After deceiving the villain, I was forced to love him.

After being blindfolded and sent back to the inn, the waiter happened to come up for his night patrol. Seeing her go out to get water, he asked her if she wanted a midnight snack.

"No need. The timing is too tight; any later and we'll miss it."

"Then I won't bother you any longer, young lady," the waiter said, carrying his lantern as he walked away.

After drinking water, Baili Ce lay down, exhausted, staring at the ceiling, but he couldn't fall asleep.

She never came to Shucheng for Lin Yuchuan.

Rather, it was for the local powerful clans and local bullies.

This was also the most unavoidable compromise for Lu Jian and Baili Shi.

According to him, even He Yao and his trusted ministers were unaware of this matter.

The secret letters that were delivered were all separated from the results of the previous discussion and delivered to her separately.

Lu Jian said that if a major upheaval occurs in Shucheng, or if the Imperial Guards are unable to eradicate these malignant tumors in Shucheng through normal means.

Even if Lin Yuchuan and Li Tong get into trouble like today, she will have to produce a pardon to appease the people in Shucheng first.

But this kid is indeed worthy of being an emperor; he's both cunning and dignified.

They could even prepare two copies of the imperial edict.

This gave her ample room to maneuver.

Otherwise, with Wang Qingyan keeping such a close eye on her the whole way, it would have been really hard for her not to be discovered.

It was thanks to Lu Jian's cunning that she could have survived today; otherwise, she might not have returned alive.

As for Lin Yuchuan...

All she could say was that, as she had expected, she had been dealt with quite badly.

But the resolute and unyielding Lin Fusi was completely unafraid.

When he told her about the various abnormalities in Shucheng and his more than a dozen suspicions about Wang Qingyan, his voice was so strong that he didn't seem like someone who had been severely tortured.

As expected, those who are in charge of punishments are much braver than spineless capitalists like her.

Therefore, she felt that Lin Yuchuan could hold out until the situation in the capital stabilized, and then Lu Jian would come to rescue him personally!

.........

The next day, taking advantage of not closing the windows, Baili Ce forced himself to get up early.

Although the night breeze was too cool, it caused me to feel dizzy and lightheaded.

Fortunately, after drinking a bowl of hot porridge and having Tongniang massage his head for half an hour—

I feel even more dizzy!

It still hurts a bit!

And it's disgusting!

so nice~

Now even if she lies in bed all day, no one will suspect her.

"Knock knock..." The knocking sounded at the door when I was sleeping at noon.

Bai Li Ce wrapped the blanket around himself listlessly. "Please come in, the door isn't locked."

"I've brewed some medicine for you," Wang Qingyan said as he brought the medicine in and closed the door behind him.

Then he sat down on the edge of the bed and checked her forehead temperature. "It's okay, you don't have a fever."

"Just lie down a bit more, it's nothing serious."

"Drink your medicine."

Although she didn't feel that she needed to take medicine.

But smelling the strong smell of Chinese medicine on someone, she still got up and drank the medicine in one gulp.

Ok?

"Plum?" I must say, it's sweet and sour, quite delicious.

"Hmm, I noticed you were feeling a bit nauseous after breakfast, so I added a few more pills."

Wang Qingyan got up, put the bowl on the table, and closed the window. "Don't be in the wind if you're not feeling well."

"If you want ventilation, turn it on when you go out."

"Okay," she said, pulling out a pillow to put behind her back; she was really a little numb from sleeping.

He sat back down on the edge of the bed, tucked the blankets in for her, and felt a pang of guilt seeing her listless appearance.

It was definitely because I didn't take good enough care of her that she got sick from exhaustion. "Do you feel better after taking the medicine?"

"I'm feeling much better, but I'm still a little dizzy."

It has to be said that Tongniang has a knack for it; a half-hour massage can leave someone feeling dizzy all day.

If she had used that to murder her husband, she wouldn't have had to suffer so much.

Wang Qingyan sat closer, shook his sleeves, raised his hands, and placed them on the acupoints on her temples.

"What are you doing?! Never mind, never mind..." Baili Ce, who was traumatized, quickly stopped him.

"Don't worry, it works very well."

"..." Bai Li Ce lowered his hand, closed his eyes, and slowly savored the moment.

Perhaps because he was away from home, the fragrance of moonlight flowers on Wang Qingyan wasn't as strong this time.

Or perhaps... it's because his emotions have been stable lately?

Unable to figure it out, Baili Ce simply stopped thinking about it, cleared his mind, and calmed down to experience everything.

His touch was just right, his breath gently ruffling her hair, carrying a hint of minty coolness, which indeed soothed her mind and body considerably.

But this thought... okay, okay, I can't clear my mind at all!

"The Wang family... Qingyan"

"Um"

"Take a break."

"It's alright, I'll press it for a while longer."

