Chunhua’s departure from the Princess’s Manor to Prince Jin’s Manor was merely an insignificant interlude. Since those who plotted this affair did not achieve their goal, and plans without achievement become meaningless.

The most discussed topic among Chang’an’s scholars nowadays was still Yan Shang and Yan Suchen. There were also rumors that Lord Liu had wanted Yan Shang to enter the Department of State Affairs directly, but Yan Shang had declined. Because Yan Shang still wanted to try the imperial examination in October.

The scholars were shocked, envious, admiring, and regretful all at once. The Department of State Affairs was such an important government institution! If one could enter it, even if they couldn’t become Prime Minister, their future would still be bright… A career path that scholars strived for but couldn’t obtain was easily refused by Yan Shang. Even though Yan Shang’s character was praised by others, this act still made people envious, stirring complex emotions.

Not only were the commoner scholars jealous, but even the noble families’ sons couldn’t maintain their composure for a while.

While Yan Shang’s brilliance was spreading throughout Chang’an City, Zhao Lingfei was practicing with a spear at her family’s small training ground.

Zhao Yu, her father, was the current Director of the Imperial Academy, a position of high rank but leisurely and noble – an official position greatly envied by civil officials.

However, for Zhao Yu, who had always strived to climb the ladder of power and wanted to advance his family’s position further, this position without real authority and unable to touch practical politics was one he greatly disliked.

Lord Zhao entered his family’s back courtyard with a gloomy face, again hearing the sounds of weapon practice from the training ground. This immediately gave him another headache – wanting power but not having it was one pain; being a scholar with a daughter who loved fighting was another pain.

But today, hearing the sounds of his Fifth Miss practicing martial arts at home, Lord Zhao didn’t get a headache as usual when thinking about his daughter but instead seemed lost in thought.

Lord Zhao asked the servant beside him, “What has Fifth Miss been doing recently? Has she gone out?”

The servant replied, “The Young Miss mostly practices martial arts and reads books. When she does go out, it’s just to drink at taverns and listen to storytellers.”

The servant added unnecessarily, “The Young Miss hasn’t caused any trouble recently.”

Lord Zhao glared at the talkative servant: Had not causing trouble to become a virtue for a girl?!

Lord Zhao swept his sleeves and went to the place in his home he least liked – the training ground.

In the sunlight, he stood in the corner of the corridor and saw the petite girl in riding clothes, with pearls of sweat glistening on her forehead in the sunlight.

Her gaze was bright and focused as she wielded the long spear, creating fierce winds in the open training ground. Each sweep produced a whistling sound through the air, making the watching servants’ hearts tremble.

Yet this violent young lady had a pretty and bright appearance. When she stopped, the maids helped wipe her sweat, and she smiled carefree again.

Lord Zhao sighed deeply.

He thought that arranging a marriage for Fifth Miss would be difficult, not only because of his reasons but also because his daughter’s martial prowess was too strong. If he had known this would happen, when Fifth Miss was younger, he wouldn’t have let her always hang around with that Yang Si boy. How could a proper girl turn out like this?

Lord Zhao called out, “Lingfei!”

Zhao Lingfei was standing by the weapon rack wiping her sweat when she heard her father’s call. She turned her head to see him and was surprised. Because her father hated her practicing martial arts, father and daughter often argued about it. Lord Zhao would rather take a detour when returning to the inner residence than pass by the training ground.

Zhao Lingfei ran over, and under Lord Zhao’s twitching gaze, the beautiful daughter outside the corridor didn’t even walk properly – she lightly touched the railing outside the corridor and nimbly jumped over, landing inside the corridor.

This jumping height and ability… most young men couldn’t do it, right?

Zhao Lingfei smiled brightly: “Father, why have you come to see me today? Could it be you want me to go meet another suitable young gentleman? I’ve told you, I’m not interested in any of those you’ve picked!”

Lord Zhao became angry at this topic: “You’re a girl who fights all day, good young men might not even want you! Who wouldn’t be afraid of marrying you and getting beaten half-crippled?”

Zhao Lingfei kicked at the stones under her feet, saying carelessly: “I’m reasonable, I don’t just beat anyone. Why would I beat a good gentleman? Why would I beat someone who doesn’t do evil? Some gentlemen have done plenty of bad things themselves, yet complain I’m not gentle and virtuous enough… But there are also gentlemen in the world who are truly bright as the moon, with the bearing of true scholars. I would only admire such gentlemen, never beat them.”

