Honestly, Lu Meng didn’t want to take care of someone who had caught a cold—she was afraid of getting infected.
Since Lu Meng had crossed over into this world, she hadn’t fallen seriously ill even once. She was so diligent every day, pedaling her bicycle in the air, precisely because she knew that in this world, falling sick was not an option.
A balanced diet, moderate exercise, maintaining a cheerful mood, and avoiding all dangers—these were Lu Meng’s rules for living in this world.
So when Wu Dagou locked himself up under the covers, curled up and miserable, even coughing a few times, it didn’t stir any sympathy in Lu Meng.
She was seriously considering whether to “tear off the mask” with Wu Dagou and just go their separate ways—living apart, minding their own business.
After all, the supporting female character had already arrived in the story, and it wouldn’t be long before Wu Dagou married her. In the original plot, Zhangsun Lumeng was not the Princess Consort of Jian’an, and Wu Dagou would likely take away Lu Meng’s title as princess consort.
Lu Meng was willing to step down voluntarily; she wasn’t particularly attached to the title.
But if she was going to yield, it would be on her own terms—like demanding a promise from Wu Dagou that no living person would be allowed within a certain radius of the courtyard where she lived.
Right now, Lu Meng had leverage to negotiate with Wu Dagou—she still held the token from the Fengqu Kingdom. She knew how much Wu Dagou coveted that string of horse teeth; he needed the Fengqu Kingdom’s support to breed warhorses.
It was precisely because she had this bargaining chip that Lu Meng had no intention of coddling Wu Dagou, even though he’d disappeared for days and had once stormed off in a fit of anger.
Lu Meng stood at a distance, watching the bowl of porridge cool bit by bit, listening to Wu Dagou’s muffled coughs, but she never stepped forward.
It wasn’t until Xin Ya brought over the medicine that Lu Meng remained where she was.
Xin Ya handed the medicine directly to Lu Meng without approaching the bedside. Usually, a smart maid wouldn’t steal the credit during moments like this.
Xin Ya was clearly trying to nudge the princess consort and the prince toward reconciliation. After all, in her view, women in this world ultimately depended on men. Even if the princess consort’s ambitions weren’t sky-high, if she wanted to live peacefully in the inner court, she had to maintain a good relationship with the prince.
Lu Meng didn’t immediately take the medicine, and Xin Ya’s usual seamless cooperation faltered; she’d been so smooth during their little performance earlier.
Lu Meng couldn’t outright refuse to feed him, either—Wu Dagou was sick but still awake and listening.
She simply gave Xin Ya a look, silently signaling her to just put the medicine down. Xin Ya hesitated for a moment before placing the tonic on the table.
Then, glancing at the untouched porridge, she asked Lu Meng, “Princess Consort, should I warm the porridge up?”
Lu Meng: “…” Great, this task was turning into a hot potato.
“No need. It’s better a little cool—it’s easier to swallow.”
Looks like she was going to have to feed Wu Dagou herself today.
But Lu Meng didn’t rush over immediately. Instead, she went inside to find a clean cloth, folded it several times, and covered her mouth with it, tying it securely behind her head.
She looked terrifying—not like the delicate beauties in ancient dramas who veil their faces with light silk. The dull brown cloth tied over her face made her look more like a butcher who dismembers corpses.
Whether it would really prevent her from catching the cold was uncertain, but it was better than nothing.
Lu Meng sighed and stepped forward, sitting down beside the bed. She tested the temperature of the porridge—it had cooled for a while, so it wasn’t the perfect warmth anymore, but it hadn’t gone cold yet.
Lu Meng lifted the bowl, stirred the hot and cool parts together, then turned around and tugged at the blanket, intending to dig Wu Dagou out from under it.
Wu Linxuan was facing away from the bed, his back curved like a bow. Lu Meng gently twisted his shoulder, but he didn’t turn around; instead, he curled up even tighter.
What’s this about? Still sulking and needing to be coaxed?
“Want some porridge?” Lu Meng patted Wu Dagou’s back. Though he was a tall, lanky youth, his back was broad but not thick.
