“Little Lemon is here too. Don’t you love following Little Lemon around? You may as well just stay.”

A’Ci pressed his lips together. “A’Po, I’d like to wait a few more days before going to find the Crown Prince.”

Lu Jin’an suddenly felt a pang of sorrow. They had searched for so long without finding him…

A’Ci turned the teacup in his fingers, the tips of his hands going slightly cold.

——

Xuan Yanyu’s guest room.

The man lounged against the wooden chair, a scroll open in his hands.

Yan Yunning slipped the scroll out of his hands and smiled brightly. “Xuan Yanyu, come on — tell me, why did you stay by my elder sister’s side?”

“Yan Yunning, you won’t leave this alone today, will you?” Xuan Yanyu’s lips curved slightly.

She had been circling him with questions since the meal ended.

Yan Yunning nodded.

She wanted to know his reasons for wanting to marry A’Jie.

Xuan Yanyu’s eyelids lifted slightly. Half-joking, he said, “If I told you it was because Father Emperor sent me and I don’t know why — would you believe me?”

Yan Yunning leaned in closer, her small face earnest to an almost painful degree. “So you being rescued by my elder sister — that was fabricated???”

She couldn’t believe she hadn’t seen it before — if he had stayed by A’Jie’s side with a purpose, it followed that he had deliberately allowed her to rescue him.

The man raised an eyebrow, visibly entertained. “Yan Yunning, you’re far cleverer than your elder sister.”

Yan Yunning: “…”

Was that a compliment?

And “far cleverer than her elder sister,” no less…

“Xuan Xixi, I had a completely ridiculous dream last night.” Yan Yunning squeezed herself onto the wooden chair beside him, settling against his side.

They were sitting very close — shoulders pressing against shoulders. Xuan Yanyu’s throat shifted almost imperceptibly, and his arm moved with cautious deliberateness to rest across Yan Yunning’s shoulders.

“What dream?” The man’s voice had gone slightly hoarse.

“I dreamed you killed me in order to marry my elder sister.” Yan Yunning watched his reaction carefully.

“?” Xuan Yanyu stared at her for a moment, then said gently, almost soothingly, “I won’t. I would never kill you.”

Yan Yunning took her time adding, “So — you wanting to marry my elder sister in the dream was real?”

He wouldn’t kill her — now she could put that fear entirely to rest.

Meeting the young woman’s clear, unclouded gaze, Xuan Yanyu felt a stab of guilt. It was true — he had indeed stayed on at the Chief Minister’s residence because he intended to marry Yan Shiyao.

“So — you’re my brother-in-law?” Yan Yunning raised an eyebrow.

A few seconds of silence.

The man cleared his throat and held her gaze. “Not anymore.”

Yan Yunning: “Not anymore? But you were before?”

Xuan Yanyu let out a quiet “mm.”

He did not want to deceive her. If she had never been brought back, he would indeed have followed Father Emperor’s wishes and married Yan Shiyao.

Yan Yunning pursed her lips briefly. “Then why did you want to marry my elder sister before?”

The man’s voice was low. “I don’t know.”

Yan Yunning: “…”

He didn’t want to say???

Yan Yunning lifted his arm away from her shoulder, stood up, and curved her lips into a smile. “Crown Prince, I rather like the idea of having Prince Xuan as a brother-in-law. Why don’t you go ahead and reconsider marrying my elder sister?”

Xuan Yanyu held her gaze for a long moment, the faintest smile on his lips. “Alright.”

Yan Yunning looked away, turned, and walked out of the guest room.

[Fafa, are you sure that if Xuan Xixi marries my elder sister, I can go home?] Yan Yunning kicked at a pebble on the ground.

Fafa: [I’m not sure — I was only guessing.]

Yan Yunning’s eyes went completely dark. [Then why did you say that if Xuan Yanyu married my elder sister, that would be the ending of the novel…]

Fafa cut her off: [Right — and once the novel’s ending is reached, after the ten-year epilogue plays out, you might be able to go home. After all, if the story is over and the characters in it no longer exist, you can’t still be stuck inside the book, can you?]

