Psst! We're moving!
The next day, on the Lantern Festival, a group of over ten elite cavalrymen from the Xuan Ce Army escorted a tall, spacious carriage as it slowly made its way westward from the outskirts of the capital.
From dawn to dusk, the distance between them and Chang’an grew ever greater.
Li Dafeng followed behind the carriage, watching Jiang Zhiyi lean out of the window, laughing and chatting with Yuan Ce outside.
Yuan Ce sat astride his horse, responding to her with a faint smile. Sensing a gaze from behind, he glanced back at Li Dafeng, then said something to Jiang Zhiyi before slightly tugging on the reins to slow his horse.
“Physician Li has been eyeing the carriage all day,” Yuan Ce remarked as he dropped back. “A little less staring would do you good.”
Li Dafeng’s lips curved faintly. “General Shen is quite the taskmaster. With the horse facing forward, where else am I supposed to look if not ahead?”
“You could turn around—then the back becomes the front,” Yuan Ce gestured toward the direction of Chang’an. “The Xuan Ce Army doesn’t keep those whose hearts are elsewhere. Physician Li can still return if he wishes.”
“Thank you for your advice, General Shen. I’m quite content where I am.”
“In that case, I wonder what kind of festivities are unfolding in the ‘enemy camp’ tonight.”
—Mr. Li is leaving on the Lantern Festival? What a pity. The lanterns in my courtyard will burn all night tomorrow.
Baojia’s parting words from last night suddenly echoed in his ears.
Li Dafeng fell silent, refusing to dwell further on the matter. Beneath those unextinguished lanterns, amidst the flickering candlelight, which retainer was now sharing this moment with her?
As the sun dipped below the horizon and twilight deepened, the convoy arrived at a post station by nightfall.
Li Dafeng dismounted at the entrance, handing his horse over to a soldier. He gazed absently at the red lanterns hanging above, lost in thought. Just as he stepped over the threshold, a familiar voice rang out from within the courtyard: “You’ve kept me waiting long enough!”
Li Dafeng’s brow twitched involuntarily. He looked up to see Baojia emerging gracefully, clad in a sleek riding outfit.
She should have been dozens of miles away, feasting under the stars or strolling through lantern-lit streets. Yet here she was, appearing unexpectedly at this remote post station.
Just like seven years ago, when he thought their final meeting had already passed, she had materialized through the thick winter fog on a night he never anticipated.
Jiang Zhiyi, equally astonished, stopped in her tracks. “Sister, what are you doing here?”
“Well, I didn’t have time to bid you farewell earlier, so I thought I’d come celebrate the Lantern Festival with you,” Baojia replied with a smile, directing her words to Jiang Zhiyi without sparing a glance in his direction.
Li Dafeng stood rooted to the spot, watching as Baojia and Jiang Zhiyi exchanged cheerful banter. Eventually, Baojia turned and headed toward the main hall, while Jiang Zhiyi invited him to join them for dinner.
Li Dafeng glanced at Baojia’s retreating figure. Though she had been smiling since her arrival, her mood seemed far from pleasant.
After all, her remark last night about the lanterns burning all night was clearly an invitation for him to stay one more day.
But his only response had been: “Wishing Your Highness a joyous festival.”
In truth, Yuan Ce’s departure today was tied to their mission against the Zhong family. Delaying by a day to spend the Lantern Festival in Chang’an with Baojia and then catching up with the convoy wouldn’t have been impossible.
Yet he wasn’t the man she described—one who couldn’t be swayed by any worldly pleasures.
The Lantern Festival, a day meant for lovers once a year—if he let this pass, he might truly lose his chance forever.
“Thank you for the invitation, My Lady, but I’ll dine with the soldiers in the side quarters,” Li Dafeng bowed politely to Jiang Zhiyi.
Jiang Zhiyi, seemingly intent on playing matchmaker, whispered to Yuan Ce: “What about your ironclad orders?”
“Orders,” Yuan Ce shot him a glance.
Li Dafeng’s gaze lingered on Baojia, already seated at the eight-sided table in the main hall, before following Yuan Ce and Jiang Zhiyi inside.
At the table’s four sides, Yuan Ce and Jiang Zhiyi sat closely together on one side, while Baojia faced them across the table.
Upon entering, Li Dafeng took a seat beside Baojia.
Four sets of bowls and chopsticks were laid out, each filled with steaming glutinous rice balls. Baojia, having waited long enough, was already hungry. She picked up a spoon and scooped a ball into her mouth.
