Fafa: Master, Luo Xuan wants you to slip the medicine to Xuan Yanyu on the day of the wedding. Do you dare? She says if you help her complete the wedding with Qi Qingchen, she will help you with Xuan Yanyu — do you believe her? She is just using you.

Does that matter? What matters is that Qi Qingchen and Luo Xuan get married without a hitch! Yan Yunning raised an eyebrow. Why would Luo Xuan think Xuan Yanyu would drink something she gave him?

Fafa: ……Master, are you certain you want to give it to Xuan Yanyu? Scheming against him won’t end well. If you follow Luo Xuan’s lead, you might be finished before any of this plays out!

You’re so noisy! Yan Yunning tossed the medicine pouch straight into the waste basket.

She picked up a pastry from the plate, took a satisfied bite, and opened the door to her room.

She wound her way around the pavilion and stuffed the remaining pastry into her mouth, her cheeks puffed out slightly. Feigning hurried urgency, she shoved open the door to Xuan Yanyu’s room with a creak.

“Xuan Yan… yu.” Yan Yunning swept her gaze around the room and noticed an unfamiliar face.

Fafa, who is that?

Fafa: Ye Jian, one of Xuan Yanyu’s guards.

Xuan Yanyu glanced up at her, his well-defined fingers tapping idly on the table.

“Xuan Yanyu, I know where my sister is.” Yan Yunning stepped forward, grabbed his hand, and began pulling him toward the door.

Feeling the warmth spreading from her palm into his, Xuan Yanyu’s throat worked up and down. His gaze fell on her slender fingers, and something tightened in his throat.

Ye Jian and Ye Chen exchanged a glance, then fell into step behind them in perfect unison.

With his mind elsewhere, Xuan Yanyu let himself be led by Yan Yunning all the way into her own room.

The young woman stood with one hand on her hip, the other pointing at the medicine pouch she had just thrown into the waste basket. Flushed with indignation, she said, “Xuan Yanyu, you won’t believe it — Luo Xuan actually wanted me to drug you! Am I that kind of person?”

The hand she had been holding was released. Xuan Yanyu unconsciously furrowed his brow.

Yan Yunning swallowed nervously. Fafa, what does the frown mean?!

Fafa: Master, I don’t know.

“Xuan Yanyu!” Yan Yunning suddenly moved in close to him.

Xuan Yanyu looked down at her, his voice low and slightly rough. “What did you just say?”

The warmth of his breath fanned across her cheek. Yan Yunning’s lashes trembled. She quickly put distance between them, gave a light cough, and said, “I… I said, Luo Xuan took my sister away.”

The man’s eyes narrowed slightly. “How do you know?”

Yan Yunning rolled her eyes inwardly, tilted her chin up, and said, “Well, she came to bring me medicine and proposed we work together.”

Xuan Yanyu’s gaze shifted from her face to the waste basket. His lips curved into a contemptuous sneer. “She has a death wish.”

Yan Yunning bit her lip, breath catching, then stumbled over her words. “I… I think we could turn her scheme against her. She wants to marry Qi Qingchen — what if we help her along?”

Fafa: Master, well done! You know you can’t afford to cross Xuan Yanyu, and yet you don’t want to miss this opportunity, so you’ve simply dragged him into it too.

……

“Think about it — my sister spends every day at Qi Qingchen’s side for one reason: he has no wife. But if Qi Qingchen were to marry, my sister would be heartbroken and would surely stop trailing after him. She might then start to notice the person right beside her.” Yan Yunning’s words carried a pointed meaning.

The man let out a soft laugh. His low voice came unhurriedly. “Why would you help Luo Xuan? What is your purpose?”

Yan Yunning paused. “My purpose… it’s just… just that I don’t want to keep running around every day anymore. You know how it is — my sister isn’t around, and I don’t dare return to the Chancellor’s manor alone. So the only way I can go home is if my sister gives up on Qi Qingchen and goes back herself. Then I can go back too.”

The young woman’s eyes shone brilliantly bright at the mention of going home.

Xuan Yanyu’s lips parted slightly. He was silent, watching her.

“So shall we help them along? What do you say?” Yan Yunning continued to make her case.

