Zhao Yuan’yu paced restlessly in the pavilion, then suddenly grabbed the small eunuch’s collar. “We cannot fail again today, or we’ll both be finished!”

The small eunuch, lifted to his tiptoes, glanced vigilantly around before offering a placating smile. “That person took the bait, and his body was already weak. If we don’t settle this quickly, someone will die. Even if his stepmother doesn’t catch him, he must be hiding in some corner coupling with a palace maid. Once we find him, we can still impeach him for debauchery and moral failure.”

Zhao Yuan’yu angrily released his grip, his voice nearly forced through clenched teeth, “Keep your hands clean. Don’t let anyone notice anything unusual.”

The small eunuch repeatedly assured him with “Yes,” then scurried away.

But this wasn’t the Yong Prince’s residence—the vast imperial garden had numerous mountains, pavilions, and buildings with many people and watchful eyes. How easy would it be to find a youth deliberately hiding?

“You go this way, you go that way, keep your eyes sharp!”

The small eunuch directed his available men, “Search quietly, and report immediately if you find him!”

He wiped the greasy sweat from his face and looked around furtively.

Now, only the Hegui Pavilion in the west remained unsearched.

The Emperor’s most trusted right-hand men were Priest Shen Guang of the Shenguang Religion and Prince Su. Because the Emperor often summoned him for discussions late into the night—the imperial mind was unpredictable, and some edicts and decisions couldn’t see the light of day—and since Hegui Pavilion was close to the northern gate and Taiji Hall, the Emperor had allocated it to Prince Su for occasional overnight stays.

…

…

Normally, it was uncertain, but today the flower-pinning banquet was held in Penglai Garden, so Prince Su would be resting there.

Who would dare search for someone in the territory of the King of Hell? They’d likely be executed as assassins before getting close.

Moreover, even if the Crown Prince had the strength to run that far and happened to stumble into Hegui Pavilion, his miserable and disheveled appearance in Prince Su’s hands would probably be more tragic and frightening than falling into the hands of Prince Yong’s heir…

The small eunuch suddenly shuddered and decided to search all other places first.

The sweet fragrance in the air grew increasingly intense, becoming sickeningly sweet.

The “Crown Prince,” normally as elegant and proper as a porcelain doll, now had hazy eyes and was gasping helplessly like a fish out of water.

The warm breath brushed against Wenren Lin’s hand, one after another, diluting the cold pain seeping from his bones.

His knuckles paused for only a moment before he continued as usual, lifting a strand of her loose hair and gently tucking it behind her ear.

He frowned; her pulse was very chaotic.

Zhao Yān completely surrendered to his touch. The cold fingertips on her wrist seemed like a drop of sweet rain to a person in prolonged drought. While craving more, it also awakened a hint of her muddled consciousness.

Realizing what she was doing, she withdrew her hand as if burned, as if she hadn’t just grasped Wenren Lin’s sleeve but a body-consuming fire.

Zhao Yān didn’t have enough rationality to analyze or answer Wenren Lin’s questions.

She bit her lip until it turned white, struggling to prop herself up, trying to distance herself from him.

However, her efforts proved largely futile. Her bones were limp, and the strand of hair just tucked behind her ear fell loose again, sticking to her damp jaw.

Wenren Lin’s gaze followed that damp strand of hair, stopping at her lips, his eyes deepening.

Zhao Yān dared not look at him any longer. Discomfort and panic were submerged in an unfamiliar flood that engulfed her.

Afraid of doing something more embarrassing and irredeemable, she could only awkwardly and shamefully request of the man before her.

“May Prince Su… please step away…”

As soon as the words left her mouth, even she was startled.

Whether due to the potent drug in her system or the ineffectiveness of Physician Zhang’s medicine, her voice had regained some of a woman’s gentle softness, even becoming more alluringly tender.

Wenren Lin was surprised by her voice.

He raised his eyes, seeming to smile, yet perhaps not.

“Your Highness arrives uninvited, and now wants to drive out the owner? How unreasonable.”

“…”

If Zhao Yān had known this was Wenren Lin’s territory, she would rather have died on the road than set foot here.

She did want to leave by herself, but couldn’t.

Evading the eunuchs searching for her had already exhausted all her strength.

