Fortunately, Shen Qingwan had a strong constitution.

After enduring torment until dawn, she finally fell into an exhausted slumber.

Meanwhile, the poison in Bei Chenyuan’s body had been suppressed, though fully detoxifying it would take more time.

Despite an entire night of turmoil, Bei Chenyuan felt no trace of drowsiness.

As he gazed at the peaceful and delicate face of the woman sleeping beside him, he found himself unable to define his emotions—was it relief?

Regret?

Or perhaps… concern?

Recalling the madness of the previous night, a wave of unease and confusion swept over him.

He had taken away her innocence just to cure himself.

Even if he was willing to take responsibility, she would surely resent him for it.

In her sleep, Shen Qingwan instinctively turned and burrowed into his embrace.

Bei Chenyuan felt as if he was holding a small, furry creature—soft and warm.

The unique fragrance of a young woman mingled with the lingering scent of their passionate night, teasing his senses and reigniting the fire he had only just managed to suppress.

Forcing himself to resist the rising heat in his body, he hurriedly got up.

Shen Qingwan slept soundly until the sun was high in the sky.

When she awoke, she found herself in Bei Chenyuan’s bed, though the man himself was long gone.

Memories of last night’s madness surged back, and she muttered under her breath, “Beast.”

Perhaps because it was her first time, combined with the fact that Bei Chenyuan was poisoned, her experience had been far from pleasant.

She ached all over but had no intention of settling accounts with him. Instead, she simply dismissed it as being bitten by a dog.

“Well, at least the dog was a fine one. Not a total loss,” she thought, comforting herself.

After dressing calmly, she was fastening her hair when Bei Chenyuan pushed the door open.

He found her composedly getting dressed, completely unfazed by his presence, without the slightest hint of embarrassment.

Her indifference unsettled him.

“I had someone prepare some food. You should eat something,” he offered, motioning toward the table.

Shen Qingwan smiled coolly as she finished fixing her hair. “No need. I have things to do, so I won’t linger here. Safe travels, Your Highness.”

With that, she turned and left, leaving Bei Chenyuan utterly baffled.

What did she mean by this?

Just walking away?

Shouldn’t they at least sit down and talk about what had happened?

She had left in such a hurry, as if afraid that he would insist on taking responsibility for her.

Outside, Xuantian, one of Bei Chenyuan’s subordinates, stood dumbfounded.

He still hadn’t recovered from his shock after mistakenly thinking that his master had spent the night with a man.

If not for Bei Chenyuan calling her “Miss Shen” today, Xuantian wouldn’t have realized she was actually a woman.

Thankfully, she was indeed female—otherwise, his master’s reputation would have been utterly ruined.

But for her to walk out so casually after such a fierce battle the night before… her endurance was truly impressive.

Still, she had left without a word of complaint.

What was their lord supposed to do now?

Just as Xuantian was pondering this, Bei Chenyuan emerged from the room, his expression dark.

“Pack up. We depart immediately,” he ordered before striding away.

Xuantian glanced into the room.

As he grabbed his master’s cloak, his gaze fell upon the disheveled bed.

His eye twitched as he noticed that the pale bed sheets had a conspicuous hole in the center, a missing piece that had been deliberately cut out.

It was obvious what had been removed.

A woman’s first time often left behind a mark, and his master had taken that piece with him.

So, his master did care for Miss Shen after all, if only a little.

Bei Chenyuan, however, would never admit it.

The sight of that bloodstain had been too glaring, so he had cut it away. It wasn’t something he could just leave lying around.

He had simply taken it with him because he had no other choice—certainly not because he had any special feelings for her.

He had even considered taking responsibility for her.

After all, he was of marriageable age.

To him, it made no difference who he married, so if it was Shen Qingwan, so be it.

But to his surprise, she had simply walked away. Did their night together mean nothing to her?

Or was it because she actually liked Murong Wushuang and didn’t want to be tied to him?

Bei Chenyuan’s poison hadn’t been fully purged, and the strain of forcing it out had damaged his internal energy.

When they were later ambushed, he found himself unable to fight.

Fortunately, Xuantian and the others were more than capable, ensuring Bei Chenyuan’s safe arrival in the capital.

Meanwhile, after parting ways with him, Shen Qingwan traveled directly to Yongzhou City.

If she hadn’t lingered in Licheng for half a day, she wouldn’t have even been involved in Bei Chenyuan’s poisoning incident.

She didn’t know exactly what poison he had been afflicted with, but given his internal strength, he should have been able to suppress it.

After all, they had already been intimate, which meant the poison was at least partially neutralized. Aside from looking a little pale when she left, he had seemed fine.

Shen Qingwan didn’t feel entirely victimized by the situation.

She had a gun and powerful anesthetics—if she had truly wanted to escape, she could have.

At first, she had resisted the idea of sleeping with a man just like that. But Bei Chenyuan’s body was simply too tempting.

The poison had heightened his desire, making his gaze impossibly seductive.

And those abs, that V-line…

Who wouldn’t be entranced?

She never had particularly strong principles when it came to indulging in male beauty. They were already in that situation—there was no reason to hold back.

In her previous life, she had remained single for years, not out of choice but because the post-apocalyptic world had a serious shortage of attractive men. She had never been willing to settle.

Now, a prime specimen had literally fallen into her lap. How could she not take advantage?

Besides, if she hadn’t helped Bei Chenyuan, he might have died, which could have thrown the entire northern region into chaos.

Not to mention, she hadn’t yet received the county princess title he had promised her. If he died, all the grain she had donated would have been for nothing.

Since she truly didn’t feel like she had suffered a loss, she even considered sending more supplies to the Zhenbei Army. As long as Bei Chenyuan didn’t expect her to take responsibility, donating some extra provisions seemed like a fair trade.

Upon arriving in Yongzhou City, she was greeted by Manager Li of the Wantong Bank, rather than Bai Erye himself.

The winter clothing she had ordered had been handled entirely by Manager Li.

He warned her that due to recent hardships, fabric prices had skyrocketed. Though a substantial amount of winter clothing had been gathered, the cost was steep.

Concerned that she might not be able to afford it all, he hesitated to hand over the entire shipment.

But she took everything without hesitation—100,000 winter garments and 50,000 blankets.

However, upon inspecting the blankets, she was shocked to discover they were stuffed with willow fluff and reed flowers. Even the winter garments were lined with these materials.

Having always used silk-filled blankets from her personal space, she had never realized that common folk relied on such flimsy materials for warmth.

These blankets were light but far from truly warm.