The abstinent prince, practicing Buddhism, is seduced by a voluptuous beauty into breaking his vows.

Back in the bedroom, Xiao Chenyuan immediately embraced her from behind, his tone laced with unyielding coldness and obsession.

"We shouldn't have kept her. Even the most delicate creature from a den of vipers carries venom."

Su Yaoyao turned around, reached out and hooked her hand on his jade belt, stood on tiptoe and pecked him on the lips.

"Why is Your Highness in such a hurry? We might as well take advantage of a pawn that's been delivered to our door. With her in Shou Kang Palace, we can't figure out the Empress Dowager's intentions. By keeping her under our noses, we can know immediately if the Empress Dowager makes any move."

"But I'm afraid she'll hurt you." Xiao Chenyuan tightened his arms, holding her firmly in his embrace, his phoenix eyes filled with possessiveness.

"In this Eastern Palace, no one but me can get even half a step close to you, let alone take any risks for you."

"Your Highness, rest assured." Su Yaoyao pinched his taut jawline, her eyes gleaming with confidence. "Her little tricks are nothing to me."

She had barely finished speaking when the rustling sound of a fan came from outside the door, and He Qing's cheerful voice drifted in:

"What the master said is true. This pretentious little white lotus has such a scheming look in her eyes that it's almost overflowing. She can only fool those blind men."

He Qing entered, fanning himself with a gold-flecked folding fan. His crimson robe accentuated the alluring beauty mark at the corner of his eye, and his peach-blossom eyes curved in a smile.

His gaze fell on Su Yaoyao, full of smiles.

Xiao Chenyuan's face instantly darkened, and he glanced at him coldly: "Who let you in?"

He Qing raised an eyebrow, his smile smug and inviting. "When Master is in trouble, I naturally have to come and protect him immediately. But my cousin, he makes Master take even this small risk; he's utterly useless."

"My wife is none of your business." Xiao Chenyuan pulled Su Yaoyao behind him, his aura growing even colder.

"If you utter another word, I'll throw you out of the Eastern Palace right now."

"Alright, alright, you two scoundrels, stop arguing." Su Yaoyao stepped out from behind Xiao Chenyuan, glaring at the two of them with annoyance.

She looked at He Qing and directly instructed, "Keep an eye on those two old women in the west courtyard and see how they contact Shou Kang Palace in private and what messages they send."

"I will obey my master's orders, even at the cost of my life."

He Qing immediately closed her folding fan, bowed in agreement, and looked at her with bright, sparkling peach blossom eyes, her smile full of charm.

"I guarantee that the owner will find out everything clearly, without missing a single hair."

Xiao Chenyuan's face darkened further. Just as he was about to speak, Su Yaoyao turned around, stood on tiptoe, and covered his mouth, winking at him.

"Your Highness, important matters come first. Once we've dealt with that old hag, the Empress Dowager, you two can argue however you want; I won't stop you."

He gently kissed her on the palm of his hand. Su Yaoyao's hand trembled, and she quickly withdrew it, glaring at him.

This person is never serious.

He Qing watched this scene, a hint of loneliness flashing in his eyes, before he put on his usual carefree smile again and turned to go out to take care of his business.

In the afternoon, Su Yaoyao used the excuse of delivering snacks and ointment to go to the west courtyard and tested Shen Qinghe twice more.

But Shen Qinghe remained gentle, weak, and timid throughout, expressing her gratitude with tears in her eyes, repeatedly calling out "Your Highness the Crown Princess, save me!" without revealing the slightest flaw.

Only when Su Yaoyao mentioned Shen Qingning would a complex look flash in her eyes, which was then covered by fear.

Su Yaoyao could see clearly that either the Empress Dowager had a fatal weakness over this girl, or she had long been on the same side as the Empress Dowager.

Either way, keeping people under one's nose is better than leaving them in the Shou Kang Palace and letting the Empress Dowager operate in secret.

As evening fell, the setting sun bathed the courtyard in its golden light.

Su Yaoyao leaned against Xiao Chenyuan's chest, sat on the veranda watching the sunset, and told him about the results of her afternoon's probing.

Xiao Chenyuan held her hand, his fingertips gently stroking her fingertips, and whispered:

"Everything is arranged. The area around the west wing is full of my people. She and those two old women can't escape my eyes no matter what they do."

"That's good." Su Yaoyao turned around, straddled his lap, hooked her arms around his neck, and smiled seductively.

