Lu Jin’an gripped Yan Yunning’s hand, her breathing growing rapid and uneven. “Little Yunning, I’m all right.”

Yan Yunning held her close and gently patted her on the back.

Lu Jin’an fought hard to hold back her tears, swallowing down her sobs with great effort. “The hour is late. A’Ci, take the young master from Xuan along to rest.”

A’Ci gave a nod.

Early the following morning, Lu Jin’an left behind a note and hurried off to the Prime Minister’s estate.

Yan Ruijing heard the announcement from the household attendant and, not even stopping to finish his noon meal, came running out the door.

“Jin’an, you’ve come to see me.” Yan Ruijing felt as though honey had been poured into his heart.

“You promised me you would treat little Yunning as your own flesh and blood — so how did you let Chu Wantang bully her time and again?” Lu Jin’an reproached him.

Yan Ruijing hastily clasped her hands and explained, “No, I didn’t, Jin’an — I truly do think of Ningning as my own flesh and blood.”

The year she had come to him carrying little Yunning, he had been nearly beside himself with anger. But after thinking it over for a few days, he realized that if Jin’an had entrusted the child to him to raise, it meant she had faith in him — that he still held a place in her heart.

Lu Jin’an lowered her gaze. That was true enough — if Yan Ruijing had not intervened, and Chu Wantang had had her way in marrying little Yunning off, little Yunning would likely already be wed by now.

“Jin’an.” Yan Ruijing tightened his grip on her hands and looked at her with a beaming smile.

Lu Jin’an’s eyes flickered gently. “The jade pendant I sent to First Miss Yan — have you had her wear it every day?”

Back then, she had been in the service of little Yunning’s mother. Yan Ruijing had been taken to the general’s estate by little Yunning’s father — at that time, he had not yet become Prime Minister; the Prime Minister of Qilan at that time was still Prime Minister Bai. Yan Ruijing had sustained an injury, and the Madam had sent her to nurse him for a time. She had never expected that he would want to marry her.

She had refused him. Later, Prime Minister Bai died of illness under circumstances that were never fully explained, and the new Prime Minister turned out to be him. And around that time, the Madam had entrusted her with the task of taking little Yunning and fleeing to Qilan.

Little Yunning’s life with her would certainly not be easy, and so she set her sights on Yan Ruijing. He had been furious at first, nearly biting through his teeth with rage — but two days later, he had come to find her of his own accord, offering to raise little Yunning.

The Madam had instructed her to dispose of the jade pendant that Prince Xuan had bestowed upon little Yunning. She had taken the opportunity to give the pendant to Yan Ruijing’s legitimate daughter instead.

And she had instructed him to say the jade pendant had always belonged to Yan Shiyao — that way, when Prince Xuan came looking for the Crown Princess he had designated, he would inevitably seek out Yan Shiyao.

Yan Ruijing had cheerfully agreed.

She had never understood why the Madam wanted her to dispose of little Yunning’s jade pendant. If little Yunning were to enter the Crown Prince’s household, she would one day become the Crown Princess of Xuanzhao. Why would the Madam refuse that?

And had Xuan Yanyu’s visit to Xuanzhao anything to do with the jade pendant?

Later, Yan Ruijing had sent little Yunning to stay with Chu Wantang’s parents — which was to say, with little Yunning’s maternal grandparents — and she had been very angry with him for that.

Could Chu Wantang’s parents truly treat little Yunning well? And moreover, Chu Wantang was not the biological child of little Yunning’s maternal grandmother.

Little Yunning nominally counted as Chu Wantang’s daughter — so could they genuinely treat little Yunning well?

He had explained in a great hurry: he had paid a generous sum, the two old ones were not truly bad people, and he himself was not often at the Prime Minister’s estate and could not look after little Yunning properly — outside of them, he could think of no other safe place to send her.

She had observed for a few months, and indeed the two elders treated little Yunning very well. Reassured, she had returned to Xuanzhao to look after Young Master — but then, one day, she had failed to keep watch, and he had taken A’Ci and gone off to find little Yunning, vanishing without a trace.

By a twist of fate, A’Ci had been picked up by little Yunning’s maternal grandfather and brought home, but the Young Master himself was nowhere to be found.

