“What’s going on? Why would Lady Bai be afraid of Liu Sisi?” Yan Yunning was confused.

“Miss Yan, the Madam is not afraid of her.” Xiao Yu’s words trailed off, as if she had something difficult to say.

“Not afraid of her? Then why did Lady Bai seem so wary of her whenever I looked?” Yan Yunning’s delicate brow furrowed lightly.

Xiao Yu pressed her lips together and fell into silence.

“Do you think Lady Bai’s illness could be connected to Liu Sisi? There’s no reason someone as young as Lady Bai would just…” Yan Yunning muttered under her breath.

“Miss Yan, please go home.” Xiao Yu raised her voice abruptly.

Yan Yunning’s beautiful eyes narrowed. [Fafa, Lady Bai’s illness is connected to Liu Sisi, isn’t it.]

Fafa: [Mistress, it’s a complicated matter — not one we can get involved in.]

[Fafa, looking at Xiao Yu’s reaction, she must know something. Maybe Lady Bai knows too. But why? What’s the reason?] Yan Yunning pressed her lips together pensively.

Fafa: [Because it was Bai Yue’s own choice.]

[??? Lady Bai clearly can’t bring herself to leave her daughter behind — otherwise she wouldn’t have come to me. What does the book say about it?] Yan Yunning lowered her head, twisting the handkerchief in her hands.

Fafa: [Mistress, what good would knowing do you? You can’t change her ending. This is a dead end — there’s no way out of it.]

[Tell me anyway.]

……

Back at the inn.

“A’Yao, you seem to be in very good spirits today?” Xuan Yanyu’s lips curved.

Yan Shiyao’s dainty face was wreathed in smiles.

“Yaoyao, stay like this from now on.” Qi Qingchen’s eyes were full of tender indulgence.

Yan Shiyao’s heart beat wildly. She lowered her head to hide her shyness.

Qi Qingchen lifted his teacup, took a sip of tea, and let his gaze sweep around the room. “Where’s Ningning? I don’t see her.”

“She said she was going to visit Lady Bai. Big Brother Qi, do you know who Lady Bai is?” Yan Shiyao asked with curiosity.

“Bai Yue — principal wife of County Magistrate Chen Kai.” Xuan Yanyu rested his hand on the arm of the wooden chair, his long, well-defined fingers tapping against it with no particular rhythm.

“Yuyu brother, how do you know that?” Yan Shiyao tilted her head to look at him.

Xuan Yanyu’s fingers stilled.

“A’Jie!” Yan Yunning came barreling in, nearly knocking over a wooden chair beside her as she went.

She ran to Yan Shiyao’s side and gave Xuan Yanyu a nudge out of the way.

Xuan Yanyu’s gaze dropped to Yan Yunning’s hand, a dangerous undercurrent flickering deep in his eyes. No one had ever dared to be so impudent toward him — let alone twice.

The young woman tilted her exquisitely lovely face up toward him and gave him an obedient, placid smile.

Xuan Yanyu’s gaze lingered on her face, and the edge of his air seemed to soften.

[Good heavens, that scared me.] Yan Yunning let out a breath of relief.

Fafa: [Mistress, why weren’t you scared when you shoved him just now?]

Yan Yunning: […Fafa, it was my A’Jie who saved him once before, which is why he treats my A’Jie well. How about this — you come up with a way to get him hurt, and then I’ll go save him too.]

Fafa: [Mistress, you overestimate me. Though — you could always hire assassins to help.]

[If I’m hiring assassins, I might as well just have them finish him off entirely.]

Fafa: [Mistress, let me remind you — Xuanzhao Kingdom’s imperial family has only this one precious heir. If he dies, nothing will happen to you. But if you’re the one who kills him, and Prince Xuan demands your head from the Qilan Kingdom’s emperor, do you think the Qilan emperor would hand you over in the name of peace between the two nations?]

[Fafa!!! Then why did you talk me into poisoning him last time?!] Yan Yunning, in agitation, unconsciously tightened her grip — on Xuan Yanyu’s hand.

Fafa felt a pang of guilt. [Honestly, Mistress — I hadn’t thought that far ahead at the time.]

