The man's hot breath, accompanied by his pleasant voice, sprayed across her face.

Yu Qingwu's face flushed, but her eyes remained calm. "The split between the Shen family and the Qin family, isn't that the result Your Highness wanted? This concubine merely went with the flow. If anyone should be thanked, it should be Your Highness thanking this concubine, shouldn't it?"

Indeed, Xie Jin Yan had done a lot to deal with the Shen family for her sake. In the eyes of outsiders, he was every bit the devoted lover.

Before being named Crown Princess, Yu Qingwu had also believed it to some extent.

But later, Qingwu no longer thought so.

She believed that Xie Jin Yan did have feelings for her, but it was impossible for him to do anything detrimental to imperial power for her sake.

Perhaps she was just the fuse that made him take action against the Shen family sooner.

Yu Qingwu had only recently figured this out.

She raised her eyebrows, a hint of coolness in her amber eyes as she stared at the man before her, as if she had seen through something.

Xie Jin Yan's smiling lips suddenly froze. Their eyes met, and a hint of guilt flashed in his dark phoenix eyes.

But it quickly sank, like a still pool of water, as he stared at her calmly and hummed with a laugh, "What does Shijie mean by this? Are you accusing me of not being sincere with you, of merely using you?"

"What? Could it be that Shijie wants me to dig out my heart for you to see?"

Xie Jin Yan was a little angry.

He admitted that he had used her.

But she wasn't the only one he could use. Why would he go to so much trouble to promise her the position of his wife just for the sake of using her?

Thinking of this, Xie Jin Yan's expression became even more displeased.

But this kind of Xie Jin Yan, directly throwing a tantrum, was much more reassuring than his ambiguous appearance.

Therefore, Yu Qingwu wasn't afraid.

She smiled faintly, looking at him and saying, "Your Highness, genuine affection and utilization aren't mutually exclusive."

"For example, this concubine loves you, but that doesn't prevent me from using you, does it?"

"You..."

"Yu Qingwu, you're still so confident? Do you know that deceiving the Emperor is punishable by death, and deceiving the Crown Prince is also deceiving the Emperor."

Xie Jin Yan was amused by her anger. He had to admit that his Shijie was very good at manipulating him.

She clearly told him that she was using him, yet he still enjoyed it very much.

"Yu Qingwu, you really... know how to handle me?" He lowered his eyes to look at her, reached out and gently scratched her delicate nose, his eyes filled with laughter as he complained, "I let you handle me when I was your Shidi, and now I'm still letting you handle me as your husband."

The unconscious intimate gesture dispelled the strange and depressing atmosphere that had preceded it.

Yu Qingwu's mood wasn't as cautious as before. She chuckled, wrapped her arms around Xie Jin Yan's neck, and hummed, "Who told you to be born with such a handsome face? If I didn't make use of it, wouldn't that be a waste of talent?"

"Go on, have a good chat with that Qin."

As she spoke, Yu Qingwu pushed Xie Jin Yan inward.

At that moment, she felt as if they had returned to more than five years ago, before that incident had happened.

At that time, she was fifteen years old and Xie Jin Yan was fourteen. Although he was just a young man, he already possessed remarkable talent and appearance. Therefore, every time they went on a mission, she would always tell him to use his looks. Every time he took action, whether it was a young girl, a young woman, or an old woman, they were all unable to resist.

As for that Qin, as long as Xie Jin Yan was willing, it wouldn't be difficult to deceive her.

Sure enough, after a while, Shen Rou's curses came from the depths of the Heavenly Prison.

She lunged at Qin Yiliu like a madwoman, scratching Qin Yiliu's delicate and pretty face.

"Qin Yiliu, you bitch! I'm going to kill you! I'm going to kill you!"

The piercing curses, accompanied by Qin Yiliu's screams, as well as the advice from Qiu, Xu, and Shen Yan Huan, came from the depths of the dungeon.

One could imagine what Shen Rou's expression was like now! If she didn't beat Qin Yiliu half to death today, she wouldn't be Shen Rou. But that Qin Yiliu wasn't an easy person either. Now that she had obtained the Crown Prince's promise, she grabbed Shen Rou's hair in retaliation.

That usually gentle and dignified face was now fierce and distorted, mocking Shen Rou coldly, saying that she was stupid, saying that if she hadn't persuaded the Crown Prince not to hurt Shen Rou's heart too much, the Crown Prince would have found her disgusting to even look at.

Hearing this, Shen Rou broke down even more. She screamed and fought with Qin Yiliu even more crazily.

When Xie Jin Yan came out, he could still hear loud thuds against the wall. He didn't know if it was Shen Rou or Qin who had hit the wall, and he didn't care.

On the way out, he saw Yu Qingwu greeting him, and he pulled her into his arms, smiling and calling her with a bit of boasting triumph, "Shijie, let's go."

"What did Your Highness say to Qin?" Yu Qingwu hooked her arm around his and asked, looking up at him.

Xie Jin Yan curled his lips, looking gleeful. "What could I say? Nothing more than vows of eternal love, rekindled old feelings, praising her for being considerate, delicate, and having many tricks in bed. I just like her so much that I think about those nights of cloud and rain with her every day. I also told her that I only helped you that day because she was another man's wife, and I was forced by Shifu's pressure to protect you. Now that she's in prison, I'll naturally do my best to save her. When the time comes, I'll definitely give her a title, welcome her as a Concubine, and spend every day and night with her in ecstasy."

Xie Jin Yan answered unhurriedly. They were clearly lewd and unrestrained remarks, but he said them as if he were chatting about everyday matters.

Yu Qingwu's ears turned red, and she was cursing him for being too lewd in her heart when Xie Jin Yan suddenly looked at her, a hint of doubt in his eyes, and said, "Shijie seems to be particularly concerned about this Qin's affairs?"

Of course she was concerned. Since she had returned to the capital, Qin had repeatedly targeted her, as if she wanted to take everything that belonged to her.

From her mother's earrings to her former fiancé Shen Ke, and then to Xie Jin Yan.

Qingwu always felt that Qin's repeated seduction of men who had a relationship with her wasn't just to make everyone like her, nor was it because of so-called promiscuity.

Thinking of this, Yu Qingwu couldn't help but frown. She looked up at Xie Jin Yan, pursed her lips, and responded to him faintly, "Your Highness, speaking of which, there's something that has always puzzled this concubine. Since I entered the capital, I've felt that Qin seems to be targeting me at all times, and she intends to compete for everything that belongs to me, my people. Therefore, this concubine also asked Mama Xun to investigate her background. It seems that there's nothing unusual, and I've never had any grudges with her before. I really can't figure out why she's like this?"

Hearing this, Xie Jin Yan's face suddenly froze. He looked at Yu Qingwu fixedly, as if he had thought of something, his eyes gradually darkened, and his tone became serious. "Shijie, now that you say that, I suddenly remember that Qin does have some abnormalities."

He held Yu Qingwu's hand, stepped onto the carriage, and said to her in a low voice, "Do you remember the last time the Shen family came to ask for the dowry? After that, Qin actually came to find me again, saying that she could predict the future, and she also said some things about you, Shijie."