Before it reached her lips, however, Li Dafeng’s hand pressed down on hers, stopping her.
Baojia’s brows lifted slightly as she glanced at the hand resting on her own.
Li Dafeng quickly withdrew his hand and explained, “There’s fermented rice wine in the broth. It would be best if Your Highness refrained from eating it. Please have another bowl prepared.”
“Does fermented rice wine count as alcohol?” Baojia chuckled. “Mr. Li certainly lives a tiresome life.”
“I’m merely concerned that breaking the rule once might lead to a second time.”
“Is Mr. Li worried about himself?” Baojia asked pointedly.
Li Dafeng was left speechless.
“This princess follows no rules. As long as I’m in a good mood, I’ll break them as many times as I please,” Baojia declared, popping the rice ball into her mouth and continuing to eat without sparing him another glance.
Jiang Zhiyi glanced between the two, toning down her affectionate exchanges with Yuan Ce.
As Baojia polished off the entire bowl, including the soup, Li Dafeng exhaled deeply and lowered his head to focus on his own meal.
Before he finished, Baojia rose, signaling she had no intention of staying. She waved to Jiang Zhiyi. “Didn’t you say you wanted to make lanterns? Let’s go, Sister.”
Without looking back, she left the table.
________________________________________
Under the cover of night, Yuan Ce slipped out to attend to business, leaving the main hall to Baojia and Jiang Zhiyi.
After dinner, Li Dafeng bathed in the washroom, washing away the dust of a day’s travel. As he passed through the corridor, he glimpsed the flickering candlelight through the partially opened window of the main hall. Inside, Baojia and Jiang Zhiyi were engrossed in crafting lanterns, chatting and laughing without a glance outside.
Li Dafeng paused briefly, then turned and entered the side quarters alone. Lighting a lamp, he sat by the window, where he could see the entire courtyard, and picked up a medical text to pass the time.
The night stretched endlessly. Occasionally, the wind rustled through, gently flipping the pages of his book. Each time the breeze stirred, Li Dafeng raised his head to glance toward the main hall.
He watched as they hung up the completed lanterns.
He saw buckets of hot water carried in for baths.
He observed Gu Yu close the windows, extinguishing most of the candles, and the main hall falling into quiet slumber.
Lowering his head, Li Dafeng resumed reading from the page where he had paused an hour earlier.
After a few more pages, he suddenly heard a soft click. Looking up, he saw the door of the main hall being pushed open from within. A figure with loose, flowing hair stepped out.
Li Dafeng recognized her instantly. His grip on the book tightened slightly, but he saw that Baojia merely wrapped herself in a cloak and sat down on the veranda, showing no intention of approaching him.
It had been over seven years since he last saw her with her hair undone and dressed so casually.
Back then, when he visited her palace, she sometimes appeared before him like this after waking from a nap, too lazy to groom herself.
As an outsider and a subject, it was naturally inappropriate for him to see the princess in such an intimate state. He would tell her to wait until the maids had finished grooming her before he entered.
She would ask, “Is this not good?” And he would reply, “No, it is not.”
She would press further, “Do you mean I don’t look good, or it’s simply not appropriate?”
Looking at her disheveled hair and radiant face, he couldn’t bring himself to lie. He could only say—”It’s not appropriate.”
Understanding his meaning, she smiled and said, “Then I won’t bother with grooming.”
Li Dafeng pulled himself out of his memories, his gaze returning to the present.
Under the corridor lantern, half of Baojia’s face was softly illuminated by the hazy light, while the other half remained shrouded in shadow. She sat quietly, tilting her head up toward the main gate of the post station.
Li Dafeng likely knew what—or rather, whom—she was looking at.
He wasn’t wrong. She was gazing at that red lantern—the same red lantern he had lost himself in when he first arrived at this post station.
On this night of parting, on this festival for lovers, it was a red lantern that bore the weight of broken promises.
Li Dafeng stared motionlessly at Baojia until a cool breeze swept through, stirring her loose hair. He watched as she adjusted her cloak.
Closing his book, he picked up a hand warmer, tested its warmth with his fingertips, and rose to his feet.
Baojia heard his footsteps and looked up as he approached slowly, though neither of them spoke.
Reaching her, Li Dafeng handed her the hand warmer without a word.
