That bastard Wenren Lin had deceived her!

Zhao Yān took a deep breath to suppress her emotions and first asked Liu Baiwei: “Are you alright? Are you injured anywhere?”

Wenren Lin, who had been intently gazing at the moisture in the corner of Zhao Yān’s eyes, heard this and let out a light, cold laugh.

Facing Zhao Yān’s anxious and concerned expression, Liu Baiwei lowered his head and consciously softened his voice: “Nothing serious, just injured two fingers.”

Zhao Yān’s gaze shifted downward and indeed saw several purple bruises and abrasions on Liu Baiwei’s right hand bones, which looked quite severe.

Had he been tortured?

Zhao Yān couldn’t help but glance sideways at Wenren Lin, who sat in a red sandalwood imperial chair, his arm resting on the armrest, coldly tapping his fingers.

Liu Baiwei was skilled in calligraphy, painting, and art. If his right hand suffered any permanent damage, Zhao Yān would bear the responsibility.

Though she was filled with emotions, she had to first deal with the situation at hand, so she asked: “How were you injured?”

…

…

“I was ambushed,” Liu Baiwei said resentfully, grinding his teeth.

That day at Yuquan Palace, when he learned about what Wenren Lin had done to the young princess, he truly couldn’t accept it and spent the entire night sullenly throwing chess pieces.

Fortunately, he still maintained the identity of “Liu Ji,” a favored concubine. In the future, he could make a bed outside the princess’s chamber and stand guard day and night. Even if it was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, he might still be able to protect the princess from Prince Su’s clutches.

Thinking of this, Liu Baiwei felt somewhat better. Just as he was about to go find Zhao Yān, someone struck him from behind with a knife-hand strike, knocking him unconscious.

When he awoke, he found himself in an unfamiliar dungeon.

A rough-faced man who called himself “Zhang Cang” threw him a set of male Confucian robes, informing him that “Liu Ji” had fallen off a cliff and died, and that he should go collect the body as Liu Ji’s elder brother.

Only then did Liu Baiwei realize that during the hours he had been unconscious, his identity as “Liu Ji” had been erased, forcibly restoring him to his male identity! From now on, not only could he not protect the princess day and night, but even seeing her once would be as difficult as ascending to heaven…

How insidious, truly insidious!

In his anger, Liu Baiwei punched the stone door. The door was fine, but his hand was nearly ruined, and his flushed face instantly turned deathly pale from the pain.

Hearing that Liu Baiwei’s hand was injured this way, Zhao Yān finally felt completely relieved. She stepped forward and said, “Go back first and apply medicine. Don’t act rashly or impulsively.”

Liu Baiwei suddenly raised his head, seemingly in disbelief.

He glanced at the instigator sitting with his arm resting on the armrest, then seemed to understand something as his expression darkened: “Please, Your Highness, come with me.”

Zhao Yān was surprised, though she didn’t need to turn around to know Wenren Lin’s expression.

“Don’t be afraid. Though I am merely a scholar, I understand the principle that when the master is humiliated, the servant must die.”

Liu Baiwei stepped forward with dignity and said, “It’s nothing more than two dead bodies and five steps of bloodshed①.”

If they didn’t leave now, there would truly be five steps of bloodshed.

“Liu Baiwei!”

Zhao Yān’s expression was solemn. “You must keep the lamp at Mingde Hall lit for me.”

Her voice was soft but urgent. Liu Baiwei’s expression was complex. He clenched his fist for a long moment before finally saying softly: “Your Highness, protect yourself well. I will find another way.”

As Liu Baiwei was led away, Zhao Yān knew his life was temporarily spared.

Cai Tian silently closed the library doors. In the vast hall, only the faint crackling of the candle wicks could be heard.

Zhao Yān slowly turned around. The red sandalwood imperial chair no longer held Wenren Lin’s figure. His tall, cold shadow had passed behind the long landscape screen and disappeared behind the pearl curtain of the inner chamber.

Someone of Wenren Lin’s status, when truly angered, would not display terrifying rage like a violent storm. Rather, he would be gentle, wearing an elegant smile as he destroyed everything with a flick of his finger.

The calmer he appeared, the more Zhao Yān’s emotions amplified infinitely within her, echoing in the emptiness.

After some thought, she pressed her lips together and followed him.

Today’s matter had to be clarified properly.

