As soon as Si Nan entered the room, she headed straight for the wooden box. Just as she was about to grab it, a cold voice suddenly rang out from the bed where its owner was supposed to be asleep.
“Who’s there?”
Si Nan nearly lost her soul in fright.
How was Xiahou Jin awake?!
What she didn’t know was that he had never fallen asleep in the first place. From the moment she landed in the courtyard, he had already heard the movement.
Shou Yi and Shou Er hadn’t stopped the intruder. Whoever it was had decent martial skills, and aside from Si Nan, there was no one else it could be.
So he simply pretended to sleep, curious to see what exactly Si Nan had come to do in the middle of the night.
The moment she entered, her destination was obvious—the wooden box his shifu’s wife had given him. Inside was the sword he had used in his youth.
What did Si Nan want with it?
The instant she heard Xiahou Jin speak, she clutched the box tightly to her chest.
Got it. Time to run!
A fierce gust swept toward her from behind. Instinctively, she struck back with her palm.
After only two exchanges, shock flashed across her face.
Xiahou Jin’s martial arts were actually far superior to hers!
How was that possible?
He had hidden his true strength all this time!
Seeing that she intended to flee, Xiahou Jin redirected her force, seized her wrist, and pinned her against the wall.
Both of Si Nan’s hands were trapped above her head by just one of his hands, leaving her as helpless as a fish on a chopping block.
His broad, imposing figure enveloped her completely, the pressure almost suffocating.
She surrendered immediately.
“Don’t attack! It’s me!”
Like dark clouds blotting out the sky, his shadow descended over her.
His face slowly drew closer.
The cool scent of winter plum drifted into her nose, making her breathing unconsciously quicken.
That handsome, immortal-like face stopped barely an inch away.
They were far too close.
Even in the darkness, she could clearly feel their breaths intertwining, throwing her thoughts into complete disarray.
She didn’t even dare move, afraid that the slightest motion would make her brush against his face.
Though it was pitch black, Xiahou Jin could still see every movement and every expression on the face before him with perfect clarity.
The darkness in his eyes slowly melted.
His normally steady heartbeat became uneven.
She’s… too obedient…
He could feel something buried deep within him begin to stir—something wicked, like bamboo shoots ready to burst through the earth after spring rain.
This version of Si Nan was far too well-behaved.
So well-behaved…
…that he wanted to bully her.
The distance between them was dangerously close.
The faint fragrance of pear blossoms continued to spill from those cherry-red lips, as though inviting him to taste them.
He couldn’t help wondering…
Would the pear fragrance inside be even sweeter?
Almost without realizing it, Xiahou Jin leaned in, his lips moving toward hers—
A sharp pain suddenly shot through the top of his foot.
Only then did he realize how outrageous his thoughts had become.
He quickly released her hands.
The moment he stepped back, Si Nan shoved him with all her strength.
So distracted had he been that he nearly lost his balance.
Like an enraged cat with its fur standing on end, Si Nan bared her claws and launched into a furious verbal attack.
Yet to Xiahou Jin…
Not only did he feel no anger at being insulted…
He found her unbelievably adorable.
Enough.
He couldn’t keep entertaining these abnormal thoughts anymore.
Si Nan looked at him in confusion as the warmth around him abruptly vanished, replaced by an icy aura. He turned away from her without another word.
What’s wrong with him now?
Why is he always so moody?
Whatever.
It had nothing to do with her.
Since he wasn’t stopping her, she could take the box and leave.
As she reached the door, she glanced back absentmindedly at the man who still hadn’t moved.
A dark crimson stain was slowly spreading through the back of his night robe.
He was bleeding?
Only then did she remember what she’d heard during the day.
After arguing fiercely with the Emperor, Xiahou Jin had been punished with caning.
She shouldn’t soften.
She shouldn’t interfere.
Yet that patch of blood rooted her feet to the floor.
After a long sigh, she said quietly,
“The wound on your back has opened again. You should have someone apply medicine.”
