Her fingers had just touched the envelope when she saw through the window Qian Yan hurrying over, seemingly holding something thin like half a paper sheet in his hand, his shadow waving on the wall.

She was startled. Opposite her, Wang Tang’s fingers suddenly flicked, striking the corner of the envelope.

A faint wisp of smoke curled up. Feng Zhiwei’s eyelids immediately drooped, her body leaned back against the chair, appearing to have fallen asleep. Wang Tang sneered coldly, stood up, and went out the door, blocking Qian Yan at the entrance: “Marquis Wei is tired. Don’t go in and disturb. Whatever you have, give it to me to pass along.”

“Fine.” Qian Yan suspected nothing and handed over the letter in his hand, smiling: “A letter from Prince Chu.”

Wang Tang took it, watched Qian Yan leave, then returned and placed the letter on the table. He retrieved his own drugged letter and, without disturbing the seemingly sleeping Feng Zhiwei, went to close all the windows and lower all the curtains before leaving and shutting the door behind him.

The room fell silent. No one came to disturb. Feng Zhiwei had many secrets and Gu Nanyi always followed her, so normally no one attended her personally. With her study door closed, no one would presume to enter.

Incense curled lazily from the purple-gold tripod. In the faint smoke, Feng Zhiwei seemed to be sleeping, her expression peaceful.

On the study floor, a dark shadow suddenly appeared. Looking carefully, it wasn’t a shadow but rather a section of blue brick floor slowly sliding open.

The location of this mechanism-fitted brick floor was behind a plant stand in a corner. Normally people wouldn’t walk there, so naturally wouldn’t discover the hollow space beneath. The person who dug the tunnel had been very meticulous.

The tunnel opened. First four people burst out like lightning, each occupying a corner of the room, holding crossbows, forming a surrounding formation around Feng Zhiwei. One even produced a colorful brocade pouch, releasing a blue mist. Then one person slowly emerged, dressed ordinarily but with a refined scholarly bearing—it was Jin Siyu.

He stared intently at the sleeping Feng Zhiwei, his expression flickering with unease and doubt. The person before him was the most cunning and crafty in the world. That she had been so easily subdued—he truly didn’t dare believe it. Yet with two layers of drugs deployed and crossbows surrounding her without the slightest movement from her, he had no choice but to believe.

He walked to Feng Zhiwei’s side, quietly observing her sleeping face. In a trance, he was transported back to that year at Pu Garden, those calm yet undercurrently turbulent days. Each morning when he came to visit her, she was usually sleeping lazily, her small face emerging from brocade covers, dark hair piled softly by her cheek like a delicate flower.

In the blink of an eye, this flower had grown thorns, drawing blood from those who touched it.

Jin Siyu curved his lips in a smile without mirth and took from his sleeve pouch a small silver chain-like object with clasps at both ends. He fastened it on Feng Zhiwei’s right thumb and his own left thumb. With two clicks, each locked in place.

The four subordinates stared at this scene in disbelief. Jin Siyu’s gaze swept over them, and the four quickly lowered their eyes.

A hint of a smile seeped from the corners of Jin Siyu’s lips.

This was Da Yue’s imperial “Unity Lock.” Though it sounded ordinary, the materials were extraordinary—made from a type of white iron unique to Da Yue. This iron had extremely limited production, white as silver yet a hundred times tougher than silver. Except for one special liquid that could corrode it, no divine weapon or sharp blade could sever it. Da Yue’s imperial family used it to make Unity Locks. Each prince had one set, used on wedding nights to be worn by the prince and princess consort on one hand each, symbolizing endless affection that would never be severed. Some princes also used them as bedroom playthings, but only with their consorts. In any case, it was something that could absolutely never easily appear in anyone else’s hands.

Wei Zhi.

Today I’ve fastened it on both of us.

Let’s see how you escape now.

