Xuan Yanyu’s voice was lazy and unhurried. “I would. I wouldn’t care about you at all.”

“Then why did you just grab my wrist so anxiously? Hm~?” Yan Yunning curved her lips, deliberately dragging out the end of the syllable.

The man glanced at her sideways and said languidly, “Had nothing better to do.”

Yan Yunning pouted and grumbled, “Xuan Yanyu, go ahead and take your frustration out on me. Drive me so mad that I’m done for — then you’ll have no one as patient as me, willing to coax you.”

“Wrong.” Xuan Yanyu raised an eyebrow and smiled, his eyes full of amusement.

Yan Yunning blinked, and in an instant understood what he meant. “Right, right, right — how could there be no one willing to coax our illustrious Crown Prince?”

“A fool is a fool.” The man let out a long sigh.

“?” Yan Yunning turned it over in her mind. “You mean, other than me, no one else would make you angry in the first place?”

If no one made him angry, there was naturally no need for anyone to coax him.

“Foolish.” Xuan Yanyu lazily flicked her on the forehead.

“Xuan Yanyu!”

The man raised an eyebrow and, without a word, took her hand and led her onward.

Ye’an, following behind, more or less understood what Xuan Yanyu meant. It was not that no one other than the Crown Princess would make His Highness angry — it was that if any other woman provoked His Highness, she would be dealt with according to palace rules on the spot. His Highness would not even bother getting angry.

After Xuan Yanyu and Yan Yunning had walked some distance away, a figure who had been crouching behind the flowerbeds straightened up. It was Pei Shi, dressed in the attire of a maidservant, her eyes dark with venom as she stared at the retreating backs of Xuan Yanyu and Yan Yunning.

She would avenge Tongtong.

Earlier that day, she had given the maidservant who delivered meals to her in the cold palace a hairpin, put on the girl’s skirt and dress, and slipped out of the cold palace in disguise.

Her original plan had been to blend in with the palace maids going out on errands to purchase supplies and sneak out of the palace that way. She had not anticipated that the supervising eunuch would verify the list so carefully, and that there would also be guards at the palace gates recording the times of entry and exit.

When she had been a Noble Consort, she had only known that the times of leaving and returning to the palace were recorded. She had not expected that the supervising eunuch would now check names against faces as well.

She had no intention of escaping the Prince Xuan’s Palace in any case — after all, if she disappeared, it would implicate the Chief Minister’s residence. She had only wanted to slip out and see what had become of Tongtong.

Since she could not leave the Prince Xuan’s Palace, she would make His Majesty feel the same anguish she had felt.

The Crown Prince deserved to meet his end most of all — listening to Yan Yunning’s words, refusing to take a side consort, not following a single proper rule.

And Yan Yunning even more so!!

In her simmering, teeth-grinding hatred, Pei Shi had entirely forgotten that with her current status, she had no way of getting close to Xuan Yanyu or Yan Yunning at all. She had also forgotten that harming them would drag the Chief Minister’s residence down with her.

She had also forgotten that even if she somehow managed to get close to Xuan Yanyu or Yan Yunning, the former would not even need to lift a hand — Ye’an and Ye Chen could kick her flat with a single foot — and the latter also had her own maidservants at her side.

——

Taiyi Hall.

From the moment they sat down, Yan Yunning kept placing dishes in Xuan Yanyu’s bowl, smiling warmly and speaking pleasantly, showering him with gentle words.

Prince Xuan watched with a deepening frown. From the moment he had confirmed Ningning’s true identity, he could not bear to see her behaving so ingratiating toward anyone — even toward Yuer.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince, if you eat the food I serve you, and then still act cold and aloof and refuse to acknowledge me, then when we return, I won’t let you back into the bedchamber — you can go sleep in the side hall,” Yan Yunning warned in a voice only the two of them could hear.

Xuan Yanyu’s eyes dropped slightly, and he smiled as he glanced at Yan Yunning. He had not yet said a single word when, with a sharp “crack,” the sound of chopsticks being dropped abruptly broke the air. He looked toward Prince Xuan in puzzlement.

Yan Yunning also sat up a little straighter.

“Ningning, you need not pay any attention to Yuer. You eat your own meal. If Yuer bullies you, tell your Imperial Father — your Imperial Father will have him confined to the ancestral hall.”