"By the way, Your Highness, what I said this morning still stands. If you behave well tonight, you won't be punished by sleeping in the study."

Xiao Chenyuan's arms tightened instantly, gripping her waist. He lowered his head and bit her earlobe, his voice low, husky, and hot:

"Oh? How does Madam wish me to perform?"

"Then it depends on Your Highness's abilities." Su Yaoyao whispered in his ear, her breath sweet as orchids, and said something flirtatious, causing Xiao Chenyuan to catch his breath and lower his head to kiss her.

Their lips intertwined, filled with a sweet and ambiguous atmosphere.

As night deepened and dinner was finished, Xiao Chenyuan finally released her, gently patting the top of her head with a sigh.

"There are still a few important memorials to approve. I'm going to my study now and will be back soon."

"Go ahead, go ahead." Su Yaoyao nudged him, smiling mischievously.

"If the approval is slow, tonight's perk will be gone."

Xiao Chenyuan chuckled softly, planted a kiss on her forehead, and turned to go to his study.

Su Yaoyao nestled on the soft couch, telling Chuntao about visiting Shen Qingning the next day, while pondering how to extract more details about Shen Qinghe from Shen Qingning.

Meanwhile, in the study.

The candlelight flickered as Xiao Chenyuan sat behind his desk, a vermilion brush between his fingers, annotating composing memorials.

Ling Feng stood guard outside the study door, never leaving its side.

As the night deepened, the courtyard became so quiet that only the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves could be heard.

Suddenly, a very light footstep sound came.

Ling Feng looked up and saw Shen Qinghe carrying a food box, walking over shakily.

She was wearing only a thin, plain white dress, shivering slightly in the night wind, her long hair loosely tied up, making her look even more pitiful.

"Stop!" Ling Feng immediately blocked her path with his sword, his voice cold and hard.

"This is a restricted area of ​​the study; Miss Shen is not permitted to trespass."

Shen Qinghe trembled in fright, the food box in her hand wobbling. She quickly stopped and said aggrievedly,

"Yes, it was the Empress Dowager's order..."

She spoke so pitifully, her eyes were red, and it was hard to refuse her.

In the study, Xiao Chenyuan heard the conversation outside. His hand holding the pen paused, a cold glint flashing in his phoenix eyes. He said calmly, "Let her in."

Ling Feng was stunned for a moment. Although he was puzzled, he still sheathed his sword and stepped aside to make way for him.

Shen Qinghe quickly thanked her, picked up the food box, and walked unsteadily into the study.

The study was filled with the smoke of burning sandalwood.

She walked to the desk, carefully placed the food box down, took out the bowl of still-steaming calming soup, held it with both hands, and handed it to Xiao Chenyuan, her voice timid:

"Your Highness, please have some soup. It will warm you up and calm your mind."

Xiao Chenyuan raised his eyes, his phoenix eyes devoid of any warmth, and coldly glanced at her, not even taking the bowl of soup.

"What exactly does the Empress Dowager want with you?!"

Shen Qinghe bit her lip, her fingers trembling slightly, but she still placed the soup on the desk. Her eyes instantly reddened, and tears welled up in them.

"Your Highness... I know that neither you nor the Crown Princess believe me. But I truly have no other choice. The Empress Dowager... she's using my sister's life to blackmail me. I... I have no choice..."

As she spoke, tears streamed down her face. Her body went limp, and she stumbled, falling into Xiao Chenyuan's arms.

Xiao Chenyuan abruptly stood up, dodging sharply to the side, his eyes as cold as ice, every word laced with murderous intent.

"roll."

Shen Qinghe fell heavily to the ground, her face turning pale with pain, and she cried even harder, looking extremely aggrieved.

Just then, Xiao Chenyuan's expression suddenly changed.

A strange heat surged up from his dantian, spreading through his blood vessels to his entire body. His limbs and bones felt like they were on fire, and even his mind began to become somewhat blurred.

He clenched his fists tightly, veins bulging on his forehead, and his phoenix eyes instantly turned crimson.

He stared intently at Shen Qinghe on the ground, then his gaze swept sharply over the untouched bowl of calming soup on the desk—

The medicine isn't in the soup!

He suddenly looked up at the doors and windows. Among the sandalwood incense lingering in the air, a very faint and sweet fragrance had somehow seeped in. That sweet fragrance had silently permeated the entire study.

Shen Qinghe was walking step by step toward the infatuated Crown Prince.