He then hid the chain in their respective sleeves, slid one arm under Feng Zhiwei’s knees, and lifted her horizontally. The moment he picked her up, he frowned, feeling that Wei Zhi seemed to have lost more weight. Sighing, he quickly descended into the tunnel. The four guards followed in single file, restoring the tunnel to its original state. The group walked silently through the tunnel for a while, faintly ascending. Before long, Jin Siyu stopped, pressed somewhere on the wall, and another doorway appeared.

He carried Feng Zhiwei out. This place wasn’t outside but still a room, though the furnishings and utensils were much more shabby than the previous study—clearly a servant’s room. But looking at that distant wall, it was still the wall of the diplomatic guesthouse where Feng Zhiwei was staying.

This was indeed still the guesthouse. After all, Jin Siyu was in a foreign country—it was impossible to dig a tunnel leading outside in such a short time. In fact, from the moment Feng Zhiwei moved in, digging an external tunnel became completely impossible. This short tunnel was dug by Jin Siyu who had arrived in Xi Liang early and stayed at the guesthouse first. After hearing that the Tiansheng envoy was Wei Zhi, he immediately ordered people to work through the night digging it—not long, just from Feng Zhiwei’s study to the western courtyard servant quarters.

Entering the room, servant’s clothes were already prepared. Jin Siyu said: “Turn around.” The four subordinates immediately turned their backs. Jin Siyu personally fitted a set of loose women’s clothing onto Feng Zhiwei. Supporting her slender shoulders, his fingers inevitably touched her slim waist and long legs, or traced startling delicate curves at her waist, or touched the fineness and softness of a woman at the hollow of her knee. The person beneath him softly allowed him to arrange her like a cup of soft clouds. In her sleep, her breath was fragrant. That faint yet bone-penetrating scent came over him. Jin Siyu’s hands paused, his gaze momentarily confused, his breathing slightly quickening. Unconsciously he wanted to caress her face but was startled awake by a cough outside the window.

His gaze immediately cleared. He quickly finished dressing Feng Zhiwei, took an old woman’s mask and placed it over her face. A subordinate reached out to take her and carry her on his back, but Jin Siyu blocked him with his hand and personally carried her on his back. With a silent tilt of his head, the four headed toward the small door in the rear courtyard where servants came and went.

At the rear courtyard’s small door, as usual, four household guards were on duty, playing Xi Liang’s unique fork-shaped tile game. Concentrating on their game, they were caught off guard when Tiansheng’s Deputy Envoy Wang Tang came to inspect the guesthouse defenses, strolling over with hands behind his back. They quickly put away the tiles and stood up. Wang Tang smiled and waved: “Go ahead and play. This late at night, there aren’t many people coming and going. I’ll just take a look and leave.” He even stood down interestedly, watched the game for a while, and asked about the rules. Just as the conversation was lively, suddenly someone knocked at the door. A household guard went out to ask, then returned saying: “There’s a cleaning woman in the rear courtyard who’s taken ill with something urgent—might be some bad disease. She needs to be sent out to see a doctor.”

Xi Liang was in humid southern regions with many plagues. Servants who fell ill were generally sent out immediately. Everyone found this unremarkable and looked at Wang Tang. Wang Tang smiled: “We’ve come from afar as guests and naturally should follow your rules. However, if the illness is serious, I think it’s also proper to send her out quickly. The Tiansheng envoy’s delegation has several hundred people.”

They immediately opened the door and let those people through. Wang Tang, seeing the door open, took advantage: “I’ve also had some stomach trouble today. It’s so late—I don’t want to rouse a physician. I’ll go along to see a street clinic.” He also went out the door.

Once outside, several people saw from a distance a figure float past. From that exceptional lightness skill and peculiar posture, they knew it was Gu Nanyi. Everyone immediately pressed against the wall and stood still. Gu Nanyi rushed toward the rear door direction and suddenly stopped.

He stopped in a tree at the street corner, looking around from a distance. Everyone dared not breathe. After Gu Nanyi looked around for a while without discovering anything, he floated away. Only then did the group emerge. Turning a corner, two carriages immediately drove up. Wang Tang silently boarded the rear one. Jin Siyu and his group boarded the front one. Without speaking, they drove off in opposite directions.