She searched for a long time and gradually gave up hope. She went to Cha Xi Town and deliberately fainted before little Yunning’s maternal grandmother, and was thus brought home in due course.

“Yes, yes, absolutely.” Yan Ruijing nodded vigorously, one after another. “From the moment you said you wanted to give it to Yaoyao, I’ve had Yaoyao wear it every single day.”

“Do you know of Xuan Yanyu?” Lu Jin’an’s eyes gave a slight tremor.

“Yanyu? Him — he was brought back to the estate by Yaoyao, and spends his days hovering around Yaoyao.” Yan Ruijing sighed. “He’s gone out with Yaoyao again now — Ningning has gone along with them too.”

Lu Jin’an breathed out in relief. Good. It seemed his being in little Yunning’s company was on account of Yan Shiyao.

“Jin’an, have you had your noon meal yet? Would you like to come into the estate with me…”

Before Yan Ruijing had finished, Lu Jin’an smiled and spoke: “Ruijing, I wish to form a bond of equal wife with you.”

She wished to enter the household as a co-equal wife, and to have little Yunning adopted into her name — that way, in the future, there would be no more instances of little Yunning being married off or locked in the ancestral hall.

Yan Ruijing’s lips trembled. “You… what did you say?”

“You are unwilling?” Lu Jin’an lowered her gaze and feigned disappointment.

“Willing, I am willing!” Yan Ruijing cried out, his face flushing bright red with excitement.

Meanwhile, Yan Yunning and the other two sat huddled together, frowning over the note Lu Jin’an had left behind.

“Little Yunning, A’Po says she had something urgent to attend to — what urgent matter?” A’Ci rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“Not sure.” Yan Yunning imitated him and rubbed her own chin.

Xuan Yanyu reached out and draped his arm around her shoulder, leaning close to her ear, his voice low and husky as he murmured, “Yan Yunning, are you deliberately trying to vex me?”

Yan Yunning rubbed her ear. The warmth of his breath landing there was ticklish.

A’Ci pressed his fingertips to his brow in exasperation. In his heart, little Yunning was no more than a little sister. Did Xuan Yanyu really need to be this worked up?

Besides, little Yunning was not going to marry him anyway.

A few days from now, he would go looking for Young Master. With Xuan Yanyu here, he felt very easy in his mind about little Yunning’s safety.

“Lu A’Niang has gone out, and Maternal Grandfather and Maternal Grandmother aren’t here either. Let’s head back.” Yan Yunning pushed Xuan Yanyu away and stood up, putting distance between them.

Xuan Yanyu tilted his head to one side and gave her a languid glance. His mood right now was very poor.

Yan Yunning pretended not to notice and turned her gaze toward A’Ci.

“All right.” He had no objection.

The group returned to Pingshi Town. Yan Shiyao and Qi Qingchen had already left the clinic.

Nuo Xi felt rather guilty. She had intended to stall for a few more days as her sister had planned, but Qi Qingchen had begun vomiting.

Afraid that without the antidote something would go seriously wrong, she had hired a carriage and sent Yan Shiyao and Qi Qingchen off to Yuan Jin Manor.

By now the hour was also late. Yan Yunning and the others spent the night at the clinic, and early the next morning took their leave of Nuo Xi and set off for Yuan Jin Manor.

The carriage arrived at Yuan Jin Manor close to noon.

In the side room, Yan Shiyao stood helplessly in place, while Qi Qingchen cowered behind her, peering at them with a timid, hesitant gaze.

Yan Yunning gripped her handkerchief tightly.

The male lead — how had he… how had he become simpleminded?

“What do we do? Elder Brother Qi took the medicine and ended up like this.” Yan Shiyao’s voice trembled, and her complexion had turned somewhat pallid.

Now it was even more impossible to send Elder Brother Qi back to the palace.

She had been the one to administer the medicine to Elder Brother Qi. Afraid that after taking it he would be in the same state as with the medicine he’d had at Lady Physician Nuo’s — as though it had done nothing at all — she had deliberately given him an extra dose according to the prescription. How could it have turned out this way?

“Don’t be afraid, Yaoyao.” Qi Qingchen let out a goofy grin. “Yaoyao, don’t be scared.”

Yan Yunning pressed her palm to her forehead. Heavens above.

Ye Jian nudged A’Ci’s arm, struggling to contain his laughter. “This is what you used to be like.”