“Call someone… to save me…”

Zhao Yān swallowed with difficulty, speaking with effort.

“I’m afraid that’s not possible either.”

Wenren Lin, feeling the cold poison coursing through his body, spoke in a voice like frost in deep winter—gentle but cold. “My situation right now is no better than Your Highness’s. I cannot see outsiders.”

Zhao Yān didn’t understand the meaning of his words.

Her mind was blank, and the slight clarity brought by that coolness had been completely devoured by instinctual cravings.

What could she do? Who could save her?

Anyone would do, as long as they could help her…

“Tutor Zhou!”

A shout came from the distance, someone calling loudly, “The Crown Prince is unwell and cannot lead the toast. The Minister is looking for you to help urgently!”

Zhou Ji…

Hearing the familiar name, Zhao Yān felt like a drowning person spotting a floating log, desperately trying to grasp it with all her might.

Zhou Ji was a man of integrity, her last hope to preserve her dignity.

She instinctively shifted her position, supporting herself against the doorframe bit by bit, trembling as she straightened up.

“Zhou… Wanlan…”

She used all her strength to call for help, but the voice that emerged was as moist as spring water.

The composure on Wenren Lin’s face suddenly vanished.

His eyes hardened as he abruptly raised his arm. The cold wind from his sleeve struck the door, closing it with a bang.

The warm sunlight slanting across Zhao Yān’s fingertips disappeared. She still maintained her position of calling for help, bewildered, the hope in her eyes extinguished.

Steady footsteps approached, a tall shadow encroaching from behind, inch by inch, until it completely enveloped her trembling, soft form.

“I already told you,”

Wenren Lin approached from behind, his deep voice carrying heavy pressure, “Today is not suitable for seeing outsiders.”

Zhao Yān’s shoulders trembled. She detected the subtle displeasure hidden beneath Wenren Lin’s calm tone.

But without help, in her condition… she couldn’t hold out much longer.

Wenren Lin also noticed this problem, his eyes narrowing slightly.

“Does Your Highness wish to survive?” he asked.

What a ridiculous question!

Zhao Yān gritted her teeth and nodded forcefully.

“Then be more obedient.”

He pondered for a moment, then slipped one arm under her knees.

Zhao Yān only felt her body lighten as he lifted her completely in his arms.

She was stunned, thinking Wenren Lin meant to throw her out, exposing her shameful state to everyone. She couldn’t help but let out a muffled groan, nervously clutching his clothes until the fine fabric wrinkled…

Feeling her desire and trembling, Wenren Lin frowned slightly.

He had indeed considered this briefly.

Though his poison was painful, if he wanted to throw the confused little Crown Prince out of Hegui Pavilion to fend for himself, he could still manage it—

This thought had vanished when she called out Zhou Ji’s name in that compromised voice.

Ridiculous! She had already seen him in this state; how could he easily let her leave?

So he changed his mind, turning and carrying her toward the daybed used for rest in the inner chamber.

The gauze curtains, thin as mist, brushed across Zhao Yān’s burning face and then towards Wenren Lin. Still carrying her, he couldn’t free his hands, so he turned his head to avoid them, his cheek inadvertently grazing Zhao Yān’s scorching forehead.

For a moment, they both froze.

Wenren Lin was fine, but Zhao Yān was nearly driven mad, her breathing extremely rapid.

She even shamelessly extended her arms, trembling as she wrapped them around his neck. However, Wenren Lin showed no reaction, merely giving her a faint glance before separating her arms from himself and placing her flat on the daybed.

Away from that bewitching presence, Zhao Yān immediately felt as if placed in a sea of fire, curling up in discomfort.

She couldn’t help reaching for Wenren Lin’s hand that was braced on the edge of the couch, holding two articulate, long, and powerful fingers in her palm.

Seeing that Wenren Lin didn’t refuse, Zhao Yān grew bolder and covered his hand with her other one as well.

The soft heat perfectly counteracted the hard coldness of his bones.

Zhao Yān had no idea what she was doing, and spoke incoherently: “Grand Tutor…”

This plea sounded utterly pitiful, and Wenren Lin raised an eyebrow.

At least she had addressed the right person and hadn’t called out some other confused name.