Jin Siyu’s carriage headed straight outside the city. At the city gate, when guarding soldiers challenged them, one of Jin Siyu’s subordinates leaned out, flashed a black token, and the soldiers immediately saluted, ran down from the city tower to open the gate. The carriage sped away in a cloud of dust. That soldier scratched his head, muttering to himself amid the settling dust: “…What kind of person is that, to obtain such a token…”

That carriage galloped for a while and soon reached the woods in the suburbs. There, an even larger carriage was parked with a team of people standing rigidly in wait.

Jin Siyu exhaled a long breath, signaling his subordinates to get off first. Only now did he let down half his guard, finding it hard to believe they had brought the person out so smoothly all along the way. Though he had schemed for this plan for a long time, and such a meticulous plan with internal and external cooperation should have made abducting anyone possible, when it concerned Feng Zhiwei, he felt fortunate.

Now slightly relaxing his mood, he leaned back against the carriage wall, looking at the peaceful Feng Zhiwei beside him. After gazing for a long while, he extended his finger to gently caress her face. Feeling something wrong beneath his finger, he frowned and wanted to lift her mask. After thinking, he stopped his hand, sighed softly, and said lowly: “…Having thought about it so long, since I can’t kill you, then I’ll take you away.”

Feng Zhiwei’s long eyelashes remained closed, her expression calm. Jin Siyu gazed at her, thinking that when this person wasn’t scheming or using sharp words, she truly looked gentle and harmless. If only she could always be like this—how good that would be?

“You should have come to my Da Yue anyway. Your parasitic poison transformation should activate by this year’s New Year’s Eve.” Jin Siyu slowly arranged her temple hair, saying deliberately: “You seem completely unconcerned? I’ve never seen you seek medical treatment. Actually, my poison has another transformation level, but once transformed, you’d truly become a soulless porcelain doll. Initially I didn’t want to damage your intelligence so I didn’t use it. Now thinking back, it’s quite regrettable. Tell me…” He smiled, stroking her hair. “Should I use it now or not?”

“Please don’t!”

The voice came suddenly. Jin Siyu’s hand paused. For an instant he thought it was Feng Zhiwei. He withdrew his hand with a swish. But Feng Zhiwei showed no movement. Then he realized the voice came from outside the carriage and sounded somewhat familiar.

He stopped his hand. A sinister expression flashed across his gentle features, then he smiled: “I was wondering who it was—so Young Prince has graced us with his presence.”

“Hehe!”

Before the voice finished, rope sounds suddenly rose all around with a whooshing through the air. Then came a series of thuds. The carriage body shook as if hooked by something. Jin Siyu’s first reaction was to quickly pull Feng Zhiwei into his arms. Just as he was about to leap up, with several thunderous sounds, the carriage walls on all four sides suddenly vanished.

He sat holding Feng Zhiwei on a carriage with only its base remaining. All around in the trees, his group and the opposing group were in standoff. Young Prince Lu Zhiyan of Changning stood with hands behind his back, smiling at him. Like the strange bird on his shoulder, his gaze was arrogant.

“How does this feel?” Lu Zhiyan asked with a smile. “Last time here I saw Gu Nanyi do this to a carriage and found it quite interesting. Today I tried it once—I imagine the person sitting in the carriage must feel more refreshed because of it.”

“If Young Prince is truly interested, you should try sitting in it yourself.” Jin Siyu smiled, calmly carrying Feng Zhiwei down from the carriage. His eyes swept the scene. “Such a grand display from the Prince—are you personally seeing this prince off? How very courteous.”

“Indeed,” Lu Zhiyan also smiled. Unlike Jin Siyu’s gentle smile, his eyes flashed when he smiled, like a lively little fox. “The Prince lacks honor—wanting to abandon me and return home at leisure, forcing me to rush through the night to see you off. How will the Prince thank me?”

Jin Siyu smiled slightly. “Whatever this prince has, as long as Young Prince fancies it, feel free to name it.”