Baojia accepted it, warming her hands for a moment. Seeing that he still stood silently beside her, she glanced up and asked, “Is there something else?”
“If Your Highness cannot sleep, I can keep you company for a while.”
“What would we talk about? Our recent conversations never seem to end pleasantly.”
“Then I’ll simply sit with Your Highness.” Li Dafeng settled down beside her.
“Do you know what one of my retainers would say at a time like this?”
“What would they say?”
“They would say—I’ll only speak words that make the princess happy today.”
Li Dafeng turned his head to look at her.
“Didn’t you promise to enter my estate if you survive and return? Perhaps you should start learning how to be a retainer.” Baojia cast him a sidelong glance.
Li Dafeng studied her for a moment before shifting his gaze away.
Baojia followed suit, leaning back against the pillar in disappointment, thinking that some people truly were beyond teaching. Just then, she heard Li Dafeng speak: “I was sincere with you back then, Princess.”
Baojia’s eyelashes fluttered slightly as she blinked gently.
Li Dafeng gazed at the distant red lantern, continuing in a slow, measured tone: “When I received your letter, there were no red lanterns in my home—only yellow ones.”
“At the time, the empress pressured my father to sever ties with you. I was confined to the estate, unable to go out and purchase one. So I gathered scraps of fabric and pieced together a red lantern myself.”
Baojia gradually straightened her posture.
“After being imprisoned, I heard that you knelt for three days and three nights, nearly losing your life. I began to wonder—are there two things in this world that cannot be defied?”
“What two things?”
“One is the will of heaven, and the other is imperial authority. My family had no red lanterns, yet I insisted on making one—that was defying the will of heaven. The empress demanded I cut ties with you, yet I secretly corresponded with you—that was defying imperial authority. Defiance comes with a price.”
Baojia nodded. “Indeed, defying the will of heaven and imperial authority demands a price—but isn’t the greatest price death itself?”
Li Dafeng narrowed his eyes, studying her.
“Li Dafeng, have you ever dreamed of a kite?”
Hearing her call his full name so suddenly, Li Dafeng hesitated briefly before shaking his head.
“I have,” Baojia replied. “I dreamed that I became a kite, flying among many others. All kites know that the higher they ascend, the stronger the winds grow, and the more likely their strings are to snap. When the winds pick up, other kites carefully reel themselves lower. But I thought—kites exist for the wind. If I never reach the highest point to feel those fierce winds, what’s the point of being a kite at all? I wanted to soar into the fiercest, most turbulent winds, flying freely for as long as I could. That way, even when the string snaps, it would be a glorious release.”
A flicker of emotion passed through Li Dafeng’s eyes.
He gazed at her, silent for a long while.
Baojia paused after speaking, as if gathering her thoughts. After a moment, she turned to him and asked, “Li Dafeng, let me ask you again—have you ever regretted?”
Li Dafeng remained silent for a stretch before finally nodding. “Yes, I have.”
Baojia’s lips curved upward in a triumphant smile.
“But if given the chance to relive it, I might still choose the same path.”
“I know,” Baojia tilted her chin, eyes narrowing as she teased him. “I know you’d choose the same. I just wanted to hear you say you regretted.”
Li Dafeng sighed faintly. “Then did I say something today to make the princess happy?”
“It’ll do,” Baojia replied lightly, as if shedding a heavy burden, her mood lifting further. “But if you could do something else to make me happy, that would be even better.”
“What would that be?”
“Today is the Lantern Festival. I promised one of my retainers that I’d go out tonight to admire the lanterns with him.”
“Does Your Highness wish for me to accompany you now?”
Baojia shook her head. “I’m merely telling you—he was heartbroken when I left the estate earlier. He asked where I was going.”
“What did Your Highness say?”
“I told him—I’m going to fulfill a wish.”
“What kind of wish?”
Baojia turned her head, locking her gaze onto his eyes. “A wish that, if tomorrow I might die, I must fulfill today.”
Li Dafeng blinked slowly twice, as if sensing what was coming next.
“I’ve thought about it,” Baojia continued. “You said that if you survive, you’ll enter my estate. But that doesn’t make sense. If you live, you’ll eventually belong to me anyway—so why wait? And if you don’t survive, then why not seize the moment now? If I wait in vain, it feels like a loss. And if you’ve endured all those trials with the medicine for nothing, that also feels like a waste.”
Li Dafeng’s breath caught, his previously calm chest now rising and falling subtly.
