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

Su Qingrun strode in, her aura even colder than the snow outside.

He was taken aback when he saw that Xiao Chenyuan was awake. Then his gaze fell on his younger sister's face—her eyes were red and swollen, her face was haggard, and there was blood on the hem of her clothes.

Su Qingrun's face darkened completely.

He glared fiercely at Xiao Chenyuan, his gaze so cold it could kill.

"They're all dead," he said, his voice cold and hard.

Xiao Chenyuan looked up at him.

Su Qingrun said, word by word, "All the secret guards Your Highness arranged are dead. Not a single one is left."

Xiao Chenyuan's pupils contracted slightly.

He recounted Su Yaoyao's encounter with the wild boar and the assassin. The wild boar that suddenly went berserk, the guard who spread false information and tried to poison her, the crimson figure blocking her path—

He spoke calmly, but every word was like a knife.

Xiao Chenyuan's face grew paler and paler.

"If it weren't for the princess of Xiliang who happened to appear," Su Qingrun concluded, "if Xie Yu hadn't risked his life to block her, Your Highness wouldn't be seeing your lively and energetic sister now."

He paused, his gaze sharp as a knife.

"What Your Highness wants to do is none of my business."

"But what if these things jeopardize Yaoyao—"

He reached out and grasped Su Yaoyao's wrist.

"I can take her away at any time."

At almost the same moment, Xiao Chenyuan reached out and grabbed Su Yaoyao's other wrist.

The two exerted force at the same time.

Su Yaoyao was pulled and swayed. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly heard Xiao Chenyuan groan.

Blood was rapidly seeping into the robe on his right shoulder.

"Your Highness?!"

Su Yaoyao was startled. Forgetting her argument with Su Qingrun, she quickly checked his injury. "You're really hurt?!"

Xiao Chenyuan ignored the wound, letting the blood stain most of his clothes. He just stared at Su Qingrun, saying each word clearly:

"General Su, don't worry."

His voice was very steady, as if he was using all his strength to say those words.

"Yaoyao—I will protect you with my life. Even if something happens to me, I will never let Yaoyao suffer the slightest harm!"

Su Qingrun looked at him and remained silent for a moment.

Something flickered slightly in those cold, sharp eyes.

He scoffed, "I hope Your Highness keeps your word."

Walk away.

---

Only two people remained inside the tent.

The candlelight crackled and popped, creating a tiny flame that made Xiao Chenyuan's face appear even paler.

Su Yaoyao looked at his shoulder, which was bleeding profusely, and felt both angry and heartbroken.

"What exactly happened?" Her voice was still hoarse from crying. "Aren't they all deliberately trying to make me suffer?"

Xiao Chenyuan raised his eyes: "One by one?"

Su Yaoyao choked, thinking of Xie Yu, the crimson figure who shielded her from the medicine, his injured right arm, and his words, "He's fine."

She didn't answer, but just stared at his wound, her eyes starting to redden again.

A complex emotion suddenly welled up in Xiao Chenyuan's heart.

He suppressed the surging thoughts in his heart and reached out to pull her.

Su Yaoyao took a step back.

"Don't move." She sniffed, turned around to rummage through the first-aid kit, and said, "Treat the wound first."

As Xiao Chenyuan watched her rummaging through drawers and cabinets, the bitterness in his heart was replaced by another emotion.

Even though he was so angry, Yaoyao still thought about his injury first.

Su Yaoyao picked up the medicine box, knelt down beside him, and deftly tore open the robe on his right shoulder.

The wound was starkly exposed in the candlelight—a deep knife wound, still oozing blood.

Her hand paused, and her eyes reddened again.

"You..." She bit her lip, holding back tears, and began to apply the medicine to him.

Xiao Chenyuan looked at her lowered eyes and trembling fingertips, and suddenly spoke:

"Those assassins in the forest were deliberately lured here by me."

Su Yaoyao's hands didn't stop moving.

"I was prepared, and my guards were all in ambush. But those people—the second batch—came from another direction. They were well-trained and used deadly methods."

Su Yaoyao raised her head.

"The second batch?"

"Hmm." Xiao Chenyuan looked at her. "The only variable is... someone took an arrow for me."

Su Yaoyao was stunned.

To shield someone?

Who blocked it?

Suddenly, the image of that crimson figure, that blood-stained right arm, and that casual "He's alright" flashed into her mind.

"It's Helian Qing," Xiao Chenyuan said, giving her the answer.

Su Yaoyao opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.

Xiao Chenyuan looked at her with a complicated expression.

"He saved the orphan, and then rushed to save you," he said. "Twice."

Su Yaoyao remained silent for a moment, then lowered her head to continue applying the medicine to him.

"I know. I saw he was injured."

She paused, her voice muffled: "But before I could ask, I heard you had an accident."

The inexplicable emotions in Xiao Chenyuan's heart were suddenly soothed by those words.

She didn't have time to ask Helian Qing.

Because she was eager to see him.

"Yaoyao," he called to her.

Su Yaoyao ignored him and focused on bandaging.

"Yaoyao," he called again.

"What?" she asked irritably.

Xiao Chenyuan reached out, cupped her face, and forced her to lift her head.

Those eyes were red, with tears still clinging to their eyelashes. They looked so angry, yet it was heartbreaking to see them like that.

He looked at her, and for the first time, a hint of... panic appeared in his usually aloof phoenix eyes.

"Graceful".

"I was wrong," he said, his voice soft but earnest. "I shouldn't have kept it from you."

Su Yaoyao still didn't want to talk to him.

"I just want to resolve this as soon as possible..." He held her, burying his head in the crook of her neck, his voice carrying an unusual vulnerability.

"Then I'll marry you with peace of mind."

"I'm sorry... Yaoyao... I'm just... used to it. From childhood to adulthood, I've always carried everything on my own. There's no one to discuss things with, no one to share the burden with. I thought... keeping it from you was for your own good."

He paused, then gently wiped away the tears from the corner of her eye with his thumb.

"But I forgot," he said, "I am not alone anymore..."

Su Yaoyao felt a lump in her throat.

"My life isn't just mine." Xiao Chenyuan looked at her, his eyes so deep they seemed to want to draw her in. "It's yours too."

Su Yaoyao bit her lip, trying hard not to let her tears fall.

"Do you know..." her voice trembled, "how terrified I was when I saw you being carried back covered in blood?"

Xiao Chenyuan pulled her into his arms.

"I know," he said.

Su Yaoyao buried her face in his chest and said in a muffled voice, "You don't know anything. If something really happens to you, I..."

She couldn't continue.

Xiao Chenyuan lowered his head and placed a kiss on the top of her head.

"Nothing will happen. Nothing will happen in the future."

Su Yaoyao raised her head and glared at him: "What guarantees do you have? Look at all these injuries you've sustained!"

She pointed at his body: "Here! Here! And here!"

This battered body

This wasn't the first time Su Yaoyao had met him.

But every time I see him, I feel a tightness in my chest.

The fresh wound on her shoulder was gruesome, the skin and flesh torn open. Her hand holding the medicine bottle trembled slightly as she sprinkled the powder onto the wound, her movements as gentle as if afraid of breaking something.

"Look," she said in a muffled voice, "I'm already covered in wounds, and now I have another one."