The bright moon hangs high, beckoning him down from his pedestal.

Shen Wangxi's steps were unsteady, but he forced himself to return to the Taiji Hall.

He pushed away Wu Tian's hand that tried to help him up, and staggered toward the inner bathhouse, saying, "Prepare cold water."

Seeing that his face was flushed, his breathing was heavy, and there was blood seeping through his clothes, Wu Tian did not dare to ask any more questions and immediately ordered someone to take care of it.

Soon, cold water was poured into the side bath.

Shen Wangxi dismissed all the palace servants, stepped into the pool alone, leaned against the pool wall, closed her eyes, and tried to suppress the desire within her.

Wu Tian dared not stray far, standing guard outside the hall, listening to the suppressed breathing and the sound of water inside, his heart burning with anxiety.

He quietly summoned his trusted eunuch: "Quickly, fetch the Imperial Physician! And be quick!"

The imperial physician rushed over, took Shen Wangxi's pulse, and his expression immediately turned serious.

He retreated to the outer room and whispered to Wu Tian, ​​"The medicine His Majesty has taken is extremely potent. Cold water can only provide temporary relief. If it doesn't work, it may damage the very foundation of His Majesty's health."

Wu Tian's face turned pale.

His Majesty doesn't even want to touch Liu Rusi, so how could he dare to have a palace maid touch his imperial body under such circumstances?

Nowadays, perhaps only the one in Yilan Palace can make His Majesty willing and avoid causing future troubles.

"You stay here and wait, I'll be right back." Wu Tian gritted his teeth and strode towards Yilan Palace.

-

Inside Yilan Palace, Shen Qingruo already knew everything that had happened in Jiaofang Palace from Xiao Jiu.

She didn't expect that he would be drugged but wouldn't come to find her immediately.

"Your Majesty, Chief Steward Wu of the Taiji Hall requests an audience, saying that His Majesty is unwell and would like Your Majesty to come over," Granny Yan reported as she entered, her face filled with worry.

Shen Qingruo composed herself, raised her watery eyes, and asked with a bewildered expression, "What's wrong, Your Majesty? You were perfectly fine this afternoon?"

She stood up, grabbed a moon-white cloak, and tied it on. "Take me there quickly."

In a side hall of the Taiji Hall, the sound of water pattering could be heard.

Shen Wangxi was panting heavily, his mind filled with Shen Qingruo's alluring, tender body.

The palace door was pushed open very gently, and a slender figure walked in silently.

Shen Wangxi suddenly opened his eyes and looked at the person who had come in with a fierce expression, but he was stunned when he saw who it was.

"Aruo?" His voice was terribly hoarse. "Why are you here?"

Shen Qingruo quickly walked to the edge of the pool, squatted down, and looked at his disheveled appearance and the wound on his arm. Her eyes immediately reddened.

She reached out her slender, white fingers, wanting to touch the area around his wound, but hesitated. "Wu Tian said His Majesty isn't feeling well. How did he get hurt? And he's been soaking in cold water. How can this be?"

The fragrance emanating from her lingered around Shen Wangxi's nose as she drew closer, making his breathing heavier.

He leaned back against the pool wall, avoiding her touch, his Adam's apple bobbing violently.

"I'm fine, you can go back!" He commanded through gritted teeth, turning his face away from her pretty little face.

Shen Qingruo refused to leave. Looking at his tense jawline, she choked out, "Your Majesty is clearly in great pain. Has something bad been poisoned you?"

"Is it like the kind of medicine described in storybooks?"

Shen Wangxi closed his eyes, a surge of heat coursing through his body, and he managed to say with difficulty, "Yes."

"So Aruo, listen to me, hurry up and leave this place first."

"I don't want to." Shen Qingru shook her head, her voice soft yet firm.

Instead of leaving, she moved closer to the edge of the pool, reached out her small hand, and placed it on his burning forehead. "Your Majesty has a fever. Soaking in cold water will make you sick."

The girl's soft little hand merely touched him, making Shen Wangxi so comfortable that she almost sighed.

He grabbed her slender wrist with such force that she groaned in pain.

"Shen Qingruo!" He stared at her, his eyes filled with barely suppressed darkness. "Do you know what staying means? I can no longer control myself."

Shen Qingruo was startled by him; her wrist ached, and tears welled in her eyes, yet she still stubbornly looked at him, her soft voice reaching his heart:

"I know, but I don't want to see His Majesty suffer alone..."

She sniffed, mustered her courage, and with her other free little hand, trembling, took the initiative to untie the ties of his soaked nightgown.

Then she looked up at him with her little face and said, "If it's His Majesty, then it's okay."

This statement was like the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Shen Wangxi suddenly rose from the water and swept the petite figure by the pool into his arms.

Shen Qingruo exclaimed in surprise and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.

Shen Wangxi carried her and strode towards the dragon bed in the inner hall, placing her on the soft brocade quilt.

He leaned down, bracing himself on his arms beside her, his voice hoarse, "I'm sorry, Aruo, for showing you such a wretched version of me."

Shen Qingruo looked up at him, gently shook her head, reached out her slender arms to wrap around his neck again, pressed her body against him, and whispered the most beautiful words of love in his ear:

"Your Majesty, there's no need to apologize. Aruo loves you, so no matter what you're like, Aruo is willing."

The man suddenly lowered his head and kissed her lips, forcefully and greedily, savoring her sweetness.

Shen Qingruo swallowed softly, obediently tilting her head back and letting him kiss her.

The cloak slowly fell to the ground.

Shen Wangxi's eyes darkened, and he leaned down to kiss her.

Shen Qingruo frowned slightly, her small hands cradling his head. Sensing his unusually reckless behavior, she called out softly, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please cherish me..."

The more delicate and timid she appeared, the more it aroused the destructive desires deep within men.

He held her slender wrist, pressed it against the side of the pillow, and lowered his head to her waist.

The temperature inside the tent rose sharply.

The little girl cried terribly, but Shen Wangxi ignored her completely and let her be abused.

"Aruo, my Aruo." He kissed her while calling her name over and over again, his voice hoarse and infatuated.

!!!

……