Lin Chengyou gazed at the purple jade saddle. From the selection of materials to the intricate carving, every detail was exquisite. He wondered how long Teng Yuyi had prepared in advance, and how much effort she had invested to create such a dazzling treasure, delivering it just in time for his birthday. This thoughtfulness was even more precious than the magnificent purple jade saddle itself.

He more than liked it.

He was so moved he didn’t know what to say.

He shifted his steps, walking to Dun Fu’s side, then reached out to touch the precious saddle.

The moment his fingers contacted the smooth leather and jewels, it was as if he touched his own heart—his heart softened, melting completely.

How could there be such an adorable young lady in this world? He could imagine how long she must have pondered before deciding to use this material for a horse saddle.

His chest felt burning hot. For the first time in his life, he experienced a feeling of being dazed with joy.

He nodded with a smile, “Teng Yuyi, you’ve outdone yourself. I’m speechless—this is the best gift I’ve ever received.”

“Really?” Teng Yuyi brightened up. Seeing that Lin Chengyou truly liked it, she felt relieved. The most important aspect of gift-giving was choosing something the recipient would appreciate. Being able to present a birthday gift that satisfied her great benefactor meant her efforts hadn’t been wasted.

Lin Chengyou turned to look at her, his eyes sparkling like morning stars: “Really.”

In his heart, he thought that compared to this precious saddle, meeting her was the best gift he had received this year. His heart felt warm, and for a moment he was lost for words. Teng Yuyi stood gracefully by the lotus pond, where red lotuses bloomed quietly. The moonlight was like frost, and tonight her jade-colored white peony silk gauze dress made her look like a figure from a painting. Earlier on the path, he had found everything in this garden displeasing, but now every detail of the surroundings seemed lovely.

The hairpin in his breast pocket was undoubtedly crude compared to this precious saddle, but since he had already prepared it with sincere intentions, he had no intention of hiding it. Just for the auspicious meaning of the fine jade on the hairpin, she wouldn’t look down on it. Once in her hands, whether she played with it, wore it, or put it away, it would be up to her pleasure.

After tonight, he wanted to give her something even more unique than the purple jade saddle.

Thinking this, he reached into his front collar again, but at that moment, Teng Yuyi suddenly made a formal bow to him, saying: “I was worried earlier that the Imperial Prince wouldn’t like it, but now I can rest assured. By my count, the Imperial Prince has saved my life three times. This debt of gratitude deserves repayment even at the cost of my life—a mere precious saddle can only express a fraction of my thanks.”

Lin Chengyou’s movement froze. Great benefactor? Repayment with her life?

“If the Imperial Prince has any commands in the future, Dun Fu and I would gladly serve like loyal hounds and horses. I’ll soon have people send flower cakes to the temple. The two young Daoist priests haven’t tried them either, so they can have a taste as well.”

Wait, something wasn’t right—the flower cakes were meant for him alone, why should Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi get a share?

After speaking those words, Teng Yuyi felt uncertain in her heart. While it might be possible to inquire about the life-borrowing matter in front of Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi, it probably wouldn’t work with Lin Chengyou, as any question would raise his suspicions. At least she had managed to deliver the gift, achieving her goal for tonight.

She turned her head to observe the surroundings: “I specially came from the East Garden to deliver the Imperial Prince’s gift, and I’ve been away from my seat for quite some time. If I don’t return soon, my elder sister and aunt will worry. Now that the gift has been delivered to the birthday recipient, I can rest easy. Imperial Prince, if there’s nothing else, we’ll take our leave.”

Teng Yuyi smiled and gestured for Dun Fu to present the purple jade saddle to Lin Chengyou, then made another bow to him, turning to leave.

“Wait.” Lin Chengyou blurted out.

Teng Yuyi paused: “Does the Imperial Prince have something else?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Lin Chengyou began to carefully observe her. There was no trace of shyness on her face—she wanted to leave right after delivering the gift, repeatedly calling him “benefactor,” showing no intention of even exchanging a few more pleasantries.

He felt somewhat unsure. Although he had always sneered at tales of scholars and beauties, he had heard several romantic ballads. According to common sense, a young lady shouldn’t act this way after giving a gift to the one she admires.

This wasn’t right—Teng Yuyi didn’t seem to have any feelings for him at all.

Teng Yuyi looked puzzled: “Imperial Prince?”

