“I didn’t.”
Yun Si denied it aloud, but deep down, she had indeed begun to retreat.
Then again, it wasn’t as if she had never slept with him before. What was there to fear?
If sleeping with him once could placate him, it wouldn’t be a loss.
Gritting her teeth, she closed her eyes and leaned toward him.
Qin Ye let out a muffled groan.
Yun Si’s hand seemed to have pressed somewhere it shouldn’t have.
“Qin Ye!”
She hurriedly tried to pull back, but Qin Ye wrapped one arm around her slender waist and lifted her over the desk into his embrace. His voice was low and hoarse, filled with danger. “Yun Si, I gave you a chance. You… had better not regret this.”
Before Yun Si could react, Qin Ye had already lifted her by the waist.
Her back pressed against the carved screen separating the inner room of the study. The coldness of the sandalwood seeped through her thin clothes and into her skin.
“Wait…”
Her voice was sealed beneath a searing kiss.
Qin Ye’s fingertips brushed along the side of her neck, raising a shiver. “Wasn’t your courage supposed to be impressive? What is it? Afraid already?”
He bit her earlobe, his voice carrying the ruthless force he had suppressed for years. “Back then, I was the one who provoked you. Naturally, I would bear all the consequences. But now, you are the one who provoked me. So no matter what the consequences are, don’t even think about escaping from me again!”
Suddenly, hurried footsteps sounded outside the window.
Qin Ye’s movements stopped, and he shielded Yun Si behind him.
Chief Mu’s voice came from beyond the door. “Your Highness, something has happened at the Military Equipment Bureau!”
Yun Si clearly felt Qin Ye’s muscles tense in an instant.
He closed his eyes and drew a deep breath. When he opened them again, his gaze had already cleared. “Prepare the horses.”
Turning around, he straightened Yun Si’s collar. His fingertips lingered for a moment at her collarbone. “I’ll settle tonight’s account with you later.”
As soon as Qin Ye left, the powerful sense of oppression gradually faded.
Only then did Yun Si realize how badly her legs were trembling.
She had never seen Qin Ye act so forcefully before.
Still shaken, Yun Si returned to Qixiwu Court.
She forced herself to calm down.
In the face of any other matter, she could remain composed, confident, and entirely in control. Only… when faced with Qin Ye just now, she discovered that she truly found him difficult to withstand.
Her heartbeat had accelerated uncontrollably, and her body had gone weak.
Although she had slept with him once before, she remembered none of it at all.
As a result, she was still like a young maiden now—both nervous and frightened.
After soaking in a medicinal bath, Yun Si changed into a comfortable, light sleeping robe.
Qin Ye had said that he would come back later to settle the account with her.
Would he come to see her tonight?
With that thought in mind, Yun Si tossed and turned in bed. She did not know when she had finally fallen asleep.
She slept soundly through the night.
After waking, Yun Si stared blankly at her bed for quite some time.
Qin Ye had not come.
But strangely, why did she feel… that he had?
Yun Si did not pay it much attention. After getting up, she continued with her own affairs.
At noon, news arrived that Shen Qian had finally been found.
The people from the Patrol Battalion had practically turned the Marquis’s Residence upside down before rescuing Shen Qian from the secret chamber.
By then, Shen Qian was so starved that he was barely clinging to life.
The guards’ bodies had begun to rot and stink. They were taken away by people from Dali Temple, who said they would conduct autopsies.
The Shen Family had demanded that Dali Temple uncover the murderer and give the Shen Residence an explanation.
Let them investigate.
Yun Si was certain that the scene had been cleaned up thoroughly, and everything that had been damaged had been restored to its original state.
At most, the wounds on the guards’ bodies might expose a few clues.
But those clues would not be enough for them to find Yun Si, the true murderer.
“Lan Xin, go and prepare some tonics for me. Young Master Shen has returned. In consideration of both propriety and sentiment, I ought to go pay him a visit.”
“Oh.”
Lan Xin went off to prepare the things with obvious reluctance.
Upon hearing this, Lu Yu looked deeply worried.
They were afraid that Yun Si would behave as she had in the past: every time she went to see Young Master Shen, she would return with an even worse attitude toward Your Highness.
Now they were living under someone else’s roof. Things were no longer as they had been before, and they could not endure that sort of turmoil again.
“My lady…”
Lu Yu hesitated.
“Don’t worry.”
Yun Si said helplessly, “I was a little incorrigible in the past, but think about it—when have I ever lied to you?”
That seemed to be true.
Lu Yu nodded, instantly reassured.
“My lady.”
Lan Xin, who had gone to prepare the tonics, suddenly rushed in from outside. “Miss Lin has come to our Qixiwu Court. She says she wants to see you.”
Yun Si raised an eyebrow.
This woman had held back for so long, but in the end, she still could not endure it any longer.
“Take her to the front hall first. I’ll be there shortly.”
…
Nanny Qian personally led Lin Shuyan toward Qixiwu Court.
Halfway there, Nanny Qian gently advised her, “Miss Lin, actually, she is no longer the mistress of Prince Xiao’s Residence. She is only staying here temporarily and will leave sooner or later. There is really no need for you to make a special trip to see her.”
“It’s all right.”
Lin Shuyan smiled. “Regardless, she was once Prince Xiao’s principal consort. I have been recuperating here for so long, so I should have gone to pay my respects to her long ago.”
After saying this, she seemed to realize something and said ruefully, “I mean Your Highness. Your Highness no longer bears the surname Fu. Look at my memory—I forgot again.”
