With her delicate face and slender waist, the royal uncle lost control.

"I have come."

She suddenly looked up and met Qin Jiuchen's unfathomable eyes.

His expression remained indifferent.

"No, no, no!"

Yun Nian waved her hands repeatedly, her cheeks flushing uncontrollably. "Your Highness is of noble birth and precious status. How could I, a humble person, dare to trouble Your Highness? Moreover, men and women should not touch each other. If word gets out, it will damage Your Highness's reputation..."

"Since this is medicine, I shall be the healer for now."

Qin Jiuchen interrupted her, "In a doctor's eyes, there are only injuries and illnesses, not distinctions between men and women. Turn around."

Yun Nian was speechless for a moment, stumped by his righteous and high-sounding reason.

She looked at him, and he calmly looked back at her.

After feigning hesitation for a moment, Yun Nian seemed to have finally been persuaded, her voice barely audible: "Then... I'll trouble Your Highness."

She slowly turned around, her back to him.

His fingers trembled as he untied the belt around his waist.

The outer garment slid slowly down her rounded shoulders, revealing the equally moon-white inner garment underneath.

The back of the inner garment was already soaked with blood.

She gritted her teeth and continued to pull her inner garment down to her waist.

A fair and delicate back was exposed without any cover to the cool air, and also to the view of the man behind her.

However, this once flawless beauty was marred by several grotesque scars of varying shades and colors.

Fresh blood was slowly seeping out from the most severely ruptured parts, meandering and flowing.

The room was so quiet that only the two of them could be heard breathing softly.

Qin Jiuchen's gaze fell on the wound, and his pupils contracted slightly.

He remained silent, picked up the medicine bottle from the table, and sat down behind Yun Nian.

Cool fingertips, stained with glistening white ointment, gently dabbed at the edge of her bleeding wound.

The icy touch mixed with a stinging sensation made Yun Nian gasp involuntarily, her body instinctively shrinking forward.

"Don't move."

Qin Jiuchen said in a low voice, and with his other hand he lightly supported her other intact shoulder to steady her body.

His movements were unexpectedly gentle.

The ointment was cooling and quickly relieved the burning pain, but another, more agonizing sensation arose.

His presence was right behind her, very close.

The cool, pine-snow scent mixed with the medicinal aroma enveloped her completely.

Every movement and every press of his fingertips was clearly discernible.

She could feel his warm breath brushing against her bare shoulders and neck.

But when his fingertips touched a particularly sensitive wound, a soft whimper would still escape from between her lips and teeth.

"Ugh, it hurts..."

Her soft, sweet voice was coquettish.

It added an unspeakable ambiguity.

Qin Jiuchen paused for a moment while applying the ointment.

His Adam's apple bobbed silently.

When she spoke again, her voice was even lower and hoarser than before, "Bear with it. This medicine is excellent at stopping bleeding and promoting tissue regeneration; it won't hurt this much tomorrow."

As he spoke, he applied more ointment and continued to treat her other open wounds.

After Qin Jiuchen finished applying the ointment to the last wound, he withdrew his hand. "All done."

Yun Nian felt as if she had been granted a pardon and hurriedly reached out to pull up her undergarment, which had slipped down to her waist.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps and the sound of a man and a woman talking came from outside the door.

"Quick, it's been so long, I've missed you so much!"

The male voice was clearly impatient and frivolous.

"You're incredibly audacious! This is the imperial palace!"

The woman's voice was coquettish, her tone reproachful yet coy.

"What are you afraid of? Not many people come to this back hall."

As the man spoke, his footsteps grew clearer.

Yun Nian's heart tightened, and she abruptly stopped dressing.

She quickly looked around and saw only a large, carved wardrobe standing in the corner.

Without thinking twice, she grabbed Qin Jiuchen's wrist and pulled him up from the edge of the bed.

"Come with me."

