Eastern Palace.

Continuous gloomy rain, Crown Prince Ning Tan irritably pushed away the concubine massaging his shoulders and stood up, saying: “Cui An!”

Outside the screen, the young eunuch in ochre robes responded promptly, dragging his voice: “This servant is here.”

Ning Tan had a frustrated expression: “It’s been ten days already, how long must I remain confined!”

“These past days, several officials from the Censorate jointly submitted a memorial denouncing Your Highness regarding the Duchess Deyang’s birthday celebration. His Majesty is still furious.”

Cui An said, “The Empress has instructed that Your Highness should remain in the Eastern Palace to avoid the controversy.”

“But that happened so many days ago. Why are those stubborn old men from the Censorate still fixated on it?”

“The Empress had suppressed the matter, but unfortunately someone leaked the news to the public saying…”

Cui An glanced at Ning Tan before continuing, “Saying that Your Highness forced noble ladies and is lascivious and incompetent. Public resentment has been brewing, giving the Censorate leverage against Your Highness.”

“Preposterous! Who spread such nonsense!”

Ning Tan became angry just thinking about it. He hadn’t even tasted the lamb but was left with the stink, and couldn’t help but fume: “I am the future emperor. Even if I hadn’t mistaken her identity, what’s wrong with taking a beauty when the mood strikes?”

Cui An bowed slightly: “His Majesty is in excellent health. The Crown Prince should mind his words.”

Ning Tan snorted, his patience at its limit, thinking: If I can’t leave the Eastern Palace, then surely I can have some beauties sent in for my enjoyment? He had grown tired of the existing ladies in the palace.

He couldn’t help but ask: “What about the Crown Princess matter, is there any progress?”

“The Empress has mentioned this matter, but General Yu has many reservations…”

“Not just General Yu. After the incident at the Buddha Hall, no reputable family is willing to marry their daughters into the Eastern Palace.”

“How dare they!”

Ning Tan flew into a rage, grabbing a wine cup from the table and hurling it at Cui An. “It’s all because your people made a mistake, bringing a fake to my bed, causing this uproar!”

The cup struck Cui An’s shoulder, splattering dark tea stains.

He acted as if he hadn’t noticed, calmly saying: “Your Highness, please calm down. The rumors spreading in town are suspiciously coordinated. Someone must be orchestrating this.”

“I don’t care who’s behind it, this matter needs to be resolved quickly!”

Ning Tan sat down, panting, squeezing his fingers, and muttering, “And there’s Yu Yuan, that tough bone I can’t crack. I won’t accept this!”

Now that he had lost credibility in court, he had fewer usable talents around him. The only one, Cui An, was the Empress’s man.

Although the Empress was his mother, she spent her days sitting silently before Buddha statues, making her thoughts impossible to fathom…

He needed to find a way to bring the Yu family to his side sooner.

As if seeing through his thoughts, Cui An’s lips moved slightly, subtly reminding him: “I heard that four counties in Luozhou were hit by a windstorm, and the court is planning to send relief funds.”

Ning Tan rolled his eyes at him, snorting: “Why mention this? I have no mind for state affairs right now…”

Then, as if struck by a thought, he paused.

“I’ve got it.” A calculating gleam flashed in Ning Tan’s narrow eyes as he beckoned Cui An closer.

After whispering in his ear, he asked: “Did you get all that?”

Cui An lowered his eyes, concealing the contempt in them, and nodded: “This servant will see to it immediately.”

Ning Tan collapsed back into his chair, satisfied, narrowing his eyes with a vicious smile.

If the plan succeeded, not only would he subdue Yu Yuan, but his two daughters would also have to come to the Eastern Palace and kneel for mercy.

Thinking of the Yu family girl he had never been able to taste, a heat rose in Ning Tan’s lower abdomen.

“Wait.”

He called to Cui An, “What about that fake who seduced me? The one surnamed Zhao, bring her into the palace.”

Cui An stopped: “This woman is despised by Princess Deyang. Her virtue is questionable, and she cannot be made a proper consort.”

“Then make her the lowest concubine. She’s just a fake after all, good for some casual fun.”

Ning Tan impatiently clicked his tongue—once the real prize from the Yu family arrived, he wouldn’t need her anymore.

Lightning tore through the night sky, illuminating the towers and palaces of the capital in a ghastly white.

A sudden gust of wind rose, heralding another downpour.

