Feng Miaojun could feel the heat in his gaze and couldn’t help but turn her head away, only to have him gently grasp her chin and turn her face back.

How interesting—under his stare, her ears slowly turned red. “If I wish to enter somewhere, is there any place in this world I cannot go?”

“How shameless,” Feng Miaojun sneered. “Why don’t you try breaking into the King of Yan’s palace?”

“I have no interest in the King of Yan,” he ignored her mockery completely. “Finding my An’an is much more entertaining. Oh, but wait—”

“That name seems inappropriate now.” He dragged out his tone. “Should I call you ‘Princess Changle’ or ‘Queen of New Xia’?”

No wonder she had fled, no wonder she refused to return to Wei with him—it turned out she was the Princess of An Xia!

Even her name was false; she could never be entered in the Wei census records. That’s why she had to escape before entering Wei, or else she would have been exposed. How laughable that he thought she would willingly stay. Who knew this heartless little thing had a heart made of stone that could never be warmed?

Feng Miaojun suddenly felt his five fingers tighten, gripping her throat. She immediately felt short of breath and instinctively struggled with all her might.

Yun Ya came back to his senses and loosened his grip, his fingers gently caressing along her jawline. Her skin was delicate and flawless, making him reluctant to let go.

Feng Miaojun took several deep breaths, her small face filled with anger: “Now that you know I am the ruler of a nation, release me at once!”

Yun Ya thought she looked like an angry little quail kicking its legs, but he could smell the fear hidden beneath her anger, and replied unhurriedly: “I’m just curious, how did you persuade Fu Lingchuan to make you queen? Where did the real Princess Changle go?”

Having spent several months with this man, she understood his temperament and knew he wouldn’t let go until he achieved his goal, so she reluctantly answered: “I am the real Princess Changle. The one Fu Lingchuan found was an impostor.”

“You are the real…” Yun Ya murmured, his thoughts flashing back to many years ago, to the scene when the old woman Wang’s son had stopped his carriage on the street. What that illiterate country bumpkin had shouted then was “Remnant of An Xia!”

He suddenly smiled. How interesting—life was like a game of chess, and after all the twists and turns, that mud-legged peasant had accidentally hit upon the truth. All these clever people had been fooled by this little girl.

“Stealing a country for yourself.” There was genuine surprise in his voice. “Fu Lingchuan had such audacity?”

If he had never met Feng Miaojun, Fu Lingchuan’s nation-building would have been a complete fraud, stealing away the destiny that belonged to the original An Xia state and deceiving the military and civilians of the entire An Xia region.

Feng Miaojun knew his abilities and wasn’t surprised that he had figured out the whole story in just a few breaths. Then she heard him ask: “What about the fake princess? Did you kill her?”

His subordinate Jing Shun, whom he had sent to Luofu Island, had reported seeing only her and Fu Lingchuan, so the fake princess was most likely dead.

“Why would I kill her? When Fu Lingchuan captured Luofu Island, she was killed by the Merman King.” Feng Miaojun also saw through his intentions. “Trying to use this to threaten me and Fu Lingchuan won’t work. Her body was cremated to ashes long ago.”

“You and Fu Lingchuan?” His peach blossom eyes narrowed, and his voice became dangerous again.

It felt as though the air pressure dropped behind her. Feng Miaojun didn’t know what she had said to anger him again, only to hear Yun Ya speaking slowly: “You two seem to have a very good relationship?”

What did that have to do with him? This man was always unpredictable. Feng Miaojun said helplessly: “Yun Ya, let me go. I am no longer your handmaid.”

“Oh?” A cold smile hung at the corner of his mouth. “Now that you’ve flown up to a high branch, you refuse to acknowledge the past?”

Her weight was like a straw to him. Yun Ya walked to the bedside and sat down, placing her on his lap. Feng Miaojun wanted to kick him but retracted her legs under his warning gaze.

She sat sideways to him, her head resting against his chest, hearing his heartbeat still slow and steady.

Was she the only one emotionally agitated?

Feng Miaojun suppressed her anger and tried to reason with him: “The condition we exchanged in the White Elephant Mountain Range was that I would be your handmaid, and you would teach me divine abilities. But this transaction didn’t specify a time limit, did it?”

He replied without thinking: “No time limit means indefinite execution, doesn’t it?” That was his interpretation.

She almost laughed out of frustration at his shamelessness: “No time limit means the agreement is automatically canceled when conditions are no longer sufficient. When I left Wufu Snow Mountain, our agreement was dissolved. This is the most basic contractual principle.”

“Is that so?” He didn’t even blink. “Did I agree to this?”

“You…” she was momentarily speechless, not noticing his gaze lowering to her opening and closing red lips. It would be strange if he agreed to terminate such an unequal treaty. Who wouldn’t want free labor at their disposal?

“Fine, let’s assume you’re right,” Yun Ya’s gaze flickered. “How do you account for absconding with my possessions?”

“Ab—what did I take from you?” Her escape had been a sudden decision; she hadn’t had time to take anything. She had left empty-handed!

Oh, that word choice wasn’t appropriate.

“My Mind-Settling Insect—didn’t you take it with you?”

Feng Miaojun snorted, growing more indignant. The Mind-Settling Insect was a parasite he had forced her to swallow, used for control and tracking. If she left with it, did that count as taking his property?!

Seeing her dissatisfaction, he raised his eyebrows with a smile and continued: “Also, didn’t you take the Ghost-Faced Nest Spider?”

Feng Miaojun was suddenly speechless.

That’s right, the Ghost-Faced Nest Spider was too useful, so she had carried a nest with her, but in her hasty escape, she hadn’t had time to return it to him.

She muttered: “It’s just a nest of spiders…”

“You’ve been to the Luofu Fish Market, so you should know the price of a nest of Ghost-Faced Nest Spiders,” Yun Ya said unhurriedly. “The mother spider you took had eighty years of training and could communicate mentally with its keeper, making it even more valuable.”

“I gave it to your subordinate.” In Luofu City, she returned the mother spider to Jing Shun.

“Oh, and—” he continued on his own, “the clothes you wore when you escaped were also mine. I paid silver for them, and the fabric was quite nice.” As he spoke, he tugged at the collar of her garment.

What was she supposed to do, take them off? Feng Miaojun took a deep breath before saying quietly: “I’ll return everything to you, double what I took!”

This man’s pettiness had reached refreshing heights, quibbling with her over a piece of clothing. But strangely, there wasn’t a sound from outside the hall. Had all the palace servants fallen into a deep sleep?

“How could that be acceptable?” His face was solemn. “If stealing something and returning it later meant no consequences, then morality would collapse and the nation would cease to be a nation.”

“What exactly do you want?” Bringing up the collapse of nations—what an exaggeration. Feng Miaojun knew that he was now playing with her like a cat with a mouse, wanting to toy with her thoroughly.

Speaking of which, what exactly was binding her hands, preventing her from moving even her fingertips?