She thought of Yan Shang again, and her words carried much melancholy.

And she blushed slightly.

Seeing her like this, Lord Zhao paused and said: “That Second Young Master Yan, haven’t you gone to see him recently?”

Zhao Lingfei tilted her head, her grape-like black eyes staring at her father: “Didn’t you dislike me going to find him? Saying he was too poor to match our family? I stopped seeing him long ago.”

Lord Zhao coughed once.

Then he said solemnly: “I now realize your father was too narrow-minded. Second Young Master Yan is quite remarkable. If you like him, how could you give up just because I said a few words?”

Zhao Lingfei certainly hadn’t given up because of her father’s few words.

She stared at Lord Zhao for a while, half-smiling: “Oh, I understand now. You’ve seen Second Brother Yan’s reputation spreading in Chang’an, and you know even Lord Liu admires him… You’re anxious now, thinking such a person should be pulled to our side. So you remembered me, hoping I could use our old relationship to draw in Second Brother Yan, help you open up opportunities in officialdom, and help the Zhao family climb higher.”

Hearing his daughter call Yan Shang “Second Brother Yan,” Lord Zhao was pleased about the good relationship between his daughter and Yan Shang.

But hearing his daughter point out his thoughts so directly, Lord Zhao couldn’t help feeling awkward.

He said angrily: “This is also for the good of our family!”

Zhao Lingfei looked at the sky, scoffing: “Ha!”

Lord Zhao: “Anyway, I agree to your marriage with Second Young Master Yan!”

Zhao Lingfei put her hands behind her back: “So what? I won’t go bothering him just because you now approve of Second Brother Yan!”

Lord Zhao: “…You little miss, is something wrong with you? Weren’t you shouting about having the courage to find a husband even when I locked you up before?”

Zhao Lingfei said: “It’s not that I don’t have courage. If Second Brother Yan liked me, I would dare to cross mountains of swords and seas of fire. If I liked Second Brother Yan, as long as I liked him, I would have a heart full of courage to give to him. But now the problem is, that Second Brother Yan is busy with his examinations, and there are too many people in Chang’an who want to associate with him. He already has many things to deal with, I don’t want to trouble him further and make him worry.

“Moreover, I’m not worthy of Second Brother Yan right now. I heard the storyteller tell of Second Brother Yan killing the Zhang family head, and I finally understood that what Her Highness the Princess said was right. When I heard what Second Brother Yan did, I felt both admiration and fear. I admired that he dared to kill someone while just being a waiting official; I feared that he could be so decisive – if I were by his side and couldn’t understand him if I grew to hate him and caused him trouble, what then?”

Zhao Lingfei lowered her head, smiling self-mockingly: “In short, I’m not worthy to be with Second Brother Yan now. When I can understand him someday, if he hasn’t married by then, I’ll go find him… I hope I can grow up soon, that I can understand him before Second Brother Yan takes a wife!”

Lord Zhao: “…”

He said: “You little miss, have you gone mad? I don’t know what nonsense you’re babbling about all day!”

Zhao Lingfei waved her hand, anyway, her thoughts had never aligned with her father’s. They had argued for so many years, and since they couldn’t understand each other, there was no need to say much more.

Zhao Lingfei: “If Father has nothing else, I’ll continue practicing! Tomorrow I’ve arranged to play cuju with Third Cousin Yang, Father can let Mother come watch too.”

Lord Zhao: “All covered in sweat, what’s there to watch! Girls should be gentle and elegant!”

Having said this, he stormed off—

In the evening, Yan Shang was in his quarters, applying medicine powder to Liu Wenji’s injuries.

Liu Wenji had sat dazed for several hours, listened to Yan Shang’s explanation, and then went to wash up. Now Liu Wenji had changed out of those mud-covered clothes and was wearing Yan Shang’s old clothes, sitting at Yan Shang’s place, having been lost in thought for a long time.

Liu Wenji’s eye corners and mouth corners were bruised from being beaten by the Princess’s Manor guards. When Yan Shang helped apply medicine, he did not react at all, as if he felt no pain.

Liu Wenji was undoubtedly a handsome youth, and even with injuries on his face, it only added a pitiful and innocent quality. However, that bright, upward-reaching pride that Liu Wenji usually carried was now completely gone. His whole person seemed covered in a layer of gray.

