Chapter 25.5 - After the Sickly Beauty Transmigrated Into a Book, He Married the Arrogant Crown Prince

"Is it that you won't indulge yourself, or that you won't find someone to do it for you?" 

"Mn. I won’t indulge, and I won’t find someone to do it for me." 

Song Beiyao was somewhat taken aback, his eyes widening slightly, "Then what does my husband plan to do... uh." 

Before he could finish speaking, Pei Ji leaned down again and kissed those incessantly chattering red lips. 

He didn't understand why he did it; he interpreted it as a person on the verge of dying of thirst in the desert, who, upon finally encountering a pool of water, wanted to drink to his heart's content. 

The feeling of losing control surged through him again. Pei Ji forcefully turned his head away, clenched his fist tightly, and with a restrained and enduring voice, said, "Get out!" 

This time, Song Beiyao didn't say anything more. He quickly got up from the bed, but accidentally caught something with his hair at the head of the bed. He took it down and saw that it was a sachet, the calming and sleep-aiding birthday gift he had previously given to Pei Ji. 

He paused for a moment, placed the sachet back on the pillow, and glanced at Pei Ji again. 

The man who is usually incredibly cold and hard is now half-kneeling on the bed, gasping in pain, his chest heaving violently, his earlobes and neck flushed, veins bulging. 

With another quick glance at him, Song Beiyao's heart was greatly shaken. Startled, he hurriedly averted his gaze and quickly walked out. 

He felt self-conscious that his gift had been quite good, but the man slept with the charm he had given…

Is that humanly possible for a person like Pei Ji?

As soon as Song Beiyao stepped outside, the cold wind hit him, making his frail body shiver. The chill felt like needles, penetrating deeply into his bones. 

"Qu Lan, quickly go and call Doctor Tan to come and treat my husband." Song Beiyao spoke.

 

Qu Lan raised his eyes and saw that the side lord's clothes were completely wet, his face was pale, and his lips were swollen and red. Anyone with keen eyes would know what had happened. He couldn't help but be startled and quickly lowered his head, saying, "Yes, side lord." 

"Hurry up! This can’t be delayed.”

— — — — —

After a night of turmoil, even after taking a hot bath and drinking ginger soup upon returning to the Yannuan Pavilion, Song Beiyao still unexpectedly developed a high fever. 

This illness came on suddenly and violently, with new ailments adding to old ones. He lay in bed for several days, feeling dazed and confused, his mind constantly racing, filled with bizarre dreams and finding himself in all sorts of perilous situations. 

In the end, there is always someone who steps out of the darkness and stands behind him. That person never asked for anything in return, not even in the last second of his life.

 He was still protecting him. 

"Qin Zhen..." Song Beiyao murmured, slowly opening his eyes. At the first moment, he looked at the number in the lower left corner, -104. 

"You’re awake." Ling Feng's curious head squeezed into his line of sight, "Who is Qin Zhen? You were just shouting this name.” 

Song Beiyao's throat was dry, his body ached, and he weakly asked, "What happened to me?" 

"You still ask? I had no idea what happened to you that night; you just lay there for three days and nights." Ling Feng wrung out the cloth from the basin nearby and wiped his face, "I almost thought you weren't going to make it again." 

Song Beiyao looked haggard, his lips pale and cracked, and his cheeks showing a sickly red. He coughed heavily a few times, turned his head to look at Ling Feng, and asked, "Where's Pei Ji? Does he have something to do?" 

"What could he possibly have going on?" Ling Feng put the cloth back in warm water, wrung it out, and continued to wipe Song Beiyao's hands. "But he hasn't come to see you these past few days. Did you two have a falling out?" 

Song Beiyao recalled the kiss that night and felt a bit uneasy. He had no romantic experience, but he had acted in kissing scenes. It's just that those kissing scenes were all with the female lead; this is the first time with a man... 

I guess Pei Ji would feel uncomfortable remembering this after waking up. 

"It's not really a conflict." He closed his eyes wearily and said, "It's complicated, Ling Feng. You go out first, I'll sleep a bit more." 

