Xie Jin Yan smiled wryly, somewhat helpless, "Even you, Senior Sister, can't fathom Master's thoughts, so how would I know?"

"However, as a man, in my opinion, the only things in this world that can make a man exhaust all means are power and fame."

Xie Jin Yan looked at her deeply, and then sighed again.

Softly spoken, yet every word was so naked and utterly cruel.

Yu Qingwu didn't want to believe it, but recalling her master's teachings over the years, everything had traces to follow, making it impossible for her to continue deceiving herself.

Yu Qingwu closed her eyes, looked up at Xie Jin Yan, her eyes filled with tears, but she tried to force a smile at the corner of her mouth, asking him casually, "So, does Your Highness mean that Master has regarded me as a pawn to win over the royal family from the very beginning? Or, from the beginning, he deliberately cultivated me to be someone else's favored concubine. If it wasn't you today, it would be someone else. Is that what you mean?"

Beneath her exquisite and cold face, tears fell down her cheeks.

Despite Yu Qingwu's deliberate disguise, the grievance, collapse, and unwillingness in her voice couldn't be concealed.

Thinking back to how she had threatened Xie Jin Yan with her master several times before, Yu Qingwu suddenly felt extremely ridiculous.

At that time, he must have been laughing at her in his heart for not knowing her place, right?

Thinking of this, the self-deprecating look in Qingwu's eyes deepened a bit.

Xie Jin Yan frowned as he looked at her, his eyes showing a hint of heartache. He wanted to say something, but after moving his lips, he closed them again.

He just reached out and pulled her into his arms, ruffled Qingwu's dark and soft hair, and comforted her softly in her ear, "A'wu, I'm different from others. With me, you are not a favored concubine."

"You are my wife, I am your husband. You can rely on me, and you are no longer a pawn to be manipulated."

His warm and pleasant voice entered her ears, seemingly intending to give her a sense of security.

The warm and soft breath sprayed on her ears, and Qingwu slowly raised her hand, with a hint of hesitation, caution, and unease, and hugged the man.

Her soft hands clasped tightly around his waist, and her face was pressed into his broad chest.

As the woman's body trembled slightly, the low sobbing sound entered Xie Jin Yan's ears, and he felt a dampness spreading in his chest.

He lowered his eyes and gently kissed her hair as a comfort.

Feeling the man's actions, Yu Qingwu tightened her hands even more, and her tears became even more turbulent.

Unknowingly, a long time passed. Outside the window, it was so dark that one couldn't see their fingers, and the bare, leafless trees were creaking in the fierce wind.

Yu Qingwu slowly broke free from Xie Jin Yan's arms, and when she looked at him again, she felt a little embarrassed.

"Sorry, I got your robe wet."

She coughed lightly, her eyes, swollen from crying, carrying a hint of dodging, and her voice was more polite and gentle than ever before.

In contrast, Xie Jin Yan seemed nonchalant.

He raised his hand and gently wiped away the tears from the corner of Yu Qingwu's eyes, smiled lightly, and replied to her in a joking tone, "It doesn't matter if you wet my robe, just don't cry anymore in the future."

"This husband will feel heartache…"

These words were clearly very hypocritical, but paired with Xie Jin Yan's stunningly beautiful face, they became sincere and heartfelt.

Yu Qingwu chuckled, with residual tears in her eyes, and replied to him, "Xie Jin Yan, you're too mushy."

"If I'm not mushy, how can you like me?" Xie Jin Yan curled his lips, his handsome face with a hint of teasing, cupped her face, and said earnestly again, "A'wu, I really will feel heartache."

Why is this man getting more and more mushy?

Their eyes met, and Qingwu's heart trembled suddenly. She avoided his gaze and scolded him coquettishly, "Alright, Your Highness, don't say these disgusting words to coax me."

"You used to bully me and make me cry at every turn, you..."

"Is crying in bed the same as crying off the bed?"

"..."

The air suddenly fell into a dead silence.

Yu Qingwu admitted that she was indeed not as lewd and shameless as Xie Jin Yan, even though she was a year older than him...

Looking up at Xie Jin Yan's smiling eyes, Yu Qingwu's face turned red.

She glared at him fiercely and said angrily, "Can't you be serious?"

Xie Jin Yan smiled and didn't tease her anymore.

He pursed his lips, his expression gradually becoming serious and solemn, and looked at her earnestly, asking, "A'wu, from now on, you only have me. Are you afraid?"

Yes, from now on, she only has Xie Jin Yan.

But what if one day he gets tired of her?

Yu Qingwu lowered her eyes, the smile that had just appeared in her eyes gradually faded, and unease, helplessness, and many emotions surged in her eyes at the same time.

After a moment of silence, she raised her head again and looked at Xie Jin Yan coolly, "If I say I'm not afraid, would Your Highness believe me?"

"I used to think that Master was my only relative in this world. I thought that even if one day you got tired of me and wanted to put me to death, at least Master would be my last resort."

"But now, I realize that I have no way out, no way out at all."

Qingwu curled her lips, her eyebrows and eyes full of desolation.

She has no way out now. If she wants revenge, she can only try her best to hold onto Xie Jin Yan and try her best to be a true favored concubine.

Master understood this point, which is why he chose her.

With thousands of thoughts in her heart, she looked at Xie Jin Yan's handsome face. Yu Qingwu couldn't help but feel lucky again. She slowly raised her hand, gently stroking his eyebrows and eyes, and before he could speak, she said, "However...following you isn't a loss either, at least...you look pretty good."

Hearing this, Xie Jin Yan frowned slightly, gently grasped her small hand covering his face, and pretended to scold, "Just pretty good?"

"Don't I have any other advantages besides looking good?"

Xie Jin Yan raised his eyebrows, his deep pupils questioning Yu Qingwu.

His eyes seemed to be asking for an answer.

Yu Qingwu narrowed her eyes and thought for a while, then shook her head decisively, "No."

"..." Can't you even make something up?

That's it? And Master expects her to be someone's favored concubine?

Xie Jin Yan laughed angrily.

"Alright, I admit it, I'm useless except for being good-looking."

"..."

Does this man have any shame?

Yu Qingwu was a little speechless, but her mood also calmed down a bit for some reason. She raised her eyes and glared at him, and laughed, "Shameless..."

"Yeah, you're right, I'm shameless."

Seeing her smile, Xie Jin Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright, let's have dinner."

He smiled, took Yu Qingwu's hand, and slowly walked out.

She didn't know if it was an illusion, but Qingwu felt that when Xie Jin Yan smiled at her, she seemed to see a trace of smugness in his eyes, a cold, scheming smugness.

But soon, she didn't have the mind to speculate about these things.

Because as soon as she stepped out of the door, she saw Gao Minyue, who should have been at Chunfang Pavilion, appear in the front hall. Behind her were two trembling, scarred maids kneeling.

Seeing Yu Qingwu and Xie Jin Yan come out, Gao Minyue immediately greeted them, glanced at Yu Qingwu, and then looked at Xie Jin Yan with a look of boasting, "Senior Brother, I just discovered that these two lowly servants are actually the spies of the First Prince. I asked Second Senior Sister to tell you, how is it? Did Second Senior Sister explain it clearly to you?"