The young lady leaned close, her profile luminescent and delicate in the moonlight.

This was no mere fleeting touch, but a deep, flowing connection.

Yan Shang: “Mmm…”

He froze completely, head against the wall, his mind exploding. He couldn’t think, his mind blank, unsure what was happening.

She was so warm, fragrant, and wonderful. Like sweet nectar flowing through his limbs and vessels, seeping into his heart and lungs. Making his breath hot, his body numb, and his spirit involuntarily excited.

But was this punishment? Wasn’t this a reward?

Yan Shang, face burning red, thought hazily that this couldn’t possibly be punishment. He’d thought earlier that he hadn’t kissed well, that she’d lost interest, that she’d never want to kiss him again… yet here was this sweetness, still flowing toward him, she had returned.

It wasn’t just leaning in for a kiss.

While Yan Shang remained rigid, Mu Wanyao’s hand rested on his shoulder. Seemingly tired of leaning forward, her skirts swished as she sat on his lap, and settled into his embrace.

Their breaths mingled in the darkness as her still-cool fingers gripped his chin. She was soft and fragrant in his arms as she lowered her eyes to meet his upturned gaze. She saw how the skin beneath his eyes had flushed completely red, and her fingers brushed against it, finding it burning hot.

She felt how his legs had gone stiff.

Because she had never been this intimate with him before.

Mu Wangyao laughed silently as if mocking his helplessness.

Yan Shang trembled, and under her mocking gaze, he opened his mouth, extending his tongue. His heart was pounding like a drum, not rejecting but wanting to get closer… yet after just a brief touch of tongues, Mu Wangyao stopped.

He leaned forward to follow, but she kept retreating, her crimson lips not allowing him even the slightest touch.

Yan Shang looked at her in bewilderment.

Mu Wangyao remained intimately seated on his lap, her finger tracing his face, with an ambiguous smile: “If you move, this becomes a reward, how could it be punishment?”

Yan Shang: “…”

He was so clever that, facing her somewhat malicious teasing gaze, he immediately understood her meaning.

Yan Shang said softly: “Only you can initiate, I’m not allowed to respond?”

Mu Wangyao lazily: “Mm-hmm.”

Yan Shang frowned, finally realizing her wickedness. Not letting him respond, this truly was torture… Yan Shang turned his face away: “Your Highness should show restraint.”

Mu Wangyao: “Tsk.”

She lowered her head to kiss his brow, seeing his eyelashes tremble slightly, she couldn’t help but softly kiss his eyelashes too. Yan Shang looked up at her enduringly, and Mu Wangyao said lazily: “Show restraint? Why didn’t you ask for restraint earlier? Now you remember?”

He pushed at her, face flushed: “Earlier was my mistake, now you…”

Mu Wangyao wouldn’t give him his way. Seeing his mouth opening and closing about to say something she didn’t want to hear, she leaned down once more to kiss his lips.

Yan Shang’s head tilted back, exposing his neck, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly. Mu Wangyao’s cool hand followed down from his Adam’s apple, circling and winding, tangling and weaving. Like a little snake aimlessly wandering, like a feather teasing back and forth. Making his jade-like skin flush pink, the color spreading beneath his collar, his clothes long since unable to hide it from her.

Yan Shang’s hands unconsciously pressed against her waist.

She immediately turned innocent again.

Looking down at him with an ambiguous smile.

Yan Shang’s breathing was completely irregular now. He looked at Mu Wangyao with some irritation, secretly hating his lack of self-control. She was carelessly stoking his fire, coldly observing as he revealed his undignified state… she was teasing him, mocking him, torturing him.

Yan Shang used all his strength to remove his hands from her waist.

He thought distractedly that he had never properly touched her waist, never embraced any part of her except her back… He closed his eyes, steadying his breathing, no longer so urgent and impatient.

He said softly: “Your Highness, please don’t do this.”

Mu Wangyao smiled somewhat indifferently, and her eyes were bright – seeing his helplessness, she couldn’t help but become excited.

Watching this youth who aimed to be a sage reveal such an undignified expression because of her, watching him unable to stop himself from wanting to respond again and again, but her stopping each time was a form of torture for him… He finally endured until his muscles tensed up, his hands on her shoulders about to push her away.

