All that tenderness had been an act. She would rather marry an ordinary man than ever wed Qi Qingchen.

……

The following morning.

Outside Yuanjing Manor, Ye Jian fidgeted and refused to go in no matter what.

“Come on.” Xuan Zhao Ran urged him along.

Ye Jian hemmed and hawed. “Young Miss, I… I’d rather not go in.”

“Why?” Yu Xi asked.

“Relax — with Lingning here, there’s no one you need to fear.” Xuan Zhao Ran said lightly.

Crown Prince Brother had even dared to defy Imperial Father for Lingning’s sake, so it was clear he listened to Lingning quite well. What was there to worry about?

Yu Xi’s eyelids fluttered slightly. Yuanjing Manor?

Lingning??

Could the Lingning Ranran was referring to be Second Miss Yan of the Yan family — Yan Yunning??

Xiao Shi was also at Yuanjing Manor. If she were to find out that Yu Xi intended to send A’Xuan to Xuanzhao, given her loyalty to His Highness, would something go wrong?

Duan Yunxuan quipped, “Young Master Jian, surely it isn’t that there’s some former flame of yours inside Yuanjing Manor that you wronged?”

“……” Ye Jian shook his head. “No.”

Xuan Zhao Ran’s eye twitched. What former flame?

He was afraid of Crown Prince Brother!

“Mu Brother, let’s go — back to your Qingyu Stronghold.” Yan Yunning shoved Mu Shiqing toward the manor gates and began steering him away.

At this rate, his sister was going to drive her elder sister to madness.

Xiao Shi trailed after Mu Shiqing, seething.

She simply couldn’t understand it — how could a long-lost sister mean less to Mu Shiqing than some outsider?

When she brought up the fact that Yan Yunning had hit her, Mu Shiqing just said she was imagining things, insisting that Lingning couldn’t possibly have done it.

If not her, then who?

Was Yan Shiyao unconscious?

Mu Shiqing knew perfectly well!

He was feigning ignorance!!!

Ye Jian heard Yan Yunning’s voice and tensed, his whole body going rigid.

“Lingning.” Xuan Zhao Ran laughed and ran toward her, pushing Mu Shiqing aside and throwing her arms around Yan Yunning. She said preemptively, “Lingning — if Crown Prince Brother scolds me in a bit and tries to send me back to Xuanzhao, you absolutely must put in a good word for me.”

“You sneaked out?” Yan Yunning laughed despite herself.

Xuan Zhao Ran leaned against her shoulder and protested in her own defense, “Lingning, I didn’t sneak out — it’s just that Crown Prince Brother is so overbearing and won’t let me leave the Xuan Royal Palace, so you absolutely must say a few words on my behalf.”

Yan Yunning smiled faintly. He wouldn’t let her leave the palace because he was afraid she’d be in danger. Even if she spoke to Xuan Yanyu, what good would a few words do?

If she were persuaded into letting Zhao Ran stay, and then something happened involving Qilan, she couldn’t bear to carry that responsibility.

“I won’t let Xuan Yanyu scold you, but if he decides to send you back to Xuanzhao, I can’t help you with that.” Yan Yunning’s smile deepened. “How did you sneak out again? What is it in Qilan that’s keeping you so attached?”

Xuan Zhao Ran gave her a coy look and murmured softly, “What do you mean — I just missed Crown Prince Brother.”

Yan Yunning: “?”

Hadn’t Xuan Yanyu just returned from Xuanzhao not many days ago?

Taking advantage of the moment Yan Yunning and Xuan Zhao Ran were caught up in conversation, Mu Shiqing and Xiao Shi slipped back inside the manor.

Ye Jian opened his mouth, wanting to alert Yan Yunning, but in the end said nothing.

Yu Xi caught sight of Xiao Shi and in an instant confirmed that the Lingning Xuan Zhao Ran had spoken of was none other than Second Miss Yan of the Chancellor’s household — Yan Yunning.

But why was it that with Second Miss Yan present, there was nothing to fear?

Were Ranran and Xiao Jian not from Xuanzhao?

Judging by Ranran’s dress, she appeared to be a daughter of a wealthy family. People from Xuanzhao naturally held a somewhat higher standing than those from Qilan — yet Second Miss Yan was from Qilan. Why would Ranran say something like that?

Yan Yunning glanced back and found no sign of Mu Shiqing. She furrowed her brow. What was this about? Was he determined to let his sister drive her elder sister to ruin??