After putting away the medicine powder, Yan Shang sat opposite him and said softly: “…That’s how it is. Chunhua was used as a pawn by others, she had no choice but to enter Prince Jin’s Manor.”

Liu Wenji lowered his eyes: “But she was already pregnant before entering Prince Jin’s Manor. If not for this child, if she wasn’t carrying a royal offspring, perhaps there might have been room for change.”

Yan Shang was silent for a moment, then said: “What room for change would there be? To be pregnant with a royal child yet try to secretly abort it would be a capital offense. It would be fine if no one found out… but who could guarantee it would never be discovered? Moreover, the Princess told me that if Chunhua lost this child, she might not be able to conceive again. For a woman to never have her children in her lifetime, how many could bear the strange looks she would receive?

“How could you bear to see Chunhua reach that point? You are your family’s only son, you must have descendants. Even if you say now that you’re willing to give up for Chunhua’s sake, would your father and mother agree? How would they view Chunhua? They would think this enchantress had ruined the Liu family, they would hate your wife.”

“Chunhua has made her choice, you should accept it too.”

Liu Wenji covered his face, slowly bowing down and burying his face in his palms.

His voice choked as he said: “I understand, I understand it all! You, Second Young Master Yan, explain things so reasonably, breaking everything down for me to understand, how could I not understand… but who can compensate us for our deep love? I just feel wrong, just can’t accept it.

“When I didn’t know, Chunhua was carrying Prince Jin’s child. By the time I knew, everything was already beyond saving. I skipped straight past anger, resentment, jealousy… all those stages, and had to directly accept that the lady I loved would become a Prince’s concubine. I’m too… too… miserable.”

Yan Shang was silent, hearing his friend of many years cry into his palms.

Liu Wenji’s shoulders shook, and Yan Shang silently patted his shoulder, sitting with him, comforting him with his presence. Yan Shang was a deeply empathetic person who could easily feel others’ circumstances as his own, so when Liu Wenji cried with his face buried in his hands, Yan Shang also felt that heart-wrenching pain.

Yan Shang said softly: “Don’t blame Chunhua.”

Liu Wenji continued sobbing.

Yan Shang: “Live your life well, only then will her departure have meaning.”

Liu Wenji’s shoulders shook even more violently.

Yan Shang, somewhat lost in thought, slowly said: “Right now we are powerless and alone, unable to do anything about this. Perhaps when you enter the court, when you have an official position, there might be a way…”

Liu Wenji: “What way?”

He raised his face from his hands, his eyes red-rimmed with hot tears rolling down.

Liu Wenji trembled: “Are you trying to make me endure this, afraid I’ll do something foolish, trying to convince me that a gentleman’s revenge can wait ten years? But Suchen, while a gentleman’s revenge can indeed wait ten years, who should I seek revenge against? This whole thing… it’s a vicious cycle!”

His voice turned bitter: “Should I seek revenge against Prince Qin who wanted to use all this?

“Or against Chunhua’s brother who sold his sister?

“Or the Zhang family who forced Chunhua’s brother to sell their homestead?

“Or Prince Jin who took Chunhua by force?

“Or Prince Jin’s wife who forced Chunhua to enter his manor?

“Or all of you who watched this happen with clear knowledge but couldn’t help?”

Yan Shang was stunned.

He watched as Liu Wenji stood up trembling, standing in the room. Liu Wenji looked at Yan Shang with desolation and disappointment.

Liu Wenji said miserably: “Aren’t there too many people I need to take revenge against? As a mere scholar, do I need to challenge the entire imperial power to get my revenge? Did they do all this just to humiliate Chunhua? Suchen, do you know what’s saddest about this? Chunhua and I were sacrificed, but I knew nothing, and Chunhua was powerless.

“We were sacrificed. But the whole thing, the whole thing… we were even the most meaningless part!

“Does Prince Qin care about us? Were all his schemes aimed at Chunhua and me? Does Prince Jin care about us? He just wanted a maid carrying his child to enter his manor, he didn’t care about anything else. Or Princess Danyang, or the high and mighty Crown Prince… for them, this matter means controlling the powerful families, restoring clarity to the world.”

Liu Wenji stood empty on the ground, lowering his face as tears fell.

He mumbled: “We are the least important. Tell me, Suchen, even if I want revenge, who should I take revenge against? I can’t even find a direct cause.”

Yan Shang remained silent.

He stared at the desolate Liu Wenji, realizing for the first time through his good friend the terrifying nature of politics.

