“Please have Eunuch Ming send someone to deliver this letter to the Ministry of Justice. I want them to handle a matter for me,” Su Zhen said softly.

Ming Yanchu agreed very readily. Having served in the palace for so long, he wouldn’t ask many questions. Su Zhen just needed to not reveal any information on her face.

In the letter, she asked Wuqing and the others to wait for her in a small county town.

But in reality, she wouldn’t go there. This was just to prevent them from being implicated in the regicide, so she prepared in advance.

Otherwise, they would also face execution!

She thanked Ming Yanchu and returned to the room. Unexpectedly, Lian Yu was awake and appeared to have just finished washing.

“How do you feel today?” He put the cloth back in the basin while examining her carefully.

“Not bad.”

This gaze seemed to want to see through her from outside to inside, sharp and prolonged. Su Zhen immediately felt uncomfortable all over and answered casually.

Lian Yu made a noncommittal “Mm” sound and stepped out. Su Zhen was somewhat puzzled, but soon saw him return with a tea tray in his hands – a small bowl of medicine and three small plates of pastries.

“Drink this.” He spoke softly, but with an underlying commanding firmness.

Su Zhen very much disliked his tone, but vaguely realized this medicine was what he had brewed last night, reheating it repeatedly.

So she said nothing more, just sat down and quietly finished the medicine, also eating several pastries. Lian Yu used the cold tea on the table to finish what she had left.

Su Zhen’s heart was stabbed by something, and suddenly afraid of staying with this man any longer, she almost immediately said: “Are there still ingredients in the kitchen? I’ll make lunch later.”

To avoid being abrupt, she smiled: “Let’s have a good meal together. This time… truly a good parting. You won’t need to worry about my life or death anymore. I don’t want to owe you, so I’ll let you owe me instead. I also won’t… ask to see you again.”

“There are ingredients. They bring fresh purchases every morning. You almost didn’t stab me to death – if anyone owes anything, it’s you who owes me.” From across the table came his calm voice.

Su Zhen immediately felt all her melancholy emotions could go to hell. To avoid arousing his suspicion, she decided to go to the kitchen only when it was time, but being together with nothing to say was awkward, while not speaking was also strange. She decided to find a book to pass the time.

But after searching inside and out several times, she gave up. There were no books stored in this room at all.

Lian Yu had bought this place with no intention of conducting serious business.

Suddenly she remembered many things she and he had done here before. Actually adding it up, it wasn’t many days, but there was much she could remember – all playful, all joyful.

She had no choice but to return to bed and lie down again.

Lian Yu watched coldly the entire time. Probably finding her behavior extremely lacking in intelligence, he seemed to find it somewhat amusing.

Finally struggling until near noon, Su Zhen had originally hoped time would pass quickly, but her limbs couldn’t help trembling under the blanket.

After a good while, she suppressed this trembling, slowly opened her eyes, and got out of bed.

Lian Yu had his legs up, still using his hand as a pillow, lying gracefully, but this time he wasn’t looking at her. Instead, he gazed at the empty air, lost in thought.

“I’m going to cook now.” Su Zhen deliberately spoke with a disinterested tone – no great joy or sorrow, no unease.

“Mm.” Lian Yu responded just as he had in the past when they were alone together and he was reading memorials while she impatiently wanted to go out and play – somewhat absentmindedly dismissive.

Su Zhen said nothing more and walked out.

Half an hour later, she returned with a tray carrying several dishes and two large bowls of white rice, plus a pot of wine.

“Lucky me – I found a jar of good Daughter’s Red wine in there.” She smiled, this time with no reservations.

Lian Yu, like an ordinary household man, did a carp flip and sat up, immediately frowning: “That stuff is leftover from before. You can’t drink now. The palace wine cellar has better—”

He suddenly stopped mid-sentence, just silently stepping forward to take the bowls, chopsticks, and soup from her hands, laying out the dishes without a word.

Su Zhen watched him, still smiling: “I love drinking this most. My father said he buried several jars under our osmanthus tree at home. Someday when he could finally send this money-losing daughter away, he’d dig them up to celebrate.”

“But he won’t live to see that day, because Young Master Li doesn’t like drinking this with me, and the other person I thought could accompany me already has someone else to accompany him.”

Lian Yu’s hands froze, slowly looking up to see her smiling while tears streamed down.

“Just one cup, I’ll drink first in respect.”

Su Zhen picked up the wine jar and slowly poured two cups.

Those streaming drops fell onto the table, immediately releasing rich, intoxicating fragrance.

She picked up one cup, gazed at him, raised her head, and drained it in one gulp.

Across from her, Lian Yu seemed to forget to stop her, his brows tightly furrowed as he stared at her.

This was the second time in these two days Su Zhen had seen emotion other than distance in his eyes.

Last night it was concern; now it was painful laughter.

