Marry First, Love Later With The White Cat Princess - Chapter 11

“Are we really just going to stay here?” After finishing their tour of the entire Locking Moon Pavilion, Liu Fenyun couldn’t help but ask.

Lianyi, who had already taken on human form, sat by the bookshelf reading. Without looking up, she said, “Luo Binglun has no intention of imprisoning me. I can come and go as I please. If you get bored and want to go out, there are ways.”

Lianyi could even confidently say that there was no place in this city that could hold her.

“What about Lihua and the others?” Liu Fenyun glanced at the system map she could now sense the location of the seven cat demons. “Will they still come see you?”

“They’ll come if they have something to discuss. Otherwise, they can do as they please.” Lianyi didn’t even lift her head. “Stop overthinking it. Come, keep me company while I read.”

Liu Fenyun obediently went over, glanced at the book, and found that it was actually a medical text.

“Your Highness, why are you suddenly reading this kind of book?” she asked, puzzled. Somehow, it just felt wrong for Lianyi to be reading something so serious.

“Am I not allowed to?” Lianyi blinked her deep blue eyes.

Liu Fenyun hurriedly waved her hands, pulled up a chair, and sat beside her.

Although Lianyi was allowed to come and go from the Locking Moon Pavilion freely, she was too lazy to move around. When reading got boring, she tossed the book aside and comfortably leaned into Liu Fenyun’s arms.

When a cat gets bored, she starts scheming.

When Liu Fenyun was feeding her medicine, the pill was already at Lianyi’s lips but the mischievous cat suddenly snatched it away and popped it into Liu Fenyun’s mouth.

“Feed me.”

Liu Fenyun froze for a moment before realizing what she meant. Remembering the yuri novels she’d recently read, she cupped Lianyi’s face and passed the pill to her mouth.

But the pill had gotten wet bitterness spread instantly, nearly making Lianyi spit it back out.

“If Your Highness wants to try new ways of taking medicine, I can make sugar pills of similar size next time,” Liu Fenyun sighed once Lianyi finally swallowed it.

Lianyi wiped her lips and coughed lightly. “Then you’ll have to leave this pavilion first.”

“That shouldn’t take long.” Liu Fenyun caught her hand and gently wiped the medicine residue from the back of it. “If word spreads that I’m the Heavenly Physician’s first disciple, it’ll tarnish my master’s reputation. Since the High Priest is both my master’s old friend and has taken her request to look after me, she won’t let that happen.”

Lianyi narrowed her eyes with a faint smile. “You’ve thought that through rather well.”

But as night fell, Luo Binglun still didn’t show up.

Dinner, however, did arrive a table full of fine dishes, mostly vegetarian, typical of the Liu Zhi Kingdom’s cuisine. Yet two sets of tableware were placed, a deliberate provocation toward Lianyi.

Lianyi only smiled sweetly, sent the servants away, and closed the door. Then she pulled the uneasy Liu Fenyun to sit.

“Eat in peace,” she said. “Luo Binglun isn’t a good person, but she wouldn’t poison the food. You ate the noodles at noon and were fine, weren’t you?”

Still uneasy, Liu Fenyun activated the system’s detection function, picked up a bite of food, tasted it, and then froze she spat it out immediately.

There was no poison, but there was another kind of drug.

“What’s wrong?” Lianyi set down her chopsticks.

After rinsing her mouth, Liu Fenyun frowned. “It’s that kind of medicine.”

“What kind?”

“That kind that… you know…” Liu Fenyun stammered under Lianyi’s curious gaze. “I can’t really say it…”

“Oh that’s troublesome indeed.” Lianyi rested her chin on her hand, eyeing the steaming dishes. “Didn’t think Luo Binglun had such a fetish. I really overestimated her purity.”

And with that, she casually picked up a piece of sweet-and-sour rib and popped it into her mouth before Liu Fenyun could stop her.

“You’re really that scared? It’s just that kind of medicine,” she teased with a smile, giving Liu Fenyun another piece. “Eat. Better than going hungry.”

“Mmf! Your Highness, aren’t you afraid the effects will” Liu Fenyun barely had time to react before food was shoved into her mouth.

“I’m a demon,” Lianyi said lightly. “This kind of thing just makes us happier. Besides, we’re married even if something happens, it’s not exactly inappropriate, is it?”

Liu Fenyun puffed her cheeks, speechless.

In high spirits, Lianyi ate most of the food herself. After dinner, she leaned by the window, watching the disciples rushing about below.

“Do you want to go out for a walk?” she asked suddenly.

Still anxious about the drug, Liu Fenyun shook her head. “No, I’ll just walk around here.”

But Lianyi grabbed her hand, leapt onto the windowsill, and before Liu Fenyun could react jumped out!

