The sky was getting dark, and the sun was slowly setting.
Because of the medicine, Wan Niang’s estrus period did not subside; it only intensified.
She and Yang Lulong hadn’t been apart from morning to night.
Finally, Wan Niang fainted from exhaustion.
Yang Lulong carried her to bed and wiped her body with hot water.
Even though she was asleep, a faint pink blush was still on her skin.
Yang Lulong sat by the bed, her eyes lowered, looking at Wan Niang’s sleeping face.
Her eyes were filled with tenderness.
Her hand touched the red mark on Wan Niang’s neck, her fingertips pressing on it and stroking it gently.
Slowly, the tenderness in her eyes turned to worry.
The estrus period pill turning into an aphrodisiac was no small matter.
The pill was a life-saving medicine for Kun Ze to withstand their estrus periods.
Now, the life-saving medicine had turned into poison.
Her hand stroked Wan Niang’s cheek, which was still as hot as before.
A blush was on Wan Niang’s face.
As Yang Lulong understood it, a Kun Ze’s estrus period was like a menstrual cycle in her world, but an estrus period was much more terrifying.
Xiao Wen had told her that many Kun Ze were forced to bond with Qian Yuan during their estrus period.
But the result was usually that the Kun Ze married the Qian Yuan.
No matter how the Qian Yuan treated them, being bonded meant that the Kun Ze was no longer an independent person.
She became an accessory to the Qian Yuan.
Even if a strong-willed Kun Ze didn’t want to marry, she still had to face gossip.
Luckily, everyone in the village was kind.
No one would stand up and accuse Sister Fang of being indecent.
If they were in a bigger town, Sister Fang might have faced a lot of malice.
Xiao Wen said she didn’t like the people in the city.
They were richer, but they were colder.
They even looked down on people who came from the village.
Yang Lulong thought about her own past.
She used to be a member of a big city, busy and cold.
She went through crowds every day, never smiling at others.
Everyone was like that, doing their own thing with a straight face.
When she first came here, the villagers, even though they had just met her and were a little suspicious, would still smile and greet her.
Slowly, she also became a member of this village and was no longer alone.
“Grrr…”
A strange sound from somewhere interrupted Yang Lulong’s thoughts.
She looked around, searching for the source of the sound.
“Grrr…” Another sound.
This time, Yang Lulong understood.
A smile suddenly appeared on her face.
She put her head on Wan Niang’s stomach.
She heard another stomach rumble, and her smile deepened.
It made sense. They hadn’t eaten anything for almost a whole day.
It was normal to be hungry.
Maybe she should make some congee.
It was easy to eat and would warm them up at night.
Thinking this, Yang Lulong walked toward the kitchen.
As soon as she left the room, Wan Niang woke up.
She was undoubtedly awakened by hunger.
She held her rumbling stomach, her face drooping.
She sighed helplessly.
It took her a while to realize that she was naked.
Seeing the shameful marks on her body, she shyly wrapped herself tightly in the blanket.
“Hiss…” Her body moved a little too much, and her lower body, especially her inner thighs, felt a sharp pain.
When she saw that Yang Lulong wasn’t by her side, she felt a little unhappy for some reason.
Her mind was a bit confused, and her memory was fragmented.
She couldn’t piece together a complete picture.
She only remembered doing those things with Yang Lulong on the table in the herbal room after taking the medicine.
And she only remembered half of it. The rest was a blur.
Realizing that there was a problem with the medicine, Wan Niang started to panic.
This batch of medicine had already been distributed.
If others took it, especially Sister Fang… the consequences would be unimaginable.
Thinking of this, Wan Niang quickly threw off the blanket to get dressed.
She had to hurry and tell the others not to take this medicine.
But the soreness in her thighs made her unable to stand steadily, let alone walk.
But she gritted her teeth and propped herself up, covering her naked body with the blanket.
She reached for the clothes hanging nearby.
Yang Lulong returned to the room at that moment.
She had put the congee on to cook and rushed back to check on Wan Niang.
As soon as she entered, she saw her naked, reaching for her clothes.
“What are you doing? Let me help you.” Yang Lulong quickly walked over, got the clothes for Wan Niang, and helped her sit on the bed.
“That medicine, I have to go tell the others.” Wan Niang said anxiously, putting on her clothes as she spoke, even though the soreness in her body made her frown.
“Xiao Wen already went and told them.” Yang Lulong stopped her.
“Xiao Wen was the one who told me. Everyone probably knows by now.”
“When?”
“Hmm… at noon today.” Yang Lulong said hesitantly.
It was when the two of them were doing it, and Xiao Wen found out.
“At noon…” Wan Niang stopped.
She began to recall what happened at noon today.
A blurry memory appeared, and she felt a wave of shyness.
“But the medicine suddenly became like this. It couldn’t have just changed on its own, could it?” Yang Lulong helped Wan Niang by changing the subject.
“No, it couldn’t have…” Wan Niang’s expression became serious.
For all these years, she had been buying estrus period pills from a trustworthy shop in town, and there had never been a problem.
This time, the batch from the city was the one with the problem.
And it was a coincidence that the town’s supply ran out, so they had to buy from the city.
Just as Wan Niang was deep in thought, an untimely rumble sounded again.
This made Wan Niang shyly cover her stomach.
Why was it rumbling again?
