The slight upward curve at the corner of his lips froze there.

His brow furrowed as his arm around her shoulder unconsciously tightened, causing her to cry out in pain.

“You don’t love Li Zhaoting, and you don’t love me either. Have you truly fallen in love with Quan Feitong?” He looked at her sleeping face and asked softly.

Naturally, Suzhen wouldn’t answer, nor did he want her to wake up just then. He only leaned his ear close to her lips to listen, but she… made no more sleep talk, sleeping quite peacefully.

He stared at her, his heart as if caught by a hooked thread, sour and bitter, suffocatingly blocked up—so uncomfortable! Remembering something she had once told him, not knowing if it was true or false, he prided himself on wisdom, yet initially couldn’t distinguish truth from falsehood. After all, she had personally witnessed him intimately hand in hand with Aluo, so it wasn’t impossible for her to be close to Quan Feitong… But her letter made him feel it wasn’t quite like that. She loved him so much, yet now…

He was extremely agitated. His eyes reflected her crimson lips as several thoughts and desires intertwined in his heart at once. He pressed his lips together, feeling parched. One hand encircled her waist while the other, which had been holding her hands under the covers, slowly extended toward her lips.

She frowned, her tongue tip emerging to lick impatiently.

He recoiled as if struck hard, immediately releasing her and leaping off the bed.

After a while, he walked to the door. When Lian Xin had gone out, she hadn’t closed it properly. He glanced outside to see Lian Jie and Lian Qin playing chess in the courtyard, with Ming Yanchu and others watching. Lian Xin was gnawing on a duck neck, standing on the weaker Lian Qin’s side, cursing for Lian Jie to lose, occasionally looking up and glancing this way.

Seeing him look over, she grinned. When she beckoned flirtatiously, he frowned slightly, quickly closed the door, returned to her side, and lowered his head to her lips…

He didn’t dare use force, only turning gently several times on her lips to satisfy some longing before withdrawing.

Having traveled these past days while injured, he was somewhat exhausted and wanted to hold her and sleep a while longer. Yet he was concerned she might wake—after all, drug effects varied by person, and he hadn’t had them put in too much for fear of arousing her suspicions. Just as his heart wavered slightly, the door was suddenly pushed open.

Lian Xin sucked on her greasy fingers, appearing before him with an unhappy, anxious expression.

“Sixth Brother,” she quickly approached, looking at him reproachfully. “I’ve finished eating everything. How can you be so unconscious? Can’t you come out yourself? Making me urge you—you said it would just be a brief moment. If she discovers this, I’m in trouble. Not only will she ignore you, she’ll definitely break off with me…”

She was still chattering when Lian Yu pulled her out.

In the courtyard, everyone stopped their activities, all looking over with meaningful gazes, straining their ears to listen.

But Lian Yu dragged Lian Xin to the farthest corner: “If you can’t handle things, I’ll send you back to the palace.”

“Don’t, don’t! You promised to let me leave the palace to see Huaisu, and I’ve already agreed to assist your tyranny. What more do you want?” Lian Xin puffed out her cheeks indignantly. “If you’re mean to me again, I’ll tell her and never help you anymore.”

“No matter,” Lian Yu raised his eyebrows but remained unhurried. “Mother intends to betroth you to Murong Ding. Don’t blame me for not speaking up for you then.”

Lian Xin immediately said: “Sixth Brother, what other instructions do you have? Just say it—don’t be polite with your sister. Look, we’re siblings after all, and it’s better to keep good things in the family. I’ll definitely help you.”

“First tell me—did you ask about Quan Feitong? What exactly are her thoughts?” He asked casually, though his gaze seemed somewhat sharp and compelling.

He was half a strict brother, and Lian Xin had always feared him. Feeling somewhat uneasy, she quickly replied: “I asked. She said she would go back to find him. She didn’t say much else.”

He remained silent for a long while. Lian Xin stole a glance and saw him with lowered eyes, his beautiful lashes slightly moving, not knowing what he was thinking. She felt a kind of schadenfreude satisfaction in her heart.

“I’m leaving, or she’ll be suspicious if she wakes and doesn’t see me.”

“Wait.”

She smacked her lips, about to leave, when Lian Yu caught her collar from behind. She struggled reluctantly as she heard his deep voice instruct: “Subtly hint to her that though Quan Feitong has some good points, he’d rather have his kingdom than step forward to protect her. What do you want with a man who abandons you in times of crisis?”

Lian Xin thought about it: “That’s actually true. I can’t let her just escape from your quagmire only to fall into another big pit. I’ll advise her. But I think Quan Feitong really is quite different from before this time—it blinds my dog eyes.”

“Could you possibly talk more? What do you mean different from before? If I find out you said things you shouldn’t have, you might as well marry Murong Ding after all. It keeps good things in the family anyway—relatives marrying is perfect.” Lian Yu patted her head with a slight smile.

