"Wait..."
"Zhuqing, I just remembered something."
"A few days ago, when you came back once, wasn't your walking a little unsteady?"
"And at dinner that night, when I saw you sit down, it looked like... your butt was hurting."
The more Ning Rongrong spoke, the wider her eyes became. She suddenly leaned close to Zhu Zhuqing, lowered her voice, and asked in a tone that was both horrified and excited:
"Could it be... you two already..."
"No! It's not what you think!"
Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Zhu Zhuqing instantly bristled and cried out anxiously, waving her hands again and again.
She never imagined Ning Rongrong's mind could run wild to such an extent!
She had clearly failed to dodge during special training and gotten whipped by vines!
"He... he's a gentleman!"
Zhu Zhuqing hurried to defend Tang Shuo, her cheeks flushing bright red.
"He's not that kind of person!"
Seeing Zhu Zhuqing so shy and anxious, desperately defending the man she loved, Ning Rongrong burst out laughing and stopped teasing her.
Yet inwardly, she grew increasingly curious about the man who had melted Zhu Zhuqing, that little icy kitten.
Meanwhile, at Heaven Dou Palace.
Within the imperial garden, exotic flowers and rare plants competed in splendor, while rockeries and flowing water framed winding paths that led into quiet seclusion.
Tang Shuo and "Xue Qinghe" walked side by side along a cobblestone path.
Neither spoke along the way, and the atmosphere was quietly peculiar.
In the end, Xue Qinghe was the first to break the silence.
He stopped, turned to Tang Shuo, and wore a warm smile as gentle as jade.
"Brother Tang, I invited you here today because there is something I must tell you."
"The immortal herb you asked me to deliver to