Poppy?
No! Wrong! Xue Niang always carried the clean and pure scent of lotus! Even when she was most provocative towards him, she was always between pure and alluring, never this dangerous feeling!
Xiao Shan spun around abruptly, his saber tip nearly slicing the face of the person behind him.
"You, you want to kill me?"
Ling Yao's eyes flashed with disbelieving confusion, and a fleeting hint of pain.
Xiao Shan's hand trembled as he peered at her, his tiger eyes filled with inquiry. "You, what tree did you say you wanted to plant by our door last time?"
"A persimmon tree! Didn't you say 'persimmon' sounds like 'everything goes as you wish'?" Ling Yao stared at him, wronged, as if still upset about what had just happened.
Xiao Shan broke out in a cold sweat.
She was Ling Yao. What had he been thinking just now, his mind so muddled?
He had almost hurt her.
"Xue Niang..."
Xiao Shan put away his saber and was about to embrace her when he heard a clear, sharp reprimand—
"Presumptuous!"
It jolted him awake instantly.
Looking again, there was no Ling Yao before him. Facing him was a tree as thick as a person! And his nose was almost touching the trunk!
Behind him, two fireballs, one black and one red, collided with a deafening roar.
Xiao Shan turned back in shock. He saw Ling Yao standing tall, her face serene and cold. With a wave of her hand, red flames surged towards the strange woman.
The woman was clearly outmatched. Her black flames were engulfed, and she shrieked as she darted about. Her red robe caught fire, and she shed it like a cicada shedding its shell, revealing white clothing underneath.
The white clothing ignited and was shed, replaced by purple.
"Feng Ling Yao, I will not rest until we are enemies—"
The piercing cry faded. Hidden by the darkness, a black shadow hugged the ground. Scattered burning clothes lay on the earth.
Ling Yao stepped forward to examine the scene and stamped her foot in annoyance, "She escaped again!"
However, it seemed she had shed most of her skin!
"Xue Niang?" Xiao Shan called to her.
Ling Yao heard him and quickly ran back. "You dummy, you were almost burned to death just now. What were you talking to a tree about!"
She had been terrified. If she had been a moment later, she would have been burned to charcoal!
"I, I thought it was you." Xiao Shan was also bewildered. Was this woman's evil technique even stronger than the hallucinogenic effect of the meteorites?
Ling Yao understood.
"You scared me to death," she said, hugging him, her face full of lingering fear.
The two of them calmed down and then examined the dead body on the ground. There were no personal effects on the person, but their skin was tanned, their nose bridge was flattened, and their appearance was not that of a person from Da Jing.
"It's a Qi Rong person!" Xiao Shan's expression turned cold.
Qi Rong, that damned Qi Rong again!
"It seems that Da Jing and Qi Rong cannot avoid a war!"
The two returned to the palace. Song Beiting, having received the news, came to inquire. Upon learning they were safe, his anxious heart finally settled back into his chest.
Xiao Shan watched Song Beiting's retreating back for a long time.
He pondered the events of the banquet that night. The Left Prime Minister seemed to have come alone, without bringing any family members.
Song Beiting had shown no abnormalities, staying outside the hall to guard.
How had that woman managed to sneak into the palace, and when?
Ling Yao went to see the two little ones again, and Xiao Shan followed her helplessly.
The two little ones were already asleep, their mouths pouting sweetly, their faces as tender and white as tofu curd, making one truly want to take a bite.
However, the daughter was still thinner and weaker than the son.
Ling Yao leaned over and watched them for a long time. Xiao Shan reminded her, "You just finished your confinement. Don't overexert yourself. It's beneficial to rest more and recover. Go to bed early."
Xiao Shan stood there blankly. Both wet nurses had discreetly withdrawn.
It was late, and it was really inappropriate. Ling Yao glanced at him.
He was so clingy, why had he followed her in?
She gently touched the little faces of the two children, then reluctantly returned to their room with Xiao Shan.
"I told you, you wouldn't pay attention to me once you had children. What was that look just now? Are you disgusted with me?"
"Don't say it, but you really are. Looking at the children and then looking at you, your face is as rough as pine bark."
Xiao Shan felt dejected and touched his own face.
"This general doesn't serve with looks."
"But looking at something pleasing to the eye can also lift one's mood!"
"Why do you always anger me? Are you still thinking about the handsome man in the painting? Let me tell you, that's not me. That's a non-existent person. Such a person doesn't exist in this world."
Why did it always come back to this?
Ling Yao carried her clothes into the bathing chamber.
Xiao Shan followed her in like a tail.
"Then let's wash together! Tell me, how did you mistake a tree for me back then?"
"That's really strange. She knows all the secrets between us."
"It's not strange. You were simply talking to yourself."
Ling Yao had never used illusionary techniques on Xiao Shan. In the beginning, her powers were too weak to confuse him. Later, she was unwilling to use them on him.
Therefore, he had always thought it was similar to hypnosis, but it wasn't. It could truly amplify one's inner desires to the extreme, turning them into something tangible.
Similar to the formations set up by meteorites, formations could be found by their core, but those caught in illusionary techniques could not; they could only sever their own desires.
"It seems I need to train you."
"How will you train me?"
Xiao Shan asked casually, scooping water and pouring it onto her fair shoulder.
"What are you doing?" Ling Yao narrowed her eyes, looking at the large hand on her chest.
After being in the capital for so long, why were his hands still so rough? Hadn't she asked him to apply fragrant lotion every day?
He didn't chop wood, didn't hunt, and didn't cook. He only practiced his spear techniques in the morning and occasionally sparred with his brothers at the military camp.
Why were his hands still so rough?
It made her feel particularly sad, didn't she know?
Ling Yao leaned her head back against the rim of the tub. Water droplets slid down her graceful neck. She closed her eyes, her eyelashes trembling lightly.
Her willow eyebrows furrowed and relaxed alternately.
As if enduring, as if experiencing pleasure.
The man was too familiar with her body; he knew all her sensitive spots.
"Today is your birthday. I have prepared a gift for you."
"A gift?" Ling Yao opened her eyes. They were moist, like black grapes soaked in water.
She had received countless birthday gifts since childhood and had no expectations.
But if it was from Xiao Shan, it would be different.
She sat up straight, her large eyes blinking.
Xiao Shan withdrew his hand from under the water, not bothering to wipe it. He took out a pair of white jade pendants from his chest. The two pendants formed a heart shape.
The jade was of excellent quality, but the carving was very simple, even crude. One was inscribed with 'Shan,' and the other with 'Xue.'
The handwriting was ugly, characteristic of the Xiao family's brushstrokes.
"This wouldn't be..."
"Yes, I polished it myself. I picked the stones from the mine. I didn't know if the material was good or bad. I just thought that the one I chose was destined, and then I learned how to polish and soak them from a craftsman for two days, and this is how they turned out.
It's the first time, and I didn't polish it well. But I didn't know what to give you. You don't lack anything. You don't like gold or silver jewelry. All the gifts you received tonight were extraordinary, but your eyes didn't even flicker, showing they didn't touch your heart.
The silver hairpin I gave you was so cheap, it didn't match your status at all, yet you wear it every day. I guessed that you like things that carry heartfelt meaning, so I made this.
Do you like it?"