The Dark Moonlight returns to the capital, and the mad prince is accused of forcing love.

In the stands.

Lin Zuo'an leaned forward, his eyes fixed on the flamboyant figure in blue on the field.

"How could this be... how could she play polo..."

Hearing the noise, Qin Miaoyun gripped the fan in her hand even tighter.

"Zuo An," she said in a low voice, with a hint of accusation, "didn't you just say she can't play polo?"

Lin Zuo'an hurriedly averted his gaze and said dryly, "Perhaps it was General Chu who gave us a few pointers on the spot. The Chu family is, after all, of military background, so training a novice is not a difficult task for them."

Qin Miaoyun gave a soft snort and didn't ask any further questions.

She looked back at the court, her eyes turning colder.

The graceful movements of the rider on the blue horse were something that could not be learned through last-minute cramming.

Lin Zuoqing sat on a bench at the edge of the field, his lips slightly pale, but the corners of his mouth were always turned up.

Qing Shu tentatively asked, "Master, should we investigate why Miss Xu plays polo?"

Lin Zuoqing shook his head.

"unimportant."

It's really not important.

The important thing is that at this moment, his gaze could no longer be taken off her.

The scene of the first time I met her surged into my mind.

In the flower hall of the Duke's mansion, she knelt upright on the cold, hard blue brick floor, a scalding teacup balanced on her head.

What should have been an extremely difficult situation, her eyes curved like a waning crescent moon.

His eyes were filled with starlight, so bright it was almost blinding.

Like a fire, it burned into his wasteland without warning.

......

Half an hour later, the battle was over.

One win and one loss.

Xu Qianhui and Chu Yunci won the game with a score of 2 to 1.

Princess Fu'an spurred her horse, and the fiery red steed stopped in front of Xu Qianhui.

"Xu Qianhui, is that right? You're very nice."

The princess had beads of sweat on her forehead, and her eyes were filled with unbridled joy.

She smiled and tossed the ruby-embroidered riding crop from her waist over: "Here you go."

Xu Qianhui caught it steadily, and bowed with a smile: "Thank you for the princess's gift."

"The polo match will last for two days. Tonight I will be staying in the camp at the polo field. You will come and have dinner with me later."

Xu Qianhui smiled and agreed.

That was all she had to do next. She dismounted and bowed to Chu Yunci to say goodbye.

Granny Fang had been waiting at the sidelines for a while, and when she saw her coming, she quickly went to greet her.

The two avoided the crowd and headed towards the camp where the Duke's mansion was stationed.

Behind the main tent of the Duke's mansion, three small tents have been newly erected at some point.

One large and two small ones filled the entire open space behind them.

It was clearly arranged by Madam Fu well in advance before she went to watch the polo match.

Xu Qianhui glanced at the four tents of varying heights, a cryptic smile playing on her lips.

"Granny, guess which roof my aunt will let me sleep in tonight?"

Granny Fang looked at the tent, a frown forming between her brows.

The main tent, naturally, was where Fu Shi and Lin Rulan lived.

The second largest were the brothers Lin Zuoqing and Lin Zuoan.

The two smallest remaining tents were used to sleep with female servants and maids, and with male servants and attendants.

The entire household, including the servants, was taken care of.

But they didn't leave a bed for this young lady.

"Madam is clearly trying to get rid of Miss Biao. Just as the old lady said, she's getting worse with age, and her methods are so underhanded."

As she spoke, Granny Fang lowered her voice and said, "Miss, you must be tired today. Why don't you go straight back to your residence after having dinner with the princess?"

Xu Qianhui shook her head, her smile still faint.

"You're too kind, Granny. My aunt even saved a carriage for us."

She took out a hundred-silver note and stuffed it into Granny Fang's hand.

"I've changed my clothes and need to rest. You can go relax and get rid of the bad luck."

Knowing that she wanted some peace and quiet, Granny Fang accepted the silver note and left with a smile.

Xu Qianhui carried the bundle and walked into the new tent reserved for the two brothers.

The interior of the tent was dimly lit, with a six-panel purple bamboo screen standing in the center.

Two figures were faintly visible behind the screen.

