The Right Minister’s Residence, study room.

For an entire night, Xue Cen had knelt on the cold, hard floor tiles with his robe gathered around him. Facing the Right Minister Xue, whose temples were frosted white yet whose dignity remained undiminished, he repeated the same words: “Grandfather, your grandson wishes to take Second Miss Yu as his wife.”

Minister Xue rested his overlapping hands on a glossy purple sandalwood cane, his beard slightly quivering, not uttering a word.

Standing at his side, Xue’s father asked sternly: “Speak clearly, which daughter of the Yu family do you wish to marry?”

“Second Miss Yu, Second Sister,” Xue Cen replied distinctly.

Xue’s father was furious.

The two families had implicitly agreed to his marriage with Yu Xinyi, yet he insisted on competing with the Crown Prince for a woman, wanting to marry this Second Miss Yu!

“Rebellious son!” Xue’s father raised his palm high against his son.

“Wait.” Minister Xue spoke, and those two words alone caused the raised hand to freeze in mid-air.

Xue’s father’s cheeks pulsed, but he eventually lowered his hand and stepped back, bowing: “Yes, Father.”

The white-haired, chicken-skinned elder rose with the support of his cane. Though over sixty, his posture remained upright, exuding the dignified air of one who had spent years in officialdom.

He looked at his most favored grandson for a long time, then slowly exhaled: “If you wish to marry the Second Miss Yu, it’s not impossible.”

“Grandfather.” Xue Cen immediately raised his head, a flash of joy crossing his slightly reddened eyes.

“But remember, as a subject, loyalty and righteousness cannot be lost.”

Minister Xue’s deep, alert eyes gazed heavily at Xue Cen as he said in the raspy voice peculiar to the elderly, “If you marry her, you will owe the Crown Prince a favor.”

“General Yu is the head of the military officials, commanding heavy troops, yet has never aligned himself with the Eastern Palace.”

After a pause, Minister Xue turned, looking at the imperial-bestowed characters “Loyal, Benevolent, Upright, and Just” on a beam in the study, “In recent years, there have been constant rumors at court about deposing the elder son to establish the younger. After forming marriage ties with the Yu family, you will need to spare no effort in uniting the two families to assist the Crown Prince.”

Hearing this, Xue Cen was stunned.

Being so intelligent, how could he not understand that his grandfather wanted him to use his marriage to Yu Lingxi to draw the Yu family into the Crown Prince’s camp?

Everyone had always thought that his grandfather, as the chief civil official, had always been strict and indifferent, never participating in factional disputes, but apparently, that wasn’t the case.

This was a marriage of interest that had been calculated long ago.

Whether the Xue family or the Crown Prince married a daughter of the Yu family, it was all to bring the General’s power under the Crown Prince’s control.

“Grandfather, is it the Crown Prince’s faction?” Xue Cen asked with difficulty.

“It can be said yes, and it can be said no.”

Minister Xue replied, “Strictly speaking, this old man belongs to the faction that upholds the orthodox rule of the realm, the party that respects ritual teachings and moral principles. The Crown Prince is the legitimate eldest son of His Majesty, the future emperor, and should be loyally supported.”

“But…” Recalling Yu Lingxi’s refusal when they parted yesterday, Xue Cen clenched his fingers.

Minister Xue looked at this grandson in whom he placed great hopes and said earnestly: “Think it over carefully. If you can manage this, this old man will approve your marriage to the Second Miss.”

A quarter of an hour later.

The weather had changed, with a gloomy wind carrying a slight chill.

Xue Cen pushed away the attendant’s supporting arm, enduring the pain in his knees, and limped back to his room, deep in thought.

The second Sister was so filial and kind. If she knew that her marriage would implicate her father and brother, drawing them into a camp that the Yu family did not approve of, she would certainly oppose this marriage even more.

He also didn’t want to take advantage of the crisis and didn’t want to deceive her, but there was no other way.

There was no time for hesitation. He couldn’t possibly hand over the girl he admired to someone else, watching her marry into the Eastern Palace.

Xue Cen wished to be despicable just this once. At least…

At least Second Sister and he were mutually affectionate. As long as he could marry her, as long as he could resolve the immediate crisis, the rest could be discussed slowly.

