Waaah, I'm being forced into loving my yandere wife's brain.

The porridge was still steaming, but Lin Zhiyao had something on her mind and didn't have much of an appetite. She just casually stirred it a couple of times with her spoon, but didn't eat a single bite.

"Xiao Tao," Lin Zhiyao looked up and asked casually, "what did you do after Chunlan called you away last night? Why are you so late coming back today?"

Xiao Tao was tidying up the combs on her dressing table when she heard this. She turned around with a puzzled look on her face: "Last night, Sister Chunlan led me to the back room. Sister Chunlan said that there were some accounts in Madam's courtyard that needed to be checked, and asked me to help copy them. I kept copying until almost midnight before I stopped. I continued copying this morning until just now when I finished, and then Sister Chunlan let me go back."

As she spoke, she rubbed her wrist and muttered, "I don't know why Madam suddenly decided to check the old accounts; those books are all covered in dust."

Lin Zhiyao's fingers tightened slightly as she gripped the spoon.

Chunlan was her aunt's most capable head maid. Without her aunt's permission, she would never have kept Xiaotao from the neighboring courtyard to do chores for a night without a reason.

This is clearly... a deliberate attempt to get Xiaotao away.

Lin Zhiyao lowered her eyelashes, staring at the thin layer of rice oil in the bowl, and felt a chill in her heart.

Last night, when she asked Aunt Shen Jin if he knew, he answered so calmly that although she was shocked, she still held a sliver of hope.

Now it seems that it was true.

My aunt acquiesced.

But why is that? Wasn't her aunt the one who arranged for her to enter the palace as a concubine?

Lin Zhiyao was completely baffled, feeling as if her head was a tangled mess, unable to make sense of it.

She bit her lower lip, her fingertips unconsciously picking at the rim of the bowl, unaware that the porridge had gone cold.

"Miss?" Xiao Tao noticed her lost in thought and took a half step closer. "What's wrong? You look so pale."

Lin Zhiyao snapped out of her daze and forced a smile: "It's nothing, I just didn't sleep well last night."

Xiao Tao stopped asking questions and turned to make the bed.

As she lifted the covers, her sharp eyes caught a glimpse of blood on the mattress. Without thinking much of it, she said, "Miss? Are you having your period? Hmm, I remember it should be in about two weeks..."

Lin Zhiyao hadn't noticed Xiao Tao's backward movement. She was just mechanically stirring the porridge with a spoon, staring blankly into the void, and thinking about the same question over and over again: What should she do if Shen Jinru really comes again tonight?

It was only then that Xiaotao asked a question with a hint of doubt.

Her body stiffened slightly, and she stammered, "Well, it's just that my period suddenly came up earlier, so I'm feeling a bit unwell."

"Why isn't Miss saying anything? This servant will go and ask the kitchen for some red date porridge for Miss right away."

Xiao Tao hurriedly prepared to leave.

Lin Zhiyao quickly stopped her, her voice tinged with helplessness and urgency, "No need, Xiaotao, don't go."

"Miss?" Xiao Tao was taken aback, realizing that her mistress was acting strangely. Just as she was about to ask again, she was interrupted by a clear and gentle voice coming from outside the courtyard.

"cousin."

It was Shen Jin. His tone still carried his usual gentle smile, and his voice was neither hurried nor slow.

Lin Zhiyao's heart skipped a beat, and the spoon in her hand slammed against the rim of the bowl with a loud, jarring sound.

Before she could respond, the door was pushed open from the outside.

Shen Jin changed into a bamboo-green robe with a dark bamboo leaf pattern, making him appear even more refined. He didn't wear a cloak over his clothes, and the outline of his shoulders and back looked particularly upright in the twilight.

He was carrying a palm-sized brocade box, carved from ebony, which looked quite exquisite. As he stepped over the threshold, his gaze first fell on Lin Zhiyao's face, paused for a moment, and then looked away.

"Is my cousin having dinner?"

Shen Jin spoke very naturally, as if nothing had happened last night, as if his uninvited entry into the courtyard was just a normal thing. "It's just that my cousin's timing is bad."

Lin Zhiyao's knuckles turned white as she gripped the spoon. She lowered her eyes and didn't look at him, only calling out softly, "Cousin."

