She had thought she was dead, and that everything from last night had been an illusion—one she had found rather pleasant.
Now that she thought about it, every reaction her body had experienced last night had been the effect of the drug.
This reckless original owner of the body—she really wanted to drag her out and give her a good beating.
The man in question was the favored Heir Apparent of the Zhennan Prince’s Manor…
Based on the few ancient dramas and novels she had followed, in an era where imperial power reigned supreme and hierarchy was strictly enforced, wouldn’t an act like hers warrant the dog-head executioner’s blade?
Imagining herself holding her own severed head as she reported to the afterlife, she shuddered!
No way, that was far too unsightly—it would frighten Grandpa to death.
This heavens! They had handed her, Ye Xiaojin, a difficult problem.
But no matter how difficult the problem, it still had to be solved.
“Um, about last night—that was my fault.” Ye Xiaojin took a deep breath and said, “I won’t ask to marry into your manor anymore. The debt of gratitude between my grandfather and yours is hereby settled. Let’s just pretend last night never happened. You continue being your Heir Apparent, and I’ll go back to being my little village girl. Deal?”
“You drugged me just to get into my Zhennan Prince’s Manor, didn’t you? What’s this now—playing hard to get?” the man sneered in an icy voice.
The drug had indeed been administered by the original body. Having taken over her life, Ye Xiaojin had to bear the blame for her as well—especially since she was the one who had finished the deed.
“Well… everyone has moments of foolishness, don’t they? Now I’ve thought it through—fruit plucked by force never tastes sweet.” Internally, she cursed: the original owner had only been seduced by his handsome looks anyway. Why did a grown man have to be so good-looking for no reason?
Ye Xiaojin muttered to herself, but kept a serious expression on her face as she raised her hand and swore, “As long as you don’t pursue the matter of last night, I, Ye Xiaojin, hereby swear that I will never marry into your Zhennan Prince’s Manor in this lifetime. If I break this oath, may I choke to death on my food and drown in my drink.”
There—such determination. The ancients all believed in oaths, so surely he would let her go now.
Marry into the Zhennan Prince’s Manor? Was she insane? She wasn’t that fool of an original owner.
The grandfather had coerced with his favor, and the granddaughter had schemed with drugs. Even if she did marry into the Zhennan Prince’s Manor, how could they possibly let her live a good life there?
She would be lucky to escape with her life, let alone her skin intact.
She had barely escaped the killing and bloodshed of her previous life.
She had no desire to be dragged into power struggles and bloody storms.
That kind of life—she didn’t deserve it!
Besides, ancient men took three wives and four concubines. Her modern soul couldn’t accept sharing a husband with other women.
Xiao Moye remained expressionless, but his eyes were appraising her. Seeing her earnest face full of conviction, her body half-covered and half-exposed, her entire arm flashing before his eyes as she raised it to swear, he sneered inwardly. Having grown up in the capital, he was accustomed to women who said one thing and meant another, who excelled at pretense. This was just her way of trying to enter the manor while preserving her reputation.
Her mouth spoke resolute words, yet her body deliberately or inadvertently enticed him.
If Ye Xiaojin had known what he was thinking, she would have cried out in injustice. This was a deep chasm between modern and ancient sensibilities—she hadn’t had time to get dressed, and showing an arm was perfectly normal in modern times. She wasn’t trying to seduce him. He was overthinking it, Heir Apparent.
“And what if I insist on pursuing the matter?” His voice was cold with a hint of mockery.
Ye Xiaojin was taken aback. Looking again at his gloomy expression, the contempt on his face was utterly undisguised.
He didn’t believe a word she said.
A flicker of anger rose within her as well. This insufferably arrogant man.
But then a playful smile curled at the corner of her lips. “What’s the matter? After one night, I’ve slept my way into your heart? Made you fall in love with me, so much that you’ll marry no one but me?”
Xiao Moye was taken aback, then erupted in fury. “No one has ever schemed against this Heir Apparent and gotten away with it.”
An unmarried young lady—how could she utter such words? Shameless beyond measure.
Seeing him enraged, Ye Xiaojin was no longer afraid. At worst, she’d die again—and she’d had the experience of being a woman, so no loss there. She smiled and said, “We’re both adults. You’re a man, so you’ve lost nothing. I’m the one who’s lost her chastity, and have I complained? Besides, if I remember correctly, you were the one taking the initiative later on—even wilder than me. I didn’t see any sign of you being forced.”
