However pleasant Jiang Jingbo, Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, made it sound, no matter how special the so-called “guest quarters” might be, it was still nothing more than a prison cell—merely a private one, sealed off, with only a single iron-barred window, a stone slab covered with straw serving as a bed.

By now it was deep into the night. Ziqing sat on the stone slab, her back against the wall, head lowered in a light doze.

Suddenly, a faint creaking sound—so subtle most would have missed it—reached her ears. She immediately noticed it, opening her eyes to find a black-clad, masked man already standing just inside the doorway, smiling directly at her.

That build, that silhouette—so achingly familiar even in the dim light, Ziqing recognized him instantly. “You bastard!”

“What, still thinking about me every single day?” he said with a grin, his voice deliberately roughened and hoarse.

Ziqing said nothing, her sharp eyes glinting coldly in the darkness as she stared him down.

Seeing this, his mood only seemed to improve further. He strode closer—but the moment he approached, Ziqing suddenly swept up a large armful of straw, throwing it up to block his view, and in that instant, vanished from sight entirely.

Yet he showed no alarm, simply turning toward the door instead, only to find Ziqing already there, having swiftly locked the iron latch shut!

“What, not going to run? Do you really intend to spend the night alone with me in here, unafraid of what Prince Yao might do to you if he found out?” he said, laughing.

She snorted coldly, then suddenly screamed out, “Someone! Help, quickly! There’s an assassin!”

Her scream was loud enough to bring the roof down, sharp enough to split the very sky! Yet he merely crossed his arms over his chest, perfectly at ease, watching with an arched brow, letting her scream all she wanted.

Ziqing immediately sensed something was wrong—this man had somehow managed to neutralize every single guard throughout the entire secret prison?

No—neutralized, or bribed?

“You’re a member of the imperial family!” Ziqing said coldly.

He laughed coldly, shaking his head. “Han Ziqing, you really aren’t very clever, are you.”

Suddenly—clang!—she had ripped the iron chain free from the door, swinging it viciously straight at him. He immediately retreated. Shifting from defense to offense, she pressed forward relentlessly, the chain lashing repeatedly toward his face!

Fierce, swift—he could do nothing but retreat, with no chance to counter, finally backing up against the edge of the stone slab, tipping backward just as the chain swept viciously past where his face had been, immediately swinging back down again!

He immediately raised his hand—too late to catch it, forced instead to block, letting the chain lash brutally across his arm, the bone nearly shattering from the impact. Yet he paid it no mind at all, using his other hand to seize the chain, immediately kicking her legs out from under her!

All of this happened in the blink of an eye, swift and decisive—clearly premeditated, deliberately luring her into the trap!

She had no chance to defend herself, tumbling directly on top of him—or rather, more precisely, slamming into him, the impact so forceful it made the corners of her eyes twitch with pain, yet she still immediately reached up to tear off his mask!

Unexpectedly, he had anticipated this, moving even faster than her, pulling her into a tight embrace instead!

“You bastard!”

She cursed again, struggling immediately.

Helplessly restrained, there was nothing she could do against him!

Watching her brow furrow, her small face clouded with displeasure, he couldn’t help but burst into hearty laughter. Any ordinary woman would surely have been furious by now, yet here she was, struggling with such earnest, dogged determination!

Did she really think she could break free?

“Woman, is it really necessary to torment this lord so thoroughly?” he laughed, his eyes gleaming with unmistakable playful mischief.

Her struggling truly did live up to the word “torment.”

A flicker of coldness passed through her eyes, and she ignored him entirely, her movements growing suddenly more forceful. He couldn’t help but furrow his brow at that.

Then, without warning, she suddenly ducked her head down and bit down hard on his mask, yanking viciously!

But in that same instant, he kicked out sharply, the force of the motion extinguishing the candle!

In the darkness, her triumphant smile froze on her lips, while he couldn’t help himself, laughing with unrestrained delight. “Ha, little fox, you really are cunning!”

“Is that so…”

She said coldly, ducking her head down to bite again—only this time sinking her teeth firmly into the side of his face. His gaze turned suddenly cold, yet he didn’t struggle at all—she was biting down so hard that any resistance on his part would surely tear the skin right off his face!

He remained perfectly still, letting her bite, and bite she truly did, refusing to let go for a long while. Yet gradually, that icy, frigid gleam in his eyes slowly began to warm, and as he allowed this woman such unrestrained audacity, he found himself smiling faintly, pulling her even closer.

Finally, once the thick scent of blood grew overwhelming, she finally released her grip, narrowing her sharp eyes in the darkness, demanding coldly, “Are you going to let go or not?”

“Not letting go,” he answered immediately, without even a moment’s hesitation.

Without another word, she ducked her head down to bite again, but he called out to stop her. “Wait!”

She snorted coldly—if he wasn’t going to beg for mercy and release her, she’d bite him until he no longer had a face fit to show anyone!

Unexpectedly, he simply laughed instead. “Not letting go, not ever, for the rest of my life!”

With that, he suddenly tilted his head upward, catching her furious, bared teeth in a kiss instead!