Wenren Lin found an almost masochistic pleasure in the cold pain, his mood good enough to allow her restless advances. He withdrew his other hand from behind her waist and found the sleep acupoint at the back of her neck, pressing it with moderate pressure.

Zhao Yān immediately let out a low groan and raised her misty eyes to look at him.

In the dim light, her eyes were tinged with a seductiveness that didn’t belong to a youth.

Wenren Lin hadn’t expected the poison affecting Zhao Yān to be so fierce that even pressure on an acupoint that should induce sleep was completely ineffective.

While considering other options, Zhao Yān lowered her gaze and moved closer, this time with her lips.

Her breath was less than an inch away, approaching clumsily.

Zhang Cang burst in at that moment.

With a loud bang of the door, Zhao Yān startled, instinctively burying herself in Wenren Lin’s embrace.

Wenren Lin frowned, his wide crimson sleeve already covering and thoroughly protecting her trembling form.

“Your Highness, the medicine is here…”

The voice abruptly stopped.

Zhang Cang, holding a medicine box, stared in astonishment at the two embracing figures on the daybed, his mouth agape enough to fit an egg.

Wenren Lin slightly raised his hand, soothingly and gently placing it on the painfully trembling shoulders of the person in his arms, then cast a sidelong glance at Zhang Cang.

His eyes surged with dark colors, both bewitching and sharp.

Zhang Cang understood everything immediately. Without allowing his gaze to wander, he swiftly placed the medicine box on the table beside the daybed and then just as swiftly left, carefully closing the hall door, attempting to disguise himself as a wisp of blue smoke dissipating.

The hall returned to its romantic dimness.

Wenren Lin still had one hand on Zhao Yān’s back, loosely embracing her burning form that kept sliding down, while his other hand reached for the medicine box on the side table. He opened it with one hand, took out a dark red pill, placed it in his mouth, chewed it slightly, and swallowed it bit by bit.

The cold bone poison was quickly alleviated, but the chilliness wouldn’t immediately dissipate, making the softness and warmth in his arms perfectly tempting.

He deliberately delayed for a while before finally speaking just before Zhao Yān’s breaking point: “They’ve left.”

There was no movement from the person in his arms, only hot breaths coming one after another against his chest.

Sensing something wrong, Wenren Lin released the concealing sleeve and looked by the cold light. Zhao Yān’s bright red lips were opening and closing rapidly, sweat beads congealed at her disheveled temples, and her eyes had lost focus.

She was like a flower about to fall, beautiful yet fragile.

If the poison wasn’t expelled soon, even if she miraculously survived, she would be ruined.

“It’s too late to call for an Imperial Physician. Now, Your Highness has two options before you.”

Wenren Lin half-lowered his eyelids, his voice seeming muffled in a drum, or perhaps coming from the distant horizon, creating hazy and lingering echoes in Zhao Yān’s ears.

“First, Your Highness can take your own life immediately, preserving your reputation. Second…”

Before he could finish speaking, he felt a sudden wetness on his lips—Zhao Yān had answered with action.

Wenren Lin’s eyes widened slightly, his breath filled with an intoxicating sweet fragrance.

He was so shocked when Zhao Yān threw herself at him that he didn’t resist.

But no one had ever dared to take such liberties with him.

Coming to his senses, Wenren Lin’s eyes filled with cold mist, and he instinctively raised his hand to grasp her neck.

However, Zhao Yān gently caught his threatening hand, her slender, burning fingers taking advantage of the opening and interlacing tightly with his.

The soft, jade-like hand locked in his powerful fingers felt boneless. Wenren Lin’s eyelashes trembled, and he unconsciously relaxed his force.

“You…”

As soon as he opened his mouth, it was sealed again.

Wenren Lin couldn’t hit her or scold her—his attempt to tease a cat had unexpectedly entrapped him.

Zhao Yān had no idea what she was doing. The poison combined with the sudden intrusion had made her heart unbearably painful, almost to the point of bursting. Her entire being was on the edge of death.

But she didn’t want to die, couldn’t die.

The cause of Zhao Yǎn’s death remained uninvestigated, memorials still needed reviewing, court dangers remained… She had so many things left undone and couldn’t fall here in such an embarrassing manner.

Of course, her consciousness was no longer sufficient to support such considerations. What drove her to make such a bold decision was her bone-deep survival instinct and the impulses driven by the poison.