Mu Wangyao said: “What are you trying to do? This is a prison cell. You want to start with me like this?”

Yan Shang panted, his eyes slightly red: “Then what are you trying to do?”

Mu Wangyao stared at him: “If you push me, that’s subordinate defying superior! My servants are waiting outside, one shout from me and they’ll come in to seize you.”

Yan Shang looked at her in disbelief.

Mu Wangyao leaned down to kiss him again, murmuring against his lips: “If you reject me, that’s also subordinate defying superior. I’ll have Guard Fang come in and see how you’re treating the Princess.”

Yan Shang: “You… ah.”

He suddenly felt utterly shameful, completely led by her soul-stirring actions. So he once again reflected on whether he was too susceptible to feminine charms, silently reciting “beauty fades to bones” and “all is emptiness.”

Mu Wangyao: “…”

She widened her eyes, truly somewhat angered by him now. The sweat on his face, the dampness at his temples, his tense body – under his strong will they all seemed to become external things.

His inability to respond was meant to be torture, but now with him controlling himself like this… what game was left to play?

Was she playing with a corpse?

Mu Wangyao’s eyes made a slight rotation, and she smiled silently.

As Yan Shang was mentally reciting to himself not to be affected by Mu Wangyao, he suddenly heard Mu Wangyao’s somewhat cold voice: “Chunhua is going to leave me.”

Yan Shang started, his heart stilling for a moment, stopping his self-reflection to open his eyes and look at the princess sitting in his arms.

Mu Wangyao lowered her eyes, speaking somewhat indifferently: “I don’t know if you know, but earlier I had Fang Tong return to the princess manor to fetch a fertility medicine, it was for Chunhua. Third Brother played dirty with me, wanting me to ally with Fifth Brother and distance myself from the Crown Prince.

“Of course I refused. So I followed your suggestion to remove the powerful families. But Chunhua can’t come back. Because she’s a chess piece that must be sacrificed, she must enter Fifth Brother’s household and, must to some degree establish a connection between Fifth Brother and me.

“They planned it all very well. I counterattacked too, I made their plan fail. They didn’t expect I would abandon the Zheng family, didn’t expect that even though Chunhua entered Fifth Brother’s household, I would still rely on sacrificing the powerful families rather than distance myself from the Crown Prince. However no matter what, I’ve still lost Chunhua.”

Yan Shang looked at her.

He raised his arms and embraced her.

He was different from her – her embraces were teasing, and his embraces were warm and comforting. His clothes were disheveled, his hair messy, but when he embraced her now, holding her tightly in his arms, Mu Wangyao still felt his care for her.

Yan Shang said softly: “Don’t be sad.”

Mu Wangyao buried her face in his neck, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on his Adam’s apple, but her voice remained casual as if just chatting with him: “Chunhua is pregnant with Fifth Brother’s child. She can’t come back. She can’t marry the person she wants to marry, and she can’t be my maid anymore.

“Of the people who returned from Wuman, among the maids who followed me, only Chunhua survived. Now she has to leave too… I have nothing left.”

Yan Shang held her tightly, once again saying softly: “Don’t be sad.”

Mu Wangyao’s lips curved slightly, and this time, when her hand slipped inside his collar, she felt him stiffen for a moment, but he didn’t dodge anymore.

Mu Wangyao laughed internally.

Thinking that the sage-like Second Young Master Yan had decided to sacrifice his virtue to comfort her—

Her hand pressed against his abdomen, separated by a thin layer of undergarment, and Yan Shang grabbed her hand.

He closed his eyes, chin resting on her shoulder, his face covered in sweat, neck and cheeks completely red.

He trembled: “Enough… Your Highness, please stop.”

But Mu Wangyao wouldn’t.

She pressed against his ear, giving it a light bite, laughing: “Why are you so resistant? That night when my aunt bullied you, I helped you like this.”

Yan Shang’s mind exploded.

He suddenly opened his eyes to look at her. But Mu Wangyao wouldn’t look at him, her hand still wandering, her lips against his ear.

She described what happened that night to him slowly and methodically: “You were lying in the alley then, but I brought you back to the princess manor. You’re such a fool, did you think the Imperial Physician’s couple of needles could make you better? Hmph, without me, how could you have recovered?”

