“Thank you.” At some point, Shao Mingyuan had walked over and stood beside Chi Can, reaching out to take the porcelain box from A’Zhu’s hands.

A’Zhu quickly lifted her eyes to glance at Shao Mingyuan, then lowered them again and curtsied to both men: “This servant takes her leave.”

“Wait—” Chi Can instinctively call out.

A’Zhu stopped and stood properly.

Chi Can suddenly felt disheartened and waved his hand: “Never mind, go ahead.”

What could he say to a little maid? And with Miss Li—

She had already made her choice. What more was there for him to say?

He had thought that because she was young and her heart hadn’t yet awakened to love, if he waited patiently and stayed by her side, he would eventually wait for the day she grew up.

When her heart did awaken to love, he would be the person who had been by her side the longest, and perhaps she would be willing to be with him.

But now, with the delivery of this small box of ointment, he finally understood.

It wasn’t that her heart hadn’t awakened to love—it was simply that the person who had captured her heart wasn’t him.

Since she and his friend were mutually attracted, he, Chi Can, was still a man after all. He wouldn’t shamefully insert himself between them, would he?

A’Zhu walked away with light steps. Chi Can watched intently as she entered a room deep in the corridor, then stepped back and closed his door.

“Will you treat her well?” Chi Can turned around, crossing his arms over his chest, and asked this question seriously.

“I will.” Shao Mingyuan nodded equally seriously.

“Will you treat her better than I would?” Chi Can asked again, a glimmer of moisture flashing in his eyes.

Shao Mingyuan gazed into Chi Can’s eyes.

At this moment, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything that would be kicking a man when he was down.

He would do everything in his power to treat Zhaozhao well, but he equally couldn’t deny his friend’s feelings for Zhaozhao.

“No concubines, no chamber maids, and you won’t accept any random concubines thrust upon you by various factions because of your status?”

“Of course.” Shao Mingyuan answered without hesitation.

Chi Can curved his lips in a smile that wasn’t quite a smile: “Including the Emperor?”

Shao Mingyuan nodded.

Chi Can let out a long breath: “Fine then, if that’s the case, I’ll let go.”

He pressed his lips together briefly, then quickly turned around, pushed open the door, and strode away.

Shao Mingyuan stood frozen in place, gripping the porcelain box tightly.

A moment later, Chi Can reappeared at the doorway. Meeting his friend’s gaze, he said coldly: “This is my room!”

“Then rest well.” Shao Mingyuan raised his hand to pat Chi Can’s shoulder.

Chi Can shrugged off his hand and slammed the door shut, leaving Shao Mingyuan outside.

Shao Mingyuan couldn’t help but look back at the tightly closed door, feeling very uncomfortable.

The door remained tightly shut, as if it had never opened, with complete silence from within.

Shao Mingyuan sighed softly and returned to his room.

The room was in complete disarray.

He bent down to right the fallen chair and silently began tidying up.

Before long, a knock came at the door: “Tingquan, it’s me.”

Shao Mingyuan opened the door.

Yang Houcheng stood at the doorway, scratching his head: “May I come in?”

Shao Mingyuan stepped aside.

Yang Houcheng entered, not minding the chaos inside, and sat down casually.

“Tingquan, you have a dark bruise under your left eye. Are you alright?”

“It’s nothing serious.” Such superficial injuries weren’t even worth frowning over for Shao Mingyuan.

Yang Houcheng scratched his head: “Tingquan, what exactly happened between you two?”

Seeing his friend not answer, Yang Houcheng asked cautiously: “It’s not related to Miss Li, is it?”

Shao Mingyuan nodded lightly.

Yang Houcheng jumped up directly, shocked into incoherence: “You, you… You like Miss Li, too?”

Shao Mingyuan nodded again.

“No wonder.” Yang Houcheng couldn’t help pulling at his hair, pacing back and forth in the messy room. Being too shocked to watch his step, he stepped on the spilled tea on the floor and nearly fell.

He quickly grabbed the nearby table for support and sighed repeatedly: “Tingquan, this isn’t appropriate. Shixi has liked Miss Li for a long time, and it’s not like you don’t know…”

Shao Mingyuan smiled: “Chongshan, are you saying that because Shixi liked Miss Li first, I should naturally yield to him?”

“Ah, shouldn’t it be so?” Yang Houcheng blinked.

First come, first served—wasn’t this common knowledge?

Shao Mingyuan sighed: “Chongshan, this isn’t something where you can talk about first come, first served.”

“But brothers are like limbs, women are like clothing—” Yang Houcheng scratched his head vigorously.

What nonsense was he spouting? Fortunately, Tingquan wasn’t a gossip, so his future wife would never know about this!

Shao Mingyuan understood clearly that Qiao Zhao’s true identity couldn’t be revealed. In the eyes of Yang Houcheng and Zhu Yan, he was the one acting improperly.

He was willing to accept this reputation. To be able to openly express his feelings for the person he loved, what did paying such a price matter?

“If limbs are severed, it hurts. What happens if you don’t wear clothes?” Shao Mingyuan asked in return.

Yang Houcheng was stunned, feeling something was wrong with this statement, but unable to refute it for the moment.

“Chongshan, this matter is already in the past. Don’t overthink it. If you’re worried, go find Shixi for a few drinks. He’s feeling very bad right now.”

“You know he’s feeling bad too?” Yang Houcheng shook his head. “How did things turn out like this when everything was fine?”

As Yang Houcheng left, the room returned to quiet. Shao Mingyuan opened his palm, brought the porcelain box to his lips, and gently kissed it.

A’Zhu returned to her room: “Miss, the ointment has been delivered to General Shao.”

Qiao Zhao put down the book she was reading, her expression unreadable: “Did Young Master Chi say anything?”

A’Zhu pressed her lips together and replied: “Young Master Chi just confirmed whether it was for General Shao. Nothing else.”

Qiao Zhao smiled: “Thank you for your trouble.”

She picked up the book she had just put down and continued reading.

A’Zhu quietly glanced up at Qiao Zhao.

The girl reading appeared calm, looking beautiful as a painting in her focused state.

A’Zhu’s gaze couldn’t help but fall on the book in Qiao Zhao’s hands, and she couldn’t help but freeze.

She was certain she could read, so Miss… was holding the book upside down, wasn’t she?

Discovering this, A’Zhu finally realized that her young lady was far from as calm inside as she appeared on the surface.

Standing there, she suddenly felt heartache for this girl who wasn’t even fourteen years old.

She had joined Miss halfway through her journey and wasn’t clear about Miss’s past. What had Miss experienced in those years to become accustomed to suppressing all her joys, sorrows, and emotions in her heart?

A’Zhu’s burning gaze made Qiao Zhao lift her eyes. Following her line of sight downward, Qiao Zhao awkwardly tugged at the corner of her mouth and put the book down.

“Miss, since you’re also feeling uncomfortable, why… did you do that?” A’Zhu finally couldn’t help but ask.

Young Master Chi and General Shao had fought, yet Miss had ordered her to go to Young Master Chi’s room to deliver the ointment to General Shao. Such an action would undoubtedly hurt Young Master Chi’s heart severely.

Qiao Zhao looked deeply at A’Zhu.

A’Zhu lowered her head: “This servant shouldn’t have asked.”

“Alright, go on. I didn’t sleep well last night and plan to rest a bit more.”