As their lips met, she tasted the bitter medicine on Wenren Lin’s lips, but like quenching thirst with poisoned wine, she couldn’t stop herself.

How could just this be enough? But Zhao Yān didn’t know what to do next. The only thing she could think of was the act she had performed with Liu Ji.

So she did just that.

Wenren Lin was stunned again, but his anger turned to light laughter.

“Your Highness is the first person who dares to be so presumptuous with me.”

With one hand still supporting Zhao Yān’s wavering form, he bent his elbow to prop himself on the couch, looking up at her. “Your Highness, do you enjoy the intimacy of cranes?”

Before he finished speaking, his gaze paused.

Zhao Yān’s clothes had somehow loosened, and sweat beads trickled down her delicate collarbone, moistening the layers of wrapped silk ribbons. Those ribbons had also half-loosened, rising and falling with her breath, revealing yet concealing.

The answer Wenren Lin had long sought was right before his eyes.

Though he had already guessed the truth, seeing it firsthand still left him breathless. The ultimate beauty in the world was probably just like this magnificent sight before him.

To be honest, Wenren Lin didn’t dislike this “Crown Prince”—soft, gorgeous, tempting to pluck.

He sighed, no longer controlling his inner breath, and the smile in his eyes took on a hazy darkness.

“Your Highness, do you truly have no regrets?”

Wenren Lin raised his hand to grasp the gold hairpin securing her crown, gently pulling it free. Instantly, hair like black clouds cascaded down.

Zhao Yān saw a brilliant dark red gleaming through his black pupils, as bewitching as a fallen immortal.

“Cannot… cannot die…”

She murmured brokenly, either encouraging herself or answering him.

“Are you certain?”

Wenren Lin loosely held the loosened ribbon, pulling it teasingly. “Whether I commit the crime of disrespecting a superior, or Your Highness sins betraying teacher and ancestors, both disregard human ethics.”

With her life nearly gone, how could Zhao Yān care about ethics?

“Save me… Grand Tutor!”

This “Grand Tutor” carried a commanding sob.

So Wenren Lin’s palm passed through her satin-like long hair, gently holding the back of her neck, lifting her face as beautiful as a peach blossom touched with dew.

“Don’t cry, your Grand Tutor accepts the command.”

Accompanying his lazy, husky voice was a winding ribbon falling away.

The golden-red sunset rolled down the hillside, the afterglow dyeing the evening clouds a gorgeous red.

The flower-pinning banquet had gradually dispersed, but many palace maids and eunuchs were still scurrying around the corners of Penglai Garden, stealthily searching for something.

Zhang Cang sat on the stone steps under the corridor, like an evil spirit guarding the path, preventing anyone from approaching Hegui Pavilion.

Speaking of Hegui Pavilion…

Zhang Cang looked back at the pavilion roof hidden deep in the woods and wondered: could embracing a woman alleviate the Prince’s cold bone poison attack?

Who was that woman? She didn’t seem like an ordinary palace maid, as the glimpse of her robe’s corner was clearly of superior quality, and somewhat familiar. Unfortunately, the gauze curtain obscured his view, and the Prince protected her closely, so he couldn’t see clearly.

Zhang Cang pondered, filled with respectful admiration. As expected of the Prince, even while physically unwell, he could endure until now. Truly extraordinary!

…

When Zhao Yān woke from her deep sleep, she was still somewhat dazed.

Her scattered vision gradually focused. It felt like she had experienced an absurd dream, but every aching, weak part of her body screamed that it wasn’t a dream.

The air floated with lingering romantic overtones. Zhao Yān stiffly turned her neck and suddenly saw a tall figure sitting beside the couch.

The powerful Prince Su was sitting there with his hair loose and clothes disheveled, seemingly meditating with closed eyes. The remaining sunlight filtered through window cracks, casting a narrow strip of golden-red across his lightly closed eyes.

Hearing movement, he opened his eyelashes extremely slowly, his slightly raised eyes languid yet dangerous.

“Awake?” Wenren Lin’s gaze fell on her face.

Zhao Yān stared at the ribbon entwined around his fingers, unconsciously moving her fingertips to touch her soft chest…

It’s over!

It’s completely over!

The little remaining color in Zhao Yān’s face quickly drained to a deathly pale.