Everything happened in an instant. Wenren Lin instinctively raised his hand and caught the sharp weapon Zhao Yān had thrust at him.

So her falling onto the bedding and tightening her sleeve were all to conceal this object.

“This prince thought Your Highness might use it to take your own life,” Wenren Lin said.

After a brief moment of surprise, he pulled her closer, his eyes tinged with a deep, dark amusement. “But it seems you wanted to kill the helper after using him, by stabbing this prince?”

If she had intended to end her life, she would have done so during the most unbearable moments of the drug’s effects. Why endure until now?

Wenren Lin’s intimidating presence was too strong. Zhao Yān had to use her other hand to push against his chest, attempting to create a small space to breathe. “Since the Grand Tutor has saved me, why would you cut off my path to survival?”

That address of “Grand Tutor” again stirred Wenren Lin’s intimate memories.

He had underestimated her. How could such a vibrant, passionate young woman be the kind of ordinary beauty who would wallow in self-pity?

“Your Highness chose a most inopportune time to entice me. I must be cautious,” Wenren Lin’s knuckles applied slightly more pressure, forcing down the golden hairpin in her palm. “Look into my eyes. Think carefully about what bargaining chip you can offer me.”

…

…

His eyes were pitch black, seemingly possessing a mesmerizing power. His consistently deep, smiling voice now carried a probing intensity.

Zhao Yān vaguely recalled seeing another pair of eyes, more brilliant and crazed, but when she tried to delve deeper, she couldn’t remember any more details.

If one of them had to die to keep this secret…

She knew her action was like an egg striking a stone, but she couldn’t think of any other way.

The sky was nearly completely dark. If she delayed any longer, even if Wenren Lin didn’t kill her, she would still be doomed.

The self-defense techniques she had learned suddenly appeared in her mind, each move crystal clear. When she came to her senses, she had already relaxed her force, twisted her body, caught the hairpin tossed from her right hand with the other, and again aimed horizontally at Wenren Lin’s Adam’s apple.

Wenren Lin restrained her with one hand and frowned. “You…”

Wenren Lin clicked his tongue, forced to twist her hands behind her back. He applied pressure to her fingers, and finally, the golden hairpin fell to the ground with a crisp clinking sound.

With both her wrists bound behind her back by his single hand, Zhao Yān instinctively kicked her leg toward him. Just as her delicate dragon-patterned black boot was about to kick between his legs, Wenren Lin quickly dodged sideways and used his knee to strike the back of her knee.

Zhao Yān’s knee weakened. She let out a muffled groan and fell forward, face down, into the soft, messy brocade bedding. The wind from her fall caused her black hair to rise like smoke and clouds, brushing against Wenren Lin’s jaw and arm before falling strand by strand.

Wenren Lin knelt at the edge of the couch, one hand pressing down on her struggling body, the other braced beside her face as he leaned over her.

This was truly a dangerous position. Zhao Yān’s entire spine stiffened, and the unspeakable soreness surged back urgently.

Zhao Yān’s disheveled hair covered half her face. Through her shadowy vision, she could only see Wenren Lin’s frost-white, slender hand braced on the couch, with faint cyan veins slightly visible, less than two inches from her neck.

She could even smell the cool, woody fragrance emanating from behind her, like a fish pressed on a cutting board, helplessly awaiting slaughter.

“This prince has served Your Highness wholeheartedly, yet Your Highness uses techniques taught by this prince to kill me. How cold-hearted.”

Wenren Lin’s perpetually calm face finally showed some displeasure as he lifted her chin and asked, “Calmer now?”

His voice paused slightly. He gazed at the little princess whose eye corners were flushed red, still breathing irregularly.

Stripped of the timid disguise named “Crown Prince,” her entire being became vibrant and brilliant. Though her eyes were rippling like spring water, they seemed to burn with two flames, soft yet resilient.

It had been the same on the couch. Several times, Wenren Lin thought she would cry, but she preferred to bite down on his shoulder to stifle her whimpers rather than shed a single tear.

Now restrained on the couch, she still futilely struggled with her legs, like a beautiful little beast trapped in dire straits, baring its teeth in an attempt to break free from its cage and grasp at a chance of survival.