“What I fancy…” Lu Zhiyan drew out the tone, walked forward, suddenly smiled and pointed: “I want this chain—”

He pointed at a section of the Unity Lock chain showing from Jin Siyu’s sleeve. Jin Siyu had just frozen when he heard him quickly continue: “—and the person it’s fastened to.”

Smiling as expected, Jin Siyu remained noncommittal. “Oh? May I ask Young Prince why?”

“This person is my enemy.” Lu Zhiyan’s face suddenly hardened. “This scoundrel stole something important from me. Someone who dares touch Changning Vassal State’s property—how could I let them off lightly?”

“Young Prince travels with three thousand attendants—how could theft occur?” Jin Siyu’s expression didn’t change. “It must be something very important.”

“Not so important—what’s important is my face.” Lu Zhiyan laughed. “Moreover… I’m also very interested in the relationship between the Prince and this person. I remember the day he entered the city, the Prince’s expression was off. At Changping Palace’s night banquet, thinking back afterward, was the Prince saving someone or killing someone? Or wanting both to kill and save? Furthermore, if I remember correctly, Wei Zhi was once captured below White Head Cliff and later jumped from the city to escape. Though no one said what the scene was like when he jumped, at that time the Da Yue commander, Prince An—you—were standing on the city tower, weren’t you?”

“So what if I was? So what if I wasn’t?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Lu Zhiyan shook his head, smiling as he paced forward. “Whether Prince An, like our Prince Chu, harbors manly affections for our young and talented Marquis Wei—that’s none of Lu Zhiyan’s business. We’re allies now. Prince An leaving the capital without even notifying allies—that’s not very honorable. I know you’ll surely apologize to me. I think apologies aren’t necessary—you actually have no use for this person. Better to give him to me as an apology. How about it?”

“What do I need to apologize to Young Prince for?” Jin Siyu raised an eyebrow. “Young Prince chasing through the night, sending guards to intercept this prince’s group midway—this prince feels you need to apologize to me!”

“Is that so—” Lu Zhiyan had already walked very close. The strange bird on his shoulder coldly turned its head, staring at Jin Siyu, its glass-like eyeballs emitting blue light in the night. “Fine… I’ll apologize—”

Before the drawn-out words finished, Jin Siyu had already retreated explosively. Simultaneously, that strange bird suddenly spread its wings. From the downy feathers at the wing roots, a large shower of black short feathers flew out like snow—not toward Jin Siyu but toward Feng Zhiwei in his arms. Jin Siyu hastily swept his sleeve to block. Lu Zhiyan’s figure flashed, already ghosting forward, reaching toward Feng Zhiwei’s chest, smiling: “Return what you stole from me!”

His hand struck directly at Feng Zhiwei’s chest. Jin Siyu’s eyebrows shot up, anger surging in his eyes. He blocked with his arm horizontally. With a thud, both their bodies shook. But Lu Zhiyan’s reaction was extremely fast. While still shaking, his hand had already threaded through the blocking arm toward the same area of Feng Zhiwei again. Jin Siyu immediately blocked again. Lu Zhiyan smiled: “Hey, he’s not a woman—why are you so protective?” He raised his hand and grabbed at Feng Zhiwei’s armpit.

He seemed to have already detected Jin Siyu’s protection of Feng Zhiwei. Simply giving up trying to attack Jin Siyu, every move went toward Feng Zhiwei. Jin Siyu, holding a person, was already inconvenienced and had to guard against whether that bird would shoot poisoned feathers. Forced to retreat step by step, suddenly his heel tightened—he had bumped into the wheel of the previous carriage and could retreat no further.

By this time, guards from both sides had already engaged in battle. Jin Siyu tonight was prepared to secretly return to Da Yue. To avoid alerting others and for relay support along the way, his guards were posted along the route with dispersed strength. Lu Zhiyan, however, had a different style. Having calculated that Jin Siyu would definitely change carriages in this woods, he unhesitatingly concentrated all his guards here to wait like a trap. Now the strength of both sides was somewhat unequal. Jin Siyu’s guards wanted to rescue their master but were entangled and powerless.