Especially these past few days, he had visibly lost weight. With his back so hunched, she could feel the bones beneath.
“Prince, you’re not still sulking at me, are you?” Lu Meng pressed down along his spine, vertebra by vertebra.
“If you won’t drink the porridge, at least take your medicine,” she said.
“Prince, you’re not going to need coaxing, are you?”
Wu Linxuan still didn’t move. Lu Meng thought for a moment, then lifted the hem of his inner garment. The moment her hand touched his waist, he immediately stopped pretending and wriggled like a lively fish.
He turned to look at Lu Meng, then flinched slightly, clearly startled by her appearance.
“What are you doing?” Wu Linxuan frowned.
“I’m afraid you’ll infect me,” Lu Meng admitted honestly. “My mother was already in poor health when she gave birth to me. I’ve been weak since birth, easily catching whatever illnesses are going around. You might recover from a cold in a day, but if I catch it, I could die.”
Of course, Lu Meng was bluffing. She had talked this over carefully with Changsun Xianyun—this body had been as strong as an ox when it was young.
The later decline in health was purely from her own worries, poor eating, and lack of exercise.
Since Lu Meng had crossed over three months ago, she had already gotten herself back into good shape.
Let’s just say the red bean porridge wasn’t wasted.
But she had to play the victim a little. Many classical stories showed how misunderstandings arose simply because people didn’t speak up.
There was no way she would be the type to get sick and still take care of others without letting them know the risks.
Since she was tending to Wu Dagou, she had to make sure he understood what kind of danger she was putting herself in.
Wu Linxuan was indeed momentarily stunned after hearing this. He glanced at his consort, aware of her frail health.
After that, he stopped being stubborn and obediently got up.
Lu Meng placed a pillow behind him, and Wu Linxuan leaned against it. His whole face flushed like a ripe persimmon.
Lu Meng brought the bowl over, scooped a spoonful, and lifted it to his lips.
Wu Linxuan opened his mouth to drink, but his eyes caught the cloth tied around Lu Meng’s face, and he frowned slightly at how ugly it was.
“What’s that on your face?” Wu Linxuan asked after swallowing.
Lu Meng’s voice felt a bit stifled; the cloth was folded so many times she could barely breathe.
“Prince, eat quickly,” Lu Meng urged him. “After you finish, you still have to take your medicine. Then you should get some rest and sleep—it’ll help you get better.”
Lu Meng scooped up another large spoonful. Because the porridge had cooled a bit, it had thickened, filling the entire spoon. He brought it up to Wu Linxuan’s lips.
To take it all in one bite, one would need to open their mouth wide—or risk making a mess everywhere.
Wu Linxuan frowned, glanced down briefly, then looked at his princess.
If it weren’t for Lu Meng’s straightforward gaze, Wu Linxuan might have suspected she was doing it on purpose.
He didn’t open his mouth especially wide to eat. He had always been quick yet graceful when eating—after all, as a prince, he had been taught proper etiquette.
He was raised as the model prince, and many things had been ingrained deep into his bones. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have broken down so badly just because his hand was bound.
He sighed softly. He knew his princess never fussed over anyone.
It was rare that she didn’t fuss over anyone, yet she still stayed by his side, wrapped up like this, afraid of catching his illness.
Wu Linxuan couldn’t help but recall how, before his mother passed away, she sent someone to ask for a distant meeting with Emperor Yan’an. But the emperor, fearful of catching the disease, never appeared in her chamber.
At that time, Wu Linxuan was still very young, always pretending to be mature beyond his years. Because his mother was near death, he begged his father.
He begged so desperately, and the expression on his father’s face at that moment was something Wu Linxuan would never forget.
Because of his fever, his usually sharp mind was somewhat hazy.
A moment later, he took the bowl and spoon himself. His arms were indeed a little weak, but not so much that he couldn’t hold the bowl.
Wu Linxuan ate by himself.
Seeing him take the bowl, Lu Meng no longer sat by the bedside. The thick cloth tied around his face was stifling, making Lu Meng feel suffocated.
