With legs weak, the sickly stable boy became a mad regent.

"What are you hiding from?"

The man's voice was so hoarse it was almost unrecognizable.

Carrying an overwhelming aura of hostility and lust after taking traditional Chinese medicine,

His fingers gripped her waist, with such force it felt like he wanted to crush her.

He whispered in her ear

"I am in pain..."

Shen Nannan smelled the alcohol on him, mixed with that familiar ambergris scent, and a sweet, cloying smell that made her dizzy.

He was drugged again.

It's always like this!

Even though they clearly knew the other person had ill intentions, they still drank quite happily.

In the end, she was the one who had to bear the consequences.

"Hasn't my little girl already learned how to serve me?"

She was pressed down on the couch, her wrists gripped by him and raised above her head.

He pressed down on me, his body burning hot.

Shen Nannan huddled beneath him, trembling all over.

He bit her reddened earlobe,

The force was so strong it felt like it was about to draw blood.

Yet, he deliberately licked it gently with the tip of his tongue.

It hurts and it's numb...

"Darling, call me... call me..."

Her mouth was open, and her lips were trembling.

"Your Highness..."

"Wrong name...wrong name...you should be punished!"

The man leaned forward.

"Um... Ah, Ah Zhao..."

The moment those two words were uttered, the man abruptly stopped.

She thought she was about to face even more torment, and she closed her eyes, trembling all over. But he turned her over, and she fell face-up into his unfathomable eyes.

The candlelight flickered, illuminating his alluringly handsome face.

It was Regent Xiao Yunzhao, whose eyes and brows held a cold, domineering, and obsessive air.

But those eyes held a tenderness she had never seen before, a tenderness that was almost broken.

He lowered his head, his burning lips gently wiping away the tears on her face.

His movements were so gentle, as if he were afraid of breaking her, a stark contrast to his previous ruthless demeanor.

"Say it again."

His voice trembled as his fingertips traced the corners of her reddened eyes.

"Miss, call me again."

She called out again timidly.

"Ah, Ah Chao..."

Shen Nannan was in a daze.

Two faces overlapped in front of him.

Exactly the same eyebrows and eyes,

A ruthless and insane one

A patient and restrained person.

They all stared at her with the same unwavering gaze.

My chest felt like it was being squeezed tightly by something; it was both painful and numb.

Terrified to death,

Yet, a strange, inexplicable longing arose within me.

She tried to reach out and touch it, but she couldn't lift her hand.

Then she heard a voice drifting from a great distance.

Low, hoarse,

It carries a somewhat indescribable meaning—

"Who is Miss calling?"

Shen Nannan suddenly opened her eyes.

The tent was dimly lit, with only a small lamp on.

She lay on the soft couch, covered with a man's outer robe, with a rabbit curled up beside her, fast asleep.

"woke up?"

The sound came from beside the tatami mat, low and languid.

She tilted her head.

A-Chao sat on a low stool by the tatami mat, propping his chin up with one hand and squinting at her.

The lamp was placed beside him, its light shining upwards, casting flickering shadows on his face.

The mask was removed, revealing the entire face—eyebrows, eyes, bridge of the nose, thin lips, and jawline.

It's incredibly beautiful, and incredibly dangerous.

He was like a half-awake wolf, languid and casual.

But what was hidden beneath those eyes sent chills down my spine.

Shen Nannan hadn't recovered from the shock of the dream and instinctively flinched.

Ah-chatted at her startled expression, his brow furrowed slightly, but a smile played on his lips.

He suddenly leaned forward, closing the distance abruptly.

"Miss was just dreaming."

His voice was still low, but the ending note rose slightly.

"It called out several times."

Shen Nannan's fingers clenched tightly under the blanket.

She opened her mouth, but her throat was so dry that she couldn't utter a single word.

He tilted his head, a slight curve to his lips, a smile that held an indescribable meaning.

"That's what he called... Ah Chao."

"I called it many times." He spoke slowly, as if savoring something.

"Her voice was soft and gentle, almost like she was pouting."

Shen Nannan's mind went blank.

The fear from her past life and the panic of this life instantly intertwined. She subconsciously bit her lower lip to barely calm herself.

"You're just dreaming. You misheard me."

"You heard me right."

He leaned forward slightly, supporting himself with one hand on the edge of her pillow, half-encircling her in his arms.

"This servant has excellent hearing. I heard every word Miss uttered clearly."

Shen Nannan was trapped in his arms, with nowhere to retreat, so she could only grit her teeth and glare at him:

"So what if I called out? What's wrong with me calling out to you?"

He didn't speak, he just stared at her.

Those eyes, like prey that had been watching for a long time, finally revealed a weakness.

He chuckled softly.

"But Miss called more than just Ah Chao."

He raised his finger and gently touched her lips with his fingertip.

"The young lady called out 'Ah Chao' while crying out... 'Your Highness'."

Shen Nannan's hair stood on end.

The suffocating feeling from his past life's bedchamber surged back.

The boy before her eyes overlapped with the all-powerful regent from her dreams, making her tremble with fear.

"Miss,"

His voice was extremely low, carrying a hint of grievance he himself was unaware of, and an overwhelming sense of hostility.

"When Miss named me Achao in the stable, I thought it was because she hoped I would be like the newborn sun."

His fingertips slid down to her chin and gently pinched it.

"Now it seems...that's not the case."

He forcefully lifted her face, forcing her to look into his eyes, the madness in them barely concealed.

"Miss, who exactly are you thinking about?"

Shen Nannan stared into his dark, deep eyes.

This person is so smart

How could I not have noticed that something was wrong with her?

But what could she say?

You say that "Ah Zhao" is you, you in your past life, the regent who imprisoned me in the palace and tormented me for three years?

She looked at him, and in his eyes were suspicion, probing, hurt, and the possessiveness she knew best—obsessive to the extreme—and...

Afraid……

This regent, who once held immense power and killed without blinking an eye, was afraid.

He was afraid that she wasn't calling him, afraid that she wasn't looking at him, afraid that she was being nice to him because of someone else.

Or perhaps...

He suddenly released her chin, stepped back slightly, leaned against the bedpost, tilted his head to look at her, and smiled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

"Does Miss know who I am?"

The tent was extremely quiet; so quiet that you could hear the candle flames popping.

She looked at him, and he looked at her.

The two of them just stared at each other, neither of them saying a word.

Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains, falling on his face and casting it in half-light and half-shadow.

Half of it is the gentleness of young A-Chao, and the other half is the danger of Regent Xiao Yunzhao.

Yes! Half!

Half left!

Shen Nannan suddenly stopped panicking.

Are you scared? Of course I'm scared.

The three years of imprisonment in my previous life cannot be completely erased by being reborn.

But she is Shen Nannan, a beast tamer who has returned with memories of her past life.

Not that captive who can only tremble in fear in a cage.

What she wants,

It was never his gratitude.

He truly fell in love.

He willingly handed her the knife handle.

Since he's already suspicious, instead of hiding and dodging, it's better to...

Shen Nannan's heartbeat gradually calmed down.

Instead of backing away, she moved forward a little.

She leaned closer to him, their lips almost touching, their breaths mingling completely.

The voice was soft and delicate.

"You scoundrel, why ask so many questions?"