Xu Qianhui walked around the screen and saw Lin Zuoqing leaning against the couch on the left.

His left arm was slinged across his chest, and his right hand was resting on the small table, his index finger tapping the tabletop.

Qingyan stood to the side, saying something.

When Xu Qianhui entered, neither of them tried to hide it.

Xu Qianhui showed absolutely no restraint.

She pulled over a soft leather stool and sat down, placing her bundle on her lap.

Lin Zuoqing stopped tapping his fingers: "Continue."

Qingyan lowered his head and returned the gaze.

"Sir, that chestnut horse returned to the rear area less than half an hour ago, and then it died with blood flowing from all seven orifices. I examined it carefully and found no needle marks or external wounds on its body. Later, I cut open the horse's belly and found some aconite root that had not yet been fully digested in its stomach."

Xu Qianhui was taken aback.

Aconite root is highly poisonous; a piece the size of a fingernail is enough to kill a cow.

She asked in surprise, "You mean, someone poisoned the horse?"

"He couldn't resist making a move against me," Lin Zuoqing replied.

His voice was hoarse, but his tone was calm, conveying a sense of peace as if he had disregarded life and death.

"Qingshu has already taken control of all the servants in the mansion," Qingyan continued. "He was afraid of making too much noise, so he's keeping them under guard in the ditch behind the mansion."

Lin Zuoqing pondered for a while, then ordered: "You and Qingshu personally escort all the people to the water dungeon, and send someone back to the manor to bring over a new batch of tight-lipped guards to serve them."

Qingyan looked troubled and hesitated.

"My lord, if we all retreat, you won't even have a single guard by your side. What if..."

"They missed their target today, and now they're on edge. Even if they had ten times the courage, they wouldn't dare make another move." Lin Zuoqing waved his hand: "Go and do it."

Qingyan dared not disobey and accepted the order to leave.

When leaving the tent, I made sure to close the curtain tightly.

The tent fell completely silent.

Xu Qianhui opened the bundle and muttered softly.

"I told you before, but you wouldn't listen. Now look what's happened, you're getting your comeuppance."

Lin Zuoqing looked at her: "Are you disappointed that I didn't die?"

"Yes." Xu Qianhui slowly unfastened her riding gear wrist guards and said, "I don't like burning paper money at the graves every year."

Lin Zuoqing scoffed, "Even if I die, it's not your place to burn paper money for me."

That's a bit harsh.

Xu Qianhui, however, was not angry at all.

She was so sticky that she really had no interest in arguing with the man who had fallen from his horse.

Let the disabled person go.

She hung the clothes she was going to change into on the screen and, in front of Lin Zuoqing, took off her light blue riding outfit.

Next comes the inner garment, and then the outer garment.

The subtle rustling sound of fabric rubbing together was amplified infinitely inside the tent.

Xu Qianhui kept her back to the man on the bed.

Until the embroidered mandarin ducks playing in the water came loose and hung precariously in front of her.

She heard Lin Zuoqing's hoarse voice.

"come over."

Xu Qianhui, clutching the half-fallen red rope, turned to look at him.

Her long, black hair cascaded down her smooth back like a waterfall, and her bright, fox-like eyes curved upwards, radiating a blatant teasing.

"Lord Lin is already so badly injured, he wouldn't still want to..."

The rest of the words were left unsaid, turning into a captivating chuckle.

She casually draped a light purple gauze dress over her shoulders.

The semi-transparent gauze draped over her front, revealing glimpses of her figure, making her even more alluring than before.

After tying the ribbon on the front of her dress, Xu Qianhui walked step by step to the bed in her soft shoes.

She leaned down and lowered her eyes, her gaze sliding from his sweaty forehead down his high nose bridge, finally settling on his left arm draped across his chest.

"Even if you wanted to..." she drawled, her red lips parting slightly, "my body won't allow it."

Uncle Wang prescribed medicine for half a month; we can't let this slip.

Lin Zuoqing did not move.

He let her get closer, letting her hair brush against the back of his hand.

Suddenly, he raised his right hand and grabbed the thin ribbon of her purple gauze dress.

Pull it down hard.

You still have hands.