41: I'm willing to take this gamble.

Although the three of them had long since... seen everything there was to see, when Luo Yongan suddenly took off her dress, Mo Yingqi still blushed and turned his head away.

After all, he had been unconscious when he saw it last night. Although he retained memories, they were fragmented and blurry. But what he ought to remember, he still remembered... Of course, that wasn't the main point.

"Yingqi, you can look now."

Hearing Luo Yongan say this, Mo Yingqi took a deep breath and turned his head to look. But the moment he saw it, Mo Yingqi's pupils contracted slightly, looking utterly disbelieving.

On Luo Yongan's pristine white back, there was actually... a painting, or rather, a tattoo or an etching. A snow-white Nine-Tailed Fox was vividly lifelike, its white fur marked with red stains. Although it was just a drawing, the Nine-Tailed Fox's seductive charm was naturally perfect; one glance was enough to know it was extraordinary.

And right over the Nine-Tailed Fox's heart, corresponding to the center of Luo Yongan's back, were the blood-red characters 'Mo Yingqi'.

"Don't be afraid, Yingqi, my sister and I both have one on our backs." Luo Yongning gently held Mo Yingqi's hand. "This was pricked onto our flesh, stroke by stroke, using a special medicinal liquid..."

This wasn't meant to prove anything, but rather, their Maternal Grandmother wanted to see if, after enduring such pain, she would still be... so infatuated with Mo Yingqi?

Needle after needle pierced their flesh. More importantly, this tattoo would accompany them until death. This kind of suffering, which was almost like torture, didn't last just a few hours, but was tormenting for almost Twelve Shichen.

Pain breeds resentment, and pain makes people generate hatred. It is easy for people in this state to question themselves, and to feel that they should not have to endure such suffering.

Yet these two sisters endured for Twelve Shichen. Even though the immense pain nearly caused them to faint, neither sister cried out once. In fact... after the Nine-Tailed Fox was completed, the two sisters simultaneously pricked the only name in their hearts onto their own backs.

Pain does indeed breed resentment, but it can also... breed deeper obsession and madness.

"Yingqi, once this medicinal liquid is pricked into the flesh, it can never be removed in this lifetime." Luo Yongan gently pulled up her clothes, slowly turned around, and looked deeply at Mo Yingqi. "Yongning and I aren't trying to prove anything. It's just, do you think that a dignified Legitimate Princess, having gone this far, would still... betray you?"

"If you still don't believe us, I don't mind; it's only human nature. Yingqi, I don't know how to reassure you. Time reveals a horse's strength, and distance reveals a person's heart. We have known each other since childhood. Although we haven't met for five years, Yongning and I are still who we are. No matter what happens, we are the sisters in your memory, and in the future... we will be your wives."

Mo Yingqi's mind was blank at this moment, filled only with the lifelike Nine-Tailed Fox... and his own name, seemingly drawn with fresh blood upon it.

"Why go to such lengths?"

A thousand words were in his heart, but in the end, only those four characters left Mo Yingqi's mouth. Mo Yingqi's expression was extremely complex, and his heart felt even heavier.

If before it was because he didn't want to repeat the mistakes of the Former Prince Consort, now... this sincere love was simply too fervent, so fervent that it made him hesitate to even approach it.

"Yingqi, don't be afraid. My sister and I have both said it: you are worth it." Luo Yongning slowly stood on her tiptoes and gently placed her hands on Mo Yingqi's face, looking incredibly cautious, as if he were fragile goods. "Give us a chance, okay? This dynasty does not prohibit the Prince Consort from entering officialdom. Whether you want to continue in the Pacification Bureau or leave the Pacification Bureau to serve as an official in the court, we won't stop you from doing whatever you wish. We will give you whatever confidence you need..."

"We only want you. We only want to spend the rest of our lives peacefully with you, okay?"

Mo Yingqi clearly felt the wall in his heart collapse with a crash. He didn't speak, but merely touched his nose, then sighed softly: "Could you ask them to help bring up the box I just brought?"

The Luo Sisters exchanged curious glances, and then Luo Yongan softly called out: "Someone, bring over the box Yingqi brought."

After a short while, four maidservants walked in and carefully placed the box on the ground. Mo Yingqi took a deep breath, seemingly having made up his mind, and walked over to open the box.

"This, you could say, is my entire fortune." Mo Yingqi pointed to the bank notes and various contracts inside the box. "After my maternal grandfather passed away, he left almost the entire Mo Family to me. What he could sell, he converted into bank notes. The carefully selected fields, estates, shops, and so on are all here."

"Although I originally didn't intend to give all of this to you—to be a little stingy, one must always leave oneself a way out... But since you prepared the betrothal gifts, and though I don't know the value, I still feel I must contribute something. Moreover... since The Two Elder Sisters have been so candid, I cannot hide anything either."

Mo Yingqi picked up a small stack of bank notes and contracts, then gave a wry smile: "All the land under heaven belongs to the King, and I have no intention of showing these off in front of you... But today, I am willing to use these as betrothal gifts, simply so that I can... marry The Two Elder Sisters."

"I won't deny that when I went along to handle that Highness, I indeed developed a complex. Forget Royal Princesses, even the daughter of a titled noble family would be marrying above my station. The day I joined the Pacification Bureau, I actually became a Flying Fish Guard with the intention of cutting myself off from such families."

"To say something... that The Two Elder Sisters might find a bit arrogant: frankly, over the past year, it's not that daughters from powerful and noble families haven't shown interest in me. It's just that I have never been the type to be easily manipulated or have a good temper, and I didn't want my future marriage to be a mess."

Mo Yingqi let out a heavy sigh at this point, then looked up at Luo Yongan and Luo Yongning: "However, if it is you two, I am willing... to take this gamble."

Before he could say anything more, Luo Yongan and Luo Yongning simultaneously leaped into his arms. Outside the door, Ying Hong winked knowingly at the maidservants, and everyone else withdrew, closing the door behind them.

"Retreat outside the courtyard gate," Ying Hong mused. "Also, tell those in the front that today The Two Highnesses... no, until tomorrow, The Two Highnesses will not see anyone unless there is a specific command."

"Aunt Ying Hong, surely it's not necessary to go that far?" a maidservant asked cautiously. "Especially if The Emperor or the Empress Dowager summons them..."

"Since The Two Highnesses moved outside the palace until today, have The Emperor or the Empress Dowager ever asked a single extra question?" Ying Hong replied testily. "Also, pass on the order to prepare more water and plenty of towels..."

Ying Hong watched the courtyard gate slowly close, shaking her head with a weary heart: "Arrange for some people to be ready, just in case The Two Highnesses call for water later tonight..."

"And listen up, keep your mouths shut! If any gossip gets out, don't blame me for being ruthless!"