“The cups are too stingy.” He curved his lips and laughed heartily. With a sweep of his sleeve, the remaining cup overturned with a crash, fragrance immediately filling the entire room. He quickly grabbed the wine jar himself and raised his head to drink.

If she hadn’t known he was the king of Great Zhou, she would surely think he was from some famous martial arts family.

Su Zhen was somewhat shocked. This was the first time seeing him drink so recklessly without regard for his image.

Also the last time, she thought. Sadness slowly crept into her eyes as she watched him drink halfway, his expression changing dramatically, showing fierce anger. But his hand suddenly loosened, the wine jar plummeted down, and his tall body also fell backward.

Having watched without blinking, Su Zhen moved extremely quickly. Her hands shot forward to catch the wine jar, quickly placing it on the table without making any unusual sound. Then she pressed her hands on the table, leaped over it, landed before him, and slowly caught his heavy body.

These movements were almost completed in one breath, very clean and efficient.

This wasn’t particularly advanced martial arts, but she was still recovering from serious illness and he was heavy. Holding him, she staggered several steps before steadying herself.

She struggled to lay him down on the side couch. As his body hit the couch, a dagger fell from his chest.

This was the dagger he had stabbed her with?!

She wiped her eyes, one hand already reaching for her waist sash, then froze there.

“The poison I prepared isn’t lethal because I never intended to kill anyone – just to escape in crisis. So I chose the narcotic drug among them. This stuff is my own creation with considerable potency, because if you cried out, I couldn’t kill you. If I don’t succeed this time, I’ll have no more chances.” She looked at him, smiling as she spoke, slowly picking up the dagger from his body. “Using red silk would be too feminine – I think you wouldn’t like it either. This small blade is just right.”

As she spoke, one hand gripped the sheath, the other held the dagger. Cold light flashed as the blade emerged from its sheath!

“I don’t know if my father truly committed treason, but even if my father deserved to die, my mother and Hong Xiao were innocent. Why were you so heartless, determined to kill everyone and deceive me to this point?”

“I’ll come to accompany you shortly!”

Her gaze suddenly turned cold and vicious as she fiercely stabbed down—

A slight muffled groan.

But it came from herself.

She looked down quietly to see the dagger that should have been in his chest was now embedded in the back of her own left hand.

At the moment the blade fell, she clearly watched herself instinctively reach out to block it.

Her right hand wanted to kill him, but her left hand saved him.

The cave dwelling, moonlight, little songs, jade mine, young man, handsome man… the inn, starlight, swords, raw stone, youth, young man… the capital, night scenes, fireworks, folding fan, Murong, Huaisu… court, palace examination, voices, books and ink, Son of Heaven, top scholar… imperial tour, state cases, nobility, failure, Emperor, Chief Magistrate… wind and rain, identity, Qixi Festival, river lanterns, Lian Yu, Su Zhen.

On the couch, his brow bones slightly protruded. Even with eyes closed, he still emanated compelling nobility, his jawline sharp as if carved, yet carrying the cold, unyielding quality belonging to great figures. But she still remembered how much indulgence and protection the owner of these eyes had given her, and how many beneficial measures he had implemented for the people.

As if unaware of pain, she pulled out the blade, tore a strip of fabric to roughly bandage the wound, sheathed the dagger, stuffed it in her chest, and strode out the door.

After exiting two courtyards, she was stopped by Xuanwu and the others at the third courtyard gate.

“Magistrate Li, why did you come out? Your hand…” The shrewd Ming Yanchu was also very puzzled, slowly asking her.

Su Zhen didn’t look at him, only glanced at the dozen or so guards in the courtyard, some standing, some sitting, plus another dozen resting on the eaves, all looking at her with extremely sharp gazes.

She couldn’t help but laugh. Any one of these people could tear her to pieces!

If not for Lian Yu never guarding against her—

“He and I had a falling out. This is from when I smashed the wine jar,” she glanced at her injured left hand and spoke coldly. “Your master is drunk inside. Instead of going in to care for him, you have time to meddle in my affairs?”

“I want to go back.”

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked. Xuanwu and Ming Yanchu immediately rushed in to check, while Qinglong remained, saying coldly: “Duty bound. Magistrate Li, please wait. You need the master’s permission to leave.”

Soon, Xuanwu returned and quickly walked before her, reaching out to press her pressure points: “Magistrate Li, forgive the offense.”

Su Zhen had thought they’d view her as a flood or wild beast and would welcome her departure, but unexpectedly they only followed Lian Yu’s orders. In her pain and anger, Xuanwu had already lifted her and returned to the inner courtyard.

In the room, Ming Yanchu was providing care. The two naturally couldn’t wrong Lian Yu – they had already moved him to the bed. Xuanwu placed her in Lian Yu’s arms.

With her pressure points sealed, Su Zhen couldn’t make a sound. She could only watch helplessly as the two left and slowly closed the door.