Qin Ye!
Yun Si shook her head. Yet the face before her was still Qin Ye’s.
Why was it so clear this time? Yun Si suddenly sat upright in bed. “You…”
It really was Qin Ye. But this wasn’t a dream. It was reality.
Qin Ye’s expression was extremely unpleasant. His pitch-black eyes held traces of restrained anger, along with a hint of embarrassment and mockery.
What had happened? Yun Si swept her gaze around the room. Yes, this was her room.
“Why is Your Highness here?” She looked at Qin Ye in confusion.
Qin Ye coldly tugged at the corner of his robe. Only then did Yun Si realize that her hand was tightly gripping his clothing and refusing to let go. She immediately released it.
Without saying a word, Qin Ye turned and left. After taking two steps, he suddenly stopped. “This prince was merely passing by. I never expected to hear you calling for your ‘little brother’ in your sleep. Interrupting such a pleasant dream of yours was truly unforgivable.”
“What?” Before Yun Si could process what he meant, Qin Ye had already opened the door and strode away.
Yun Si pressed her lips together. Why had she dreamed that dream again? Even now, she could not completely forget the feelings that experience had left behind. Thinking about it, it was strange.
Whenever she thought of Shen Qian now, all she felt was hatred and disgust. Little sadness or heartbreak remained. But whenever she thought of what had happened in that cave, a sense of regret and bittersweet longing still welled up in her heart. In truth, at the beginning, what she felt for Shen Qian was nothing more than friendship and sibling-like affection. She cared deeply for him and relied on him because he was the only person willing to take the initiative to approach her and show her kindness.
After the incident in the cave, however, Shen Qian said he wanted to marry her. That’s when her feelings for him changed noticeably, and she agreed to become engaged to him. At the time, she didn’t understand. She thought that was love. After their engagement, she became even more dependent on and trusting of him. Under his constant persuasion, she gradually cut herself off from almost everyone outside her immediate family. Aside from her parents and brothers, she barely maintained any outside connections at all.
Shen Qian would often tell her: “A-Si, people’s hearts are unpredictable. You must remember that in this world, I am the only one who truly cares about you and will never harm you.”
“You have to trust me. Don’t listen to what those people outside are saying.”
“A-Si, although you’re frail and sickly and know nothing about managing a household, I truly love you. I don’t care about your shortcomings. As long as you’re obedient, once we’re married, I’ll treat you well for the rest of my life.”
“You’re always so willful. No wonder those people don’t like you and don’t want to be your friends. I’m the only one willing to indulge you like this.”
“Everything I’m doing is for your own good. Your parents may not understand, but surely you do?”
Back then, it was as if she were trapped in a dense fog. No matter how hard she tried, she could not see clearly. For a long time, she genuinely believed that Shen Qian loved her. Otherwise, why would he spend so much time and effort patiently advising her? Looking back now, every one of those words had been a carefully crafted mental shackle.
Later, Qin Ye appeared and forcefully took her away. Only then did she briefly escape Shen Qian’s psychological control. Yet she couldn’t distinguish kindness from malice. Even after marrying Qin Ye, she continued to trust Shen Qian above all others, driving her already fragile relationship with Qin Ye to the breaking point, until it ended in tragedy. Some memories were simply too painful to revisit.
Yun Si got dressed and out of bed. The moment she opened the door, she found both Lan Xin and Lu Yu standing outside. Their faces were full of curiosity and barely concealed smiles.
Lu Yu, never one to mince words, blurted out, “Mistress, did His Highness spend the night in your room last night?”
They had been married for over a year, and this was the first time they had ever seen His Highness leaving their mistress’s room. Could it be that last night they had actually…
Lan Xin was equally excited and curious. “Mistress, did His Highness say when he would restore your status as Princess Consort?”
Yun Si tapped each of them lightly on the forehead. “I’m hungry. Go prepare breakfast for me.”
“Oh.” The two women left disappointed.
While she was eating, Lan Xin told Yun Si about Lin Shuyan’s situation.
To help her recover from her injuries, Lin Shuyan had moved into the residence and was now staying in Qiangwei Courtyard, near the main courtyard.
Nanny Qian had made the arrangement.
After hearing this, Yun Si calmly continued picking up food with her chopsticks. There wasn’t the slightest sign of anxiety on her face.
Lan Xin let out a long sigh. What happened to winning His Highness back? Could her mistress be planning to give up? That Miss Lin, although she seemed like a decent person, absolutely couldn’t be allowed to seize His Highness.
“Mistress!” Lu Yu came charging in from outside. “Something terrible has happened!”
“Can’t you be a little more composed?” Lan Xin shot her a glare and scolded, “Why are you always in such a panic?”
Lu Yu pursed her lips, not the least bit offended. “Mistress, something major has happened to the Shen family! Young Master Shen has gone missing. Even the Emperor has been alarmed. Both the Court of Judicial Review and the City Patrol Camp have been mobilized, and they’re searching the entire capital for him.”
“Is that so?” Upon hearing the news, Yun Si merely curled her lips ever so slightly.
The disappearance of a fourth-rank official was naturally no small matter. Everything was unfolding exactly as she had anticipated.
Neither the Court of Judicial Review nor the City Patrol Camp would ever think to look for Shen Qian in the secret chamber of the confiscated Yongyi Marquis Manor.
However, if a third person had known about Shen Qian’s actions that night, someone would certainly have pointed them toward the Marquis Manor. And whoever provided that clue would most likely be connected to the mysterious figure standing behind Shen Qian.
“Is His Highness in the residence?” Yun Si set down her chopsticks and rose.
The only people by her side were Lan Xin and Lu Yu. Neither knew any martial arts, so she could not entrust certain dangerous matters to them.