The coldness around Xiahou Jin instantly crumbled.
…She was worried about him?
Half of Si Nan’s body was already outside the doorway.
Then his deep, calm voice sounded behind her.
“There are no servants in the inner courtyard.”
She turned back in surprise.
“No servants?”
He was the Third Prince, treasured beyond compare.
How could there be no attendants?
That had to be a lie.
“Other than the shadow guards, no servant is allowed into the inner courtyard unless summoned.”
Well…
Xiahou Jin truly disliked dealing with people.
No wonder the place was unnaturally quiet.
“Then have Shou Yi help you.”
A flicker of surprise crossed Xiahou Jin’s eyes.
He hadn’t expected her to know Shou Yi’s name.
“Wait.”
He called her back.
She looked at him questioningly.
“I’ve sent all the shadow guards away on missions.”
“So?”
Si Nan’s eyes widened in alarm.
Don’t tell me…
Is he hinting that I should apply the medicine for him?
The instant the words left his mouth, Xiahou Jin regretted them.
He had already warned himself to stay away from Si Nan.
Yet his actions always moved before his reason could stop them.
“…It’s nothing. Go.”
“If the old sword is useful to you, keep it. There’s no need to return it.”
He walked toward the bed.
Si Nan stared at his retreating back.
For some reason…
She sensed a trace of loneliness.
The bloodstain on his back seemed even more obvious now.
From the looks of it, he intended to sleep without treating the wound.
She had always been at odds with Xiahou Jin.
She shouldn’t soften.
She shouldn’t meddle.
But…
She came back anyway.
Xiahou Jin sat quietly on the edge of the bed.
Hearing footsteps approach once more, his fingers curled tightly at his side.
…He came back?
“Where’s the medicine?”
Without speaking, Xiahou Jin merely glanced toward the nanmu drawer beside the bed.
Si Nan opened it and took out the healing ointment before sitting beside him.
Until today, she had never imagined she and Xiahou Jin could sit peacefully on the same bed.
Carefully, she eased his inner robe down from his shoulders, taking great care not to disturb the wounds.
The sight before her left her speechless.
His back was covered in shocking welts and torn flesh.
She had never imagined his injuries were this severe.
Yet after everything that had happened today, he hadn’t shown the slightest sign of pain.
The Emperor adored Xiahou Jin more than any of his sons.
So what could possibly have driven him to punish him this harshly?
As she sprinkled the medicine over his wounds, she spoke softly behind him.
“It might sting a little. Bear with it.”
Xiahou Jin smiled bitterly to himself.
When she spoke to him in such a gentle voice…
How could he possibly feel any pain?
Si Nan looked up at him.
That same loneliness surrounded him once more.
It was as if an invisible domain belonging solely to Xiahou Jin isolated him from the rest of the world.
No one could step inside.
She couldn’t understand it.
He was only five years older than she was.
He should have been in the prime of his life.
Why, then, did he carry such overwhelming solitude?
She didn’t realize…
The complicated emotion stirring within her was called heartache.
A gentle breeze brushed across the wounds on his back.
She was softly blowing on them, hoping to ease the sting.
In his mind, Xiahou Jin could picture the proud yet gentle youth behind him carefully blowing on each wound with infinite tenderness.
At that moment…
His heart had never felt so peaceful.
He even experienced something dangerously close to happiness.
This isn’t normal.
Something is terribly wrong.
Then, without warning, the gentle breeze stopped.
Si Nan froze.
Only then did she realize what she’d unconsciously done.
When she was little, whenever her mother applied medicine to her wounds, she would always blow gently afterward, saying it would make the pain go away.
Without thinking…
She had just done the same thing for Xiahou Jin.
Am I so sleepy that my brain has stopped working?
Our relationship isn’t anywhere near that close!
She set the medicine down with a heavy thud.
“We’re done. I’m leaving.”
She strode to the door.
Looking back, she saw Xiahou Jin still sitting exactly as before, without so much as sparing her a glance.
