Although a lot happened today, Su Baiyue’s self-discipline allowed her to sleep soundly and beautifully.

Waking up groggily in the morning, Su Baiyue found someone sitting by her side.

The man wore a dark robe, his black hair tied up with an indigo silk ribbon, revealing his peerlessly handsome face. At this moment, he was gazing at her intently, motionless like a statue, and it was unclear how long he had been sitting there.

The room was eerily quiet, even the window lattices were closed, letting only a sliver of light in, making it impossible to tell the time.

Su Baiyue quickly prepared for battle.

“Get out!”

Her long black hair spread over the white satin bedding, her body clad in silky white undergarments, which clung to her slender, fragrant body, accentuating her graceful curves.

Lu Gan’s eyes darkened as he leaned slightly on the bed’s edge.

Forced to lean back against the pillows, Su Baiyue’s almond-shaped eyes widened with sleep still fading from them.

The man seemed to have not slept all night, his dark eyes bloodshot, veins sprawling like spider webs, capturing her reflection within them, entrapping it like a cocoon without escape.

Su Baiyue suddenly remembered the perverse thing this man said last night. She gasped sharply, grabbing the whisk hanging from the bedpost and striking Lu Gan’s face with it.

There was no way she would let such things as letting his tongue in her mouth happen!

Lu Gan remained still, letting Su Baiyue hit him relentlessly with the whisk.

Her strength was feeble, and with one grasp, Lu Gan easily diverted the whisk aside, revealing his lips reddened from the assault, and said, “The Crown Prince and his wife have arrived.”

“What?” Su Baiyue was still vigorously trying to retrieve the whisk.

Lu Gan held it loosely, yet she couldn’t pull it back at all.

“They said they wanted to see the bride and have been waiting all morning,” Lu Gan continued.

Su Baiyue glanced toward the window, her grip never loosening, her brow slightly furrowed, her voice still hoarse with sleep, “What time is it?”

“Third quarter past noon.”

What a time indeed.

She had slept right through to midday.

Thinking this, Su Baiyue turned to face Lu Gan, immediately switching to an arrogant and disdainful expression, “Why are you still here?” Was he watching her sleep all morning?

Shivering involuntarily, Su Baiyue fought the urge to cover herself completely with the quilt. This pervert hadn’t taken advantage of her sleep to do anything inappropriate, like… putting his tongue in her mouth, had he?

Lu Gan suddenly let go of the whisk. Unprepared, Su Baiyue fell back against the pillows, dazed for a long time before dumbly looking up at the man standing by the bed.

Lu Gan, his figure half-obscured by the dim light, adjusted his sleeves, his wide sleeves fluttering slightly, a strange sweet scent wafting from his body.

Though she wasn’t hurt from the fall, her expression was clearly dazed. Her dark almond eyes were moist, slightly reddened, like the first apricot blossoms of spring, trembling and delicate with the chilly dew of early morning, cold and fragrant and soft.

Beautiful.

Lu Gan swallowed hard, resisting the urge to pluck such a flower, “Breakfast has cooled down. I’ll warm it up and bring it for my wife.” After saying this, he stepped out, pushing the door open.

Su Baiyue watched the crisscrossing black footprints on the white fabric, her forehead throbbing, finally unable to help but call Jing Wen in to replace the soiled white fabric.

So many black footprints, were they made by crabs?

“When did Lu Gan come in? Didn’t I say he’s not allowed in my courtyard?” Su Baiyue sat at the dressing table, combing her long black hair herself.

Jing Wen was washing her hands for the third time, preparing to style Su Baiyue’s hair.

“Mistress, this is the general’s mansion, I can’t stop him.”

“Even if you can’t stop him, you must. He really thinks he’s someone!” Su Baiyue said haughtily, raising her eyes to see the man coming in with a lacquered food box.

Lu Gan’s expression was unreadable, whether he heard her comment or not.

Somewhat guilty, Su Baiyue realized she had said that for him to hear. Yet, this male lead, with skin as thick as a city wall, had been slapped in the face by her countless times since yesterday but still approached her unemotionally like a shameless dog.

Indeed, she was a calamitous beauty.

Sighing with resignation, knowing she could act with her skills but relying on her looks, tsk tsk.

As Jing Wen finished washing her hands for the sixth time and began styling Su Baiyue’s hair, Su Baiyue watched the reflection of her elegant hairstyle, finding it lovely no matter the style. But now, she should be dissatisfied with it from every angle, determined to trash it.