Lifting the pearl curtain, she entered a spacious tea room used for rest. Various rare antiques displayed on shelves extended inward. Against the wall were placed a long couch, a table, and chairs. Wenren Lin sat in a chair, retrieving a jade wine pot kept warm on a small stove.

From beginning to end, he never raised his head to look at her once.

There were no extra chairs in the inner chamber, so Zhao Yān sat on the long couch herself and cleared her throat, saying: “The summer heat is intense. Why is Prince Su still drinking warm wine?”

Wenren Lin didn’t respond; only the faint, trickling sound of pouring wine could be heard.

“Give me a cup, too.”

Zhao Yān, with dampness still at the corners of her eyes, pressed her lips and said, “I’ve broken out in a cold sweat from the fright.”

As she spoke, her voice trembled slightly.

Though Zhao Yān knew that Wenren Lin had always been calculating and had frightened her numerous times before, this time, beyond her shock, she felt a trace of grievance that even she hadn’t noticed.

Strangely, she had been strong-willed since childhood and was not a delicate person. But lately, she had felt aggrieved in front of Wenren Lin more and more frequently, as if he could always break through all her pretenses, exposing her vulnerable interior.

This was not a good sign.

Wenren Lin finally raised his eyes slightly. Whether due to the lamplight or not, Zhao Yān felt his eyes were different from usual, as if they contained several parts of… familiar bewitchment.

He held the jade wine cup with one hand but did not give her one as requested. His gaze moved from Zhao Yān’s slightly reddened eyes down to her fingertips clasped within her sleeves.

“This Prince is curious when Your Highness’s dagger in your sleeve will finally be drawn,” he said.

Zhao Yān heard the faint mockery in his voice and was stunned, instinctively saying: “The Grand Tutor’s martial skills are exceptional. I’ve been defeated once and would never again make the futile attempt.”

Wenren Lin understood and said slowly: “If not to assassinate this Prince, then to place it against Your Highness’s neck to force this Prince to release someone?”

The flash of surprise in Zhao Yān’s beautiful eyes did not escape Wenren Lin’s notice.

A person like him had long ago developed the skill of reading people’s hearts. Knowing this, yet a strange melancholy still welled up in his chest, stirring his blood.

The proud young woman whom even he was reluctant to hurt severely was willing to gamble with her life to free another person?

Did the one surnamed Liu deserve this?

“Your Highness, a precious golden body, willing to go to such lengths for him?”

Wenren Lin laughed in anger, placing the untouched wine cup gently on the table. “Usually, when Your Highness sees this Prince, it’s like a rabbit seeing a gray wolf—you’re not even willing to sincerely smile. Yet with others, you’re willing to open your heart.”

As he spoke, his tone became increasingly gentle: “Everyone in the world is pure and kind, only this Prince is greatly evil and vicious. Cohabiting with someone like this, Prince, is a stain Your Highness will find difficult to face for a lifetime. Does Your Highness regret that if on that day of the Hairpin Banquet, you had not met a ‘shameless scoundrel’ like this Prince, but rather a righteous gentleman like Zhou Wanlan who treads on frost and snow, or a unique youth like the one surnamed Liu who can be both male and female, perhaps you would be happier…”

Wenren Lin’s deep voice abruptly stopped.

He fixed his gaze on the crystalline teardrop that fell without warning, dampening the sleeve cuff that Zhao Yān was tightly gripping.

Zhao Yān didn’t want to cry either.

Since she could remember, she had only cried once, that night when she learned the truth about Zhao Yǎn’s death, sobbing against Wenren Lin’s chest. Earlier, when she heard the “news” of Liu Ji’s death, her eyes had reddened with anxiety, but she hadn’t shed tears. Yet now, after just a few words from Wenren Lin, she couldn’t bear it.

She felt very embarrassed, her vision blurred, unable to see Wenren Lin’s current expression.

He hadn’t spoken for a long time.

“If Prince Su had been willing to discuss this matter with me, not deceiving me with Liu Baiwei’s death, how would I have been kept in the dark, resorting to such a desperate measure!”

Zhao Yān’s chin trembled slightly, but she still stubbornly kept her water-gleaming eyes open, straightening her thin back as she said, “It was Prince Su who first threatened me. Not only did you fail to offer reassurance and explanation, but you were also this arrogant and overbearing…”

After a long while, through her blurry vision, she vaguely saw Wenren Lin rise.