Fragrance wafted around his heart: “You’re truly foolish. I thought you would remember eventually, didn’t expect you’d never think about it. You’re usually so clever, yet you couldn’t figure this out… isn’t it laughable?

“Yan Shang, Yan Shang… Second Brother Yan,” she kissed him sweetly, arms around his shoulders, both laughing and blushing, “Have you never relieved yourself? That night sharing a pillow, you said not to mind it, wait for it to settle on its own. Oh my, Second Brother Yan, how can you be so naive? Do you truly not know what happens between men and women?”

She tilted her head back, her tongue lightly touching his chin, smiling brightly: “Am I the first to kiss you? The first to embrace you? The first… girl to do such things for you?”

Yan Shang gripped her wrist.

His nerves were near breaking point, completely disheveled. Ice and fire mixed, and he felt both ecstasy and torment. He still had to endure without moving at all, because if he responded even slightly, she would stop.

She was so wicked. Leaving him suspended in mid-air, unable to go up or down… He closed his eyes and frowned, his expression extremely difficult: “You’re too evil… you can’t do this… too dirty, too dirty, stop! Yao Yao!”

But at this point.

How could a mere “Yao Yao” make her stop?

She giggled in his arms, face red, hand kneading. Her eyes rolled downward, and Yan Shang quickly pressed her head down – this was his final bottom line: “Don’t look… don’t look!”

Fool.

Mu Wangyao thought.

And seeing him so uncomfortable, she became even more dramatic in describing to him what happened that night—

So in Yan Shang’s mind, uncontrollably, it seemed he remembered something that had happened before, overlapping with the current scene.

Except for that night, he had lain unconsciously on the bed, this time she sat mischievously in his arms.

But it was still him.

Still her.

She reached out her hand, and opened her eyes, her jade-white slender fingers catching his sweat. She was like a playful little fish, diving into his embrace…

Suddenly, there were footsteps, and Yan Shang froze.

In the prison cell, he heard voices talking not far away—

Fang Tong: “What are you doing?”

Jailer: “Forgive me, sir, I’m bringing Young Master Yan his evening meal.”

Fang Tong suspiciously: “What meal in the middle of the night? Did you poison it?”

The jailer nearly cried in fear: “No, no! This was arranged between Young Master Yan and me…”

Their conversation carried over from not far away, and Mu Wangyao merely paused for a moment, but noticed Yan Shang’s entire body go rigid, then with a muffled sound, he fell back against the wall.

He closed his eyes, moisture clinging to his eyelashes, his face patches of red and white, and he coughed twice.

Mu Wangyao looked down at her hand, smiling slightly—

Fang Tong had taken that jailer away and, naturally wouldn’t let anyone disturb the princess.

However, on Yan Shang’s side, he had been frightened into finishing.

He coughed, taking a while to recover, his expression becoming even more difficult.

He had left marks, and when he opened his eyes to see Mu Wangyao’s hand, his face reddened even more… He wanted to give her a handkerchief, but then thought – in this prison cell, where would he have a soft handkerchief?

Yan Shang awkwardly: “Your Highness… didn’t bring a handkerchief?”

Mu Wangyao gave him a sidelong glance, lazily taking out a handkerchief from her sleeve and wiping her hand. Seeing she had a handkerchief, Yan Shang finally sighed in relief.

Mu Wangyao smiled ambiguously: “Why are you worried about me? My clothes are neat, my hair isn’t messy, and there’s not a single mark on me from top to bottom. But you?”

Her gaze swept downward, scanning below his waist. He awkwardly covered himself with the blanket, and Mu Wangyao mocked: “What about the marks on your body? How will you explain them? Tomorrow will you tell people you had a dream, that even in such poor prison conditions, you couldn’t help having spring dreams?”

Yan Shang was embarrassed, glaring slightly at her.

After a while, he said: “I’ll naturally find a way.”

Mu Wangyao lowered her head to observe him, seeing sweat beading on his forehead, his lips pressed so tightly, but unable to hide the traces of her rouge that had stained them red.