Yan Yunning blinked. Oh?

This…… had Prince Xuan really not been switched out for someone else?

“Do not be afraid — your Imperial Father will stand up for you.”

“Your daughter-in-law understands. If His Highness the Crown Prince truly bullies me, I will come to Imperial Father to seek justice.” Yan Yunning nodded obediently.

Those were the words she said aloud. In her heart, Yan Yunning did not agree with Prince Xuan’s sentiment at all — after all, no matter how one looked at it, Xuan Yanyu was still Prince Xuan’s son.

With how much Prince Xuan doted on him, he could not possibly truly punish Xuan Yanyu.

At most, he would lock him in the ancestral hall for a spell.

“If Imperial Father finds himself with too much time on his hands, perhaps he might consider reading more official documents,” Xuan Yanyu said mildly.

Where would he ever find the nerve to bully Yan Yunning?

Prince Xuan pretended not to hear. To take issue with this ungrateful son of his — he would sooner vex himself to death.

Time flowed on, and three more days passed.

The National Preceptor of the Xuanzhao realm returned, and Prince Xuan personally held a banquet in his honor, with Xuan Yanyu attending at his side.

With nothing to occupy her, Yan Yunning lounged comfortably on the chaise longue, eating the pastries that Qiuci passed her way.

Fafa: [Master, did you know? There is a treasure hidden beneath an ancient locust tree in the southeastern part of the Prince Xuan’s Palace.]

[Oh? What kind of treasure?] Yan Yunning asked in a lazy, drowsy tone.

Fafa: [A treasure that will help you get back home.]

Yan Yunning’s eyes brightened at once. [Really?]

Fafa: [Really! I just discovered it.]

“Qiuci, which consort lives in the southeastern part of the Prince Xuan’s Palace?” Yan Yunning turned the pastry in her hand idly.

Whether she went home or not could be set aside — she would get the treasure first.

No matter which consort lived there, she would go and build a rapport with her first, so she could dig up the treasure.

“The southeastern direction?” Xiao Wan furrowed her brow and replied, “Crown Princess, that area is near the cold palace.”

“Is there a locust tree?”

“There is — right beside a little stream. What is it, Crown Princess?”

There were no guards stationed there, making it the most secluded spot within the entire Prince Xuan’s Palace.

“Is there only the one tree?” Yan Yunning paused.

“Yes, Crown Princess, just the one.”

Yan Yunning nodded. Good — that made things simpler. Being beside a stream meant fewer people passing through, and with only one locust tree, it would be easy to find. When the time came, she would send the maidservants away, retrieve the treasure, and hide it in the Crown Prince’s bedchamber.

Actually — she would just have the maidservants do the digging for her.

What if someone with wild, disheveled hair came charging out of the cold palace and she could not outrun them?

Fafa said urgently, [That won’t do, Master. If you send the maidservants to dig and they happen to mention it to Xuan Yanyu — or if Xuan Yanyu asks about it — how will you explain?]

[It’s fine. I’ll just tell Xuan Yanyu the truth. He’ll be ninety percent convinced I’ve lost my mind, so even if he sees, I can make up some excuse and talk my way out of it.] Yan Yunning brushed the crumbs from her hands.

Fafa: [No, Master. Xuan Yanyu is very clever — he might not disbelieve you. You’ve always been saying things to him like “what if I leave one day” — he could put two and two together.]

Yan Yunning sprawled across the chaise longue and said, in a tone that brooked no argument, [If you won’t let me bring maidservants, you have to guarantee my safety. And one more thing — how did you determine that this treasure can get me home?]

In the past she wouldn’t have hesitated to go without maidservants, but not now. There was a baby in her belly — she could not afford any mishap.

Fafa: [Master, I guarantee you will be safe. Don’t worry about how I determined it — the point is, this treasure will definitely help you get home.]

[You’re not deceiving me?] Yan Yunning wasn’t entirely convinced.

Fafa had deceived her more than once already.

Fafa: [Absolutely not!!]

[I’ll trust you for now.] Yan Yunning’s eyes moved thoughtfully.

She would still bring maidservants — but she could have them keep their distance, a good fifteen minutes away. Whether she dug up the treasure or not, after fifteen minutes she would tell them to come find her.

Fifteen minutes, and with Fafa present, there should be no accidents.