Deep into the night, Prince Yao’s residence lay in complete silence.

At that moment, Physician Gu had only just finished examining Ziqing, his diagnosis matching exactly what had been concluded at the Han residence—consumption, though showing signs of improvement, requiring careful, prolonged recuperation.

The moment Physician Gu and Jun Beiyue stepped out of the room, he lowered his voice. “My lord, we still haven’t located the source of the Charm Fragrance poison.”

“Send someone to continue investigating in Nanzhao,” Jun Beiyue said flatly.

Physician Gu nodded, then asked quietly again, “My lord, as for this consumption—shall this subordinate prepare an antidote?”

“Let her be. She’ll recover whenever she wishes to,” Jun Beiyue said, smiling—a rare occurrence—before turning and stepping through the door.

Inside the room, Ziqing lay on her side on the couch, eyes lightly closed, seemingly asleep. Jun Beiyue dismissed the two maidservants and sat down silently beside her.

After a long while, seeing that Ziqing still hadn’t stirred, a flicker of amusement crossed his eyes, though he remained still himself.

In truth, forcing her to drop the pretense would have taken nothing more than a sharp word or two. He had always been a man of swift, decisive action—why would he bother playing along with such an elaborate charade with a woman?

Yet somehow, ever since first hearing of the Nation’s Beauty incident and growing to appreciate her, and now with the surprise of the Flower Jade poison, his interest in this woman had only continued to grow, his playful curiosity deepening as well. Despite being endlessly busy, he found himself deliberately wanting to toy with her, wanting to force her to reveal her true self.

Seeing that he showed no sign of moving, Han Ziqing grew suspicious—could this man possibly intend to spend the night here?

Or was he simply trying to provoke her?

She remained deliberately still, giving nothing away, even as Jun Beiyue lay down beside her from behind, still she endured it, feigning deep sleep.

Unexpectedly, Jun Beiyue reached out and pulled her into his embrace.

Pushing his luck now, was he?

With her back turned to him, her clear eyes were full of icy resentment, yet thanks to her natural composure, she remained perfectly still, her breathing steady and even.

Behind her, propping his head up on one hand, his handsome brow arched slightly, his deep, fathomless eyes held no trace of coldness at all—only a thick, playful amusement instead.

Outrageous!

Ziqing shivered visibly despite herself, immediately rolling over, feigning a groggy, sudden awakening—in reality, anxiously trying to escape his grasp. Her face still pale with illness and exhaustion, the moment her eyes opened and she saw him there, she immediately cried out in shock. “Your Highness!”

“Startled you?” he asked.

She didn’t answer—now was the time to counterattack.

She suddenly began coughing violently, the coughing growing more severe by the second, flecks of spittle even spraying toward his face, forcing him to retreat and dodge out of the way.

“Your Highness… this concubine…”

She continued coughing while trying to speak, her words broken and fragmented, “Your Highness… this concubine… this concubine…”

She appeared to be struggling desperately to say something, yet ultimately managed to say nothing at all. Finally, the coughing subsided, and still unable to speak, she leaned back against the tall pillow, gasping for breath, her expression thoroughly weak and helpless.

She simply refused to believe he would still make advances on someone so clearly ill!

Yet, unexpectedly, he dared to do exactly that, hurriedly gathering her into his arms with one hand while quickly helping ease her breathing with the other, rubbing gently at her chest, saying helplessly, “That really did startle you. This illness of yours truly can’t handle either agitation or fright!”

The hand rubbing her chest was clearly taking full advantage of the situation!

Furious yet unable to push him away, she could only force her breathing to steady. “It’s fine now. Thank you, Your Highness.”

He released her with equally gentlemanly composure, saying earnestly, “It seems this prince ought to arrange for a physician to remain by your side at all times.”

Wanting to plant a spy at her side, was he? Not a chance! She immediately protested. “The physicians have all said I’m improving, Your Highness, there’s no need to worry. This concubine was drowsy and half-asleep just now—I didn’t expect Your Highness to return, and the shock made me choke on my own breath!”

“What a timid little thing you are,” he said, laughing—there was even a hint of genuine fondness in his tone, deep dimples appearing on his handsome face, matching the depth of his eyes, the kind that, once glimpsed, one found impossible to look away from.

It seemed to be the first time she’d ever seen him smile at such close range, and she found herself momentarily dazed, fortunately catching herself in time, obediently lowering her head and saying nothing further.

“Being so timid, perhaps you shouldn’t stay in the West Garden any longer. Move to my own Glazed Palace tomorrow,” he said flatly.

“Your Highness, though this concubine’s illness has shown improvement, it’s still consumption after all. Should it worsen someday and spread to Your Highness, this concubine would deserve ten thousand deaths! Perhaps it would be better to let this concubine recuperate separately for now, and attend to Your Highness properly once fully recovered?” Ziqing quickly replied.

Jun Beiyue, still holding her, considered this for a moment, and didn’t press the matter further after all. “Very well then. The West Garden is peaceful enough—suitable for recuperation, I suppose.”

Ziqing was overjoyed. “Thank you for your understanding, Your Highness!”

“Get some sleep. Tomorrow morning we still need to go to the palace together to formally thank the Emperor for the conferment,” he said flatly, lying down and pulling her along with him.

He seemed quite accustomed to sleeping on his right side, lying behind her, his large hand draped over her neck.

Ziqing, accustomed to sleeping sprawled out however she pleased, found herself unconsciously tensing at being so confined, unable to relax no matter how she tried.

Yet the man behind her proved surprisingly proper, falling into a deep, peaceful sleep within moments. Ziqing cautiously tried to wriggle free, but his arm remained wrapped just tightly enough around her that any subtle movement proved futile without waking him.

Ziqing found herself preferring that he remain asleep rather than wake up, holding herself rigidly still, her small face clouded with quiet displeasure—this particular round, she had clearly lost…

The edict had already been issued, and Ouyang Jingshi had gotten herself into serious trouble as well—surely this man ought to be in some secret chamber right now, plotting how to strike against General Ouyang’s household, and yet here he was, finding the leisure to toy with her instead? Could it be that the Flower Jade poison had aroused his suspicions?

Pondering all this, Ziqing had no idea exactly when she finally drifted off to sleep herself, and it wasn’t until the next morning, upon waking, that she realized with a jolt of alarm that she had genuinely fallen asleep the night before—and had slept remarkably well, at that… She lay frozen on the bed, utterly stunned by the realization.