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

That night, Su Yaoyao lay in Xiao Chenyuan's arms, unusually well-behaved.

I didn't flirt with him, I didn't tease him, and I didn't stick my toes inside his clothes to chill him.

She just leaned quietly against his chest, playing with the ends of his hair with her fingers.

Xiao Chenyuan looked down at her.

Only one candle remained lit, its dim yellow light casting a soft glow on her face, making her languid contentment appear even more tender.

"Something on your mind?" he asked.

Su Yaoyao shook her head, then nodded.

"It's not really a worry." She twirled the end of his hair around her fingertip, then let go, watching the strand of black hair slowly spring back to its original shape. "I was just thinking about... the palace Your Highness took me to see today."

Xiao Chenyuan remained silent.

Su Yaoyao looked up at him and said softly, "Your Highness must be very sad."

It's not a question, it's a statement.

Xiao Chenyuan lowered his eyes and met her gaze.

There was no sympathy, no cautiousness, only a calm, resolute...heartache.

His Adam's apple bobbed.

"...I'm used to it," he said.

Su Yaoyao didn't reply.

She propped herself up and kissed him on the corner of his lips.

"I'll take care of things from now on," she said. "Your Highness doesn't need to get used to it."

Xiao Chenyuan looked at her.

After a while, he pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly.

"Mmm," he said in a muffled voice, "I'll have you from now on."

Su Yaoyao was being squeezed so tightly by him that she could hardly breathe, but she didn't struggle.

She leaned against his chest, listening to his deep heartbeat, each beat as steady as the morning bell in a temple.

"Your Highness," she suddenly spoke.

"Um."

"Why haven't you been jealous at all today?"

Xiao Chenyuan paused.

"...What?"

"It's Ashina Lie." Su Yaoyao looked up and analyzed seriously, "He said he wanted to invite me to ride a horse, and you didn't glare at him. He stared at me, and you didn't crush the cup. He was standing so close to me, and you didn't pull him away."

She blinked. "Has Your Highness changed your ways?"

Xiao Chenyuan remained silent for a moment.

"I'm making changes," he said.

Su Yaoyao was stunned for a moment.

"You said," Xiao Chenyuan looked at her, his voice low, "that I can't lock you up. I have to believe in you, and I have to believe in myself."

He paused, then said, "I am studying."

Su Yaoyao was stunned.

She has almost forgotten what she said during her "dog training" after that day.

But he remembered.

I remember every single word.

They really are making changes.

"Your Highness..." She suddenly felt a lump in her throat.

"Don't cry." Xiao Chenyuan raised his hand and gently wiped the corner of her eye with his fingertips. "I can't bear to see you cry."

"I didn't cry." Su Yaoyao sniffed, stubbornly insisting, "It's just... my eyes are a little itchy."

Xiao Chenyuan chuckled softly, not exposing her lie.

Su Yaoyao leaned back into his arms, remained quiet for a while, and then suddenly spoke again.

"Your Highness."

"Um."

"Actually, she subtly hinted at something to me that day in the Empress's palace."

Xiao Chenyuan's body stiffened slightly.

"She asked," Su Yaoyao's voice was lazy, as if she were talking about something insignificant, "what would His Highness do if he knew that I approached him with the intention of seducing him."

Xiao Chenyuan remained silent.

Su Yaoyao felt his arms tighten around her.

"And then?" he asked in a flat voice.

"Then I said," Su Yaoyao looked up at him, her eyes crinkling, "that my feelings for Your Highness are genuine, and that I beg Your Highness not to tell him."

Xiao Chenyuan looked at her.

"That's all?"

That's all.

Are you afraid she'll tell me?

Su Yaoyao blinked: "What does Your Highness think?"

Xiao Chenyuan remained silent for a moment.

"You're not afraid," he said. "You know I've known all along."

Su Yaoyao smiled and leaned in to kiss his chin: "Your Highness is so clever."

Xiao Chenyuan lowered his head and gently bit her lip.

"And what about the Empress?" he lowered his voice, "Why do you think she suddenly brought this up?"

Su Yaoyao didn't dodge, letting him bite her.

"It's nothing more than..." she paused, "...feeling that His Highness is out of control."

Xiao Chenyuan released her, his gaze darkening slightly.

"Yi'er's illness is gradually improving, and her biological son is able to stand on his own two feet." Su Yaoyao's voice was calm. "His Highness, her adopted son, is no longer her only support..."

She didn't continue.

Xiao Chenyuan understood.

"She wants you to be her informant," he said.

"Um."

"What did you reply?"

"I said," Su Yaoyao mimicked her own panicked expression at the time, "I will certainly not fail Your Majesty's trust~"

Xiao Chenyuan looked at her.

