Sang Yao responded with an “oh,” then picked up her chopsticks again.

She lowered her gaze and said, “So… have you been talking to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince lately?”

Xie Yun replied, “Yes, I have.”

Sang Yao responded with another “oh,” then continued, “Has His Highness asked you anything?”

Xie Yun remained silent for a moment, then asked knowingly, “What do you mean exactly?”

Sang Yao started feeling uneasy again. She picked up a noodle and spoke softly, “Like, asking if you have any plans recently, or… about engagement or something.”

After a pause, she tried to justify herself, “Don’t think too much about it. I just asked casually because my cousin mentioned it that day, and she was curious.”

Xie Yun crossed his legs, his gaze quietly fixed on her.

“Why was your cousin curious?” he asked.                      

Sang Yao was caught off guard. Her hand holding the noodle paused slightly.

After a moment, she had a sudden inspiration and said slowly, “Probably because… she likes you?”

With so many people secretly admiring Xie Yun, adding her cousin to the list wouldn’t make much difference. Saying this seemed perfectly reasonable.

Xie Yun wasn’t surprised by this answer. However, Sang Yao’s signs of lying were too obvious; her guilt was practically written on her face. It would be better for her to tell him the truth.

He looked at the girl eating noodles in front of him. After a while, he said, “Then please tell your cousin that I currently have no such plans.”

He knew this couldn’t be true!

Sang Yao swallowed the noodle in her mouth and said, “Oh.”

As they fell into silence, there was a knock on the door, and Chen Ke’s voice came from outside, “Xie Yun, are you awake? I have something to discuss with you.”

Sang Yao was startled, her eyes widened. She suddenly put down the chopsticks in her hand and asked urgently, “What should I do?”

Xie Yun stood up, glanced at her indifferently, and said, “Nothing to do.”

He just invited Sang Yao to have a meal here; he didn’t see anything inappropriate about it.

But Sang Yao didn’t think so. The two of them, a man and a woman alone together in the room late at night— if this got out, people would think she was shameless.

Xie Yun walked over to open the door, showing no intention of hiding Sang Yao.

Sang Yao was getting anxious. She hastily stood up, even dropping the chopsticks on the porcelain bowl.

But this temple room was not like the palace; there was nowhere to hide.

At this moment, Xie Yun had reached the door.

He opened it, and Chen Ke walked in, holding a dispatch in his hand.

The sight of the porcelain bowl on the table and the fallen chopsticks caught Chen Ke’s attention first. He asked in surprise, “Xie Yun, haven’t you had dinner yet?”

Xie Yun turned around. The girl who should have been sitting at the table was nowhere to be seen. The room was empty except for his bed.

The neatly folded bedding was piled together, with a slight bulge in the middle of the bed.

It was really hard not to notice.

Xie Yun’s expression was complex, with a hint of speechlessness. He didn’t explain but asked directly, “What’s the matter?”

Chen Ke walked to the table, placed the dispatch on it, and sighed, “What else could it be? Last time you told me to pay attention to Li Zhishu, coincidentally, I had a favored disciple who was recently sent out there. I asked him to check it out, and the result is that you…”

“Guess what?”

“Li Zhishu didn’t initially enter officialdom because of outstanding talent recommended by local officials, but because he bought his way in. His positions weren’t high, but there was a lot of profit. Over the years, he has been steadily promoted and has even started selling positions in secret. Although they are all small positions in remote areas, if this becomes a trend, wouldn’t it be a disaster for the court?”

He said a lot in one breath, expecting Xie Yun to discuss with him how to deal with this person. However, he realized that Xie Yun didn’t seem to be paying much attention to what he was saying.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Xie Yun replied, “Nothing much.”

Chen Ke glanced at the room, his gaze falling on the messy bed. The bedding was piled together, and he felt like the middle part of the bed was raised a bit, but it didn’t matter. He understood and said, “Xie Yun, did you sleep early today?”

Xie Yun pursed his lips and nodded.

Chen Ke took a few steps forward, approaching the bed. He asked, “It’s still early, are you tired today?”

He continued, “By the way, Xie Yun, I heard that you haven’t been sleeping well these days. The pillows in Qiyang Temple are filled with night-blooming jasmine and ground green bean husks, which are good for sleep.”

He glanced at the bed and made a sound of surprise.

“Where’s your pillow?”

After looking around, he finally noticed that the pillow was covered by the blanket. Chen Ke clicked his tongue and said, “Xie Yun, you’re not honest when you sleep.”

As he reached out his hand…

Before he could say anything to stop him, Chen Ke’s hand had already touched the edge of the blanket.

Chen Ke raised his arm and gently lifted it. But it wouldn’t move?

Frowning, Chen Ke was puzzled, “What’s with this blanket?”

He applied a bit more force.

Xie Yun pursed his lips, unable to bear looking anymore.

After a back and forth, the blanket was lifted.

A girl wearing a pale pink chiffon dress was curled up on the bed, her long black hair covering her face, but her flushed complexion was still visible.

Chen Ke fell silent, and the room became eerily quiet.

The awkwardness spread silently.

Chen Ke’s hand, holding the edge of the blanket, froze in mid-air. He looked at Xie Yun’s cold face, then at the embarrassed and angry girl on the bed with her dress disheveled.

…This was a temple, how could things have gotten to this point?

Silence spoke louder than words.

After a while, he silently let go of the blanket and covered the girl again.

He tried to appear normal, “Haha… Xie Yun, you… You should have said earlier. Haha… Get some rest.”

After saying that, he immediately turned around, didn’t even take the dispatch, quickly left the room, and with a bang, closed the door.

In the silence, Xie Yun spoke first, “You can come out now.”

Sang Yao didn’t move, she was holding her head.

She didn’t want to come out at all.

Right now, she just wanted to die in the blankets.