Under his palm, her slender wrist’s pulse was rapid and erratic. The drug’s damage, combined with emotional fluctuations, showed signs of inner turmoil.

Wenren Lin no longer pressed for an answer, but frowned slightly and raised his hand to cover behind her ear.

Zhao Yān stiffened her neck, staring at his slowly approaching fingers…

Her pupils trembled, and then everything before her eyes began to blur and darken. Her eyelashes struggled to flicker, but finally closed slowly.

Once Zhao Yān’s rapid breathing gradually became long and peaceful, Wenren Lin withdrew his hand.

He also released her wrist and turned to sit at the edge of the couch, casually resting his forearm on his knee. “The one who should worry about a headache is actually this prince.”

The influential Prince Su must be invincible and unstoppable, but the cold bone poison in his body was his fatal weakness that he could not touch. If others knew about it, who knows what trouble it would bring?

Thus, Wenren Lin had just been testing her with his words, but Zhao Yān would rather pull out her hairpin to fight, risking her life, than mention even a hint related to the cold bone poison.

Zhao Yān wasn’t stupid; on the contrary, she had some clever tricks that allowed her to escape from his traps several times.

Could it be that she truly didn’t remember his miserable appearance when the poison attacked? Judging by the confused anger in her eyes just now, it didn’t seem like she was pretending.

Wenren Lin gazed at the sleeping young woman on the couch for a while, then raised his hand to brush aside the black hair covering her face, revealing her beautiful face like a lotus.

Even if she had noticed something at that time, he was somewhat… reluctant to deal with the aftermath.

Wenren Lin’s lips curved slightly.

On a whim, he lightly pressed his fingertips against her eyelashes, then paused, covering the tear mole at the corner of her eye that didn’t belong to her.

Hmm, it looked much better this way.

Two silk stockings still lay scattered on the floor. Wenren Lin stepped forward in the warm candlelight to pick them up, then turned and lifted his robe to kneel, his large hand cradling Zhao Yān’s calf that was hanging over the edge of the couch, gently removing her leather boots.

Her delicate, white toes were completely exposed, gilded with a warm jade-like luster in the lamplight. She had been in such a hurry to flee that she hadn’t even bothered to put on her stockings properly.

Wenren Lin chuckled as he pinched her pink-tinged toes, saying softly: “If Your Highness had just said a few sweet words to coax me, how could you have ended up in such a sorry state?”

Zhao Yān naturally couldn’t hear his half-mocking, half-sighing comment.

She was completely unaware, allowing him to manipulate her as he wished.

Wenren Lin held her slender ankle, examined it against the light for a while, and then compared his palm to it.

Seeing that this tender foot was actually smaller than his palm by a full measure, he raised an eyebrow in apparent surprise: “So small.”

He studied it with his gaze for a moment before sliding the silk stocking up from her toes, securing the trouser leg, and putting her boot back on.

Wenren Lin raised a finger to his chin and contemplated the beauty on the couch for a moment, then produced a pill that he had instructed Zhang Cang to prepare. He leaned over to open a corner of her loosened robe and placed the pill on her gently rising and falling navel.

Then, he covered that delicate, jade-like skin with his palm, using his palm’s warmth to melt the pill until the medicinal oil was completely absorbed by her creamy white belly.

Though he had maintained good control, in such matters, there were inevitably oversights.

This was originally used by the various imperial consorts to prevent conception, more effective than drinking cold soup, but using it too often would harm the body.

Next time, he’d have to develop a less harmful method…

As soon as this thought emerged, Wenren Lin’s massaging motion paused, his eyelids casting a shadow.

Once was an accident; how could there be a next time?

…

Zhao Yān seemed to be trapped in a black swamp, unable to find a way out.

“Yān’er, Yān’er…”

Someone was calling her, the voice ethereal as if coming from the heavens.

Zhao Yān opened her eyes. In her hazy vision, she seemed to have returned to the bedchamber of Huayang Palace.

Outside the window came the pitter-patter of rain. Zhao Yǎn, wearing a snow-white lined robe, sat before her, bathed in a silver rainy light, smiling at her.