Politics was a monster that made everyone unrecognizable and made everything helpless.

This frightening monster devoured them… yet sadly, they were powerless—

Half an hour later, Yan Shang led Liu Wenji next door to request an audience at the Princess’s Manor.

It was Liu Wenji’s first time coming to the Princess’s Manor, not to see Chunhua, but to pay respects to the Princess.

The Princess’s Manor was magnificent, brightly lit at night, naturally having luxuriant scenery. But Liu Wenji had no heart to appreciate it, he just followed behind Yan Shang like a lost soul, watching his friend’s straight-as-bamboo back, hearing his friend’s gentle voice greeting the people of the Princess’s Manor.

At night, Mu Wanyao naturally wouldn’t receive visitors in the main hall. They entered the inner quarters of the Princess’s Manor, where the maids had Liu Wenji wait.

Yan Shang said softly to Liu Wenji: “Brother Liu, please wait a moment. I’ll speak briefly with Her Highness, and she’ll summon you soon.”

Liu Wenji nodded indifferently, his eyes vacant, past caring about anything.

Knowing he had suffered too great a shock today, Yan Shang sighed and said no more—

The maids lifted the curtain for Yan Shang, and he entered the Princess’s chambers.

It was said that Mu Wanyao had a headache and had slept for a while in the afternoon, having just woken up. So Liu Wenji had to wait a moment, as Mu Wanyao wasn’t in the mood to see people.

When Yan Shang entered, he saw Mu Wanyao sitting by the window writing.

The gold-threaded gauze curtains floated in the air, and under the canopy, the lady had her hair loosely pinned up, ethereal and beautiful.

Yan Shang curiously stared at her slender white fingers for a few moments; it was his first time seeing Mu Wanyao writing. Usually, all written correspondence was handled by those around her, Mu Wanyao rarely wrote herself.

Mu Wanyao said coldly: “What are you looking at?”

Yan Shang came to his senses and asked: “What is Your Highness writing?”

Mu Wanyao said indifferently: “Writing letters to several court officials, asking them to attack the Noble Consort’s recent actions in court.”

Yan Shang was somewhat confused: “What does this mean?”

Mu Wanyao was concise: “The Noble Consort is my third brother Prince Qin’s birth mother.”

Yan Shang understood immediately.

Mu Wanyao was taking revenge for Prince Qin’s earlier actions.

Prince Qin had made Mu Wanyao lose the Zhang family, and now that Mu Wanyao had free time, she would use the Noble Consort to make Prince Qin pay for her losses.

Staring at the Princess’s cold profile, Yan Shang again thought of Liu Wenji’s earlier crying… this monster called politics made Mu Wanyao suddenly seem strange and distant in his eyes.

Mu Wanyao turned her head to look at Yan Shang: “How’s your hand?”

Yan Shang was startled for a moment, remembering that his hand had been bitten and bleeding by Liu Wenji earlier. Yan Shang walked over to Mu Wanyao, raising his sleeve to show her his already-treated hand, saying: “It’s nothing.”

But Mu Wanyao frowned, taking his hand and making him sit down: “What kind of medicine did you use? It’s too casual, let me help you apply it again.”

Yan Shang was pulled to sit down, and seeing her call for maids to bring medicine, his eyes showed a smile, feeling he had thought wrong earlier. Though politics was frightening, Mu Wanyao was still the little princess he knew, harsh in words but soft in heart, most lovable of all—

Mu Wanyao held Yan Shang’s hand, applying medicine while asking: “How did the questioning go?”

Yan Shang paused.

He said: “Your Highness speaks of my conversation with Brother Liu as if it had ulterior motives.”

Mu Wanyao glanced up at him, saying: “Is this my first day knowing you, Yan Shang? You never do anything without purpose. Even when comforting your friend, you must comfort something out of it. Otherwise, I would have seen Liu Wenji directly, why would I let you take him away?”

She said languidly: “Tell me about it.”

Carelessly, she held his hand, sprinkling some golden medicine powder on the back of his hand, then lowering her head, her lips nearly touching his hand as she gently blew to spread the powder.

Her red lips almost touched his fingers…

That scene made Yan Shang’s heart pound, and he quickly looked away, hiding his momentary discomfort.

He coughed once, then said: “Chunhua had been corresponding with Brother Liu before. After being taken away by Prince Jin’s wife, she planned to break things off with Liu Wenji. So she wrote letters then, laying the groundwork step by step, first saying she had a slight cold that would be better in a few days. Later she said she was still coughing, afraid of infecting Brother Liu, telling him not to come see her. Then the letters stopped, and according to Brother Liu, he thought she was recovering from illness.