Suddenly remembering something, he called out to the system in his mind, “Can’t you examine people? Check Wu Dagou, see if he has any other ailments.”
System: “...Who’s Wu Dagou? The male lead?”
Lu Meng didn’t answer, instead asking, “Can you actually do it or not? This is the only thing you’re good for. If you can’t even do this, I think you should just apply for scrapping.”
The system was unfazed by Lu Meng’s attack and said, “He’s just worn himself down. No plague on him, don’t worry. This kind of cold he caught isn’t very contagious.”
Only then did Lu Meng relax and pull off the suffocating cloth.
Well, when Wu Dagou first returned, he already had a fever. Lu Meng had been talking to him for half a day then. If it were contagious, he would have caught it long ago.
Back then, he hadn’t even thought about it—too busy trying to justify his own actions. He hadn’t realized how seriously ill Wu Dagou was.
Seeing Wu Dagou slowly eating, Lu Meng turned and went to the tent’s entrance. He lifted the flap and called out to Xin Ya, “Send a maid to find the imperial physician, just the chief physician. Have him prepare a preventative decoction for colds and wind ailments, and bring it here once it’s ready.”
After all, they couldn’t just kick Wu Dagou out because he was sick. Besides, this was Wu Dagou’s tent.
It wasn’t that returning to the women’s quarters was impossible, but it would make it far too easy for others to cause trouble for her. Little Pepper might even be waiting for her to be alone again, only to drag her out mushroom picking and have her mistaken for a deer and shot—something Lu Meng was keen to avoid.
Besides, all these days, the deliveries back and forth with Madam Cen had been under the pretense that she was still recovering from fright. Otherwise, it would be hard to explain why Lu Meng hadn’t gone to check on her aunt, who was supposedly ill from being scared.
Moreover, dealing with the Cen family required thorough preparation. She needed to return first and have Xin Ya gather all sorts of inside information about the Cens—at the very least, she had to understand their relationships clearly before making a move.
Otherwise, how could Lu Meng show up at their door pretending to be a pitiful relative wanting to reconnect with her maternal family, yet hindered by various reasons from doing so?
Taking all this into account, moving back to the women’s quarters was out of the question. Compared to the myriad troubles she’d have to deal with there, Lu Meng would rather drink two bowls of cold-preventing tonic and share a room with Wu Dagou, this living germ.
After giving Xin Ya her instructions, Lu Meng tossed aside the cloth bundle and turned back to the bedside, taking the empty bowl Wu Dagou had just finished eating from and placing it on the table.
She then picked up the bowl of medicinal soup, but this time, instead of handing it directly to Wu Dagou, she stirred it gently with the spoon and blew on it slowly.
Since she was already taking care of him and sharing the same room, Lu Meng was adept at using the smallest cost to gain the greatest benefit—at the very least, she wanted him to remember her kindness.
Suddenly, her demeanor softened like flowing water.
Lu Meng scooped up a spoonful of the tonic and brought it to Wu Dagou’s lips. “Prince, it’s no longer hot, but it should still taste bitter. Drink this, and your fever won’t come back.”
Wu Linxuan’s eyes never left her. Because of his high fever, his eyes had a slightly physiological wetness, sparkling and bright.
He opened his mouth and drank the spoonful of medicine, then asked Lu Meng, “Weren’t you afraid of catching it? Why did you untie the cloth?”
Lu Meng thought to herself, “If you had a contagious disease, I’d have fled the capital overnight by now.”
But in truth, she smiled gently, a little self-mockingly, and said, “Prince, you’re so seriously ill. If anything were to happen to you, I wouldn’t be able to survive either.”
If the male lead were to meet an untimely end, the world would collapse—she certainly wouldn’t survive.
Hearing this, Wu Linxuan’s pupils suddenly contracted, then he opened his mouth again and drank a second spoonful of the tonic, wincing slightly at the bitterness.
What Lu Meng said was actually quite ominous—ancient times forbade speaking such ill-omened words.
