Wenren Lin shifted his gaze from the bright red cinnabar ink mark, then glanced at Zhao Yān.

The young woman had a flower ornament between her eyebrows, dark brows against snow-white cheeks, and lips thinly coated with rouge that looked tantalizingly luscious. Freed from the concealment and constraints of the Crown Prince’s attire, her long, slender neck led to slightly protruding collarbones, snow-capped peaks that appeared as dazzling as moonlight in the warm lamplight.

When Wenren Lin wasn’t smiling, his eyes were bottomless, with an unfathomable coldness.

This time, Zhao Yān endured without averting her gaze. She had shown him her most authentic self, so there was no need to feign weakness or timidity.

Thus, she bravely returned his gaze, extending a delicate white finger to push the box of soft jade another inch toward him, and asked, “The jade in the box has been washed clean. Doesn’t the Grand Tutor want to inspect it?”

Wenren Lin seemed to understand only now. The tip of the brush in his hand lightly grazed over the neatly arranged warm-colored soft jade, and the jade was stained with a streak of fresh red wetness, very much like the ambiguous bloodstain that night when Wenren Lin had applied medicine for her with his eyes covered…

The brush then followed along her slender fingertip upward, finally stopping on the back of her delicate hand, tapping it lightly.

Wenren Lin maintained his posture of bending over with the brush, his face and heart unmoved, perfectly solemn.

Zhao Yān truly wanted to tear off his hypocritical mask and expose the black heart and lungs inside.

“I just felt that since what’s done is done, I might as well be honest with the Grand Tutor.”

…

…

Zhao Yān tried to make her expression appear more sincere, slightly raising her arm to ask, “Is the Grand Tutor satisfied with my original appearance?”

Wenren Lin looked at her clothing, blooming like a lotus, and after a moment, said lightly, “Naturally.”

Under the current bright lights, with her exquisite makeup, she was incomparably more beautiful than that hazy, fragile appearance at the flower-pinning banquet.

Knowing that she wasn’t genuinely asking for clarity on a perplexing matter, Wenren Lin gently set down his brush. As he withdrew his hand, he lightly pinched Zhao Yān’s chin, turning her face toward himself.

He scrutinized Zhao Yān’s eyes and cinnabar lips quite carefully, until those crow-feather-like eyelashes couldn’t help but tremble. Only then did he ask in a low, casual voice, “Who applied this makeup for Your Highness?”

Zhao Yān had been focusing on his reaction but didn’t expect him to ask such a trivial question, which made her momentarily stunned.

“Liu Ying doesn’t know how to apply makeup; Liu Ji helped,” she told the truth.

There was no need to hide such a small matter from Wenren Lin, nor could she—among those around Zhao Yān who knew her true identity and could be used, there were only so many.

For some reason, Wenren Lin’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. Zhao Yān even saw something like… disdain in his dark eyes.

Liu Ji was skilled in painting, perhaps extending that skill by analogy, occasionally creating extremely beautiful makeup.

Could it be that because Liu Ji’s features were already deep and striking, she created makeup that looked good but wasn’t suitable for her?

As Zhao Yān was privately speculating, Wenren Lin had already picked up a neatly folded silk cloth from the table, thrown it into a copper basin of water to the side, wrung out the excess water with one hand, and then covered Zhao Yān’s face with it.

Zhao Yān, with her face covered by the wet cloth, instinctively tried to turn away, but was firmly held in place by Wenren Lin.

He covered her with his other hand and began to leisurely wipe away the recently applied red makeup from her face. The cloth quickly became stained with red and white powder.

Wenren Lin paused the cloth at the tear mole under her right eye and calmly instructed, “Close your eyes.”

Zhao Yān obeyed and closed her eyes, her eyelashes trembling restlessly.

Her eyes were beautiful, with what looked like ink lines at the corners. Even with the rouge removed, her skin remained flawlessly white, even more transparent and natural.

With her eyes closed, Zhao Yān heard Wenren Lin’s emotionless voice.

She unconsciously curled her fingers, then slowly relaxed them, tilting her head back with a “mm” sound: “The Grand Tutor is right. A poisoned person needs detoxification, just as a starving person needs food—it’s the most normal thing.”

After a moment of silence, she muttered very softly, “It’s just like being bitten by a dog, nothing to make a fuss about.”

After a while, Zhao Yān felt the makeup-removing cloth pressing harder. Wenren Lin let out a light snort and said, “Well, Your Highness certainly knows how to pick dogs.”