Su Yaoyao dropped her expression and blinked: "Does Your Highness think my acting was convincing?"

Xiao Chenyuan stared at her for a long time.

Then he smiled.

It was very light and subtle, yet the eyebrows and eyes seemed relaxed.

"It does look like it," he said. "I almost believed it."

"Does Your Highness trust me?"

Xiao Chenyuan remained silent.

He took her hand and pressed it against his heart.

"This place," he said, "is all yours."

Su Yaoyao pressed her palm against his burning skin, feeling his strong heartbeat.

"Your scheming, your sincerity, your deliberate seduction, your feigned indifference—" Xiao Chenyuan looked at her, his eyes deep.

"I've been there from beginning to end."

He paused.

"And so it will continue. Even if you want my life, I will offer it to you with both hands."

Su Yaoyao suddenly felt a slight itch around her eyes again.

This person.

How can you be so eloquent?

"I don't want Your Highness's life, I want Your Highness to love me well." Her voice was a little muffled.

"Okay." Xiao Chenyuan's voice was also a little hoarse.

"You really weren't very jealous today," she deliberately changed the subject. "It's not something I'm used to."

Xiao Chenyuan looked at her reddened eyes but didn't expose her.

"Then I'll eat now," he said.

Su Yaoyao was taken aback: "What do we eat now?"

Xiao Chenyuan rolled over and pinned her beneath him.

"Ashina Lie will be there on the winter hunt." He lowered his head, his nose touching hers, his voice low and husky. "Xie Yu will be there too."

Su Yaoyao was so overwhelmed by his weight that she could hardly breathe, and she pressed her hand against his chest: "Your Highness said you were learning—"

"I can't learn it." Xiao Chenyuan interrupted her, lowering his head to kiss her collarbone. "I'm not learning it."

Su Yaoyao's body went limp from his kisses, but she still stubbornly insisted, "What Your Highness just said—"

"That's for later," Xiao Chenyuan said, raising his head, his eyes dark and deep. "It doesn't count now."

His voice was muffled: "Right now, I just want to hide you away."

Su Yaoyao's heart melted when she saw his awkward yet honest expression.

"Then Your Highness, you may hide it." She wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered in his ear, "You can hide it for as long as you like."

Xiao Chenyuan remained silent.

He simply leaned down and hugged her even tighter.

She knew he must have something on his mind. From the fragments she knew, his mother was a princess of a fallen kingdom, and what he carried was probably more than what he appeared to be as nonchalant as he seemed on the surface.

All she could do was stay by his side...

"What are you thinking about?" Xiao Chenyuan could always sense her thoughts.

"What did Your Highness eat at the palace banquet today?" she suddenly asked.

Xiao Chenyuan looked down at her: "Why did you suddenly ask that?"

"Just curious," Su Yaoyao tilted her head up, "Did you eat anything delicious?"

Xiao Chenyuan thought for a moment: "The dishes in the Imperial Kitchen are always the same."

"Where's dessert?"

"Never," Xiao Chenyuan said calmly. "I don't like sweets."

Su Yaoyao blinked, propped herself up, and looked at him: "Your Highness doesn't like sweets?"

"Um."

"You don't like it at all?"

"Um."

Su Yaoyao smiled, a slightly mischievous smile.

"That's because Your Highness has never tasted anything delicious," she said.

Xiao Chenyuan looked at her without saying a word.

That girl's smile... is a bit off.

"Can Yaoyao make desserts?"

"Me?" Su Yaoyao laughed. "Your Highness, don't be silly. I could blow the roof off the kitchen if I went in."

She propped herself up, leaned close to his ear, and whispered:

"However... I have other desserts, Your Highness, would you like to try some?"

Xiao Chenyuan's Adam's apple bobbed.

"...What?"

Su Yaoyao climbed off him and nudged his shoulder: "Your Highness, please go wash up first. I'll have someone prepare water."

Xiao Chenyuan grasped her hand: "Together?"

"No." Su Yaoyao withdrew her hand, smiling. "Your Highness, please go first. I'll wait a moment."

Looking at her sly expression, Xiao Chenyuan felt even more uneasy.

But he didn't ask.

He got up, put on his outer robe, and walked towards the washroom.

As he reached the door, he glanced back.

Su Yaoyao was sitting on the edge of the bed, waving at him and smiling like a cat that had stolen a fish.

Xiao Chenyuan: "..."

It's a scam.

But he went in anyway.

The bathroom was filled with steam. Xiao Chenyuan took off his robes and stepped into the bathtub.

The hot water washed over his body, dispelling the day's fatigue. He closed his eyes and leaned against the tub, but his mind was filled with her mischievous smile from earlier.

What's that girl up to now?