Ever since discovering that he could hear Miss Lin’s thoughts, he had been deliberately staying close to her—intentionally or not—just to uncover more secrets.

Today, when Wang Yu mentioned that the girl had gone to Yan Hong Lou, he hesitated for a moment but still decided to come.

He was worried that something might happen to her, and if she got into trouble, he wouldn’t be able to extract more valuable information from her.

As it turned out, coming here was the right choice.

He had heard quite a lot today.

Meanwhile, Lin Yuxin hugged the beauty and drank for a full hour.

After an hour, she wobbled to her feet under the pretense of using the restroom.

Once she was alone, she took a pill from her pocket and swallowed it.

After a moment, she finally sobered up a bit.

Then, without hesitation, she turned and headed straight for the backyard.

As she walked, she searched her surroundings. Soon, she found the kitchen of Yan Hong Lou.

Before she even reached it, she heard scolding and the sound of blows from inside.

“You useless fool! If you weren’t somewhat good-looking, I wouldn’t have even bothered to buy you! You can’t even cook properly? I’ll beat you to death, you worthless thing!”

“Slap! Slap!”

The sound of someone being struck echoed from within.

Lin Yuxin quickly ran over and hid beneath the window, peeking inside.

Inside, a young boy was being beaten by a plump woman.

The boy, however, simply covered his head and remained silent, enduring the pain with a look of utter despair in his eyes.

Lin Yuxin furrowed her brows as she took in the scene.

[So, this is the emperor’s long-lost son? He’s really pitiful! This boy has had a miserable life. He was switched at birth and ended up in the Qiu family.]

[But the man of that house was a gambler. When this boy was five, his father was beaten to death over gambling debts. The debt collectors then took the boy as payment, and because of his delicate features, he was sold to Yan Hong Lou.]

[Since he was still too young, he was assigned to the kitchen. It wasn’t until he turned eighteen that the emperor reclaimed him. But because he had spent years in a brothel, he was immediately cast aside in the struggle for the throne.]

[Yet, despite everything, this very boy would one day become emperor. The first thing he did upon ascending the throne was to wipe out Yan Hong Lou. Due to his experiences, his temper was extremely unpredictable—one wrong move and he would have someone executed.]

[But despite his ruthlessness, he led the Xia Kingdom to become the strongest of the four nations. He truly is a controversial figure. If I save him now, will he protect my Lin family in the future if he becomes emperor?]

With that thought, Lin Yuxin pulled out a slingshot from her pocket, along with a small pill.

She loaded the pill and shot it toward the woman inside.

The pill shattered in the air—colorless and odorless.

[One, two, three!]

“Thud!”

A dull sound followed as something heavy hit the ground.

Lin Yuxin covered her nose and mouth, swiftly entering through the front door.

She scooped up the child and ran toward the back entrance.

Li Xiaocheng, who had been secretly watching, was still in shock from realizing that the boy was a royal prince.

But before he could process it further, he saw Lin Yuxin running off with the child.

This woman… Is she actually interfering with imperial succession? Has she lost her mind?

After a brief moment of silence, he decided to chase after her.

When Lin Yuxin finally left Yan Hong Lou, she found it surprisingly easy to get out.

[With this kid’s identity, it’s not safe for him outside. I’ll take him home first. Once he recovers, he can decide for himself what to do next.]

Looking at the unconscious child in her arms, Lin Yuxin hesitated for a moment before running toward the Lin residence.

Li Xiaocheng watched her disappear into the Lin residence before vanishing into the night, returning to the Regent’s Manor.

“Your Highness!”

Wang Yu immediately stepped forward upon seeing his lord return.

Li Xiaocheng changed into a fresh set of clothes, then emerged from behind the screen, sitting down at his desk.

His fingers tapped rhythmically on the surface as he pondered for a while before speaking.

“Wang Yu, investigate someone for me.”

…

Meanwhile, Lin Yuxin carefully carried the child into her courtyard, gently placing him on her bed before checking his pulse.

“How many days has he gone without food? He passed out from hunger? And with long-term malnutrition on top of it, plus all these injuries from being beaten… It’s a miracle he’s even alive.”

His pulse was weak but stable—his poor health would have to be nursed back slowly.

Lin Yuxin retrieved some medicinal herbs from her spatial storage, brewed a healing tonic, and carefully fed it to the boy.

Then she administered a few acupuncture needles to relieve his pain.

She also applied medicine to his wounds. By the time she finished, dawn was breaking.

Since she had already stayed up all night, she decided not to sleep. Instead, she instructed her maid to prepare breakfast and bring it to her room.

After finishing her meal, Lin Yuxin told Xiaodie to take care of the child before heading to her mother’s courtyard.

“Mother!!!”

Her voice arrived before she did.

“Am I hearing things?”

Lin Shaoyang rubbed his temples in disbelief.

“No way, didn’t she run away from home? She shouldn’t be back this early, right?”

Lin Chenglie also shook his head.

No one expected that someone who had run away just last night would return so soon.

But Lin Yuxin didn’t care.

Since no one knew she had left, she decided to act as if nothing had happened.

“Mother, big brother, second brother! You’re all here!”

Lin Yuxin greeted them cheerfully upon entering.

[Big brother, do you have too much free time at home? Second brother, is business not going well? Why are you both always here?]

The two brothers twitched slightly at her words, rubbing their noses.

They had things to do too, okay?

Zhao Hanya, however, simply smiled at her daughter without questioning her, instead asking gently, “Have you eaten? Do you want to join us?”

“Mother, I’ve already eaten. I actually came here today to talk about something. Um… Last night, I saved someone. Can I keep him here?”

Lin Yuxin asked nervously.

“Someone? Who?”

Zhao Hanya asked curiously.

“Uh… Just a little boy. He was being abused, and I couldn’t bear to leave him.”

Lin Yuxin explained vaguely, definitely not daring to mention that she had been to a brothel.

[An emperor’s son, and a future emperor at that—this boy is a big deal!]

Lin Chenglie and Lin Shaoyang were both shocked, and even Zhao Hanya was visibly startled.

How is it that their sister’s courage keeps growing?

She even dares to meddle in royal affairs now?

“What do you plan to do with him?”

Zhao Hanya, experienced as she was, quickly regained her composure and asked her daughter.

“I’d like to keep him for now, at least until he recovers. He’s suffered a lot… He’s really pitiful.”

Lin Yuxin replied thoughtfully.

[I have to keep this boy. He may be a tyrant in the future, but he’s also a wise ruler. We’ll see what happens later. For now, raising him might come in handy.]

“Alright, let’s keep him for now.”

Zhao Hanya saw that her daughter had already made up her mind and didn’t object.

Given the boy’s status, they couldn’t just throw him out anyway.

“Alright then, Mother, I’ll head back now. The child is still sleeping—I need to check on him.”

With that, Lin Yuxin got up and left.

“This girl… So reckless.”

Zhao Hanya shook her head with a helpless smile, watching her daughter’s retreating figure.