[You…]

“Let go.” Xuan Yanyu’s expression soured, a thin edge of displeasure entering his eyes.

Yan Shiyao blinked, her gaze fixed on their joined hands.

“Sorry.” Yan Yunning realized what she’d done. She laughed awkwardly, and snatched her hand back as though burned.

Xuan Yanyu narrowed his eyes, a smile playing at the corner of his lips that was impossible to read, and said in an unhurried drawl, “That’s three times now.”

Three times she had been impudent toward him.

Yan Yunning was having none of it, and shot back on instinct, “You’re making things up. I only grabbed your hand this once, and it wasn’t even on purpose.”

Xuan Yanyu gave a cold snort, then — right in front of her — began wiping down the hand she had touched with his handkerchief.

Yan Yunning glared at him, then picked up her own handkerchief and scrubbed her hand vigorously in return.

“Ah — Ningning, why have you been running to the county magistrate’s residence so often these past two days?” Qi Qingchen stepped in at just the right moment, redirecting her attention.

At the mention of the county magistrate’s residence, a complicated look passed over Yan Yunning’s face.

“Being used by someone without even realizing it — of course one would have to keep going back every day.” Xuan Yanyu’s voice carried a faint edge of contempt.

Yan Yunning’s head snapped up. “You… how do you know about that?”

“You’re being stu—” Xuan Yanyu had barely gotten two words out before Yan Yunning grabbed him by the arm and yanked him out of the room.

Yan Shiyao pressed her lips together. “Big Brother Qi, what are they talking about?”

Qi Qingchen’s eyes narrowed faintly. “I’m not sure.”

“That’s four times now. Let go.” A trace of impatience slipped into Xuan Yanyu’s eyes, and his voice cooled by a degree.

Yan Yunning rolled her eyes at him. “What are you going on about, muttering away like that?”

[Fafa, the book doesn’t say Xuan Yanyu is touched in the head, does it?]

Fafa: [No. His mind is perfectly sound — sounder than yours, if we’re being honest.]

Yan Yunning sucked in a sharp breath. [Fafa!!!]

Fafa: […]

“Since you already know about it — can’t you help save Lady Bai? She’s done nothing wrong.” Yan Yunning looked at him with beseeching eyes, the clear light in her gaze full of hope.

Xuan Yanyu looked down at her. “Is Liu Sisi without fault?”

His expression was calm, his voice giving away nothing.

Yan Yunning’s lashes trembled. “But Lady Bai’s own parents paid a terrible price for what happened, and she’s been at Liu Sisi’s mercy for many years now.”

“She chose this of her own accord, didn’t she? Yan Yunning — some things are not so simple.” Xuan Yanyu pinched the jade archer’s ring on his thumb and turned it in slow, unhurried circles.

Fafa: [Mistress, it’s no use. Bai Yue’s fate was already written into the book. You can’t change it.]

[I refuse to believe that.] Yan Yunning tilted her head back to look at the man before her. He was very tall, his bearing suffused with an innate, effortless dignity — he simply looked like someone capable of anything.

“Xuan Yanyu, Lady Bai has been poisoned with Manzhu Xiang. Do you have the antidote?”

Xuan Yanyu looked down at her from above, his gaze unhurried. “Who gave you leave to address me — this lord — by name?”

“Then… what should I call you?” Yan Yunning rubbed her nose.

Xuan Yanyu was caught short. His throat shifted almost imperceptibly, and for a moment he found himself without an answer.

“We can settle that later. First tell me — do you have the antidote or not?” Yan Yunning’s bright eyes were fixed on him, unblinking.

“I don’t.” Xuan Yanyu’s tone was unhurried.

“You’re not lying to me?” Yan Yunning stepped closer, watching his eyes.

Xuan Yanyu let out a quiet, dismissive sound, a flash of disdain crossing his gaze. “Why would I bother lying to you?”

He turned his face away and looked elsewhere, no longer meeting her eyes.

Yan Yunning: “???”

[He went guilty, didn’t he? Why else would he suddenly refuse to look at me?!]

Fafa: [He did tell the truth — he genuinely doesn’t have it. But the imperial medical academy in Xuanzhao Kingdom does.]

Yan Yunning’s eyes lit up.