So what if she's my sister-in-law? You seduced me first.

Ning Yu knew he always kept his word, but once he returned to the East Garden, it would be difficult for him to come out again. Her eyes, buried in his arms, darted left and right, her voice muffled.

"I don't want to be labeled as a vixen, and the old lady will also have a problem with me. I want to serve the old lady for a few days."

Xie Xun didn't want to listen to this nonsense and simply helped her put her clothes on haphazardly.

Ning Yu was so rude that she almost couldn't catch her breath. This bastard was impossible to communicate with normally.

She struggled to pull her clothes out of his hands, and in the struggle, Xie Xun took off his outer robe and draped it over her head.

His clothes were very large, covering her naked body completely from head to toe.

Ning Yu's head had just managed to pop out of her clothes when she was suddenly lifted into the air and carried out the door.

"What are you doing, just leaving like that? Don't you have any shame if someone sees you like this?"

"If you don't call out, no one will come to check."

She was so angry she wanted to scratch his face, but at this critical moment, she really didn't want to have a conflict with him. She could only endure it for a couple more days; there weren't many days left.

Son of a bitch.

"My money, I haven't taken the money yet."

Xie Xun didn't turn his head, glanced at her kicking legs, and said coldly, "If you make a scene again, I'll throw you into the lake."

The autumn night was cold and the wind was biting. As soon as Ning Yu stepped outside, she felt the bone-chilling cold and froze.

Her inner clothes were not properly worn, haphazardly draped over her body, and she was only wrapped in his dog skin on the outside. If he hadn't been holding her, she would have been really cold.

Feeling her snuggle into his arms, Xie Xun's expression softened. He held her tighter and strode towards the East Garden.

Perhaps because it was late at night, they didn't see many people along the way. Ning Yu curled up in his arms, gritting her teeth, seemingly lost in thought.

Upon arriving at the East Garden, she immediately adopted a harmless demeanor and raised her head to look outside.

Before he could even take a second look, the man strode into the house.

The warm air instantly dispelled the chill, and with a thud, he placed the person on the bed covered with thick mattresses.

Her clothes were ripped off, and Ning Yu gasped softly as she looked up at him.

Inside the bed curtains, Xie Xun threw his clothes out to block her hand from pulling at the blanket, then leaned down to kiss her.

Ning Yu had long known that this bastard couldn't hold back anymore. The way he looked at her in Rong'an Hall was strange, and he returned extremely quickly.

She didn't want to be bothered by him in the middle of the night, so she quickly pressed his hand down, saying, "I feel so cold, I want to take a shower."

"Wash it after you're done."

"No." She curled up and snuggled into his arms, looking up at him. "Carry me to the washroom in the back. I'm covered in dirt from climbing the window and the tree. I don't want to do this."

Xie Xun looked at her clean face and touched her smooth body.

"Hurry up," she urged, shaking his body.

He paused, forcefully suppressing his anger, and carried her to the hot spring behind the waterside pavilion and artificial hill.

She did hers, he did his, and neither of them was inconvenienced the other.

Ning Yu had no idea that he had such intentions. As she watched him carry her to the natural hot spring, she couldn't help but think of their first time together, and her mind became somewhat dazed.

It wasn't until the warm water enveloped her entire body and she was pressed against the edge of the pool that she realized what the scoundrel was trying to do, and she kicked him.

"Behave yourself, or I'll take you outside and do it."

abnormal.

Xie Xun could tell from her expression that she was swearing filthyly, but he didn't care at all. He spread her legs and kissed her ear.

Ning Yu groaned, her hands bracing against the cold pool wall, tears welling up in her eyes.

She felt that Xie Xun wanted her dead.

Hearing his lewd words mixed with his light laughter, she felt a flustered lust flash across her beautiful eyes. This bastard, once in bed he becomes so indiscriminate in his sexuality, saying all sorts of things.

An hour later, when it was all over, Ning Yu lay exhausted on the heated kang bed. In her drowsy state, someone carried her back to the house.

Inside the bedroom, the curtains were drawn and closed, the lamplight was dim, and the eyes of Xie Xun, the legendary upright and virtuous Grand Commander, were filled with a greedy and insatiable gloom.

"It's been so long, why is there still no sign of pregnancy?"

One sentence jolted Ning Yu, who was dazed, back to reality. She opened her watery eyes and looked at him, her voice soft and gentle, "I've been drinking a lot of nourishing soups lately. Maybe it's because I took too many cooling medicines before, and my body isn't healthy enough to have a baby."

Why did you bring up the child again? She gets very anxious whenever this is mentioned, afraid that they'll find out she's still taking birth control pills.

Xie Xun remembered that she had gone to the Ink Academy today, and remembered his elder brother's words, so he gripped her even tighter.

He doesn't actually like children, but he really wants to have a child with her. Unfortunately, they haven't been using contraception for so long, and she hasn't gotten pregnant.

He lowered his eyelids and lifted her chin. "Have you been secretly drinking cold medicine behind my back again?"

Her heart skipped a beat, but she quickly pushed him away with a fierce expression, turning the tables on him, "Why don't you just say you can't do it?"

Xie Xun's face darkened, and he grabbed her leg with one hand, leaned down, and bit her.

Ning Yu's temples were damp with sweat, clinging to her forehead. Did that scoundrel of a man not know the meaning of the word "restraint"? Would she even be able to keep her waist tomorrow?

Her mind was hazy as she recalled his words. She had to hurry and leave as soon as possible, or he would find out sooner or later that she had been secretly taking contraceptives, and then it wouldn't be as easy to fool her as last time.

The world was in turmoil, and the Great Xia was plagued by disasters and wars. Rebellions broke out frequently in several northeastern prefectures, and Crown Prince Xie Jingchen issued edicts to quell the rebellions on multiple occasions.

Just then, news of another defeat came from the border. The central army led by the Third Prince was ambushed in the Qilian Mountains in an attempt to complete the battle before nightfall, suffering heavy losses.

The Third Prince himself was timid and cowardly. In order to gain military merit, he blamed everything on the Young Prince Xie Zhanyan, and the two quarreled fiercely in the military camp.

The news reached the capital several days later. During the morning court session, the emperor, who had not attended court for a long time, suddenly became lucid and ordered the princes who had personally led the expedition to return to the capital immediately.

But a few days later, another battle report came back: the Third Prince died on the city wall of Beishuo City. He was shot in the throat by an arrow from Murong Huang, the Crown Prince of Shangliang, who was besieging the city. He died on the spot.

As for how he died, a single arrow was enough to kill him. People in the court had many suspicions, but dared not speak out.

The emperor is dying. These past few days, the imperial physicians have been coming and going, all afraid of siding with the wrong person, and they are keeping a close eye on the crown prince in the Eastern Palace.

The princes in the palace were either dead, wounded, or sick, and even the princes who were banished to their fiefdoms could not escape the pursuit. No one would believe that it was all the Crown Prince's doing.

With its commander-in-chief killed in battle, the Great Xia suffered repeated defeats and lost three key locations. Seeing the dire situation, Crown Prince Xie Jingchen dispatched 30,000 Central Army troops to Beishuo for support and also sent his trusted general, the Commander of the Imperial Guards, to the battlefield.

The border war raged on, but just then, news quickly spread that the Muhe tribe from the Northeast was conducting training exercises in the Yanming Mountains.