A lifetime was long; they would eventually find a solution that satisfied everyone.

With this thought, Xue Cen’s resolve strengthened somewhat. He picked up his brush, moistened the ink, and hastily wrote a letter, arranging to meet Yu Lingxi at the Qinxin Pavilion by the North City’s Lotus Pool at dusk.

After folding and sealing it, he called an attendant: “Take this letter to Second Miss Yu at the General’s residence. Hurry!”

…

The sky was gloomy, and the windswept fallen petals from the branches.

Ning Yin had a dream.

For the first time, he didn’t dream of slaughter and blood, but of a misty vapor over water, with rippling waves shattering a pool of warm light.

In his arms, he embraced a slender woman with bewitchingly black hair, pressing her against the edge of the bathing pool as he kissed and took from her.

Her apricot eyes were rippling with light; when he bit too hard, pitiable moans escaped from between her lips and teeth.

Arms as smooth as soft jade wrapped around his neck, wet and dripping, as she softly called: “Your Highness…”

As punishment, he bit down, licking away a crimson drop of blood as his cold and dangerous voice echoed in the pool: “What should you call me here?”

“Wei… Wei Qi.”

With a splash of water, the mist in the pool rippled away like waves, revealing a familiar, flower-like, jade-like, enchanting face.

Ning Yin woke from his shallow dream, slowly opening his eyes.

In the secret passage beneath the meditation room of the Golden Cloud Temple, two ghostly candle flames flickered in the pitch darkness.

He curved his finger to support his temple, not quite understanding why he would dream of Yu Lingxi, much less force her to call him by that ridiculous false name.

Opening his palm, he brought his fingertips to his nose, gently inhaling. The gentle, alluring feminine fragrance from the dream seemed to linger on his fingertips, carrying the soft, wet touch of her skin…

For a moment, Ning Yin thought that perhaps the coupling of men and women wasn’t such a filthy, unbearable thing.

Just for a moment, this thought disappeared like ripples, replaced by a deeper, colder restlessness.

This restlessness had been surging in his heart since he heard yesterday that Yu Lingxi and Xue Cen were engaged. The harmonious image of them loving each other in the sunlight had stung him, causing a headache all night.

“Your Highness, spare me!” A woman’s desolate scream pulled his thoughts back.

Ning Yin raised his eyelids. On the damp, dark floor crawled a disheveled woman.

From her well-tailored palace clothes, one could discern that she was likely a high-ranking palace maid from the imperial city.

There wasn’t a single wound on her body, yet she had no strength to stand. Her face was deathly pale, covered in cold sweat, as if she had been pulled from water.

Zhe Ju stood silently to the left, his palm wrapped in gauze, seemingly oblivious.

Beside him stood four or five subordinates, trembling with fear.

The palace maid desperately kowtowed, as if this might somehow extend her life, pleading: “For the sake of my years of service to Consort Li and Your Highness, please spare this slave!”

Ning Yin waited until the treacherous woman had kowtowed enough, then curled his lips into a slight smile and asked softly: “When Qin Niang betrayed my whereabouts to my royal brother, placing me in mortal danger, did she ever consider those years of friendship?”

“This slave wouldn’t dare again, truly wouldn’t dare again!”

The palace maid Qin Niang had never imagined that Ning Yin could survive Ning Changrui’s hands, much less slaughter his entire household in retaliation. She stammered, “As long as Your Highness spares this slave’s life, this slave will do anything…”

“Do anything?” Ning Yin hummed lightly as if weighing the value of these words.

Qin Niang grasped at this lifeline, quickly nodding like a pestle pounding garlic: “Please give this slave a chance to atone for her sins.”

Ning Yin played with a short blade between his fingers, his eyes half-closed, seemingly calculating something.

“Very well.” After a while, he agreed easily.

With just a slight lift of his chin, the palace maid immediately crawled to his feet in an attempt to please him.

Ning Yin curled his lips in a cold smile, looking down disdainfully at the woman: “I want you to love me.”

Just like how Yu Lingxi loves Xue Cen.

At these words, all the subordinates in the room looked up in shock, unable to fathom their master’s thoughts.

Qin Niang was even more terrified and uneasy. What did the Seventh Prince mean?