“Was it not you who called out ‘A’Chen, A’Chen,’ to Qi Qingchen every single day not long ago? Now you want to push him into Luo Xuan’s arms — can you really bear to?” The man’s tone turned pointed and sardonic.

Yan Yunning’s mouth twitched. She replied evenly, “Calling him A’Chen doesn’t mean I like him. What is there to bear?”

Xuan Yanyu let out a cold laugh. “And who was it that said she would marry no one but him?”

Yan Yunning cringed with embarrassment, her voice dropping low and soft. “I was just saying that. If I truly liked him, how could I possibly push him toward someone else?”

The corner of Xuan Yanyu’s lips curved ever so slightly.

“So, can we?” The young woman tugged at his sleeve, her voice sweet and coaxing.

Xuan Yanyu’s throat moved. “Can you guarantee that Luo Xuan won’t harm A’Yao?”

“She won’t. Luo Xuan won’t hurt my sister.”

Xuan Yanyu removed Yan Yunning’s hand from his sleeve, lifted his gaze, and met her eyes. “How can you be so certain she won’t hurt A’Yao?”

Yan Yunning pressed her lips together. Because Fafa said she didn’t in the story!!!

How was she supposed to tell him that?

Yan Yunning held his gaze for a moment, her mind turning at full speed. “Luo Xuan gave me her word. She promised she wouldn’t hurt my sister. You can trust her.”

“She said she wouldn’t, and you just believed her? What I want is for A’Yao to never be harmed — not a single scratch.” The man said this, then turned and walked out of the room.

Fafa: Master, you told him that Luo Xuan took Yan Shiyao away. Before long, Yan Shiyao will be rescued by him. In the book, Yan Shiyao was only rescued on the day of the wedding — you have disrupted Luo Xuan’s plan. Luo Xuan is obsessively devoted to Qi Qingchen. She will not let this go.

Fafa: In the book, Yan Shiyao was the one who ruined her plan, and Luo Xuan nearly had Yan Shiyao killed for it — but Yan Shiyao had the male lead and the second male lead protecting her. What will you do?

Yan Yunning’s throat tightened sharply. How am I supposed to know what to do? Should we just run, right now??

Fafa: The entire village is filled with Luo Xuan’s people. Where would you even run?

Yan Yunning slumped into the wooden chair in defeat. Fafa, am I going to meet my end right here??

Fafa: Master.

Yan Yunning’s gaze drooped to the corners of her eyes. She reached for the few remaining pastries on the table and began to savor them slowly.

The sweet, soft fragrance spread across her tongue. Yan Yunning shook her head slowly. Sigh. Who knows if I’ll ever get to eat again.

Fafa: ……

“Don’t hurt her.” A faint, weakened voice drifted through the gap in the door.

Yan Yunning’s eyelid twitched. With no time to think, she rose and pulled open the door.

At the sight outside, her eyes contracted sharply. Xuan Yanyu stood with long sword in hand, the blade pressed flat against Luo Xuan’s throat. Droplets of blood slid along the sword and dripped onto the ground.

Luo Xuan knelt on the floor, barely daring to breathe.

“Qingchen, don’t hurt her.”

“She hurt you.” Xuan Yanyu’s brow furrowed. The hand gripping the sword hilt tightened slightly.

Luo Xuan let out a muffled grunt. The searing sting of the blade against her skin turned the corners of her eyes crimson with pain. She ran the tip of her tongue over her lips, her gaze burning with unwilling fury.

Fafa, you lied to me? Didn’t you say she wouldn’t hurt my sister? Yan Yunning’s fingertips clenched around the wooden door frame. Seeing Yan Shiyao’s blood-stained hands made her scalp prickle.

She had just assured Xuan Yanyu that Luo Xuan would not harm her sister — and in the next breath, her sister was injured!

Fafa: Master, that was Yan Shiyao who hurt herself. Luo Xuan had nothing to do with it!

“She did not hurt me. I hurt myself trying to get out of the hidden chamber — I scraped my hands forcing the lock open.” Yan Shiyao’s eyes had gone red around the rims.

Qi Qingchen still needed Luo Xuan. She could not allow anything to happen to her.

The cold glint in Xuan Yanyu’s eyes did not fade. “That is still her fault. If she had not locked you in the hidden chamber, how would you have been hurt?”