“Hehehe, I thought it was some shameless scoundrel sneaking into my room.”

Lin Yuxin forced a laugh.

[Who would’ve thought the Regent Prince would break into a woman’s chamber at night? But what is Li Xiaocheng doing here? Could it be… he’s fallen for my beauty? No, no, I may enjoy admiring handsome men, but if it gets serious, I’d be scared!]

Her mind was running wild.

She couldn’t figure out why the Regent Prince was here since this wasn’t something he would typically do.

“My lord, may I ask what brings you here?”

Lin Yuxin carefully leaned back a little, cautiously asking.

Seeing her nervous expression, Li Xiaocheng loosened his grip and let her go.

He straightened his robe, walked over to the round table in the room, and sat down.

Then he tapped the table and said coldly:

“Sit. I have serious business with you.”

Seeing his serious demeanor, Lin Yuxin knew he wasn’t joking and immediately relaxed.

She walked over, sat down, and asked:

“Go ahead! It’s only been a day, and you’re already looking for me. What’s the matter?”

“I had people investigate what you told me. The envoy sent by Qi Kingdom this time is the Third Prince, Qu Shubai. Accompanying him, besides a second-rank official, is a princess known as Princess Chenfu.”

Li Xiaocheng directly reported the information his subordinate Wang Yu had gathered that day.

He wasn’t sure why, but he felt compelled to come here—like he was missing something if he didn’t hear this girl’s thoughts.

“Princess Chenfu? No one else?”

Lin Yuxin frowned.

“No one else.”

Li Xiaocheng shook his head.

Lin Yuxin stroked her chin, deep in thought.

[Princess Chenfu… If it’s her, no wonder the assassination attempt succeeded. Princess Chenfu’s real name is Liu Qingyan. She was originally the daughter of a fifth-rank official, but through her own abilities, she was granted the title of princess by the emperor.]

[Later, she even helped the Qi Emperor, who was over forty, successfully ascend the throne. The emperor wanted to make her a princess of the imperial family, but she refused. This woman holds immense power in Qi Kingdom.]

[But her participation in the state banquet in our Xia Kingdom has another purpose…!]

Lin Yuxin suddenly looked up at the man sitting across from her, her eyes filled with disdain.

[At first, according to the plot, I thought she was here to assassinate the emperor, and Li Xiaocheng was just injured while saving him. But now it seems like the emperor got dragged into this mess because of this man. Talk about a face that brings disaster! Li Xiaocheng! If you hadn’t rejected her so thoroughly back then, would she really have come all this way to kill you?]

[If she can’t have him, she’ll destroy him. This woman is ruthless, and she has so many tricks up her sleeve she could build an ant colony! Looks like saving this prince is going to be tough.]

[If all else fails, maybe I should let him take one for the team? Let him get poisoned or injured first, and then I’ll swoop in and save him? I have plenty of good medicine anyway.]

Li Xiaocheng sat in silence, watching Lin Yuxin’s ever-changing expressions—frowning one moment, gritting her teeth the next, then smile her lips.

It was rather amusing.

However, after hearing her thoughts, he frowned. What nonsense is she thinking? When did I ever know this Princess Chenfu?

And when he heard her planning to let him get hurt first, he wanted to hit someone.

“What are you thinking about? Making faces like that?”

Li Xiaocheng interrupted her wild thoughts.

“Huh? Oh, nothing!”

Lin Yuxin snapped back to reality and awkwardly replied.

“What’s your opinion on Princess Chenfu?”

Li Xiaocheng asked again.

“My lord, Princess Chenfu has a peculiar personality and holds a special status in Qi Kingdom. You should be careful.”

Lin Yuxin sighed and gave him a vague warning.

[This woman is such a headache. Her status is too special, and we can’t touch her. If I remember correctly, Qi Kingdom started a war with us because of her in the original story. If worst comes to worst… my lord, maybe you should just marry her? Sacrifice yourself to bring peace to both nations!]

Lin Yuxin had already considered the worst-case scenario but didn’t dare say it out loud, fearing Li Xiaocheng might kill her.

Li Xiaocheng gritted his teeth. This damned girl!

Suddenly, he reached out, grabbed Lin Yuxin’s arm, and pulled her into his embrace, locking her in place.

“Ah! My lord!”

Lin Yuxin was stunned. By the time she regained her senses, she was already in Li Xiaocheng’s arms. What is he doing?!

She tried to struggle but quickly realized his arms were like two mountains—completely unmovable.

“My lord? What exactly are you trying to do? You didn’t come all the way here just to tease me, did you?”

Lin Yuxin asked expressionlessly.

“I’m not doing anything. I’m just curious… You care so much about me and fear that I’ll be seduced by another woman. Could it be that you… admire me?”

Li Xiaocheng lifted her chin, holding her head still as he slowly leaned in closer.

“???”

[Narcissism is a disease, and it needs treatment.]

Lin Yuxin rolled her eyes. But since she was trapped, she didn’t dare say it out loud. Instead, she forced a smile and said:

“My lord is Xia Kingdom’s hero. Who in the country doesn’t admire you? The noble ladies out there would fight tooth and nail to marry you! Hehehe!”

“What about you?”

Li Xiaocheng pressed on.

“Me? What about me? Hehe!!”

Lin Yuxin played dumb.

Li Xiaocheng stared at her without speaking further.

[Why are you looking at me like that? Never seen a beauty before? You only know how to bully weak girls like me. If you have the guts, go deal with your annoying admirer instead!]

Lin Yuxin was fuming inside. [I should’ve kept my mouth shut instead of warning this annoying man. Now he’s taking advantage of me!]

A trace of amusement flashed in Li Xiaocheng’s eyes before he finally let her go.

The moment he released her, Lin Yuxin bolted to the farthest corner of the room.

Li Xiaocheng didn’t mind her reaction. He stood up and said:

“If this information is true, then I owe you a favor. But don’t get involved in this matter any further.”

“Got it!”

Lin Yuxin was still annoyed with him, so her tone wasn’t very friendly.

The Regent Prince didn’t say anything else. In a flash, he disappeared from sight.

Lin Yuxin blinked. [Was that lightness skill? It looks even better than Xue Ying’s!]

[Pah! Li Xiaocheng, you bastard. You dared to touch me? Next time, I’m poisoning you to death!]

That night, Lin Yuxin barely slept.

She dreamt of Li Xiaocheng touching her all over and then trying to kiss her.

She woke up in terror.

The next morning, Lin Yuxin made up her mind—after the state banquet, she would stay far, far away from Li Xiaocheng!

When she stepped out of her room, she saw Xiao Hao practicing martial arts with Xue Ying in the courtyard. He was holding a horse stance, his arms and legs trembling, but he refused to give up.

[No wonder he’s a future emperor. Such perseverance.]

“Xiao Hao, keep it up!”

After cheering him on, Lin Yuxin returned to her room, grabbed the gift she had prepared for her grandfather, and headed to her mother’s courtyard.

“Mother?”

As soon as she stepped inside, she saw him—her scumbag father was there!