“Cough! Cough!” Jiang Jiu choked violently, then elbowed him while suppressing a laugh. “What are you talking about?”
“What, did I say something wrong?” Yu Hui pointed at their prince’s body, where the clothes were nearly bursting at the seams, revealing a large expanse of his chest. With a serious expression, he said, “Jiang Jiu, take a good look. Are the clothes the prince is wearing his own? The prince’s wounds were treated by Miss Liu, and the clothes aren’t his either. Doesn’t that mean Miss Liu has seen the prince completely naked? The prince has never even touched a woman’s hand, but now he’s been touched all over by one. His innocence is gone!”
“Cough! Cough!” Jiang Jiu trembled with suppressed laughter, nearly bursting out.
“Have you said enough?” From across the room, the prince’s gritted voice rang out.
Fortunately, the dim light in the room concealed his darkened expression.
Yu Hui, catching the sharpness in his gaze, immediately lowered his head. “P… Prince, I didn’t mean to tease you. I just thought… thought…”
“Silence!” Yan Siyuan snapped, unwilling to hear another word. “Get out of my sight!”
“…Yes.” Yu Hui scrambled up from the floor and darted out of the room like a rabbit.
“Prince, please calm down. Be careful of your wounds.” Jiang Jiu coaxed while holding back laughter, afraid his prince might vent his anger on him. He quickly changed the subject. “Prince, are you feeling unwell anywhere else? Will it be safe to return tonight?”
“Go back and pack some essentials for me. Bring them here.”
“Prince, you plan to stay here?” Jiang Jiu glanced around the room again, unable to hide his surprise. “This must be Miss Liu’s room, right? You and her…”
“Didn’t you say she saw me naked? Then it’s only fair I make her take responsibility, isn’t it?” Yan Siyuan replied with a darkened face.
“Uh…” Jiang Jiu’s eyes and lips twitched simultaneously.
So their prince had taken a liking to Miss Liu!
Upon careful thought, it wasn’t entirely inappropriate. Miss Liu was the legitimate daughter of the Zhenguo General’s household, making her a suitable match for their prince.
But…
He suddenly frowned, remembering something, and urgently said, “Prince, do you recall that the Second Prince once mentioned he was fond of General Liu’s daughter…”
Surely their prince wasn’t about to compete with his nephew for a woman?
Yan Siyuan stiffened abruptly. Though the dim light in the room concealed most of his expression, his intense reaction was still visible.
Jiang Jiu’s heart raced nervously. Just as he grew uneasy, a cold, firm voice spoke up. “The Crown Prince even proposed to the Liu family. Does that mean I, as the Little Imperial Uncle, should step aside for him?”
“…” Jiang Jiu lowered his head and rubbed his nose.
Better to pretend he’d said nothing, lest he anger his master and end up bearing the consequences.
He had intended to change the subject, but found the conversation circling back to Miss Liu. Shifting his gaze subtly, he smiled and said, “Prince, it’s late. You should rest. I’ll return to pack the essentials and come back before dawn.”
“Hmm.” Perhaps realizing his own agitation, Yan Siyuan closed his eyes.
…
In the past, whenever Liu Qingxu went out, she always timed her return to the temple to coincide with Little Oriole’s meal delivery.
Today was different. Thinking of the man in the monastic quarters, she declined several generous invitations, packed some food, and hurried back to the temple.
However, given her busy schedule, she didn’t return until the rooster crowed at dawn.
As soon as she stepped into the room, she was startled by the two additional dark figures inside.
“Who are you?!”
“They are my men.”
“You have men?” She frowned as she looked toward the man who had spoken.
“Your humble servant Jiang Jiu (Yu Hui) pays respects to Miss Liu. Thank you for saving our Lord Si. We will never forget this great kindness. From now on, we are willing to follow Lord Si in serving you, Miss Liu, and will work tirelessly without complaint.” Jiang Jiu and Yu Hui knelt on one knee before her.
Liu Qingxu’s lips twitched.
They really went through a lot, managing to speak so much in perfect unison.
Outwardly, she did not respond. Instead, she went to the table and lit the oil lamp, then squinted as she examined them one by one. Both men appeared to be in their twenties. The one named Jiang Jiu was lean and refined, with a scholarly air, while the one named Yu Hui had dark skin and a sturdier build than Jiang Jiu, giving him a somewhat simple and honest appearance.
Finally, she turned her gaze to the man behind the door and asked, “Are you sure my place can accommodate them?”
“They have their own arrangements. You need not worry about them.” Yan Siyuan met her gaze, his expression impassive.
“That’s more like it.” Liu Qingxu looked back at the two men. “There’s barely enough food as it is. If we had to include you two, we’d all starve.”
Yu Hui looked at her curiously and asked, “Miss Liu, you are a daughter of the Liu family. How could you possibly be starving?”