Baojia watched his Adam’s apple bob as she murmured, “Li Dafeng, I’m feeling a bit cold.”
Li Dafeng sat in silence for a long while, so long that Baojia began to think he might pretend not to understand—
“Then let’s go to my room,” he said finally, rising to his feet as he steadied himself against his knees.
Baojia’s lips curved into a faint smirk as she stood up, pulling her cloak tighter around her and following him closely.
Li Dafeng deliberately slowed his pace, leading the way with measured steps. Baojia wasn’t in a hurry; she trailed behind him, watching as he seemed to wrestle with some final internal struggle. Her smile widened at the sight.
When they reached the door of the side quarters, Li Dafeng paused briefly before slowly pushing it open. He then stood still with his back to her for another moment before stepping aside to gesture her in.
Baojia stepped over the threshold, casually placing the hand warmer on his desk and removing her cloak to hand it to him.
Li Dafeng took her cloak with one hand while closing the doors and windows with the other. Then he walked further inside, hanging her cloak on a wooden rack and smoothing out its creases.
When he turned back, Baojia was already seated on his bed, propped up on her elbows with one hand supporting her forehead as she gazed at him. “Mr. Li has been staying at my estate for nearly half a month now—have they told you how to properly attend to someone?”
Li Dafeng approached her. “I await Your Highness’s guidance.”
“Very well, then this princess will personally teach you,” Baojia said, reaching out to tug at his collar and pull him down.
________________________________________
The modest side quarters of the post station were bathed in the dim glow of flickering candlelight. Muffled moans mingled with the soft sound of water, echoing through the room.
Baojia lay on the bed, her neck arched back, one hand gripping the bedding tightly while the other pressed against the back of Li Dafeng’s head, her fingers tangled in his hair.
Like a fish stirring the waters of a spring pool, he effortlessly drew her into the trembling depths of ecstasy.
It was because this man was Li Dafeng—just a glance at him could drown her completely.
At the moment of climax, Baojia trembled and let out a sharp cry, only for Li Dafeng to quickly cover her mouth with his hand.
The scream was forced back into her throat, and tears welled up in the corners of her reddened eyes. She bit down hard on his fingers to vent her frustration.
Li Dafeng winced but endured it silently, panting as he lifted his head.
After four years in the military, he knew the keen hearing of the Xuan Ce Army soldiers. Though the doors and windows were tightly shut, any loud noise would still carry outside.
Feeling her gradually calm down amidst her ragged breaths, he finally released his hand.
Baojia looked down at him, her gaze fixed on the droplets of moisture lingering on his jaw.
Li Dafeng bent one leg and sat on the bed, quietly meeting her gaze.
After a moment, Baojia suddenly reached out toward him.
Li Dafeng stiffened abruptly, hesitating for an instant before stopping his retreat.
“Has any woman touched you?” Baojia asked, staring at him intently.
“Yes.”
Baojia’s brows lifted slightly, and she tightened her grip.
Li Dafeng let out a muffled groan. “…Isn’t Your Highness touching me right now? If you’re asking whether another woman has touched me, then no, there hasn’t been anyone else.”
Baojia smiled, propping herself up despite the soreness in her legs, and pushed him back onto the bed before straddling him. “Then this princess shall begin her feast.”
________________________________________
The night of the Lantern Festival in early spring seemed exceptionally long. The candlelight in the side quarters flickered throughout the night until the wax burned down to ash before finally extinguishing.
As dawn approached, Baojia lay limp like a puddle of water, leaning bonelessly against Li Dafeng’s chest as he wiped her body with a damp cloth and dressed her in a sleeping gown.
“Li Dafeng—” Baojia called to him, her voice hoarse.
Li Dafeng lowered his eyes, meeting the sultry gaze she cast upon him.
“Do you regret it?” she asked.
“I have already answered Your Highness.”
“I’m not talking about seven years ago. I’m asking—do you regret not coming to see me sooner after returning to the capital earlier this year?”
Li Dafeng’s gaze locked onto her face as he nodded. “Yes, I regret it.”
If he had known he would ultimately surrender completely, he might as well have given in from the start.
Satisfied, Baojia smiled, parting her lips slightly.
Li Dafeng leaned down and kissed her.
Their breaths intertwined once more in a passionate exchange, and just as he felt the tide of desire rising uncontrollably, he pulled away.
But Baojia tilted her head back. “Li Dafeng, I want more.”
