upper body bare except for armor covering my skin, and a thin pair of long underwear on my lower body. The cold ground against my burning skin felt strangely comfortable. Unlike the indirect chill of the air, the solid cold of the ground seemed to soothe the restlessness in my heart. I continued weakly, "Tell Liu Yin to leave, and I'll tell you what I mean."

"Your Highness, you mustn't!" The scarred man hurriedly expressed his loyalty, along with his overestimation of me. However, despite saying this, he darted off in the direction the beauty had come from, and as he ran, he called out, "Someone's coming, Your Highness, quickly make way."

I watched in bewilderment as Tian Xinrong got up and pressed the button on the wall. The antique shelf had barely started turning when he pulled the beauty away and slipped back into Consort Rong's room with astonishing speed. The antique shelf closed again, and suddenly I was the only one left at the mahjong table. I felt the floor beneath me getting warmer, so I shifted slightly to the side. The coolness felt refreshing, and I was about to roll over and make my other side comfortable when I was startled to find myself being lifted up by a pair of hands. Clothes covered my body, and then I was pulled into someone's embrace.

I looked up and saw the familiar white robes, and a bloodstain that still seemed warm on them. I looked up sharply. It was Xi Lan, but not the gentle, smiling Xi Lan of before. His face was filled with a storm of anger and anxiety, the murderous intent in his eyes still lingering, mixed with a deep heartache. He held me tightly, as if trying to pull me into his body, and ran frantically towards the other end of the passage.

His arm around me seemed to send a cool breeze through his clothes, slowly seeping into my body. Strangely, this calmed the restlessness in my heart. My previous worries—whether Xi Lan would come to save me, and if he did, what to do about the love potion on my body that Tian Xinrong said had no antidote for—all these unnecessary anxieties vanished now, as I was truly held protectively in Tian Xi Lan's arms. My heart was no longer filled with doubt, hesitation, or conflict. Xi Lan, he would never let me get hurt or put me in a difficult position.

"Yu Fu?" I saw the scarred man's corpse. I also saw Yu Fu, leaning against the wall, seemingly unsteady on her feet.

"I'll save Xiyue first, Yufu, you go back to Zhilan Palace." Xilan instructed Yufu, her voice changing from its usual gentle and refined tone to one of urgency and tension. She held me as we wandered through the winding passage.

Could it be that Yu Fu led Xi Lan to this secret passage where I am? But isn't Yu Fu Consort Rong's personal maid? This afternoon, she was even taken to the Imperial Household Department by Xi Lan to be punished because of me? What exactly is going on?

The restlessness in my heart gradually subsided as Xi Lan focused on his practice, but my body still felt unbearably hot. Perhaps it was the aphrodisiac incense, but smelling Xi Lan's clean, refreshing, and warm scent, I reached out and hugged him back for the first time, burying my head in his chest. I let him carry me through the secret passage, then out of an unknown house. With a few leaps, we arrived at the flower wall of Zhilan Palace. I looked up from his embrace, puzzled, at Xi Lan. He touched a mechanism, carried me into the secret passage behind the flower wall, and then quickly ran forward. I tilted my head, looking at the receding figures on the right wall—figures of myself, like scenes from a movie, recording every moment of my arrival at the Azure Palace. But shouldn't the painting of me smiling at Xi Lan with tears in my eyes when I received the note from the fox after my appearance was restored to normal? Why does it seem like there are so many more all of a sudden? The person playing the pipa and singing wildly on the flower stand, the way he coaxed Lin'er, the resentful look on his face when he wanted to eat but was chased away to play music... Why is Xi Lan so stupid? Didn't I tell him not to draw me on the wall?

As we continued forward, a pool of water suddenly appeared before us. Before I could even see if it was the legendary hot spring, Tian Xilan grabbed me and jumped into the water with a "plop."

The bone-chilling cold choked me so much that I couldn't utter a sound. I held my breath and looked at Tian Xilan. He didn't say anything either. His face hadn't shown a smile since we entered the water. He just held me tightly, his hands continuously channeling warm true energy into my body. His body was also radiating heat, which gradually dissipated the biting cold I felt when we entered the water.

He didn't say a word, but for the first time, I felt an undisguised and intense anger and pain emanating from him.

