She had also seen the expression of relief on his face.

As though marrying her had been a task, and once completed, he could not get far enough away from it.

Compared to how he treated her in Qilan, Xuan Yanyu’s behavior toward her in Xuanzhao was like the difference between heaven and earth.

Fortunately, none of it had happened yet. Fortunately, she had seen the future — things that had not yet come to pass.

If Xuan Yanyu still wanted her to marry him this time, she would marry him.

But he must not deceive Ningning. Just from seeing that future, she already felt deeply guilty toward Ningning.

And now, she absolutely would not allow Xuan Yanyu to put on two different faces to deceive Ningning.

What was more, in that future, he would kill Ningning without mercy in order to marry her.

Chunyi went to look for Yan Yunning in her chamber and found no sign of her, then turned and went to Qiuci’s room — no one there either — and hurried back to Yaozhi Courtyard.

……

A private room in a restaurant.

“Xuan Yanyu, shouldn’t we be heading back?” Yan Yunning swallowed the slice of meat he had placed in her bowl. “If we return too late, A’Jie will start nagging again.”

Lately, her elder sister kept a very close eye on her, wanting her nearby at every moment.

The moment she was gone, Chunyi would be sent to find her.

“No rush.” The man’s gaze swept over Ye Chen, Ye Jian, and Qiuci. “They haven’t finished eating yet.”

Yan Yunning propped her face in her hands and looked at the three of them across the table.

Qiuci ate her rice in small, uncomfortable bites. She was regretting having come out with the Second Young Miss today — besides the Second Young Miss, dining at the same table as the three other men left her feeling terribly constrained.

Ye Jian skillfully poured a cup of tea and handed it to Xuan Yanyu.

The man lazily raised his hand to take the teacup and sipped from it with elegant composure.

Yan Yunning glanced at him, then picked up her own teacup and drank it down in one go.

The corner of Qiuci’s mouth twitched.

Her young miss and Xuan Yanyu were truly a study in contrasts — one all ease and boldness, the other refined and noble.

“Stop drinking.” Yan Yunning plucked the teacup from the man’s hand and said with a cheerful smile, “Xuan Xixi, let’s go for a walk.”

Xuan Yanyu raised an eyebrow, allowing the girl to take his hand as they walked out of the private room.

It was nearing dusk. There were not many people on the long street, and the breeze that brushed against them was warm and gentle. Yan Yunning swung their clasped hands as they walked, and Xuan Yanyu glanced at her from the side, a faint smile rising in his eyes.

“Xuan Xixi, would you have the ability to make Qilan yours — part of Xuanzhao?”

The man spoke with an arrogant air. “It would just take a bit of time.”

Yan Yunning stopped walking and looked at him with a smile. “Then you’d better start preparing to unify Qilan and Xuanzhao quickly.”

He really could boast — and in the end, didn’t he still get beaten by Qi Qingchen!

Even his father, Prince Xuan, wouldn’t dare say something like that!

Xuan Yanyu looked down at her, one sword-straight brow slightly raised. “Oh? Is being Princess Xuan not enough for you? Do you also want to be the Empress of Qilan?”

Yan Yunning gave a light cough. “If you don’t attack Qilan, you’ll end up being attacked by Qi Qingchen instead.”

The man let out a scornful laugh. “He doesn’t have that kind of strength.”

The corner of Yan Yunning’s mouth twitched. He’s so confident!!

Who knows whether his Imperial Father will force him to marry A’Jie — and according to the plot, Xuanzhao ends up being destroyed under his watch, and he himself gets killed by Qi Qingchen!

“Xuan Xixi, what if your Imperial Father insists that you marry my elder sister?” Yan Yunning couldn’t help but ask.

Xuan Yanyu narrowed his eyes slightly, and his voice dropped a few degrees. “If Imperial Father means to have Yan Shiyao enter the Prince Xuan’s Palace as Princess Xuan, then Imperial Father might as well just marry her himself — it would amount to the same thing.”

“This Crown Prince will simply wait a few more years before taking the throne,” the man added in a leisurely tone.

Yan Yunning froze on the spot, so startled she forgot to breathe.

Truly the beloved son of Prince Xuan and Princess Xuan!!

