Chapter 47

Chapter 47

It was nearly noon the next day when Shen Anning awoke, still groggy and disoriented.

The moment she opened her eyes, her vision was hazy, and for a while, she struggled to make out her surroundings.

She parted her lips, her mouth moving, but barely any sound escaped.

She felt utterly bewildered, unsure of where she was.

For a moment, Shen Anning thought she was still caught in a dream.

Until—

"Madam, Madam…"

Someone lifted the bed curtains and peered in, then joyfully called out, "Madam is awake—"

Immediately, rustling sounds and footsteps approached from outside.

"Madam, you’re finally awake. Are you hungry or thirsty?"

It wasn't until Bai Tao’s beaming, animated face appeared in her line of sight that Shen Anning finally came to her senses, as if waking from a dream.

She was lying in her canopied bed, having just woken up.

She instinctively tried to sit up, but her body felt as if weighed down by a thousand catties. For a moment, she could barely move, her entire body aching intensely. Even her arms trembled faintly, almost too weak to lift.

Suddenly, flashes of the previous night flooded her mind.

It had been a night of wild abandon and indulgence.

A night she had never experienced in the entire seven years of her past life.

Though she had tacitly agreed to last night's intimacy, she never expected it to be so vastly different from her past life—so—

Shen Anning clenched her jaw.

Truthfully, she couldn’t quite articulate what she felt.

If this were her past life, Shen Anning would have been secretly thrilled, too bashful to believe it true, yet unable to stop herself from replaying the moments afterward. Now, however, she found herself rather unwilling to dwell on it.

"What time is it?"

At that moment, Hong Li promptly brought over water. Shen Anning was indeed extremely thirsty, her lips chapped. As she asked, she struggled to sit up from the bed. But the moment she rose, the brocade quilt slipped from her shoulders, instantly revealing her exposed state and the scattered red marks across her shoulders and neck.

Bai Tao and Hong Li, being inexperienced in such matters, couldn’t help but blush and avert their eyes shyly. Soon, their cheeks were flushed bright red.

Shen Anning followed their gaze and, upon seeing the marks covering her body, froze for a moment before hurriedly pulling the quilt up to cover her shoulders.

Bai Tao, a bit more worldly than Hong Li, suppressed her embarrassment and instead beamed with pride and delight. "Madam, last night… the Young Master didn’t call for bath water until the third watch (around 11 PM-1 AM)."

By then, it was very late, almost dawn.

Given such a commotion from the Young Master and Madam the previous night, which lasted so late, Bai Tao was naturally more relieved and delighted than anyone.

After all, Madam and the Young Master had been married for over half a year, yet they had shared a bed only a few times. This was their third time, and the previous two occasions had been far less eventful. Bai Tao had often sighed in disappointment privately, but last night, she couldn’t contain her excitement, feeling that the relationship between Madam and the Young Master was finally no longer stagnant. If things continued like last night, why worry about a young master not coming along?

Overwhelmed with emotion, she paused before recounting with relish, "The Young Master slept for barely over an hour last night and rose at the fifth watch (around 3-5 AM). Before leaving, he specifically instructed us not to disturb you, Madam."

Yet Shen Anning felt a deep sense of shame and found it difficult to speak of. Last night, they had been on the desk by the window, and the window had remained open all night, as if they had been intimate in plain view.

After all, she was not a noblewoman born and bred, accustomed to being waited on and unfazed by such matters.

At heart, she was still the country girl who grew up in the rural backwoods, unable to behave so recklessly in front of others.

"Bring the water in. I’d like to soak in the bath."

Unable to bear the scorching intensity of Bai Tao’s gaze, Shen Anning chose to abruptly change the subject.

The kitchen had long been prepared, and at her command, water was promptly brought in.

Only when her entire body was submerged in the water did she feel the warmth envelop her delicate form, both aching yet intensely soothing, drawing a sigh of contentment from her.

Her body was covered in red marks, and she felt too self-conscious to let others see. She shooed away both Bai Tao and Hong Li, waiting until she was completely alone in the bathing room before slowly opening her eyes to examine the marks.

The marks on her shoulders, arms, and neck were particularly noticeable.

Further down, there were marks on her chest and around her waist.

The marks on her neck were left by nips and kisses.

Her shoulders and arms bore deep finger marks.

Her skin was fair and delicate, easily bruising from the slightest touch. Last night, she had been held so tightly, especially her slender shoulders, pinned down firmly without allowing even a moment of movement, forcing her to bear the full force of his actions.

Her waist also bore grip marks.

As for her chest—

Shen Anning’s ears flushed bright red.

The next moment, she clenched her jaw tightly.

Last night had clearly been a loss of control.

It was also something she had never experienced in the entire seven years of her past life.

She never expected true intimacy to be so fierce and intense.

Compared to this, her past life had only been merely skimming the surface.

The passion she'd craved night after night in her past life had arrived so abruptly now—

Perhaps it was because of her past adoration and longing that, even after enduring all the trials and tribulations of her previous life, Shen Anning still couldn’t bring herself to say she felt revulsion towards him.

The truth was, her body did not reject his touch.

In fact, across two lifetimes, she had finally experienced profound pleasure.

Her body’s reactions couldn't lie.

Yet why did her heart feel so aching and reluctant?

The pleasure she felt today was something she had never tasted in her past life.

Then, had anyone else experienced this pleasure?

During her days of severe illness, or perhaps on some unknown days before she fell ill, had they already been enjoying such daily intimacy?

Her body slowly submerged into the water until her entire face and head were fully immersed.

