Zhao Yān was stunned, momentarily feeling as if in a dream, with an inexplicable tightness in her nose.

Though only a day had passed, it felt as if she had waited an entire sixty-year cycle for this answer.

“I am satisfied,”

Zhao Yān leaned against Wenren Lin’s shoulder and seriously repeated, as if fearing he might change his mind, “I am satisfied.”

Wenren Lin looked at the scattered light rising in her eyes and said impassively: “So easily satisfied?”

“I said before, I won’t stop the Grand Tutor from seeking justice in his way. But I don’t want the Grand Tutor to be blinded by hatred, destroying innocent people, and also destroying… yourself.”

With the burden that had been weighing on her heart suddenly lifted, Zhao Yān’s tone became considerably lighter, “For me, this inch that the Grand Tutor has conceded is a lifeline between us.”

She was a princess of the Great Xuan, bearing responsibility for the common people. No matter how unconventional she might be, she could not abandon her conscience to accommodate a knife-wielding rebel traitor.

The matter of the “Priest” and the antidote remained unresolved. The Great Xuan was corrupt inside and out, tottering in the storm. Zhao Yān dared not say the court was blameless, but the common people were innocent.

If Wenren Lin could maintain this inch of baseline, she wouldn’t lose, and she could face the world with confidence.

…

…

Wenren Lin silently gazed at her, his thumb slowly grinding over her flushed cheek.

“Straight as a bowstring, die by the roadside; curved as a hook, gain a marquisate in return.”

His father’s grieving voice before death still echoed in his ears. Since then, he had sworn never to protect such a Great Xuan again.

Wenren Lin himself had no interest in harming the innocent. His plans didn’t even require him to act personally; he merely needed to let things take their course, provide a little guidance, and then coldly watch the court’s corruption, observing thousands of palace chambers turn to dust.

He was reluctant to make promises because he feared that once he set a precedent, he would continuously lower his standards until he forgot his hatred entirely.

But seeing the little princess struggling forward with heavy shackles, Wenren Lin suddenly felt a touch of reluctance.

Reluctance to let his self-destructive path become another shackle upon her.

After all, the little princess had been haunted by her brother’s death for so long. If he truly did something that wronged all beings under heaven, who knew how guilty and remorseful she would become?

“Actually,”

Wenren Lin leaned down and whispered, “Even if Your Highness confronted this prince with a blade, equally matched, this prince would only feel proud of you.”

Zhao Yān glared at him: “There will be no such ‘even if.’ You’ve promised me.”

“Yes, this prince has promised.”

“Words without proof require a seal and stamp.”

As Zhao Yān spoke, taking advantage of her slight intoxication, she found a spot on his chest and bit down.

Wenren Lin’s muscles instinctively tensed, causing Zhao Yān to make a muffled sound as the vibration numbed her jaw.

Seeing her frown with dissatisfaction, Wenren Lin relaxed his posture and took the opportunity to rub the back of her neck: “Is Your Highness a cat? Always biting or scratching. Don’t you mind the fabric? Why not wait until we return, and after this prince has removed his clothes, Your Highness can stamp to your heart’s content.”

“No need, one is enough.”

Zhao Yān covered her numbed jaw, reproaching in a muffled voice, “Your body is too hard, I can’t bite through.”

Wenren Lin laughed softly.

He raised his finger to lift Zhao Yān’s chin, gazing at the contentment of relief in her eyes until she uncomfortably lowered her eyelashes. Only then did he bow his head to press his thin lips against her brow, then gently nuzzle with his straight nose.

A kiss of compassion imprinted—this was his response.

Returning to the Eastern Palace, the lamps were bright.

Zhao Yān was somewhat unsteady when alighting from the carriage. Wenren Lin steadied her with his hand and had to personally escort her back to her bedchamber.

“Does the Grand Tutor have official business tonight?”

Remembering something, Zhao Yān removed her cloak and handed it to Liu Ying, turning to look at Wenren Lin, who had accompanied her all day, “If you’re not in a hurry to leave, please stay for the evening meal before departing.”

Wenren Lin neither agreed nor refused, instructing Zhang Cang behind him: “Go fetch the remaining official documents that need approval.”

