The abstinent prince, practicing Buddhism, is seduced by a voluptuous beauty into breaking his vows.

When Su Yaoyao woke up the next day, her side was indeed empty again.

The man knew she loved to sleep in, so he never bothered her.

But in her dazed state, she vaguely remembered someone approaching her just as dawn was breaking.

It nibbled and nibbled at her face and neck like a puppy. Annoyed, she flung her hand away as if she had hit something.

A soft chuckle sounded in my ear, tinged with indulgent helplessness.

He pulled the brocade quilt closer before quietly leaving.

When she finally woke up, the sunlight was already streaming in through the window curtains, warm and cozy.

As Chun Tao helped her wash up, she said with a smile, "His Highness the Crown Prince instructed that Miss should sleep a little longer before he left, and that breakfast has been kept warm."

Su Yaoyao stretched, feeling quite pleased with herself.

During breakfast, someone from the palace arrived with an imperial edict from the Empress, summoning her to the palace.

Su Qingrun happened to arrive, and upon hearing the news, her brows furrowed: "What does the Empress want with you?"

"It's probably a reward," Su Yaoyao said, taking a sip of her porridge. "After all, I helped her accomplish something important, so she has to show her appreciation."

Su Qingrun did not have a good impression of this aunt.

Although Su Cheng'an is not up to par now, he was once a promising young man.

He had heard from his uncle Jiang Ci that back then, in order to consolidate her position, the empress had considered marrying her own younger sister—who was also their mother—to an old prince who was over fifty years old as his second wife.

Fortunately, my maternal grandfather, Grand Tutor Jiang, firmly refused.

After her mother married into the Yongning Marquis's household, her life was not happy, and her elder sister, the Empress, never truly cared for her.

As for his siblings... he was indifferent to them—until he discovered Su Yaoyao's "usefulness".

Su Qingrun dismissed the others and whispered to Su Yaoyao, "If you don't want to go, find an excuse to decline."

Su Yaoyao laughed: "Brother, it's alright. She's not going to eat me, is she?"

She put down her chopsticks and wiped her mouth: "Besides, I helped her accomplish such a 'major' task, shouldn't she reward me handsomely? I shouldn't refuse the Empress's gift."

Su Qingrun still frowned: "I always felt that she had ill intentions."

"I know." Su Yaoyao blinked. "But on the surface, she's still our aunt, the Crown Prince's foster mother, and the Empress. We have to keep up appearances."

She paused, then added, "Besides, I promised His Highness I would help him improve his health, so I might as well bring the medicine Anar gave me into the palace to try it out."

Mentioning Xiao Yi, Su Qingrun's expression softened slightly. That child was indeed likable and showed great respect and affection for the Crown Prince; he had met him several times.

Seeing her determined look, Su Qingrun finally stopped her and only told her, "Be careful."

---

An hour later, Su Yaoyao was already sitting in the Empress's Phoenix Palace.

The Empress was dressed elegantly today, in a ginger-yellow palace gown, with a phoenix hairpin in her hair, and a gentle smile on her face. She looked like a kind and loving elder.

She took Su Yaoyao's hand, looked her up and down, and spoke in a warm tone:

"You've grown even more beautiful in just a few days. No wonder the Crown Prince is so fond of you."

Su Yaoyao lowered her head shyly, saying, "Your Majesty flatters me."

"I wasn't wrong." The Empress patted her hand, signaling the palace servants to bring out the brocade box. "These are newly arrived pearls from the south. I thought they suited you, so I kept a set."

The brocade box was opened, revealing a set of pearl jewelry, each pearl round, lustrous, and beautifully white.

Su Yaoyao's eyes lit up, and she stood up to express her gratitude: "Thank you for your reward, Your Majesty."

The Empress smiled and asked her to sit down, but then subtly changed the subject: "Speaking of which, the Crown Prince has been visiting the Yongning Marquis's residence quite frequently lately. I feel... both gratified and somewhat worried."

coming.

Su Yaoyao sneered inwardly, but on her face, she feigned perfectly timed confusion: "What is Your Highness worried about?"

The Empress sighed, her tone concerned: "Yaoyao, tell your aunt the truth, how did you and the Crown Prince... come to this?"

She paused, lowering her voice slightly: "The Crown Prince has practiced Buddhism since childhood, is aloof by nature, and doesn't get close to women. Why then does he treat you...?"

Su Yaoyao rolled her eyes inwardly.

How did things get to this point? Didn't you tell me to "seduce" her? Why are you pretending to be clueless now?

She lowered her eyes and said softly, "Perhaps... it's fate."

"Fate is certainly important." The Empress's smile deepened. "But if there's a hint of 'deliberate' in that fate... I'm afraid it will lose its flavor."