Had she… died?

Zhao Yān tentatively reached out her hand, as if wanting to touch that face so similar to her own, yet gentler.

However, her slender fingertips paused in midair, then slowly curled back. She pressed her lips together tightly and hugged her knees, hiding herself in a dark corner.

“Is Yān’er feeling unwell?”

Zhao Yǎn’s gentle voice sounded in her ear, filled with undisguised concern.

“You must be very disappointed,” Zhao Yān closed her eyes. “I’ve messed everything up.”

“How could that be? Yān’er has already done very well, braver and wiser than most women or even men.”

Zhao Yǎn rested his hand gently on her shoulder and said softly, “Don’t blame yourself. It wasn’t your fault. My sister is not someone who gives up easily.”

Zhao Yān’s eyelashes trembled as she looked up, but everything before her grew blurry and dim, gradually receding.

“Zhao Yǎn!”

Zhao Yān cried out as she awoke from her dream, one hand still stretched forward, grasping Liu Ying’s sleeve.

…Yes, it was Liu Ying.

This wasn’t Hegui Pavilion.

Zhao Yān looked around and saw that she was lying in the large bed in the Eastern Palace’s sleeping chamber. The light yellow translucent bed curtains swayed slightly in the lamplight.

She supported her forehead in confusion for a moment before coming to her senses and immediately felt her chest.

The chest binding was still there, her clothes were neat, and even her crown and hairpins were perfectly in place. She almost felt that everything experienced at the flower-pinning banquet was just a nightmare…

If only she could ignore the secret soreness throughout her body.

Holding her breath, she lifted her sleeve to look. The faint finger mark was still there, everything reminding her that what she had experienced was not a nightmare.

Zhao Yān quickly lowered her sleeve, bewildered for a while before asking hoarsely: “How… did I get back?”

Liu Ying moved the gauze lamp closer to the bed and answered: “Your Highness fell asleep at Hegui Pavilion. Prince Su discovered Your Highness and sent someone to inform this servant, who then brought Your Highness back to the Eastern Palace.”

“Prince Su…”

Zhao Yān’s throat tightened as she clutched the bedding. “Who went to get me? Did they see… anything unusual?”

“It was this servant and Li Fu who went personally. We only saw Your Highness sleeping deeply on the couch, nothing else.”

After speaking, Liu Ying added softly, “Physician Zhang has already checked Your Highness’s pulse.”

Zhao Yān’s heart, which had just begun to settle, suddenly tensed again. She asked nervously: “What did he say?”

“He said Your Highness drank wine and caught a cold, with wind evil entering the body, which caused the fainting. A couple of days’ rest should suffice.”

Liu Ying carefully observed her master’s changing expressions, a terrible suspicion forming in her mind.

After biting her lip for a while, she finally lowered the bed curtain and asked quietly: “Was Your Highness framed by villains and… mistreated by someone?”

Liu Ying’s words were discreet, but they struck Zhao Yān like a thunderbolt. All her secrets and embarrassment were exposed in that deathly pale moment of shock.

“Your Highness need not worry. Physician Zhang didn’t say anything. He’s a trustworthy person.”

Liu Ying tightly gripped her fingers, stepping back to kneel and beg forgiveness: “This servant took the liberty of changing Your Highness’s clothes and discovered…”

Although Zhao Yān had been fully dressed with her chest tightly bound, the sharp-eyed Liu Ying immediately noticed that the binding technique wasn’t her own. Then she saw the faint marks on that slender waist…

Those serving in the palace wouldn’t understand what this meant?

Liu Ying had been nearly frightened out of her wits at the time, unable to sit or stand still.

By then, Zhang Xu had already arrived to check the pulse and was writing a prescription for calming the spirit and replenishing qi in the outer chamber. Seeing Liu Ying’s troubled expression, he said: “His Highness is merely suffering from wind evil entering the body, causing qi deficiency and dizziness. Rest assured, miss, no matter who asks, this official will say the same.”

Only then did Liu Ying understand that the Imperial Physician shared her thoughts—he too would risk his life to keep this secret.

