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

Before the cheers from the garden had even subsided, Su Yaoyao had already pushed through the crowd and stumbled toward Xie Yu.

Her face was deathly pale, and her mind was buzzing—Xie Yu's gaze was strange, definitely strange!

But before he could run a few steps, he heard the emperor laugh loudly, "General Xie! Quickly, come with me and tell me the details of this battle!"

Xie Yu was escorted by several ministers to the imperial study. Before leaving, he hurriedly glanced back at her, his lips moved, but he ultimately said nothing.

Su Yaoyao's vision went black, and her legs went weak.

An arm steadily supported her waist.

Xiao Chenyuan had appeared beside her without her noticing, his five fingers gripping her waist with a steady and restrained force.

He looked down at her, his voice low: "Be careful."

Su Yaoyao grabbed his arm, her fingertips icy cold: "Your Highness, my brother..."

Before she could finish speaking, her other hand had already grabbed her arm.

"Your Highness need not trouble yourself."

Jiang Jingchen, his face ashen, pulled Su Yaoyao from Xiao Chenyuan's grasp and held her protectively to his side.

His gaze towards the crown prince was clearly distant and wary:

"My own sister, I will take care of her myself."

He felt something was off all day.

The farce at the palace banquet was too coincidental. He had been away from his seat for so long, and his sister's hair was slightly disheveled, with water stains still clinging to her cheeks. The Crown Prince's robe also had barely perceptible wrinkles... and there was the handkerchief that Chu Qingzi had given him.

But now is not the time to pursue this matter.

Xiao Chenyuan remained calm, withdrew his hand, and said nothing.

Jiang Jingchen then looked down at Su Yaoyao, and seeing her distraught appearance, he felt both distressed and anxious.

He put his arm around her shoulder and led her outside, lowering his voice: "Let's get out of here first, there are too many people around—"

"Cousin!" Su Yaoyao grabbed Jiang Jingchen's arm tightly. "Xie Yu just now...is he my brother...What exactly happened? Do you know something?"

Her voice trembled violently, and her eyes were filled with panic.

Jiang Jingchen felt a pang of pain in his heart, but he suppressed his emotions and softened his voice: "Yaoyao, don't worry. The good news came suddenly, and I just heard about it myself... My cousin... he seems to have been injured... The military doctors will definitely do their best to treat him, so don't worry too much..."

"Are you injured?" Su Yaoyao stared intently at him. "Are you injured and you're making this face? Xie Yu's eyes are practically disappearing into the ground when he looks at me! Jiang Jingchen! Look at me—tell me the truth!"

She called out his full name, tears already streaming down her face.

Jiang Jingchen pursed his lips, not daring to look at her, unable to bring himself to say "it's just a minor injury."

Xiao Chenyuan suddenly spoke, his voice calm to the point of being cruel:

"Severely injured and in a coma, his fate is unknown."

"Crown Prince!" Jiang Jingchen suddenly looked up, his eyes blazing with fury. "You—"

"She has the right to know." Xiao Chenyuan met his gaze and said, word by word, "Keeping it from her will only make her suffer more."

Xiao Chenyuan's gaze fell on Su Yaoyao's instantly pale face. "Su Qingrun led light cavalry in pursuit of the routed Northern Desert army, but was ambushed and hit by three arrows, one of which was only half an inch away from her heart. The army doctor treated her in time, but she has not yet woken up."

Su Yaoyao felt dizzy and disoriented.

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Her vision blurred, and her ears were ringing. It felt like a boulder was pressing on her chest, making it hard to breathe.

Severely injured and in a coma... life or death unknown...

No wonder... no wonder Xie Yu had that expression...

Her hands trembled as she touched her neck—the cold wolf fangs pressed against her skin, their sharp edges digging painfully into her.

She vaguely recalled her past life, the brother who always saved the best food for her and clumsily braided her hair, and how he eventually lay on the hospital bed, emaciated and unrecognizable...

No...don't...

Why do we have to do it again...?

"I'm going to..." she murmured to herself, tears streaming down her face, "...no longer have a brother...?"

Looking into her empty eyes, Xiao Chenyuan felt as if something had clenched his heart tightly.