But because she said that if Wu Dagou died, she wouldn’t live either, it was like a direct, piercing arrow straight to Wu Dagou’s heart—piercing right through.
Wu Linxuan thought of how his mother had died without even seeing his father one last time. Yet now, his princess was telling him that if he died, she wouldn’t live either.
Wu Linxuan drank the tonic spoonful by spoonful, but the bitterness no longer registered—not because his heart had suddenly turned sweet, but because he was somewhat stunned.
This shock dulled his senses temporarily. The callous person longs for deep affection, but when it truly appears before him, he might not even dare to accept it.
Because of a high fever, Wu Linxuan’s mind was unusually sharp yet chaotic, leaving him completely irrational.
He stared intently at Lu Meng, his eyes swirling with dark, turbulent emotions—like hidden storms beneath the depths of the sea.
This was truly an unexpected revelation. Lu Meng had no idea about the hidden layers of this world’s story.
In the original plot, there was no mention of how Wu Linxuan’s mother, the consort, died. The story simply began with the tragic and intense romance between him and the heroine.
This part of the story seemed to be filled in by the world’s own lore, and aside from Wu Linxuan and the attendants who served his mother at the time, no one else knew the details.
Therefore, Lu Meng noticed how Wu Linxuan’s emotions shifted abruptly and his gaze burned intensely after just one sentence from her. She paused to think for a moment.
Then she decided to go along with it, hoping to increase her bargaining chips for negotiating terms later.
While feeding him spoonfuls of medicinal soup, Lu Meng said, “I know why Your Highness hasn’t come back all these days. I haven’t slept well either, constantly thinking about how I was wrong.”
“Your Highness, I…” Lu Meng originally wanted to say, “I’ve been worried about you all this time.”
But after considering it, she felt that wouldn’t be appropriate.
She didn’t want Wu Dagou to misunderstand and think she was deeply attached to him.
She had no intention of being a love fraud.
A purely physical relationship—once feelings get involved, everything gets complicated. Besides, what good could come from falling for a male lead in an old tragic romance?
So Lu Meng shifted her tone, adopting a rare posture of sincerity and speaking seriously.
After finishing the last spoonful of soup, she placed the bowl on the table, sat upright, and said to Wu Dagou, “Your Highness, you really don’t need to worry about me.”
“Don’t worry about whether I’m comfortable, or if I’ll be ridiculed or devastated for losing the title of princess consort.”
“I won’t be. From the very beginning, I told Your Highness that all I want is to live peacefully by your side until old age.”
Lu Meng watched the subtle changes in Wu Linxuan’s expression and calmly continued, “I know what Your Highness desires, and I’m willing to fully support you. Even if I can’t help, I won’t be a stumbling block on your path to greatness.”
“So the night I persuaded Princess Yinyue to marry Your Highness, that was sincere.”
“Although I had some small grievances and may have offended Your Highness… I promise it won’t happen again.”
Lu Meng said, “After this hunting trip, I will stay quietly in my own courtyard. Whether Your Highness wishes to marry or take concubines, you don’t need to worry about me.”
“If it’s inappropriate for me to stay in Your Highness’s inner courtyard, I will move to another courtyard within the mansion. You can choose a place where I’ll be comfortable—that will be enough.”
Lu Meng carefully conveyed the message of “only cooperation, no love” to Wu Dagou in the gentlest way possible.
Finally, she summarized, “All I want is to live peacefully until old age, so I hope that no matter what kind of woman Your Highness marries, she won’t set foot in my courtyard.”
“Princess Yinyue is arrogant and overbearing. To prevent her jealousy and troublemaking, I will also try my best to avoid seeing Your Highness in the future…”
Lu Meng considered her words very sincere—downgrading their relationship from lovers back to mere colleagues.
Try to avoid meeting again as much as possible. Use each other only when necessary—that’s the most elegant way Lu Meng could think of for the male and female leads in a tragic romance to coexist.
But these words sounded like a blatant threat in Wu Linxuan’s ears.
If he dared to marry a wife or concubine, the woman in front of him would sever all ties with him.