As her body lifted into the air, Liu Fenyun let out a frightened scream. Just as her back was about to hit the eaves, a flash of white appeared a great white cat caught her on its back, dashing across the rooftops under the night sky.

Liu Fenyun was terrified out of her wits. Clinging to the cat, she finally found her voice. “Y-Your Highness!”

“What is it?”

“Where are you taking me?”

The big white cat stopped on a rooftop, smiling. “Just walking around the Priest’s Temple. Don’t be afraid.”

Despite her reassurance, she made plenty of noise on purpose, drawing curious glances from disciples below — some peeked out of rooms, some looked up, sighed, and went back inside.

Baffled, Liu Fenyun whispered as she stroked the soft fur, “Why do they look like they’re used to this?”

“Luo Binglun and I have never gotten along,” Lianyi chuckled. “This isn’t my first time causing a scene here.”

Once her fear settled, Liu Fenyun realized her clothes were soaked with sweat purely from fright.

People say huskies are destructive, but she thought her big white cat wasn’t much better.

By now, the lanterns were lit, their warm glow washing the red temple walls in blood like crimson.

Though majestic in her demon form, Lianyi’s body had been taken from a sickly host. Before long, she grew tired, and after catching a chill in the night air, she started coughing incessantly upon returning to the pavilion.

Liu Fenyun quickly shut the window, helped her sit on the bed, and gave her water and medicine.

Lianyi, when ill, was always more docile than usual. She took the pill, but a fit of coughing forced her to spit it out.

The candlelight flickered; her eyes reddened from coughing, a faint watery sheen gathering in her deep blue gaze as she looked at Liu Fenyun.

“If only you were of the demon race,” she murmured softly after finally swallowing the pill. “You treat me so well, yet you’re not of my kind.”

Instinctively, Liu Fenyun touched the mark on her ear. Seeing Lianyi so weak, she said gently, “Even if I’m not the same race as Your Highness, I’ll still stay by your side.”

Though they were married and had shared many intimate moments, Liu Fenyun still regarded Lianyi as a patient and patients must be cared for properly.

Exhausted, Lianyi muttered a few more words before closing her eyes. Her cool body leaned against Liu Fenyun’s, clinging to her as if seeking warmth and safety.

Carefully, Liu Fenyun removed her outer robes and shoes, covered her with a soft quilt, and made sure she could rest comfortably.

She understood Lianyi’s feelings when she first transmigrated into this world five years ago, she had no one to trust. She had to hide her true gender, endure her master’s strictness, and could only confide in her mechanical system when lonely.

If, back then, a kind and understanding demon had appeared by her side someone who spoke gently and stayed close she would have wanted to keep her too.

Having caught a chill, Liu Fenyun ordered hot water for a bath to warm herself up and to use Lianyi’s demonic mark to help dispel any effects of the aphrodisiac.

This wasn’t her first encounter with such a drug. Back at the Imperial Medical Institute, a female physician once fell for her and tricked her into drinking drugged tea.

Thankfully, her strict master Yu Qingyue knowing her true identity noticed something was wrong that evening. She locked Liu Fenyun in her meditation room, treated her with acupuncture and medicine, and stayed up all night caring for her.

Now, having bonded with Lianyi through a blood pact, Liu Fenyun was half demon herself dealing with the drug would be much easier.

Before long, servants brought in buckets of hot water and poured them into the pavilion’s bath.

Once they left, Liu Fenyun used the system to scan the surroundings, making sure no one would enter. Then she undressed and stepped into the water, removing her bindings.

Through the system, she sensed her inner state the mark on her ear grew warm, and a faint energy began circulating through her body, gradually driving out the chill.

Feeling no discomfort, she sighed in relief. This was demonic power she only feared losing control and being consumed by it.

Even with the system’s help, she focused intently on guiding the energy and didn’t notice that someone had joined her.

The drug’s warmth had woken Lianyi from her restless sleep. Still drowsy but flushed with heat, she got up and wandered to the bath.

The aphrodisiac didn’t strongly affect demons; even after eating half a table’s worth, she remained lucid but mischievous.

Slipping into the water in just her underclothes, she wrapped her arms around the meditating Liu Fenyun and murmured in a soft, sultry voice, “A-Yun”

Liu Fenyun shuddered and opened her eyes in panic. “Y-Your Highness? What’s wrong?”

“I’m hot…” Lianyi pressed closer, frowning delicately.

A chill ran down Liu Fenyun’s spine as every romantic cliché she’d ever read or seen flooded her mind.

Before she could think further, she felt something brush her arm a cat’s tail curling up around it.

Lianyi nestled into her embrace, soft brown curls tickling her chin, and let out a quiet, contented meow.

Cat lover Liu Fenyun: …

She was done for.