Li Dafeng’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “Dawn is approaching.”
“Then we’ll continue until dawn. Li Dafeng, for me, there’s no difference between parting in life and parting in death. I’m living today as if you won’t return.”
Li Dafeng’s eyelashes fluttered faintly as he lowered his head once more, kissing her deeply as if determined to exhaust every last moment of this spring night.
________________________________________
Six months later, in July, at the Princess’s Estate in Chang’an.
In the sweltering heat of summer, the ice container in the study emitted waves of coolness, shielding the room from the oppressive heat outside.
At dawn, when the sky was still gray, Baojia stood by the window, her heart pounding anxiously as she read the letter Jiang Zhiyi had sent. At the end of the letter—
“The pass has been recaptured, and the battle is over. There were injuries but no casualties among the Xuan Ce Army. Physician Li is safe and sound and is expected to arrive in the capital in about three days. Rest assured, Sister.”
The stone that had weighed heavily on her heart since June finally fell. Baojia closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly sank into a chair, gripping its armrests.
When she had parted ways with Li Dafeng in the first month of the year, she had already guessed what he was risking his life to do.
What he needed to accomplish was undoubtedly tied to Shen Yuan Ce’s mission—and thus, the threats facing Hexi.
At the time, Hexi’s greatest enemies were twofold: the cautious Western Luo and the restraining Hedong.
After Shen Yuan Ce returned to Hexi, Western Luo remained inactive, while Hedong continued its standoff with the imperial court. She had assumed they would remain in stalemate until the end of the year.
But in June, a sudden drought struck the three southern provinces, and Hedong raised its banner of rebellion without warning, catching everyone off guard.
Zhiyi was trapped in Xingyang, and Shen Yuan Ce led the Xuan Ce Army in a full-scale rescue effort—with Li Dafeng surely among them.
The lives of those she cared about hung in the balance of this battle, and she, stranded in Chang’an, could do nothing but wait anxiously each day for news.
Fortunately, each successive message brought news of victory.
Baojia sat in her chair, glancing at the date Jiang Zhiyi had written at the end of her letter—
Today was exactly three days later.
The official roads had been sealed, delaying the delivery of private letters; the letter had only reached the princess’s estate on the very day Li Dafeng and Jiang Zhiyi were due to arrive in the capital.
Baojia summoned Cuimei and instructed her to inquire at the Yong’en Marquis’s residence about whether they had arrived yet.
Cuimei sent someone to check, but the response came back: not yet. Baojia could do nothing but wait anxiously in the study. She waited through the afternoon until finally, word arrived that Jiang Zhiyi’s carriage had entered the city.
Without delay, Baojia boarded her carriage and headed for the Yong’en Marquis’s residence.
The people of the marquis’s household were all familiar with her. Seeing her arrival, they quickly ushered her inside.
As Baojia walked further into the estate, she couldn’t help but feel a flutter of nervousness, akin to the trepidation one feels upon nearing their hometown after a long absence.
Over the past six months, she had exchanged a few letters with Zhiyi—but none with Li Dafeng.
Not being able to see him in person, she hadn’t wanted to indulge in the sticky-sweet act of exchanging affection through words. When they had parted ways, she had simply asked him to remember her birthday. But who could have known that her July birthday would be swallowed up by the chaos of war? She herself had forgotten it entirely—and naturally, she had no way of knowing whether he remembered.
Baojia was led by a maid to the courtyard where Lady Xu’s voice greeted her from afar: “Thank goodness Miss Jiang has brought Mr. Li with her. I thought the roads leading to the capital were still blocked and it would take some time, but Miss Jiang has arrived so quickly.”
“How is this quick? You’ve kept me waiting!” Baojia quipped as she walked through the corridor.
“Sister Baojia!” Jiang Zhiyi exclaimed joyfully, rushing forward to greet her.
“It’s been such a stormy return to the capital. Were you injured on the journey?” Baojia asked, eyeing her carefully.
“I’m fine. But Sister, were you frightened during the palace coup?”
“Rest assured, a disgraced and unfavored princess like me wouldn’t catch the rebels’ attention,” Baojia replied, casting a glance over Jiang Zhiyi’s shoulder.
There he was—the man she hadn’t seen in half a year—sitting calmly at a desk, his brush flowing smoothly across the paper as he wrote out prescriptions. He acted as though he neither saw nor heard her, completely oblivious to her presence.