Jin Siyu’s heel against the wheel—Lu Zhiyan showed a smile, extended his finger forward: “Hand it over!”

With a ripping sound, Feng Zhiwei’s clothing was torn by him, some cloth fluff flying out. But Jin Siyu suddenly gave a low shout: “Strike!”

At this shout, Lu Zhiyan felt something was wrong. Too late to look at what was in his hand, he hastily retreated explosively. Jin Siyu had already rolled backward holding Feng Zhiwei. From the carriage wheel beneath him came a click, and a dense shower of black light explosively shot out.

The black light was swift and came from close range. Just as Lu Zhiyan, caught in the trap, seemed unable to dodge, his loyal strange bird suddenly cried out strangely, turned and lunged, blocking before Lu Zhiyan. Its spread wings reached a meter long, completely shielding Lu Zhiyan’s vital points.

A series of soft sounds—feathers scattered. The poison needles all slid off the smooth bird feathers. The bird squawked, turned its head toward Jin Siyu’s direction with a somewhat proud expression. But with this turn of its head, it discovered Jin Siyu had already vanished.

After the poison needles shot out, he immediately rolled up and pounced toward the already-prepared carriage. The driver on that carriage, regardless of what happened, had never gotten down. Now seeing his master arrive, he immediately shook the reins. The fine horses neighed wildly and charged out of the forest, abandoning those guards still bitterly fighting. By the time Lu Zhiyan grabbed his little bird with an iron-blue face and chased out, he only ate a noseful of dust, seeing a distant dot of the carriage’s shadow.

Lu Zhiyan stood frozen in place, his nose practically crooked with anger. Turning to see the woods still clanging with ongoing fights, his anger erupted. Standing there, his chest rose and fell deeply several times. His guard captain, still wiping sweat, ran over to ask: “Prince, should we keep all these people…”

“Should we keep all these people…” Lu Zhiyan repeated slowly with a smile, then suddenly raised his hand and with a crisp “smack” slapped his own guard captain!

“Fool!” he roared. “We’ve already formed an alliance with them! Do you really want to kill his people and fight to the death! Release them—release them all!”

The guard leader went to release people while holding his face. Lu Zhiyan ground his teeth, squinting his peach-blossom eyes at Jin Siyu’s departing direction, thinking this scoundrel calculated precisely that he couldn’t kill people, which was why he ran away without even caring about his guards. The decisiveness and ruthlessness beneath this man’s gentle exterior was truly formidable.

He touched his nose, his eyes flashing with the umpteenth light of unwillingness, muttering curses: “Fine! You too are good!”

Suddenly he lowered his head, staring at the piece of fabric from Feng Zhiwei’s chest that his fingers had torn off. Looking at those broken cloth strips, he frowned.

Having been disrupted by Lu Zhiyan this once, Jin Siyu seemed unaffected. He continued rushing along, constantly changing carriages and horses, heading straight for the nearest port. Changing to a ship and setting sail, taking the sea route directly out to sea—a fast ship on the sea route for half a month could reach the nearest Da Yue port.

All along the way, this noble prince practically didn’t dare lie down to rest. When extremely tired, he only leaned against the carriage wall for a doze. At any disturbance, he immediately woke. For him, this could be considered the most cautious journey of his life—because the abducted target was none other than Wei Zhi.

He could say he understood Wei Zhi’s cunning better than anyone. This woman who could act under his nose for months, then overturn the cards and turn back to viciously deceive him once more—she was the most ruthless and resourceful person he’d encountered. Against others he could still have some confidence, but against her he had to be extremely careful. Heaven knew when this woman might smile and open her eyes, pat his shoulder, and gently tell him: “Your Highness, that was a comfortable sleep—thank you for taking me along.”

To avoid her subordinates tracking and arriving, he constantly changed routes, carriages, and horses. At each place he changed code signs. This was preparation he’d made since the Changping Palace banquet. Despite such thorough preparation, he often dreamed while dozing that she suddenly opened her eyes and immediately woke in alarm.