Palace attendants brought in the evening meal in an orderly procession. Having already eaten roasted taro, Zhao Yān wasn’t hungry, so she only selected a bowl of chicken and dried scallop porridge. She sat at her desk, browsing through books while taking small spoonfuls.

Wenren Lin ate elegantly, with a deliberate slowness.

Zhao Yān had never seen him wolf down food, and by the time she had laboriously eaten half her portion, he had already stopped using his chopsticks and moved to the desk across from her to review official documents.

Zhao Yān was surprised: “You’re finished already?”

Looking at the food table beside them, except for a dish of rouge-colored, slightly bloody venison jerky, all other porridge and dishes had been cleared clean.

When did this happen?!

Wenren Lin leaned back in his chair, explaining casually: “A habit formed in military camps during my youth. The old man wouldn’t allow us to dawdle.”

“Eating too quickly harms the stomach,” Zhao Yān said softly.

Wenren Lin dismissed it with a smile.

Since picking up his life from among corpses, there had been a long period when he couldn’t eat anything. Everything tasted like it was wrapped in the stench of rotting flesh. He had already slowed his eating pace considerably.

Zhao Yān set down her bowl and spoon. Liu Ying led the palace maids to efficiently clear away the dishes and replace them with tea for rinsing their mouths.

Zhao Yān took a warm, damp cotton cloth to clean her fingers, then tilted her head to look at the open book on the desk: “That…”

Wenren Lin knew she had encountered a difficult passage and, without looking up, asked: “Which part don’t you understand?”

Zhao Yān leaned on the desk, pressing the back of her hand against her cheek, which was hot from the wine: “It’s a line from ‘Imperial Strategy’: ‘The art of managing ministers is like the shape of a sweet gourd, strict at the mouth but generous at the heart.'”

Wenren Lin looked up from the official documents and explained in a gentle tone: “It means that when dealing with ministers who are difficult to control, one cannot merely bestow favors, but must be strict first and generous later, intimidating first and kind later. When an emperor wants to implement his ideas, he must never state them directly, but first propose an impossible goal. If the ministers are unwilling to comply, then lower the goal appropriately. Between two evils, choose the lesser one. The ministers will not only comply but will praise the ruler for being considerate of his officials and people.”

Zhao Yān listened with astonishment: “It can be done that way?”

Wenren Lin nodded, closing the documents and placing them on his lap, with a deep smile in his eyes: “For example, the late Crown Prince implemented new policies with aggressive directness, which is inadvisable. But if Your Highness were to report that this prince harbors disloyal intentions and the country is in danger, then propose new policies as a means of self-preservation, using this prince as a treacherous minister to elevate yourself, the resistance from court officials would be much less. After all, compared to being overthrown by rebels, implementing new policies would at least preserve half the legacy.”

“…”

Wenren Lin was sincerely teaching her how to use the pieces in her hand to achieve her goals, even if that piece was himself, which was the most chilling part for Zhao Yān.

She frowned slightly: “This is why I dislike imperial tactics. No loyalty, only interests.”

Wenren Lin quietly observed her and said: “Your Highness need not try so hard.”

“Though I dislike it, I must understand it, otherwise I might not even know how I died someday.”

Zhao Yān picked up her brush to make notes, then looked up with a smile, “Besides, if I work harder, I can prove that your concession was worthwhile.”

That smile was extraordinarily radiant, and Wenren Lin’s eyes flickered.

He leaned forward slightly, raising his arm across the desk, as if to capture that spring of a smile at the corners of her lips.

However, when his fingertips were an inch from her cheek, Zhao Yān seemed to remember something, suddenly pausing her brush and frowning: “Wait, this ‘choosing the lesser of two evils’ tactic, you’ve used it on me, haven’t you?”

Without waiting for Wenren Lin to answer, she counted on her fingers: “Before departing for Yuquan Palace, as an exchange, you made me promise you one thing. First, you proposed positions from the ‘Xuannü Classic,’ which I refused, and then you brought out the cosmetics and women’s clothing you had already prepared, having me change into them to disguise myself as a maid. And after the Hairpin Flower Banquet, when I was in pain… there, you knew I would certainly not agree to let you apply medicine with your hands, so you proactively compromised by suggesting blindfolding…”

Thinking carefully now, weren’t these tricks exactly the “choosing the lesser of two evils” he had just explained?

