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

Ning Yu hadn't expected the dog to cause so much trouble. She tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep, waking up and falling asleep repeatedly.

She woke up the following afternoon. The dog of a man in the house had already returned from court and was handling official business in the study. She heard the voice of the official outside, so she did not go out but got out of bed first.

She waited for a while, but the people outside showed no sign of leaving. She had already washed up and come out, and she could still hear rustling voices.

With her stomach growling with hunger, Ning Yu quietly walked to the window and called out to the maid in the corridor.

The study door was open, and the seats on both sides were full of people, all of whom were court officials. As they were talking, they saw a group of maids file into the inner room and exchanged curious glances.

Xiao Zhiliu, a longtime friend of Xie Xun, stroked his chin with a mischievous grin. "Is someone inside?"

"There is someone," Xie Xun said, looking at him. "It's that little girl surnamed Shen."

Xiao Zhiliu's expression changed abruptly. She turned her head to drink her tea, "What a boring person."

Ning Yu couldn't help but admire the East Garden's well-trained servants for being able to quickly serve such a table full of dishes after ordering from the small kitchen.

She ate a few bites quickly, and when she felt almost full, she asked someone to remove all the food.

The people outside hadn't left, so Ning Yu changed into her old clothes and planned to slip out the window.

Her clothes had already been washed clean by the maids in the East Garden, and they had even brought her several other dresses, but she refused them and slipped away wearing her own clothes.

Just as she climbed out of the window, Qingfeng caught sight of her and stopped her at the bottom of the steps. "Miss, the master hasn't given any instructions yet."

Ning Yu's expression hardened. "The Commander is busy, so I'll head back now."

Qingfeng didn't speak, but simply stood there blocking the way.

Lackey.

Ning Yu had no choice but to slip back.

She wasn't actually in a hurry to leave, but it was getting dark, and she was afraid that if she couldn't leave by nightfall, Xie Xun would act like he'd never seen a woman before and would be more promiscuous than a wild wolf.

Seeing that the commotion outside wouldn't end anytime soon, she rubbed her aching legs, took off her coat, and lay down on the bed for a short rest.

My legs are still trembling slightly.

After the officials left, Xie Xun finally had time to inquire about Ning Yu's matter, "Is everything settled?"

"It's all taken care of. Third Master has returned to the military camp outside the city."

Xie Xun closed the book, got up and went to the inner room. He pushed open the door and found the person still asleep.

I've slept all day; I can sleep even more than a pig.

He lifted the curtains on both sides and draped them over the hooks of the divine bird. Xie Xun lifted his robe and sat down, glancing at the woman who slowly opened her eyes. "Get up and have something to eat."

The moment Ning Yu opened her eyes, she saw that face that made her want to grind her teeth in hatred, and her mind involuntarily overlapped with the image of the fierce man from last night.

Xie Xun looked into her misty, fox-like eyes, leaned down, grabbed her neck, lifted her up, and kissed her deeply, his lips entwining with hers.

Hmm~ Ning Yu's head went numb for a moment. She couldn't push him away and was pinned to the bed by him.

His breath was everywhere, and his erratic breathing occasionally escaped from his mouth. She could only hook her arms around his neck, as if in response to his infatuation.

Her slender fingers moved subtly down his shoulder, pinching and picking at the scars on his back.

Even though she was fully clothed, Xie Xun could feel that she wanted to scratch him to death.

Last night she was so spoiled, scratching red marks all over his back.

"Have you gotten addicted to scratching?"

His hoarse voice slowly entered her ears, making her feel as if her bones were being ground down. She lowered her eyes, not daring to look at him. "It hurts so much."

Xie Xun knew he had lost control a bit last night. He glanced at her bright red lips and took out a bottle of medicine from the drawer.

"Apply it twice and it will be fine."

Ning Yu hurriedly took the medicine, put on her shoes and got off the bed. "I caught a cold when I went to the Yueshan Mausoleum the day before yesterday. I don't need to pay my respects to the old lady, but it's been two days now. I have to go back. I still need to make medicinal food for the old lady first thing tomorrow morning."

"You're eager to do the work of servants."

Ning Yu paused, then said tactfully, "The ladies have all gone to pay their respects to the old lady. It wouldn't be appropriate for me not to go; it would give rise to gossip."

Xie Xun seemed to have heard a joke, and lifted her chin. "Sister-in-law, are you afraid of gossip, yet you dare to seduce me?"

Ning Yu was ultimately unable to leave and was trapped on the bed and humiliated by him all night.

Xie Xun was a heartless bastard who would devour people without spitting out the bones. He kept causing trouble until dawn, and she felt like she almost fainted.

Before they knew it, the sky was beginning to lighten, and it was almost time for court. Xie Xun pushed away the person in his arms and got out of bed to change his clothes.

"You can sleep here, and I'll have dinner with you after court."

Ning Yu slumped her eyelids and ignored him. She had already stayed in the East Garden for two days, and if she stayed any longer, her back and legs would be ruined.

After Xie Xun finished showering, he came out of the bathroom and looked at the person on the bed.

She was asleep nestled in the quilt, her long black hair resting on his bed. The quilt only covered her shoulders, revealing kiss marks of varying depths.

He glanced at it, then turned and went out.

As soon as he left, Ning Yu opened her tired eyes, slipped on her shoes and got off the bed. Qingfeng was no longer in the courtyard, and there were very few maids walking around.

When she saw the maid who came to bring her water to wash up, she dragged her aching legs and refused. Taking advantage of the fact that no one from the other courtyards had come out yet, she hurriedly followed the path back to the Mo Courtyard.

To her surprise, Qinghe brought explosive news: Granny Zhou and the others had drowned.

They say it was pulled from the lake early this morning. It was at the lakeside pavilion, which the Grand Princess often visited, that it accidentally capsized and fell in, drowning silently.

Ning Yu didn't believe that the old nanny, who had lived most of her life, would just drown like that; there must be something fishy about it.

She couldn't help but think of Xie Xun.

Has the Grand Princess sent anyone?

"No, there's been no news at all." After saying that, Qinghe seemed to remember something, "Fifth Miss did come by, and she scolded us, saying that she wanted to see Miss, and that you had bewitched Third Master in some way, so that Third Master would plead for you in front of the Old Madam."

Third Master Xie Hemian?! He is the second son of the second wife, the third son in the family. He spends most of his time in the military camp and rarely comes back.

It seems that Third Master and Xie Xun have a good relationship.

"Miss, are we alright?"

The Xie family wanted to use her to give the old emperor a hard time, but as long as someone in the Xie family was willing to protect her, there was room for negotiation. After all, such a big incident had happened at the mausoleum, resulting in the deaths of many court officials. What would the old emperor think?

"The old lady spoke up and said that everything is fine for now."

Without even drinking a sip of water, Ning Yu went back to bed to sleep.

Seeing that she was sleepy, Qinghe tucked her in and respectfully withdrew.