He acted composed and indifferent, but she was sitting on his lap, and without moving at all she could easily feel him becoming rigid again.

Mu Wangyao teased: “What, did I humiliate you? Do I seem like my aunt who humiliated you that night? In your eyes, am I as hateful as my aunt?”

His eyes lowered, but he gently shook his head.

Mu Wangyao froze for a moment.

He kept his eyes down, not daring to look at her, his whole body numb with pain, yet still spoke gently: “This isn’t humiliation, you’re not your aunt.”

Mu Wangyao said icily: “Why not? Because I’m younger and prettier than her?”

Yan Shang: “Because I have you in my heart.”

Mu Wangyao: “…”

He raised his eyes to look at her.

He said softly: “You’re angry that I didn’t follow your orders, but you wouldn’t see me for days, wouldn’t leave me even a word. My heart was chilled through by your actions. You shouldn’t treat me this way. If I did something wrong, you should tell me, not leave without a word.

“And now… now you come to tease me like this.”

He frowned somewhat troubled: “Will this make your anger fade?”

Mu Wangyao was speechless.

Would this make her anger fade?

Even at this moment, he spoke to her so gently. When she told him not to move, he still held back. He went along with her mischief for so long… She had only used Chunhua to express her pain, and though he was initially unwilling, he eventually went along with her.

He was such a good person.

While Mu Wangyao was lost in thought, she saw him looking at her.

Their enchanting gazes met in mid-air, and belatedly, Mu Wangyao began to feel shy. As her face reddened, he followed suit, and his gaze moved away.

Mu Wangyao held back a laugh, seeing his embarrassed state, her anger toward him dissipated in an instant.

Mu Wangyao giggled: “This does make my anger fade. I don’t blame you for killing the Zheng family head anymore.”

Yan Shang lowered his head, not daring to meet her eyes, and after a while said: “…That’s good then.”

Mu Wangyao made an “mm” sound and stood up, no longer sitting on his lap.

She gracefully stepped back twice, and indeed as she’d said, while Yan Shang’s clothes were disheveled, she hadn’t been touched by him at all. While admiring his self-control, Mu Wangyao also delighted in the mischief she’d done to him tonight.

But Mu Wangyao said: “Everything that happened tonight doesn’t mean my attitude toward you has changed.”

Yan Shang started slightly.

Said: “What… are you still angry about?”

Mu Wangyao meant that his detailed plans for their future still frightened her, but Yan Shang didn’t know what exactly she disliked.

She was like a riddle to him.

He could never guess her thoughts. Every time he made plans regarding her, they were disrupted halfway through, leaving him unsure what to do next… Now Yan Shang looked at her bewildered, no longer knowing what this situation between them meant.

Mu Wangyao wouldn’t answer him, she had tormented him enough, turned and left the prison, leaving him alone again. Only when she could no longer see Yan Shang did she blush, covering her pounding heart, feeling extraordinarily happy.

When he was unconscious versus when he was awake, they were quite different.

She quite liked it—

At this time in the Eastern Palace, the lamps burned late into the night.

The Crown Prince was still handling official business, while Yang Si sat cross-legged to one side, preciously polishing a sword.

The Crown Prince said: “I had you meet with Minister Liu to ask his opinion of Second Young Master Yan, what did Minister Liu say?”

Yang Si carelessly: “He quite admires Yan Er.”

The Crown Prince nodded: “Then when tomorrow’s trial results come out, Second Young Master Yan should be able to leave prison.”

Yang Si remained indifferent: “Mm.”

The Crown Prince sat behind his desk, quietly thinking for a while, then suddenly looked up at Yang Si who was still polishing his sword. He said slowly: “Tomorrow you will personally go and invite Yan Suchen to a grand feast at your manor to celebrate his release.”

Yang Si: “Huh?”

He looked up at the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince smiled slightly: “During this time, you’ve constantly worked on Second Young Master Yan’s behalf, visiting him daily in the Ministry of Justice prison, just afraid that someone might mistreat him. As long as he still wants to remain in officialdom, he will surely be grateful for your concern for him.

“You host the feast at your manor, and when I come to your manor then to meet with Yan Er. Your actions represent me, in Second Young Master Yan’s eyes, all this should be seen as me looking after him…”

Yang Si said coldly: “You mean to buy Second Young Master Yan’s loyalty? You didn’t stop my actions these past days just so you could buy his heart?”