“She doesn’t have to be Princess Xuan,” Xuan Yanyu continued with serious analysis. “Last time, when Little Ran took you to the Prince Xuan’s Palace and I went to look for you there, I ran into Imperial Father. Imperial Father asked whether I had brought the Crown Princess back, and I said I intended to marry Yan Shiyao as a secondary consort.”

“Imperial Father then said that the eldest legitimate daughter of the Chancellor’s Residence, Pei Shutong, is well-educated and virtuous, and that he would pick an auspicious day to have both her and your elder sister married into the Crown Prince’s Residence at the same time. Looking at it that way, Yan Shiyao could very well serve as an imperial concubine — Imperial Father can arrange her rank at that point.”

The corner of Yan Yunning’s mouth tugged. “Xuan Xixi, if Prince Xuan and Princess Xuan found out, wouldn’t they beat you to death?”

The man curved his lips, in that utterly infuriating way of his. “They wouldn’t — if they beat me to death, what would become of Xuanzhao?”

“……” Yan Yunning took a deep breath. “Xuan Xixi, if I had a son like you, I would beat you to death!!”

Xuan Yanyu leaned toward her and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “I wouldn’t make my son choose his own Crown Princess, so how would he dare stuff imperial concubines into my harem?”

He would not coddle his son the way Imperial Father coddled him.

If he had the time for that, he would rather spend it keeping Yan Yunning company.

Yan Yunning: “……?”

“Don’t worry. If he dared, I’d help you teach him a lesson.” Xuan Yanyu’s voice carried a smile.

Yan Yunning: “……”

He was getting far too ahead of himself. Who knew when she might go home?

She could see it now — Prince Xuan and Princess Xuan, to have a son like Xuan Yanyu, were truly blessed.

“Xuan Xixi, what if you also ended up with only one son? Could you bear to hit him?” Yan Yunning asked with a teasing smile.

Xuan Yanyu was quiet for a long while, then said in a low, husky voice, “That would be a bit of a problem. Let’s try to have two more.”

Yan Yunning bit her lip. She was not having a single one with him.

If she had children, how would she ever go home?

As long as she still held the thought of returning home, staying by Xuan Xixi’s side would only hold him back.

Right now, having heard her words, he seemed to want only her — which was truly troublesome.

Setting aside whether she could go home or not — it wasn’t her choice to make. Perhaps she could never go back. Perhaps one day, she would simply leave without warning.

She should not have changed her target in the first place. She should have gone after Qi Qingchen from the beginning — Qi Qingchen was not a good person, so she would not have had to feel any guilt.

Xuan Xixi was different. Though he was prone to anger, he was fundamentally a good person.

“Yan Yunning, trust me.” The man’s voice was low and rough. “There will not be only one son.”

“……” Yan Yunning awkwardly shifted her gaze. “Brother?”

Without waiting for Xuan Yanyu to react, Yan Yunning let go of his hand and ran toward Yan Zhiyi.

The man’s thin lips pressed together as the smile faded from his face.

“Brother.” Yan Yunning’s gaze fell on the hair pin that Yan Zhiyi held in his palm. She said teasingly, “Brother, is that for a future sister-in-law?”

“Silly girl — have you ever seen someone send the woman they love just one of something?” Yan Zhiyi turned at the sound of her voice and tapped her gently on the forehead, exasperated. “They’re for you and Yaoyao.”

“Brother is taking leave in a few days to take you and Yaoyao out somewhere fun.”

As he spoke, Yan Zhiyi pinned the exquisite hair pin into Yan Yunning’s hair and casually smoothed back the loose strands that had fallen around her face.

Yan Yunning touched the pin in her hair, and her brows lifted in a pretty arc. “Taking leave? Didn’t A’Jie say that Brother never requests leave unless something important comes up?”

Fafa: 【Master, you haven’t started thinking of Yan Zhiyi as your actual brother, have you?】

Yan Yunning’s long lashes fluttered slightly. He really was as gentle as her own brother.

Yan Zhiyi pinched her cheek, smiling with warmth. “To keep you and Yaoyao company……”

Before Yan Zhiyi could finish his sentence, Xuan Yanyu stepped forward.