"Xi Lan, I'm fine." He pursed his lips, his brows slightly furrowed. My heart clenched with grief. Had I finally dragged Xi Lan into this mess? Why did I feel so strongly that something had changed about Xi Lan? I couldn't help but tremble as I touched his brow, trying to smooth out the furrow. I didn't want it, I didn't want Xi Lan to become someone who was no longer the gentle and elegant Xi Lan.

"Xi Lan, Xi Lan, it's me, Wei Mian." I looked at Tian Xi Lan, who was silent and had a cold expression, with a panicked heart. Ignoring the discomfort caused by the combination of ice and fire on my body, I tried to take his hand.

He held me tightly, his hands pressed against my back, and I couldn't turn around to hold his hands. I looked up at him, and he was looking at me too, but it was as if he didn't see me at all; his eyes were blank and unfocused.

"Xi Lan, Xi Lan." I reached out to pat his face, but he remained the same. I had no choice but to burst into tears.

As if finally awakened by my crying, he hurriedly withdrew his right hand from my back, gently wiping away my tears while anxiously asking, "Weimian, what's wrong? What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Hang in there, you'll be fine after this hour."

I looked at him through my tear-filled eyes. His eyes were clear, filled with concern, guilt, self-reproach, and lingering fear. Before I could speak, he pulled me tightly into his arms, so tightly it was suffocating. He murmured repeatedly, "Weimian, Weimian, if I hadn't ignored Father's visit to find you earlier, if I had found the secret passage sooner, you wouldn't have suffered like this. Weimian, Weimian, I almost lost you. Weimian, how dare they treat you like this..."

His voice seemed to tremble slightly, and his hands gripped me so tightly that it was hard for me to breathe. He pressed his face against my hair, talking and rubbing it incessantly. Even though I was drawing warmth from him to ward off the icy chill that was washing over my chest, I could also clearly feel that Xi Lan was drawing warmth from me as well, drawing warmth that could calm his heart.

But when I heard his words, I was startled, and a chill slowly seeped into my heart, more chilling than the icy water.

"Xi Lan, did Yu Fu lead you to the secret passage?" I asked in a trembling voice.

"Yu Fu is the Empress's woman." He held me tightly as he slowly channeled his inner energy into me.

How many things did I understand in that instant? Consort Rong's personal maid was actually the Crown Princess's confidante—what a complicated relationship that was! Is the Crown Princess helping me now to make me owe her a favor and agree to her previous demands? Prince Tianqing stopped Xi Lan from coming to find me, so he must have known what would happen tonight. Why did he put me in this situation? Was Tian Xi Lan, who seemed so unfamiliar to me just now, Prince Tianqing's target?

Clouds Drunk, Moon Slightly Asleep (Revised Edition) Volume Two: Where Does the Vast Sky and Water Lead? The Strings of Music are Muffled, the Sounds of Thought are Subdued (Part Five)

Chapter word count: 3162 Update time: 08-12-21 16:26

The strings of a zither, each note a suppressed thought (Part 5)

I soaked in the ice water for almost an hour. It really was ice water, because Xi Lan said that the water in this pool was made from melted ice blocks that had been collected from the top of Tianshan Mountain for thousands of years. It sounded like it could cure all diseases, grant immortality, and keep you young forever. I just don't understand what the Azure King Flower was trying to do with all this huge project. The location was hidden, and we didn't need it normally. Even if it could keep you young forever, no one would dare to jump in and soak in it. If Xi Lan hadn't been working hard to keep me warm, I'm afraid I would have frozen into an icicle long ago.

However, the poison from the love potion seems to have been cured.

Xi Lan looked somewhat tired. I guess the initial worry, the rush to find me, and then the exertion of her inner energy staying in the ice water—even a true immortal would tire. Thinking of the scarred man's corpse in the secret passage, just how high had Xi Lan's martial arts level reached?

I hadn't felt anything while in the water, but when I got ashore, I realized how disheveled I was. Aside from the soft armor I was wearing, which provided some cover, I was practically half-naked. Although I usually ignore Xi Lan's gender most of the time, and when we hold hands, my mind is completely pure without a trace of ulterior motive, I feel no shyness or embarrassment whatsoever—it's all so natural and uninhibited. But in this situation, for the first time, I blushed completely in front of Tian Xi Lan. Pushing him away would not only make me feel cold, but it also seemed like I'd be exposed, so I could only cling to him tightly, resolutely refusing to look up.

