She turned back in shock to see that the one gripping her was precisely Lian Yu, who had just been sternly scolding her.

He wasn’t much better off than her, apparently having rushed out hastily without even taking an umbrella. He was soaked through, but his brown eyes still held the same severity as before, yet clearly showed heartache. His brow was tightly furrowed, his face tense as a blade.

“Come back to the inn with me.”

He said this and pulled her back.

Suzhen was initially shocked, but hearing this, emotions surged in her heart. She bit her teeth and laughed coldly, “No, I won’t go back. If I’m going anywhere, it’s back to the capital.”

At this moment, Lian Jie and others also rushed out, also alarmed. Lian Jie shouted, “Someone get umbrellas!”

Baihu had already hurried back. Lian Qin’s eyes widened as he growled anxiously, “Sixth Brother, what are you doing? She’s crazy—are you going crazy too?”

He and Lian Jie were about to rush over, but Xuanwu and Qinglong stopped, seeing Lian Yu raise his hand in a gesture to halt.

Shuangcheng stood aside, hands clenched at her dress sides, staring intently at the two in the rain, her eyes showing disbelief, deep doubt, and shock.

Pitifully, all the elite soldiers had thrown down their bowls and chopsticks and rushed out to protect their lord. Many lodgers, curiosity aroused, also came out to watch the excitement, crowding the inn’s eaves.

Lian Yu no longer cared about Suzhen’s wishes and said sternly, “Either you walk back yourself, or I carry you back.”

Suzhen never expected him to be like this. Momentarily shocked and angry, she had already been grasped by the hand and led forward.

The fierceness in this man’s eyes made her tremble slightly. She knew he would do what he said, and she didn’t want to perform for anyone anymore. Gritting her teeth, she let him pull her back.

However, this wasn’t much better than being carried back. When they entered the building, everyone in the inn watched the two. Mingyan Chu hadn’t even finished eating and was coming downstairs humming after arranging Lian Yu’s room, when Lian Yu, hauling Suzhen upstairs, ordered sternly, “Bring clean cloth to my room and have someone bring hot water!”

“Yes…”

He was startled and quickly responded.

Over there, Suzhen had already been brought into the second-floor guest room by Lian Yu.

She was pressed to sit on the bed’s edge. That Mingyan Chu was quick—she had just sat down when he came knocking. Lian Yu strode to open the door, took the items, and with two bangs shut out the man who was squinting and peering inside.

Suzhen watched Lian Yu approach and was about to retreat when he shook out a large cloth and wrapped it around her body, vigorously rubbing her wrapped form. His brow furrowed deeper and deeper. He quickly threw down the towel and ordered, “Everything’s soaked. Take off the wet clothes. I have clean clothes on the bed—change into them first!”

The man before her had slightly disheveled hair, with strands falling loose from his jade hair tie and sticking to his forehead. His whole person was serious with a trace of bedragglement, yet he seemed completely unaware, his expression fierce from tension as he focused on giving her orders.

Suzhen felt a slight aching pain and cool mockery rise from her heart. Her whole body trembled slightly—whether from cold or something else. She stared at him and said softly, “Isn’t it too late? I was already soaked earlier, so it doesn’t matter now.”

Lian Yu’s gaze darkened. He bent down to press her shoulders and sighed quietly, “I’m sorry. I went too far. When I got out of the carriage and saw you in the rain, I already felt bad, but I wanted to push you further to see what you would do.”

Suzhen was as if stunned, her heart feeling like someone had punched it hard—stuffy and painful. For a long time she couldn’t speak.

“After the villa, I deliberately distanced myself from you, not wanting to pressure you too much. But that day after court, when you said you wanted to accompany me, your expression was very strange, and your words were very strange. But those words—I actually liked them very much. I knew you weren’t speaking from the heart, so I simply treated you coldly to see what game you were playing.”

Lian Yu said this while his gaze deeply captured hers, sharp and profound, yet his pupils also showed a trace of gentle indulgence. The two expressions mixed together, creating sharp contrasts and extreme contradiction.

“Alright, whatever game you’re playing, I accept it. Li Huaisu, you win. Change clothes first, then we’ll talk.”

He gave the order, his voice authoritative but more hoarse, his eyes faintly showing burning intensity. Suzhen followed his gaze and saw her collar had been opened during his earlier rubbing. Her heart immediately raced wildly. Seeing her look, Lian Yu coughed to cover his embarrassment and turned his head away.

Suzhen’s fingers gripped her lapels. For a moment her heart felt very strange—with trembling joy, yet also some anger. She almost blurted out, “Are you saying you were deliberately good to Shuangcheng?”

“It’s not exactly deliberate. I am indeed good to her, but not romantic love. I regard her as a sister.”

Lian Yu smiled self-mockingly and decided to be frank with her, laying all his cards on the table.

But Suzhen shook her head, “You let her accompany you, shared a carriage with her, held an umbrella for her…”

Lian Yu heard her hoarse voice, saw her slightly dazed expression with stubborn determination in her brows and eyes, apparently very concerned about his answer. For a moment his heart felt incredibly soft. He smiled self-mockingly again and revealed everything, “I brought her out because the Empress Dowager dislikes her and wants to kill her. She would arrange for Wei Wuyan to do this. Wuyan is my confidante—I don’t want to put her in a difficult position, so I temporarily took Shuangcheng away. No matter what, the Empress Dowager won’t move against her under my nose. I shared a carriage with her, but there was also little Chuzi inside—what do you think I would do? I held an umbrella for her, but if it were Lian Xin beside me, I would do the same. Besides, I was waiting to see your reaction.”

Wuyan really is his confidante… Suzhen listened, feeling there was too much information to digest, and still pursued, “You served her food, and when she served you food you ate it too…”

“Who told you to keep stealthily staring at me with that complete jealous wife look? I was already very restrained, but still couldn’t help doing that.”

Lian Yu said this and suddenly fell silent. Suzhen looked over strangely, both hating and annoyed, only to see his eyes suddenly bright black in a somewhat frightening way, the corners of his mouth slightly raised. Just as she wondered, he suddenly bent down and forcefully embraced her, saying word by word in her ear, “You couldn’t really have fallen for me, could you?”

Suzhen was shocked. Though she had told herself to like this person the way she liked Li Zhaoting, that meant being good to him—how could she actually like him? But when he said he only regarded Agu as a sister, why did her heart feel so strange, as if something wanted to overflow from her heart, making her excited enough to shout…

No, she didn’t like him. What good would liking him do? He was the emperor. She thought this, but hatefully blurted out, “You held Agu in the wine house last time!”