…

Early morning, the rain cleared to azure skies, with puddles on the steps reflecting tree shadows and floating clouds.

Yu Lingxi sat absently at her dressing table when Hu Tao, who was combing her hair from behind, unexpectedly commented: “This servant has noticed that the young lady’s complexion has been especially good lately, fair and rosy, as lovely as a blooming peach blossom.”

The speaker meant nothing by it, but the listener took it to heart.

Yu Lingxi recalled the scene in the secret chamber yesterday, fragmented and wild memories rushing in like a tide, burning her cheeks painfully.

During the two years in the Regent’s Mansion, it was always she who pleased Ning Yin, and Ning Yin who enjoyed her. Occasionally, when he was in a good mood, he would patiently tease her until her cheeks flushed red, but yesterday had been vastly different…

How was it different? Yu Lingxi couldn’t articulate it.

She only knew that on the long bamboo path from the meditation room, she couldn’t directly look at the dark, dampened hem of Ning Yin’s robe.

Fortunately, it had rained that day; the slanting fine rain had soaked their clothes, preventing any suspicion.

Ning Yin had said this poison would flare up once more.

The first two attacks had already nearly taken half her life; who knew what the third would be like… Would she have to seek him out again?

Having been a caged bird for two years in her previous life, Yu Lingxi valued her life greatly, though not because she cared about the constraints of worldly propriety.

She simply refused to submit to the drug’s effects and follow the path of her previous life.

In her previous life, serving with her beauty had been out of necessity. In this life, being ambiguously entangled—what was that supposed to be?

Thinking of this, Yu Lingxi focused and said: “Hu Tao, go prepare some medicine for me that reduces heat, removes dampness, and detoxifies—the more the better.”

Hu Tao, holding the comb, blinked and said: “Is the young lady feeling unwell? All medicine has its toxicity; one shouldn’t take it carelessly.”

“The weather is hot lately, and my heart is restless. I need to cool down.”

Yu Lingxi hastily made up a reason. Though she didn’t know the antidote, anything was better than nothing.

Hu Tao put down the comb and left, returning in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

“Young lady, the young miss from the Zhao family is here, asking to see you.”

Hu Tao requested instructions, “The eldest young lady is blocking her outside, asking whether to bind her for the young lady’s apology or to simply flay her alive?”

Zhao Yuming?

Yu Lingxi’s thoughts sank. Before she could seek revenge, the woman had delivered herself to her doorstep.

At the front gate, Yu Xin Yi sat boldly on the steps, her unsheathed sword planted in the ground before her.

Behind Yu Xin Yi, two rows of guards stood ready, some with hands-on swords, others with ropes.

Zhao Yuming, terrified by her imposing manner, had turned deathly pale, appearing weak. Seeing Yu Lingxi emerge, Zhao Yuming’s eyes brightened, and she said softly: “Cousin Lingxi…”

Yu Lingxi felt nauseated just hearing her artificially weak voice.

“Sui Sui, why are you out here?”

Yu Xin Yi rose and stood protectively in front of her sister, coldly saying, “You don’t need to face her. I’ll handle her for you.”

Yu Lingxi calmly scanned Zhao Yuming before saying: “Sister, I have questions for her.”

In the waterside pavilion, Yu Lingxi sat down directly without inviting Zhao Yuming to do the same.

Zhao Yuming stood awkwardly to one side, calling out: “Cousin Lingxi, I know there are many misunderstandings between us…”

“Misunderstandings?”

Yu Lingxi cast a sidelong glance at her. “During the spring hunt, everyone’s horses were poisoned and frightened, but only you and Zhao Xu, eager to win, were unaffected. Is that a misunderstanding?”

Zhao Yuming opened her mouth to argue, but Yu Lingxi gave her no chance: “At Princess Deyang’s birthday celebration, despite my extreme caution, I still fell unconscious and into Zhao Xu’s hands. Is that also a misunderstanding?”

“It was the palace maid who mistook you for me and led you out of the Princess’s mansion. It truly had nothing to do with me.”

Zhao Yuming seemed on the verge of tears. “I suffered in your place, only to be… by the Crown Prince… I too am a victim. How can you resent me so, cousin?”

Hearing her distort the truth, Yu Lingxi almost laughed.

She couldn’t understand how her previous self had failed to see that Zhao Yuming was such a duplicitous, venomous person.