As I stepped out of the flower wall, I heard the sound of a flute drifting towards me. Though it seemed quite far away, the sound was still clear. Still nestled in Xi Lan's arms, I shivered from the cold night wind and paid no attention. But after a few seconds, I realized something was amiss with the flute music. The tune being played was none other than "Prelude to Water Melody," the very song I had sung while drunk at Qianzui Residence that day!

My heart clenched, and I quickly peered out to search for the source of the flute music. It seemed to be coming from the west. The small house west of Xilan Palace, the night wind, the night wind had previously planted Ling'er in the Fourth Prince's residence… That was the fox playing the flute!

Tears welled in my eyes. Did the fox learn from Ling'er that I would be in trouble tonight, and rush to this palace? And playing the flute in the dead of night, as if afraid that no one would notice him? What fox, he's just a complete idiot. But right now, I really want to throw myself into this idiot's arms and cry my heart out, and then bite him a few times.

"Xi Lan." I looked at him through teary eyes, and he looked back at me with a complex and unfathomable light in his eyes. The scene from just now flashed before my eyes again, and I swallowed the words that almost escaped my lips, saying sullenly, "Xi Lan, could you help me get the pipa later?"

I can't treat Xilan like that, and I can't let the fox see me in this wretched state. I can't let the achievements I've worked so hard for be ruined by the Fourth Prince's little scheme. Fox, fox, I understand all the emotions in your flute playing, but right now, besides using the pipa to let you know I'm safe, I have no better way.

Xi Lan remained silent, walking straight into my little white house. She placed me in a steaming bathtub, staring at my face with a sorrowful expression. Her hand trembled slightly as she gently touched my left cheek, where Tian Xinrong had slapped me, and then lightly touched the wound on my lower lip. She lowered her head and opened my palm. Before, she had desperately pinched her palm with her nails to stay conscious, and now, looking at it, it was a shockingly bloody mess. "Plop," something warm dripped gently onto my palm, then landed heavily in my heart.

"Let Zisu come in and serve you. I'll go fetch the pipa." He lowered his head and turned to walk out, his clothes soaked through. His back view was no longer the ethereal, otherworldly figure he once was, but rather one of silent repression, sorrow, and loneliness. My heart ached. How could I be like the Azure King, pushing Xilan to the brink of madness for my own sake?

"No, Xilan, go take a bath first, change your clothes, and then get a good night's sleep. You're very tired today."

He paused, then silently left.

I let Zisu strip me naked, and as I listened to the still-unyielding sound of the flute, tears streamed down my face. Zisu didn't speak, but her eyes were red as she carefully wiped every inch of my skin, trying to avoid my wounds.

The door creaked open, and Tian Xilan stood outside, holding a pipa in one hand and several small bottles in the other. He was still wearing the same clothes, but they didn't seem to be very wet. He didn't come in, but looked at Zisu. Zisu stopped what she was doing and walked over, but bowed and withdrew at the door.

I suddenly felt a little dizzy, so I rested my chin on the edge of the bathtub and watched as Tian Xilan came in, then turned around and closed the door.

"Xi...Xi Lan." In this situation, I had to stammer and blush. I wasn't even wearing underwear.

He put the pipa aside, placed the small bottles on the table, picked up the clothes that Zisu had prepared for me, and walked straight toward the bathtub.

I couldn't hide, I couldn't escape, and I couldn't just sit still in the bathtub. I stood there, arms tightly wrapped around my chest, stunned and speechless. Had Xi Lan... become lustful? After all, he's a man!

"Xi..." I only managed to utter one word before letting out a scream. Xi Lan had actually lifted me out of the bathtub with one hand! Instinctively, I covered my face with my hands, then felt a warmth all over my body. Xi Lan had already wrapped me tightly in his clothes. I peeked through my fingers and saw him sitting down on the chair with me in his arms. I glanced down at myself. Although I wasn't showing any skin, just now... 5555, this brat must have seen everything! How could Xi Lan do this?

In a fit of rage, I reached out and grabbed Tian Xilan's neck tightly. That bastard, always pretending to be so innocent, turns out to be a pervert too. But the moment I moved, I was the one who felt the pain; the wound on my palm throbbed with excruciating pain, forcing me to stop. I instantly deflated like a punctured balloon, my head spinning. Although I had slept in the afternoon, this ordeal tonight had completely drained me, both physically and mentally. It was only because new situations kept arising that I had no choice but to keep going.