Because the young princess had been caught in this chaotic situation with her frail female body, walking on thin ice every day for the past half year. It had been difficult enough already.

Their silence, lightly speaking, was out of loyalty; heavily speaking, it was for the country and family.

Looking at Liu Ying kneeling outside the curtain, Zhao Yān’s chaotic thoughts actually cleared somewhat, bringing a settling calmness.

“I was careless and fell into a trap. How could I blame you?”

She struggled to raise her arms to hug her bent knees, even managing to smile at the frowning Liu Ying. “Especially at times like these, you must not lose your composure. Between us, one must always remain clear-headed.”

Liu Ying bit her lip and nodded firmly.

Though the young princess appeared lively and unrestrained, not following conventions, she was actually like the Crown Prince—at her core, an extremely gentle person who valued loyalty.

Liu Ying did not ask who had “mistreated” her master. If it had been some ordinary man at the banquet, the Eastern Palace would naturally have ways to silence him and cover up the matter.

But since the princess had not mentioned “dealing with” the matter since waking, it could only mean that the man was someone even the Eastern Palace couldn’t move against.

Throughout the imperial city, how many such men could there be? And it happened at Hegui Pavilion…

Liu Ying deduced the answer with just a brief calculation.

In this struggle with its undercurrents, the princess was already the most innocent one. How could Liu Ying bear to watch her fall from such heights with no chance of recovery?

“Let the Empress send Your Highness away, far from the capital.”

Liu Ying made up her mind and said firmly, “Even the Crown Prince would not want to see you caught up in this.”

Zhao Yān was startled and instinctively asked: “If I leave, what will happen to all of you?”

Liu Ying pondered for a moment before saying softly: “Since the Crown Prince’s incident, this servant should have gone with him. Thanks to the young princess’s blessing, I have been able to survive until now, which is already a great fortune.”

Zhao Yān rested her chin on her knees and shook her head lightly but firmly: “I cannot leave.”

Zhao Yǎn had been right about one thing—she had always been stubborn and rebellious, never one to give up easily.

Since Wenren Lin had sent her back, with no other actions so far, it suggested there might be a way out of this predicament.

However, Liu Ying was truly worried for her master and was about to persuade her further when they heard a eunuch’s announcement from outside: “The Empress has arrived—”

Zhao Yān’s eyelashes trembled slightly. Liu Ying quickly had her lie down, covering her securely with the quilt before turning to kneel in greeting: “A thousand years to the Empress.”

Empress Wei had accompanied the Emperor all day and had come directly to the Eastern Palace as soon as she was free. Hearing this, she said “Rise,” and walked straight to the inner chamber’s bed.

Looking at the slender figure lying on its side behind the gauze curtain, she eventually said: “I heard the Crown Prince fell asleep at Hegui Pavilion for an entire afternoon. Are you feeling unwell?”

Zhao Yān kept her eyes open, suppressing her voice: “Just dizzy. I fell asleep without realizing it.”

Despite her deliberate concealment, Empress Wei still detected the subtle oddness in her daughter’s voice.

Her heart sank slightly as she personally lifted the bed curtain, sat on the edge of the bed, and looked at her daughter for a while before asking: “Are you really alright?”

This time, her voice was much softer.

Zhao Yān made an “mm” sound, inexplicably feeling a tightness in her nose.

Since becoming aware, she and her mother had often been at odds, rarely having such peaceful conversations. She didn’t know if her mother was concerned about “Crown Prince Zhao Yǎn” or her daughter Zhao Yān… but for some reason, she wanted to tug at her mother’s sleeve and vent something to her, just like children in ordinary families.

But she dared not, fearing to see the cold disappointment in her mother’s eyes.

Empress Wei’s red lips moved slightly. After a long while, she finally said softly: “You are my child. Remember, even if the Eastern Palace cannot handle something, the Central Palace can.”

These resolute words made Zhao Yān’s heart soften with emotion.

She bit her lip, hesitating whether to lay everything out, when the eunuch’s announcement came again:

“The Crown Prince’s Grand Tutor has arrived—”

Wenren Lin!

Zhao Yān’s tender hesitation vanished completely, her eyes widening in the darkness: What was he doing here now?!