Yu Xi smiled and took the initiative to step forward. “You must be Lingning — I’m Yu Xi, and this is my husband, Duan Yunxuan. Ranran mentioned you just a moment ago.”

“Hello to you both.” Yan Yunning gave a polite nod.

Ye Jian edged backward, doing his best to keep out of Yan Yunning’s line of sight.

“Lingning, Yu Jiejie and Brother Duan want to settle in Xuanzhao.” Xuan Zhao Ran swayed Yan Yunning’s arm, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. “Won’t you help them?”

She had found out all the details from Ye Jian yesterday — Brother Duan’s situation was rather pitiful.

Yu Xi suppressed the shock rising within her. What exactly was this Second Miss Yan’s standing?

How could she be in a position to help??

Yan Yunning pursed her lips. Ranran was a princess — and she still needed her help?

Thinking it over carefully, the last time Ranran brought her to Xuanzhao, Ranran had even produced the Xuan Empress’s token, and the soldiers at the city gates had still refused to let her through. It seemed that for Yu Xiaojie and Young Master Duan to settle in Xuanzhao, Xuan Yanyu’s approval was still required.

“Lingning, just a couple of words.” The girl gave her a pleading wink, raised two fingers, and crooked them toward Yan Yunning.

Yan Yunning blinked. She was being asked to petition Xuan Yanyu?

From last night onward, Xuan Yanyu had been making her take tonics to restore her body. He said she was very frail, which was why she kept having nosebleeds. He suspected it might be the result of two prior poisonings and wanted her to take the medicinal pills for seven days. She truly dreaded taking medicine, and when she had nothing to ask of him, she could at least argue back a little.

But if she went to him with a favor, how was she supposed to refuse if he seized the opportunity to demand she agree to take her medicine on schedule every single day? On top of that, she knew nothing about these people and wasn’t particularly inclined to get involved.

“Lingning?”

Yan Yunning stalled for time, and as she raised her gaze, she spotted Ye Jian hiding behind Duan Yunxuan. She blinked twice. “Ye Jian?”

“Second Miss Yan.” Ye Jian kept his eyes fixed on the ground, his voice barely above a whisper.

“You…” The words she wanted to say died in her throat as she remembered there were outsiders present. Yan Yunning swallowed them down.

She could understand him. He had chosen not to save her for no reason other than fear of the Xuan King’s retribution.

Fafa: [Master, are you going to forgive him? If Xuan Yanyu hadn’t rescued you, every time you lost consciousness, you might never have woken up again — and any hope of returning home could have been lost forever.]

It still remembered how she had been when she first arrived — learning of her foretold end and fighting desperately to survive, stubbornly ignoring its warnings as she tried to charm Qi Qingchen, then giving up on that plan because of Yan Shiyao and hovering around Xuan Yanyu instead.

Yan Yunning’s fingertips stilled. [Fafa, if blame must be placed, it belongs on Mu Rong. Ye Jian only acted as he did because he didn’t want to be punished by the Xuan King — his choice to protect himself wasn’t wrong.]

She had wanted to live; he had wanted to live. She couldn’t fault him for that — she understood the desire to survive all too well. It was simply that going forward, she would not be able to be around him the way she had been before.

“Second Miss Yan, I’m sorry.” Ye Jian bowed deeply, his head hanging very low.

Yan Yunning said honestly, “I never blamed you.”

“Second Miss Yan, you…” The man lifted his head, his reddened eyes very bright.

Yan Yunning walked a few steps closer and looked down with a small smile. “If you want to return to Xuan Yanyu’s side, you can go and ask him yourself. I won’t deliberately stand in your way, and I won’t quarrel with him on account of you — you don’t need to worry about me…”

“Second Miss Yan.” Ye Jian shook his head. “No.”

His Highness would absolutely never take him back. His Highness was not short of guards — why would he keep someone who had defied his orders?

Yan Yunning said nothing more. She turned to look at Xuan Zhao Ran. “Let’s go in.”

Passing through the covered walkway, Yan Yunning settled Yu Xi and Duan Yunxuan in their rooms and then brought Xuan Zhao Ran to Xuan Yanyu’s chamber.

Inside the chamber, Xuan Yanyu was lounging at an angle in a wooden chair, Ye Chen and Ye’an flanking him on either side, kneading the arms he had draped over the armrests — utterly at leisure.

Hearing the movement, the man raised his gaze. His eyes swept over Xuan Zhao Ran and narrowed slightly.