From birth, Ning Yin had endured his birth father’s indifference, and the oppression of his siblings, and even his birth mother, Consort Li, had been filled with disgust toward him.

He was obsessive, cruel, and skilled at pretense, and his brief life had been filled with dark distortions. No one loved him.

Qin Niang only felt fear toward him and truly did not know how to love him. But she wanted to live, so she could only steel herself and reach out, her trembling fingertips moving up from those new leather boots, grasping the hem of his clothes.

Seeking carnal pleasure… that should be love, right?

That’s what women in the palace did.

As soon as those pale, wormlike hands touched the leather boots, Ning Yin’s gaze suddenly turned cold.

“Not like this,” he said coldly.

Yu Lingxi’s hands were warm; even when frightened, her eyes remained clear and transparent, with rippling light when she looked at him.

Unlike the woman before him, false and vulgar, with murky eyes devoid of any light.

Only Yu Lingxi could, only she had those eyes clear as autumn waters.

Ning Yin finally understood this.

“Ah!”

Qin Niang, who had just touched the hem of his robe, was thrown to the ground. She looked in disbelief at the suddenly changed youth before her.

“You’re too dirty,” he said, his pale thin lips uttering cold words.

“Your Highness, I can do it.”

Qin Niang’s pupils trembled as she stuttered, “Please, Your Highness, give this slave another chance…”

“Shhh.” Ning Yin raised his slender fingers, gesturing for the woman to be silent.

“You should be grateful that I don’t kill women,” he said.

Qin Niang froze, and then a light of hope burst in her eyes.

Just as she thought she had escaped calamity, Ning Yin leaned back in his chair and suddenly burst into laughter.

His laughter shook his chest, yet didn’t appear crude. Instead, it conveyed a mocking elegance that ridiculed all living things. He asked softly, “Did you think I would say that?”

The mercurial tone caused the joy in Qin Niang’s eyes to shatter and dim.

She knew she wouldn’t survive. In those dying, withered eyes, an enormous hatred ignited.

“No one will ever love you, Your Highness.” Qin Niang’s voice, between tears and laughter, sounded like the world’s most vicious curse.

She shrieked, “You can only be abandoned, betrayed because you are a terrifying demon…”

The cursing stopped abruptly.

No one saw Ning Yin move, but Qin Niang suddenly widened her eyes, her body collapsing softly to the ground, lifeless.

Ning Yin calmly twirled the blade between his fingers, looking around at the remaining subordinates, his smile fading as he said, “Is there anyone here who was turned by Qin Niang to betray us? Step forward, and I might spare your life.”

Two of them changed expression, exchanged a glance, and simultaneously lunged at Ning Yin.

Having witnessed Qin Niang’s death, they knew the Seventh Prince wouldn’t truly spare them. Better to fight for a slim chance of survival!

But they had barely taken a step when they felt a chill in their chests, followed by two bloodied short blades piercing through from their chests, pinning them to the stone wall of the secret chamber.

They didn’t even have time to cry out before becoming two silent corpses.

Ning Yin wiped his fingers and turned around. The other two men, apart from Zhe Ju, immediately knelt, sweating profusely: “This humble servant will follow Your Highness to the death, and will certainly help Your Highness complete your great undertaking!”

“Rise. If you’ve done nothing wrong, why kneel?”

Ning Yin wiped his fingers very slowly. “It doesn’t matter how great the undertaking is, just don’t get in my way.”

A pool of sticky crimson trickled down the steps. He frowned, raising his boot carefully to step over the puddle before casually ascending the stone stairs.

“Your Highness.”

Zhe Ju followed behind him with a heavy sword on his back, warning in a deep voice, “Since entering the capital, there have been rumors circulating that Second Miss Yu was stranded on a cliff for a day and a night during the spring hunt, and had inappropriate relations with a… a lowly slave. Should this subordinate suppress and eliminate this rumor?”

“Why suppress it?”

The young man revealed a light smile and asked in return, “Isn’t this better?”

Surprise flashed in Zhe Ju’s eyes.

He had originally thought that his master could use this marriage to take action, but now it seemed he wanted to marry that woman himself…

Qin Niang’s parting words still echoed.