“What is this… cough, cough, cough…” Su Baiyue hadn’t finished speaking when she was choked by the sweet aroma in the air.

The round wooden table was filled with Su Baiyue’s favorite pastries and breakfast items. White soft rabbit-shaped buns with red bean paste, sugar-steamed milk cakes, peony-shaped pastries, and soup-filled glutinous rice balls… it was heaven.

Su Baiyue’s eyes welled up with emotion, but restrained by Jing Wen and Lu Gan’s presence, she dared not make a move.

“Mistress, the general personally prepared this early in the morning. Please try some, don’t disregard his feelings.”

Hearing Jing Wen’s words, Su Baiyue’s face turned pale, panic setting in. It felt as if she was sitting on a cloud, unaware that her fillings were showing all along.

Realizing she had been exposed from the beginning…

“Get out,” she dismissed Jing Wen.

Now alone with Lu Gan, the man silently ate, and after a moment of silence, Su Baiyue decided to pretend ignorance about the whole situation. At worst, she’d be known as a hypocritical glutton, which might even lead him to give up on her.

Pleased with her conclusion, Su Baiyue gathered her white gown and sat opposite Lu Gan. Then, feigning dignity, she picked up a rabbit bun and delicately bit its ear.

Lu Gan didn’t even blink.

Su Baiyue tentatively bit again. This time, the red bean filling eagerly burst forth, coating her mouth with warmth.

Lu Gan leaned over from across the table, took a bite from the bottom of the bun, consuming three-quarters of it in one go. His lips perfectly met Su Baiyue’s, as if calculated to the millimeter.

Eating someone’s food may soften them, and so may accepting their gifts.

Su Baiyue was now completely soft.

“Bang!” Startled, Su Baiyue fell to the ground, the bun still in her mouth, her face smeared with red bean paste, looking up pitifully yet adorably.

Lu Gan tilted his head, about to lift her up when Jing Wen’s voice came from outside, “Your Highness, this is the inner courtyard.”

“Get out!” The Crown Prince, irate, swung Jing Wen aside and barged through the door.

Inside, Su Baiyue sat coldly on a wooden stool, her slender figure ethereal, her face detached like an offended celestial being, while the notorious General Rakshasa stood close by, back to the prince, who couldn’t see his face.

“My Ling’er, I…” The Crown Prince, accustomed to high status, dismissed Lu Gan and addressed her intimately.

Su Baiyue felt the man beside her tense, his muscles coiled like a beast ready to strike, likely placing the prince on his list of people to be dealt with silently.

“Your Highness, the princess is here,” Jing Wen interjected, seeing the prince was uncontainable, just as a gorgeously dressed woman approached, having followed the prince out.

At this moment, the prince was utterly enchanted by Su Baiyue’s celestial face, deaf to any other voice.

“My dear, you’ve made me search for you,” said the former Mistress Yangshi, now the princess, smiling as she climbed the steps. She glanced at Su Baiyue inside, then at the legendary General, immediately captivated by his broad shoulders and long legs, signaling a real warrior.

Though she hadn’t seen his face, her years of indulging in dalliances told her he was a catch. Seeing such perfection, Mistress Yangshi stomped her foot and fluttered her eyelashes at Lu Gan.

Su Baiyue, seemingly aloof, was internally panicking.

In her rush earlier, she had wiped her mouth with Lu Gan’s robe… Now, she dared not face his reaction.

The awkward silence was broken by the steward announcing that lunch was ready.

With the royal couple visiting, they couldn’t just leave without a meal.

Thus, the couple, who had been ogling like statues at the entrance, finally proceeded to the dining hall under the steward’s repeated urging.

Su Baiyue sat on the wooden stool, watching as Lu Gan carefully hung his dark robe in a wooden box.

Su Baiyue:? ? ?

Unable to curb her curiosity, she casually asked, “What are you doing?”

“Keeping my wife’s things,” Lu Gan replied, his fingers gently passing over the lapel of the robe, now stiff with a dark red stain of dried bean paste.

Su Baiyue recalled the robes, whips, handkerchiefs, and medicine bottles… and shivered. The perverse world was indeed beyond her understanding.

Was this the legendary treatment reserved for the main female lead—perversely affectionate to her, but cold as Siberian frost to everyone else?