Bai Li Ce remained silent for a moment, then pulled down Wang Qing Yan's hand.

She almost got caught yesterday, and she's been thinking a lot since she got back.

Being caught up in the situation, it's understandable that she would consider the interests of her family.

It's normal for her to view Wang Qingyan's behavior from her own perspective and to dislike his constant arrangements for her.

After all, it's really annoying.

But if they continued to get along in this muddled way, she didn't dare to think about what would happen in the future.

"Is there something you want to say to me?" Wang Qingyan looked at her with suspicion, feeling that she was acting differently today.

"Yes, but let me think about it some more."

Wang Qingyan reached out and tidied her messy hair. "Okay."

"..." Bai Li Ce was somewhat helpless.

He's becoming more and more natural.

It definitely won't work if you just say it directly.

But what if we want to be more tactful?

If Lu Jian wants to govern the country, he must suppress powerful and influential families.

To save their lives, powerful and influential families either formed alliances or submitted to the emperor.

Submitting to a vassal state naturally requires showing weakness and giving up some benefits. While this may last, it also means being subject to control.

Choosing to unite with other forces would mean certain annihilation if they lost.

But if they win, they will have immense power and enjoy wealth forever; even if they only control a small area, they will still be the emperor of that region.

The appearance of Wang Qingyan allowed Lu Jian to reap the benefits of the latter, saving him at least ten years.

Moreover, regardless of whether she liked his way of doing things, it is undeniable that he did save her many times.

More importantly, Lu Jian, the people of the three cities, and even Baili Shi did indeed benefit from it.

This isn't to excuse him; she's contradicting herself.

It wasn't because of his bowl of medicine that he changed his mind.

Instead, the more she thought about it, the more she felt that Tongniang's words made some sense.

For her, cutting her losses in time, even if it meant feigning compliance, was not a difficult task.

But for someone with his personality, if he really becomes stubborn, she will ultimately suffer the consequences.

Refusing now is certainly not good, but the losses will definitely not be as great as they will be later!

Hmm! The more Baili Ce thought about it, the more convinced he was of himself.

The lesser of two evils!

We can't completely trust the words of that dog emperor Lu Jian. After all, he spends every day in the palace. How could he be as flexible and adaptable as her in handling emotions?

Perhaps his experience is outdated.

Moreover, although her theoretical knowledge is insufficient, her practical experience is more than enough!

Yes! Let's do it!

"Actually, you don't need to worry about me so much."

Wang Qingyan lowered his eyes, paused slightly, and his expression changed.

But he pretended to be calm and helped her tidy up the writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones on the table. "You've thought about this for so long, is this all you wanted to say?"

If that's the case, he doesn't want to listen to her anymore, "How could I not worry about you?"

What I mean is...

Looking at the ink and brush on the windowsill, Bai Lize recalled how he had almost lost control that day and felt he should remind him again what he was thinking.

Of course, she is a tactful person.

"Indeed, I can't do things like killing or fighting."

“I am not strong, have a bad temper, and have many shortcomings in my abilities. I have indeed not thought things through thoroughly enough.”

“These days, without you by my side, my journey would have been very difficult.”

“But I am not a good-for-nothing, Wang Qingyan.”

Wang's face gradually darkened as he was called by his full name once again, and he stopped what he was doing.

However, Baili Ce, unable to see his face and feeling that he was being tactful, continued to talk on and on.

“I have hands and feet, and I can do many things by myself.”

"Moreover, the things I do are things I want to do, so don't always make decisions for me."

"You can't keep stopping me all the time."

"If I do something wrong, I can bear the consequences of it, do you understand?"

“…” Wang Qingyan lowered his head and pondered for a long time.

Then he turned around, looked up at her, and asked, "What do you know?"

Bai Li Ce's lips twitched, and he finally realized something was wrong.

He tried to explain several times... but in the end he neither argued nor admitted anything.

“…” He took a deep breath, walked over and put her hand under the blanket.

With that attitude, how could she possibly get away with it?

"I..."

Seeing that she was about to ramble on again, Wang Qingyan simply hugged her.

“You…” Baili Ce struggled, but he held her even tighter.

"Whatever you know."

"What I want to tell you is that everything I've done is solely to ensure your safety."

Safety?!

It's better not to mention it, because once it's brought up, I can't help but feel frustrated!

Made!

I'm just stubborn!

That's exactly what I wanted to say!

"But I don't like it this way!"

"Not everyone likes to be someone else's only one, at least I don't!"

Unexpectedly, Wang Qingyan pressed his hand directly against her neck!

"Ah Zhu, this world is not as simple as you think."

Wang Qingyan lowered his voice to a whisper, as if he were talking to her in private.

His words were all reasonable and plausible, but only he knew how terrified he was.

and so--

I don't like what you're saying.