It was a quiet night.

After dinner, Long Feiye specially took Han Yunxi around for a stroll. It was now late autumn and the back mountains of the medical academy were very cold at night. Thus, Long Feiye didn’t bring her out, but simply walked around the courtyard. With the walls of the compound around them, the wind that blew though the trees was mild and the temperatures just right.

After walking around in a circle, Long Feiye said, “We’ve walked enough today, so go back and rest. I’ve told the kitchens to make you some soup, so finish that before you sleep.”

“Walking time? You’ve calculated that?” Han Yunxi was in disbelief. Isn’t he very busy? When did he have time to calculate my daily exercise time?

“Fourth Young Miss Ren wrote it all in that booklet she gave you. Take a look tomorrow when you’re free,” Long Feiye replied.

Han Yunxi arched her brows at him, still disbelieving. She felt as if he’d become a changed man and began to miss the days when she wasn’t pregnant. Long Feiye only fixed her with a meaningful look until she nodded helplessly. “I’ll remember.”

Before entering her rooms, Han Yunxi asked a shadow guard, “Has Su Xiaoyu returned?”

“Not yet,” the guard replied.

“Why did she stay in the maze? To take revenge against Bai Yanqing?” Han Yunxi wondered to herself. Little Yu’er had told her personally that taking a master was only secondary to avenging them through Bai Yanqing. Although Han Yunxi had no feelings for Han Chen, she trusted the man well enough to believe Su Xiaoyu wouldn’t come to harm at his hands.

Long Feiye settled Han Yunxi into the bedrooms and prepared to leave when she quickly grabbed at him. “Where are you going?”

“Nowhere. I’ll be in the study next door. There are plenty of urgent matters from Western Zhou, Northern Li, and the Jiangnan. You rest well, don’t wait up for me,” Long Feiye said honestly.

“Oh…” Han Yunxi could only let him go. But as soon as Long Feiye left, she asked a shadow guard, “When will His Highness’s soup be delivered?”

“It should be done by now and being kept warm on the pot,” the shadow guard grew curious. “Princess, are you...hungry?”

“Ladle out two portions later and deliver them to the study,” Han Yunxi said in a low voice.

“Princess, His Highness said…” the shadow guard stammered as he tried to coax, but Han Yunxi gave him a look. He immediately changed his tune. “This subordinate obeys!”

Amused, Han Yunxi patted him on the shoulder and said, “Be good. If His Highness punishes you, I’ll help you block it so you don’t get in trouble.”

The shadow guard was very happy waiting for those words. He quickly asked, “Princess, when will we return to the Duke of Qin’s estate?”

After all, all of the shadow guards had lived under her protection there.

“The Duke of Qin’s estate…” Han Yunxi muttered to herself. “His Highness is no longer the Duke of Qin, nor am I Qin w.a.n.gfei. Everything will change very soon.”

“Princess…” the guard didn’t understand.

“But people will never change!” Han Yunxi’s eyes shone with determination. No matter what their statuses were, she was still the same old Han Yunxi, not some West Qin princess or Han Chen’s daughter. She had always been herself, the Han Yunxi who silently loved Long Feiye.

She left for the study alone, leaving a perplexed shadow guard in her wake. He couldn’t figure out what was and wasn’t changing, but he knew that both Qin w.a.n.gfei, the princess, and potentially the future empress would always be the mistress of him and his fellow brothers.

--

When Han Yunxi reached the study, Xu Donglin emerged from the shadows. Unlike the servile respect of ordinary shadow guards, he simply muttered in an undertone, “Princess, aren’t you going to rest yet?”

Han Yunxi rolled her eyes at him and he immediately shut up. When she rolled her eyes again, he insightfully opened the doors to the studyd. Long Feiye only a.s.sumed Xu Donglin was here to deliver an urgent message. He didn’t pay attention to the open door as he studied more letters from Jiangnan.

Seeing this, Han Yunxi was amused. She soundlessly walked over to stand by his table. After a while, Long Feiye looked up, spotted her, and knitted his brows.

“Shh!” Han Yunxi m.u.f.fled him before he could speak. “It’s not late now and I really can’t sleep. Why don’t I keep you company?”

Long Feiye pulled her hand aside and wanted to refuse.

Han Yunxi m.u.f.fled him again and added, “If I can’t sleep, I’ll be in a bad mood. If I’m in a bad mood, it’ll affect the little fellow’s feelings too. And if he’s unhappy...you’ll have to shoulder the consequences!”

Long Feiye stared at her for a while before suddenly laughing. “Alright, the little fellow wins! You can sit for an hou.”

So speaking, he yielded some s.p.a.ce for her to sit by his side. Han Yunxi wasn’t interested in the contents of his letter, but picked up another one. “I’ll help you read these and summarize the contents for you to hear.”

Long Feiye looked back, but Han Yunxi just m.u.f.fled him for the third time so he couldn’t refuse. Still, he removed her hand and pressed her down so she couldn’t move. “Be good and sit still. Otherwise...you’ll have to shoulder the consequences!”

Han Yunxi extended her other arm and hooked her finger, beckoning Long Feiye to come close. When he lowered his head to speak, she suddenly rose up to kiss him on the lips. Their teeth brushed against each othe as all of his dominance faded away. He released her unconsciously and Han Yunxi seized the chance to grab a few letters.