“But Brother Liu was very worried about Chunhua’s condition. So when Your Highness returned to the manor yesterday, Liu Wenji came quietly today, wanting to check on Chunhua’s illness. Unexpectedly, he witnessed Chunhua being taken away… so all this was a coincidence, not deliberately arranged.”

Mu Wanyao nodded, saying: “When I returned in the afternoon, I investigated the entire Princess’s Manor but found no trace of inside help. One can only say… everyone had their thoughts, and when piled together, created such coincidences.”

Her hand was still holding Yan Shang’s, having finished applying the medicine, she was lost in thought about these matters, forgetting to let go of his hand.

Yan Shang: “…”

He felt his hand must be turning red from her grip.

He gently tried to pull away, and only then did Mu Wanyao realize and release his hand. Mu Wanyao was completely composed, but Yan Shang felt a slight melancholy, a sense of loss. He glanced at Mu Wanyao, then at the writing desk between himself and the Princess.

Such a distant space, with Mu Wanyao maintaining such an official demeanor… Yan Shang frowned, thinking this surely wasn’t how lovers should be.

When he was in the Northern Quarter, he had seen men and women laughing and being intimate; even if proper lovers wouldn’t be so cloying and sweet, surely they shouldn’t be like him and Mu Wanyao, cold as ruler and subject, separated by a desk, each sitting on opposite sides?

While Yan Shang was lost in these thoughts, Mu Wanyao rested her chin on her hand, slowly saying: “Let’s review this matter together, compare notes, and see if we’re thinking the same thing.”

Yan Shang came back to himself: “Alright.”

Mu Wanyao: “At the start, it must have been Prince Qin who learned that Prince Jin had designs on my manor’s maid, using the Zhang family’s arrogance and Prince Jin’s fondness for Chunhua to set this in motion. It would have been easy for Prince Qin to know – just a few drinks between Third Brother and Fifth Brother, perhaps Fifth Brother revealed something while drunk, and Third Brother learned of it. Or some other reason… anyway, learning of this matter wasn’t complicated.”

Yan Shang nodded.

Mu Wanyao continued: “Afterward, I believe Fifth Brother also took advantage of this situation. Fifth Brother usually appears uninvolved in politics, watching from afar as the Crown Prince and Third Brother fight, but thinking about it now, I feel Fifth Brother isn’t that foolish. Third Brother used him, and even if he didn’t know at first, he must have realized later. But Fifth Brother pretended not to know, following Third Brother’s planned course.

“Either Fifth Brother went along with it, thinking taking Chunhua could help draw closer to the Li family behind me, causing distance between the Crown Prince and me, which wouldn’t be a bad thing. From the beginning, the Third Brother and Fifth Brother were working together. Perhaps the Crown Prince’s nobility made them wary, Father Emperor’s health this year made them anxious, and now the Crown Prince is trying to please Father Emperor by building gardens for the year-end ceremony… they feared the Crown Prince would gain Father Emperor’s favor, feared the position of Crown Prince would be his alone, so these two joined forces.”

Having finished, Mu Wanyao looked at Yan Shang.

Yan Shang looked at Mu Wanyao with some approval.

He said: “Anyone could guess Prince Qin’s involvement. That Your Highness can guess Prince Jin isn’t innocent shows much improvement from a few months ago. Your Highness’s political instincts are far beyond what they were.”

Mu Wanyao blushed at his praise.

She coughed once and said: “And the Crown Prince probably saw through it too. The Crown Prince was just waiting to see how I would choose. My choice to eliminate the powerful families probably relieved him. If I hadn’t chosen this way, he might have had to act… his background isn’t strong enough, and he doesn’t want to offend the powerful families lightly. So he was satisfied when I acted. Then he added Aunt to the targets of suppression, probably for the money.

“He wanted to use this opportunity to fill the Ministry of Revenue. Otherwise, having no money, always patching things up here and there, he finds it very troublesome.”

Yan Shang nodded, and with Mu Wanyao’s analysis, he also saw many things clearly, so he added a few words.

As the two discussed this way, reviewing these matters anew, they couldn’t help but sigh.