The Crown Prince countered: “What else? You’ve been making a fuss at the Ministry of Justice every day, did you think I couldn’t see? Without my allowance, how could you have gone?”

The Crown Prince said: “In this matter, I’ve figured it out. That day at the Qu River banquet, when Yan Suchen said he hadn’t read much, whether he truly hadn’t read many books or was just being modest with me, in any case, I misjudged him. Thought he only had the skill to coax the Princess Imperial into changing the title of Top Scholar, but now looking at it, his one arrow made him famous… I no longer believe that arrow was shot randomly out of hot-blooded passion.

“This kind of person, if he cannot be used by me, then he must be destroyed. I naturally don’t want to destroy him, that’s why I seek his talent.”

Yang Si stood up, his gaze cold, saying: “But he is Yao Yao’s retainer. He helps Yao Yao, and Yao Yao helps you, isn’t this the same principle? Why must you take him from Yao Yao’s side?”

The Crown Prince glanced at Yang Si, smiling: “After all, there’s still Sixth Sister between us. One can never be too careful about people’s hearts.

“Moreover, as you said, Minister Liu admires him very much. Minister Liu is from the Secretariat, which I cannot reach. If I cannot arrange an official position for Yan Er by my side, he might be snatched away by the Secretariat. The Secretariat is certainly good too… but if Yan Suchen is truly loyal to me, then going to the Secretariat would be good. If he is not wholeheartedly for me, then I don’t like him entering the Secretariat.

“The Secretariat controls all court affairs, I only want truly loyal people entering the Secretariat.”

Yang Si looked at the Crown Prince for a long time.

He said: “Tomorrow I will not host a feast, will not invite Second Young Master Yan, will not help you steal people from Yao Yao’s side.”

The Crown Prince’s gaze instantly turned cold as he looked at him.

After a while, the Crown Prince’s tone softened somewhat, saying: “San Lang, don’t be foolish.”

Yang Si: “Yao Yao doesn’t have many capable people by her side, anyone with talent, you want to steal away. Since you want to use Yao Yao, why must you always pressure her like this? It sounds nice – recruiting talent and dealing with powerful families. When have you ever cared whether the powerful families harm the common people? You’ve never cared, in your eyes, there’s only politics, only whether something benefits you or not!

“If it benefits you, you act. If it doesn’t benefit you, even if refugees storm into Chang’an, I bet you wouldn’t even blink.”

Crown Prince: “Is this your first day knowing me?”

He laughed mockingly: “What, only now finding me disagreeable?”

Meeting Yang San Lang’s gaze, the Crown Prince suddenly flew into a rage, sweeping all the memorials and lamps off his desk.

The huge commotion from the study frightened the Crown Princess and others bringing late-night refreshments outside, as they heard the Crown Prince’s raised angry voice: “You despise my underhanded methods! If not for my methods, with your high-profile behavior, do you think anyone in Chang’an could protect you? You want to do whatever you please if I wasn’t covering for you… who do you think gave you your abilities? Was it the Yang family?! Has the Yang family’s care for you been even half of what I’ve invested in you?!

“Your wings have hardened, and now you look down on my methods… You, Yang San Lang, are so upright and honorable! Your uprightness and honor were all given to you by me!”

The Crown Princess trembled outside, the servants behind her nearly dropping the trays they held. The Crown Prince rarely became this angry, the Crown Prince was arguing with Yang San Lang…

Yang Si’s voice came from within the study: “I’ve never complained about you or said you were bad! Of course I know how difficult things are for you, of course I know that everything I have today is because you protect me. So I support whatever you do, help you with whatever you want… I am just a sword in your hand! I am willing to risk my life for your ideals!

“But you can’t treat Yao Yao like this! I didn’t say anything about how you treated Yao Yao before, did I? I just want you not to go too far… at least leave her some ability to protect herself, leave her some capable people! At least when the day comes that you abandon her, she won’t be completely helpless, at others’ mercy!

“I’ll listen to you in everything else! I just don’t want to listen to you this one time!”

The Crown Prince raged: “Get out!”