She looked at Su Yaoyao, her eyes gentle, but her words sharp: "The Crown Prince detests scheming. If he knew you approached him with ulterior motives... what do you think he would do?"

Su Yaoyao lowered her head, inwardly rolling her eyes to the heavens.

Auntie, you really don't understand your adopted son.

The moment I appeared in front of him, he knew what I was up to.

We were playing our cards openly; he knew I was trying to seduce him, and I knew he was pretending to be serious. We tested each other, pulled at each other, and finally couldn't resist and ended up in bed together—it was quite an exciting process, do you need to tell me? And do you need to threaten me so "subtly"?

Besides, who is my "mastermind"? Isn't it you, sir?

Now look what's happened, they want to pin all the blame on me?

But she immediately feigned fear, twisting her handkerchief between her fingers, her voice trembling: "Your Majesty... His Highness the Crown Prince... he wouldn't know..."

Seeing her like this, the Empress's eyes flashed with satisfaction, but her tone became even gentler: "Silly child, of course your aunt is on your side. I'm just reminding you, men value sincerity most. Especially someone like the Crown Prince… if he senses even the slightest scheming, I'm afraid…"

She didn't finish her sentence, but her meaning was clear.

Su Yaoyao's eyes reddened, and her voice choked with emotion: "Then... what should Yaoyao do..."

"Good child, don't be afraid." The Empress personally handed her a handkerchief. "Your aunt is here. As long as you remember who paved this path for you, in the future... help Yi'er a lot, then we'll be family."

To put it bluntly—be a good Crown Princess and listen to me, otherwise… I have dirt on you, and I can expose it to the Crown Prince at any time.

Su Yaoyao sneered inwardly, but nodded obediently on the surface: "Yaoyao understands."

The Empress then smiled, bestowed upon her some silk and jewelry, and finally allowed her to leave.

Stepping out of Fengyi Palace, the fear on Su Yaoyao's face vanished instantly, leaving only a cold expression.

Chuntao followed behind her and asked softly, "Miss, is Her Majesty the Empress...?"

"Shh," Su Yaoyao interrupted her, "We'll talk about it when we get back."

As the master and servant walked out of the palace, they passed through the Imperial Garden and heard a series of urgent coughs.

Su Yaoyao paused, looked in the direction of the sound, and saw a small figure leaning against the stone wall behind the artificial hill, coughing so hard that it was heartbreaking, her little face turning red.

It was none other than the young prince, Xiao Yi.

The palace maid serving nearby was in a panic, holding a medicine bottle in her hand, but she didn't know what to do.

Su Yaoyao quickly walked over: "What happened?"

The palace maid, recognizing her, exclaimed as if she were a savior: "Miss Su! His Highness just ran a few steps and suddenly couldn't breathe..."

Su Yaoyao squatted down, supported Xiao Yi's thin shoulders, and took out a small porcelain bottle from her sleeve—it was a pill made from the herbs from the Northern Desert that Anar had given her.

"Your Highness, open your mouth."

Xiao Yi opened his mouth with difficulty, and Su Yaoyao fed him the pill. She then had someone fetch water and carefully fed it to him.

After a moment, Xiao Yi's breathing gradually calmed down, and his face regained its color.

He looked up at Su Yaoyao, his eyes shining: "Sister Su...you saved me again..."

Su Yaoyao took out a handkerchief and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead: "Didn't I tell you not to run or jump? Why aren't you listening?"

Xiao Yi lowered his head and said in a soft voice, "I want to train so that Mother won't worry..."

Su Yaoyao's heart softened.

This child... is indeed very filial.

"Take your time next time." She patted his head. "Take your medicine on time. Once you're better, you can run and jump as much as you want."

Xiao Yi nodded vigorously, then suddenly grabbed her sleeve and whispered, "Sister Su, I heard... you're going to marry the Crown Prince?"

"Um."

"That's wonderful!" Xiao Yi's eyes curved into crescents. "Your Highness the Crown Prince is wonderful, and Sister Su is wonderful too! You two will definitely be very happy together!"

Children's words are the purest. Su Yaoyao smiled and pinched his cheek: "Thank you for your kind words, Your Highness."

She chatted with Xiao Yi for a while longer until he felt better, then Su Yaoyao got up and left.

As she walked out of the Imperial Garden, she looked back once more.

Xiao Yi was still standing there, waving vigorously at her with a bright smile.

Su Yaoyao suddenly felt a little uneasy.

The empress schemed so much, but the child... was innocent.

"Miss?" Chun Tao called to her softly.

Su Yaoyao snapped out of her reverie and shook her head: "Let's go."

Suddenly, I bumped into someone.

The aroma is irresistible.

"Miss Su, what a coincidence, we meet again."