Mu Wanyao mused thoughtfully: “I always thought Fifth Brother didn’t covet the throne, that he didn’t care who became emperor… in this matter Fifth Brother appears to be a victim, no matter who wins or loses, Fifth Brother suffers no loss. Fifth Brother is so docile, seeming the same as usual… but if Fifth Brother truly is cooperating with Third Brother, that’s terrifying. It means we’ve all underestimated Fifth Brother.”

Yan Shang said: “We’ll have to watch further.”

Mu Wanyao made a sound of agreement: “I’ll warn the Crown Prince.”

As she was about to write a letter, she saw Yan Shang slightly furrow his brow, that fleeting expression very subtle. Mu Wanyao looked over: “What did you think of?”

Yan Shang looked at her once, shaking his head.

Across the desk, Mu Wanyao suddenly kicked off her embroidered shoes, raising her leg to kick at his knee.

Yan Shang’s knee hurt: “…”

His face was slightly red, his knee kicked by her jade foot, and he stiffened not knowing how to react, while Mu Wanyao was already scolding: “If you have something to say, just say it! What’s the point of being so reserved as my retainer?”

Yan Shang sighed: “I just feared I might be guessing wrong, and there’s no evidence.”

Mu Wanyao: “What does being right or wrong have to do with you? Your role is to help me find all suspicious points, I’ll judge whether they’re correct or not.”

So Yan Shang had to speak of his fleeting thought from earlier, saying slowly: “Has Your Highness considered the possibility that all these events could proceed smoothly only with the Emperor’s tacit approval? That the Emperor wanted to watch your play, so this play could continue?”

He said: “The reason I think this is because Your Highness mentioned earlier that Princess Luling tried to seek an audience with His Majesty, but he didn’t see her. This suggests… His Majesty must have known what you were all doing.”

Mu Wanyao was stunned.

She and Yan Shang looked at each other.

She said: “Could the initial fate of the Zhang family have been my father’s doing? Though the Zhang family listened to me, as my mother’s dowry, my father must have been involved. Then does my father want to eliminate me, or just eliminate the Zhang family?”

Yan Shang was silent.

Seeing Mu Wanyao’s face turn pale, he comforted her: “These are just our guesses. The Emperor hasn’t done anything, has he? Even with Prince Jin’s arrow wound, he didn’t inquire about it. Otherwise, if he had inquired, Your Highness would also have been held responsible.”

Mu Wanyao lowered her head, thinking of her interactions with her father over the past month, how her father had been as gentle as any father in the world… yet perhaps behind the scenes, father was observing them all, testing them all.

Yan Shang stood up, walked to Mu Wanyao’s front, bent down, and placed his hand on her shoulder, saying softly: “Don’t be sad, Your Highness. No matter what, I will stay by Your Highness’s side.”

Mu Wanyao stiffened.

His hand rested on her shoulder, he stood before her. She suddenly didn’t know whether to push him away, whether to rebuke him like a ruler for overstepping or to accept his closeness like a lover…

After a moment, Mu Wanyao acted as if she hadn’t noticed his hand on her shoulder, casually standing up, and rubbing her forehead.

Mu Wanyao complained: “Thinking so much is exhausting.”

Yan Shang smiled.

Mu Wanyao turned her shoulder, and Yan Shang’s hand fell from it.

Mu Wanyao said: “You go out now, I want to see Liu Wenji. Chunhua asked me to look after Liu Wenji, although I don’t really like him… but, well, I still need to ask about his thoughts. If he’s willing… I can arrange an official position for him now, as compensation.”

Yan Shang said: “Brother Liu probably isn’t in the mood right now.”

Mu Wanyao: “Still have to ask.”

She rose to walk outside, planning to see him in the reception hall. Yan Shang caught her hand, and she stiffened.

Yan Shang stood behind her, saying: “I won’t leave, I’ll wait here for you to return, alright?”

Mu Wanyao: “…”

She feigned naturalness, saying: “Why aren’t you leaving? Shouldn’t you go back to study? Be careful not to fail the imperial examination and embarrass yourself.”

Yan Shang said: “I want to study here at Your Highness’s place… is that not allowed?”

Mu Wanyao said casually: “Just studying?”

Yan Shang: “…”

Silence behind her, Mu Wanyao turned back.

Her glance at him was teasing and playful, her eyes alluring. Under the lamplight, their gazes met for an instant, both understanding perfectly well.

Yan Shang’s face reddened as he looked away, but he held onto her hand, not letting go.

Mu Wanyao’s face also reddened, and she huffed: “Do as you please.”