Gu Zhihua’s eyes were so swollen that she couldn’t see the surroundings clearly. She had to rub them repeatedly, but she kept sobbing.

After a long silence, Shen Zhongbai couldn’t help inhaling heavily and appeared impatient. Then he rested against the chair and told Gu Zhihua, “Now you have realized your dream to marry into the Prince’s Mansion. We have a long night. I will have a good talk with you. Firstly, you should be clear about your identity. Don’t you overthink. Don’t have daydreams. Understand?”

Gu Zhihua twisted the handkerchief and said, “What are daydreams? Darling, your mind is completely occupied by Gu Qiang, and you ignore my love. We’re both in love. Why do you have to hurt me, darling?”

He admitted that she was not ugly. Though not so gorgeous as Gu Qiang, she looked like a pretty girl growing up in south of the Yangtze River. But the appearance was not enough to maintain a marriage for a lifetime, wasn’t it?

She just won his favor temporarily, and they had no foundation of love.

“What do you want to say?” Shen Zhongbai asked coldly. He had to admit that he seemed to be moved after Gu Zhihua said so much with tears.

Gu Zhihua inhaled to calm down and then looked up at Shen Zhongbai. She knew his heart had become soft. As long as she said more, he might be moved.

“My point is, it’s not my fault to love you. Darling, please don’t punish me.” Gu Zhihua opened her eyes wide deliberately, hoping Shen Zhongbai would find that she felt sad.

Shen Zhongbai sneered. The cold smile sent a chill down her back. He was too dangerous. Even though she pretended to be pitiful, she still couldn’t win his heart.

The wind blew in through the window. It was cold in November. She felt excited, hot, cold, and despairing successively. After the changes, she seemed to be able to accept anything.

Shen Zhongbai put on his robe against the wind and then smashed the cup with some tea left on the table to the ground. His face was expressionless all the way. When walking to the door, he turned around to look at his wife sitting on the bed and said indifferently, “Don’t call me darling from now on. Don’t have any illusions or expectations. Stay in the house and don’t go out.”

Then the door was shut heavily in front of Gu Zhihua. She sat still, with no tears left to cry.

It was not because she didn’t want to cry. Instead, she didn’t have any strength to cry. She had dreamed of everything in this small bridal room. But today, the flawless dream was broken. The fragments pierced into her heart. She touched it slowly, only to find it ached so much that she couldn’t breathe anymore.

The moonlight was like water. In the cheerless season, a gust of wind could give a person the feeling of bleakness and desolation.

Gu Qiang turned around to grope for something to keep her warm, and she found someone.

His skin was smooth, tender, and cold. But when being touched by her, it became warm instantly.

She became widely awake at once, got up suddenly, and almost fell to the ground. She swung her arms in the air for quite a while to keep her balance. Finally, she was dragged by the person behind her and fell into his arms again.

Who was he?!

Gu Qiang’s hair stood on end. She got drunk the night before and was stunned by Shen Zhongbai. Then her memory became blank. At the thought of it, she was alarmed. If the man next to her was Shen Zhongbai, she would kill herself by knocking her head against the wall instantly!

“Are you scared?” The person asked quietly and jokingly. Looking at her remaining still, he felt funny.

The voice was very familiar, but it still took her several seconds to remember whom its owner was.

Turning around, she saw Shen Qianshan lying on the bed with loose underwear and an exposed chest. He looked sluggish and attractive and had the faint smell of plum blossom. It could hardly be smelt, but it seemed to pervade the whole room.

Gu Qiang bounced off and stood on the ground, but she nearly lost her footing. Then she found her wearing clothes, and they were just kind of untidy. It seemed that Shen Qianshan just had a good sleep. It was unknown how he did it.

“What happened? Why… am I…” Gu Qiang pointed at herself and then Shen Qianshan.

It was true that she agreed to be Shen Qianshan’s girlfriend, but she hadn’t considered how to cope with the fact that they woke up on the same bed in the morning.

“Well, Qiang, just as you think, you will be my woman from now on.” Shen Qianshan turned around and lied on the bed. With two hands as a pillow, he looked silently at the ceiling and was lost in thought.

Gu Qiang was surprised. Then she rushed to Shen Qianshan, grabbed his collar, and stressed each syllable, “Your woman? What did you do?”

