After Accidentally Marking the Cold and Elegant Eldest Princess - Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Dream-Induced Pheromones

Yan Yunti’s face flushed red, and she said decisively: “Absolutely impossible.”

The idea of her body falling in love with someone was simply preposterous.

She retorted so quickly, however, that Tan Ning could detect a hint of a guilty conscience.

Tan Ning let out a light laugh and handed over a white porcelain bottle. “Take this bottle of Cold Fragrance Pills first. If any accidents occur, these can help suppress things a bit. This is a specific ratio and formula I blended personally; use them with confidence.”

Cold Fragrance Pills could suppress the release of pheromones and carnal desire; pills made with different ratios of medicinal herbs yielded varying effects.

Yan Yunti trusted Tan Ning’s medical skills. She accepted the pills and changed the subject: “After I left the main hall today, did anything interesting happen?”

“What interesting things could happen?” Tan Ning shook her head. “Grand banquets like that seem pleasant but are actually quite stifling; you can’t even eat properly…” As she spoke, Tan Ning remembered something and leaned in closer. “By the way, there is one thing that probably doesn’t count as ‘interesting.’ Not long after you left, the Third Prince personally came to deliver a gift, though he didn’t stay long before leaving. Tell me, do you think he came for you?”

Yan Yunti’s brows twitched slightly.

Tan Ning’s guess had accidentally hit the mark.

The Third Prince, Yuan Yuxiu, was born to Virtuous Consort Min. Today, after the Imperial Guards entered the main hall, Virtuous Consort Min’s expression had been quite unpleasant.

Yan Yunti was certain that the flickering shadow she saw near the side hall earlier was Chen Jin, the personal attendant of Yuan Yuxiu. Combined with her physical abnormalities at the time, she had made the split-second decision to knock out the palace maid.

The person who wanted to plot against her today was, ninety-nine percent likely, Yuan Yuxiu.

“Before, he spent so much effort trying to propose to you. If he knows you’ve differentiated into a Qianyuan now, he’ll likely be furious,” Tan Ning joked with a smile.

Yan Yunti sneered inwardly.

A year ago, Yuan Yuxiu had sent people to the Yan household to express his intent for a marriage alliance. Her second uncle had led the way in trying to persuade her grandmother, which made her mother so angry she went to settle accounts in person. Finally, her mother personally wrote a letter to the Southern Border; upon receiving a reply from her father, it was made clear that her marriage must have her mother’s consent.

Since then, Yuan Yuxiu had created numerous “chance encounters” with her, trying to approach from her side.

Yan Yunti knew exactly what Yuan Yuxiu was coveting. Over time, she grew annoyed and treated him with coldness, clearly rejecting his “intentions” multiple times. Who knew the man would actually use such a lowly method?

Yan Yunti suppressed the coldness in her eyes, hearing Tan Ning ask: “I wonder who was so audacious as to assassinate the Eldest Princess in the palace; they truly have no regard for their life.”

The gland at the back of Yan Yunti’s neck twitched. It was just the words “Eldest Princess”—did she need to have such a big reaction?

On the surface, Yan Yunti said, “I don’t know, I didn’t see the assassin’s face,” but in her heart, she couldn’t help but recall the various abnormalities in the secret room—first her mood becoming uncomfortable due to the other’s distancing words, and then rushing to support the Princess without a second thought. Could it really be…?

Impossible!

Yan Yunti flatly denied it in her mind. However, as the carriage neared the Marquis Household, she turned to ask Tan Ning: “That ‘dependency period’ you mentioned earlier—is there a cure?”

The smile in Tan Ning’s eyes surged, her expression one of someone watching a show: “Didn’t you just say it was ‘absolutely impossible’?”

Yan Yunti remained expressionless: “I’m asking out of curiosity. Is that not allowed?”