Yang Lulong smiled teasingly. “We haven’t eaten anything all day. I’ve already put congee on to cook. We just have to wait a little longer.”
“Aren’t you hungry?” Wan Niang said, feeling a little unbalanced.
“Why isn’t your stomach rumbling?”
“I’m used to it.” Yang Lulong replied, which made Wan Niang confused.
After all, it was common for her to be too busy to eat in the past.
Not eating for a day or two was nothing for Yang Lulong.
Pulling all-nighters and not eating, looking back now, she thought it was a miracle she hadn’t died from overwork.
“I’ll go check on the congee.” Yang Lulong dotingly patted Wan Niang’s head and got up to leave.
But not long after Yang Lulong left, Wan Niang’s estrus period came back unexpectedly.
The heat in her lower body made her tightly close her legs and grab the blanket wrapped around her.
She had taken three of those fake pills, and her entire estrus period was messed up.
The heat wave came without any warning.
Sitting down wasn’t helping at all, so she just lay back down on the bed, curled up in a ball, and believed that she could face the estrus period with willpower alone.
She bit her lower lip, closed her eyes, and clutched the sheets.
Her naked body trembled slightly under the blanket.
The estrus period influenced by the aphrodisiac was more unbearable, and her senses were more sensitive than a normal estrus period.
In the past, Wan Niang would have been able to endure it with willpower.
Her head started to feel groggy, and memories from the past appeared in her mind.
She remembered her first estrus period.
She didn’t know what it was and thought she was sick.
She locked herself in her room, just like she was now, curled up in bed, thinking that if she just slept, it would be over.
But she was so uncomfortable that she couldn’t sleep at all.
She disliked being wrapped in the jasmine scent.
At that time, she hated her own scent, the scent of a Kun Ze.
When she first became a Kun Ze, no one was happy for her, not her father or her mother.
Even if they didn’t show it, the observant Wan Niang could feel it.
Especially one day, when her mother sat down with her to talk and told her how difficult it was to be a Kun Ze.
She wasn’t saying she disliked that she had become a Kun Ze.
She was just sad for her, worried about how she would live the rest of her life.
At that time, estrus period pills weren’t as effective as they were now, where a few pills would have an immediate effect.
They were still using the old recipe, which was troublesome, inconvenient, and the ingredients were expensive.
Ordinary people couldn’t afford to make them.
The only solution was to marry and bond as early as possible.
Once, she asked her father why no one had improved the recipe.
Her father just replied indifferently that a Qian Yuan was all that was needed.
The estrus period pills that were widely used now were an improved recipe that had only appeared a few years ago.
But it was a secret recipe.
No one knew what the ingredients were.
She had tried for years to figure out how the medicine was made, but she couldn’t.
The only thing she knew was that the medicine came from a pharmacist in the capital, and only the pharmacist knew how it was made.
Now the medicine was useless.
Was the only option the “old recipe”?
Thinking of this, Wan Niang gave a bitter smile.
A Qian Yuan was all that was needed.
She touched the part of her neck that was giving off a seductive scent.
Could bonding with a person really solve this?
It was a while before Yang Lulong came back.
She was holding two bowls of steaming congee.
“I added pickles to one bowl and left the other plain. Which one do you want?”
She saw Wan Niang curled up on the bed.
She quickly put the congee on the table.
“Did it happen again?” She walked worriedly to the bed.
Wan Niang’s back was to Yang Lulong.
She suddenly spoke, her voice a little weak.
“Let’s bond.”
“Huh?” Yang Lulong wondered if she had misheard.
“Let’s bond…” She couldn’t bear this torment anymore.
Yang Lulong wasn’t happy at all.
In fact, she was more worried.
Wan Niang’s back was to her.
She was talking about bonding, but her tone was as if they were about to break up.
The sadness and helplessness in her voice made Yang Lulong’s heart ache.
She slowly got into bed and leaned closer to Wan Niang.
Wan Niang’s back was still to her.
She felt the person behind her getting closer, making her close her eyes in fear.
She didn’t dare to look back at Yang Lulong.
She waited nervously and fearfully for the pain to come.
Yang Lulong did not bite her scent gland and forcefully inject her scent.
Instead, she gently kissed it and did nothing else.
Wan Niang turned her head and looked at her in confusion.
“I promised you that we would only bond when you truly wanted to.” She smiled gently.
“But… I’ve already agreed to it.” For some reason, Wan Niang’s nose felt a little sore, and her voice became tearful.
Yang Lulong wiped the tears from her eyes.
“You’re doing this out of necessity. I can feel it.”
“So what? I’m a Kun Ze, and you’re a Qian Yuan. And we’re already married. It’s only right for us to bond…” Even though Wan Niang didn’t agree in her heart, she said this, feeling a bit defeated.
“No.” Yang Lulong looked at her, her eyes filled with tenderness and sincerity.
“You’re not a Kun Ze, and I’m not a Qian Yuan. I’m Yang Lulong, and you are Wan Yu. I don’t love a Kun Ze. I love you, Wan Yu.”
Wan Niang saw her say this so sincerely, and the tears she had been holding back finally fell, one after another.
She hugged Yang Lulong and buried her face in her chest.
It was strange. At this moment, the estrus period, as if on cue, subsided.
Lust, in the face of love, chose to remain silent.