Then a shadow loomed before her as Wenren Lin raised his finger to gently wipe away the moisture on her eyelashes.

Zhao Yān turned her head slightly, proudly avoiding his touch.

“Why won’t Prince Su discuss matters with me? Are you afraid that after knowing your plan, I would be unwilling to part with Liu Baiwei?”

Zhao Yān took advantage of her anger to pour out all her thoughts at once: “The second time I saw Prince Su at Changqing Gate, you were already killing someone. Now you’ve taken it upon yourself to deal with Liu Ji without properly explaining the situation to me. How can one not feel anxious and afraid?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, both she and Wenren Lin paused.

Indeed, compared to going to such lengths to restore Liu Baiwei to his male identity, wouldn’t killing him be more straightforward?

“Your Highness is right. Killing the one surnamed Liu would be more in line with this Prince’s style.”

Wenren Lin gently turned Zhao Yān’s stunned face toward him, slightly nodding as he said, “Why go to such trouble? It’s not too late to kill him now…”

As he rose to leave, Zhao Yān pressed her lips together and instinctively grabbed his shoulders, pressing down forcefully, managing only to make his tall figure bend forward and lower his head.

Then, mimicking what she had done in the bedchamber of Guanyun Hall that night, she closed her eyes, leaned forward, and silenced him with her lips.

The world quietly became still.

The pearl curtains swayed, casting brilliant light on their pressed-together faces, now bright, now dim.

However, as soon as Zhao Yān pulled away, breathing heavily, Wenren Lin lowered his eyelids, smiling in a low, faint voice: “Using the same trick twice, Your Highness overestimates yourself.”

Zhao Yān didn’t respond but angrily pressed her lips against his again.

This time, it wasn’t the same trick.

Wenren Lin simply allowed her to hang onto him, lowering his eyes to appreciate her close-up countenance as it transitioned from light to deep, blooming into a lotus-like, charming blush. Only when the young princess’s arms could barely hold on anymore did he reach out to support her slender waist.

“Wanting this Prince to be a servant under your skirt—I don’t know if Your Highness is foolish or bold.”

Wenren Lin’s whispered words against her lips were lazy yet affectionate. “If one day this Prince dies, I will take Your Highness with me to the grave.”

How did he still have the energy to say such infuriating things?

Zhao Yān furrowed her brows and simply bit his lips, angrily murmuring: “Calamities live for a thousand years. The Grand Tutor won’t die so easily.”

Wenren Lin’s laughter was muffled in his throat, dissipating between their lips and teeth.

The little princess didn’t know that he had already crawled out from among corpses as an asura and would eventually return to the depths of hell. That day was not far off.

And she knew nothing of this.

He should have been angry. He should have bound the disobedient little princess to his side, locked her away. Yet as his anger reached his lips, it transformed into intertwining caresses. His raised palm merely lightly pressed down on her wrists.

Wenren Lin focused as he closed his eyes. Before the little princess, who had vented enough anger, could retreat, he used one hand to hold the back of her head and opened his mouth to kiss her back more forcefully.

Zhao Yān’s tongue stung, and she felt her breath constricted, as if her soul had been seized.

Wenren Lin, with his slightly cool thin lips, taught her what a real kiss was. Both carried a chest full of emotions, each determined not to yield to the other. Zhao Yān’s cheeks quickly grew hot with sweat. She tried to counter-attack, to turn the situation back to how it had been at the Hairpin Banquet…

But she was unsuccessful. In her daze, she saw Wenren Lin’s thick eyelashes lightly lowered, the gorgeous dark color in his eyes flickering in and out of visibility.

“Your eyes…”

Zhao Yān squeezed out a few words from the gaps in her breathing, only to have them swallowed by a whimper.

Strictly speaking, tonight was not a good time. Wenren Lin didn’t want her to see him in this pale, eerie state. He turned her shoulders lightly, and Zhao Yān fell face down onto the couch.

With the sound of tearing silk, apricot-white silk ribbons scattered. Zhao Yān instinctively propped herself up on her elbows, but a large hand with distinct knuckles pressed against her lower back, pushing her down.

“This is the ‘tiger step.’ Your Highness should learn it well.”

The unfamiliar fabric with excellent texture pressed against her from behind as Wenren Lin’s deep, mellow voice sounded beside her ear.

Being just the “first choice” wasn’t enough. He wanted to be the only one, and could only be the only one.