Not until he carried her onto the deck, watched the boatman raise sail and depart toward Da Yue, with boundless white waves behind them—not to mention ships, not even a small boat in sight—did he finally breathe a long sigh of relief.

For a moment, even he himself couldn’t believe it—he had actually truly abducted her.

This time wasn’t abducting a prisoner of war. This was Tiansheng’s important minister, a first-rank marquis, the envoy Wei Zhi.

Thinking back on his plan, it truly was meticulous to perfection. He smiled, suddenly feeling his chest expand with relief.

Lowering his head to look at the woman in his arms—long lashes slightly curled, sleeping face quiet and peaceful. Thinking of two days of rushing, only daring to feed her some qi-nourishing pills, his heart rose with pity. Smiling, he stroked her hair, saying lowly: “Later I’ll properly nourish you.”

Someone tiptoed close beside him. He didn’t turn his head, saying in a low voice: “Is everything prepared?”

“Yes.”

“Any movement from Xi Liang?”

“None.”

“It’s good we left at this time.” Jin Siyu pondered briefly, saying lightly: “I don’t know who made the arrangements, but someone impersonated my Da Yue trying to frighten the Regent Prince’s heir, nearly causing the Regent Prince to change his mind. Now that we’ve left, it also clearly shows our attitude of having no heart to meddle in Xi Liang’s political situation.”

“Your Highness.” His subordinate said carefully behind him. “Our departing so hastily—will the Regent Prince think we’re… feeling guilty?”

“Guilty?” Jin Siyu smiled slightly. “Staying would be guilty. You haven’t noticed—Xi Liang is likely to have major upheaval. Recently Xi Liang appears peaceful on the surface, preparing for the Regent Prince and Emperor’s birthday celebrations, but the political situation is somewhat chaotic. One moment major cases are breaking out, one moment the Ministry of Finance has insufficient silver, one moment border troops are mutinying because autumn clothes are too thin… All minor matters, yet always make one feel something’s not quite right…” He narrowed his eyes, unable to say what was wrong, but trusting his instincts. As a prince who had struggled through political storms since childhood, his political acuity naturally surpassed ordinary people. Moreover, observers see more clearly. He smiled, thinking: This time if Xi Liang has upheaval, it couldn’t be related to the woman in his arms again, could it?

“But if Xi Liang has upheaval, wouldn’t the alliance…”

“Whoever becomes emperor won’t abandon an alliance beneficial to themselves.” Jin Siyu carried Feng Zhiwei down to the cabin. “What concern is it of mine?”

The person behind smiled: “Indeed—the Prince has more important matters to attend to.”

Jin Siyu looked down at Feng Zhiwei, smiled, and while walking gave orders: “Outside my cabin, add three layers of guards for protection, but no one may lightly approach within one zhang.”

“Yes.”

Jin Siyu had already descended through the cabin door but poked his head out again: “Is the wine ready?”

The subordinate behind smiled: “Yes, coming right away. Congratulations, Prince.”

Jin Siyu smiled faintly, carried Feng Zhiwei into the cabin. The ship was cramped, but this cabin was very spacious—clearly several cabins knocked through. Jin Siyu placed Feng Zhiwei on the bed. With each movement, the chain between their fingers made delicate sounds, flashing with glimmering silver light. He looked at the chain locked on each of their thumbs, his gaze momentarily complex.

Behind him, candlelight crackled and burned, swaying slightly with the ocean’s undulation. Someone quietly brought in a tray, then departed with a smile.

Jin Siyu never turned his head. Sitting beside the bed, he first removed Feng Zhiwei’s mask, then frowned and sighed: “There’s even a false face.” He took a handkerchief from his bosom, dampened it with water, and wiped away the disguise mask. As the pale yellow coloring washed away, familiar features gradually emerged. Jin Siyu stared blankly, stopping his hand.

It was the face that often appeared uninvited in his dreams—gracefully delicate, naturally spirited, making it completely impossible to imagine this appearance concealed a soul powerful to the point of being frightening. Only the faint red between her brows from memory had disappeared, and he couldn’t find the faint blue dot that should have been behind her ear after being poisoned.