“You… shameless.” What truly infuriated Xiao Moye was that despite his deep resistance, his body had refused to obey. And when he’d woken that morning to see the woman’s crimson lips, desire had stirred in him again—which was why he’d been furious enough to want to strangle her.
He, the esteemed Heir Apparent of Zhennan Prince’s Manor, the foremost young lord of the capital, had been drugged by a woman—and he’d damn well cooperated willingly, his mind screaming for another round even after he’d regained his senses.
“You… don’t tell me you were a… virgin? First time? Well, your technique isn’t bad—you’ve got talent.” Seeing his chest heave with rage, Ye Xiaojin, having decided to let the chips fall where they may, poured fuel on the fire and even gave him a thumbs up.
Xiao Moye’s eyes burned with shame and fury, his face ashen. He wished he could strangle her on the spot—this damned woman!
But he couldn’t. It would implicate his grandfather in wrongdoing.
“Fine. This Heir Apparent will grant your wish. I’ll honor your vow—you shall never marry into Zhennan Prince’s Manor.” Hmph. If she wanted to play hard to get, he’d play along and see how she’d save face.
Ye Xiaojin, having gotten what she wanted, grinned broadly and declared, “I won’t go back on my word.”
Seeing her smile so dazzlingly, as if she truly had no desire to marry into the manor, Xiao Moye angrily threw on his clothes and stormed out the door.
Only to collide head-on with Ye Hong outside.
Ye Hong, while cooking porridge in the kitchen, had remembered there was still a guest in the house. He’d gone to the guest room to check if Xiao Moye was up, only to find the bed empty—and looking as if no one had slept in it at all. So he’d come to ask Ye Xiaojin whether Xiao Moye had left the night before.
But instead, he saw the very man he couldn’t find emerging from his granddaughter’s room. He was stunned speechless.
Then he noticed Xiao Moye’s hastily thrown-on clothes and the marks on his neck. Rage surged straight to the top of his head.
There was nothing he didn’t understand now.
That brat Xiao Moye had spent the night in his granddaughter’s room and defiled his precious treasure.
Though he’d wanted his granddaughter to marry into Zhennan Prince’s Manor, this was not the way. He wanted a proper, honorable marriage with full ceremony—not this… this clandestine violation.
“How dare you be in Xiaobao’s room?” The old general radiated murderous intent.
Questioned by the old general, Xiao Moye felt a pang of guilt for reasons he couldn’t quite explain. The anger in his heart subsided somewhat, but he was unwilling to say more. He clasped his hands and bowed to Ye Hong, then turned to leave.
“Stop right there… cough…” Ye Hong was so frantic that he spat out a mouthful of blood.
“Grandfather!” Ye Xiaojin had begun dressing the moment Xiao Moye left the room, but the ancient garments were terribly complicated, and she’d fumbled with them for some time without figuring them out.
Seeing Ye Hong cough up blood, she rushed out without a second thought, wearing only her underclothes.
At that moment, Xiao Moye also turned and strode forward quickly. Ye Xiaojin’s matter had nothing to do with Ye Hong, so he couldn’t just leave him behind.
Just as he was about to help Ye Hong into the house, Xiao Moye noticed Ye Xiaojin staring at Ye Hong with a face full of tears.
Ye Xiaojin looked at Ye Hong’s face at that moment, not daring to blink even once.
The floodgates of memory burst open all at once. She had wandered back and forth on the edge of life and death countless times, struggling against the Grim Reaper, and what had kept her alive was precisely such a kind, benevolent face—it was her will to live, solely for the chance to stay by his side.
When she learned of his death, she had lost all meaning in life.
Now, that face appeared before her once again.
She tried desperately to move forward, but her legs seemed rooted to the ground, unable to budge even half a step.
That was her grandfather.
The grandfather who had picked her up from the train station and cradled her in the palm of his hand with utmost care.
Ye Xiaojin looked at the face before her—wrinkled yet infinitely familiar—and her anxious tears flowed uncontrollably, bursting forth like a breached dam.
This alarmed Ye Hong greatly. He hurriedly hobbled toward her with his cane, his aged fingers like withered branches gently wiping away her tears as he said with deep concern, “Xiaobao has been wronged. Don’t cry now—Grandfather is here for everything.”
The tone was just as doting as her grandfather’s.
Ye Xiaojin cried and then laughed through her tears. How wonderful—it was her grandfather. She could truly, genuinely feel the warmth of his fingers.
Then she buried herself in the old man’s embrace: “Grandfather, Grandfather…”
All the grievances, sorrows, and longing of these years poured out as tears, soaking freely into Ye Hong’s clothes.