She looked funny with a fierce look. But Shen Qianshan didn’t laugh. Instead, he said slowly, “Qiang, have you thought what the consequence would be if you saw Shen Zhongbai on the bed instead of me when you woke up this morning?”

Gu Qiang loosened her grip and then sat on the bed dejectedly. She had never expected the man would be so shameless and use every means to achieve his purpose. After thinking carefully, she found he was not different from before.

“I didn’t expect he would do that.” Gu Qiang calmed down. She believed Shen Qianshan hadn’t done anything shameful, so it was unnecessary to talk about it.

“I can’t stay around you anytime. You need to learn to take care of yourself. Don’t make me worried. Understand?” Shen Qianshan put his hand on Gu Qiang’s head and treated her softly and affectionately like an adorable animal. He was so soft that Gu Qiang became spellbound at that moment.

She knew Shen Qianshan worried about her sincerely, but she… at the thought of Shen Zhongbai, she fell silent.

Shen Zhongbai’s face was familiar to her and could remind her of many things, including the grand wedding ceremony, the future Emperor, the huge palace, Weiyang Palace, and… their child.

Even though she didn’t want to admit it, she remembered the dream that night, including the Empress in the dream and her aborted baby.

She had never been a mother, so she didn’t know the feeling of losing a baby. When she wrote to the Empress, the latter remained calm as before. Her brother survived, but what about the baby? She hoped to get everything right. Now that she had a chance to live a new life, her purpose was to make sure that everyone could live a perfect life with no regrets.

After thinking about everything clearly, she looked up at Shen Qianshan’s eyes and said smilingly, “Sorry. I’m wrong.”

Was this Gu Qiang? Shen Qianshan doubted if there was something wrong with his eyes. When did she become such a person? He had never thought she would be so cute.

After all, she was just a teenager and was naive and lovely, which was typical of young girls.

He couldn’t help holding her into his arms and rubbed her hard with his chin as if he wanted to rub her into his heart.

She slept next to him last night. He remained still. As long as he moved slightly, his heart would beat violently. His restlessness and hot body always reminded him how enchanting the woman next to him was. But he loved her and wanted to protect her just like cherishing a perfect porcelain.

In their romantic river, he was water while she was a fish in it. He was determined to do everything to protect her. As long as she was lighthearted, he would keep admiring her before she belonged to him completely.

In the night with a moon in the sky, the capital was like a sleeping beast. Only brothels giving parties every night were ablaze with lights. The most famous brothel in the capital was the Manyue Tower, which had the most beauties. Girls were gorgeous and good at singing and dancing, so it was ranked the number one brothel in the capital.

The brothel was run successfully and had good reputation in the capital. It proved its real boss was not ordinary.

A girl on the first floor was dancing to a tune. When entering the brothel, Shen Zhongbai brought a pot of liquor. He walked unsteadily, and the liquor spilled on the way.

Seeing Shen Zhongbai, some girls came to greet him at once. Their waists were like water snakes, and their bottoms wiggled violently when they were walking.

Shen Zhongbai narrowed his eyes to look at the girls. Though they were pretty in the eyes of ordinary people, he didn’t find anyone he liked.

He waved his hand. Those girls were pushed to the ground and couldn’t help groaning.

“What stuff are they? Are there no prettier women? I need women! Women!” He shouted.

All the girls stepped out. They were clear about Shen Zhongbai’s identity. Many of them dreamed to climb up the social ladder overnight. Even if they just became Shen Zhongbai’s servants, one of whose responsibilities was to sleep with him, it would be better than serving numberless dirty and old men here.

However, no one dared approach him now.

Ms. Hua walked over with two girls, helped Shen Zhongbai to stand stably, and then smiled, “Your Highness, what’s going on? We’ve heard it’s your wedding day. You’re supposed to stay home with your beautiful wife. but you are here suddenly. We’re so surprised.”

As the procuress of the Manyue Tower, Ms. Hua was experienced. The Third Prince drowned his sorrows on his wedding day and didn’t seem to be satisfied.

He had been taken good care of since childhood and lived a wealthy life. In contrast, the grassroots had to struggle to survive. How could they understand Shen Zhongbai’s difficulties?

“My beautiful wife?” Shen Zhongbai grabbed Ms. Hua’s collar and laughed grimly with scarlet eyes. He seemed to be dangerous. How could Gu Zhihua’s face be described as beautiful?