“Misunderstand this Palace? Or pick a fight with this Palace?”

“We’ll see how it plays out. Aren’t you curious why A’Chen would do all this?” Yan Yunning unclipped his jade pendant and held it up before her eyes to examine it carefully.

She turned it in her palm — it was slightly cool to the touch, edged with gold trim, shallowly carved with a ring of dragon patterns and set with a band of round beads. Subtle yet beautiful.

Xuan Yanyu’s gaze deepened by several degrees. “This Palace could simply interrogate him directly. There’s no need for you to take the roundabout route of making this Palace the misunderstood party.”

“No.”

“Why not? This Palace saved him, and he turned around and slandered this Palace. This Palace can’t even fight back?” The man’s face was full of displeasure.

He had never been made to feel so stifled in his entire life.

Yan Yunning coaxed him gently. “Xuan Xixi, could you not hold this against A’Chen? Think of him as a younger brother who’s being a little willful. Can you do that?”

“No. This Palace will not suffer needlessly, nor be saddled with blame for no reason.” The man’s voice was cold.

He refused to take this blame. Although Yan Ruijing had done nothing to him outwardly, he could tell that in his heart, Yan Ruijing had already concluded that the matter of Lu Jin’an was connected to him.

He intended to marry Yan Yunning in the future — and while Yan Ruijing couldn’t stop that regardless, he also didn’t want Yan Ruijing to resent him over Lu Jin’an’s affair.

He would have A’Chen explain everything to Yan Ruijing, word by word.

“Xuan Xixi, A’Chen devised this plan and brought Lu A’Niang out of the Prime Minister’s estate — meaning he has no intention of bringing her back, no matter how you interrogate him. He won’t say a word. Please just do as I ask, alright?”

Yan Yunning nestled her head against his shoulder, her voice soft and gentle.

Xuan Yanyu’s lips curved. “Yan Yunning, this Palace has ways to make him talk.”

No one had ever been able to hold out and keep the truth from him — not a single exception, not to this day.

Yan Yunning frowned, and after a long moment of thought she said, “Aren’t you worried Ranran would be heartbroken?”

“Little Ran has returned to Xuanzhao.” The man’s eyes arched slightly at the corners.

“What does Ranran returning to Xuanzhao have to do with anything? Just because she went back to Xuanzhao, knowing you interrogated A’Chen makes her any less heartbroken?”

“She returned to Xuanzhao without a word — which means she no longer wants to be with A’Chen.” Xuan Yanyu tapped his knuckle lightly against her forehead.

Yan Yunning pressed her lips together. “Xuan Xixi, bear with this just a little. I’ll have A’Chen apologize to you. You accept his apology, and if you still feel you’ve been wronged, I’ll make it up to you later — alright?”

The man’s throat moved. “How will you make it up to me?”

“You say what you want…”

Xuan Yanyu’s eyes were deep as he looked at her. “Alright.”

Yan Yunning froze. The words — I’ll have A’Chen fulfill your request — formed in her mind but went unspoken, swallowed back down.

Did he know what she was going to say?

His mind was sharp — he’d likely already guessed.

“Yan Yunning, this Palace will hold you to that.” A teasing smile flickered in the man’s eyes.

Whatever he asked for when the time came — she could not refuse him.

Yan Yunning didn’t understand what he found so amusing.

Surely he wasn’t going to come up with some outrageous demand just to make things difficult for A’Chen?

“Xuan Xixi, your demands can’t be unreasonable.” Yan Yunning felt compelled to warn him.

“Mm.” The man studied her. “Indeed they cannot be too unreasonable.”

Given how she was prone to fainting at the slightest provocation, he didn’t dare push too far.

Yan Yunning breathed easier. “Then I’ll go talk to A’Chen?”

“Go ahead.”

Xuan Yanyu’s voice was soft as warm silk. Yan Yunning gave a little shiver.

Was he plotting something to mess with A’Chen?

Why was he wearing that upturned-lip expression?

Yan Yunning retreated from the side chamber with an uneasy heart, pulled the door shut behind her, and ran to A’Chen’s room.

