Lin Luoluo returned to the Prince’s Manor looking dejected. Refusing to let anyone disturb her, she entered her space and practiced qinggong for a while, along with a few combat moves she had learned from Lin Da.
After training, she noticed that the batch of grain and vegetables she had planted earlier had ripened. Using her mind, she harvested everything and stored it neatly in one corner before planting another batch.
The fruit trees had already begun to blossom. Before long, they would bear fruit.
Lin Luoluo gathered some vegetable leaves to feed the chickens and ducks before returning to the thatched hut to study medical books.
By evening, she left the space. Just like usual, she finished dinner, washed up, and prepared to rest.
Then Chu Chenyu arrived.
“What are you doing here?” Lin Luoluo walked past him, poured herself a cup of water, and casually began drinking.
Seeing her ignore him, Chu Chenyu grew slightly irritated.
“This king is in his own manor. Naturally, I can go wherever I please.”
“So late at night, this king came to see his own Princess Consort. Of course, it’s because…”
Before finishing his sentence, he took the cup from her hand and drank from it.
Earlier that day, he had rejected Qingxue and told her to seek happiness elsewhere. The guilt he once felt toward the woman he thought he loved had finally disappeared, leaving him in an unusually good mood.
“That’s my cup,” Lin Luoluo complained unhappily.
“I’ve already tasted far more than your saliva,” he said teasingly. “What’s the big deal over a cup?”
Pah! A man who thinks with his lower body. Scumbag. I curse you to lose interest in women someday.
While he wasn’t looking, Lin Luoluo secretly made a face at him.
“You’re cursing me in your heart, aren’t you?” Chu Chenyu narrowed his eyes at her.
What is he, a mind-reading parasite?
“No. Absolutely not!” Lin Luoluo forced out an awkward smile.
Chu Chenyu stood and spread his arms.
“Come here. Help this king change clothes.”
“You have hands, don’t you? So troublesome…” she muttered under her breath as she reluctantly walked over.
Wrapping her arms around his waist, Lin Luoluo began undoing his belt.
Suddenly, Chu Chenyu pulled her into his embrace, resting his head lightly against her shoulder.
When he spoke again, there was an unfamiliar trace of pleading in his voice.
“Luoluo, stay by this king’s side, alright?”
Hmph. As if I’d fall for your tricks. When you’re happy, you coax me. The moment you’re unhappy, you could take my life. And you’re still a womanizer.
“Luoluo, alright?” Seeing no response, Chu Chenyu asked again, this time sounding almost spoiled.
Why is this man so shameless?
For some inexplicable reason, Lin Luoluo found herself quietly answering,
“Okay.”
Hearing the answer he wanted, Chu Chenyu immediately scooped her into his arms and carried her toward the bed.
“Ah! What are you doing? Put me down!” Lin Luoluo cried out in alarm.
“Not happening.” He held her tighter. “You agreed. Don’t even think about leaving me again in this lifetime.”
…
When Lin Luoluo woke the next morning, Chu Chenyu was already gone.
And for the first time, the usual bowl of contraceptive soup was nowhere to be seen.
Maybe this is for the best. If I leave and happen to have a child… at least I won’t be alone in this life. As for men? They can all move aside.
With nothing else to do, Lin Luoluo spent her days tending her space, practicing martial arts, and reading books.
Two days passed.
The Da Mo delegation finally arrived in the capital.
To welcome the envoys, a grand banquet was held in the palace the following evening.
That day, Lin Luoluo wore a light pink dress with her hair styled into twin buns, making her look playful and adorable.
In public, she still pretended to be mentally slow.
Skipping happily behind Chu Chenyu, she entered the grand hall and took her seat.
Almost immediately, Lin Luoluo sensed a gaze full of jealousy fixed on her.
Looking up, she saw a beautiful woman dressed in white robes draped with pale purple gauze glaring at her.
The woman’s features were bright and elegant.
After shooting Lin Luoluo a look, the woman turned toward Chu Chenyu, her eyes filled with affection.
Noticing Lin Luoluo’s gaze, Chu Chenyu withdrew his own and gave the woman a slight nod.
So this is Murong Qingxue… the woman Chu Chenyu truly loves.
Looks like I’m the one standing between them.
“His Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress have arrived!”
The entire hall instantly fell silent.
Everyone rose and bowed.
“We greet Your Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress. May Your Majesties be blessed with peace and prosperity.”
“You may rise,” Chu Chenyu’s elder brother, Emperor Chu Chenyi, said as he gestured for everyone to sit.
“Summon the envoys!”
Not long after, the delegation entered the hall.
“Da Mo’s Third Prince, Ruogu, and Eldest Princess Lingyun greet the Emperor and Empress of Nanxian.”
“Third Prince, Princess Lingyun, rise. Someone, prepare seats.”