Liu Qingxu waved her hand, signaling for them to rise from the floor.
Then she sat at the table, glanced around the entire room, and said, “To be honest, I am being held under house arrest here. Although I am a daughter of the General’s estate, I have a younger sister who is determined to marry the Crown Prince. Unfortunately, the Crown Prince has no interest in her and insists on marrying me instead. To ensure my younger sister can become the Crown Princess, my father publicly declared that I am seriously ill and sent me here to recuperate.”
She told them this not because she trusted them, but because revealing it wouldn’t change anything. Besides, when the Crown Prince visited the temple yesterday, their Lord Si had already overheard her conversation with him.
“If General Liu does not wish for you to marry the Crown Prince, then simply don’t marry him,” Yu Hui said with a cheerful laugh.
Liu Qingxu pursed her lips and did not respond.
But Yu Hui seemed oblivious to her deliberate coldness and continued with a cheerful smile, “Miss Liu, if you won’t marry the Crown Prince, do you have someone else in mind?”
Hearing this, Liu Qingxu glanced at him sideways. “What’s it to you?”
Yu Hui opened his mouth to continue, but suddenly a low, cold cough came from behind the door.
He stiffened and chuckled, “It’s nothing. I was just curious, that’s all.”
Jiang Jiu, standing nearby, broke into a cold sweat. He stepped forward, grabbed Yu Hui, and pulled him outside. “Alright, let’s not disturb Miss Liu and Lord Si’s rest.”
Watching their figures quickly disappear through the doorway, Liu Qingxu’s brows furrowed deeply.
What kind of talk was that? What did he mean by “disturb Miss Liu and Lord Si’s rest”?
She turned her gaze to the man behind the door.
He sat with his eyes closed, meditating calmly, as if he had heard nothing.
She rose from the table, walked over to him, and crouched down in front of him.
Beside his leg was an extra bundle. Without asking, she knew it had been brought by his two subordinates.
“Why didn’t they take you away?”
Yan Siyuan opened his eyes. His thick, dark lashes lifted like curtains, revealing the profound brilliance within—deep and mesmerizing, like a tranquil pool.
“Having signed a contract, one must naturally honor their promise.”
“Hmm, it seems you’re quite trustworthy after all. Not in vain did I risk saving you. Rest well and heal. Once you’ve earned enough silver for me, I won’t treat you poorly either.” Liu Qingxu deliberately avoided his gaze, speaking lofty, formal words.
For some reason, the better his spirits, the more his aura seemed to intensify. She couldn’t quite describe this feeling. Even though she was the employer, when she met his eyes, an inexplicable sense of caution rose within her, as if reminding her to get along with him peacefully and avoid offending him.
Yan Siyuan didn’t respond, closing his eyes again.
He could leave at any time. But returning to the capital injured would be truly inconvenient. If discovered by those with ill intentions, they might seize the opportunity to finish him off while he was vulnerable. Rather than inviting trouble by going back to the capital, it was better to stay by her side and recuperate.
Liu Qingxu pointed at the bundle by his leg and asked, “What’s in here?”
“Clothes.”
“Yours?” Seeing he hadn’t opened his eyes, she reached out and opened it. Inside were indeed clothes. She glanced at the nearly bursting nightclothes on his body and blurted out, “Why didn’t you have them help you change?”
“Forgot.”
“…” Her face darkened slightly.
“You help me change.”
“…” Her expression darkened even more.
After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the oil lamp went out, plunging the room into darkness.
Liu Qingxu stood by the bed, clutching a pair of wide trousers, grinding her teeth as she glared at the figure on the bed. “Can’t you cooperate a little? If you keep dawdling, I swear I’ll throw you out!”
“Can’t move.” The man pretended to bend his waist but immediately let out a hiss of pain.
“Fine, don’t move!” Liu Qingxu suppressed the urge to spit blood and snapped, then crouched down to slip his feet into the pant legs one by one.
She was starting to regret it now. Why had she made him sign that labor agreement? This wasn’t hiring a subordinate—it was more like inviting a lord into her home!
Perhaps sensing her extreme displeasure, Yan Siyuan cooperated relatively well, at least tying his own belt.
Resentment overwhelmed everything in Liu Qingxu’s heart. Even if the man before her was a peerless beauty, even if he had a physique that could make one’s nose bleed, she paid it no mind.
She used a screen to partition off a small space, spreading a quilt on the floor within it. Just as she was about to “invite” him to the makeshift bed, the man sitting upright by the bed suddenly spoke, “I need to use the restroom.”
“…?!” Her eyes shot a fierce glare at him.
“Accompany me.”
Hearing his tone, which was anything but polite—more like issuing an order—she truly grew angry. “What, afraid you’ll fall into the latrine? Your legs are injured, not missing. Using the restroom won’t kill you!”
She decided: when his two subordinates came again tomorrow, she’d have them take him away!
