The mad princess forces love upon him, and the aloof imperial advisor trembles every night.

Judge Zhou staggered back in horror: "This...this...I have practiced medicine for decades and have never seen such a bizarre and domineering 'poison'!"

"This doesn't seem to be entirely poison; it's more like... an extremely cold and violent force, strangely fused with Your Highness's life force!"

"Normally, the princess might use her profound inner strength to forcibly suppress and balance this power. But once that inner strength is damaged or sealed, this power loses its restraint, turning against its master, devouring life force, leading to the invasion of cold poison and the severing of life!"

Si Chen's eyes were deep and dark.

Therefore, her current illness is because he sealed her internal energy with the Spirit Sealing Seal... which triggered this backlash...

"Is it treatable?" he asked.

With a forced smile, Judge Zhou said, "The Imperial Preceptor's cultivation is profound, and his spiritual power is abundant. If he can forcibly protect the princess's heart meridian with his spiritual power, dispel the cold poison, and then supplement it with appropriate spiritual medicine, saving the princess should not be difficult, and..."

"What if spiritual power is useless?" Si Chen interrupted him.

Judge Zhou was taken aback: "Without using spiritual power? This... why is that?"

Meeting Si Chen's icy gaze, he dared not ask any more questions and could only rack his brains to think of something.

"If... if the spiritual power is ineffective, then we can only start from the outside. The most urgent task is to raise the temperature of the princess and awaken her consciousness."

"If she can wake up, perhaps her own internal energy can be restored and suppress the backlash of this cold poison."

"I've tried it; covering myself with blankets and channeling my inner energy, but the effect is minimal," Si Chen said. "Is there any other method?"

The sweat on Judge Zhou's forehead increased. He looked at Chu Qingyue's white hair and frosty face, then at Si Chen's face, which showed no emotion but was under immense pressure. He gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "If external force is useless, then we can only... warm it slowly with the warmth of the body."

Si Chen looked up: "What do you mean?"

"It is to find a strong and healthy man with abundant yang energy, and then, by touching skin to skin, use his own body heat to slowly warm the princess's body back."

"Although this method is... although it is somewhat impolite, it is indeed the fastest and safest way to save lives at the moment."

"Once the princess's body temperature rises and she regains consciousness, she may be able to circulate her internal energy on her own."

After Zhou finished speaking, he lowered his head deeply, not daring to look at the Imperial Preceptor's face.

This method is almost blasphemous, especially since the other party is a princess of noble status; proposing such a method is already a great disrespect.

The observatory was deathly silent.

After a long silence, Si Chen's voice finally rang out, his tone unreadable: "Is there really no other way?"

Judge Zhou lowered his head even further: "This old man is dull-witted... This is the only reliable method I can think of that doesn't rely on spiritual power. If the Imperial Preceptor has a better method, then naturally..."

Si Chen remained silent.

A wisp of pale golden spiritual energy silently touched Judge Zhou's forehead.

Without uttering a sound, Judge Zhou slumped softly into the chair next to him.

"You cannot have this memory," Si Chen said calmly.

"Shirakawa."

Shirakawa appeared immediately.

"Send Judge Zhou back to his room and let him sleep peacefully until dawn."

"This concerns the princess's reputation; not a single word of what happened today must be revealed."

"Understood, subordinate." Bai Chuan carried the unconscious Zhou Yuanpan on his back and disappeared silently from the observatory, just as he had come.

In the vast space, only Si Chen and Chu Qingyue, whose body was covered in frost and whose breath was faint, remained.

He stood there, dressed in purple robes with silver hair, his figure solitary and alone.

His gaze finally settled on that pale, paper-white face with frost-covered hair, and he stared at it for a long time.

Four hundred years of solitary cultivation, the shackles of the ruthless path, the duties of the national preceptor, the eyes of the world... countless thoughts flashed through my mind like lightning.

In the end, it turned into a barely audible sigh.

"Protecting the safety of the Great Chu Princess... is also my duty."