“Be good, I’ll only read for an hour. After that, I won’t stay even if you ask me too,” she said.

Be good? Long Feiye didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Han Yunxi, you’re here to cause trouble, aren’t you?”

“I’m here to help. I’ll divide up the work with you so you can sleep early with me and the little fellow! How am I causing any trouble?” Han Yunxi said seriously.

“You are here to cause trouble!” Long Feiye hardly finished before he pressed towards Han Yunxi and locked lips with her in a deep kiss!

At last, Han Yunxi understood what “causing trouble” meant. Their kiss grew deeper until Long Feiye was practically pus.h.i.+ng Han Yunxi down on the bench. Abruptly, he stopped himself, giving her time to get to her senses. The two stared at each other before their gazes s.h.i.+fted to Han Yunxi’s stomach. Long Feiye quickly released her and helped her up.

“Troublemaker!” he furrowed his brows.

“You started it!” she glared back.

In truth, she was the first to “seduce” him. But who told him to not resist her advances? Still, he didn’t argue and gently straightened out her hair and collar. Then he hollered, “Xu Donglin, come in!”

“Don’t come in!” Han Yunxi exclaimed hastily.

Long Feiye didn’t argue and said, “What are you dawdling for? Come in and send the princess back to her rooms!”

Han Yunxi didn’t argue directly either. “You’re not allowed to enter!”

Xu Donglin was about to cry outside the door. What do I do? Am I supposed to listen to His Highness or the princess?

At this moment, Chu Xifeng happened to pa.s.s by, so Xu Donglin quickly ran out to grab him. “Ol’ Chief, His Highness wants you to go in!”

Chu Xifeng a.s.sumed it was an emergency and quickly stepped in front of the door. At the same time, Xu Donglin vanished from sight. Since Chu Xifeng had been placed in “confinement” at Celestial Mountain for a spell, then gone through a near death experience, he was much more sedate and staid when speaking and acting.

Instead of directly entering the study, he knockd on the door and said, “Your Highness.”

But it was the princess who replied. “Don’t come in!”

Chu Xifeng immediately realized he’d been tricked by Xu Donglin. That rascal, he’s gotten bolder!

Chu Xifeng didn’t panic. He had plenty of experience with such situations and knew it was always His Highness who yielded in the end. As expected, he didn’t hear His Highness for a while and simply left, unconcerned.

--

Inside the room, Han Yunxi’s face was full of pleasant surprise and anxiety that made her entire body tense. Long Feiye was frightened and kept asking, “What’s wrong? What’s happened?”

Just as he was about to call for a doctor, Han Yunxi grabbed his hand and exclaimed, “He moved! The little fellow moved!”

Now it was Long Feiye’s turn to freeze.

“I just felt him kicking me! Really! It was right here!” Han Yunxi knew this was all normal, but personally experiencing it still made her excited. Long Feiye grew nervous as he touchd her belly, but didn’t feel a thing.

“Here? There’s no movement?” he questioned.

“There is! Just then, he clearly moved!” Han Yunxi was afraid he didn’t believe her, so she emphasized, “It was right here, a single kick.”

Long Feiye leaned down closer to listen. Unfortunately, he didn’t hear anything, much less sense movement. Han Yunxi stopped feeling any movements as well.

“I think it was just once,” Han Yunxi said helplessly.

“Go back and lie down in your rooms. Call over Fourth Young Miss Ren to take a look,” Long Feiye was very prudent.

Han Yunxi was already grinning. “No need! This is just normal movement by the fetus!”

Long Feiye didn’t budge. “You don’t have to see a doctor, but you need to lie down. I’ll come with you, so go.”

“You have a pile of things to do!” Han Yunxi protested. Although she was both surprised and anxious, she didn’t want to make a big fuss out of this. But Long Feiye didn’t give in. He personally brought Han Yunxi back to the rooms along with his stack of letters. While she lied on the bed, he sat by her side to read and take care of her at the same time.

He even personally added, “If the little fellow moves again, tell me as soon as you feel it.”

Han Yunxi nodded with a smile. Heaven knows whether the baby had kicked in irritation just then because he thought they were being too noisy? Han Yunxi alternated between lying on her back and her side. Sometimes she’d turn away from Long Feiye, while other times she’d reach out to rest a hand on his waist. During the process, she’d s.n.a.t.c.hd a few letters to read for herself while showing Long Feiye her back.

Eventually, Han Yunxi sat up and said, “Long Feiye, you can give Ning Cheng a few more months in Northern Li. Juding from the current situation, it’ll take until summer next year to wrap things up. As for Western Zhou, it’s better to have them surrender without a fight. I can tell there are multiple generals vying for power there. Let’s design a chessboard for them all!”

With their current military strength and support from the hearts of the people, it would only be a matter of time before they took Western Zhou. There was no difficulty there, so whoever claimed the country would get an extra supply of troops as well as a chance to station their forces there.

This was a cushy job!

Most of the letters from Western Zhou were offering voluntary surrender. But as the chaotic Cloud Realm Continent headed towards true peace, Han Yunxi caught the scent of gunpowder from a few of the letters. It was bad news to sense the stirrings of power struggles in the air!

Long Feiye looked askance at her and smiled helplessly at the sight of the letters in Han Yunxi’s hands.

“Speak, what kind of chessboard are you planning?” he asked.