She drowned out all the chaotic emotions one by one.

Only after she had regained her composure did Shen Anning slowly emerge from the water.

Her face, washed by the water, now appeared even more determined and composed.

Why bother fighting against herself?

Having suffered for two lifetimes, why not try to please herself?

Since it could bring her pleasure, she might as well treat him as someone to warm her bed—why not?

Although she was a woman, she also had the right to enjoy pleasure.

Since she couldn’t escape it, why not take advantage of the situation in this lifetime, at least while his body was still clean?

Shen Anning used all her strength to gradually convince and persuade herself.

Until she slowly calmed her mind.

Thinking this way, Shen Anning put aside all her troubles.

She completely dismissed the irrelevant people and matters.

After the bath, the soreness in her body eased considerably, and her stomach began to growl loudly—the feeling of hunger suddenly surged.

Just as she was about to leave the bathhouse to order a meal, she heard a commotion outside. Soon, Chun Qi’s voice rang out, saying, “Oh, Sister Yi Hong, what brings you here?”

A moment later, the voice of Yi Hong, the head maid of Qinyuan, was heard, teasingly replying, “What’s this? Are you not welcoming me?”

Chun Qi had once been a maid in Qinyuan, so it was understandable that she was close to the place. The two exchanged pleasantries and bantered outside, though the subsequent conversation was not entirely clear, with only faint mentions of “Madam” and “the first daughter-in-law.”

Before long, Chun Qi and the others entered. Seeing that Shen Anning was already dressed neatly, they immediately had the meal brought in. Chun Qi said with a smile, “Madam, you must be starving. This was just delivered by Sister Yi Hong. She said it was specifically sent by Madam to strengthen your health.”

Chun Qi held an exquisite soup bowl, speaking with meaning.

Last night, the heir stayed in the Madam’s room and requested water in the middle of the night. This matter couldn’t be hidden from Qinyuan. It seemed that even Xiao Shi knew about their night together.

This was the first time they had slept together since Lu Suian returned to the capital, and only the third time in the more than half a year since their marriage. Because they were rarely intimate, and Marquis Lu Jingrong had been hoping for them to have children, Xiao Shi had been actively encouraging and urging them.

In her previous life, every time they slept together, as long as Lu Suian stayed the night and requested water, Shen Anning would receive tonics from Xiao Shi the next morning without exception.

So when she saw the red swallow's nest today, Shen Anning wasn’t particularly surprised.

Her gaze fell on the bowl—it was a serving of red swallow's nest, stewed until soft and melting in the mouth, topped with some goji berries. It looked light and healthy.

In truth, Shen Anning didn’t particularly enjoy eating swallow's nest, finding it had a slight fishy taste. However, in her previous life, her health had deteriorated severely. Now, reborn, she wanted to nourish her body to live a few more years. With this thought, she raised a spoonful of the translucent swallow's nest to her lips.

But the moment it touched her mouth, for some reason, her hand suddenly stopped.

The thought that Xiao Shi had always sent swallow's nest to nourish her after each encounter in her previous life inexplicably surged in her mind at that moment, causing her expression to stiffen.

For no apparent reason or warning, it abruptly made her halt the action.

In her previous life, she had remained childless for seven full years. Although their intimate relations weren’t frequent, they had still shared a bed for seven years, with several encounters each year. Later, under intense pressure from the elders, they became slightly more active in the second year of their marriage, with Lu Suian visiting her room every month. Yet, over the entire seven years, she had only been pregnant once. Yes, Shen Anning had been pregnant once in her previous life, but it ended in a miscarriage at just over a month, even before she knew she was pregnant.

At the time, she thought it was her period and didn’t pay much attention until the pain grew increasingly severe, sharp and unusual. Only after calling a doctor did she learn she had a miscarriage.

That was Shen Anning’s only pregnancy in seven years. The entire experience felt unreal, like a dream.

After that, for the remaining seven years, there was never another sign of pregnancy.

Back then, Shen Anning thought it was due to her own health—the distress from the palace banquet incident, the exhaustion of serving two mothers-in-law, and her humble, weary state. But as someone who had grown up in the fields and roamed the mountains, at least in the first year of her marriage, her health hadn’t deteriorated to that extent.

The fact that she could get pregnant at least proved that her fertility was not the issue!

In her previous life, trapped in the mire and shrouded in confusion, she had blamed herself for all the faults, including the miscarriage. That miscarriage had nearly cost her half her life, a pain comparable to the night of the palace banquet and the loss of Bai Tao. She had almost collapsed from it.

Now, emerging from the confusion, she began to suspect something unusual.

So, was that miscarriage truly due to her health, or… could there have been another reason?

In her previous life, the people she interacted with the most were Xiao Shi and Fang Shi, aside from her efforts to please Lu Anran and Lu Baozhen.

Although Lu Baozhen was domineering and spoiled, she was still young, and there was no past enmity between them. Moreover, as Lu Suian’s sister, Lu Baozhen had no motive or possibility.

As for Fang Shi, although she was arrogant, vicious, and sharp-tongued, she lacked cunning and strategy. Her malicious intentions were all written plainly on her face. Otherwise, in her previous life, she wouldn’t have been outmaneuvered by Xiao Shi, nor would she have been completely neutralized with a simple strategy after Shen Anning’s rebirth.

That left only—

With this thought, she lowered her gaze, resting on the bowl of red swallow's nest in her hand.

Her hand shook slightly.

In broad daylight, Shen Anning felt a chill rush from the bottom of her feet.

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Author's Note:

Thank you all for your support. I will continue to work hard!