Inside, the moment A’Chen saw Yan Yunning, he spoke with a pained look. “Little Lemon…”

“Don’t.” Yan Yunning tapped his forehead. “Tell me the truth — was it you who told Xuan Yanyu which porridge Lu A’Niang liked?”

“No.” A’Chen said with certainty.

“A’Chen, do you really have to deceive me?” Yan Yunning said with disappointment.

A’Chen clutched his chest and bent over. “Little Lemon, it’s not as though I don’t know who he is — why would I go and deceive Xuan Yanyu? He punched me and it still hurts. Have you ever considered that all of this is his scheme — that he deliberately drove a wedge between us?”

“Clearing himself of responsibility in Lu A’Po’s affair while letting our relationship fall apart…”

“No — he wouldn’t. He wouldn’t do that.” Yan Yunning turned the jade pendant in her hand, the one she hadn’t yet returned to Xuan Yanyu.

A’Chen’s mouth twitched. “Little Lemon, you trust him that much?”

Yan Yunning nodded, then asked, “Where have you hidden Lu A’Niang?”

“…” A’Chen quietly let out a breath and lowered his eyes. “Little Lemon, I didn’t — I haven’t hidden Lu A’Po anywhere. Where would I even hide her?”

“A’Chen, tell me the truth.” Yan Yunning stepped toward him and used the jade pendant to lift his chin, their eyes meeting. “What’s your reason? Why would you do something so reckless as frame Xuan Yanyu?”

“…” A’Chen pursed his lips, his brow creasing with frustration. “Little Lemon, I really didn’t hide Lu A’Po. She’s truly gone.”

As he spoke, a mist gathered in the young man’s eyes. “Little Lemon, why won’t you believe me?”

Yan Yunning held his gaze, her brow furrowing slightly. “Never mind whether you hid Lu A’Niang or not — did you or did you not tell Xuan Yanyu about the yam porridge? Don’t you dare lie to me!”

“I didn’t!” A’Chen’s eyes shifted away. Then, abruptly: “Little Lemon, the pendant you gave me has gone missing.”

He had noticed it was gone the moment he woke up in the house.

The princess must have taken it.

“You lost it?” Yan Yunning’s brow creased.

Because of that pendant, she had narrowly escaped being scolded to death by her maternal grandmother.

The pendant had been made from one of her grandmother’s bracelets — she had grabbed it casually at the time, not knowing that particular bracelet was valuable.

The craftsman she’d hired wasn’t skilled — he’d only managed to make one piece from an entire bracelet. When her grandmother found out later, she’d had her ears twisted until they were red.

“Mm.” A’Chen looked a little guilty.

“We’ll deal with that later. Right now, go and apologize to Xuan Yanyu.” Yan Yunning rubbed her temple.

“Little Lemon, I haven’t done anything wrong. Why should I apologize to Xuan Yanyu?” A’Chen’s mouth curved downward.

“Isn’t this all just because you want to be with Xuan Yanyu? So you speak up for him — though deep down you know perfectly well that what happened to Lu A’Po was his doing.”

Yan Yunning laughed despite herself. “A’Chen, keep this up and I’ll wash my hands of you.”

“You were wounded by Luo Xuan. Wasn’t it Xuan Yanyu who had Ye Chen bring you back to Xuanzhao to be healed? And now you’re treating him like this — what exactly are you thinking?”

It was just like what was written in the story — he was supposed to help A’Jie escape the palace of the Prince of Xuan, and to carry messages between Qi Qingchen and A’Jie. Why was that?

Xuan Yanyu had never wronged him — he had even saved his life.

A’Chen’s eyes flickered. Xuan Yanyu had indeed saved him, but he only took orders from his master. There were things that were not his to decide.

“Xuan Yanyu has already had Ye’an look into this. If you don’t apologize to him, you had better hope he doesn’t find out the truth.”

“Because if you’ve wronged the Crown Prince of Xuanzhao, and if Xuan Yanyu were the type to let things go, it might still be fine — but he is not. He does not suffer a single grievance in silence.”

“Have you thought about what the consequences would be for you?”