“Don’t rush, no one will come here for now. I have something to ask you.” Lin Chengyou tried to steady his heart. Perhaps Teng Yuyi was just afraid of being seen and therefore eager to leave, or maybe she was just maintaining a calm exterior, or even too shy to show her feelings. Only he knew how fast his heart was beating right now.

“Please speak, Imperial Prince.”

But Lin Chengyou didn’t know how to begin. He could hardly ask directly: “Teng Yuyi, do you like me?”

It seemed he would have to simply take out the hairpin from his pocket.

She was a young lady, she had her concerns—that was fine. He would take the initiative. He was a gentleman, he had thick skin.

He would just tell her directly that he liked her.

Once she knew he liked her, she would naturally set aside her reservations.

Having made up his mind in an instant, his heart began beating faster before he could even speak. Suddenly, a cough came from nearby, interrupting Lin Chengyou’s train of thought.

The voice sounded elderly and strangely familiar. Teng Yuyi’s heart skipped a beat—hadn’t Lin Chengyou said no one would come here for now? She turned back in surprise to find it was Daoist Master Qing Xu.

No wonder even Lin Chengyou’s guards hadn’t dared to stop him.

Behind Daoist Master Qing Xu were Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi.

Daoist Master Qing Xu walked slowly with his hands behind his back, while Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi followed closely, both looking unusually subdued compared to their usual selves.

Teng Yuyi glanced at Lin Chengyou and saw that even he was stunned.

Fortunately, Lin Chengyou recovered quickly, turning to greet him: “Master-Grandfather.”

Teng Yuyi tried to leave but then thought better of it. She had come to deliver a birthday gift, which Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi knew about. Daoist Master Qing Xu held an esteemed position in the hearts of the Holy One and the Prince Consort—leaving without paying respects would be both discourteous and suspicious. After a moment’s consideration, she calmly followed.

“Greetings, Daoist Master.” She made a respectful curtsy.

Up close, she noticed that although Daoist Master Qing Xu’s face was deeply wrinkled, his eyes were as bright as a young person’s. Though his expression showed little joy, his gaze was rather gentle.

Qing Xu made a sound of acknowledgment: “This poor Daoist returns the greeting.”

Teng Yuyi rose and had Dun Fu present the purple jade saddle to Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi, then said frankly: “The Imperial Prince’s great kindness and virtue, Dun Fu and I will remember forever. If there’s anything we can help with in the future, please don’t hesitate to command us.”

After speaking these words, she made another smiling bow and quickly left.

Lin Chengyou’s heart was already in chaos. Looking at Teng Yuyi’s hastily departing figure, he felt ten thousand words stuck in his throat, but in front of his master grandfather, he could only contain himself.

“Master Grandfather, weren’t you already asleep? Why did you suddenly come here?”

Daoist Master Qing Xu smiled slightly at his words: “Just came out for a walk. Didn’t expect to catch you acting foolish, young man.”

***

Not far away, Bi Luo suddenly said: “Young Miss, this servant feels that the Imperial Prince likes you.”

Teng Yuyi was first stunned, then touched her ears to make sure she hadn’t misheard. Bi Luo had indeed said those words—even hearing that Master Nun Jing Chen had come back to life wouldn’t have seemed more absurd to her.

“Has this servant gone mad? What nonsense are you talking about?” She looked at Bi Luo in disbelief.

Bi Luo’s face was full of confusion: “But just now, this servant saw clearly from the side—the Imperial Prince’s gaze toward Young Miss was strange, and he kept smiling at you.”

Teng Yuyi scoffed. Lin Chengyou was naturally graceful and loved to smile; he could maintain his composure and cheerfulness even in front of evil spirits and heretics. Since she had begun dealing with him, she had never seen him look worried.

“Stop talking nonsense, he looks at everyone that way.”

“But—”

Teng Yuyi recalled the earlier scene. Come to think of it, Lin Chengyou had been a bit strange tonight, more talkative, his smile somewhat more pleasant than usual. However, she hadn’t forgotten that he only smiled after seeing the purple jade saddle. When he first appeared, he had immediately given her trouble, complaining about the wine she sent not being good enough and making odd demands.

The conclusion was simple: he had been in a bad mood initially and only smiled after seeing the purple jade saddle.