Wenren Lin’s knuckles pinched her cheek, smiling without any remorse: “What can be done? Your Highness has discovered it.”

“…”

Zhao Yān’s cheeks were distorted by his pinch, feeling both frustrated and unwilling.

This man! Truly calculating and extremely crafty!

Her meager schemes would require years of practice to even approach his level.

She swatted away Wenren Lin’s knuckles and buried herself in books, intending to transform her indignation into strength. Just as she shifted her position, she suddenly froze.

Something wasn’t right…

Covering her lower abdomen, she hurriedly put down her brush and stood up: “Wait, I need to bathe and change clothes.”

Her monthly flow had indeed begun.

It was likely due to the medicine taking effect last night, combined with drinking wine, which accelerated blood flow.

Zhao Yān changed her clothes, washed, and wiped herself clean before dragging her heavy, tired steps back to the bedchamber, sitting on the bed while holding a hand warmer.

“Tired?” Wenren Lin was still sitting in his original place, waiting for her.

Zhao Yān snuggled into the covers and nodded.

During these few days each month, she always lacked energy.

Wenren Lin likely guessed the reason. He closed the official documents and instructed Liu Ying, who was making the bed: “Bring a basin of hot water.”

Liu Ying soon brought the water into the chamber, tidied everything, and then withdrew with a bow.

Wenren Lin slightly rolled up his sleeves, immersed his cold white hands in the hot water until they turned slightly red, then dried his knuckles and came to sit at the edge of the bed.

“Still painful?” he asked.

Zhao Yān nodded, paused, then quickly shook her head.

Wenren Lin’s medicine was much gentler than Zhang Xu’s contraceptive decoction, so there was no earth-shattering pain.

“Not too painful, just some cold and heaviness, which is normal.”

Zhao Yān poked her head out from under the covers, saying drowsily, “I’m always like this, the first day is a bit harder to endure…”

Before she could finish speaking, Wenren Lin’s hand had already reached under the covers, touching her hand that was gripping the hem of her garment.

“Move your hand,” he said in a low voice.

As soon as Zhao Yān moved her hand, his long fingers lifted the hem of her garment. Carrying the warmth from the hot water soak, they accurately found the acupoint for warming the womb.

At the first touch, Zhao Yān couldn’t control her body’s arching, letting out a muffled groan.

“Your Highness has been busy and exhausted, without proper care, so there will be some soreness and distension at first.”

Wenren Lin leaned forward, stroking her smooth forehead with his other hand, his voice gentle and soft, “Bear with it.”

Once Zhao Yān had caught her breath, he continued with the massage, neither too light nor too heavy, dispersing the stagnant cold energy.

A warmth spread from within, and in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Zhao Yān’s palms were already covered with a thin layer of sweat, her whole body feeling warm.

As the chill in her body dissipated, she began to feel sleepy, her eyelids fighting against each other, but she still managed to ask in a daze: “Will you… Also, stay here tonight?”

Wenren Lin adjusted her garment and said, looking down, “I still have matters to attend to.”

After a long while, Zhao Yān let out a long, sluggish “Oh.”

“Wenren Lin,”

she called unconsciously, “Today, I was very happy…”

Wenren Lin paused slightly.

Looking down, he saw that the long eyelashes of the person on the pillow had closed, the last word already becoming an indistinct breath.

With the charcoal basin providing warmth, Wenren Lin leisurely tidied her scattered hair at the temples, his expression softer than it had ever been.

He sat by the bed for a while, waiting until the sleeping person’s breathing became extended and gentle, then picked up the official documents and pushed open the door, walking into the clear, cold night.

……

The next day, Zhao Yān visited Taiji Hall.

The Emperor symbolically asked a few questions about yesterday’s examination. Zhao Yān answered them all in Zhao Yǎn’s manner, and the Emperor nodded, saying “Not bad” before allowing her to leave.