In her previous life, while following Qin Ye, she had learned that the struggle for the throne had been fierce. Several princes in the imperial court harbored ambitions of succession. Yet she could follow only Qin Ye. As a wandering spirit, she could see what was happening but hear nothing.
As a result, many things had been little more than guesses pieced together from what she saw. Even now, she still did not know the identity of the mysterious person who had secretly met with Shen Qian on the night of her death.
When Yun Si arrived at the main courtyard, she spotted Mu Ze, the commander of the residence’s guards, emerging from the study.
Mu Ze’s expression immediately darkened when he saw her.
That was the consequence of the way she had treated Qin Ye in the past. In this residence, apart from Lan Xin and Lu Yu, probably no one liked her.
Yun Si glanced at Mu Ze and caught the faint scent of blood lingering on him. “Were you injured as well when His Highness was attacked last night?”
“Wait.”
Without sparing Yun Si another glance, Mu Ze strode past her. He had not expected Yun Si, who had always been so proud and dismissive of everyone around her, to take the initiative to call out to him.
In truth, Yun Si didn’t look down on others. Back at the Marquis Manor, she had always treated the servants around her kindly. She had never considered herself superior simply because she was the young lady and they were servants. It was just that, at the time, she had loathed Qin Ye so much that she had taken her resentment out on the people around him.
“What is it?” Mu Ze was tall, straightforward, and hard-edged. Every emotion he felt was written plainly on his face, with no attempt to conceal it.
“Were the attackers from last night’s ambush very formidable?”
Noticing the slight bulge around his left shoulder, Yun Si guessed he had an injury there.
Mu Ze was highly skilled in martial arts, and Qin Ye’s abilities were even more unfathomable.
However, Qin Ye had always concealed the extent of his strength. Perhaps to avoid exposing himself, he had not personally taken action. Still, if someone had managed to wound Mu Ze, they were certainly not an opponent to be underestimated.
And if Lin Shuyan herself had staged the entire incident, then she was indeed quite capable.
Yun Si did not dare underestimate anyone who had been reborn.
“Why is Lady Yun asking that? If they weren’t formidable, how would we have been injured?” Mu Ze sounded impatient. After speaking, he turned to leave. Lately, merely seeing this woman irritated him. If not for her, His Highness would never have been summoned to the palace and reprimanded by the Emperor. Nor would he have been punished by being forced to kneel. Most importantly… Did this woman even have a heart?
Could everything His Highness had done for her earn even the slightest bit of gratitude?
Mu Ze felt it wasn’t worth it for Qin Ye.
Yun Si stepped forward and took out a bottle of the wound medicine she had prepared herself. “Take this. It should help your injury heal a little faster.”
At the sight of it, Mu Ze’s stern expression froze, and surprise flashed across his face.
“If Lady Yun has that kind of concern to spare, you’d be better off showing more concern for His Highness. I’m a rough man. My wounds heal quickly enough without medicine.”
“I’ll concern myself with His Highness.” Yun Si stuffed the medicine bottle directly into his hand. Without another word, she turned and headed toward Qin Ye’s study.
Mu Ze stared at the medicine bottle in his hand. A trace of disdain flashed through his eyes, and he casually tossed it into a nearby pile of hay.
Yun Si knew nothing about it. And even if she did, she would not have cared. She never expected the people in the residence to change their opinions of her immediately. Those prejudices had accumulated over a long period of time. Erasing them would require time as well.
The study door was open.
When Yun Si entered, Qin Ye was seated behind his desk, sorting through documents without even looking up. After she stepped inside, she closed the door, dragged a chair over to the opposite side of his desk, and sat down before speaking.
“Qin Ye, we need to talk.”
Qin Ye’s hands paused briefly. He looked up at her. “About what?”
“We need to be honest with each other.”
Meeting his gaze, Yun Si said solemnly, “There are misunderstandings between us. I want to explain them clearly.”
“Oh?” For the first time, an emotion other than indifference appeared on Qin Ye’s breathtakingly handsome face.
“What misunderstandings?” he asked. “Go on. This prince is listening.”
“I know that it wasn’t you who framed the Marquis Manor.”
“This isn’t the first time you’ve said that.”
“It was Shen Qian.”
The moment those words left Yun Si’s mouth, Qin Ye’s gaze faltered slightly.
She continued, “Do you think that even if you had put the evidence right in front of me, I still wouldn’t have believed that Shen Qian was the one who destroyed my entire family? That instead, I would have accused you of driving a wedge between us?”
Qin Ye remained silent. His silence was answer enough, and it made Yun Si let out a bitter laugh.
“There is a mysterious person behind Shen Qian. Somehow, they learned that my father possessed something detrimental to them. That item is very likely hidden within the confiscated Marquis Manor. Shen Qian has already gone there.”
“And how do you know he’s been there?”
“Because he’s currently locked in the secret chamber beneath my father’s study.”
Qin Ye frowned, his gaze turning complicated.
He seemed genuinely surprised. Perhaps he had never expected her to reveal something so secretive to him. At this very moment, the entire capital was in an uproar, searching for Shen Qian. If it became known that she was involved in his disappearance, the consequences for a disgraced official’s daughter with no one to protect her would be unimaginably severe. At the very least, this proved that she trusted him.
“Since Shen Qian is trapped in the secret chamber of the Marquis Manor, the mysterious person behind him must already have received the same information and know that he went there. So if we want to uncover that person’s identity, all we have to do is keep an eye on the Court of Judicial Review and the City Patrol Camp. The moment someone provides them with a clue…”
“Yun Si.” Qin Ye suddenly cut her off. “This matter ends here.”
“Why?” Thinking that he either didn’t believe her or simply didn’t want to help her, Yun Si abruptly rose to her feet. Leaning over the desk toward him, she locked eyes with him and asked, “Qin Ye, do you really not want me anymore?”