Wu Linxuan leaned against the headboard, his expression growing cold, staring at his princess with a blank face.
He wanted to sneer inwardly—how could he possibly allow this woman to treat him like that and still let him marry someone else?
She spoke so nicely, but all she wanted was to divorce him or cut off all relations, to never see him again.
She refused to behave like other women, playing the part of a virtuous and obedient wife, unwilling to share her husband with anyone.
She even said that if he died, she wouldn’t live either—threatening him with her own life.
Wu Linxuan narrowed his eyes slightly. He even suspected that if he truly married Princess Yinyue and took away this woman’s position as his princess, she would go all out against him.
She dared to bind herself up and, even while he was bathing, said she wanted to kill Princess Yinyue.
At first, Wu Linxuan hadn’t taken her words seriously, thinking she was just venting or making excuses.
But after hearing his princess say such things, he no longer dared to treat it as a joke.
He recalled his fourth brother, who was nearly buried alive in a mass grave by his princess, and all the strange, unsettling things about her that he could never let go of.
There was no way she would be as she claimed—retiring quietly to the inner chambers and living out her days peacefully.
Suddenly, a sense of danger washed over Wu Linxuan, making every hair on his body stand on end and his mind sharpen.
He wouldn’t let emotions cloud his judgment, even though he admittedly had been too lenient with this woman.
The two of them stared at each other silently. Lu Meng looked seriously at Wu Dagou, almost as if to say, “Boss, focus on your career—I will never cling to your love.”
Yet Lu Meng couldn’t be too straightforward. After all, the male lead in an ancient romance novel could never understand the mindset of a modern woman. Nor could he tolerate a woman who didn’t love him.
So Lu Meng taught the male lead not to love her, not to care about her—but he couldn’t say he didn’t love her at all, or else it would only draw more attention.
Lu Meng told Wu Dagou, “Your Highness, you need to think carefully about what truly matters, and what will bring you the greatest benefit.”
Building your career is what matters most! Becoming emperor is what matters most!
Don’t get tangled up in emotional attachments halfway through. If you don’t ascend the throne, how can I live comfortably?
So marry the supporting female character, not me. Just don’t drag me into this mess to suffer—that’s maximizing your benefits!
But Wu Linxuan misunderstood her words again.
He took Lu Meng’s words as a deeper threat.
Looking at his princess, he thought about her changed status and identity.
His mind cleared completely—probably because he had eaten some proper food these days, regaining some strength from his youth, and the medicine he took had started to work.
Wu Linxuan narrowed his eyes and began to think seriously.
If he married Princess Yinyue, he could indeed gain the support of Prince Baili’s forces.
But if his princess were to go all out against him because of this, it would drag Feng Beiyi from the southern border into the fray, as well as the increasingly close ties she had with the Cen family.
These two factors were the very reasons why Wu Linxuan and his fourth younger brother had fought so fiercely to claim this woman as their concubine.
After marrying her, he once thought she was a useless pawn, but now it seemed otherwise—she even held the promise of Fengqu Kingdom that he desired tightly in her hands.
Wu Linxuan thought calmly, tapping his temple with one hand.
He was weighing whether marrying Princess Yinyue would bring him more gain or more loss.
He propped up one leg, resting his arm casually on it, tilting his head slightly as he looked at his princess.
His posture was relaxed and careless, but his eyes were sharp as knives. He had never imagined that he would marry such a woman.
At first, he thought she was like a little mouse living in the gutter—timid and easy to manipulate.
But as time went on, Wu Linxuan realized she was far from a mere mouse.
She had silently grown bold enough to touch his most sensitive nerve and was qualified to negotiate terms with him.
If a woman begged Wu Linxuan, saying, “I love you. I don’t want any other women around you. If there are, I’ll die,”
then if Wu Linxuan still had any lingering feelings for her, he might soothe her with a few words and give her some trivial compensation.
If she kept making a fuss, Wu Linxuan would personally send her to her death.
In Wu Linxuan’s eyes, women were always just toys—
something to vent on, but never something to hold him back.
But now, his woman was telling him, “If you dare touch another woman, we’ll all die together.”