He reached out to help her, but Jiang Jingchen beat him to it.

Jiang Jingchen embraced Su Yaoyao and whispered, "Yaoyao, let's go home first. Grandfather and Father must have received the news by now. Let's go back and wait... The military report only said she was unconscious, it didn't say... If it didn't say, then it definitely will..."

"Waiting for what?" Su Yaoyao suddenly looked up, her eyes still filled with tears and despair. "Waiting for military news? Or... waiting for an obituary?"

Seeing her like this, Xiao Chenyuan felt a sudden pang in his heart. He closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, he had regained his usual composure.

"Ling Feng".

The guards, who had been hiding in the shadows, appeared silently.

"Go to the Imperial Hospital, take the head physician and a specialist in external injuries, and prepare fast horses." Xiao Chenyuan spoke extremely quickly.

"A guest from the Northern Desert, I will personally go to greet him—"

Ling Feng was taken aback: "Your Highness, this is not in accordance with the rules. The Ministry of Rites should be responsible for welcoming the delegation..."

"Go and do it."

"……yes!"

Ling Feng accepted the order and disappeared into the night in a flash.

Xiao Chenyuan then looked at Jiang Jingchen and said in a low voice, "Take good care of her."

Jiang Jingchen instantly understood his meaning—the Crown Prince was leaving the capital to go there in person…

Jiang Jingchen's expression was complex. He took a deep breath and bowed solemnly: "Your subject thanks Your Highness."

Xiao Chenyuan glanced at Su Yaoyao one last time, but ultimately said nothing more. He turned and left, his moon-white robes fluttering in the night wind.

Soon, news spread that the Crown Prince had personally gone out of the capital to welcome the Northern Desert delegation.

With everyone having their own thoughts, the scandal at the lotus pond seemed to have been temporarily suppressed.

Jiang Jingchen half-supported, half-carried Su Yaoyao as they walked out through the chaotic crowd. Su Yaoyao seemed completely lost, her steps unsteady, relying entirely on him for support.

Only after she boarded the carriage at the Jiang residence and the curtains were drawn, shutting out the noise outside, did Su Yaoyao seem to catch her breath, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

Jiang Jingchen felt a pang of sadness at the sight. He took out his handkerchief to wipe her tears, but his fingertips touched the pale white silk handkerchief hidden in his sleeve.

He paused.

After a moment of silence, he took out the handkerchief embroidered with epiphyllum flowers and handed it to Su Yaoyao.

"This... is yours, right?"

Su Yaoyao slowly raised her eyes, looked at the small character "Yao" on the corner of the handkerchief, and nodded.

"Keep it safe." Jiang Jingchen lowered his voice, gritting his teeth, "If there's a next time... even if it means incurring the Crown Prince's wrath, I won't let you do anything foolish."

Su Yaoyao held the handkerchief, her fingertips tracing the fine embroidery on it, and asked softly, "Where did you come from?"

"Chu Qingzi found it." Jiang Jingchen looked away. "She gave it to me."

Su Yaoyao paused.

Chu Qingzi…that daughter of the Prime Minister. She had already sensed that this woman was no ordinary person at the banquet today, but she never expected that the woman would secretly help her.

"What did she say?" Su Yaoyao asked.

"Just say 'I won't tell,'" Jiang Jingchen rubbed his temples. "But looking at her eyes... she probably guessed something."

Su Yaoyao remained silent for a moment, then carefully tucked the handkerchief into her bosom.

The carriage fell silent, with only the sound of wheels rolling over the cobblestones.

After a long silence, Jiang Jingchen finally spoke in a low voice, "Yaoyao, the Crown Prince..."

"Cousin," Su Yaoyao interrupted him, her eyes now calm as she looked up, "I don't have time to think about those things right now."

She paused, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the wolf fang pendant on her chest, her voice soft yet firm:

"I have to wait for my brother... to come back safely..."

In the distance, from the direction of the palace gate, the faint sound of horses' hooves could be heard—it was the Crown Prince's cavalry leaving the capital, and they had already set off.

It was already late at night when they returned to the Grand Tutor's residence.

Su Yaoyao paused slightly as she pushed open the door.

anyone?