"Yan Yi, retreat..." Yan Zhao spoke.
Yan Yi had already jumped down, but at his young master's words, his body froze mid-air, "Young Master, there's a peeping tom."
"Retreat..." Yan Zhao said coldly.
Yan Yi retreated again. Before his feet touched the ground, he heard his young master's voice again, "Leave here."
Yan Yi: "..."
Did his young master like being watched bathing by a peeping tom?
Thinking of this, Yan Yi couldn't help but shiver.
His young master's taste was truly unusual!
Yan Yi left, and Yan Zhao spoke, "There is no one here now."
Xue Zining then got up, intending to come ashore.
However, the effects of the medicine left her weak. Her feet slipped, and she slid into the bottom of the lake.
She choked on water, and suffocation followed.
No, was she going to drown like this?
Suddenly, a powerful force pulled her back from the brink of death.
She breathed in deeply, gripping tightly the hand that had pulled her from the lake's bottom.
Her body pressed close as well.
Before, in the cold lake water, she hadn't felt much. Now that her body had adapted to the temperature, the heat rising from within returned.
"This is not good," Xue Zining thought to herself.
She let go of the hand, only to find her body limp as mud. A hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her out of the lake's surface.
This hand was cold, making her waist feel comfortable.
She needed more.
Her mind resisted, but her body was honest, moving closer to this body.
Yan Zhao's gaze paused slightly; he too noticed the Empress's anomaly.
He lowered his head and saw the young girl's cheeks flushed with an unhealthy red.
"You've been drugged?"
A hint of coldness permeated his calm voice.
Xue Zining had never found this voice so pleasant before.
"Mmm..."
She could only make this sound through her nose.
"That young man?" Yan Zhao quickly thought of someone.
Xue Zining's mind was muddled; all she wanted was cold, more cold...
Looking at the distressed young girl beneath him, her eyes, which were now open, lacked their former clarity, gazing at him hazily.
Her body also leaned against him unsteadily. His gaze flickered, and he lowered his head to whisper in the girl's ear, "See clearly, I am Yan Zhao. Are you sure?"
In her haze, Xue Zining heard these faint words. Her entire body trembled, and the mist-like clarity in her eyes gradually returned.
Yan Zhao looked at her, his expression calm. "Your Majesty seems to have regained some clarity."
"You... get out..." Xue Zining said through gritted teeth.
Yan Zhao left without hesitation. She noticed he was even wearing clothes while bathing.
His brocade robe now clung to him, outlining his tall and slender physique.
His black hair lay flat against his back, looking incredibly alluring.
She realized that resisting the temptation of the handsome youth only required self-control, but resisting the sight of Yan Zhao emerging from the water was impossible.
Yan Zhao turned back. The moon, previously obscured by dark clouds, now emerged.
Silvery moonlight slanted down, falling upon him.
At this moment, he stood there clad in moonlight, as beautiful as an immortal.
She closed her eyes and blurted out, "Turn your head."
Opening her eyes, she saw his back as he sat cross-legged on the ground, facing away from her.
His cool voice also reached her, "I am here. If Your Majesty needs anything, you may command."
Xue Zining was stunned. She thought Yan Zhao would leave.
Although she harbored hatred for him from her past life, she had to admire his thoughtfulness now.
Nestled in the cold lake water, her senses had become numb.
Wandering, she remembered her past life again.
In her past life, he had never been this considerate. He had always been indifferent, making her believe he was a cold-hearted person.
In this life, upon meeting again, she realized he had also hidden himself in the past.
Yan Zhao felt a long silence behind him.
"Your Majesty..."
He tried to call out.
There was no answer.
He turned his head and saw the lake's surface, which had become calm again.
His heart skipped a beat.
He leaped into the lake's depths and saw the closed-eyed girl in the water.
He scooped her out with one hand. The girl's eyes were shut tight, her face pale and sallow.
He frowned and tapped a few points on the girl's body.
Soon, the girl coughed out a mouthful of lake water.
However, she remained unconscious.
With no other recourse, Yan Zhao picked up the girl and walked towards the temporary palace.
"Yan Er, quickly look. Am I being enchanted? Why do I see the Young Master holding a woman?" Yan Yi squinted and exclaimed at Yan Er behind him.
Yan Er walked closer and looked intently. "You're not enchanted. It is indeed a woman."
Yan Yi couldn't help but smack his lips and said with a wicked grin, "The Young Master couldn't hold back and is ready for some action?"
Yan Er smacked Yan Yi on the head. "Don't spout nonsense. The Young Master has always been self-disciplined." He didn't believe Yan Yi's words; it must have been a necessary carry.
As Yan Zhao entered the sleeping quarters, Yan Yi and Yan Er were stunned. The woman in the Young Master's arms was indeed a woman, and a powerful one at that.
The Empress.
Yan Yi forced a smile. "Young Master, your taste is a bit too strong. The Empress hasn't reached her coming-of-age yet. Should we endure? How about Yan Yi finds you a good one?"
"Scram..." Yan Zhao uttered only one word.
Yan Er glared at Yan Yi, looking at him like an idiot. "You don't see the Empress is unconscious? Your mind is filled with nothing but romance day and night. I'm ashamed to have you as a guard for the Young Master."
"Yan Er, clarify for me. With me, the Young Master..."
"All of you, get out," Yan Zhao said coldly.
Sensing the air in the room thinning, Yan Er and Yan Yi obediently withdrew.
"Wait, prepare a bowl of ginger water and send it over," Yan Zhao commanded coldly.
"Cold, so cold..." The young girl on the bed tossed and turned.
Yan Zhao's brows lifted slightly as he watched the girl. Suddenly, she reached out and grabbed his hand, which was placed by the bedside.
The girl's hand was very cold, like holding a block of ice. He looked at her pale, sallow face and trembling lips, and inexplicably remembered her pretense of maturity in the past, but her innocent and tender face.
He remembered how she would pretend to be calm despite being afraid.
This hand, it was so cold.
He frowned and slowly channeled his inner energy into the hand the girl was holding.
The little face, which had been creased with discomfort, gradually relaxed.
Her trembling lips also stopped quivering.
Suddenly, the girl murmured something.
Yan Zhao was startled; it seemed she was calling his name.
Xue Zining had a dream. In her dream, she could finally stand before him, look at him, and ask the question she had always wanted to ask, "Yan Zhao, why... why did you lie to me..."
"Your Majesty, the auspicious time for the sacrificial ceremony is fast approaching."
Xue Yan's voice came from beside her.
Xue Zining's eyes snapped open, and she saw Xue Yan's anxious gaze.