She waved her hand to interrupt Bi Luo, taking out a fragrance pouch from her sleeve: “Use your head. He’s afflicted by the Heartless Poison—it’s extremely difficult to cure. Even the Holy One and Daoist Master Qing Xu worry about it daily. Before the poison is cured, Lin Chengyou cannot possibly fall in love with any woman.”

As Bi Luo was about to share her opinion, Teng Yuyi’s attention had already shifted to her silk sash. Moving to a brighter spot for a closer look, she discovered that the silk cord on the right side that held the silver fragrance pouch had broken without cause. Judging from the fuzzy thread ends, it seemed something had worn away a section beforehand. The pouch was a heavy silver sphere, already weighty on its own, and contained her usual rose fragrance blocks. With the cord damaged this way, no wonder the pouch had fallen during her walk.

So earlier it wasn’t that the cord’s knot had loosened—someone had deliberately tampered with her sash beforehand.

This was bewildering. When leaving the mansion tonight, Chun Rong and Bi Luo had thoroughly checked her dress ties, only letting her wear them after confirming everything was fine. Being extra cautious when going out, she had also checked everything herself beforehand.

She was certain that at least before leaving home, both the silk cord and fragrance pouch had been fine.

Teng Yuyi’s first reaction was to look at Bi Luo. Earlier, on the way to the West Garden, Dun Fu had been beside her, with Bi Luo walking behind. If Bi Luo had dared to cut her sash with a sharp tool under Dun Fu’s nose, Dun Fu would surely have noticed.

So it couldn’t have been Bi Luo.

Could it have been Prince Jun’an? The same logic applied—if he had tampered with it, Dun Fu should have noticed. Besides, if Prince Jun’an had wanted to create some connection with her through the fallen pouch, he wouldn’t have returned it to her. Yet earlier, he had not only actively reminded her about the fallen pouch but had also left without saying another word.

From how things looked then, Prince Jun’an seemed to have been summoned there by someone.

Looking at it this way, could it be that rather than someone present at the scene tampering with it, someone had taken advantage when Dun Fu wasn’t by her side?

Thinking carefully, tonight Dun Fu had only been away from her side when she was seated among the ladies.

After taking her seat, Elder Sister had been continuously sitting on her right, so whoever did it must have been on her left, coincidentally where the broken cord had been tied.

Her mind raced. Who had been on her left then? Closest to her was Li Huaigu, then Wu Qi, and further in was Liu Fourth Miss.

Could it have been one of these three? She pondered silently. People always had motives for harming others. She couldn’t immediately think of any grudges between herself and any of them, but the fact remained that someone had worn down her silk cord.

Were they plotting against her and Prince Jun’an? Trying to sully her reputation? Or did they have some other scheme…

***

In the east wing compound, in the main chamber.

The room was comfortably warm, with Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi busily moving about.

Lin Chengyou personally served his master grandfather a cup of tea, then took his cap and black robe to hang them on the rosewood clothes rack.

Daoist Master Qing Xu was in no hurry to go to bed, merely sitting on the edge of the bed in his sleeping robe, slowly savoring his tea. When the room was mostly tidied up, he spoke gently to Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi: “You two go out first, Master-Grandfather has something to discuss with your Senior Brother.”

Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi secretly gave their Senior Brother a meaningful look before shuffling out.

“That purple jade saddle was a birthday gift from the Teng family’s young lady?”

Lin Chengyou lifted his robe to sit on the couch beside the bed. Although his heart was no longer as settled as before, he still couldn’t help but smile when thinking of the purple jade saddle.

“Yes.” Fearing his master grandfather might misunderstand Teng Yuyi, he seriously added, “Miss Teng is someone who knows gratitude and seeks to repay it. She sent such a generous gift only because I had saved her several times before.”

Daoist Master Qing Xu stared at his disciple for a while, then suddenly sighed: “You’ve been asking about the Heartless Poison these past few days because you felt you had developed feelings for this Miss Teng?”

Lin Chengyou maintained a calm expression, but his ears grew hot. Meeting his Master-Grandfather’s penetrating gaze, he inwardly clicked his tongue—he knew nothing could be hidden from Master-Grandfather.

“Yes.” He simply admitted it. “This disciple likes Miss Teng. She… has both feeling and righteousness. Master-Grandfather, when there’s a chance later, this disciple will bring her to talk with you. You’ll surely like her too.”

