Only then did Song Lianhe smile in satisfaction. She wrapped her arms tightly around him and buried her face in his chest, the corners of her lips turning up in a happy smile.

’I was so afraid he’d be heartbroken and turn into the great villain from the novel. It took me so long and so much effort to guide him onto the right path. I absolutely can’t let some Zhou Ye ruin it all!’

Zhou Cangyan stroked her hair and chuckled, patting her back gently. "Wait here for a moment. I’m going to see someone."

"Who?" Song Lianhe asked, confused, and looked around blankly.

’Weren’t all of Zhou Ye’s men taken away? Who else could be here?’

Zhou Cangyan didn’t explain, but instead whispered something in her ear.

Song Lianhe froze for a second. She gave him a suspicious look but didn’t press for details. Instead, she rummaged through the satchel she carried and handed him something.

"This is all that’s left. It doesn’t need an antidote, but you’ve seen what it does when it takes effect. Even a man of iron couldn’t withstand it."

She said this deliberately, watching him with a wary eye.

Zhou Cangyan let out a laugh and tucked the item away. "I’m not going to take it."

’Only then did Song Lianhe feel at ease. It didn’t matter what he planned to do with it, as long as he wasn’t the one taking it.’

Zhou Cangyan turned and called his men over. "Protect the Princess Consort."

"Yes!"

Song Lianhe didn’t ask any more questions and just stood there obediently, watching him go.

Zhou Cangyan walked toward the woods nearby, and his figure quickly vanished.

Song Lianhe frowned. ’Who could possibly be in there?’

After entering the woods, Zhou Cangyan soon came to a stop. In the sunlight, his light-brown eyes shimmered like glass beads, mysterious and chillingly remote.

"Come out."

The sound of footsteps slowly emerged from behind him.

Zhou Cangyan turned to face the approaching Yan Jiayu.

"Prince Yongdong personally leading men to capture me... that was your handiwork, wasn’t it, General?"

"No need to thank me."

Yan Jiayu was direct, his manner suggesting it was only to be expected.

Zhou Cangyan let out a short laugh. "Aren’t you afraid I’ll kill you?" His gaze, fixed on the other man, gradually took on an icy sheen.

"As for the Princess Consort’s matter, you can’t blame me for that."

Yan Jiayu leaned against a tree trunk, cradling his blade. He lifted his gaze to eye Zhou Cangyan. "On the contrary, you should be grateful to me. If I hadn’t kept my word, it wouldn’t have just been her. The lives of everyone in Sishui City would have been forfeit."

That sort of talk might fool others, but Zhou Cangyan scoffed at it. "Are my fifty thousand troops stationed outside the city just for show?"

Yan Jiayu didn’t bother being coy. He nodded seriously. "Fine. I stand corrected. The people of Sishui City should indeed thank you. But when it comes to Song Lianhe, you still owe me your gratitude for keeping my word!"

Zhou Cangyan gave him a cold look but didn’t refute the claim.

’If the one who’d made that bet with Song Lianhe that day hadn’t been him, but his full brother, Yan Shaji, the consequences were indeed predictable.’

"Alright, let’s get down to business."

Yan Jiayu eyed him and said unhurriedly, "I’ve already handed Zhou Ye over to you. Where is my thank-you gift?"

Zhou Cangyan paced toward him. "The ’evidence’ of Heir Yan’s death is already on Prince Xin’s desk."

"Oh?" Yan Jiayu raised an eyebrow. "My father is suspicious by nature. He doesn’t trust anyone easily."

"Which is why the evidence I prepared for him is full of holes."

Yan Jiayu frowned.

"The more suspicious a person is, the more they doubt evidence that seems flawless and meticulously detailed. Giving him holes to pick at gives him the opportunity to continue digging for the ’truth’ on his own."

After hearing him out, Yan Jiayu let out a derisive snort. He squinted, his gaze full of wariness.

"It seems choosing to work with you was the best decision I could have made."

