Although she had absorbed a great deal of Spiritual Poison, the process had also consumed a lot of her stamina, and Shi Lan felt a pang of hunger.
She pushed aside her thoughts of what had just happened and decided to go downstairs for dinner.
But as soon as her feet touched the floor, her legs seemed to give way.
Though her mind felt clear and her spirits were high, the aftereffects of their intimacy seemed to have been etched into her very limbs, refusing to fade just yet.
She nearly stumbled, but He Hanshi steadied her with one arm.
"Lanlan, are you all right?"
Shi Lan bit her lip, feeling utterly mortified.
But when she glanced down and saw the backs of his hands covered in her scratches, her bout of embarrassment quickly faded.
"I’m fine."
She sat back down on the bed, and He Hanshi thoughtfully brought over a small table, setting the meal before her.
He had made quite a spread: a restorative soup, dessert, braised gugu meat, sautéed mushrooms, vegetables, and strawberry juice—all of her favorites.
With so much delicious food laid out before her, Shi Lan quickly forgot her other worries and focused on the meal.
He Hanshi watched her eat with a gentle expression. As Shi Lan chewed on a piece of gugu meat that had been stewed until it was fall-apart tender, she looked at him quizzically. "Why aren’t you eating?"
He Hanshi explained softly, "I was waiting for you to ask me. I was afraid you were angry with me."
"Angry about what?"
He lowered his gaze. Beneath the silver hair she had ruffled just a short while ago, his pale ears turned a shade of crimson. "You asked... why I was taking so long to pull away..."
He was referring to when he had knotted inside her again. He couldn’t force himself to withdraw for at least half an hour, so all he could do was gently pat her back and kiss her lips to soothe her.
Shi Lan was naturally shy and couldn’t bear to hear any more. She immediately stuffed a piece of meat into his mouth and glared at him. "Don’t say another word. Just eat."
What happens in bed and out of it are two separate matters.
To be honest, she didn’t even remember what she had said.
Seeing this, a flash of amusement crossed He Hanshi’s eyes. He lowered his head and replied obediently, "Alright. Whatever you say, Lanlan."
After dinner, He Hanshi carried Shi Lan to the Treatment Pod again. A female’s body would still feel fatigued after mating, and Lanlan had also expended her spiritual power to treat him, not to mention the marks he had unintentionally left on her despite his restraint.
Shi Lan had also noticed the number of marks on her body, so she wasn’t against the treatment. Just before the Treatment Pod closed, however, she couldn’t resist grabbing his hand to ask, "What’s your spiritual power collapse value at now?"
She really hoped all that effort hadn’t been for nothing.
It was her first Deep Healing, so Shi Lan wasn’t sure just how effective it would be. Back then, the hazy thought running through her mind was that if it lasted longer, it might heal He Hanshi more, which is why she’d only put up a half-hearted resistance.
He Hanshi’s gaze was gentle as he softly caressed her wrist. "Mm, it’s all thanks to you, Lanlan. It’s down to 15% now."
"Fifteen percent?"
"It dropped that much?"
Shi Lan was overjoyed to hear this.
In other words, in a single session, the Deep Healing had lowered He Hanshi’s collapse value by thirty-five percent.
With the old Spiritual Connection treatment, she could only lower it by a few points at most in one go. This was many times more effective.
’All that hard work wasn’t for nothing!!’
Shi Lan’s lips curved into a happy smile, and she finally relaxed. ’There’s only a little left. Maybe a Basic Healing session tomorrow will be enough to resolve it completely.’
At that thought, she settled into the Treatment Pod, her mind at ease.
This time, it was just a simple treatment to heal her and restore her energy. The Treatment Pod finished its work in an hour. During this time, He Hanshi stayed by her side, rewatching the recording of his proposal and even sharing it on his social feed.
He soon received many congratulatory messages. Especially after word got out that Shi Lan was an S-level female, some males from his group chats started sending him private messages, fishing for information about her. Their intentions to hit on her were obvious.
He was, of course, a member of several military group chats, some for the imperial guard. He scoffed at the messages from these males, changed his settings to block private messages from non-contacts within the groups, and then emotionlessly deleted the offending users and their messages.
’As if I’d let these people lay eyes on my wife.’
Meanwhile, Ye Ming and the others had also shared the proposal post.
On Ye Ming’s feed, Leo commented in utter shock:
"?????"
"Prince, is this real???"
"Prince, are you serious?"
He sent several messages in a row. Ye Ming was slightly taken aback, but he didn’t feel the least bit guilty.
He replied truthfully, "It’s just as you see."
Soon, Leo couldn’t help but send him a private message, bombarding him with a barrage of questions.
"Prince, how could you do this?"
"Didn’t you say you didn’t like Shi Lan?"
"I remember Shi Lan is an F-level female. How can you be with her? Does the Monarch approve?"
Leo had been off-world from Capital Star lately. Dr. Ai had sent him out again to find more of that herb from last time—the one that was effective against the Insect Clan. Dr. Ai had been pestering him daily to set off and had told him to gather as much as he could.
That was why he couldn’t attend the Eldest Prince’s birthday banquet and had only sent a gift from afar. He was largely unaware of all the recent buzz on the Capital.
The signal on the planet he’d been on was poor, so he was only just seeing all these messages now that he was on his return trip.
Ye Ming chose only one question to answer: "When did I ever say I didn’t like Shi Lan?"
Leo typed out a reply, then deleted it. He instinctively wanted to say that Ye Ming had said as much on Black Star, but thinking back carefully, he realized Ye Ming had never actually said he disliked Shi Lan; he had just acted lukewarm toward her.
’But they had only just met back then.’
Or perhaps, subconsciously, Leo knew that it was impossible for the Eldest Prince to be with a low-ranking female. Especially now that his collapse value had decreased, the requirements for the wife of an heir to the Imperial Family would be even higher.
He typed hesitantly: "Prince, let’s say I believe you like Miss Shi Lan and want her as your wife. But have you thought about the Monarch? Won’t this affect Miss Shi Lan negatively?"
Treating his ever-loyal subordinate with patience, Ye Ming explained: "The Monarch has already agreed. I won’t let anyone bully her."
Leo remembered the promise he had once made to Shi Lan, and a strange sense of regret welled up inside him. Then again, he had probably known for a long time that Shi Lan didn’t like him.
Still, seeing the marriage certificate that Ye Ming had posted, he grew puzzled. "Has Miss Shi Lan reached the legal age for marriage? How could you already have the certificate?"
Ye Ming replied, "No. Her birthday is tomorrow."
The legal marriage age was more of a guideline. In practice, you could obtain a certificate up to a month before reaching the legal age; the rule wasn’t strictly enforced. This period also coincided with when marriage matching notices were typically sent out.
Of course, it all depended on who you were.
Their ability to get the certificate so smoothly was also because he and He Hanshi had put in a good word with the marriage bureau in advance.
He Hanshi had to leave right after celebrating Shi Lan’s birthday, and combining the proposal with the birthday celebration would have been too hectic.
Leo still had many questions in his heart. He couldn’t understand why Miss Shi Lan had received her marriage certificate before reaching the legal age, but then he considered the Eldest Prince’s status and figured it was probably understandable.
’It was just that... the Prince had clearly said Miss Shi Lan’s birthday was still a year away...’
He let out a faint sigh. ’Since things have already reached this point, I have no right to question the Prince any further. After all, competition among males is all about ability, and I just didn’t try hard enough.’