Best friends dressed up in ancient times to become mistresses? You run, I run too!

Shen Ningzhu couldn't stop her teeth from chattering. Before, she was running away for freedom, but now it had become a matter of escaping for her life.

Being around such a murderous tyrant could mean losing your life at any moment.

No, she didn't want to die.

Even though she had transmigrated, she still wanted to live a good life.

"Xiaoyi, we need to hurry, as soon as possible..." Shen Ningzhu grabbed Liu Zhiyi's wrist in a fit of anger, with such force that it seemed she was about to break it.

"Zhuzhu, what's wrong? Did something happen?"

Shen Ningzhu shook her head anxiously.

"Don't ask anymore, it'll be too late if we delay any longer. I'll explain in detail later, let's hurry now..."

"What's the hurry?"

A somber, indifferent voice suddenly came from the doorway, and in that instant, the person had already walked up to Shen Ningzhu.

"Where is Zhuzhu going in such a hurry?"

Meeting those dark, cold, starry eyes, Shen Ningzhu felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head, a chill rising from the soles of her feet and rushing straight to her head.

In an instant, her hands and feet turned ice cold, and her scalp tingled.

"Why is Your Highness here?"

Her breathing quickened unconsciously. They came so fast, could it be that they suspect her?

Suddenly, Shen Ningzhu remembered his icy, emotionless voice and his cold, sinister pupils.

"Those who know the secret must die."

"They all have to die, they all have to die..." This sentence echoed in Shen Ningzhu's mind like a curse. She stumbled and her body trembled uncontrollably.

So, he's here to kill her?

Shen Ningzhu couldn't help but swallow, a thin layer of mist welling up in her eyes. She clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging into her flesh.

He forced himself to remain calm and said...

"Xiao Yi, you go back and rest first. I don't need you to serve me for now."

Liu Zhiyi had already sensed the undercurrents between the two and naturally realized that something was wrong. How could she possibly leave obediently now?

"Zhuzhu, I..."

"How dare you! Get out of here!" Shen Ningzhu shouted sternly.

Jiang Xuan Yan raised an eyebrow slightly, glancing at Liu Zhiyi with a half-smile, and then said meaningfully to Shen Ning Zhu,

"Such an unruly servant, in my opinion, is not worth keeping. Perhaps we should..."

"don't want--"

Shen Ningzhu's face turned pale with fright, and she screamed. Perhaps she was too nervous and excited, because her voice cracked.

Liu Zhiyi frowned deeply.

In the end, she decided to leave first, but instead of going back to her own room as she had suggested, she found a secluded spot and waited not far away in the yard, keeping an eye on the situation.

Inside the house

Jiang Xuan Yan slowly approached. Shen Ning Zhu instinctively wanted to run away, but her feet seemed to be rooted to the spot, and she couldn't move at all.

My jaw was grabbed and pulled hard.

Shen Ningzhu lost her footing and fell into a cold embrace.

The man's strong arms suddenly tightened around the woman's slender waist, his cool fingertips pinching her chin gently caressing her delicate skin.

The movement was very light, but the force was great.

In no time at all, the skin on his chin had turned completely red.

"What did Zhuzhu just say she needed to hurry up with? Shh, let me guess, is it... mmm~~~~"

"Your Highness, where did you go? I couldn't find you anywhere. I thought you were angry with me and didn't want me anymore."

Shen Ningzhu looked at the man with wet, pitiful eyes, her red lips pouting high.

After a long while, Jiang Xuan Yan slowly raised his hand to touch his lips, his expression inscrutable.

She wrapped her arms around the man's waist, pressed her face against his firm chest, and rubbed against him obediently like a kitten, swaying from side to side affectionately.

"Brother Ayan~~~"

She deliberately rubbed her lower body against him, blinking innocently at him.

Despite all the flirting, the man remained unmoved, his dark, cold phoenix eyes casting a detached glance at her the entire time.

"Shen Ningzhu, where did you go just now?"

Shen Ningzhu's heart sank to the bottom.

"I...I just wandered around the mansion."

"Where exactly did you turn around?"

"I……"

"Your shoes are a bit dirty."

Shen Ningzhu was shocked. Looking down, she saw that there was indeed some damp mud on the embroidered shoes. There hadn't been any rain recently, so there shouldn't be any damp mud like that outside.

In the nick of time, Shen Ningzhu blurted out,

"I just went to the lotus pond, that's probably when it got stuck there, haha."

Jiang Xuan Yan's lips remained slightly curved as he coldly looked at her, "Didn't you say you missed me and were looking for me everywhere? You have the leisure to admire lotus flowers."

Shen Ningzhu looked serious.

“I thought His Highness would go over there, so…”

Jiang Xuan Yan's eyebrows were curved, but there was no warmth in them. He raised his hand and stroked her cheek, his fingertips caressing her face gently, the movements so slow and intimate, like lovers.

Only Shen Ningzhu knew that those hands were icy cold, like venomous snakes pressed against her skin, making her breath catch in her throat, her scalp tingle, and all the hairs on her body stand on end.

But she dared not dodge.

A large, bone-china-like hand slowly slid down to her delicate chin and slender neck, gently grasping her, the pressure gradually decreasing.

Shen Ningzhu felt like her heart was about to jump out of her chest.

The man's voice was cold, "Heh... Zhuzhu, do you know that those who deceive me never have a good end? Do you want to know how they all died?"

Shen Ningzhu quickly shook her head.

"Your Highness... why are you saying these things? These things have nothing to do with me. I would never lie to Your Highness in my life, I swear."

If she's lying to him, then let her become incredibly rich and beautiful, and live a long and healthy life.

Is it really unrelated?

"Really, Your Highness went and came back. You must have missed Zhuzhu. Don't lie. Zhuzhu misses Your Highness very much. My heart aches when I don't see you for even a short while. If you don't believe me, feel it."

He's a liar; I yelled at him like that yesterday.

As Shen Ningzhu spoke, she tiptoed and gently pecked the man's thin lips, while holding his hand tightly and pressing it against his soft breasts.

"Seducing me?"

"Yes, yes, I have long admired Your Highness. My body and my heart are unwavering. Would Your Highness like to verify this?"

Jiang Xuan Yan remained silent for a long time, staring intently into the woman's eyes.

Shen Ningzhu was terrified, but she gritted her teeth and forced herself to meet his gaze, using all her acting skills to make herself appear utterly sincere and deeply affectionate.

Trying to win over a madman with love and a pretty face sounds utterly idiotic.

But she had no choice.

Jiang Xuan Yan looked at her taut jawline, her trembling yet feigned composure, and felt a strange stirring in his heart.

He enjoyed seeing others fear him, but none of them seemed as vivid as Shen Ningzhu now.

His expression softened slightly.

"Zhuzhu's love for me is truly touching. In that case, why don't you do me a favor?"