Shen Wan blinked, seemingly not quite understanding.
Pei Changli glanced in the direction Shen Wan had been heading. ”First you got ’lost’ and left the Prime Minister’s residence, then you got ‘lost’ again and headed off in the opposite direction from the prince’s residence. Clearly, you were trying to escape.”
“I wasn’t.” Shen Wan certainly couldn’t admit it.
Pei Changli gave a cold snort. Normally expressionless regardless of his mood, he deliberately put on a look of disbelief.
His face was dark and gloomy, and his already cold, stern demeanor made him seem even more unapproachable.
Shen Wan knew Pei Changli wasn’t so easily fooled.
Seeing that her little scheme was about to be exposed by Pei Changli, she could only make the best of the situation and come up with an excuse for herself.
“Since you’ve seen through me, Your Highness, I won’t hide it any longer. The truth is, I was indeed trying to run away.”
The moment the words left her mouth, Pei Changli’s hand clamped around her throat.
Shen Wan instinctively grabbed his arm, lest he accidentally snap her neck.
“Your Highness, let me explain.” Her bright, watery eyes blinked up at Pei Changli, looking utterly innocent and pitiful.
A flicker of hesitation flashed quickly through Pei Changli’s sharp eyes, but he soon returned to normal.
“Explain what?” he forced out through gritted teeth.
It was clear that a fire of anger was burning inside him.
“The only reason I ran away was because I was forced to,” Shen Wan thought to herself.
She had already been in a bad mood after being given trouble by the Prime Minister’s daughter earlier today. Perfect—time to use her as a shield!
“It was the Prime Minister’s daughter!” Shen Wan blurted out.
Pei Changli’s lowered eyes glanced at her almost casually.
“I accidentally offended her, and she wanted to punish me. I had no choice but to flee. I was afraid that if I returned to the prince’s residence, she might chase after me, so I ran in the opposite direction instead…”
Shen Wan dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief, feigning tears, looking utterly wronged.
She stole a glance at Pei Changli. His expression seemed to have softened somewhat, and the hand gripping her neck had loosened a little.
It seemed the crisis was over—she wouldn’t need to load a save!
Shen Wan breathed a sigh of relief, feeling rather pleased with herself.
Thank goodness she was quick-witted enough to come up with such an excuse.
Pei Changli knew Shen Wan was always cunning, so he only barely believed her words.
“In that case, from now on you will stay by my side at all times. As long as you’re with me, no one will dare lay a hand on you.”
That said, what he was really thinking about was Shen Wan’s “restart ability.”
If they ever ran into danger in the future, keeping Shen Wan by his side would allow him to restart in time.
Besides, this woman was truly mysterious. He had to find out exactly who was hiding behind her.
Only by keeping her under his watchful eye could he carry out this investigation properly.
It was already dusk, and the sun slanted across the courtyard of the prince’s residence.
Shen Wan followed behind Pei Changli, her steps so light she felt like she could fly.
The scenery was lovely, and her earlier displeasure was swept away along with it.
“Your Highness…” Shen Wan was about to say something when she ran straight into the Old Concubine Dowager.
The Old Concubine Dowager’s face was dark with anger as she glared at her, looking as if Shen Wan had committed some unforgivable crime.
“Dressed up all bright and gaudy like that—are you trying to show off in front of everyone?”
Shen Wan looked around. Apart from Pei Changli and Yefeng, there was no one else.
So… the Old Concubine Dowager was criticizing her?
Shen Wan looked herself over. Because Pei Changli had told her today to dress up for a banquet and an outing on the lake, she couldn’t very well embarrass him, so she had picked this outfit out of the wardrobe.
Besides, everyone loves looking beautiful. She was in the prime of her youth—wearing something pretty wasn’t some terrible offense. How could it possibly make the Old Concubine Dowager this angry?
And by the Old Concubine Dowager’s logic, dressing nicely meant flaunting one’s status and growing arrogant from favor?
Shen Wan felt along her arms. The Old Concubine Dowager was really overthinking things—Pei Changli showed her no favor whatsoever, so where would this supposed arrogance from favor come from?
Shen Wan was displeased and pursed her lips.
Knowing Shen Wan’s fiery temper, Pei Changli spoke up to defuse things before trouble started.
“It was this prince who told her to dress this way.”
The Old Concubine Dowager’s eyes were full of disbelief.
Pei Changli normally kept his distance from women—he didn’t even keep a single maidservant by his side.
Yet now, not only had he let this Shen Wan share his bed, he was even defending her. It was clear she held some place in his heart.
Who would have thought that Shen Wan, who looked so unruly and unreliable, had actually managed to win over Pei Changli’s heart!
The Old Concubine Dowager looked Shen Wan over a few more times, said nothing more, and returned to Rong’an Hall.
As the sun set and the moon rose, Shen Wan yawned, overcome with drowsiness.
Hugging her blanket, she obediently went to the foot of the bed—the sleeping spot Pei Changli had assigned her.
“Sleepy…”
Shen Wan mumbled, haphazardly made up the bed, then tipped over and collapsed into its embrace.
Soft and comfortable—what pure bliss!
Fragrant blanket, plush bedding, an ice-cold blade…
A blade!
Shen Wan’s eyes snapped open. Pei Changli’s face was inches from hers.
Pictured brows, sharply defined features—there was no denying Pei Changli was strikingly handsome.
But right now he was holding a long sword, its blade pointed at her throat.
That made him considerably less handsome.
“Your… Your Highness… what are you doing? This thing is dangerous, put… put it away…”
Shen Wan pointed at the sword pressed against her neck.
But Pei Changli was unmoved, only repeating two words: “Who are you?… An assassin?”
“Didn’t I already tell you? I’m not…” Shen Wan felt baffled, and a little helpless.
“I’ve explained it so many times already. I’m not an assassin. Why won’t you believe me, Your Highness?”
Yet Pei Changli looked at her as if he didn’t know her at all.
“Kill.”
Shen Wan screamed in terror and hastily loaded her save.
“…Who are you? An assassin?”
Pei Changli raised his sword again.
Shen Wan loaded her save again.
“Kill.”
“Kill.”
“Kill.”
However many times she loaded, that was how many times Pei Changli tried to kill her.
What was going on? Why had Pei Changli suddenly gone back?
Could he have loaded a save too?
But loading a save preserves memories!
Memories… Right, memories! Could he have lost his memories?
Shen Wan was filled with confusion.
After spending these past few days together, she could sense that whatever his motives, Pei Changli had no intention of killing her for the time being.
Why then, at this very moment, was the man before her suddenly so resolute?
Just as Shen Wan was frozen in a daze, Pei Changli raised his sword to strike again.
Instinctively, she tried to dodge backward.
A flash of cold light—then a sudden, crisp clang.
Shen Wan was astonished. She looked closely—Pei Changli, who had just been raising his sword to take her life, had now let his long sword fall from his hand and was staring fixedly at the spot beside her.
She instinctively followed his gaze. It turned out that a piece of candy she had casually tucked away when going to the banquet had fallen out.
What was the murderous Pei Changli doing staring at that piece of candy?