"You flatter me, General," Zhou Cangyan said, though his tone was anything but modest. "After all, our goals are aligned."

Yan Jiayu lowered his gaze, his voice soft, but several degrees colder. "Back then, my aunt already had a lover. She threatened to kill herself to avoid the political marriage, but my father forced her lover to his death and then forced her onto the bridal sedan. I’m sure she hates my father to her very bones. We people of Nanchen are fierce and vengeful over the slightest grievance. My aunt is now pretending to join forces with my father to help Zhou Gaosuo fight for the throne, but she’s merely using him. Once Zhou Gaosuo takes that seat, the first person she’ll move against will be my own father."

Zhou Cangyan gave a cold smirk. "And perhaps it’s not just Prince Xin she wants to deal with."

Yan Jiayu looked at him but said nothing.

He seemed to understand Zhou Cangyan’s implication.

Zhou Cangyan continued, "Prince Xin’s ambitions toward Da Cheng... no, *your Nanchen’s* ambitions toward Da Cheng have never died. Prince Xin is helping his nephew for no other reason than to prop up one of his own. Consort Zhao Hui is the same. If I were her, I’d take advantage of Nanchen’s internal turmoil to install my own person on the throne. That person would certainly not be Prince Xin. Especially since you, General Yan, are a formidable warrior with military authority. Who’s to say you won’t become a blade aimed at Da Cheng in the future? So, in the end, whether Nanchen remains Nanchen, or becomes a vassal of Da Cheng, is still up in the air."

Yan Jiayu’s expression was grim, his eyes growing colder still.

Zhou Cangyan glanced at him and chuckled. "I’m sure you’ve considered all this, General. I’m merely offering a reminder. A woman who could win the Holy Emperor’s deep favor for nearly twenty years after losing the love of her life is by no means a simple person."

Yan Jiayu raised his eyes and looked at him coolly. "In that case, simply framing her for the Princely Heir’s death won’t be enough. And for my father... merely losing one son won’t be enough either."

"Oh?"

Zhou Cangyan watched him, then a slow smile spread across his face.

He reached into his robes, took out a porcelain vial, and tossed it to him.

Yan Jiayu caught it.

"The effects last for half an hour. For that half an hour, the pain is worse than death. It requires no antidote; the effects will wear off on their own."

Yan Jiayu understood. He tightened his grip on the vial. ’Half an hour is more than enough.’

"This medicine... it came from your own hand, didn’t it, King Qing?"

Zhou Cangyan’s face instantly turned cold. "She is my woman."

Sometimes, it’s as if men share a certain tacit understanding; a single look or a single word is all it takes to know the other’s intent.

This is especially true among powerful men.

Zhou Cangyan knew that Yan Jiayu saw Song Lianhe in a special light. Even if it was merely admiration, he wouldn’t allow it!

Yan Jiayu, however, wasn’t the least bit embarrassed. Instead, he admitted it freely. "No woman has ever caught my eye before. She is the first."

He sensed the killing intent coming from the man opposite him.

Yan Jiayu continued, his tone still unhurried, "King Qing need not be so angry. I am above snatching another man’s wife. However..."

He paused for a moment, then gave a slight smile.

It was the first time he had smiled since they’d been in contact.

"Your Highness, Prince Qing, you should take good care of yourself. If, by some chance... you were to die an untimely death, you needn’t worry about your Princess Consort. I would be more than happy to take care of her."

Zhou Cangyan’s eyes went dangerously cold. "You’re courting death!"

At that moment, Song Lianhe was squatting on the ground, bored, playing with pebbles.

’I wonder who he went to see,’ she thought. ’He’s been gone for so long.’

Just then, someone exclaimed, "What’s going on in the woods? It sounds like... someone’s fighting!"

Startled, Song Lianhe shot to her feet. She could hear the clang of weapons from the woods, and then, a tree was suddenly cut down, falling to the ground with a tremendous CRASH.

Then a second tree fell, and a third...