The next moment, the Crown Princess and others standing outside the study watched in shock as the door was pulled open. The Crown Princess saw Yang San Lang storm out furiously, and when he saw her, Yang Si paused for a moment. Yang Si seemed to want to give the Crown Princess a greeting, but his lips trembled and he said nothing, instead putting on his shoes and leaving.

Crown Princess: “San Lang, San Lang…”

The Crown Princess couldn’t stop Yang San Lang, and tremblingly entered the study to check on the Crown Prince. She saw the young man standing in the middle of the room, books and papers scattered everywhere, cups and lamps all knocked over. The curtains fluttered, the Crown Prince’s expression extremely unpleasant.

Turning around, the Crown Prince looked at the Crown Princess.

The Crown Princess said softly: “Are you letting Yang San Lang leave like this?”

The Crown Prince’s face was expressionless.

The Crown Princess said: “The palace gates are closed, he seemed to be carrying a sword when he left, and forgot to take his waist token, probably can’t leave the palace…”

The Crown Prince closed his eyes in restraint.

Finally said hoarsely: “…Send that fool his waist token!”—

When Yang Si left the Eastern Palace and walked toward the palace exit, he only then remembered he’d forgotten his waist token. But he was still angry and didn’t want to go back to face the Crown Prince’s cold gaze.

Fortunately, he only paced at the palace gate for a moment before someone from the Eastern Palace came to deliver his waist token.

Yang Si saw the inner attendant who delivered the token seemed to have something to say but held back, but he ignored it completely, taking the token and leaving the palace, leaving the attendant sighing behind him.

After leaving the palace gates, Yang Si had planned to return directly to his manor, but unexpectedly, passing by the Ministry of Personnel, he saw a familiar figure by the prison entrance.

That lady, wrapped up very carefully, was being escorted by guards to a carriage.

However, how could Yang Si not recognize her?

He knew at a glance it was Mu Wangyao.

Yang Si started slightly, wondering why she had come here.

Looking toward the prison, Yang Si pondered: Could she have gone to see Yan Shang?

Hmm… this behavior was unusual—

The next day, when the results of the three courts’ joint trial came out, Yan Shang was released in court, and everyone wanted to congratulate him on his freedom.

However, the person sent from the Court of Judicial Review today was an unfamiliar official, not the familiar Yang San Lang, making Yan Shang wonder what had happened.

When Yan Shang left the Ministry of Personnel, left the imperial city, he was surrounded by waiting students from the Imperial Academy and common people.

While dealing with these people, he suddenly saw a youth in red robes pass by from a corner.

It was Yang Si.

He saw Yang Si walk toward a carriage parked by the roadside.

Just as Yan Shang wanted to go give his greetings, he saw Yang Si knock on the carriage, the door opened, revealing the face of the person inside.

Yan Shang froze – though it was just a glimpse, he had just been tormented by this person last night… it was Mu Wangyao.

His heart suddenly ached.

Thinking of Mu Wangyao meeting Yang Si secretly?

Why?—

Mu Wangyao sat quietly in the carriage, and to avoid being recognized, she had even changed into a maid’s clothes.

She waited here wanting to see Yan Shang when he passed by or tease him a bit. She should be at the Summer Villa now, it wasn’t convenient for her to appear here.

But… Yan Shang was being released.

She still wanted to be the first to see him.

And frighten him a little.

She sat in the carriage resting her chin in her hand, thinking and quietly laughing to herself, when someone knocked twice on the carriage wall from outside.

The next moment the door opened, but instead of the familiar person, Yang Si jumped into the carriage.

Mu Wangyao: “…”

Yang Si closed the carriage door, sat with her, and looked at her leisurely, suddenly smiling teasingly: “Why that expression when you see me? What, came waiting for Yan Er but got me instead, unhappy?”

He said: “Do you like Yan Er? Want to marry him?”

Mu Wangyao’s expression cooled, looking away: “Have you come to lecture me that I shouldn’t like him, should keep my distance from him?”

Yang Si stared at her.

After a long while, he said self-mockingly: “Is that how you see me? I desperately want you to have a young man you like, someone you want to marry. I desperately want you to find happiness, Yao Yao.”