In the city of Tiannan. After Jun Moxie departed from Guan Qinghan's tent. Guan Qinghan, utterly exhausted, lay with her eyes closed on her **. While the Young Master was present, her nerves had been taut, her mind singularly focused. Only once he left did her tension instantly slacken, and all the fatigue and pain flooded in at once. Only then did she realize that every inch of her body ached, especially the most private part below, which felt as if it had been torn apart. Even the slightest movement caused an agonizing sharp pain.

All the fault of that damned troublemaker, why did it hurt so much!

Guan Qinghan felt utterly weak, too drained to move even a little finger. Two streams of clear tears traced paths down her cheeks. It wasn't that she regretted helping the Young Master dispel the potency of the medicine, nor did she resent Jun Moxie; it was simply that the pain was too intense. In this space shared with no one else, tears were the only available balm for this suffering.

Without question, during that sudden tempest, even though Guan Qinghan had been passively enduring and mentally prepared, she had still been drained of every scrap of her physical strength, every measure of her profound energy!

Even now, at this very moment, she was somewhat dazed, as if that robust, tireless, beast-like body was still charging through her, relentlessly and savagely impacting her form.

Presently, she felt that from bone to muscle, not a single part of her body could summon even the slightest reserve of strength. She was surprised that her eyeballs could even move. The two streams of tears were nearly the only reaction she could muster.

In truth, she had already been in this state when she expended her final reserves of strength, rising to stand and redress herself in Jun Moxie's tent to uphold her last shred of dignity and pride.

Yet, she absolutely refused to display her weakness before Jun Moxie. She repeated to herself again and again: This was merely a mistake. To save him, to save the sole bloodline of the third generation of the Jun family, there was no other choice. After this matter concludes, it will vanish like a dream in the spring, with no entanglement between us, nor any need for future connection.

Though she thought these things, she could not convince herself.

"You are my woman! That is a fact!"

The domineering look and the tone admitting no argument when Jun Moxie spoke those words appeared before her eyes like a phantom, replaying again and again.

"When the storms have passed, I will marry you." That was still that man's voice.

Was it a promise? A wish?

Was it not a mistake? Or was it?

But why am I so afraid?

And why is there a flicker of secret joy in my heart?

I... I... I actually engaged in that kind of intimacy with my former junior brother-in-law... and even yielded the virginity I had preserved for twenty-one years. Yet, I feel absolutely no sense of sin.

Even though it was done to save the sole bloodline of the Jun family’s third generation, afterwards, why didn’t I seek death to atone to the world? Why didn't I use my life to maintain the pure reputation of both families? I never even entertained the thought! Why?

Am I actually a shameless woman? Why?

Lying quietly on the ** in this moment, Guan Qinghan’s thoughts surged like a tide, relentless and churning, as if she had completely forgotten her physical discomfort. A flush suddenly spread across her face, then turned pale, and then flushed deeply again, up to her neck, alternating back and forth.

Two new tears slowly tracked down from the corners of her eyes, soaking the satin-smooth, raven-black hair.

But this time, it was absolutely not due to pain!

This night was destined to be sleepless.

She didn't know how long it had been. It seemed someone outside was speaking, but Guan Qinghan paid it no mind. At a time like this, who had the heart for trivial chatter?

But even if one has no desire for affairs, sometimes affairs insist on seeking you out. The tent flap was suddenly yanked open, and a head peered tentatively inside. After stealthily glancing around, the person crept in.

"Sister Qinghan, are you alright?" Dugu Xiaoyi’s face was a mixture of shame and distress, her eyes watery as she looked at Guan Qinghan before carefully sitting down by the bed. Overnight, the little girl’s frame seemed to have visibly thinned by a full circle.

The little girl had been born into one of the foremost great families in the entire empire, yet among the younger generation of this colossal clan, everyone besides herself was male. Dugu Xiaoyi, truly a single bloom among a thousand groves, received an almost unimaginable degree of affection and protection.

In this age, the separation between men and women was fiercely enforced! Even ordinary girls from the most common households were exceptionally proper and strictly guarded before marriage, lest even the slightest ill rumor escape; how much more so for a super-clan like the Dugu family?

Never mind others—even the servants in the household had to be constantly vigilant. If any dared utter a single improper word within earshot of the Madam or the Young Misses, it would be an unforgivable crime