“Qin Ye?” Yun Si thought she must have misheard.
But the next moment, his voice came again, even more clearly: “What did Shen Qian do to make you so happy?”
“…”
This time, there was no doubt it was him. Why was this man here?
Yun Si certainly wasn’t narcissistic enough to think Qin Ye had come specifically to pick her up. But then where had her own carriage gone?
“If you’re not getting in, you can walk back.” Qin Ye’s impatient voice came from inside the carriage again. “Or don’t come back at all. I’m sure the Shen family would be happy to take you in.”
What nonsense was he talking about? To stop him from saying anything even more outrageous, Yun Si quickly climbed into the carriage. Before she could sit down properly, the driver cracked his whip, and the carriage lurched forward at full speed.
Caught off guard, Yun Si lost her balance. She was about to slam into the opposite wall of the carriage, while the man beside her remained as steady as a mountain, showing absolutely no intention of helping. At the critical moment, she grabbed Qin Ye’s sleeve and used it to steady herself. As a result, she ended up hugging his thigh.
Qin Ye: “…”
Yun Si: “…”
The atmosphere became awkward. Sitting on the carriage floor, she draped both arms and her entire upper body across Qin Ye’s thigh.
There was no need to imagine how undignified she looked. Turning her face to one side, she simply stayed where she was, refusing to get up.
In the end, Qin Ye reached down, lifted her with one hand, and set her beside him.
After glancing at her hands and confirming that she hadn’t bumped or injured them, he pushed her slightly farther away. His expression remained as cold as ever, and his entire body radiated an aura that warned strangers to stay away.
The oppressive atmosphere inside the carriage made it difficult to breathe.
Instinctively, Yun Si wanted to put some distance between herself and him. She figured she should wait until his anger cooled before trying to explain.
Just as she started to move to the other side of the carriage, Qin Ye suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her back toward him.
His voice was cold and mocking. “This morning, you were saying how much you loved me and couldn’t live without me. This afternoon, you ran off to see another man, and you came out looking delighted. Yun Si, you’re full of lies. You expect this prince to trust you, but with behavior like that, how am I supposed to?”
“Qin Ye!” Meeting his dark gaze, Yun Si could feel the strength in his grip. Pain shot through her arm, and she couldn’t help letting out a soft cry. “Let go. It hurts…”
The moment he heard the pain in her voice, Qin Ye immediately released her. Even so, his face remained tense, and his eyes stayed locked on her.
“This is the consequence of provoking me.” After a pause, he asked, “Do you regret it?”
In that final question, Yun Si caught the faintest tremor in his voice. She waited until some of his anger had subsided before answering softly. “I don’t regret it.”
Qin Ye’s expression didn’t change. He continued staring at her face, as if unwilling to miss even the slightest shift in her expression.
Yun Si spoke with complete sincerity. “I admit that some of what I said this morning was deliberately meant for Lin Shuyan to hear. And yes, I saw you there too.”
She paused. “But I wasn’t lying. Right now… I really can’t leave you.”
“As for Shen Qian, think about it. I already know he was involved in framing my family. How could I possibly have gone to see him out of genuine concern?”
“You said I looked pleased when I came out…” A faint smile appeared on her face. “Well, I suppose that’s true.”
After she finished explaining everything in one breath, Qin Ye remained silent, listening. Only when she reached that final remark did he finally turn and look at her again.
“That’s because I dug a pit for Shen Qian to fall into.” Just as she said that, the carriage arrived at Prince Xiao’s residence. Qin Ye stepped down first, then turned back and offered her a hand.
A smile appeared in Yun Si’s eyes. See? This was the benefit of actually communicating. As long as a problem wasn’t completely unsolvable, a few honest words could usually resolve it.
“Would you like to have dinner together tonight?” Tilting her head, Yun Si looked at him. Her charming face carried a hint of expectation.
“I’m hungry.”
Qin Ye merely responded with a low “Mm,” then turned and walked through the residence gates, leaving only his cold, distant back behind.
Agreeing was enough.
Watching his retreating figure, Yun Si’s smile did not fade. Only after he had completely disappeared did she turn and head back to Qiwu Courtyard. After bathing and changing into a particularly pretty dress, she picked up another jug of wine.
Just in case… A little wine might help bolster her courage.
By the time she arrived, Qin Ye was already waiting at the dinner table. The evening meal was especially lavish. Every dish served was one of her favorites.
Eunuch Decai stood by the doorway attending to them, while Nanny Qian lingered nearby for a moment before leaving.
Yun Si sensed that Nanny Qian’s attitude toward her seemed gentler tonight.
“Lady Yun, you’ve arrived. His Highness has been waiting for you. Please, go inside.”
Eunuch Decai spoke to her with remarkable courtesy and respect. He seemed to have always been this way, though. Even in the past, he had never openly shown any dislike or resentment toward her.
“Thank you, Eunuch Decai.” Yun Si stepped inside, and Qin Ye’s gaze settled on her immediately.
She was not merely attractive. She was stunning. Moreover, her beauty was naturally alluring. She looked slender, yet she had all the right curves: a narrow waist, graceful hips, and long legs. Tonight, she had taken special care with her appearance.
The dark gleam that flashed through Qin Ye’s eyes proved the effort had not gone unnoticed.
“Your Highness, shall we have a drink?”
“Let’s discuss the important matters first.” Holding his chopsticks between long, well-defined fingers, Qin Ye casually picked up food and placed it into her bowl. “Eat while we talk.”