This troublesome man—she didn’t need him anymore!
The man’s deep, dark eyes swept over her coldly, as if even more displeased than she was. “Or do you want to help me change my pants again?”
Liu Qingxu felt like spitting blood.
…
That night, Liu Qingxu was even more exhausted than the previous one.
So much so that, accustomed to napping in the afternoon, she fell asleep right after Little Oriole brought breakfast.
As for the man in the room, she couldn’t be bothered to care. She gave him all the meals and even shoved the leftover food from last night at him, all to keep him from bothering her.
But before lunchtime arrived, Little Oriole suddenly called for her outside the door.
She jolted awake, opening her eyes and glancing at the sky outside the window. It wasn’t mealtime yet, so she asked with a hint of irritation, “What is it?”
“Miss, the Second Prince is outside the courtyard, saying he wishes to see you. And the Second Miss is here too—she came with the Second Prince.”
“…”
Liu Qingxu’s face instantly turned cold.
It wasn’t surprising that Liu Yuanyin had come looking for her. After all, the Crown Prince had visited yesterday, and there were people from the Liu residence outside the monastery. Liu Yuanyin must have gotten the news.
But why had the Second Prince come to see her?
In her memory, her original self knew the Second Prince, but only as a nodding acquaintance.
Yet the Second Prince had appeared together with Liu Yuanyin—what kind of scheme was this now?
After a moment of contemplation, she called out to the door, “Have them wait in the garden. I’ll be there shortly.”
Xiao Huangying acknowledged from outside before leaving.
Liu Qingxu got out of bed, put on her shoes, and straightened her clothes. As she did, her gaze swept past the screen. She pursed her lips and, regardless of whether he was awake or not, lowered her voice to instruct, “Stay put and don’t make a sound.”
“Come here.”
A deep, slightly cold voice came from the small room separated by the screen.
She hesitated for a moment but still entered the small room.
Meeting those dark, chilling eyes, she suppressed her displeasure and asked, “What is it?”
“Do you like the Second Prince?”
“Who said that?” She twitched the corner of her mouth, nearly amused. “Do you think I don’t want to marry the Crown Prince because of the Second Prince?”
“Isn’t that the case?”
“Nonsense! If I don’t marry this one, must I marry that one? Will I die if I don’t marry?” Seeing his gaze flicker with a strange intensity, as if he saw her as an oddity and was studying her seriously, Liu Qingxu shrugged her shoulders and truly chuckled lightly. “I never expected a man like you to be so gossipy. But since you’re my little brother, I don’t mind telling you—marriage will never happen to me. No matter what you hear in the future, if it’s related to me and marriage, it’s all nonsense. You’re welcome to treat it as a joke, just don’t take it seriously.”
Yan Siyuan stared at her unblinkingly, his gaze shifting from deep and somber to suddenly bright.
But then he immediately asked, “What does ‘nonsense’ mean?”
“Uh…” Liu Qingxu was momentarily stunned, realizing she had used a term beyond the boundaries of this world. She cleared her throat lightly and explained with a serious expression, “An egg is round, with no hands or feet. How can you pull it? So ‘pulling an egg’ means making things up or talking nonsense.”
Yan Siyuan pressed his thin lips together tightly, his gaze on her face growing deep and dark once more.
Liu Qingxu couldn’t withstand his stare—sharp, penetrating, and unfathomable, as if he were trying to study her very organs through her skin and bones. She raised her hand to adjust the hair on her shoulders, letting her dark tresses fall loosely behind her, then opened the door and walked out.
It was the same pavilion as yesterday.
Liu Qingxu weakly bowed to the Second Prince, Yan Rongtai.
But before her knees could bend, Yan Rongtai stepped forward and helped her up. “This isn’t the capital. Xu’er, there’s no need for such formalities.”
The address “Xu’er” made Liu Qingxu frown slightly. Were her original self and the Second Prince this close? Why did she have so little memory of it?
“Xu’er, why do you look so pale? What illness has tormented you like this? Why didn’t you seek treatment from a doctor in the capital instead of coming here?”
She looked up at the handsome face filled with concern before her, her inner frown deepening.
But on the surface, she still replied politely, “Thank you for your concern, Second Prince. I have suffered from a strange illness since childhood, and this is merely a flare-up. My father has already consulted a physician, who said the condition requires quiet rest, which is why my father sent me here.”
Yan Rongtai looked at her sickly complexion, somewhat indignant. “Could the vast General’s Manor really lack a quiet place, forcing you to come here? I have only been away from the capital for half a year, yet I never expected you to be tormented by illness to such a haggard state!”
Liu Qingxu touched her own face.
She knew how she looked—yesterday, to deceive the Crown Prince, she had deliberately smeared something on her face and hadn’t washed it off yet!
But was the reaction of this Second Prince before her a bit too exaggerated?