After tossing it away, he pulled out the handkerchief Yan Yunning had used to wipe her hands and wiped his own hands with it.

Yan Yunning: “……”

Pei Qingyan’s eyes brightened slightly. “Judging by that expression of yours, the person you admire can’t compare to this General?”

If he couldn’t even compare, how could he dare compete?

Yan Yunning curved her lips into a light smile. “Him, huh……”

“He can’t compare to this General.” Pei Qingyan suddenly leaned forward, the tips of their noses only a hair’s breadth apart.

Yan Yunning pushed him away, her voice clear and crisp. “Young Master Pei, he doesn’t need to compare himself to you. If you insist on comparing yourself to him, then you……”

She left the rest unsaid. Pei Qingyan toyed with the handkerchief in his hand and said lazily, “This General isn’t worthy of being compared to him?”

Yan Yunning raised an eyebrow.

“Ningning, what kind of person isn’t worthy of being compared to this General?” Pei Qingyan leaned back against the wooden chair, his large palm ruffling her hair. “Could it be someone from your dreams?”

Yan Yunning slapped his hand away, rolled up her sleeve, and gave him a punch.

“Ningning, you hit me again.” The young man complained, “That’s twice today already.”

“Ahem.” Yan Shiyao cleared her throat. “Ningning, Elder Brother Pei.”

A maidservant helped Yan Shiyao to a seat on the wooden chair, then retreated.

“Yaoyao, have some grapes.” Pei Qingyan enthusiastically pushed the fruit box in front of Yan Shiyao.

Yan Shiyao smiled and said, “Elder Brother Pei, you needn’t be so courteous with me. You are my brother’s close friend, so you are also my elder brother.”

As she said this, she turned her head to look at Yan Yunning. “Isn’t that right, Ningning……”

Her voice came to an abrupt halt. She was staring fixedly at the slender white arm the young woman had exposed — the golden bracelet carved with dragon patterns on her wrist glittered particularly beautifully and piercingly in the refracted sunlight.

The three pendants hanging from it, if she guessed correctly, were engraved with the three characters of Xuan Yanyu.

Xuan Yanyu had not deceived Ningning……

In the fragments she had seen, that bracelet was not something Xuan Yanyu had given Ningning when he was deceiving her.

Thinking carefully about it, Xuan Yanyu seemed to be exceptionally patient with Ningning — he would carry her on his back up the mountain, he would proactively embrace her — none of these things had he done for her.

What on earth was going on? What was the matter with the fragments she had seen?

It had been over ten days since she had seen Xuan Yanyu. Where had he gone?

Yan Yunning pressed her lips together and pulled her sleeve back down. She kept the jade pendant inside her pouch at all times, and she covered the bracelet with her sleeve so no one could see it.

Otherwise, with a jade pendant and a bracelet both bearing dragon patterns, she truly feared that the Emperor Qi would convict her of the crime of treason.

Had her elder sister not been staring so intently, she wouldn’t even have noticed that her sleeve had been rolled up.

“Yan Shiyao, why have you come out? Why aren’t you resting properly in your room to nurse your injuries?” Qi Qingchen followed after her, clearly displeased.

She had been right there one moment, and the next she was gone from the room.

Yan Shiyao bit her lip. She had come out precisely to avoid him. Originally her brother had not planned to bring her along, intending for her to recuperate at the Chancellor’s residence. But Qi Qingchen had come to visit her after only a few days, so she had begged her brother to bring her along to Yuanjing Villa as well. She hadn’t expected Qi Qingchen to follow along too.

“This subject, Pei Qingyan, pays his respects to His Highness the Third Prince.” A flash of surprise crossed Pei Qingyan’s eyes. Why would His Highness the Third Prince come to Yuanjing Villa?

“Mm.”

With Qi Qingchen’s arrival, Pei Qingyan became considerably more restrained.

Yan Yunning had no inclination to linger. She offered a brief greeting and left.

Pei Qingyan gave Qi Qingchen a bow, then quickly followed after Yan Yunning to leave with her.

“Yan Shiyao, go back and lie down.” Qi Qingchen bent down and lifted Yan Shiyao into his arms.

Yan Shiyao lost her temper. “Qi Qingchen, keep your distance from this subject’s daughter. Can’t you tell that she utterly despises you?”