Wu Linxuan leaned back on the edge of the bed, feeling a chill creeping silently down his spine—exactly the same chill he felt the night he was tied up.
There was perhaps a trace of fear in it, but more than that, it was a strange feeling he couldn’t control, yet had no desire to break free from.
He was skilled at keeping everything firmly in his grasp, but now someone was trying to control him, coercing him to make a choice.
Wu Linxuan knew he should break free quickly. He had countless ways to kill his princess—even to exclude himself entirely and create an accident that would raise no suspicion.
But the wild, violent impulses in his heart had been rehearsed over and over again these days in the mountains.
He understood his own loss of control, dissected his inner thoughts, ruthlessly weighing everything on a scale, and the conclusion he came to every time was that killing this woman right now was the best outcome.
She was gaining more and more, and perhaps soon she would become uncontrollable, even making him lose control.
But these unspoken thoughts gradually settled down just like now.
He couldn’t bear to do it.
Wu Linxuan closed his eyes and eased his breathing.
Yes, he couldn’t bear it.
Not just because of the extraordinary intimacy they shared in bed—he wasn’t so shallow that those were the only things on his mind.
It wasn’t just any feeling—it was a kind of trembling he had never experienced with anyone else before, a trembling that even frightened him, yet he couldn’t bear to let go.
Wu Linxuan had long ruled out the possibility that she wanted to harm him, so he was very clear that his princess only wanted him.
Most people in this world who wanted something from Wu Linxuan were after the things he possessed, not the man himself.
Princess Yinyue only desired the lofty power that came with his authority.
But his princess wanted only him.
Of course, if a woman simply wanted him for himself, how could Wu Linxuan spare her more than a passing glance?
Yet his princess had the right to negotiate with him. Wu Linxuan weighed the pros and cons clearly, and in the end, he was certain that the chips Princess Yinyue held paled in comparison to those in his princess’s hands.
After a long silence, Wu Linxuan let out a soft, mocking laugh.
He leaned back against the headboard, his gaze locked on his princess, watching her serious expression—like she was awaiting a verdict, yet ready to raise every sharp spike on her body to attack him at any moment.
This made Wu Linxuan feel both the danger she posed and a strange allure.
“Come here.” Wu Linxuan propped one elbow on his bent knee, his well-defined palm supporting half of his face, then raised his other hand to beckon Lu Meng.
His face still flushed, his jet-black long hair falling messily around his shoulders and chest, his clothes disheveled, eyes half-closed—his aura exuded a hint of looseness and casualness, a stark contrast to his usual reserved, cold, and self-disciplined demeanor.
This posture made Lu Meng feel a little strange—overall, a bit flirtatious.
Lu Meng, who was seriously and earnestly laying out her position and preparing to shift their relationship from casual lovers back to a superior-subordinate one, felt that something was off about him.
“Come here, I’ve made up my mind.” Wu Linxuan stood up and directly grabbed Lu Meng’s wrist, pulling her closer to him.
The two of them were so close their breaths mingled, and Lu Meng immediately turned her head away.
Even though she would soon drink some medicinal soup to ward off a cold, and since Wu Dagou’s illness was self-inflicted rather than a contagious flu, it probably wouldn’t infect her.
Still, it was best not to get too close...
“Yinyin,” Wu Linxuan saw her turn her head away and thought perhaps he hadn’t been clear enough, so she was still hesitant.
He reached out and wrapped his arm around Lu Meng’s neck, resting his head on her shoulder, leaning close to whisper warmly in her ear, “I can refuse to marry her, but from now on, you have to listen to me.”
Lu Meng: “...Huh?” Why refuse to marry her?
“Why wouldn’t I marry her?” Lu Meng asked Wu Dagou. “Doesn’t the prince need Prince Baili’s support?”
Wu Linxuan said nothing. No matter how vast Prince Baili’s influence was, it certainly couldn’t compare to the tens of thousands of troops in Feng Beiyi’s hands.
Besides, Wu Linxuan had looked into it carefully—Prince Baili, Baili He, was too unscrupulous, having done many unsavory things down south in the frontier.