Zhe Ju didn’t know whether to pity the Yu family’s daughter or worry for his master, so he chose to remain silent.

Leaving the secret chamber, a cool, fine rain settled on their cheeks. Ning Yin paused, raising his head to look at the gloomy, oppressive sky.

“It’s raining,” he said to himself.

…

Yu Residence.

Yu Lingxi held a book scroll while reclining on her couch, staring blankly at the rainy light outside the window: “How did it suddenly start raining?”

“Late spring weather is naturally changeable. What’s so strange about rain?”

Hutao placed tea snacks on the side table, went to close the window, and seeing no one else around, crouched in front of Yu Lingxi, smiling: “Miss, after you’re married, will you still come back often to see this slave? Or perhaps take this slave with you? This slave cannot bear to part with you.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

Yu Lingxi didn’t even look up as she rose to add two spoonfuls of pepper powder to her tea, “Marry whom?”

“Young Master Xue, of course! Such mutual affection is rare. If Miss doesn’t marry him, who will you marry?”

“It’s not decided yet. Don’t speak nonsense.”

Yu Lingxi put the teacup back down. Preoccupied, she couldn’t even enjoy her favorite pepper powder.

Yesterday, to politely decline the Eastern Palace marriage, Xue Cen had knelt before her father and brother to propose. Yu Lingxi felt she should perhaps be happy, as everyone thought they were a match made in heaven.

But despite being deeply touched, she couldn’t feel happy. Her heart remained calm as a mirror, unable to ripple with the naive feelings of her previous life’s youth.

Yesterday in the courtyard, Xue Cen had asked for her opinion, his face flushed.

She had tried to convince herself, but after much thought, finally smiled and shook her head: “Brother Cen is wonderful, but I have never thought about marriage.”

At that moment, Xue Cen’s eyes showed more astonishment than disappointment; he probably hadn’t expected her to refuse.

Soon, he seemed to understand something and said warmly with a smile: “Second Sister is still young. Normally, you haven’t thought about marriage. No matter, we can adapt slowly, as long as we can overcome the current crisis.”

Yu Lingxi had thought about it all night.

She could perhaps marry Xue Cen and spend a life of mutual respect, but that would be too unfair to him.

If love is not equal, it becomes a disaster.

She could deceive anyone, except Xue Cen, who had knelt for her twice across two lifetimes. She couldn’t go against her conscience.

“If Miss doesn’t marry Young Master Xue, do you intend to enter the palace as the Crown Prince’s consort?”

Hutao pouted. Being the Crown Prince’s consort might be honorable, but competing for favor among three thousand beauties would be exhausting!

How different from Young Master Xue, whose eyes and heart held only her.

Hearing this, Yu Lingxi seriously pondered for a moment, supposing that if she did marry into the Eastern Palace, what would be the probability of surviving when Ning Yin returned to reclaim the palace…

However, she couldn’t calculate it.

Ning Yin’s temperament was a dangerous enigma.

As she was thinking, an attendant from outside delivered a note, saying: “Second Miss, the Lady of Qingping County from the Tang Ducal Mansion invites you for a meeting, saying there’s an urgent matter to discuss.”

Yu Lingxi took the note, opened it to read, and frowned slightly.

Then, thinking of something, her brow smoothed, and she smiled.

Tang Buli’s brush strokes on the note were forceful, enough to demonstrate the writer’s anger.

Tang Buli said that recently, among the noble ladies in the capital, there was a rumor that Second Miss Yu had encountered danger during the spring hunt and had lost her virtue to a young slave boy…

Since the rumor was spreading among the noble ladies’ circles, it could only have been fabricated by the women who were present at the time.

Such groundless talk was most likely spread by a woman who wanted to marry into the Eastern Palace to become a phoenix, or perhaps by one of Xue Cen’s admirers.

However, this might be a good opportunity.

Yu Lingxi closed the note and said calmly: “Prepare the carriage. We’re going to the Tang Ducal Mansion.”

Just as she was leaving, she saw someone approaching through the slanting, fine rain.

Ning Yin was returning from somewhere, without an umbrella. His clothes and hair were damp, and his handsome face had been moistened by the rain, appearing slightly pale.