“Of course it’s allowed.” Tan Ning’s smile did not fade. “If it really reaches that point, go to the Qingxuan Temple outside the capital and find a female doctor named Xu Su. She is my master; perhaps she can help you. Remember to bring plenty of silver.”

Perhaps she can help—there was no certainty in those words at all.

Yan Yunti’s heart did not feel much lighter. Perhaps it was truly a case of “worries by day, dreams by night,” for she did not sleep well that night.

The dream returned to the secret room. The soft, low moans of a woman rang in her ears, each sound like beautiful string music swirling into her ear canal. At a certain moment, the woman’s waist and abdomen tightened and arched; Yan Yunti’s fingertips were buried deep in a soft, smooth warmth.

She kissed the woman’s arched, snow-white neck, her earlobe, and then the corner of her eye, seeing those misty eyes filled with water. The other had not yet recovered, and her gaze was unfocused.

Yan Yunti brushed against her nose, her voice strained with endurance: “Will Your Highness help me too?”

The woman’s hazy eyes flickered as if she hadn’t heard.

Yan Yunti asked again: “Will Your Highness help me too?”

The moisture in the woman’s eyes receded slightly, reflecting the girl’s red, enduring peach-blossom eyes. They were too soul-stirring, making one’s heart soften involuntarily.

“I… don’t know how.” Her voice was impossibly soft.

Yan Yunti’s lips curled up, sounding quite self-satisfied: “I’ll do it. I’ll teach Your Highness how to help me.”

It wasn’t until a sharp pain shot through her left arm that Yan Yunti jolted awake from her dream. She stared at the bed curtains above her, her breathing unable to steady for a long time.

Quiet moonlight flowed through the window lattice and into the room. Simultaneously, a faint, cool woody fragrance was slowly seeping out.

Yan Yunti’s nose twitched; smelling her own pheromones, she was startled and hurriedly got up to pour out a Cold Fragrance Pill and swallow it.

The pill was very effective. As soon as she took it, the silently releasing pheromones were retracted.

Yan Yunti got up to open the window, allowing the scent in the room to dissipate. Outside, the magnolia tree was in full bloom, its fragrance drifting in with the night breeze.

She took a deep breath. It seemed like the same fragrance, but upon closer inspection, there was a subtle difference. The Eldest Princess’s pheromones were more elegant, and when they erupted, they were intensely concentrated and quite stimulating.

Yan Yunti rubbed her forehead with a headache.

The scene in her dream today was everything she had experienced yesterday, and it had even drawn out her pheromones. It seemed something truly was on the edge of losing control.

Yan Yunti closed her eyes tightly, turned to take the long sword hanging on the wall, threw on an outer garment, and went out to practice her swordplay.

At the same time, in the distant Eldest Princess Manor.

Yuan Jingxue woke from her dream. She was dazed for a moment, feeling the heat in the gland at her nape. She rose to take a Cold Fragrance Pill, her brow furrowed.

Yesterday, she had deliberately avoided thinking about everything that happened in the secret room. Who would have thought these events would replay in her dreams?

In the dream, the girl’s crisp voice called out “Your Highness” over and over, tightening around her. At the final moment, the girl even insisted she call her “A-Yun” before she would grant her fulfillment.

Clearly, her mind had been hazy, yet she knew exactly who the person before her was. She could have been reckless, yet she insisted on seeking consent before unscrupulously bullying her…

Such a “wicked” Qianyuan should be someone she no longer spared a thought for.

However, at this moment, Yuan Jingxue felt a familiar thirst welling up in her body—a restless craving that could only be resolved with a Qianyuan’s pheromones.

“Why is Your Highness awake?”

It was Baiwei’s turn to watch the night. Hearing movement, she entered the room, her eyes filled with worry.

Yuan Jingxue gathered her thoughts and gave a soft command: “During the day, invite Physician Xu to the manor. Remember to avoid others.”

She hoped this was merely a short-term effect brought about by the temporary marking. Otherwise, her decision to use that Qianyuan would have been a catastrophic mistake.