Qin Jiuchen stumbled from her brute force and was actually dragged to the front of the wardrobe.

Yun Nian climbed in first, then turned back and pulled the tall Qin Jiuchen in as well.

Qin Jiuchen gripped the wardrobe door frame with one hand, "What are you afraid of, this king..."

Before he could finish speaking, Yun Nian suddenly pulled him, and Qin Jiuchen, caught off guard, was dragged into the wardrobe.

At the same time, Yun Nian closed the wardrobe door, and the outer door opened in response.

The cramped darkness instantly enveloped the two of them, and a faint scent of camphor wood filled the wardrobe.

"Ugh, why are you in such a hurry..."

Outside, a woman's voice was alluring and seductive.

"How can I not be anxious? Ever since last time, I've been thinking about you every single day."

The man chuckled, followed by the rustling sound of clothes falling to the ground.

Yun Nian froze.

That sound...

This conversation...

She suddenly remembered that this was the same couple she and Qin Jiuchen had accidentally stumbled upon in the halls of Xiangguo Temple that day.

Is it...

She held her breath and carefully pressed her eyes close to the crack in the wardrobe door.

A faint light shone in, barely enough to make out the two figures entangled outside.

The woman had her back to the wardrobe, her clothes half-undone, revealing her smooth shoulders and back.

The man was burying his face in her neck, his profile partially visible in the dim light.

When the two turned around, Yun Nian could see their faces clearly.

Yun Nian opened her eyes wide.

She subconsciously turned around to ask Qin Jiuchen, but the moment she turned, she met a pair of deep eyes that were inches away from her.

His arms had somehow wrapped around her, loosely encircling her body and enveloping her in his aura.

Yun Nian was taken aback.

She belatedly looked down, and blood rushed to her head.

Her outer garment had already slipped off in the hurried tugging, leaving only a light green brocade bodice barely covering her front.

Large swathes of fair skin were exposed to his gaze.

With a loud "boom".

Yun Nian felt all the blood rush to her face, burning her face terribly.

She frantically hugged herself tightly, trying to cover herself.

At this very moment, the commotion outside became increasingly unbearable to hear.

The woman's deliberately suppressed yet alluring moans, intertwined with the man's heavy breathing, created a blush-inducing and erotic scene.

At that moment, Qin Jiuchen leaned down, his warm breath brushing against her ear.

"This is the third time..."

"In the shadows, you and I do these shameful things."

Yun Nian was so embarrassed that she wished she could disappear into the ground, and instinctively covered her burning face with her hands.

A faint, mischievous smile spread across his lips.

Outside the wardrobe, an atmosphere of lust had already filled the air.

The moans of men and women rose and fell, and obscene words and phrases were spoken without any attempt to conceal their obscenity.

Qin Jiuchen obviously heard it too.

In this setting, with the soft, warm fragrance of the young woman in his arms, her delicate scent wafted into his nostrils.

His body stiffened slightly.

Yun Nian was very close to him and quickly noticed his change.

Her face was burning hot, and even her ears were red as if they were about to bleed.

She froze, too afraid to move.

Qin Jiuchen reached out and gently pulled her hands down from her face.

His face appeared exceptionally deep in the dim light, and his eyes seemed to hold a turbulent undercurrent.

He moved closer, his thin lips brushing against her earlobe.

"It's so lively outside, how about... we have a forbidden love too?"

Yun Nian stared in shock, her mind going completely blank.

This...this is really too fast.

This time, she just wanted him to shut up quickly, afraid that people outside would hear.

But Qin Jiuchen was about to speak again.

In a moment of desperation, Yun Nian, as if possessed, suddenly pressed her lips against his lips, blocking his mouth as he was about to open and close.

The moment their lips touched, they both froze.

Yun Nian felt a warm, slightly cool touch on his lips, carrying his unique, refreshing scent.

She then realized what she had done and hurriedly tried to back away, but Qin Jiuchen reacted even faster.