Daoist Master Qing Xu snorted. This child had an even thicker skin than his grandfather had back then—with just one question, he had already arranged the next meeting.

He didn’t follow that thread, instead pointing at Lin Chengyou’s chest: “What good thing are you hiding there? Earlier when Miss Teng was still here, Master-Grandfather saw you reach for it several times. Is there something you want to give her?”

Lin Chengyou looked down, cleared his throat, and said: “Oh, this disciple prepared a return gift for Miss Teng.”

Thinking it must be either precious jewelry or some interesting trinket, Qing Xu maintained a stern face and said: “If Master-Grandfather hadn’t come to interrupt, were you about to give it to her?”

Lin Chengyou smiled without answering.

Qing Xu: “Foolish boy, you didn’t even first figure out whether she likes you or not. What if she doesn’t like you? If you give her such a thing, tell me, should she accept it or not?”

Lin Chengyou’s smile slightly froze. Before this, even if he hadn’t said it aloud, in his heart he would have answered, “Of course she likes me, we’re mutually in love.”

But after what had just happened, he suddenly felt uncertain.

“I—”

Just as he started speaking, his Master-Grandfather dealt another heavy blow: “In Master-Grandfather’s view, that young lady hasn’t fallen for you at all.”

Lin Chengyou’s heart pounded violently, but he forced a smile and said: “Master-Grandfather, you’ve only met Miss Teng twice. How can you know what she’s thinking?”

Qing Xu pointed to his own eyes: “Master-Grandfather can see.”

Seeming to anticipate that Lin Chengyou would argue with him, he slowly added: “When a woman likes a man, her eyes can’t hide it. Before marriage, whenever she sees the man she loves, she either lowers her eyes shyly or can’t look away. But just now, Master-Grandfather watched for quite a while—that Miss Teng looked at you the same way she looked at your two junior brothers.”

Lin Chengyou stiffened: “Impossible!”

“Foolish boy.” Qing Xu kept shaking his head. “Just think about yourself—don’t you become happy as soon as you see Miss Teng?”

That was true.

“Now think about Miss Teng—did she look like someone seeing their beloved earlier?”

Lin Chengyou’s heart began to waver, but his mouth remained stubborn: “If someone is too shy, they might hide it in front of others.”

Qing Xu stroked his beard, then suddenly said: “Remember what Master-Grandfather taught you in your youth—to judge what someone is truly thinking, you can’t just look at the surface. You must listen to their breath. No matter how much someone tries to hide on the surface, their breathing will betray them. In front of someone they love, even their heartbeat differs from usual. Did you notice her breathing earlier—was it the same as usual?”

Lin Chengyou could no longer smile. Earlier, with his emotions going up and down, he hadn’t paid attention, but speaking of pulse and breathing reminded him of that night at Libaizuan when he taught her lightness skills. That night, to help her grasp it quickly, he had simply used the Soul-Locking Beast to directly transfer his true qi to her.

Through the Soul-Locking Beast’s transmission, he could sense her breathing and pulse, but even when he was face-to-face transferring true qi to her, her breathing and heartbeat had never once become irregular.

Then there was that time in the underground palace, when he held her in his arms, suddenly feeling himself as hot as if he’d just played a game of polo in summer. Teng Yuyi was different—once she confirmed it was him coming to rescue her, her heartbeat and breathing quickly stabilized.

Previously, when he wasn’t sure of his feelings, he had never thought about these things. But now thinking back, if Teng Yuyi had feelings for him, when his palm was touching her face, how could her breathing not have changed even once?

***

Kuan Nu, Jue Sheng, and Qi Zhi sat side by side on the courtyard steps, quietly listening to the flute music coming from the opposite eaves.

“It’s already late into the night, the banquet has long ended—Senior Brother isn’t planning to play until dawn, is he?” Jue Sheng spoke first.

“Master-Grandfather said Senior Brother is feeling unhappy right now, told us not to disturb him, to let him be alone for a while.” Qi Zhi rested his chin on his palm.

Kuan Nu sighed deeply: “Come to think of it, how long has it been since we’ve heard the Imperial Prince play the flute? In the past, his tunes were so cheerful, but tonight it sounds…”

Qi Zhi scratched his head: “A bit melancholic.”

Jue Sheng added: “And that purple jade saddle is still sitting there beside him.”

“How pitiful.” All three sighed in unison.