After being reborn, I went on a killing spree in the imperial court.

Why did you kill me...?

“I am your…brother…”

Chu Yan mumbled a few words.

"Your Highness, has Lord Chu woken up?"

Cao Yuan was taking a nap on the daybed in the outer hall when Jinzhu pulled her up.

Cao Yuan walked to the bedside, only to hear Chu Yan mumbling in his sleep, "Lord Chu, are you awake?"

Cao Yuan couldn't hear him speak, so she had to lean close to his ear to listen carefully. "Kill what?"

"Why kill me!"

Chu Yan suddenly opened his eyes and sat up quickly in bed, as if he had been hit by some kind of external force. As a result, his head accidentally bumped into Cao Yuan's head.

Caught off guard by the sudden impact, Cao Yuan lost her balance and was knocked to the ground.

"Ouch!" Cao Yuan cried out in pain, clutching her head.

"Your Highness! Are you alright?"

Jinzhu quickly helped Cao Yuan up.

"Where is this?" Chu Yan's clothes were soaked with sweat. He looked around and found himself in an unfamiliar room.

"Chu Yan, why do you always surprise me like this!"

"Princess?"

"This is your room? I'm at the Xue residence?" Chu Yan finally realized.

Cao Yuan rubbed her forehead, which was sore from the impact, and looked at him helplessly: "What else could I do! I was originally going to take you back to the Prime Minister's residence, but you were making a fuss on horseback, not wanting to be taken back to the Prime Minister's residence, weren't you?"

"I'm so sorry, Princess, I just bumped into you!"

"It's alright, you're a patient. How could I get angry with a patient!"

"It's a good thing you're not dead, otherwise this room would be uninhabitable."

The air suddenly became quiet.

"My clothes are..." Chu Yan looked down at the clothes he was wearing.

"Oh, I changed it for you. You know I'm surrounded by women here, and since I changed it for you before, I might as well go all the way." Cao Yuan's lips curled up slightly; he knew Chu Yan would blush again.

"Lord Chu, am I not quite the helpful person?"

Chu Yan's ears burned, turning red all the way down to his neck. "Princess, please stop joking!"

"Oh dear, Lord Chu is blushing again!" Cao Yuan chuckled, finding it amusing to tease him.

Chu Yan lowered his head and rubbed his forehead, not daring to meet Cao Yuan's gaze.

"Look at me, I've forgotten something important. Jinzhu, go and get Lord Chu a new set of clothes."

"Your Highness, there are no men's clothes here?" Jinzhu asked, bewildered.

"Then let's go get another set by Xue Xinian!"

"That won't be necessary!" Chu Yan stopped him.

"What's wrong? Are you embarrassed? You're wearing his clothes too!" Cao Yuan said bluntly.

Chu Yan touched his clothes and didn't say anything more.

"I'll go steal the prince consort's clothes right now."

How dare you speak like that, Jinzhu! How can this be called stealing?

Cao Yuan said, "Jinzhu, go and tell the kitchen to prepare some more food."

"Yes!" Jinzhu tiptoed out.

"It's not appropriate for me to be here, so I won't disturb the princess any longer. Could you please inform Ah Feng to come and pick me up?" Chu Yan clutched his wound and tried to get up, almost falling over, but luckily Cao Yuan heard the noise and ran over to support him.

"Lord Chu, you've been unconscious for five days. Why don't you rest here? A few more days won't make a difference."

"Five days! Then Lord Xue wouldn't be..."

"Don't worry, no one dares to come here!"

Chu Yan thought about it in confusion. "Sleeping in separate rooms?"

Suddenly, someone else pushed the door open and came in.

"Young Master, you're awake!" Xuanfeng exclaimed excitedly.

"Ah Feng!" Chu Yan cried out as if he had grasped a lifeline. "You're finally here! Quick, carry me away!"

"No, young master. The doctor said you shouldn't move around too much. You should rest here with the princess." Xuanfeng helped Chu Yan up.

Chu Yan's expression was somewhat unnatural, "You..."

"Look, I brought all your clothes." Xuanfeng put the bundle he was carrying on his shoulder onto the bed.

Cao Yuan scoffed.

Jinzhu returned from outside. "Your Highness, the food is here."

"And here are the clothes!" Jinzhu handed them to Xuanfeng.

After helping Chu Yan change his clothes, Xuan Feng took the food and brought it to the bedside.

Chu Yan felt that Cao Yuan was watching him the whole time, and he ate very carefully.

At this moment, Cao Yuan was trying hard to recall what Chu Yan and Xiao Xing had in common, completely unaware of Chu Yan's discomfort.

After Chu Yan finished his meal, Xuan Feng and Jin Zhu left.

"Lord Chu, do you... like me?"

Chu Yan suddenly looked up, staring at her in surprise.

"Your Highness! You can't say such things!"

"How could I possibly like you!" Chu Yan replied without even thinking.

Cao Yuan walked up to him and slapped him across the face.

Chu Yan turned his head to one side, his hair falling messily around his handsome face. A look of surprise flashed in his eyes, followed by a stubborn and helpless expression. He looked more endearing than usual.

Chu Yan then realized what was happening, "Princess, what happened to you..."

"What's wrong? If you don't like me, why did you save me?! You're so cheap!"

Chu Yan was at a loss for words to refute him; he couldn't find any other arguments.

"I……"

"Your Highness, Your Highness!" Jinzhu returned from outside, overjoyed.

What makes you so happy?

"His Majesty has just issued an imperial edict lifting your confinement! He says you should take good care of the Ministry of War!"

"Hey, what's wrong with you guys?"

Jinzhu sensed that the atmosphere between them was somewhat subtle, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Great, I finally don't have to be with this idiot anymore."

Chu Yan licked his lips, thinking to himself, "Wasn't it her who saved me? How did I become the one who was cheap?"

As soon as Cao Yuan opened the door, Xue Xinian was standing outside.

"Ah Yuan!"

Jinzhu exclaimed nervously, "Your Highness, the Prince Consort!"

Just as Xue Xinian was about to come in, Cao Yuan closed the door, and the two talked outside.

"Xi Nian, why aren't you at the Ministry of Rites at this time? You can't be slacking off!"

"It's like this, Minister Fan is celebrating his birthday in a few days, and I would like to invite you, A-Yuan, to attend with me."

"I see. Then you and your sister can go together!"

Cao Yuan was about to return to her room when Xue Xinian called out to her, "Shang'er can't! Shang'er isn't feeling well. Besides, Minister Fan insisted that I bring you along!"

Cao Yuan immediately understood that Minister Fan was intentionally trying to win her over.

However, that's not necessarily true. She's only managing things on behalf of others right now, so trying to win her over at this point would be a bit too hasty.

"Alright then! The gift..."

“I’ve prepared the gift! All you need to do is come with me.”

"OK then!"

"Ah Yuan, I'll be going now."

Xue Xinian left with light and cheerful steps.

Cao Yuan returned to the house.

"Your Highness! Are you really going? Just the two of you?" Jinzhu asked hurriedly.

“Go! Minister Fan has taken the initiative to invite you, how can you refuse?”

Cao Yuan suddenly remembered something, grinned mischievously, and whispered in Jinzhu's ear, "Jinzhu, you're going to..."