Ying Lili looked around the chamber, which had no furniture except this table on which she was sitting. 'Why was it here? I would not have been caught if this table was not here.' She lightly hit the table.

"It's not the table's fault that you got caught," Sheng Li stated. Ying Lili widened her eyes as Sheng Li had heard her inner thoughts. He stood straight in front of her. Pinching her nose, he said, "Be ready for your punishment."

"You cannot punish me. It happens when we play. It is natural to get hurt and..." she was stopped from speaking as Sheng Li had sealed her lips with a deep kiss, leaving her breathless. Sheng Li removed the overcoats from her shoulders and they fell behind her on the table. Sheng Li placed his hands on both sides of her thighs. Their faces were inches closer to each other and could hear each other's breath.

Sheng Li reached his palm on her neck. Pulling her gently he again kissed her. He easily accessed her mouth and their tongues met. She locked her hands around his neck and drew him closer to him. They kissed as if there was no tomorrow. Was this a punishment? She wondered for a second. They pulled away from the heated kiss. Both were panting when Ying Lili felt Sheng Li's hand around her waist, making her steady at her place.

"From now on, you cannot let yourself hurt when you play. And, you are a grown-up woman. Acting like kids do not suit you," Sheng Li told her when his breathings turned stable.

"When did I act like a kid?"

"Earlier. When I told you to stop!" He carried her up in his arms and took her to their personal chamber. Putting her gently down on the bed, he took out the ointment bottle from his pocket. "Take this off," Sheng Li said, looking at her upper garment. "I need to apply this ointment," he added. Ying Lili opened the knot of her dress and let it slide down over her arms.

She turned her back towards Sheng Li. He carefully applied the ointment. Because of him, on such a flawless body, a scar had appeared. Ying Lili indeed was brave, but this bravery of hers sometimes worried Sheng Li. While he was applying the ointment, he heard her say, "Tomorrow is the coronation of the Empress. I saw Brother Nianzu in the morning. This was the first time I saw Brother Nianzu contented."

"Hmm. She was never considered equal to others. Minister of State Affairs, Gu Zhenya was suspicious," Sheng Li stated. He closed the bottle and put it inside the pocket.

"Why?" Ying Lili gripped her dress and moved it up, covering her shoulders.

Sheng Li wiped his fingers from the handkerchief. "He was asking to appoint the Fourth Brother." Ying Lili stopped making a knot in the dress. She turned to Sheng Li. "Why did you not tell me earlier?"

"The matter did not appear important to me," Sheng Li gave an immediate answer. "He was right, though. The son of the Empress becomes the next-in-line ruler," he affirmed.

Ying Lili agreed with him. "But this was sudden. Did Minister Gu earlier support the appointment of Brother Nianzu as the Crown Prince?" Ying Lili was curious. She wondered if that had something to do with Prince Nianzu's mother.

"Umm...he never. Before me, my father has offered Fourth Brother to become the Crown Prince, but he refused that's why I accepted the position. Brother Nianzu again refused for becoming the Crown Prince. But Minister Gu did not like it," Sheng Li pronounced. His hands were on the knot of Ying Lili's dress as he tied it.

"Sheng Li, did you order to close all the secret routes in the temple?" Ying Lili questioned him.

"Yes. The work is going on. Only trusted workers are employed to do that." He had tied the knot of her dress. His hand moved up on her head and helped her in removing the head accessories.

"Let's show the sketch to father. We shall delay this," Ying Lili suggested. She had a menacing expression on her face. "What if father knows about that person?" Somewhere, Ying Lili had an intuition that Han Wenji might recognize the person, seeing his sketch. That way it would be easier for them to reach the mastermind.

"Lili," Sheng Li called her name and intently gazed into her eyes. "I will work on this matter on my own. You do not need to take stress over this." He stroked her ear, keeping his voice as gentle as he could.

"Why would you handle this on your own? We promised that…" Sheng Li shut her up by putting his pointer finger over her lips.

"I never promised you that I would let you endanger your life with me. Lili, after you took that stab for me, I am scared." Sheng Li did not want to show Ying Lili his fear. The other day Hu Jingguo told him to be brave but how could he be! Seeing his woman unconscious, battling for her life was the most painful experience he had until then. When his mother left him, he was only a mere four years old kid unaware of all those feelings. But as time passed, and he grew up, he buried those scary feelings inside his heart and kept his heart shut for everyone around him. He was not even ready to open it for Ying Lili completely, but he did because he thought he would keep her safe until that day she got stabbed.

Ying Lili found out that something was wrong with Sheng Li. How could she forget that her husband's biggest fear was Ying Lili!

"Sheng Li," she placed her hand on his left cheek. "Don't let me become your fear. If you would be at my place, then you would have done the same. You are a warrior, Sheng Li. You have led and won many wars. Such injuries are normal and a warrior knows how to tackle this all," Ying Lili encouraged Sheng Li and at the same time, tried removing the fear he had for her.

"Lili, when you love someone dearly you end up fearing," Sheng Li affirmed.