He didn’t even say thank you!
The door slammed shut.
Silence once again engulfed the inner courtyard.
Only then did Xiahou Jin finally move.
His gaze lingered on the closed door, unreadable.
After leaping out of the courtyard, Si Nan had barely taken two steps when someone caught up behind her.
She spun around, ready to fight.
Instead, she found Shou Yi, the shadow guard who usually drove Xiahou Jin’s carriage.
Unlike his cold master, Shou Yi treated her with surprising respect.
“Young Master Si.”
“You’ve been here the whole time?”
“No. I just returned from a mission. I thought you were an intruder and chased after you before realizing it was you.”
“Oh… then I can go?”
“Young Master Si!”
Shou Yi looked deeply conflicted.
After hesitating for a long moment, he finally said with visible anguish,
“I didn’t want to tell you this… but I can’t bear seeing you treat His Highness this way.”
“Do you know why His Highness argued with His Majesty and was punished?”
“It was because His Majesty ordered the Great General to be transferred to the Northern Frontier!”
Si Nan froze.
Her mind went blank.
So…
That was the reason.
Those horrifying wounds…
He had received them while pleading with the Emperor on her father’s behalf.
“Young Master Si,” Shou Yi continued, “although His Majesty didn’t revoke the order, His Highness did everything he could. I don’t ask that you owe him for it. I only hope you’ll treat him more kindly from now on.”
With that, Shou Yi vaulted back into the courtyard.
Si Nan remained rooted where she stood for a long time before finally coming back to herself.
I’m the worst…
Xiahou Jin had fought with the Emperor and suffered such grievous injuries trying to keep her father from being sent north…
And what had she done?
She’d joined Wenxuan, Jiang Ziping, and the others in burning down his storehouse, causing him nothing but trouble.
Then inspiration suddenly struck.
Before her father had been transferred to the frontier, he had merely won an ordinary battle.
Yet almost overnight, stories praising the Great General’s heroics spread throughout the capital.
Every street and alley echoed with tales of his unmatched bravery.
People proclaimed that with the Great General guarding the nation, Qian Kingdom would stand forever secure.
Thinking back now…
It hadn’t happened naturally.
It had been an organized campaign.
Someone had deliberately spread those stories on a massive scale.
The goal…
Was to arouse the Emperor’s suspicion and have her father reassigned to the Northern Frontier.
Who was pulling the strings?
An old enemy seeking revenge?
Or someone with a larger scheme who considered her father an obstacle?
She would have to uncover whoever was behind those rumors.
Because of her special identity, she had no personal maidservants or attendants.
The only people she could truly trust were her mother and herself.
Her mother was delicate and had spent her entire life sheltered within the inner quarters.
That left only Si Nan herself.
So she began wandering the streets and marketplaces, casually striking up conversations and probing for information.
After an entire day of investigation…
She hadn’t found a single suspicious lead.
She couldn’t help feeling lost.
Late that night, a sleeve arrow shot through her window and embedded itself halfway into the wall.
She remained on guard for a long while.
Nothing happened.
Carefully, she approached the arrow.
A slip of paper was tied to it.
She unfolded it.
Three neat characters were written on it:
Tianji Pavilion.
Tianji Pavilion.
The greatest intelligence network in the Qian Kingdom.
They worked for anyone who could pay, regardless of nation, political faction, or imperial authority.
As long as you could afford their price, they could obtain the information you sought.
Si Nan slapped her forehead.
How had she forgotten?
Hiring Tianji Pavilion would save her endless time and effort!
But…
Who had sent the arrow?
Someone who knew her every move.
Someone possessing extraordinary martial arts.
The paper was premium xuan paper, so valuable that only nobles and aristocrats commonly used it.
The arrow itself was exquisitely crafted from rare materials beyond the skill of ordinary smiths.
Its owner was undoubtedly wealthy or of high status.
No ordinary person.
Why remind her?
Was it a trap…
Or someone secretly lending her a hand?