“The Xuan Ce Army’s physician still treats others while remaining blind and deaf himself,” she teased, though her mind raced with thoughts.
She recalled how he had personally helped her into the carriage when they parted at the post station. Yet now, his demeanor reverted to the distant coolness of before—
Had six months passed, and he already harbored new, unspoken burdens?
Li Dafeng finished writing the prescription, handed it to Lady Xu, and then stepped forward to bow to her. “Greetings, Princess.”
Her gaze lingered on his face, which had grown noticeably thinner, and she shot him a sidelong glance without responding.
Li Dafeng turned to Jiang Zhiyi instead: “Miss Jiang, I’ll go prepare Lord Marquis’s medicine first. Please excuse me.”
Watching him leave, Baojia’s expression darkened.
Knowing he had arrived in the capital, she had waited all day from morning till afternoon, skipping even her lunch, and rushed over the moment she heard he was here. And this was his attitude?
Had he lost his memory, forgetting everything that happened on the night of the Lantern Festival?
“Don’t be upset, Sister. Physician Li prepared your birthday gift back in May and entrusted me to bring it. If not for the war, it would have reached you long ago,” Jiang Zhiyi quickly consoled her.
Baojia blinked. “Oh? Is that so?”
If he remembered her birthday and prepared a gift, then he hadn’t forgotten.
So why was he putting on such a cold front?
Suspicious, Baojia stayed a while longer to catch up with Jiang Zhiyi. By evening, Li Dafeng still hadn’t reappeared. She took the birthday gift he had sent via Jiang Zhiyi and returned to her estate in a huff.
Upon her return, her retainers eagerly crowded around her. She intended to open Li Dafeng’s gift but, just as she was about to dismiss them, felt an intense gaze fixed on her face.
Turning her head, she saw Li Dafeng standing behind the group of retainers, staring at her intently.
His expression—if she didn’t say anything—looked rather like someone catching a lover in the act.
She had waited for him at the marquis’s residence for hours, and he silently slipped away to her estate to catch her in the act?
But what exactly had she done?
After their encounter on the night of the Lantern Festival, she had naturally grown somewhat distant with her retainers—not out of deliberate restraint for a man whose return was uncertain, but because she truly lacked interest in pursuing romantic entanglements with others.
As a result, her retainers now seized every opportunity to crowd around her, fearing they might lose their comfortable, prestigious positions within her estate.
Baojia dismissed the retainers before approaching him. “What’s the meaning of this, Mr. Li? Ignoring me in public, then standing here with a face like you’re catching me in adultery—who are you putting on a show for?”
“I just came to see if any of Your Highness’s retainers are unwell.”
Baojia raised an eyebrow. “You don’t care about me, but you care about whether my retainers are unwell? How original of you, Mr. Li. Did diagnosing them give you such a taste for it?”
Li Dafeng averted his gaze.
During the life-and-death battles of July, there had been moments when he feared he wouldn’t live to deliver her birthday gift.
Only after the war settled did he breathe easier. That day, when the Xuan Ce Army faced off against the capital garrison at the Chu River boundary, Yuan Ce chose to retreat. In that moment, Li Dafeng realized Yuan Ce had already made his final decision.
He no longer needed to follow Yuan Ce down that irreversible path—the path that would sever any possibility between him and her forever.
The weight on his shoulders lifted in an instant. These past days in the capital, he had thought of nothing but hurrying his pace to see her sooner.
Until today, before entering the city, he had planned it all out: after diagnosing the Marquis and prescribing treatment, he would come straight to her estate.
But upon entering the city, he stopped by an apothecary to prepare some herbs—and there, he encountered an “old acquaintance”—
Liu Linfei, one of Princess Baojia’s retainers.
Liu Linfei was at the apothecary seeking treatment—for the same kidney yang deficiency caused by excessive indulgence.
It seemed that in his absence, life at the princess’s estate continued as vibrantly as ever.
With or without him, it made no difference.
Li Dafeng’s gaze fell on the box in Baojia’s hand—the birthday gift he had prepared for her.
Baojia, exasperated by this strange man, ignored him and walked inside, intending to open the box. But as she reached for it, she noticed it was locked with a cipher lock.
“What cipher? Why lock a gift? It’s not like Zhiyi would peek,” Baojia snapped irritably, turning to ask him.
Li Dafeng took the box and unlocked it for her.
Baojia flipped open the lid—
And found inside a jade dildo whose shape was eerily familiar…