"Oh, there's one more thing I need to tell you." Ling Feng said, "The regent of Northern Qi came to your residence a couple of days ago, saying that once you recover, he would like to invite you to a night tour of Lidu." 

"Has he not returned to Northern Qi yet?" 

Ling Feng shrugged, "Who knows?" 

As soon as the door closed, the system immediately popped up: [Host!! Your luck value is increasing rapidly! In just one month, it has already increased by 100 points!!]

"Only 100 points." Song Beiyao said in a calm tone, "Still 400 points short." 

The system said, [Collecting four hundred points is quick! Pei Ji is no longer so wary of you now.]

Song Beiyao didn't say anything else. 

Previously, he thought he had a god's-eye view and understood the entire plot of the book, so he figured he had figured out Pei Ji. But now it seems, he both overestimated himself and underestimated Pei Ji. 

That is a living, breathing person with flesh, blood, thoughts, and emotions, not a character built from flimsy words. 

— — — — — —

In the days when the concubine was ill, Zhang Bo was worried and kept paying attention to the situation at Yannuan Pavilion. 

Seeing that His Highness the Crown Prince was busy with a thousand matters daily and had no time to visit the Yannuan Pavilion, Uncle Zhang mentioned it during His Highness's evening meal. 

Who would have thought that after mentioning this, His Highness's expression would be very indifferent, not responding at all, seemingly unconcerned. 

Zhang Bo couldn't guess what his master was thinking and just assumed that the two had quarreled again. 

The Crown Prince's mother passed away early, and he has always been a person who is very indifferent when it comes to emotions, making it difficult to move him easily. The concubine likes the prince so much, and if his long-term devotion goes unanswered, he will surely suffer a lot of grievances in their interactions. 

Zhang Bo could only silently think about these things, secretly sighing and feeling sorry for the side lord. 

By the second evening meal, he had closed his mouth and no longer spoke while His Highness was dining. 

By the time they reached the halfway point, he heard His Highness leisurely ask, "How is everything at the residence today?" 

After the last assassin invasion, the Crown Prince's residence has become even more heavily guarded. Zhang Bo replied briefly and continued to remain silent. 

After a while, he heard His Highness casually ask, "Is there any other situation?" 

Zhang Bo respectfully replied, "Your Highness, everything at the residence is as usual, nothing out of the ordinary." 

After finishing dinner, he heard His Highness ask one last time, "How is Yannuan Pavilion doing?" 

Zhang Bo smiled to himself. 

But on the surface, he still pretended to be worried and said, "The side consort's condition isn't very good, and he still hasn't woken up. Your Highness, why not go and pay a visit? Previously, when your Highness's stomach ailment recurred, the side consort was quite worried for a long time.”

Looking at His Highness again, he seemed to have thought of something, his brow slightly furrowed. He didn't say much and walked straight out of the dining hall. 

Zhang Bo was confused again. Is His Highness worried or not? 

— — — — — —

After Song Beiyao woke up and rested for a few days, he didn't see Pei Ji's figure. 

This person seemed to have disappeared from his world, and only occasionally could he hear about Pei Ji from Ling Feng. 

On the day when the luck value dropped to -110, it was the end of January. As evening approached, Song Beiyao was practicing calligraphy in his study when Ling Feng knocked on the door and, looking anxious, said, "Song Beiyao, that regent of Northern Qi has come to invite you out again." 

"What is meant to come will come, no matter how you try to avoid it." 

Song Beiyao's pen didn't pause, and he quickly finished writing a line of words, "He asked me out, so why are you so nervous?" 

"How can I not be nervous! Don't you know what kind of person Helian Zhuo is?" Ling Feng leaned in and said, "He loves people like you the most—those who can dance, have good figures, fair skin, and beautiful looks. If anything happens to you at the appointment, I have to protect you. If we offend someone, it will still be me who has to deal with it!” 

Song Beiyao smiled, "Then you don't need to go with me today." 

(T/N: AAAA Beiyao is starting to see Pei Ji as a human instead of words on a page </3)

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