Of course, if they really joined forces, those matters wouldn’t be a big deal; Wu Linxuan was capable of smoothing over those issues.
But if Wu Linxuan refused to ally with him...
He closed his eyes on Lu Meng’s shoulder, his breath heavy and labored from the high fever.
If he didn’t ally with Prince Baili, then Prince Baili would inevitably fall. He wouldn’t allow Prince Baili to help any of the other princes.
“Don’t meddle in things you shouldn’t be asking about.” Wu Linxuan’s palm landed on Lu Meng’s nape, gently squeezing it as a warning.
He was willing to compromise to some extent, but he absolutely wouldn’t allow his woman to interfere in his affairs.
He only allowed her to manage one thing.
Just one thing.
Lu Meng didn’t really want to know anything about political schemes anyway.
But the two of them were halfway through a “breakup” when suddenly they ended up hugging each other—wasn’t that just all wrong?
“Um…” Lu Meng felt the person in her arms burning hot and really wanted to push him away.
But when she gave his shoulder a shove, he didn’t budge. Wu Linxuan simply shifted most of his weight onto her, forcing Lu Meng to brace herself with both hands behind her.
She was honestly a little dazed.
How did it come to this—no marriage?
Wouldn’t not marrying affect the fight for the throne?
The plot’s gone off the rails again.
Could it be that the fever had scrambled her brain?
Lu Meng asked the system, “With the plot going off like this, do I still need to recite any lines?”
“If there are lines, I’ll tell you,” the system replied.
Lu Meng thought about it and decided to just relax her body—whatever.
The two of them exchanged mismatched words, and Lu Meng didn’t realize that her honest confession, just like before, was misunderstood by Wu Linxuan—whose thoughts always seemed to run in the opposite direction—as a threat. Yet, he actually compromised.
For Lu Meng, if he didn’t marry the supporting female lead, things would be much simpler. All those messy plotlines would probably just vanish too. Such a shame, since she had originally wanted to see if she could save Huaihua.
Wu Linxuan’s arms wrapped tightly around Lu Meng’s waist, firmly pulling her into his embrace.
These past days in the mountains, besides wanting to kill her and trying to suppress his own loss of control, countless times he had wanted to hold her like this—pull her fiercely into his arms.
Wu Linxuan buried his nose in Lu Meng’s neck, his burning lips pressing against her skin.
The attraction between people was truly strange. He had encountered other women before—though never intimately—but even a slight proximity meant smelling all kinds of perfumes and scents.
Wu Linxuan didn’t like those women who were always fragrant. His princess often had no scent at all.
Only when he pressed his nose against her skin like this could he catch a faint, unique scent.
It was a lazy, just-washed smell—like freshly laundered clothes or bedding, often mixed with the aroma of food and sweets.
Lu Meng thought to herself that today’s “non-breakup” was just a failed breakup, but at least the supporting female lead was out of the picture. Anyway, Lu Meng had already made her position clear—what Wu Dagou chose to do was his own business.
But if they didn’t “break up,” Wu Dagou’s current behavior…
Lu Meng hesitated, then said, “I’m telling you, Your Highness, when you’re seriously ill, avoid intimacy at all costs. It’s really bad for your health—could even be fatal.”
Mainly, Lu Meng was worried about getting deeply infected herself; she hadn’t even taken her preventive herbal medicine yet.
She feared that Wu Linxuan lacked self-control, so she added, “Maybe one day you just won’t be able to anymore. Your Highness should take care of your health for the long run…”
“*Hah*,” Wu Linxuan laughed aloud again.
He released Lu Meng and leaned back against the headboard, squinting at her as he asked, “Are you only concerned about whether my body can keep up every day? How desperate are you?”
“Have I ever failed to satisfy you?”
Lu Meng thought: …You’re the one who’s desperate—your whole family is.
Lu Meng couldn’t stand his “I’m the greatest in the world” attitude and snorted, retorting, “Your Highness, if I never satisfied you, then who was the one crying and running off halfway through…”
Wu Linxuan’s expression shifted instantly. Before Lu Meng could finish, he got up and started chasing her.
