“You.”

Xue Yu seemed unable to understand why he could ask such an obviously unnecessary question after pulling her to sit on his lap so brazenly.

The incomprehension in her eyes was too obvious, and that single “you” was truly too alluring. After this word fell, the various emotions in Su You’s eyes dissolved like foam. Meeting the fragmented sunlight, gradually, only a layer of appeased tranquility remained.

This person always had a thousand different appearances.

Xue Yu looked at him in their face-to-face position. As she watched, her index finger moved with some impulse to caress upward. From his sharp nose bridge to his lean facial contours, he neither avoided nor dodged, letting her do as she pleased, until that finger pressed against his lips.

From left to right, a long and lingering stroke.

Her finger was cool, but when it slowly ground against his lips, it seemed to carry a burning flame. Before long, those somewhat cool and pale lips were tinted with vivid color, like a young lady’s rouge.

His entire face became charming.

“A Yu.”

When she patiently traced a second time, Su You slightly raised his chin, grasping her mischievous fingertip in his palm, gradually tightening his grip. The line at his eye lifted upward, revealing a silent, longing plea.

Strange – she understood his meaning.

When her toes touched the ground and she bent down, Su You thought the kiss would fall on his lips, but unexpectedly, she kissed his eyelid.

“A Yu.” He hissed unbearably, asking in a low voice: “The latter part – won’t you let me see?”

Her and Song Heng’s aftermath, the opportunity that allowed them to start over.

“Nothing worth seeing.” Mentioning Song Heng, Xue Yu unconsciously frowned: “He sealed Yedu’s Hundred Crowd Mountain. I fought him, wanting to bring him back to break the formation. An accident happened midway, and when I woke up, it was already a thousand years in the past.”

Due to her nature and habits, no matter how sad or angry the matter, she spoke this way – she wouldn’t tearfully accuse, much less become inconsolably trapped in memories. It seemed she had become so strong that even a thousand years of devotion and time could be passed over without blinking.

Such a person made others seem to weigh their own status before expressing indignant sympathy.

But it was precisely this that made one’s heart ache terribly.

Su You lowered his eyes: “At the Three Territories Grand Assembly, I’ll leave him on the platform.”

“No need to stoop to his level.” Xue Yu said: “He gained predecessors’ inheritance in Feiyun Peak and greatly increased his strength. Getting yourself injured for him isn’t worth it.”

In Su You’s mind appeared scenes from the earlier visions, images from his past life he had never experienced. Just as she had said before, she was busy – busy handling Yedu’s internal affairs, busy making countless trips to the mortal world incognito.

That exhaustion of knowing the root cause wasn’t there yet being unable to stop – she bore it all alone.

During their conversation, somehow they had switched positions. Su You was now standing while Xue Yu sat on that wide chair, her hair immaculately arranged, her skirt spread out.

“A Yu.” Su You braced his palms on the chair’s armrests, approaching with slightly heated breath, pinching her fingers, then coming to kiss the corner of her mouth. He was tireless in such intimate gestures. Finally, as if surrendering, he lowered his lashes: “I can help you, A Yu. I can help you.”

Truly, the thought of separating from Xue Yu had never existed in his mind.

For him, this held too many unknowns. He was right here in Yedu, holding office in the Palace Guard Bureau, yet she could disappear for a month. What more after he… went to the Demon Capital?

Once Prince Su’s cause of death was announced, Yedu’s ministers from top to bottom would oppose repeating the tragedy. Even if subordinates’ thoughts couldn’t constrain her, what about the Lord of Yedu?

The Lord of Yedu, who had long been selecting consort candidates for Xue Yu, if he knew about his relationship with Xue Yu, would he be pleased?

These were all points he didn’t know and dared not confirm.

But seeing Xue Yu so busy, so tired, he was unwilling and couldn’t bear it.

“You’ve already helped me a lot.” Xue Yu squinted slightly in the sunlight: “It’s enough.”

“It can be more.” Su You half-knelt, hooking her fingertips, saying quietly: “I can do it.”

When intelligent people spoke with intelligent people, it was always like this – no need for frank declarations. A sentence, a glance was enough to understand each other’s meaning.

Like now.

“Being busy doesn’t matter.” Su You followed Xue Yu’s earlier words, continuing: “I’m not afraid of these things.”

“I know Yedu’s future Empress is very strong, able to handle many things perfectly.” He spoke word by word, looking up at her: “You don’t need to rely on others, don’t need others’ understanding and care, but A Yu, I’m not others.”

“This is what I should do.”

Xue Yu suddenly blinked. She turned her head away, saying softly, “The Demon Capital’s ruling power belongs to the Nine Phoenix clan. Though you’re of Tianao birth, your childhood foundation was somewhat weak. Catching up to Chu Yaoxiang won’t be simple.”

She continued: “The Demon Capital reveres strength. If you want decisive influence, the first thing you must do is defeat Chu Yaoxiang at the Three Territories Grand Assembly.”

New ruler replacing old ruler – this was just the most basic step.

“Next, you’ll face more and more difficult trials.”

“Surface submission and heartfelt conviction are always two different things.”

Su You had considered all of this. Involving power and status, everywhere was chaotic. Besides this, the Sui family’s attitude toward him was also uncertain now.

Su You said, “I’ll try.”

“Don’t go looking for them.” As if knowing what he wanted to do, Xue Yu’s pupils were luminous, her tone serious: “People found through hardship and those who deliver themselves have completely different meanings. If they sincerely want to find you, they can find you no matter what. If not sincere, there’s no need to bother.”

“You’re a Sacred Land young master, living well in Yedu. Any eager, forward behavior – don’t even think about it.”

