“It wasn’t only that, Crown Princess. You mentioned wanting to see Yan Shiyao — and Yan Shiyao was staying with Qi Qingchen, who is currently Qilan’s Crown Prince. Getting Yan Shiyao away from his side would inevitably require His Highness to handle it personally. Otherwise, if Yan Shiyao simply turned up in Xuanzhao out of nowhere, Qi Qingchen would never let it go.”

“His Highness also remembered that you wanted to eat the pastries Xiao Shi made, so he decided to go to Qilan himself.” Ye’an spoke plainly.

“It’s not as if I absolutely had to see Yan Shiyao.” Yan Yunning pursed her lips, her eyes growing hot, and the tears slid down once more.

“But His Highness took your words to heart, and he takes them as truth.” Ye’an murmured quietly.

Yan Yunning’s eyes ached with a burning heat. She pressed her hand over her chest, where the air seemed too thick to breathe. She thought — even if she went home, she would probably never be happy again.

For the rest of her life she would never be able to walk away from it, or forget it…

“Crown Princess, please don’t be sad. This time His Highness also brought back Qilan’s Emperor and Crown Prince from the trip.” Ye’an said.

Yan Yunning shifted her gaze from Xuan Yanyu to Ye’an. “The Qi Emperor was brought back by Xuan Xixi? How did he manage that?”

“Crown Princess, the Qi Emperor had originally intended to detain His Highness — he even brought more guards and imperial soldiers than His Highness had taken to Qilan. But before His Highness left for Qilan, he took along both the incense Imperial Physician Wen had prepared for you and the antidote. After we arrived in Qilan, we took the antidote in advance, precisely in case we ran into trouble.”

At that, even Ye’an found it almost laughable. “What we never expected was that the Qi Emperor would come to the guest courtyard where Yan Shiyao was staying — as though he had been waiting for His Highness on purpose. His Highness then signaled his people to light the incense, and they were caught completely off guard. Afterward, it occurred to him that the Qi Emperor wouldn’t swallow the humiliation once he woke, so His Highness simply decided to bring him along.”

“Entering and leaving Qilan’s city was never very strictly controlled for people from Xuanzhao. Added to that, a portion of Qilan’s soldiers had recently been deployed to deal with the neighboring rulers who had been provoking them — and the gate guards, fearing Xuanzhao might strike Qilan at exactly such a moment, didn’t dare offend anyone from Xuanzhao. This subordinate had no difficulty at all bringing the Qi Emperor and Qilan’s Crown Prince to Xuanzhao.”

“If the guards all knew better than to offend Xuanzhao at a time like this, how did the Qi Emperor still dare to detain Xuan Xixi?”

Ye’an curled his lip with contempt. “The Qi Emperor figured that by holding His Highness, he could have His Majesty over a barrel. And honestly, if the Qi Emperor had managed to detain His Highness, he might have gotten his way.”

As it turned out, they hadn’t counted on the incense being in play. Had they anticipated it and taken the antidote in advance, even if they could have protected His Highness and gotten him out of Qilan, there would have been casualties among the men they’d brought — and they wouldn’t have been able to bring the eldest Miss Yan back to Xuanzhao either.

That said, Imperial Physician Wen’s specially prepared incense was something Qilan would have had no antidote for.

“What does father intend to do now?” Yan Yunning held the cloth and wrapped her hands around Xuan Yanyu’s, wiping his distinctly defined knuckles.

Ye’an paused, then said slowly, “Crown Princess, that is something you’ll have to ask His Highness — this subordinate has no idea what His Majesty will decide.”

“…You may go.”

“Yes, Crown Princess.” Ye’an cast a glance at Xuan Yanyu and retreated from the chamber.

——

In the days that followed, Yan Yunning drank the medicinal broth the imperial physicians prepared, and her condition improved little by little — until she was looking even better than before.

The imperial physicians continued their daily routine of taking her pulse.

“How is she? How is Ningning today?” Xuan Yanyu asked the question he asked every day.

Yan Yunning glanced mildly at Imperial Physician Wen. Imperial Physician Wen steeled himself and lied through his teeth. “Your Highness, the Crown Princess only needs to keep taking the medicine and rest for a few more days — she will be perfectly well.”

Xuan Yanyu, his entire attention fixed on Yan Yunning, did not notice anything unusual in Imperial Physician Wen’s manner. His expression visibly lifted into a smile. “Good. Good.”

“Crown Prince, can you put your heart at ease now?” Yan Yunning said with a smile.