Zhao Yān bowed farewell, her gaze inadvertently sweeping across the jars of medicinal pills on the desk.

The small red-lacquered medicine box containing the antidote pills was gone.

On the carriage back to the Eastern Palace, Zhao Yān kept thinking about this matter.

Her father was dedicated to pursuing immortality and rarely appeared even at morning court. Zhao Yān saw him so infrequently that trying to investigate the true identity of the “Priest” was nearly impossible.

Due to Wei Yan’s case, her mother also couldn’t conveniently meet with the Emperor, so she would need to find another approach.

She wanted to know what lay behind this antidote, not just to control Wenren Lin, but because she didn’t want him to die.

Returning to the Eastern Palace, Zhao Yān had just removed her cloak when she heard a crisp voice from outside: “Brother Crown Prince!”

It was Huo Zhenzhen, trotting lightly through the twilight snow, carrying an armful of blooming white plum blossoms with green calyxes.

“I know you love white plum blossoms. My manor’s white plums have just bloomed, and they’re especially beautiful, so I picked a bunch for you.”

Huo Zhenzhen stomped the snow from her deerskin boots at the entrance and entered uninvited, saying, “I’ll put them in a vase for you!”

Without waiting for an answer, she unceremoniously removed the red plums from the vase and replaced them with the fresh white plums, creating a scene of cold elegance.

Seeing her beloved red plums being mistreated, Zhao Yān’s eyelid twitched.

Taking a deep breath, she forced a warm smile: “Thank you for your thoughtfulness, my lady.”

“I told you, just call me Zhenzhen.”

Huo Zhenzhen clapped her hands, satisfied with her haphazard arrangement of white plums in the vase, then affectionately linked arms with Zhao Yān and said, “By the way, the Astronomical Bureau says there will be heavy snow the day after tomorrow. I plan to host a banquet at my mansion on the seventh day of the month. We’ll brew tea with fresh snow. Brother Crown Prince, you must come!”

The seventh day, the beginning of the month…

Zhao Yān recalled this special date and was just considering how to politely decline when she heard a light, deep voice from behind: “His Highness’s studies are not yet complete. I fear we must decline the lady’s kind invitation.”

As he spoke, he looked at Zhao Yān, who was linked with Huo Zhenzhen, and asked with a smile: “Isn’t that right, Your Highness?”

Huo Zhenzhen turned around, and upon seeing Wenren Lin, her crescent-shaped eyebrows knitted into a knot.

“Yes, today Father specifically encouraged me to study diligently and ask many questions. Please wait in the study, Grand Tutor. I’ll be there shortly.”

Zhao Yān suppressed a smile, glancing at Wenren Lin as she gently withdrew her hand from Huo Zhenzhen’s arm, “I’m sorry, my lady, I must study by night… um, thank you for the plum blossoms.”

“Very well, then.”

Huo Zhenzhen reluctantly released her hand, looking thoughtful.

After Wenren Lin had walked some distance away, she suddenly leaned in and whispered, “I suspect he likes me.”

Zhao Yān nearly stumbled, asking in astonishment: “Who likes whom?”

“Prince Su,”

Huo Zhenzhen pointed angrily at herself, “Me.”

“…”

“Otherwise, why does he appear, cold and uninvited, every time I’m with you, interrupting our time together? It’s happened many times, so strange!”

Huo Zhenzhen said, “Either he likes me or he has a grudge against me.”

Zhao Yān pinched the webbing between her thumb and forefinger, her mouth twitching for a while before she finally couldn’t help leaning on the desk, trembling with laughter.

“No, that’s unlikely.”

“How is it unlikely?”

Huo Zhenzhen raised her chin, looking serious, “Though he’s handsome and has a matching family background, he’s just a bit old…”

“He’s not… not that old.”

“He’s eight or nine years older than me!”

Huo Zhenzhen lowered her voice, with a girlish charm, almost biting Zhao Yān’s ear as she admonished, “Let me tell you, Brother Crown Prince, you’d better be nice to me, don’t give in, understand? Otherwise, if I’m taken away, what will you do?”