He pressed Zhao Yān’s outer eye corner, forcing her to open her eyes. “At this moment, aren’t you afraid this Prince will kill you?”

Zhao Yān opened her eyes, and so all the lamplight in the hall reconverged in her pupils, radiating the dignified charm a little princess should have.

She thought for a moment and delivered the lines she had prepared in advance: “I’m not afraid. After all, the Grand Tutor and I are accomplices in the same boat.”

“If the Grand Tutor righteously eliminates me and exposes the fact that a princess is impersonating the Crown Prince, I would also have to confess honestly about my entanglement with the Grand Tutor. After all, a subordinate trespassing with a princess is also a great crime.”

Zhao Yān maintained her head-tilted posture, feeling Wenren Lin’s increasingly tightening fingers on her jaw, and stated clearly, word by word, “Even if Father Emperor chooses to protect the Grand Tutor and executes me, it would be my good fortune to pave the way for the Grand Tutor with my corpse. And if Father Emperor spares my life, that would be even better…

At that time, to cover up the scandal, Father Emperor would certainly arrange for me to marry some reliable son from a noble family. Having slept with two men at such a young age, I suppose I haven’t lost out.”

Her eyes curved slightly as she raised her hand to grip Wenren Lin’s slightly cold fingers holding the cotton cloth, deliberately saying earnestly, “Don’t you agree, Grand Tutor?”

Wenren Lin looked at her, his expression unmoved, yet there was a vague increase in dangerous pressure.

Zhao Yān, on the contrary, became calmer. She knew she had hit the crucial point.

“This Prince is somewhat curious.”

Wenren Lin swayed this pure and delicate face between his fingers, left and right, saying methodically, “Who exactly enlightened Your Highness?”

Zhao Yān’s heart skipped a beat, but she would certainly not divulge Liu Ji’s involvement.

In fact, Liu Ji was merely the doorkeeper to a train of thought; many details were pieced together point by point by Zhao Yān herself, who had spent an entire afternoon calming down and thinking clearly.

If Wenren Lin’s cat-like teasing of her wasn’t for coercion, but out of interest…

Then, couldn’t this be a weakness of Prince Su himself?

Understanding this point, this seemingly doomed situation suddenly had a glimmer of hope for resolution.

Wenren Lin raised his finger to wipe away the remaining rouge at the corner of Zhao Yān’s lips, then sat down in the round chair beside the desk with the cotton cloth, pressing his finger against his temple: “Speak, what favor does Your Highness condescend to ask of me?”

In any case, no secret could be hidden from him.

“I want to leave the palace to stay elsewhere for a few days, to clear my mind.”

“Your Highness should discuss this with the Emperor and Empress. This Prince doesn’t manage the private affairs of imperial sons.”

Zhao Yān nodded, her wiped-damp hair clinging moistly to her cheeks, outlining an unseasonably tender beauty.

“But I want the Grand Tutor to accompany me.”

Thinking of the dirty deeds Zhao Yuan’yu had done, Zhao Yān’s tone became more determined as she repeated, “Many eyes are watching the Eastern Palace. For safety, I want to travel with the Grand Tutor.”

Wenren Lin had been frequently staying outside the city these days. What case he was investigating, Zhao Yān naturally knew well.

She was deliberately doing this, risking everything to see how far Wenren Lin would retreat for her.

“It’s not impossible,” Wenren Lin said.

This, in turn, left Zhao Yān stunned.

Coming back to her senses, her eyes revealed a hint of suspicion; she didn’t believe Wenren Lin was such an accommodating person.

Sure enough, Wenren Lin tapped his knee with his finger and continued, “It’s just that when Your Highness asks this Prince for a favor, you should have the attitude of someone making a request. For instance, do something for this Prince.”

See? I knew it!

Zhao Yān smiled lightly, “I am dull-witted. Please instruct me, Grand Tutor.”

Wenren Lin looked up, “Will you do anything?”

“…”

Zhao Yān told herself not to show weakness, so she steadied her legs that wanted to flee, thought for a moment, and calmly said, “Although I don’t particularly like it, when I think that the one I’m getting close to is the all-powerful Prince Su, it doesn’t seem so unbearable.”

She nodded slightly to herself, firmly stating, “Once bitten, twice shy—this time I have experience.”

Hearing this, Wenren Lin’s finger-tapping hand paused.

What was she talking about?

But since the little princess had voluntarily brought up this topic…

Wenren Lin curved his lips, raising those eyes with thick eyelashes: “Your Highness wouldn’t naively think that this Prince would allow Your Highness to be on top like last time, would you?”