“You know I love spicy foods, and you also know that at the birthday banquet, the only person I wouldn’t be wary of was Xue Cen. That day at the Princess’s birthday, I saw you chatting with Xue Cen for quite some time.”

Yu Lingxi stood up, staring down at Zhao Yuming, and said, “Do I need to be clearer? The salt-pickled plums that Xue Cen always carries were swapped by you at that time, weren’t they?”

Zhao Yuming twisted her handkerchief, her face changing with guilt.

Yu Lingxi knew then that her guess was correct.

After returning from the birthday celebration, Yu Lingxi reflected for a long time. Princess Deyang was outraged by the Crown Prince’s misconduct in the Buddha Hall, indicating she had no knowledge of the Prince’s intentions and couldn’t have tampered with Yu Lingxi’s food or drink…

Therefore, the only people who could have acted against her were the Zhao family.

At the banquet, Yu Lingxi hadn’t eaten anything suspicious, with the sole exception of the two plums Xue Cen had placed in her cup.

Connecting this to why Zhao Yuming had engaged Xue Cen in conversation, and why she needed to divert his attention, all puzzles were solved.

Even in her previous life…

In her previous life, she had smelled the same tea fragrance at the Princess’s birthday celebration as the tea she had drunk at the Zhao residence.

In her previous life, her uncle had already secured the position of Minister of Revenue by currying favor with Ning Yin by offering beautiful women. With the Zhao family so wealthy, why would they serve her stale tea from four years ago?

Perhaps there was only one reason:

That tea was fragrant enough to mask the bitterness of poison.

Thinking of this, Yu Lingxi let out a scoffing laugh.

She laughed at how, in her previous life, she had been so cautious in guarding against Ning Yin, fearing the madman, only to be killed in the end by a seemingly gentle and weak “benefactor.”

If it was truly the Zhao family’s doing, she would never forgive them!

Zhao Yuming had been carefully observing Yu Lingxi’s expression and anxiously said: “It was all arranged by Zhao Xu. I thought he just wanted to teach you a lesson, I didn’t know he had such intentions…”

Seeing Yu Lingxi’s cold smile, Zhao Yuming lowered her voice, tears streaming as she said: “I know you won’t believe anything I say now. I have been designated as an attendant in the Eastern Palace and will enter the palace to serve the Crown Prince in two days. I will never leave the palace walls again in my life, so I won’t be competing with you for anything anymore…”

Recalling her lowly status as a “concubine-servant,” Zhao Yuming’s eyes betrayed intense resentment as she choked: “I came to you today not to seek your forgiveness, but to ask clearly before entering the palace: Zhao Xu… how exactly did he die?”

Even at this point, she was still trying to extract information.

Yu Lingxi calmly replied: “If he didn’t commit suicide out of guilt, why don’t you ask him yourself, cousin?”

Zhao Yuming trembled: Zhao Xu was dead, and Yu Lingxi’s “ask him yourself” might be suggesting…

The Yu Lingxi before her was calm and transparent, no longer the naive and easily fooled innocent girl of before. What had she experienced in this short half-year?

Just as she was thinking, a pebble flew from somewhere and struck Zhao Yuming’s face.

Zhao Yuming immediately screamed, covering her bleeding face and stepping back.

Another pebble flew, and she abandoned her pretense of weakness and fled in disgrace.

Yu Lingxi felt both vindicated and amused, the heavy gloom in her heart largely dissipating.

After a moment, she looked toward the artificial mountain: “Are you a child, Wei Qi?”

Only someone as whimsical and unrestrained as him would throw pebbles at people.

The black-clad youth emerged from behind the rockery, slowly walking along the winding plank path, casually tossing pebbles in his hand.

The damp post-rain breeze blew, gently stirring the ink-black hair hanging behind his ears as he squinted and said leisurely: “I don’t like her face. It would be better scarred.”

Yu Lingxi was momentarily stunned as those deliberately suppressed memories suddenly revived.

In her previous life, when Ning Yin scarred Zhao Yuming’s face, could it possibly have been not because he despised her, but because he hated that someone like her possessed features similar to Yu Lingxi’s?

“What is the young lady thinking about now?” Ning Yin had reached the pavilion and was studying Yu Lingxi’s expression.

Yu Lingxi’s lips moved, and she smiled.

It was a genuine, open, and self-mocking smile that instantly brightened her features, as colorful as spring flowers.