Imperial Physician Wen quietly slipped out of the main hall. If he stayed a moment longer and His Highness asked him anything else, what on earth would he say??

“Do you know how afraid this Prince was.” Xuan Yanyu curved his lips. “But now this Prince is completely at ease.”

“Then let the Crown Prince tell me — where did you go yesterday?” Yan Yunning gave his knee a prod with her finger.

The man let out a muffled grunt of pain. From within his robe he drew out a safety charm in the shape of a phoenix soaring through clouds, as though it were the most precious thing in the world, and tied it around Yan Yunning’s waist. He said with great solemnity, “This Prince obtained this safety charm in person. It carries the blessing of imperial authority — it is nothing like an ordinary charm. You are not allowed to lose it.”

“I understand.” Yan Yunning said brightly. “Crown Prince, I feel so fortunate to have you.”

Xuan Yanyu raised an eyebrow slightly, his smile deepening. “Good that you know.”

Yan Yunning mimicked his tone in a soft, playful voice. “Good that I know~”

The man reached out and pinched her small face, and came away with a hand dusted in rouge. He teased her. “Tsk — why have you been putting on rouge every day lately?”

Yan Yunning swatted his hand away and leaned in close. “Crown Prince, you don’t think it looks good?”

Xuan Yanyu raised three slender fingers to his temple, his smile edged with playfulness. “Certainly not — this Prince thinks it looks wonderful. This Prince is too afraid to say otherwise, for fear you’ll be vexed enough to be the death of him.”

“…” Yan Yunning shot him a sidelong glance. “Oh, I see — what you mean is it doesn’t look good, you’re simply held back by your fear of——”

“Stop right there. Stop slandering this Prince.”

Yan Yunning: “…”

——

As the wedding day drew near, Prince Xuan’s intention was for Xuan Yanyu to ascend the throne on the day of the ceremony itself. Xuan Yanyu raised no objection. He had been exceptionally busy these days, and Yan Yunning only got to see him in the evenings.

Watching Xuan Yanyu finish breakfast and prepare to leave the residence again, Yan Yunning grabbed his arm and wheedled, “Crown Prince, stay with me today — please?”

Xuan Yanyu knocked her lightly on the forehead, shook his head with a smile. “Lazy little thing. This Prince has to go arrange the honor guard and the attendants for the wedding day.”

“Let Ye Chen and the others take care of it.” Yan Yunning clung to Xuan Yanyu’s arm and refused to let go.

“That won’t do. This Prince needs to personally oversee every step of the process.”

“Can’t you stay with me today?” Yan Yunning looked up at him with a pitiful expression.

The man’s throat moved slightly. He bowed his head and brushed a light kiss to the corner of her lips. Yan Yunning pushed him away and kept looking at him with the same forlorn gaze.

Xuan Yanyu laughed helplessly. “All right, I’ll stay.”

Yan Yunning raised an eyebrow, hooked her arms around his neck, and kissed his cheek. She had barely managed a few endearing words when the voice of Yan Shiyao drifted in from the doorway.

“Crown Prince, Crown Princess.” She entered the chamber wearing a smile, set down the gift box in her hands, and said, “Wishing you lasting blessings and a life growing old together.”

“Thank you.” Yan Yunning had known Yan Shiyao would come today. She took a pair of gold bracelets from Xiao Wan’s hands — she had prepared them well in advance — and placed them in Yan Shiyao’s hands with a smile. “I heard from Xuan Yanyu that you’re with child. These are for the baby.”

Yan Shiyao was visibly surprised. She stared at the gold bracelets in her hands, her eyes reddening. “Thank you.”

“Have you eaten? Would you like to stay for a meal?” Yan Yunning’s smile was gentle.

Yan Shiyao dabbed at her tears. “I have eaten. I won’t impose any further — I’ll come again on the wedding day.”

“All right.” Yan Yunning made no move to detain her.

“Mm.” Yan Shiyao dipped in a small bow, a smile still on her face, and turned to walk out of the chamber.

“Yan Shiyao.”

Yan Shiyao looked back. “Crown Princess, is there anything else?”

Yan Yunning pressed her lips together briefly. “Take care of yourself.”

“I will.” Yan Shiyao gave a polite reply, then stepped out of the main hall.

Outside, the sky hung gray and heavy. Yan Shiyao tilted her head back and wiped the tear from the corner of her eye. She suddenly felt that today’s weather was exceptionally fine — exceptionally fine.