……

The sound of water being poured came from the adjacent washing room, followed by Wenren Lin’s approaching footsteps.

Zhao Yān’s cheeks were flushed red, her breathing uneven as she turned to face inward, closing her eyes, not wanting to see him—

Although after such commotion, she had forgotten what she had been angry with Wenren Lin about. Her emotions felt emptied, replaced by an inexplicably strange sense of peace.

Wenren Lin looked at her slender, graceful back without minding, bending down to pick her up along with the thin blanket. He carried her to the adjacent washing room, undressed her completely, and placed her in the bathtub.

The steam made Zhao Yān’s already flushed cheeks even redder, and even her slender, beautiful neck took on a faint blush.

Wenren Lin couldn’t help but look twice. He removed his outer robe and placed it on the sandalwood clothes rack, wearing only a thin snow-white undergarment. Rolling up his sleeves, he approached her, sat down nearby, and began to scoop water to gently wet her beautiful long hair.

Looking at his properly dressed appearance, Zhao Yān’s eyes contained even more dissatisfaction.

Wenren Lin calmly accepted her irritated gaze, his knuckles lightly brushing away water droplets on her ear as he smiled somewhat ambiguously: “This Prince has already stripped bare, bound himself, and knelt to beg Your Highness’s forgiveness. What else is Your Highness angry about?”

The binding wasn’t that kind of binding, and the kneeling wasn’t that kind of kneeling!

In terms of shamelessness, Zhao Yān naturally conceded defeat.

She simply turned her back to Wenren Lin and changed to a kneeling position, frowning as she gripped the edge of the bathtub, causing a splash of water.

Wenren Lin looked at her thin back with wet hair clinging to it and said in a deep voice: “Why are you still kneeling?”

The bathtub did thoughtfully contain a small stool for sitting while bathing, but at this moment…

“Sitting isn’t very comfortable,” Zhao Yān turned her head and said softly, her voice still hoarse.

Wenren Lin’s water-pouring motion paused briefly. He quickly understood, nodding as he said: “Your Highness is too small.”

Small?

Zhao Yān was in a daze. She was sixteen years old. Ordinary princesses at this age would already have the Empress selecting a Prince Consort for them.

“This Prince wasn’t referring to age,” Wenren Lin reached out to massage her, adding.

His expression was normal, but Zhao Yān turned her head to glare at him, swatting away his hand.

Wenren Lin tilted his head slightly to avoid the water splash, his eyelashes opening to reveal the smile spreading in his eyes.

He seemed to have calmed down as well, his lacquer-colored pupils returning to their usual state. Zhao Yān turned back around, too tired to deal with him.

After bathing, Wenren Lin carried her back to the long couch, dried her long hair, and temporarily found a clean set of unworn inner clothes to wrap around her.

The clothes were somewhat large, with long hanging sleeves that made Zhao Yān appear even more slender.

After all this bustle, Wenren Lin’s clothes were soaked through. He loosened his middle garment and went behind the screen to the inner chamber to bathe.

Zhao Yān hugged her knees, listening to the water sounds from next door. Her cheeks were slightly warm, and her thoughts became vacant and confused.

This time was different from the Hairpin Banquet. There was no drug-induced confusion; everything was so clear. It wasn’t very uncomfortable; on the contrary…

She stopped herself from thinking further, suspecting she might still have some residual poison in her system. Otherwise, why would she have felt so unlike herself at that moment?

Zhao Yān wasn’t sure if she had made the right move, but she had to admit that Wenren Lin was the only person besides her guards who had ever protected her.

The fact that he hadn’t killed Liu Baiwei proved that he had once again compromised his principles for her.

Zhao Yān thought for a long time before belatedly feeling discomfort in her knees. She quietly lifted the overly long hem of her garment to look, and indeed, her knees were red.

She would have to return to the Eastern Palace soon, and fearing Liu Ying would notice something amiss, she thought about going to find some medicine to apply.

There was an unlocked small cabinet by the bedside. She casually pulled it open to look and indeed found several bottles of medicine inside, along with a palm-sized red lacquered wooden box.

The wooden box was exquisitely made, resembling a palace style. When shaken, it made the sound of pills rolling around inside. She wondered what medicine was contained within.

Curious, Zhao Yān picked up the medicine box and examined it front and back.

Just as she opened it, a large hand with moisture extended from behind her, firmly pressing down on the medicine box.