Once the envoys were seated, the banquet officially began.
Lin Luoluo happily enjoyed the performances while sampling the delicious food.
Halfway through the banquet, Da Mo’s Third Prince Ruogu stood and bowed to Emperor Chu Chenyi.
“To show Da Mo’s sincerity, we have sent Princess Lingyun for a marriage alliance. My royal sister has specially prepared a performance for Your Majesty.”
“Granted,” Chu Chenyi said with a nod.
Moments later, Princess Lingyun changed into a flowing red dance costume made of sheer gauze, her face partially veiled with a crimson mask.
Her dance was enchanting, seductive, and mesmerizing.
When the performance ended, Emperor Chu Chenyi led the applause.
“Princess Lingyun,” he asked, “is there anyone you favor?”
Lingyun crossed her hands over her chest and bowed slightly, her voice soft and alluring.
“Lingyun wishes to remain by Your Majesty’s side.”
The Empress trembled faintly.
Chu Chenyi gently squeezed her hand in reassurance.
The Empress understood that marrying into the imperial family meant such things were unavoidable.
As long as he still held her in his heart, it was enough.
Smiling calmly, she gave Chu Chenyi a small nod.
“Let the Imperial Astronomical Bureau choose an auspicious date,” Chu Chenyi declared. “Princess Lingyun shall enter the palace.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” replied a slightly plump middle-aged official with a respectful bow.
After the banquet ended, Lin Luoluo and Chu Chenyu also left the palace to return to the manor.
Halfway there, the carriage suddenly came to a stop.
A group of black-clad assassins emerged from the darkness, swords drawn, surrounding them.
“Assassins! Be careful!”
Chu Chenyu immediately wrapped an arm around Lin Luoluo and leapt out of the carriage, shielding her behind him as he fought the attackers.
In the chaos, an arrow suddenly sliced through the air.
Lin Luoluo caught the flash of silver.
Without thinking, she instinctively shoved Chu Chenyu away.
Thud.
The arrow pierced into her chest.
Covering the wound, Lin Luoluo collapsed to the ground.
I’m done for…
“Big Sister, you have to come find us. Zirui and Wanwan will be waiting for you…”
No. I can’t die.
My family is waiting for me.
The spiritual spring water… right, the spiritual spring water!
As her consciousness began fading, Lin Luoluo struggled to raise her hand to her mouth.
Using the last of her strength, she summoned spiritual spring water and drank it.
Then everything went black.
The moment Chu Chenyu saw Lin Luoluo collapse after taking the arrow, something deep inside him seemed to break free.
“Kill them.”
His voice turned terrifyingly cold.
“Leave no one alive.”
Like a man possessed, Chu Chenyu charged forward recklessly, cutting down the assassins surrounding him with merciless precision.
After dealing with them, he rushed to Lin Luoluo’s side, lifted her into his arms, and carried her back into the carriage.
“Return to the manor immediately!”
Back at the Prince’s Manor, Chu Chenyu hurried toward the bedchamber carrying Lin Luoluo.
“Bring the manor physician here now!”
“Yes!”
A guard quickly rushed away.
After placing her carefully on the bed, Chu Chenyu held her hand tightly against his lips.
“Luoluo, you must hold on.”
“You promised you’d stay by my side.”
The faint trembling in his hands betrayed him.
For the first time in his life, Chu Chenyu felt fear.
Fear of losing someone.
The manor physician arrived quickly.
“My Lord.”
Without waiting for instructions, he stepped forward to examine Lin Luoluo’s injuries.
The arrow had narrowly missed her heart.
But black blood seeped from the wound.
The physician dipped a finger into the blood and smelled it.
His face instantly paled.
He dropped to his knees.
“My Lord, I fear the Princess Consort cannot be saved. Though the arrow missed her vital organs, it was coated with a deadly poison called One Thread Bind.”
“There is no cure.”
“Anyone poisoned by it dies within half an incense stick of time. The fact that the Princess Consort is still alive now is already a miracle.”
Boom.
Chu Chenyu felt as if something exploded inside his mind.
Coldness spread through his entire body.
“No.”
His voice turned hoarse.
“Send for the imperial physicians!”
“First, remove the arrow and stop the bleeding!”
“Yes!”
The manor physician hurriedly stood and opened his medical case.
With practiced movements, he removed the arrow, treated the bleeding, and bandaged the wound.
The procedure was completed quickly.
Lin Luoluo had actually awakened from the pain.
She let out a faint groan—then immediately pretended to remain unconscious.
In reality, she had secretly found a Turtle Breath Pill inside her space.
While everyone focused on treating her wound, she quietly swallowed it.
This is the perfect chance to escape.
I’ll protect my younger siblings, watch them grow up safely, and live a peaceful, ordinary life.
She longed for freedom.
The taste of life beyond these walls called to her.