Reborn.

Eighteen and a half years old.

But neither at the very beginning when everything had just started, nor after everything had completely happened.

At fourteen, she returned to the capital and began dressing as a man, claiming to be a distant young cousin from Vice Minister Jiang’s household in the capital, wildly playing around the capital with Yan Lin. In September of her eighteenth year, she was summoned to the palace to be a study companion for Grand Princess Leyang. In November of that same year, the Yongyi Marquis Manor met with disaster.

Jiang Xuening hazily recalled that throughout her true youth, Yan Lin had been there.

With Yan Lin, she feared nothing.

The youth came from a military family and had spent some time at the frontier. He possessed the spirited vigor that most young men in the capital lacked—fine clothes, spirited horses, sword in hand, always at her side, cherishing her, protecting her.

If nothing unexpected happened, he would have married her and brought her home.

But during this year, while she was with Yan Lin, she happened to encounter Prince Linzi, Shen Jie, who had come looking for Yan Lin.

At the time, she didn’t yet know Shen Jie’s identity.

But when Yan Lin saw this refined, elegant young man in brocade robes, the first words that came out of his mouth were: “How did you get out?”

What was Yan Lin’s status?

He was the heir of the Yongyi Marquis Manor, which could stand shoulder to shoulder with the Xiao clan, appointed early by the Emperor himself as the hereditary heir, much beloved in the palace. Wherever he went, others had to respectfully call him “Young Marquis”—such nobility.

There were truly few people for whom he would use the honorific “you.”

Jiang Xuening from her previous life, who had always wanted to become Empress, thus secretly took note. After carefully inquiring, she indeed discovered that Shen Jie was Prince Linzi, and rumors throughout the capital said that the Emperor had no sons and wanted to establish Shen Jie as Crown Prince.

Thus what had been unintentional contact became intentional approach.

Later, when the Yongyi Marquis Manor met with disaster, she got her wish and married Shen Jie.

Within two years, the Emperor died of illness and passed the throne to Shen Jie, and she too became Empress.

However, although Shen Jie had grown up in the palace from childhood, unlike his other brothers, he was so kindhearted as to be indecisive, so mild-tempered as to be weak. Though he had ability, he couldn’t bear to use it on others, to the point that he couldn’t even suppress the civil and military officials throughout the court and countryside. He always needed the newly appointed Grand Tutor Xie Wei to handle and maneuver things for him.

In the end, he was poisoned by someone.

At that time, Jiang Xuening had already been placed under house arrest by Yan Lin and didn’t even get to see him one last time.

Those who are too kind cannot be emperors.

This was the only lesson Jiang Xuening could glean from Shen Jie’s tragedy in her previous life.

Now, she had been reborn precisely when she had just met Shen Jie not long ago, fortunately before they were deeply entangled.

In this life, she must not enter the palace again.

Kunning Palace was her tomb.

The simply furnished room was still relatively elegant.

In the slightly cool early autumn air, the wine fumes from last night, now somewhat faded, still lingered.

Outside the tightly closed windows, the noisy sounds from the distant marketplace could faintly be heard.

Yan Lin still held his sword. Though he had a youth’s build, the clear lines of his waist and back were already visible. With his lips pressed into a straight line, when his face bore no smile, he already possessed a certain intimidating quality.

He temporarily ignored Shen Jie.

He only turned his head back. Even with lowered brows, the cold air around his eyes and eyebrows couldn’t fade as he asked in a cold voice: “Which hand did he touch you with?”

Jiang Xuening finally recovered from the daze of suddenly realizing she had been reborn. The youth’s eyes, brilliant as morning stars, were right before her, not yet soaked with the bitter pain of the Yan clan’s disaster, nor eroded by the darkness of those heavy palace struggles.

Clean, bright, and dazzling.

Like the blazing scorching sun hanging in the sky.

But this question…

It very much had the air of—whatever she answered, he would chop off Shen Jie’s paw.

Cold sweat broke out on Jiang Xuening’s forehead. She hastily grabbed his arm: “No, no, nothing like that! It’s all a misunderstanding. Just now it was my fault—I had a nightmare and was trapped in it. The moment I opened my eyes, I didn’t understand the situation clearly and mistook Young Master Shen for a bad person. In my panic, I struck him. Quickly put down your sword, be careful not to hurt anyone!”

Yan Lin frowned: “Really?”

Hearing Jiang Xuening’s explanation, Shen Jie inwardly cursed his bad luck.

But after all, Young Master Jiang was Yan Lin’s friend. Though their status and position were vastly different, could he really make an issue over this one slap?

That would truly be lacking in gentlemanly grace.

However, Yan Lin’s rather disbelieving appearance really made him not know whether to laugh or cry: “Don’t you trust my character? Not to mention that I had no intention of offense—even if I truly had offended, would you really cut off my hand?”

He was Prince Linzi.

Imperial nobility.

But unexpectedly, Yan Lin looked at him quietly for a moment, then neatly sheathed his sword, yet spoke decisively and firmly: “I would.”

Shen Jie’s eyelid twitched. He immediately raised his eyes to look at him.

But Yan Lin had already turned to look at Jiang Xuening. His previously cold voice softened somewhat, like accumulated ice and snow suddenly melting: “Are you alright? You drank so much last night while I wasn’t paying attention. Shall I escort you back to the manor?”

When Jiang Xuening heard those two words “I would,” she couldn’t help but recall her previous life: after Yan Lin returned to court, he pledged himself to Xie Wei, and together with Xie Wei, they hollowed out Shen Jie’s power. Not long after, Shen Jie was poisoned to death.

In her previous life, she felt it was most likely Xie Wei who did it.

But now she felt it might not necessarily not have been Yan Lin.