[Might? MIGHT?? Another guess??]

Fafa sounded a little sheepish: [It… yes, it is, my master.]

Yan Yunning clenched her fist. If she’d known, she would never have told Xuan Yanyu to consider marrying her elder sister. She wasn’t foolish — when Xuan Yanyu had said “alright,” he had clearly been furious.

If she had known Fafa was only guessing, she would never have provoked him to anger in the first place.

The next day.

Yan Zhiyi had taken Yan Yunning and Yan Shiyao out of the residence early in the morning. By the time they returned, it was nearly noon.

Bixiang Garden.

Yan Shiyao listlessly prodded at a grain of rice. “Ningning, I want to go see Qi-gege.”

“Elder Sister, it’s better if you don’t.” Yan Yunning turned the trinket Yan Zhiyi had bought for her over in her hands.

After Qi Qingchen had recovered, he had left without a single word — he clearly had no desire to see any of them. If they went now, who was to say seeing them wouldn’t remind him of his time in a daze, and he wouldn’t lash out at them in fury???

Yan Shiyao propped her chin in her hand and nodded dully. She would listen to Ningning and hold off for now. In a few more days she would go — and when she had been looking after Qi-gege, he had given her his jade pendant. She imagined that pendant would be enough to get her into the Third Prince’s residence.

Halfway through the meal, Yan Shiyao suddenly thought of something and glanced sideways at Yan Yunning. “Ningning, where is Yu-gege? Why hasn’t he come for the meal?”

Yan Yunning’s hands paused on the object she was unwrapping. “He… I’m not sure.”

Yan Shiyao looked toward the maidservant standing to the side. “Go and find Yu-gege and ask him to join us for the meal.”

“Yes, First Miss.” The maidservant curtsied and hurried out.

Yan Yunning hunched her shoulders. Even if she went looking for him, he probably wouldn’t come. He was angry right now — he wouldn’t want to see her.

To Yan Yunning’s surprise, the man not only came — he arrived with a smile on his face, not a trace of anger to be found.

“Yao, I assumed you and the young lord would be dining outside the residence, so I didn’t come by.” He smiled pleasantly as he explained.

“Brother still had things to attend to, so he had Ningning and me come back to the residence first.” Yan Shiyao’s eyes curved warmly.

A maidservant added a bowl and chopsticks. Xuan Yanyu made no move to eat, and sat in his languid way drinking tea.

Yan Shiyao glanced between Yan Yunning and Xuan Yanyu. The former had set aside her trinket and was eating rapidly, cheeks puffed out. She glanced at Xuan Yanyu — the man was lounging against the wooden chair, teacup in hand. Something about the two of them felt off.

Yan Shiyao couldn’t help but ask, “Ningning, do you have plans this afternoon?”

Yan Yunning blinked. “No, nothing.”

“Then why are you eating so quickly?” Yan Shiyao frowned.

What if she choked?

Yan Yunning set down her chopsticks, smiled lightly, and said, “Elder Sister, I’ve had enough. I’ll head off first.”

Without waiting for Yan Shiyao to say a word, Yan Yunning scooped up her box of gifts and jogged out of Bixiang Garden.

Yan Shiyao stared after her, momentarily stunned. She had eaten so little — and she was already full??

“Yu-gege, are you angry with Ningning?”

Xuan Yanyu’s lips curved with a faint, cool amusement. “No.”

“By the way, Yu-gege — that Miss Pei is still at the inn. I was thinking of going to see her this afternoon. Would you like to come along?” Yan Shiyao asked with a smile.

“I have things to do this afternoon.” The man set down his teacup and stepped out.

Yan Shiyao pressed her lips together. He had come all this way just to drink a cup of tea?

——

“Second Miss Yan, Second Miss Yan.”

Yan Yunning turned around and saw Ye Chen, whom she hadn’t seen in quite some time.

“You’re back? And what about the cold young lady?” Yan Yunning teased.

Ye Chen rolled his eyes and muttered, “Second Miss Yan, please — don’t bring it up, alright?”