Two perfectly proper sentences, somehow, after being spoken, seemed like swallowing an aphrodisiac. Su You blinked and pressed down, his lips falling like raindrops.

The atmosphere immediately changed.

“Good.” He kissed her, then found her hand to interlock their fingers. Still seeming unsatisfied, when speaking by her ear, his voice almost conveyed devout, burning intent: “A Yu, I like you. I’m willing to do anything for you.”

Xue Yu suddenly lowered her lashes.

An emotion that had grown stronger with each contact from beginning to now was pried open. She remained silent for a long while, then called his name.

That face obediently stopped before her eyes, charming and flushed, making what she was about to say seem particularly cruel.

“Nineteen.” She said quietly: “In the previous life, you didn’t survive.”

“I didn’t save you.”

Such an obedient person, no one saved him.

The atmosphere seemed to freeze instantly. Xue Yu appeared composed, staring at her skirt hem, slowly speaking: “After you died, you became a ghost, wandering the mortal world. Later you caused trouble, so Shan Shu personally made a trip. You—mmm.”

In her silently widened eyes, he sealed her next words with his lips. This kiss was more intense than any before. After a long while, he pressed against her forehead, breathing heavily: “What does this have to do with you?”

“A Yu, you’ve already done well enough.”

She wasn’t a saint or deity, couldn’t distinguish truth from falsehood at a glance, couldn’t save everyone in this world. But even so, starting over, facing Song Heng’s betrayal directly, she still saved him.

He spoke sentence after sentence in such an intimate posture.

Many things in this world were always like this. Whether the demons and ghosts on the Judgment Platform could live never depended on those sitting on the seven dao chairs. What cast them into the abyss was this world’s unchangeable status quo, and now, they were working hard for this.

At the end, Su You even curved his lips: “Fo Nu couldn’t save me. After becoming an evil ghost, I’d probably still end up in my lady’s hands anyway.”

“Speaking of it, past and present lives, I’m always under A Yu’s care.”

Xue Yu was called to slightly move her fingers by the transition between “my lady” and “A Yu.” His eyes were sharp – when he followed the direction to pinch, he very easily extracted a snow-white silk thread from her fingertip.

He knew too well how to press his advantage and expand his gains. At this moment, looking up, lightly touching the warm skin at her neck with his lashes, his words were tenderly heart-stirring: “I was so pitiful before. In the future, will my lady love me more?”

Xue Yu rarely experienced such scenes. She remained silent for a long while, then straightened slightly and patted his back: “Good.”

“I’ll love you.”

Su You stayed in Xue Yu’s side hall for a day. When he came out, he was impeccably dressed and gracefully handsome. Even so, when entering the Palace Guard Bureau, he still received various colleagues’ gazes – some open, others carefully hidden.

Thanks to Chao Nian, now everyone in the entire Palace Guard Bureau knew about his relationship with Xue Yu.

Others feared him, but Chao Nian didn’t.

When Su You calmly sat at his desk, he bounced out, first making a “tsk” sound, then examining him from top to bottom, head to toe. Finally, his gaze fell on the rather ambiguous bite mark at his lips, immediately marveling like discovering a new continent: “The Princess bit this?”

Su You looked at him with a half-smile, glancing at Chao Hua who was glaring angrily nearby: “Control him.”

“You come here!” Chao Hua slammed down her ink brush with a “slap,” personally walking around two desks to catch him. She mercilessly kicked Chao Nian’s leg: “All day long, you’re the only one with nothing to do, the most idle.”

Chao Nian dared to be angry but not speak, wailing loudly.

Chao Hua glanced at the rather fierce bite mark at Su You’s lips, hesitating repeatedly before saying: “The Princess just gave orders. After you finish handling those Hundred Crowd Mountain matters on your desk, go to the side hall again. For the next half month, Chou Li and I will take over Palace Guard Bureau affairs. You’re responsible for following up on court matter developments.”

Su You nodded.

“…” Chao Hua remained silent, enduring for a long while before finally speaking with a wooden expression: “The Princess doesn’t understand this. If she wants to bite, you should bear with it more.”

Because of this, when Su You finished organizing the complete relationship chart of the Demon Capital and court line’s development and placed it on Xue Yu’s desk that night, he still had a smile at the corner of his mouth.

Xue Yu didn’t understand his meaning, looking up at him: “The court’s current situation is like this. Many indignant clarifications have appeared out of nowhere. Nine Phoenix’s side is still acting. The two sides are evenly matched, but in common people’s hearts, the situation is one-sided. Many have even been stirred to anger, feeling the Demon Capital is too bullying, now even throwing dirty water on their sovereign.”

“This is an inevitable process.” Su You frowned, asking: “What does my lady plan?”

“Results won’t come so quickly.” Xue Yu glanced once, then withdrew her gaze: “Currently, the Three Territories Grand Assembly is more important.”

“Later, list out previous Three Territories Grand Assembly rosters, the top hundred from highest to lowest.”

Su You responded affirmatively.

Originally, both were looking quite seriously. When listing names possibly ranking in the top thirty, Xue Yu’s gaze briefly moved to the person beside her – one glance, truly just one glance.

But he precisely sensed it, or rather was specifically waiting for this moment. He pointed at his own lips, eyes curved in question: “Does Your Highness want to kiss me?”

Xue Yu’s gaze swept over the lonely chart lying on the desk.

Somehow things became the current scene. Su You lowered his head, enduring her purely instinctive gnawing and biting. She seemed particularly fond of his lips, wanting to watch them gradually change from pale to rosy.

“A Yu.” After a moment, Su You steadied his breathing, his fingertip touching his lips, wiping away a streak of vivid red, his tone an extremely innocent murmur: “…Broken again.”