Thinking back, his personality had always been rather reserved. He could do countless things for her, yet he never spoke sweet words, nor did he ever tell her about the sacrifices he had made. Of course, perhaps that was because of the way she had treated him at the beginning. Maybe her hostility had gradually taught him to keep everything buried inside.
“Qin Ye.” Yun Si picked up her chopsticks and took a bite of the food he had served her. “It tastes good.” She spoke sincerely.
Qin Ye’s hand paused slightly. Yun Si knew what he was remembering. The last time he had placed food into her bowl. It had also been the first time.
The day after their wedding. Back then, Yun Si had slammed down her bowl and chopsticks. The look she gave him had been full of hatred and disgust.
In a vicious tone, she had said: “Who told you to put food in my bowl? Don’t you know that I find anything you’ve touched disgusting?”
After that, they never shared another meal together. Back then, she had truly gone too far.
“If you like it, then eat more.” After placing a few dishes into her bowl, Qin Ye set down his chopsticks and spoke calmly. “You said earlier that you set a trap for Shen Qian. Does it require additional arrangements?”
Yun Si swallowed the food in her mouth, then nodded. “Yes.”
No wonder he had been the ultimate winner in her previous life. His mind was incredibly sharp, and his reactions were always quick, except when he was jealous.
“I know you have many capable people working for you. I want you to help me surround the Marquis Manor completely. Do it secretly. The best outcome would be for no one on the surface to notice anything unusual.”
“That’s fine.”
“Also, I overheard something Shen Qian said. He received information that my father had hidden an important item, something that could be harmful to him and to the mysterious person backing him. I want to write a letter to my father. Please arrange for a trustworthy person to deliver it personally and bring back his reply.”
“Just write the letter and give it to me.” Qin Ye agreed immediately, without wasting a single unnecessary word.
For the first time, Yun Si experienced the satisfaction of working together with Qin Ye as an ally. “For now, that’s all.”
“Good.” Qin Ye nodded. Then he said in a low voice, “Last time, you suggested that monitoring the Court of Judicial Review and the City Patrol Camp might reveal the identity of the mysterious person. I had people watch them, and someone really did provide a tip that Shen Qian might have gone to the confiscated Yongyi Marquis Manor.”
“Who was it?”
“The Shen family’s eldest daughter.”
“What?”
The answer caught Yun Si completely by surprise.
Shen Yu. Shen Qian’s younger sister.
In Yun Si’s memory, Shen Yu was just a spoiled, willful noblewoman. At one point, she had even been engaged to Prince Lin Qin Huai, the Second Prince. At the time, she had caused a tremendous scene, declaring that Prince Lin was weak, incompetent, and lacked imperial favor, and insisting that she would rather die than marry him.
Later, the engagement was called off. Almost everyone knew Shen Yu had always wanted to marry Prince Jin, Qin Su, the First Prince. The Shen family had also consistently supported Prince Jin.
Unfortunately for her, Prince Jin already had a principal wife. Shen Yu refused to become a secondary consort, and so she remained unmarried. Now eighteen years old, she still had not wed. But how could she have known that Shen Qian might be trapped in the Marquis Manor? And why had she secretly informed the authorities?
“There are two suspicious points,” Qin Ye analyzed calmly. “First, if Shen Qian had told Shen Yu about his plans before going to the Marquis Manor, then she wouldn’t have waited so many days before alerting the Court of Judicial Review.”
“Second, if her information had come directly from Shen Qian, she could have reported it openly. There would have been no need to deliver the information in secret.”
Yun Si picked up where he left off and summarized: “So Shen Yu must have gotten her information from somewhere else.”
Qin Ye glanced at her, silently acknowledging her conclusion. “At least it isn’t a complete dead end.”
Yun Si smiled. The serious matters had been discussed, and she was about half full. It was time to enjoy a drink or two. She picked up the wine jug and filled a cup for herself and another for Qin Ye.
“A toast to us.” Raising her cup first, she lightly tapped it against his. “To a broken mirror made whole again.”
Afterward, she took a small sip. The first taste was sharp and spicy. Not pleasant. Yet a lingering fragrance soon spread across her tongue, carrying the faintest trace of sweetness.
No wonder. In her previous life, Qin Ye had loved drinking so much. Back then, she often sat quietly by his side and watched him drink.
One cup after another. One jug after another. She had always wondered whether wine could really be that enjoyable. Now that she had finally tasted it herself, she found it neither particularly good nor particularly bad.
Qin Ye stared at her for a long time. When he heard the words “a broken mirror made whole again,” he seemed momentarily dazed. In a low voice, he repeated them: “Made whole again?”
A trace of uncertainty lingered in his tone. Even so, he still lifted the cup and drained it without leaving a single drop.
“Don’t drink so fast.” Seeing him empty the cup in one gulp, Yun Si quickly placed some food into his bowl. “Eat something first. We can drink slowly.”
“Why are we drinking at all?” Qin Ye set down his cup and looked at her with a scrutinizing gaze.
Yun Si pressed her lips together. After hesitating for a moment, she picked up her cup and took another large swallow. The liquor burned so fiercely that tears sprang to her eyes.
Qin Ye frowned deeply and snatched the cup from her hand. “If you can’t drink, then don’t—”
Before he could finish, Yun Si rose and walked over to him. Looking at him with bright, captivating eyes, she said, “Your Highness, there’s something we should have done a long time ago.”