In her youth, she had treated such devotion as ordinary. Only now, reborn, did she discover how rare and precious it was.

A youth’s whole-hearted sincerity, still not very good at concealing it—if he liked someone, he wanted to protect them at his side; if he cared, he had to show it all, wishing he could hold them in the palm of his hand at every moment.

But she didn’t deserve such affection.

Jiang Xuening stared blankly at him, momentarily forgetting to speak.

Shen Jie, however, sensed something subtle and suddenly said: “Today Master Xie is giving a lecture at Wenhua Hall, and we must attend as well. At this hour, shouldn’t you enter the palace with me, Yan Lin?”

Only then did Jiang Xuening react.

Naturally, she should return to the manor.

But having suddenly been reborn, her mind was a chaotic mess that still needed sorting out. She was unwilling to be escorted back to the manor by Yan Lin, so she said: “Matters at the palace naturally cannot be delayed. Yan Lin, today I also want to go back on my own.”

Back then, her temperament was famously willful and pampered.

Half because her father, Vice Minister Jiang, felt guilty and didn’t dare manage this daughter he had brought back to the capital; the other half was all spoiled into her by Yan Lin.

So when she wanted to go back on her own, she actually didn’t need a reason.

Sure enough, Yan Lin truly didn’t ask why. As if he had long grown accustomed to her willfulness and indulgence—after all, she was his Ningning whom he held at the tip of his heart—he only said: “Then I’ll have Qingfeng follow you from a distance.”

Qingfeng was one of his two personal attendants.

Jiang Xuening knew this. Though she wanted to refuse, looking at his expression, she temporarily suppressed that thought and obediently nodded.

The more Shen Jie watched, the more he felt something was off about these two.

He was a naturally good-tempered person, not easily angered.

Objectively speaking, his appearance was also extremely fine.

Especially when he smiled, his eyes curved slightly, refined and gentle like a beautiful jade.

After Jiang Xuening married him in her previous life, they never quarreled even once.

The reason was simple: first, Shen Jie’s temper was too good; second, the person he truly liked wasn’t her; third, she didn’t like him either—she only liked that position, so other matters couldn’t move her heart.

In the eyes of those who didn’t know the truth, it probably counted as “raising the tray to eyebrow level, Emperor and Empress harmonious,” right?

No matter how one calculated, she was the one who had been discourteous first. Jiang Xuening looked at him with several parts of apology: “Just now it was I who was offensive, and I even struck Young Master Shen. I hope Young Master Shen won’t take offense. Another day I will certainly host a banquet to apologize to you.”

To receive a slap for no reason—to say there was no anger in his heart would be false.

Moreover, Yan Lin was quite domineering.

But when Jiang Xuening said these words, her voice was soft and gentle. The pair of eyes looking at him seemed soaked in spring water. A slender youth, face like powder, red lips and white teeth—perhaps because the age wasn’t quite there yet, the facial contours were still very soft, further accentuating the delicate features, a beauty of indeterminate gender.

Shen Jie somehow couldn’t summon any anger.

He never liked making things difficult for others. Immediately, he smiled and said: “Your hand wasn’t that heavy anyway. But since you put it this way, then I won’t be polite and will wait for Young Master Jiang to host that banquet another day.”

Yan Lin suddenly wanted to beat this fellow up.

His face turned cold. He only gave Qingfeng a few instructions, then tidied up a bit before leaving the inn with Shen Jie first.

On the way back to the palace, Shen Jie recalled various details from the inn earlier and felt something wasn’t quite right, especially when Yan Lin had drawn his sword and pressed it against his neck while protecting that Young Master Jiang.

Thinking again, that youth was slender and exceptionally good-looking…

Shen Jie’s brows furrowed slightly. He felt that being several years older than Yan Lin, there were some words he should still point out. So he lifted the carriage curtain and said: “Ahem, Yan Lin, although currently in the capital some literati quite favor the affections between men, and that Young Master Jiang is indeed good-looking, you are the heir of the Yongyi Marquis Manor. In the future, regarding marriage…”

Shen Jie sat in a horse-drawn carriage.

But Yan Lin rode a horse, traveling parallel to the carriage.

The horse was handsome, the person even more so.

But hearing these words, his face darkened by half: “Your Highness, I don’t love men.”

Now it was Shen Jie’s turn to look at him with doubtful eyes: “Then regarding that Young Master Jiang?”

“She’s not some Young Master Jiang.”

Yan Lin also recalled what had just happened, especially the way Jiang Xuening had looked at Shen Jie earlier, which made him feel uncomfortable.

In the depths of his dark eyes, several parts of contemplation flashed through.

The youth, harboring concerns on his mind, suddenly said to Shen Jie beside him: “She is the second young lady of the Jiang family.”

“Pfft! Cough, cough cough…”

Shen Jie, who had just raised a cup of tea to drink in the carriage, choked all at once. He simply couldn’t believe what he had just heard!

“You, you actually—”

But Yan Lin didn’t think there was anything wrong with it.

He sat on his horse, his black robes making his figure appear even more upright.

At this moment, he only said: “She loves prosperity and freedom, so I bring her out to play. Your Highness treats me as a brother and friend. Today I tell you her identity because I want Your Highness to know she’s a young lady. In the past, Your Highness didn’t know, so naturally there’s no blame. But now that Your Highness knows, you can be more mindful of propriety and avoid the sort of fright that happened this morning.”

Shen Jie subconsciously nodded.

But just after nodding, he realized something was wrong: “Shouldn’t you be the one who needs to be more mindful of propriety? If word of this gets out, how will the young lady be able to marry?”

The youth’s sharp eyes and brows revealed a hint of their edge. He only smiled and said: “I’m the one who spoiled her, so naturally I’ll be the one to marry her.”