Zhao Yān was stunned, not quite understanding.

“If we’re to play, it should be this Prince’s turn to play.”

Wenren Lin deliberately elongated his tone until Zhao Yān anxiously swallowed, then said in a low voice, “Do you know what ‘tiger step’ is?”

Zhao Yān nervously pursed her lips, obviously bewildered.

Her clean and pure yet pretending to be casual and charming demeanor was truly quite interesting.

Wenren Lin slightly raised his eyebrow, knowingly saying, “Your Highness hasn’t read the essential ‘Xuannü Jing.’ No wonder you were so rough last time.”

Who was rough!

Zhao Yān’s cheeks grew hot, and she simply turned her head away.

There was a rustling sound of clothing by her ear—Wenren Lin rising from the round chair.

A shadow fell over her, and before Zhao Yān could react, she felt herself being lifted.

Wenren Lin effortlessly scooped her up horizontally, his expression unchanged as he walked steadily toward the inner chamber.

The flowing skirt swayed with his steps, revealing two lotus-thread embroidered shoes and slender ankles. Zhao Yān’s heartbeat instantly became chaotic, her nose filled with Wenren Lin’s unique scent mixed with a cold, frosty aura.

She vaguely remembered that when she had encountered Wenren Lin while drugged, he had carried her horizontally like this, and then…

But this time, there was no drug, and both were fully conscious. Although Zhao Yān had prepared for the worst, when it came to this step, she found herself far from being as relaxed and at ease as she had imagined.

Learning from her previous lesson, as soon as she was placed on the couch, Zhao Yān immediately stood up straight.

She tried to create some distance, but her wrist was grasped, and then Wenren Lin bent his knee to push against the back of her knees. Zhao Yān let out a startled cry and fell lightly onto the bed.

Her hair was loose, with a few playful strands scattered about her face. She was stunned, finally realizing—this was completely different from the crane neck embrace last time, where the one on top had control!

Zhao Yān’s cheeks reddened, and she instinctively bent her knees to crawl up, but a large hand pressed on her shoulder.

“The woman bends forward, buttocks and head lowered.①”

Wenren Lin’s deep, steady voice came from behind her, demonstrating phrase by phrase.

“The man kneels behind, embracing her waist①… Don’t move, learn well.” As he spoke, his other hand gripped Zhao Yān’s slender waist and lifted it, his straight, long legs already kneeling on the bed, pressing forward to envelop her.

Zhao Yān knelt in submission, feeling her back grow cold. This time, she truly regretted it and hastily used both hands and feet to escape inward.

But she didn’t move an inch. Wenren Lin’s arm strength was simply not something that a pampered little princess like her could challenge.

Black hair softly spread down from the back of her neck, the strands trembling lightly with her breathing, revealing a stretch of fair skin and two bright red ears.

She couldn’t see Wenren Lin’s expression behind her, and it was this unknown that made her increasingly anxious and nervous.

But she was a princess and unwilling to yield in defeat. With her cheeks red enough to drip blood, she bit her lip and buried her face in the bedding, like a little peacock trying in vain to hide its head in the sand.

However, the imagined humiliation did not come. Zhao Yān clutched the bedding, ears perked, listening for a long while, and finally tremblingly raised one rippling, watery eye from the embroidered pile, carefully peering…

She saw Wenren Lin leaning on his elbow at the head of the bed, watching her with leisurely composure.

Zhao Yān blinked, realizing she had once again been frightened into losing her composure by this man. Filled with shame and anger, she rose with her slightly disheveled cloud-like hair, glaring at Wenren Lin while slightly panting.

She was truly embarrassed, and Wenren Lin could see it.

“This Prince is merely a dog.”

Wenren Lin reached out to arrange the scattered strands of hair at her temples, his slightly cool knuckles intentionally or unintentionally brushing across her burning red cheeks. Amusement suffused his eyes as he said hoarsely, “Why should Your Highness be angry at a little dog?”

Zhao Yān was stunned: What did he mean?

Wenren Lin said no more, smilingly arranging her hair properly before rising and pleasurably strolling out of the hall.

He also took away the box of warm, lustrous jade from the table.

Zhao Yān finally realized that he was referring to her comment, “It’s just like being bitten by a dog.”

She sat among the bedcovers, not knowing whether to be angry or to laugh.

Then, she lowered her gaze in frustration.

Wenren Lin’s attitude—had he agreed or not?

___

①Quotes from ancient Chinese sex manuals describing positions.