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

Su Yaoyao remained expressionless and said to Chuntao and Jingzhe who were following behind her, "You two can go down first. I want to be alone for a while."

Chun Tao and Jing Zhe exchanged a worried glance. Jing Zhe looked around the room and vaguely sensed something, but seeing that Su Yao Yao's expression was normal, she pulled Chun Tao away, saying, "Miss, please call us if you need anything."

The door closed gently.

The room quieted down.

Su Yaoyao slowly walked to the dressing table and began to remove the hairpins and ornaments from her hair.

She put one after another back into the box... Her movements were unhurried, and her face, reflected in the bronze mirror, was excessively calm.

"Since you've come, sir..."

She spoke to the air, her voice flat, "Why haven't you shown yourself yet? Are you shy?"

There was a moment of silence.

A very soft, muffled laugh came from behind the screen.

Then, a figure flashed out.

The man was wearing a moon-white brocade robe, made of the finest cloud brocade, but it hung loosely on him, revealing a bare, lean chest.

He wore a silver mask, revealing only his beautifully shaped jawline and a pair of smiling, almond-shaped eyes.

His eyes, gleaming with an ambiguous light in the candlelight, stared intently at Su Yaoyao.

"Miss Su, you have quite the nerve." He lowered his voice deliberately, with a slightly seductive husky tone.

"A young woman confined to her chambers, upon seeing a strange man, neither cried out nor made a sound."

Su Yaoyao finally turned around, looked him up and down, and sneered: "Breaking into the Grand Tutor's mansion at night, Mr. Lu is quite bold."

The eyes behind the mask gleamed slightly: "Miss Su knows me?"

"Stop with the nonsense," Su Yaoyao sat down at the round table, poured herself a cup of cold tea, "I'm not in the mood today. Just get to the point, what do you want?"

Mr. Lu was taken aback by her blunt attitude, but then he laughed and walked over to her, deliberately leaning closer: "Of course... I want to make friends with Miss Su."

As he leaned over, his open collar swayed, and his bare chest almost touched the table.

Su Yaoyao glanced at it, expressionless: "Button up your clothes first."

"Um?"

"Your pectoral muscles are too small," she said calmly, taking a sip of tea. "They don't look good when they're exposed."

Mr. Lu: "..."

The air froze for three seconds.

Mr. Lu glanced down at his bare chest, his lips twitching. He silently raised his hand to gather his collar and buttoned up two buttons. When he looked up again, his eyes held a hint of resentment: "Miss Su speaks... so frankly."

Su Yaoyao ignored him and simply raised her chin: "Let's get down to business."

"Ahem." Mr. Lu cleared his throat, resuming his debonair demeanor. "I've heard a little about the scheme Miss Su set up. Aunt Liu is now heavily in debt; she's truly... quite the schemer."

He took two steps forward, stopping three feet away from her, his peach blossom eyes gleaming: "I wonder if I would have the honor of cooperating with Miss Su?"

"Not interested," Su Yaoyao replied crisply.

Mr. Lu choked again.

He clearly hadn't expected to be rejected so decisively.

She dressed up carefully, broke into the woman's room at night, and used her beauty and bait to entice the other party without the slightest hesitation.

The prepared words stuck in his throat, and it took him a while to find his voice: "Miss Su, why be so distant? There are still many places in this world where 'righteousness' is needed..."

"Mr. Lu," Su Yaoyao raised her eyes, her gaze sharp, "I presume you've already investigated thoroughly. Such heinous acts are only directed at the perpetrators. As for the rest..."

She gave a forced smile. "I'm not interested."

Mr. Deer was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

He took out a small celadon bottle from his pocket, held it in his palm, and handed it to her: "And what about this? I'm sure Miss Su would be interested."

Su Yaoyao's gaze fell on the bottle, but she didn't take it: "What is it?"

"A miraculous healing elixir made from the snow lotus of the northern frontier, combined with thirty-six rare medicinal herbs, takes three years to produce in a single batch." Mr. Lu lowered his voice, his tone enticing. "It has remarkable effects on internal injuries, and there's only one bottle left. I believe... Miss Su will find it useful."

Su Yaoyao's pupils contracted slightly.

She raised her eyes and stared at the smiling peach blossom eyes behind the mask: "Heh, you're quite well-informed."

The news of his brother's serious injury and coma reached the capital in less than two hours, and this person already knew about it and had prepared medicine.

"I'm a businessman," he said, shaking the porcelain bottle. "Information is naturally my top priority. I can give this medicine to Miss Su, if she agrees..."

"don't want."

"……what?"

Mr. Deer was stunned again.

He was stunned more times tonight than he had in the entire past year combined.

Why does this girl never play by the rules?

He took a deep breath, trying to maintain his composure: "Miss Su, please don't refuse so quickly. You don't know the value of this medicine. Only a small jar is produced every ten years in the snowy mountains of the Northern Frontier. It's priceless and unavailable, and countless military generals yearn for it but cannot obtain it..."

Su Yaoyao was already getting impatient and laid her cards on the table: "First, is this medicine or poison? Are you an enemy or a friend? I don't even know. Second..."

She paused, a bright yet cold smile playing on her lips: "I'm sure you've investigated me. Even if I agree to something now, I can easily go back on my word. I'm not a trustworthy person."

Mr. Lu: "..."

Su Yaoyao, however, calmly poured herself another cup of tea, placed it aside, and then looked up at him.

"Mr. Lu, you must be thirsty after talking for so long. Have a cup of tea."

Mr. Lu: "..."

He walked over silently and sat down on the round stool next to her.

Just as he was about to reach for the teacup,

Su Yaoyao quickly picked up the glass, saying, "This one's mine. I'm thirsty after talking to you for so long. Here, pour yourself."

Mr. Lu: "..."

He silently picked up another cup and poured himself some tea. The tea was indeed completely cold and tasted very bitter.

Su Yaoyao glanced at him: "Isn't the tea a little cold?"

"Hmm?" Mr. Lu paused, holding his teacup. "It's alright."

"Oh." Su Yaoyao took another sip of her tea, frowned, and said casually, "It's really awful. Send me some plum wine tomorrow."

Mr. Lu instinctively replied, "Okay."

……

……

He froze after he finished speaking.

Su Yaoyao looked at him with a half-smile.

An eerie silence fell over the room.

Mr. Lu's fingers tightened slowly around the teacup, and after a long while, he stiffly turned his head away.

Su Yaoyao looked at him leisurely, her face clearly showing an expression that said, "I've caught you."

"you……"

"With a brain like yours," Su Yaoyao stood up, walked up to him, leaned closer, and said, slowly and deliberately, "I really don't know how you made so much money."

She reached out and gently touched the silver mask on his face with her fingertips:

"He, Qing".