Qi Qingchen knitted his brows tightly. “Yan Shiyao, why do you despise this Palace? Is it because this Palace had Wu’an injure you? But think about it — you fed this Palace two doses of medicine that caused him to act like a fool. This Palace showed you mercy by not killing you.”

Yan Shiyao: “……”

Seeing the girl fall silent, Qi Qingchen carried her back to her room.

Inside the room were Jiang Zhijing, Jiang Zhibai, An’nian, Shen Ruoyi, Pei Qingyan, and Yan Zhiyi. Yan Yunning was crouching to one side, playing with Jiang Zhijing and An’nian’s son, Jiang Yanche.

Yan Shiyao looked at the room full of people, her expression somewhat awkward. She said quietly, “Put me down quickly.”

Qi Qingchen raised an eyebrow and stood where he was without moving.

“We pay our respects to His Highness the Third Prince.” Everyone in the room knelt.

They had not known Qi Qingchen was His Highness the Third Prince — it was Pei Qingyan who had blurted it out.

“All rise.” Qi Qingchen walked to the side of the couch and set Yan Shiyao down.

Everyone stood aside stiffly.

“Your Highness the Third Prince, please have some tea.” Jiang Zhijing hurried to offer a cup of tea.

He hadn’t been able to figure out just moments ago why the Third Prince would come to his villa.

Now he understood — it was for Yaoyao.

Perhaps he should send Yaoyao back to the Chancellor’s residence tomorrow. Otherwise, with the Third Prince here, his heart would be in his throat the whole time.

Qi Qingchen took a courteous sip of tea.

Jiang Zhijing lifted the teapot and added a little more tea.

Qi Qingchen swept his gaze around, then turned his head to look at Yan Shiyao and asked, “Why hasn’t Xuan Yanyu come?”

He was never absent on any other occasion — why hadn’t he come this time?

The fingers Yan Yunning was using to tie Jiang Yanche’s hair into a ponytail paused for a moment.

Yan Shiyao shook her head. She found it very strange as well — how had Xuan Yanyu suddenly left, and why at this particular time?

“Xuan Yanyu?” Pei Qingyan hastened to explain. “Your Highness the Third Prince, with the surname Xuan, he has likely returned to Xuanzhao. This subject heard from his father that the Crown Prince of Xuanzhao is taking a wife. Prince Xuan issued a decree ordering all people of Xuanzhao to return to Xuanzhao to celebrate for the Crown Prince.”

A favored Imperial Prince really is something else — taking a side consort, and the entire kingdom of Xuanzhao has to celebrate for him.

“Taking a wife? Who is he marrying?” Yan Shiyao asked in shock.

This wasn’t right — why had everything changed?

No wonder she hadn’t seen him for over ten days.

“Auntie.” Jiang Yanche’s tone of complaint carried a touch of coquetry. “That hurt — you’re pulling.”

Yan Yunning ruffled his head apologetically.

“He is marrying the legitimate daughter of the Chancellor’s residence, Pei Shutong, and the daughter of the Minister of Finance, Mu Xue.” Pei Qingyan said.

Yan Shiyao twisted the brocade quilt. This was different from what she had seen. In the fragments she had witnessed, Prince Xuan had not consented to Xuan Yanyu marrying anyone else before he married her.

Qi Qingchen narrowed his eyes. Why would Prince Xuan suddenly issue a decree arranging marriages for the Crown Prince of Xuanzhao?

Hadn’t Prince Xuan declared that the Crown Prince of Xuanzhao would not take a wife until he found a suitable Crown Princess?

Could it be that he had found one?

A flicker passed through Yan Yunning’s eyes. Mu Xue was the girl who had come to block Xuan Yanyu at the Crown Prince’s residence last time. Pei Shutong was Xuan Yanyu’s future favored consort from the story. He was getting married — that was why he had left Qilan without a single word to her.

No, that wasn’t right. He had made a promise. He had said that she was the only consort his imperial father would have — he had no reason to deceive her. Yet he had left Qilan without leaving so much as a word for her.

Promises can be lies too.

Yan Yunning lowered her gaze and felt the bracelet on her wrist through her sleeve, a slight furrow forming between her brows.

……

Meanwhile, on the other side, Xuan Yanyu — who was recuperating from his injuries at an inn — received word of this. Disregarding the need to rest quietly, he set off and returned to Xuanzhao.

The Imperial Study.

Prince Xuan stood to one side. Xuan Yanyu sat upon the golden dragon throne.