These past two days, she had been so busy trying to decline the Eastern Palace marriage that she had neglected him.

Yu Lingxi felt a stirring in her heart. She took an umbrella from a maid and walked toward Ning Yin.

“Where have you been?” She stopped in front of the young man, separated by about half a zhang of misty rain.

“Drinking,” Ning Yin answered.

Yu Lingxi wrinkled her nose.

There was indeed a faint smell of alcohol in the damp air, but beneath it was a familiar scent of decay, like the smell of an aged cellar.

“What are you doing drinking in the heavy rain?” Yu Lingxi frowned, stretching out her arm to considerately hand him the umbrella.

However, seeing him wearing the deerskin boots she had given him, she felt comforted and couldn’t help but break into a faint smile.

“Unhappy.”

Ning Yin didn’t take the umbrella. After a quiet moment, he suddenly said softly, “The Young General once said that my staying in the residence would ruin the Miss’s reputation.”

He stood in the rain mist, his dark eyes like those of a sincere student asking a question, “Does Miss also think that my lowly status is a disgrace to her?”

This question was truly strange.

Yu Lingxi laughed in exasperation: “If I cared about such things, I wouldn’t have ridden out at night to find you.”

Ning Yin still looked at her, asking: “Then, will Miss betray me, abandon me?”

What kind of question was this?

If anyone should be asking about betrayal, shouldn’t it be her asking him?

Yu Lingxi looked suspiciously at him, who seemed slightly abnormal, thought carefully, and then shook her head: “No since I brought you back, you are my responsibility.”

After all, in the future, she would rely on this act of kindness to make him the greatest protection for the Yu family.

Ning Yin smiled, though it wasn’t clear what he was happy about, and nodded: “Good, Wei Qi understands.”

Understands what?

Before she could figure out what this little madman meant, Yu Lingxi was in a hurry to get to the Tang Ducal Mansion. She pushed the umbrella into Ning Yin’s hand, urging: “Take it, go back and change your clothes.”

With that, she turned and quickly boarded her carriage.

Ning Yin stood in place with the paper umbrella, watching her carriage disappear on the main road, and only then did the smile in his eyes gradually settle.

A strange servant boy brushed past him, running up while wiping rainwater from his chin, and knocked on the side gate of the Yu residence.

The guard opened the door, and the servant boy presented a letter with both hands, announcing loudly: “This is a letter from my master, Young Master Xue. The letter is important; please ensure it is delivered to your Second Miss.”

But Yu Lingxi had just left the residence.

The guard took the letter and had a maid place it on Yu Lingxi’s table, waiting for her return to read it.

As soon as the maid closed the door and left, a figure emerged from the shadowy corner and took the letter.

…

Eastern Palace, rain pouring heavily.

Crown Prince Ning Dan overturned a table of delicacies, smashed two cups, and raged: “Who said she and Xue Cen have a marriage agreement? How have I never heard of this?”

A guard bowed and reported: “According to this humble servant’s investigation, there is indeed a marriage agreement between the Xue and Yu families.”

Ning Dan was even more furious. It would have been fine if Yu Lingxi had a marriage agreement with anyone else, but why did it have to be someone from the Xue family?

Minister Xue ostensibly did not participate in factional politics, but in secret, he was the Eastern Palace’s greatest supporter. Out of respect for the old master Xue, he couldn’t openly snatch his grandson’s intended bride.

Ning Dan had already had people inquire and confirm that the Yu family’s second daughter indeed possessed rare beauty, even in the capital.

There was no woman in the world he couldn’t have, yet such a little beauty was to be Xue Cen’s!

As he was still unable to swallow this anger, another eunuch hurried in with mincing steps, kneeling to present a crumpled letter held above his head: “Your Highness, this was just found on the Eastern Palace gate.”

Ning Dan snatched the letter, opened it to read, and his brow furrowed with even more hostility.

“Tonight at dusk, looking forward to meeting at Qinxin Pavilion in the north of the city…”

Ning Dan ground Xue Cen’s name between his teeth, spitting it out: “Such mutual affection, are they planning to elope?”

The more he thought about it, the more unwilling he became. He even maliciously wished that Xue Cen would disappear from this world…

His restless pacing stopped.