“Screw you!” Lian Xin stamped her foot hard and rushed back into the room.

After Suzhen woke up, Lian Xin’s face was all scrunched up. Suzhen patted her shoulder: “What’s wrong?”

“I miss Wuqing.”

Lian Xin made a face. Suzhen frowned slightly—she missed him too. She should see them once more, tell them she wasn’t dead before leaving. And her brother, and perhaps Quan Feitong…

She also thought of Wuqing and Xiao Zhou.

Between Lian Xin and Xiao Zhou, if the scales had previously tilted toward Xiao Zhou, now she truly didn’t know which one was better for him. But she couldn’t help with matters of the heart—she was a mess herself. Both were good girls though, and she only hoped whoever it was would suffer less harm.

Just as she was thinking, Lian Xin called out that she was hungry.

“Susu, I’ll go see if there’s food.” She tossed out the words at the door and immediately vanished.

Sunlight golden as oranges reflected on the table. She had awakened at midday earlier, and now it was evening. Seeing Lian Xin’s expression was finally quite relaxed, that person’s injuries probably weren’t too severe. Suzhen thought she had no need to go see him.

She had rested for some time. Though her body still ached terribly, it had eased somewhat. Since he was also recovering from injuries in his room and they wouldn’t run into each other, should she go out for a walk?

But she really didn’t want any chance of encountering him, or anyone around him… If Lian Xin weren’t here, she would have left upon waking. But she was reluctant to part with this girl. Hong Xiao was dead, but Hong Xiao had been like a sister, while Lian Xin was like a younger sister.

She knew that once she left, she probably would never see her again in this lifetime. She wanted to leave Great Zhou, which was why she stayed—waiting until her injuries healed a bit more before departing.

“Susu, let’s go out and see the excitement—there’s something to watch.” Just as she was thinking, Lian Xin came running in again, her face full of big smiles.

Infected by her joy, Suzhen got up to wash and dress. With Ming Yanchu here, the room had all kinds of clothes. She quickly chose a plain white dress with faint floral patterns—the same style she’d worn back in Huai County. Only her waist injury wasn’t fully healed yet, and Lian Xin was someone used to being served by others. After some back and forth, she only managed to gather her hair and tie it at the waist with a golden satin ribbon trailing at the ends. Unexpectedly, this gave her a particularly lively charm, making Lian Xin exclaim how beautiful she looked.

“Magistrate Li.”

“Li Huaisu…”

Coming out under the corridor, people successively greeted her, but Suzhen was somewhat dumbfounded. What were all these people doing in this large courtyard?

Lian Jie was glaring at a chicken. Suddenly, the little creature clucked and flew off flapping its wings. Lian Jie cursed through gritted teeth and chased after it. Lian Qin squatted on the ground picking vegetables, with two piles on the ground—he couldn’t tell which were the good parts and which were to be thrown away. Zhu Que was practically lying flat in front of a ground stove trying to light a fire, but the flames were too big and suddenly caught his face cloth on fire. He immediately cried out a curse. Qing Long and Xuan Wu looked more impressive—each had two tables in front of them with cutting boards, holding their swords in a fish-cutting competition to see whose blade work was superior. A few swooshes through the air and several large pieces fell down, though they clearly had no intention of removing the innards. Ming Yanchu went around with a handkerchief wiping everyone’s sweat, occasionally saying “Keep it up!” seriously.

“Is this performing ‘Where Did the Emperor Go?'”

Suzhen asked Lian Xin, finding it rather pitiful to watch. Could any of these people actually cook?

Lian Xin was doubled over laughing. The others were focused on their own tasks with no time to answer her. Among them all, Ming Yanchu was the most idle. He viciously kicked the chicken that had run to the front back to Lian Jie, then quickly came over to answer: “Magistrate Li, His Majesty said he would personally cook soup and dishes for you. Seventh Prince and Ninth Prince didn’t believe him, saying he absolutely couldn’t do it. One thing led to another and they got into a competition, saying they would compete. His Majesty declared he could definitely take on several of them single-handedly. Oh, you asked where His Majesty went—he’s in the kitchen, look there.”

He pointed to a spot in the courtyard. The windows of that room were pulled open, revealing a white-robed man with sleeves rolled up to his elbows, kneading dough and rolling noodles. Hearing the sound, he looked over sideways. Seeing her, he smiled slightly, then froze, staring at her.

His gaze was burning and profound.

“Boring.”

Suzhen said coolly and turned to walk toward the outer courtyard.

Everyone’s attention was distracted. Xuan Wu interjected: “I told you, Lian Yu, your acting is somewhat exaggerated.”

A rolling pin landed in front of him, scattering his fish formation. Lian Yu leaped out the window and chased after her.