He frowned slightly, pondered briefly, didn’t release her from the drug’s effects, didn’t unlock that small lock, but climbed onto the bed himself, lying beside Feng Zhiwei. Like many times before, he gathered her into his arms.

Candlelight swayed, casting layer upon layer of halos. In the halos she softly leaned against him, as if still芍药 from the beginning—gentle and blooming. He gently held her, exhaled a long breath, took the wine pot from the bedside table, poured himself a cup, smiled and raised it, toasting the void: “To myself, for your increasingly soft heart.”

Drinking it down in one gulp, then another cup. Swaying pale yellow candlelight enveloped his gentle features. In his eyes gradually spread watery ripples of light, yet he dared not let himself truly become drunk—only a few shallow cups. Then he peacefully held her and dozed briefly.

After a while, he opened his eyes, snapped his fingers with a signal. Footsteps tiptoed close. He asked: “Where are we?”

The other respectfully answered: “Already past Senluo Island.”

That was already quite a distance from Xi Liang. Even swimming, she couldn’t swim back. Jin Siyu smiled and only then took out a box, placing it under Feng Zhiwei’s nose.

A slightly spicy scent rushed out. Feng Zhiwei sneezed. Her eyelashes fluttered slightly, then opened.

At first, her vision was somewhat blurred and shaking, seeing only a brilliant riot of color. After quite a while, she slowly pieced together those fragmentary outlines, finally seeing clearly before her—Jin Siyu, his expression indecipherably joyous or angry.

He leaned close before her, extremely near, his slightly warm breath brushing her face—a rich, mellow scent rather like the man himself. Feng Zhiwei turned her head to evade, surveying her surroundings. She saw behind him a room decorated completely festively—all deep red with gold-inlaid furnishings. Even the bedding beneath her was deep red embroidered with dragons and phoenixes. On the table, red candles burned high with refined fruit and pastries displayed, and red fine porcelain wine cups painted with mandarin ducks and the double happiness character—however one looked, this place resembled a bridal chamber.

Her hand moved, and she heard the delicate sound of chain links. Looking down, she saw on her left thumb something like a finger ring. The other end seemed to extend into Jin Siyu’s sleeve.

“How long will you look before showing the surprise you should show?”

Jin Siyu finally spoke, raising his eyebrows, looking somewhat helplessly at Feng Zhiwei who remained unmoved as a mountain, instantly surveying herself and every aspect of the cabin environment. He even noticed this woman’s gaze focused not on those bridal decorations but swept once over all the places throughout the room that could serve as entrances and exits—skylights, floor, threshold, windows, doors.

Truly a woman who, at one glance, made one gasp at her composure and meticulousness.

Hearing him speak, Feng Zhiwei turned her head, raised an eyebrow, looked at him carefully once, and smiled: “Oh my, I never expected to see the Prince here!”

This time she was “surprised,” though her expression remained the same. Jin Siyu sighed, poured himself another cup of wine: “Marquis Wei? Or perhaps still Shaoyao. With someone like you, there’s truly no need to explain too much cause and effect. This prince will make it brief—this is on a ship. We’re currently on the way to Da Yue. I’ve invited you here to give you a choice.”

“Oh?” Feng Zhiwei swept aside her temple hair, touched her earlobe, making an expression of listening attentively.

This rare cute yet charming small gesture made Jin Siyu’s heart stir. He quickly gathered his composure and turned his gaze away: “First, this prince wants to settle the grievances between you and me here—either I feed you to the sea to sacrifice the spirits of my White Head Cliff warriors, or you bury me in the sea to comfort the seven thousand brave Huozhuo warriors—let’s see who can accomplish it.”

“And the second?”

“Second, this prince still wants to settle the grievances between you and me, but in a different way—you drink down this nuptial cup, fulfill your promise from long ago, become my woman, and all past matters are wiped clean.”

He smiled, extending the other bright red mandarin duck wine cup. In the red candlelight, his bearing was refined, his smile slight.