Their lips met and their breaths intertwined. The temperature in the room suddenly rose, filling the air with an amorous and enchanting atmosphere.
Qi Rong's fingers slowly glided across Yun Xi's chin, neck, and the slender waist wrapped in her clothes. His usually cold eyes now seemed like a raging prairie fire, out of control.
"Umm, it's so uncomfortable."
Yun Xi sobbed softly. Qi Rong was frantically sucking the air from her mouth, and she felt a tightness in her chest, as if she was about to suffocate.
Qi Rong suddenly jolted back to his senses. Looking at Yun Xi's swollen cherry lips, a bit of rationality returned in an instant.
He gritted his teeth, tightened the open collar of Yun Xi's clothes, suddenly picked her up horizontally, got off the bed, walked out of the room, and strode towards the back of the courtyard.
There was an artificial lake in the Prince Xian's Mansion, built right in Qi Rong's courtyard. Although the peach blossoms were just beginning to bloom and the tree buds were turning green, it was still quite cold in spring. Especially, one could imagine the temperature of the lake water.
Qi Rong carried Yun Xi to the lakeside. Without hesitation, he walked slowly into the water until the lake water submerged his chest. Yun Xi was also soaked in the bone - chilling water and instantly regained her senses!
"So cold! Why am I here?"
Yun Xi's teeth chattered uncontrollably. Looking at Qi Rong's cold and solemn face and then at the strange situation in front of her, the memories in her mind were still in a complete mess.
Qi Rong hugged Yun Xi tightly, supporting her with the little warmth left in his body, and softly comforted her:
"Just wait a little longer."
This was the only way to quickly calm the excitement in her body so that he wouldn't indulge himself any further.
"So cold. I don't want to stay in the water. I want to get out!"
Yun Xi shook her head. The bone - piercing cold made her face turn pale and her body shiver. She was almost crying.
She knew that Qi Rong wouldn't bring her to soak in the cold water for no reason, but she really couldn't bear it. It felt as if thousands of needles were stabbing into her skin at the same time.
Looking at her pitiful appearance, Qi Rong couldn't help but soften his heart, but the next moment, he forced himself to harden his heart.
To make Yun Xi feel better, he almost wrapped her entire body in his arms, but his tone was extremely firm:
"No! You've been drugged with an aphrodisiac. If you don't want to give your body to me in such a muddled way, just stay in the water obediently."
Seeing Yun Xi's pale and shocked face, Qi Rong whispered a promise:
"Don't be afraid. I'll always be here with you."
Yun Xi's body was almost numb from the cold. She wanted to give up many times, but thinking of Qi Rong's words, she gritted her teeth and persevered.
Not caring about the suspicion between men and women, Yun Xi's body clung tightly to Qi Rong, the only source of heat, greedily absorbing the warmth from his body, and finally managed to hold on until the end.
When the time was about right and Yun Xi gradually calmed down, Qi Rong carried her back to the room quickly. He reached out to untie Yun Xi's wet clothes, but Yun Xi pressed his palm.
"I'll do it myself."
Yun Xi trembled with her almost frozen body, slightly parted her lips, and lowered her head.
"Only now do you know to be shy?"
Qi Rong's lips curved slightly, and a mischievous look flashed in his eyes. But he didn't force her. He specifically set up a screen between them and told her:
"Take off your clothes quickly and get into the quilt first. I'll order someone to bring hot water and find some women's clothes for you."
"Okay."
Yun Xi replied with trembling lips. She didn't decline and trembled her fingers to untie the belt of her clothes.
Qi Rong quickly changed into dry clothes and walked out of the door. Soon, four maids and old women carried wooden barrels and hot water in. They even carefully collected Yun Xi's wet clothes and served her to take a hot bath.
As for Qi Rong, he never showed up. It was not until Yun Xi changed into dry clothes and the servants had finished tidying up and left that Qi Rong walked in with a bowl of ginger soup.
Looking at Yun Xi sitting in a daze on the edge of the bed, he urged:
"Drink this hot ginger soup quickly to get rid of the cold in your body."
He carefully blew on it to cool it down and put it to Yun Xi's lips, but Yun Xi didn't move. She just stared intently at Qi Rong.
She originally wanted to thank him for saving her before and not taking advantage of her when she was in a vulnerable state. But when she opened her mouth, her tone contained a bit of accusation:
"Whose clothes am I wearing?"
As soon as the words came out, even Yun Xi was startled by the resentment in her own emotions.
However, what was said couldn't be taken back. Moreover, she was really curious in her heart, so she didn't explain.
Hearing Yun Xi's question, Qi Rong's eyes suddenly froze. Instead of answering, he asked:
"How did you know?"
Seeing Qi Rong's almost tacit admission, Yun Xi suddenly felt a tightness in her chest. The uncomfortable feeling of her stomach contracting came again. But she still reluctantly analyzed:
"The material of this dress is of high - quality. It's not something an ordinary person can afford, so it can't belong to a maid in the mansion. Even if someone went to a clothing store, there might not be enough time to get it back from the time they left the mansion. More importantly, there's the smell of incense on this dress. It must belong to the owner."
It seemed that Qi Rong had a woman in the Prince Xian's Mansion, and this dress belonged to that woman!
For some reason, the moment she got this information, Yun Xi strongly rejected it in her heart. She even wanted to throw away the clothes and leave the Prince Xian's Mansion immediately.
However, her wet clothes had been taken away by the maid, and she couldn't really leave in a fit of anger wearing wet clothes. So she had waited until now, developing into the current almost accusing stance towards Qi Rong.
Since the remaining poison in her body had dissipated, the chaotic memories from before gradually returned to Yun Xi's mind. Thinking of Qi Rong who had hugged and kissed her affectionately not long ago, perhaps hugging another woman on countless nights, she couldn't suppress her anger and even sorrow!
Since he already had a woman in the mansion, why did he keep provoking her?
He didn't hesitate to commit the crime of deceiving the emperor. He lied in front of the emperor that they had already been engaged. He even openly went to the Prime Minister's Mansion to propose marriage, determined to tie the two of them together!
Looking at Yun Xi's disappointed eyes, Qi Rong's expression on his face seemed nonchalant.
"She's just a woman. She can't compare with you. Why do you have to care about her?"
Looking at the overly gorgeous clothes on Yun Xi, Qi Rong frowned slightly. He sat beside Yun Xi and said in a gentle voice:
"If you don't like this dress, I'll immediately order someone to buy you a few sets on the street. You can choose whatever you like, okay? Anyway, drink the ginger soup in the bowl first."
Hearing Qi Rong's nonchalant words, Yun Xi became even more angry and ashamed. She couldn't control herself and slapped the soup bowl out of Qi Rong's hand.
"Is this just about the clothes? You don't even know what I really care about in my heart!"
Men always say that brothers are like hands and feet, while women are like clothes. When he talked about that woman in the Prince Xian's Mansion, he didn't seem to realize what it meant to her at all!
He said it so casually, as if that woman was just an insignificant object in his eyes.
Would she also be cast aside like old shoes by him like that woman once he lost interest in her?!