Xiao Tao stood there stunned, glancing at Shen Jin and then at Lin Zhiyao. She opened her mouth as if to bow, but Shen Jin casually waved her hand to stop her: "No need for formalities. I'll just say a few words to my cousin and then leave."

Xiao Tao then tactfully retreated to a corner.

Shen Jin walked to the table and placed the brocade box on the table in front of Lin Zhiyao. He gently tapped the lid of the box twice with his slender fingers, making a soft tapping sound.

"This was brought back from Jiangnan by my cousin," he said, looking down at her with a gentle voice. "It's not anything valuable, just a local specialty flower ointment that can nourish and moisturize the skin when applied to the wrists. I thought my cousin might need it, so I brought a box back."

Lin Zhiyao stared at the brocade box, neither reaching out to take it nor looking up at him.

Her shoulders were tense, her back stiff, like a bird ready to flee at any moment.

Shen Jin was in no hurry. He simply stood in front of her, the evening sunlight streaming in from behind him, stretching his shadow and covering Lin Zhiyao, enveloping her entirely in that shadow.

He waited a couple of breaths, and seeing that Lin Zhiyao still didn't speak, he chuckled softly, his voice slightly lower than before: "Cousin, there's no need to be nervous. Your cousin is just here to deliver a gift, nothing more."

As Shen Jin spoke, his fingertips slid off the lid of the box, seemingly unintentionally brushing against the back of Lin Zhiyao's hand resting on the edge of the table.

Lin Zhiyao seemed to be burned, and suddenly withdrew her hand. The spoon fell into the bowl with a "clatter", and a few drops of porridge splashed out.

Looking at her frightened appearance, Shen Jin's dark eyes flashed for a moment, then quickly disappeared, leaving only a warm, smooth surface, as if he hadn't seen anything at all.

"It's getting late, so I won't keep you any longer, cousin."

Perhaps because Xiao Tao was there, Shen Jin withdrew his hand, turned around and walked towards the door. He stopped at the threshold and turned his head to look at Lin Zhiyao.

The twilight fell on his profile, clearly outlining his handsome features. His fox-like eyes were slightly upturned at the corners, but were obscured by the shadows on his brow bone, making them appear even more dark and deep.

"Remember to use that flower ointment, cousin."

After saying this, Shen Jin stepped over the threshold and left. His footsteps gradually faded away along the corridor and were eventually swallowed up by the evening breeze that swept through the hall.

Lin Zhiyao stared at the door that had closed again, and finally exhaled slowly. Her shoulders slumped as if her bones had been removed.

Xiao Tao emerged from the corner and asked softly, "Miss, what's wrong with the young master...?"

"It's nothing," Lin Zhiyao interrupted her, but her fingertips involuntarily reached for the brocade box.

She hesitated for a moment, but still opened the lid of the box.

Inside lay a small white porcelain jar, its surface warm and smooth. Upon opening the lid, a refreshing floral fragrance wafted out. It wasn't the usual sweet rose and jasmine scent, but rather like wild orchids blooming in early spring by a mountain stream—cool and pure, its aroma instantly calming the mind.

But Lin Zhiyao couldn't calm down as she looked at the jar of flower ointment.

She didn't believe a single word Shen Jin had just said.

If he truly had no ulterior motives, he wouldn't have appeared in her room last night.

Lin Zhiyao closed the lid again, her fingertips touching the cool white porcelain jar, and remained silent for a long time.

The setting sun, hanging on the eaves, gradually sank below the horizon, and the boundless night slowly crept in, like a thin black veil shrouding the entire courtyard.

Xiao Tao lit the lamp, and as the candlelight flickered, Lin Zhiyao stared at the dancing light and suddenly asked, "Xiao Tao, is the trip to Jin Guang Temple to pray for blessings in a few days still on schedule?"

Xiao Tao was adding oil to the lamp when she heard this and replied, "It should be done as usual. Madam already agreed on it a few days ago."

Lin Zhiyao gave a soft "hmm," feeling somewhat calmer. She didn't say anything more, but simply pushed the box of flower ointment to the farthest corner of the table, as if it were a piece of scorching hot coal.