“It is of no consequence.”
Nanny Qian smiled kindly. “You and Your Highness grew up together, so you needn’t address him like everyone else.”
As they spoke, the two arrived at the entrance to Qixiwu Court.
Lan Xin led them to the front hall and served them tea, fruit, and pastries.
Before long, Yun Si entered the front hall. At a glance, she saw Lin Shuyan seated upright in a grand chair, holding a teacup.
“Sister Yun.”
The moment Lin Shuyan saw her enter, she rose and performed a flawless curtsy.
When she lowered her eyes, her lashes cast fan-shaped shadows beneath them. Her voice trembled slightly. “I hope you will forgive me for intruding so abruptly.”
Yun Si made a perfunctory gesture as if helping her up, while quietly sizing her up.
The young woman before her looked to be around sixteen or seventeen. She had suffered serious injuries before, leaving her skin pale. After recuperating for this long, her complexion had become as translucent and white as fresh snow. Her features were dignified and lovely, and her bearing gentle and serene.
She was a beauty of the highest order.
Most unsettling of all were her eyes. They were so clear that one could see straight to the bottom of them, making it difficult for anyone to feel guarded around her.
“Miss Lin, please sit.”
Yun Si walked to the seat of honor and sat down. Lan Xin immediately brought her a cup of hot tea.
She accepted it and took a small sip before looking unhurriedly at Lin Shuyan. “May I ask what brings Miss Lin here today?”
At those words, Lin Shuyan had barely sat down before she sprang to her feet again. She looked at Yun Si as though she wanted to say something, yet found it difficult to speak.
Yun Si curved her lips faintly. “If there is something you wish to say, Miss Lin, please speak freely.”
“Sister Yun, Shuyan does indeed have an unreasonable request.”
Lin Shuyan suddenly fell to her knees. Her plain white skirt spread across the floor like withered flower petals. “I beg you to have pity on me, Sister!”
Her forehead struck the floor heavily, and her back trembled like reeds in the wind. “Both my parents are dead. I have become an orphan, and I truly have nowhere else to turn…”
Before Yun Si could speak, Nanny Qian could not help stepping forward to pull her up. “Oh, Miss Lin, what are you doing? Whatever difficulty you face, His Highness can help you resolve it. There is no need for this…”
“Nanny.”
Lin Shuyan pushed Nanny Qian’s hand away, her gaze remaining fixed on Yun Si. “Sister Yun, please help me!”
Yun Si’s expression remained calm. She asked coolly, “What can I help you with?”
“I would never dare ask for the position of secondary consort.”
When Lin Shuyan raised her head, tears shimmered in her lashes, yet she stubbornly refused to let them fall. “I only ask that you let me stay in the residence as a menial servant, or… or, if you are worried about that, let Fu… let His Highness acknowledge me as his sworn younger sister. As long as I have somewhere to live, Shuyan will be endlessly grateful!”
What a clever retreat used to advance.
Yun Si smiled and reached out to help her up from the floor. With a soft sigh, she said, “Since you call me Sister, I’ll speak honestly with you.”
“Please, Sister.”
A nearly imperceptible glimmer flashed through Lin Shuyan’s eyes, instantly transforming into a hint of tearfulness.
Yun Si took her by the hand and led her to sit in a grand chair to one side.
“Shuyan, you must have heard something about my circumstances. In truth, we are both in the same predicament. You are an orphan, while I… after something happened to the Marquis’s Residence, my parents were exiled. Now I have separated from Your Highness, and I am merely staying here temporarily. What qualifications do I have to decide whether you may stay or leave?”
Nanny Qian was left utterly stunned by these words.
In truth, everyone secretly thought the same thing.
But Nanny Qian had never expected Yun Si to think so herself.
Lin Shuyan’s expression darkened, and she lowered her head sorrowfully. “I’m sorry. I’ve put you in a difficult position, Sister. I…”
“As long as you don’t blame me.”
Lin Shuyan was sad, but Yun Si was even sadder. “At least you and His Highness share the affection of childhood companions, and you once risked your life to save him. His Highness will certainly treat you well and won’t leave you to drift without a home. But I… am different.”
Lin Shuyan fell silent.
Her decision today seemed to have been a mistake.
Was Yun Si merely pretending?
For a moment, Lin Shuyan did not dare draw a conclusion.
According to her original plans, Yun Si would surely say many unpleasant things. Then Nanny Qian would pass those words on to Qin Ye, causing him to grow disgusted with Yun Si.
But the situation had developed in a way entirely different from what she had expected.
Lin Shuyan forced a smile and had to comfort Yun Si against her true feelings. “Sister Yun, don’t worry too much. His Highness still has you in his heart. Otherwise, he would never have agreed to let you stay in the prince’s residence.”
Yun Si did not say anything more.
Lin Shuyan remained seated for a while longer before finally taking her leave.
When she reached the courtyard gate, she suddenly turned around and said with a smile, “Sister Yun, I’m actually rather curious. Why did you return to the prince’s residence? Is it because you learned something in advance?”
The moment Lin Shuyan finished speaking, Yun Si caught sight of a familiar figure from the corner of her eye.
Qin Ye stood outside beside a parasol tree. His dark robes nearly blended into the tree’s shadow, yet they could not conceal the powerful aura surrounding him.
Yun Si’s expression remained cool.
Then she suddenly smiled brightly, deliberately raising her voice. “I don’t quite understand what Younger Sister Shuyan means. But the reason I returned to the prince’s residence is that I discovered I had already fallen in love with His Highness. I cannot live without him…”