Ning Dan muttered to himself: “Yes if Second Master Xue disappears from this world, this marriage naturally cannot proceed.”

The guard was surprised and quickly bowed to advise: “Your Highness, we cannot touch the Xue family’s people…”

“As long as we’re clear about it, creating an accident that fools the Right Minister, no one will know.”

Blinded by jealousy, Ning Dan threw the letter in the guard’s face and roared: “Go quickly!”

…

The rain grew heavier. Yu Lingxi decided to wait at the Tang Ducal Mansion until it stopped before returning to the Yu residence.

At dusk, a deep blue twilight gradually encroached.

A crescent moon hung in the east, and the accumulated rain on the eaves fell in front of the steps, shattering into cold glimmers.

Yu Lingxi had just returned to her room to change clothes and was resting on her couch when a maid entered, saying: “Miss, at noon, Young Master Xue’s page delivered a letter, saying it was urgent. I placed the letter on your desk… oh, where is it?”

The maid’s voice halted as she moved the brushes, ink, and books on the desk one by one, exclaiming in surprise: “I put it here.”

Yu Lingxi thought briefly, guessing that Xue Cen must be seeking her about the marriage.

The matter needed to be decided early; delaying would not be good for either the Yu or Xue families.

“Since it’s urgent, I’ll personally visit,” Yu Lingxi said, adjusting her appearance in the mirror. Seeing nothing improper, she softly instructed, “Prepare the carriage and a visiting card. We’re going to the Xue residence.”

The journey to the Xue residence was not smooth.

What should have been a half-hour journey was repeatedly obstructed, first by beggars, then by merchants’ carts overturning, blocking the way.

After considerable delay, Yu Lingxi decided to abandon the carriage and proceed on foot.

Finally reaching the Xue residence, the servant who came to greet her was full of surprise, asking: “Why has Second Miss come here? Didn’t our Second Master arrange to meet you at Qinxin Pavilion in the north of the city? He left an hour ago.”

Recalling the numerous obstacles on the way to the Xue residence, Yu Lingxi felt an inexplicable sense of foreboding.

North City Lotus Pool.

The night wind swept by, rolling the accumulated rain on a lotus leaf into little round beads that plopped into the pond, startling two swimming carp.

In the dim night, Xue Cen could be seen in his fine clothes and jade belt, pacing the pavilion with his hands behind his back, occasionally glancing toward the end of the plank bridge.

As he waited anxiously, suddenly a deliberately lowered male voice called from behind: “Second Master Xue.”

Xue Cen instinctively turned around, about to ask who it was, when he saw a masked black figure flash by, followed by a pain in his chest.

Before he could react, the huge palm force pushed him backward. With wide eyes, he fell backward into the cold, deep lotus pond.

With a splash, water splattered in all directions.

On the shore, two men in black looked down and asked: “Will he die like this?”

“Push his head down, don’t let him surface,” the other whispered.

A sudden sound of flapping wings startled the two conspiring men, making them look up. A huge bird was circling above the lotus pond, like a soul-snatching spirit, observing Xue Cen as he struggled to stay afloat.

“Is someone coming?”

“Retreat!”

Fearing discovery, the two black shadows didn’t wait to see Xue Cen sink but scattered and fled.

Almost simultaneously, a tall, slender youth appeared from the distant moon gate.

He raised his arm, and the circling gray falcon obediently descended, folding its wings on his arm.

“Help… help…”

A splash of water in the pond shattered the moonlight.

Ning Yin leisurely stood in the pavilion with his hands behind his back, his eyes reflecting the cold light of the waves, finding a good angle to appreciate Xue Cen’s struggling, sinking figure.

With Xue Cen’s death, he would let the old fox Xue reasonably suspect the Eastern Palace.

Then, without him lifting a finger, there would be two tigers fighting, lord and minister turning against each other. Wouldn’t that be interesting?

The lake water was swallowing a life, the ripples distorting the youth’s handsome face.

Yet his face wore an expression of extreme pleasure as if seeing the most wonderful scene of the future in the pool water.

After confirming, he didn’t linger.

He turned to leave but suddenly met a figure that should not have been there.

Yu Lingxi’s chest heaved as she looked at him in shock.