Ji Lingchuan's hand happened to land on the spot where she had been scalded earlier. Song Yihuan shook her head and whispered, "I accidentally knocked over the lamp just now, and the lamp oil splashed on my wrist."
"How could you be so careless?"
Although his words were full of blame, Ji Lingchuan grabbed her hand and rubbed the scalded area with his palm to relieve the pain.
The gentle yet firm pressure made Song Yihuan blush involuntarily. Her ears felt burning hot.
"Your Highness, you're injured. It's better for you to rest."
At this moment, she wanted to back away. She still remembered the last time they were intimate. He had worn her out.
But Ji Lingchuan wouldn't let her escape. He pulled her closer into his arms and whispered in her ear, "Shh, don't talk. I like it better when you're quiet."
The hot breath on her ear was irresistible.
She didn't notice that the man's gaze was getting darker and the way he rubbed her wrist had changed.
Her body was very familiar with him. With just such a gentle caress, she melted in his arms like a soft ribbon.
Different from the last time when she was summoned to serve him, this time the man didn't just leave marks on her body. He even lifted her chin and lowered his head to capture her lips.
Song Yihuan was extremely surprised. Her lips parted slightly, and in an instant, he took complete control.
His big hand held the back of her head. In a flash, their positions were reversed.
He took away all her breath. Song Yihuan's body became weaker and weaker. To support herself, her hands, which were originally against his shoulders, unconsciously wrapped around his neck, just like the lonely vines on the cliff, clinging tightly to the rocks to survive.
His kiss was completely different from the one in the mountains. It was long and deep. He savored the sweetness carefully, the apricot blossom fragrance that haunted his dreams. It was as if he had drunk a jar of sweet rice wine and was completely drunk.
He knew exactly how to arouse her passion. His calloused hand slid across her skin inch by inch, sparking little flames. His unprecedented patience and tenderness broke through Song Yihuan's last line of defense. After several days, the two finally embraced each other again in this tent.
The night was long. Ji Lingchuan hardly gave the woman in his arms any chance to escape.
He was like a general commanding his troops on the battlefield. The war drums sounded one after another. The cavalry and infantry clashed with their weapons. The battle was in full swing.
His muscular arms supported her firmly, allowing her to cling to him. Fine beads of sweat hung on his chest and then dripped into the darkness with each movement.
For some reason, this autumn night was extremely long. It was so long that Song Yihuan thought it would never end.
It was not until the sky outside gradually turned pale that the man finally called off the battle and let her go.
Song Yihuan had intended to show some clues tonight to let Ji Lingchuan notice something. However, exhausted, she didn't have the energy to think about it. She closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep beside him.
Ji Lingchuan pulled her into his arms from behind. Smelling the faint apricot blossom fragrance from her body, he also closed his eyes.
When Song Yihuan woke up again, it was already the hour of si (9 - 11 a.m.) the next day. She was the only one in the tent. Ji Lingchuan had long since disappeared.
Propping herself up, Song Yihuan looked behind her. The bedding was in a mess, which made her recall what they had done last night. Her ears burned again.
There was no panic on her face. Instead, she lowered her head to look at the mark on her wrist scalded by the lamp oil. Then she found a bronze mirror to look at her face.
The medicine left by "Baishao" was said to last only six hours. She roughly estimated that the disguise on her face was about to reach its limit.
Without calling anyone in to serve her, Song Yihuan washed up, changed into clean clothes, and then left the tent.
There were two servants guarding outside the tent. When they saw her coming out, they bowed respectfully and said, "Princess Consort."
Song Yihuan responded casually and then walked towards the tent where she and Song Nanxin were staying.
Since she left at the hour of si, there were people walking around the camp everywhere. Soon, the news that the Princess Consort of Prince Ningqin had spent the night in the Prince's tent and didn't leave until the hour of si the next day began to spread quietly.
When Song Yihuan returned to the tent, Song Nanxin had already gotten up. Or rather, she had hardly slept all night.
How could she sleep?
Too many things had happened in the past few days. She hadn't been able to get rid of Song Yihuan successfully. Cui Muyuan, who had always followed her and offered her advice, had disappeared. She still had to be careful to hide the fact that she had someone serve the Prince instead of herself because she couldn't get pregnant. All these things were almost crushing Song Nanxin.
Seeing Song Yihuan come back before the six - hour limit, the stone in her heart finally fell to the ground. She couldn't help complaining:
"Why did you come back so late? Do you know that if you were any later, we would have been exposed!"
Song Yihuan looked helpless. She lowered her head and murmured, "I don't know what happened to the Prince last night. He had so much energy. He seemed never to get tired..."
"Enough!" Song Yihuan hadn't finished speaking when she was interrupted sharply by Song Nanxin. "I don't want to hear you say these things. We're already late for paying respects to the Princess. Hurry up and change back."
Song Yihuan replied "Yes" and stepped forward to remove the disguises on their faces.
When changing clothes, Song Yihuan's hand paused, and she let out a cry of surprise: "No good!"
Song Nanxin had already restored her original appearance. Hearing this, she turned around and looked at her, frowning tightly: "What's wrong again?"
Song Yihuan raised her wrist and said to Song Nanxin, "When I served the Prince last night, he grabbed my wrist and touched the wound on my hand. He... he knows that I was scalded by the lamp oil."
Song Nanxin was shocked. Only then did she remember how Song Yihuan had been scalded. It was all her fault for being too careless and knocking over the oil lamp on the table.
It was her own mistake, so Song Nanxin couldn't blame Song Yihuan. But in order not to let Ji Lingchuan notice that she had someone replace her to serve him, she had to find a way to make herself the same as Song Yihuan.
What a hassle!
Walking to the table, Song Nanxin said to Song Yihuan angrily, "It's all your fault for what you said to me last night. You made me accidentally knock over the oil lamp. You should be more careful in the future. Don't get hurt and make me suffer too."
Song Yihuan picked up the oil lamp and whispered, "Yihuan knows. I'll be more careful in the future. Sister, the lamp oil is very hot. You have to bear it."
Before her words faded, she tilted the lamp in her hand, and all the hot lamp oil dripped onto Song Nanxin's wrist!