Remarried to a top-tier playboy, her reborn ex-husband is filled with regret.

The ribbons of the gauze dress were loosened by rough fingers; the movement was hardly gentle.

Xiao Fang originally wanted to be gentle, but when his fingers touched the smooth skin of her waist, the string of reason in his mind completely snapped.

The man kissed her collarbone eagerly, then her shoulder, and then her slender neck.

Each strike was more forceful than the last, as if to make up for all the time they had missed by being close to each other.

Yun Shuyao's body went limp from his kisses, her fingers gripping the fabric of his shirt so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

But tonight she was determined not to back down and was determined to fight back against his advances.

Yun Shuyao's hand slid from his back to his front, mimicking his earlier actions, to unbutton his clothes.

However, her fingers were weak, and she couldn't untie it after several attempts, which made Xiao Fang groan.

"Shu Yao".

Xiao Fang grabbed her hand that was groping his chest. His eyes were already burning red, and his voice was hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing against iron.

"You might suffer a bit tonight."

Yun Shuyao looked up at him, her eyes sparkling, her lips slightly swollen from his kisses, yet she still tried to be strong.

"I'm not afraid, you are my husband."

These words were like a fire, completely burning away Xiao Fang's last shred of restraint.

He no longer restrained himself, no longer acted cautiously, and no longer guided her step by step as he had before.

Instead, he pressed down again, kissing her with a bit more force than before, carrying a possessiveness and desire that had been suppressed for too long.

The temperature inside the gauze curtains suddenly rose, and the air was filled with a sweet, cloying scent that made one's heart race.

He placed his palm on her lower back, lifted her up, and pulled her into his arms.

Yun Shuyao gasped softly, but his kiss silenced her.

She could feel the heat of his palms and the pounding of his heart in his chest.

You could feel the longing and yearning that he had suppressed for so long in every movement he made.

Xiao Fang completely lost control.

His hands were hotter than usual, and his breathing was more erratic than usual.

He pressed his ear against Yun Shuyao's earlobe, his voice low and broken, calling out the name he held dear in his heart intermittently.

He kissed her with each call, as if he wanted to make up for all the words he hadn't said these past few days.

Yun Shuyao was so overwhelmed by his kisses that her senses were becoming hazy, but she still managed to wrap her arms tightly around his neck.

Suddenly, she whispered something in his ear, so softly that it was almost inaudible, but Xiao Fang heard it.

He paused for a moment, then looked down at her, his eyes brimming with an intense, gentle, almost pious light.

Say it again.

Xiao Fang spoke in a hoarse voice.

Yun Shuyao smiled, pulled his head down, and whispered in his ear.

Xiao Fang closed his eyes, took a deep breath, as if engraving those three words into his bones.

Then he reopened his eyes, lowered his head and kissed her forehead, the touch as gentle as if he were touching a piece of exquisite porcelain.

His gentleness at this moment contrasted sharply with the tension and restraint in his body.

Inside the gauze curtains, only their increasingly heavy breathing could be heard, occasionally escaping as they murmured brokenly from their kisses, making it impossible to tell who was calling whose name.

The candlelight flickered outside the gauze curtain, casting two overlapping, inseparable shadows.

As the moon outside the window gradually slanted westward, the wildly swaying shadows of the trees finally stopped.

Yun Shuyao felt as if all the bones in her body had been removed.

She sank limply into the brocade quilt, too weak to even move a finger.

A thin layer of sweat clung to her body, and the breeze that leaked in from outside the tent made it feel cool, causing her to shiver slightly.

Her long, black hair was scattered on the pillow, a few strands of which were soaked with sweat and clung to her cheeks and neck, leaving thin trails of water.

Her blouse was half-open, revealing a section of her fair collarbone and shoulder.

A few ambiguous red marks were faintly visible on her collarbone, rising and falling slightly with her still-uneven breathing.

Her eyes were unfocused and hazy, half-open as she stared at the top of the tent, a layer of misty water still lingering in her eyes.

It was as if he had been severely bullied, or as if he had reached the extreme of satisfaction.

Her lips were slightly parted, red and swollen from being kissed, and her breath was light and shallow, like the most vibrant red plum blossoms.

Yun Shuyao tried to raise her arm, but her fingertips fell softly back down as soon as they left the blanket.

Fine, if I can't get up, I can't get up.

Thinking this, she simply rubbed her face against the pillow, finding a more comfortable position.

A faint smile played on her lips as she lay there languidly, her body aching yet perfectly comfortable.

The two lay side by side, and Xiao Fang was unusually quiet.

He rested one hand behind his head and the other around Yun Shuyao, his eyes fixed on the roof beam, a faint smile playing on his lips.

Yun Shuyao lay on his chest, listening to his heartbeat gradually calm down, and suddenly felt that she must have been out of her mind tonight to do such a thing.

She buried her face in Xiao Fang's chest in frustration, her voice muffled.

"Was I... very... improper just now?"

Xiao Fang looked down at her, the smile on his lips slowly faded, but the color in his eyes deepened.

He reached out and brushed away the stray hairs that were stuck to Yun Shuyao's forehead, his thumb sliding from her brow to her temple. His voice was unusually serious, without a trace of his usual teasing tone.

"How could that be?"

Xiao Fang paused, seemingly searching for the right word, but eventually gave up.

He pulled her closer to him, his lips brushing against the top of her head, his voice low and frank.

"You shouldn't do that again."

Why?

Yun Shuyao's heart sank slightly.

"because--"

Xiao Fang looked down at her, his eyes filled with complex and intense emotions.

"If you do it one more time, I'll really give you my life."

The strong arms tightened their grip even more.

"I used to think I was fearless, but I realized today that's not the case."

Xiao Fang nuzzled the top of her head with his chin and chuckled softly, a laugh that contained both self-deprecation and resignation.

"I also have things I'm afraid of."

"I'm afraid that one day you'll leave me, and my life will be over."

Yun Shuyao didn't speak, but buried her face in his chest, clutching that small piece of fabric tightly.

She heard Xiao Fang chuckle softly above her head, then lower his head and place a kiss on the back of her neck.

This time there was no lust, just pure and unreserved appreciation.

She closed her eyes and felt that all the suffering in her past life was probably to accumulate enough luck to meet him.

Department of Supervision.

The old case at the Ministry of Rites was uncovered by Lu Zhao.

After Xiao Fang handed over the clues that Lin Hui had found, Lu Zhao plunged headfirst into the old documents of the Ministry of Rites.

He's usually a carefree, easygoing guy, but when he gets serious, he's more ruthless than anyone else.

He thoroughly examined the Ministry of Rites archives from the eighth year of the Yongning era, even piecing together the worm-eaten scraps of paper one by one.

Finally, they found a letter that had been deliberately destroyed, but not completely erased.

The incident occurred when Prince Yi was seventeen years old, and Consort Zhao was in the emperor's favor.

Calls for Prince Yi to be made crown prince were rising and falling throughout the court.

Cui Shi'an, the Vice Minister of Rites, conspired with the Chief Astrologer of the Imperial Observatory to fabricate a celestial phenomenon—

The Purple Star is moving, the Emperor Star is about to shift, and the Mandate of Heaven should fall upon the Wing King.

This celestial phenomenon was written down in a memorial and presented to the emperor.

Although the emperor suppressed it, it caused a great uproar in the court and among the people.

It was from that time onward that a formidable force began to gather around the Wing King.

Many people believed he was the crown prince destined by heaven, and everyone was betting on his merit in supporting the emperor.