After he finished speaking, he bent down and, with somewhat stiff movements, gently picked her up.

Her red dress was like fire, but her body was like ice.

He placed her on the soft couch, his fingertips hovering over the belt around her waist, lingering there for a long time.

Finally, it was gently untied.

The layers of red clothing faded away, revealing skin beneath a plain white undergarment, as if sculpted from cold jade, with frost forming on it.

He also took off his outer robe, wearing only his inner garment, lifted the brocade quilt and lay down, embracing her cold body in his arms.

The instant their skin touched, Si Chen clearly felt his chest tremble slightly and his back stiffen for a moment.

For the first time in four hundred years, we were so close to each other, skin to skin, that we could hear each other's faintest heartbeats.

He closed his eyes, suppressing all the strange emotions churning in his heart. He tightened his arms and wrapped the two of them tightly in the brocade quilt, using his own warm body to warm the delicate body that was almost frozen solid.

Outside the window, the stars flowed and the moonlight silently fell, casting a layer of gentle glow over this quiet and forbidden scene.

In a daze, he recalled fifteen years ago.

On a similarly cold night, he carried the little girl, who had just been pulled from the icy pool and was on the verge of death, back to the Star-Picking Pavilion.

She was shivering with cold, clutching his soaked sleeve, and said in a weak voice:

"Fairy brother, Yue'er is cold."

At that time, he channeled his spiritual power into her, warmed her clothes, and watched her curl up beside him and fall into a deep sleep, tears still clinging to her little face.

now……

He looked down at Chu Qingyue, who was fast asleep, her madness and allure gone, as quiet as a baby.

Her white hair was scattered on the pillow, her eyebrows and eyes were exquisitely beautiful, but her brows were still tightly furrowed, as if she could not find peace even in her dreams.

As if guided by some unseen force, he raised his other hand and gently stroked her furrowed brow with his fingertips, trying to smooth out the wrinkles.

The movement was so gentle that even he himself was unaware of it.

"Chu Qingyue," his voice was so low it was almost inaudible in the wind, "you turned your black hair into snow, your bones and blood into poison, and you transformed my four-hundred-year-old Dao heart into a calamity."

"What exactly do you want me to do with you?"

The person in his arms did not respond.

Only his frosty hair, inch by inch, reflected the cold moonlight on his fingertips.

Like snow, and like a blade.

It resembles love, but also a calamity.

---------

Time passed slowly in silence, from midnight to the darkest hour before dawn.

Si Chen maintained the same posture throughout, continuously nourishing her with his own warmth.

Having cultivated the ruthless path to its highest level, the true essence within his body should have been cool and balanced, but at this moment, it was forcibly activated, generating a warm sensation.

This was also a huge drain on him and a violation of his principles.

The chill in his arms gradually subsided, and the thin frost covering him turned into fine water droplets, which were then evaporated by his body heat.

Her face was still pale, but her breathing gradually became steady and long, and her brows were no longer furrowed.

As the first faint ray of dawn pierced the deep blue sky, he could no longer suppress the metallic taste in his throat.

He was currently embracing her sideways, afraid that the blood would stain her body. This Grand Preceptor, who had been spotless and had a deep-seated obsession with cleanliness for four hundred years, instinctively turned his head to cover his mouth with his wide purple sleeve.

"puff!"

A mouthful of blood sprayed onto the purple robe sleeve, blooming into a glaring dark red.

He frowned slightly; he knew what it was—the backlash from a heart devoid of ruthlessness.

Because of the intertwined limbs that lasted all night, because of that subtle tremor deep in my chest that shouldn't have happened.

He didn't even glance at the stain, but immediately looked down at the person in his arms.

Chu Qingyue's face was still pale, and her full head of silver hair had not turned black, but the deadly frost on her face had melted away, her skin felt warm to the touch, and her breathing became long and even.

Life has returned.

Si Chen felt a slight sense of relief, followed by a deeper sense of complexity.