Ning Yin held the pebble, his ink-black eyes taking in her figure as she covered her smile with her hand.

“I was thinking that I used to be such a big fool,” Yu Lingxi sat on the stone bench, supporting her chin, casually wiping away tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes.

Ning Yin looked at her for a long time before finally nodding slightly: “Indeed quite foolish. You should have killed that woman.”

He was still the same—if not killing, then on the path to killing.

But strangely, Yu Lingxi didn’t find it frightening.

She shook her head, raising her eyes to look at Ning Yin, her voice soft but firm: “Death is a simple matter, and what I want is not just that.”

She wanted to stand alongside this handsome madman before her and crush both Zhao Yuming and that decadent Eastern Palace.

“Why does the young lady keep looking at me?” Ning Yin met her gaze openly, his lips curving slightly.

Thoughts surged in Yu Lingxi’s mind about her previous life, her current one, and the perceptions that were gradually being overturned and reshaped.

“Wei Qi, in the past, I was very, very afraid of someone.”

She lowered her eyes and smiled faintly: “But now, I think I understand him a little.”

The pebble in his hand fell to the ground as Ning Yin raised an eyebrow.

“That wild man?” He narrowed his eyes like black ice.

“What?” Yu Lingxi hadn’t yet grasped his meaning.

Ning Yin coolly said: “The one the young lady first feared then understood, is it the wild man who taught the young lady the techniques of self-pleasuring…”

Yu Lingxi hurriedly rushed forward and covered Ning Yin’s hateful mouth.

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Yu Lingxi’s earlobes turned as crimson as fallen plum blossoms.

She had just been earnestly contemplating how to help him return to the palace and overthrow the Eastern Palace, yet he was only concerned with his jealousy of her!

With his mouth covered by her, Ning Yin blinked innocently, then his thin lips parted, his teeth gently grinding her soft palm in punishment.

Both painful and ticklish, Yu Lingxi withdrew her hand and gave him an annoyed glance.

“Have some lychees, a gift from the palace.”

Since no one else was present, Yu Lingxi pushed the plate of lychees on the stone table toward him, trying to stop his biting mouth.

Only after pushing it did she realize that Ning Yin probably didn’t have good impressions of the palace.

Fortunately, Ning Yin’s expression remained normal as he took a handkerchief from the tray to clean his hands before picking a lychee.

As he raised his hand, Yu Lingxi noticed he still had the apricot-white ribbon tied around his left arm and was startled: “Why are you still wearing this ribbon? Return it to me.”

But Ning Yin withdrew his hand, leaning against the pavilion pillar, leisurely peeling the lychee and saying: “The young lady dampened my clothes yesterday. Consider this ribbon as compensation.”

As he spoke, his fair, slender fingers held the translucent white lychee flesh, deliberately pinching it before putting it into his mouth. His tongue curled, the juice flowing as he narrowed his eyes in sweetness.

The gentle breeze rippled across the small pond, but could not dispel the heat in Yu Lingxi’s cheeks.

She simply chose not to look at Ning Yin and asked impatiently: “You came to find me. Do you have a business?”

Ning Yin took out a brocade box from his bosom, placing it on the stone table in front of Yu Lingxi. His long fingers, still moist with lychee juice, tapped it, indicating she should open it.

“What is it?” Yu Lingxi glanced at him, somewhat curious.

Upon opening it, she found a red lacquered plum-patterned brush.

The brush handle was intricately carved with lacquer patterns, though not as exquisite as those by master carvers, suggesting it was made by a novice.

Ning Yin clasped his hands behind his back, his tongue rolling the lychee flesh from one cheek to the other: “I accidentally broke the young lady’s brush before. I promised to replace it with a better one.”

“You made this?”

Yu Lingxi suppressed a smile at the corner of her mouth, one hand supporting her chin, the other’s delicate fingertips lightly sweeping over the brush tip, pinching it gently.

The brush tip was ink-black and resilient, unlike either sheep or wolf hair, with an indescribable cool smoothness.

“What is this brush made from?” Yu Lingxi asked curiously.

“Hair,” Ning Yin replied.

Yu Lingxi thought she had misheard.

“What?”

“My hair.”

Ning Yin repeated, slowly raising his beautiful eyes: “Doesn’t the young lady like my hair? I cut off two inches, selected the finest, softest tips, and stiffened them with starch to make the brush tip. It took me an entire night to select them.”