But she still couldn’t get away. Even sick, Wu Dagou was a lurking tiger, a starving wolf—not some innocent little bunny.
Lu Meng barely took a step before Wu Dagou pounced on her by the headboard, grabbing the back of her neck and pinning her under the covers.
His knee pressed lightly against her lower back as he leaned down, teeth clenched, growling, “If you mention that day one more time, I swear I’ll turn your mouth into nothing but decoration!”
“You still dare to say that?” Wu Linxuan said, “Do you even know what crime it is to humiliate a prince?”
Lu Meng struggled to turn her head sideways, gasping for breath. The laughter she had been holding back finally burst out—*giggle giggle giggle*—like a hen just laid an egg.
To her, it was really no big deal. Besides, Wu Linxuan wasn’t exactly helpless.
It was a willing exchange!
And yet he had the nerve to slap the label of ‘humiliating a prince’ on her.
“Your Highness, don’t go around pinning crimes on me. I don’t accept that one,” Lu Meng mumbled into the pillow, her flushed face half-buried in the quilt. “Sounds like you didn’t enjoy it either. How about we take this to court? Let my second cousin from the Ministry of Justice decide whether this counts as humiliating a prince or just marital fun!”
Such a thing was absolutely not to be known by anyone else, no matter what.
When Lu Meng mentioned going to court, Wu Linxuan immediately straddled her waist, not fully sitting down but making sure she wouldn’t escape.
He bent down, his arm propping up his weight on her side, and whispered into her ear, “If you dare let a third party know about that day, I promise you’ll never see a third party again in your life.”
“And what about your second cousin from the Ministry of Justice?” Wu Linxuan sneered.
His voice even carried a slight nasal tone from his lingering fever, lacking any intimidation—more like he was whining.
“When did you get so close with the Cen family? You don’t even know Cen Xishi, yet you call your second cousin so affectionately.”
Lu Meng kept laughing. Ever since Wu Dagou came back looking like a drowning dog earlier today, she’d wanted to laugh.
Now she didn’t have to hold it in anymore. Buried in the quilt, her whole body was shaking with laughter.
Wu Linxuan thought he should be angry. He knew exactly what his princess was laughing about.
But his changing expression, the extreme awkwardness and shame in his heart, had already faded away. Naturally, no anger could rise up inside him.
Gradually, it turned into a kind of helplessness.
Then, unable to bear it any longer, she bit down hard on Lu Meng’s shoulder.
“Ah—!” Lu Meng let out a pitiful yelp!
She quickly realized it didn’t really hurt much and started laughing again.
Being tied up wasn’t all bad after all—yet she had cried and run away for days, even making herself sick. It was truly hilarious! Wasn’t this just the classic “rebellious high school boy runs away from home, spends the night on the web, and comes crawling back broke and ashamed”?
Seeing that she still wouldn’t stop, Wu Linxuan changed targets and took another playful bite.
Lu Meng: “Ah! Hahahahaha—”
Wu Dagou is biting me!
Lu Meng laughed so wildly that Wu Linxuan quickly covered her mouth.
So Lu Meng’s loud laughter turned into muffled “mmph mmph” sounds.
Still not satisfied, Wu Linxuan hunched over and bit her again, like a crazed dog.
Just then, Xin Ya walked in carrying a bowl of medicinal soup and caught the scene.
She was instantly stunned.
Just as she was about to leave quietly, Lu Meng spotted her, raised her hand in her direction, and shouted, “Mmph—mmph—”
“Quick, give me the antidote soup! I’m about to catch rabies!”
Her mouth was still covered, tears of laughter streaming down her face, but the way the two of them were positioned made her look like she was being seriously “bullied,” pleading for help.
Xin Ya was momentarily caught between wanting to stay and wanting to run, her face flushed red. If she hadn’t been so well-trained, she would have thrown the bowl in her hands long ago.
“Get out!” Wu Linxuan ordered hoarsely without even looking up.
