In a split - second, the big wolf - dog didn't give the little fox beneath him any chance to refuse.
He suddenly nipped at her rosy, plump lips. The sweet, moist fragrance lingered between their lips and tongues.
Du Gu Luanyue let out a muffled groan. Her fair, slender fingers just touched his honey - colored, firm chest. It was well - defined, hard yet elastic.
She frowned slightly as if scalded.
Huo Wei's Adam's apple bobbed up and down. The blue veins on his neck bulged slightly, and his ear tips turned bright red.
Du Gu Luanyue gently pushed him away. Her jade - like eyes were tinged with a blush: "That's enough. You promised it would just be a peck."
Huo Wei felt a tightness in his lower abdomen. His black eyes were filled with desire. He said reluctantly, "Once this damned plague is over, I will definitely..."
Just then, Mu Rong Jue burst in, pushing the door open with a bang: "Brother, you're injured again..."
He had heard that Huo Wei was carried back and was extremely worried, so he rushed back immediately.
Meng Tan, Huo Wei's personal guard, had been dispatched elsewhere due to the special situation in recent days. So there was no one guarding the door.
Unexpectedly, when he pushed the door open, he saw his father's newly - wed step - queen and his dearest brother in an embrace.
The self - proclaimed master of love quickly covered his eyes, too shy to look: "Ah! Here they go again, here they go again!"
Du Gu Luanyue frowned slightly but remained calm, just like Huo Wei.
Since Mu Rong Jue already knew, there was no need to act shy or afraid.
Huo Wei reluctantly let her go at this moment. He glared at Mu Rong Jue with his black eyes: "Get out."
Mu Rong Jue poked his head out, looked around, then turned back and closed the door. But instead of leaving, he strode over.
He bowed formally to Du Gu Luanyue: "Your servant pays respects to the Queen Mother."
This remark was a reminder of the difference in their status.
After that, he casually pulled over Huo Wei's wide chair and took another stool to sit between the two of them. With a solemn expression, he said:
"It's time for me to seriously issue an ultimatum to the two of you!"
Du Gu Luanyue stood up and smoothed her skirt: "I still have things to do. I'll leave first."
Huo Wei looked up at her: "Did I let you go? If anyone should go, it's him."
Mu Rong Jue looked at the delicious delicacies on the table and swallowed his saliva: "Add another set of chopsticks. I won't be polite."
The dry rations he had eaten in Danyang City these days were as tasteless as wax. He couldn't stand it anymore.
He didn't even know whose cooking it was. The aroma of all kinds of minced meat wafted over, and his eyes were almost falling into the dishes.
Du Gu Luanyue ordered Aunt Meijiang to add a set of chopsticks and send it in. She and Huo Wei silently glanced at each other, then looked at the third prince with a greasy mouth in the middle. For a moment, they were silent.
Finally, Huo Wei couldn't help it. He slapped Mu Rong Jue on the back of the head: "Carry your food out and eat. I have important matters to discuss with the Queen."
Mu Rong Jue stuffed food into his mouth frantically. After swallowing, he said:
"I'm not going out. I'm going to watch over the two of you.
From today on, I'll eat, live, and sleep with brother. You two should stop making mistakes.
Huo A'man, I'm telling you, you should also call the Queen Mother. There's a generation gap between you!
And you, Queen Mother, do you know what filial piety and moral integrity are?
The following words might be a bit harsh. I'll hold them back for now. You should understand."
Du Gu Luanyue pursed her lips and found it a bit funny for a moment. She raised her eyebrows and looked at Huo Wei, as if Mu Rong Jue had saved her.
She also thought that she should draw a certain distance from Huo Wei. Neither of them should sink deeper.
Otherwise, it would be difficult to climb out of the abyss in the future.
Human emotions are the most wonderful things, like quicksand. Once you sink in, you'll sink deeper and deeper.
Huo Wei's cold, handsome face was as cold as frost. He pressed Mu Rong Jue's face into the rice bowl: "A Jue, it's me who has no moral integrity. Don't say a single word about the Queen."
Mu Rong Jue had rice grains sticking to his face. He looked angry:
"Who among you two is innocent? If my father finds out, you'll both lose your heads. Brother, there are so many women in the world. Why bother?"
Huo Wei drooped his long, slanting eyes and was silent for a long time. He had struggled, but he had lost.
Du Gu Luanyue still stood up and left the room. It was not appropriate for her to stay here at this moment.
Indeed, what she had done was not honorable. According to the etiquette and moral teachings she had received since childhood, if it weren't for the interests of the Southern Chu, she would never have done such a thing.
But when she walked outside the door, she stretched out her jade finger and touched her still - warm red lips. The charming and domineering kiss just now flashed through her mind again.
Huo Wei's evil and charming smile lingered in front of her eyes.
Huo Wei said in a low voice: "I know I'm wrong, and I admit it, but I can't correct it."
He also knew that all this violated morality and ethics.
Coveting the emperor's woman was like adding wheels on the road to hell. Moreover, this woman was the legitimate queen and the woman of his adoptive father.
Huo Wei sneered and then shook his head.
Mu Rong Jue said: "It's okay. I'll find a way to make you forget the Queen."
From that day on, Mu Rong Jue was like a watchdog, always staying around Huo Wei's house, not allowing Du Gu Luanyue to get close.
Du Gu Luanyue thought this was a good thing. It was good for both of them to calm down.
Taking this as an excuse, she never showed up in front of Huo Wei again.
During this period, Shen Guilan had been living and eating with the four imperial physicians. He devoted all his energy to the prescription and had no time to care about other things.
Du Gu Luanyue sent someone every day to ask about the prescription and when the antidote could be distributed.
There was no local official in charge of Danyang City. All matters such as people's livelihood, material allocation, and resettling the victims fell on her. Fortunately, she handled them with ease.
Shen Guilan walked into the main hall of the yamen with the prescription:
"Queen Mother, the prescription to control the plague has been found. People can be sent to boil a large amount of the antidote and distribute it."
Du Gu Luanyue took the prescription and glanced at it. She couldn't understand it at all, but she knew there were quite a few medicinal materials on it.
She looked at the officials of Danyang City beside her:
"You two should immediately dispatch people to collect these medicinal materials everywhere in the city and boil the antidote. There's no time to lose."
After Shen Guilan handed out the prescription, he inquired in the army about what Queen Du Gu had been doing to manage the city's affairs in recent days.
During the days when Huo Wei was recuperating, the lieutenants around him all sang praises of the Queen.
They said that she was decisive and meticulous in her actions, and everything was handled properly. Now the city was treating the plague in an orderly manner, and there were no more riots from the common people.
Huo Wei also started to handle official business yesterday. He was in charge of deploying troops.
Due to the shortage of manpower, Du Gu Luanyue allocated silver. He used it to recruit militiamen to maintain order in the city.
Huo Wei was responsible for guarding the city's safety and maintaining order;
Du Gu Luanyue was responsible for re - organizing the treatment of the disaster in the city and promoting people's livelihood. The two cooperated with each other, and Danyang City became more and more peaceful day by day.
Shen Guilan wanted to say something, but swallowed his words.
After seven or eight days, bad news came from Danyang City.
After the patients in the city took the antidote distributed by the court, their symptoms initially improved, but on the third or fourth day, they relapsed and finally got worse. They died within a few hours.
In the middle of the night, Du Gu Luanyue got the news and immediately flipped out of bed: "Aunt, summon the prince and the military advisor. Hurry up and come for a meeting!"