At this moment, An Xuetang's courage was truly like that of a bear's heart and a leopard's courage. She blinked her alluring big eyes, "So what? What does A-Jing want to do?"

What do you want to do?

Mo Yunjing raised his lips to smile at her, his deep eyes fixed intently on her large ones, not in a hurry to speak.

Then, his hand slowly moved from her chin to her soft lips, grinding against them gently.

Actually, this kind of ups and downs is the most agonizing. An Xuetang's heartbeat was getting increasingly uncontrollable. As she was being caressed like this, her body gradually stiffened.

Moments later, she was ready to beg for mercy; she couldn't stand him any longer.

Before she could even utter a word, Mo Yunjing's nose was already against her delicate one, their breaths intertwining deeply. An Xuetang's heart pounded faster and faster. She blinked, her thin lips moved slightly, about to say something, but Mo Yunjing's right thumb gently pressed against her lips, as if forbidding her from speaking.

Then, he slowly began to move. His lips gently fell on her forehead, her brow bone, both sides of her cheeks, the tip of her nose, and finally, settled upon her red lips.

It started with a gentle touch, but once contact was made, it became uncontrollable. The grip tightened immediately.

In that instant, both of them felt the same way, like a drought finally ending. After all, such touch and such excitement had been absent for over a month.

Especially Mo Yunjing, when he reexperienced this soft and familiar touch, the fatigue that had kept him sleepless for days and nights instantly vanished without a trace, leaving only complete satisfaction throughout his being.

An Xuetang inhaled his scent, which filled her with a sense of security. She felt his deepening kisses and her body instantly softened, subtly shifting her weight onto his shoulder.

Mo Yunjing's hands, at some point unknown to him, had already been placed on her waist, supporting her with all his strength, afraid that she would tire herself out.

Their breaths mingled, and Mo Yunjing's body tensed slightly. The heat that reached his lips felt like a demanding roar, making him want to imprint the woman before him into the depths of his soul.

His kisses became more domineering, deeper and deeper. An Xuetang felt she couldn't resist at all, she could only let him do whatever he wanted.

As soon as she thought about the past, the man who had occupied her day and night thoughts was right in front of her. She could finally touch him again, not just watch him in her dreams, a person who would vanish with a single touch. Unconsciously, tears slowly welled up in the corners of her eyes.

Now she knows she can't cry, can't shed tears, can't let him see it, or he'll worry. And if he worries, he won't be able to focus on the battlefield.

The reasoning is sound, but she just couldn't control herself. Tears still welled up in her eyes and slowly rolled down her cheeks.

To his surprise, after tasting the salty yet sweet tears, his kiss became even deeper.

An Xuetang's heart was beating faster and faster, she raised her hands, hooking his neck, the two of them became even more reluctant to part.

……

And at this moment, while Shou'er went to the kitchen to fetch tea, Ning'er, who had always been expressionless, showed a flicker of change.

After a moment's hesitation, she took out a letter from her sleeve. The three words "To Ninger" on the envelope were like hot water, rushing into her heart unawares and burning her with bewilderment.

Just by these three characters on the letter, she could recognize it was Yunliu's handwriting. This letter was thrown to her just before Prince Bei Jiang and his wife went back to their room.

What unsettled her so deeply wasn't that even someone like the King of Beijiang would be willing to help Yunliu deliver a message for her, but rather that she realized she could recognize his handwriting from just those three characters.

To be honest, if she saw the three characters written by the Princess, she wouldn't be sure if she could recognize them so easily. But it was just Yunliu's handwriting. There was nothing special about it, but somehow she recognized it.

Once she realized this, her composure instantly shattered. At what point… had she come to value Yunliu more than the Princess?

She can't do this. From the moment she promised the valley lord with her own mouth and agreed to join Xumtang Valley, it meant that for the rest of her life, she could only put the princess first.

So in her life, there should be no unexpected events, nor someone who could overshadow the Queen.

Images of Yunliu's face flashed in my mind, one on each side, along with the oath that the Valley Master had them recite after they formally agreed to join Xuntang Valley.

Vows, in simple terms, mean to renounce all romantic feelings and dedicate one's life to the queen. This includes never developing feelings for any man the queen knows.

Yunliu is the Northern Border King's confidant, so naturally, he also belongs to the type of man that the Queen knows.

So, not only did she make a mistake, but she made a big one.

If the valley master were to know, she... could only atone with death.

She was not afraid of death, but with her gone, there would be one less person protecting the princess. The four protectors were already depleted, and now Fu'er had also betrayed them. If anything else happened to her, how could they repay the master for all his kindness over the years?

Thinking of this, a pang of pain flashed across Ning'er's eyes, her hands clenched tightly, she didn't even have the courage to open it, and immediately wanted to tear it up.

This tear, it tears apart not just the letter, but also the tangled and undefined feelings between her and Yunliu.

(Editor in charge:precious based on the novel)