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

"Your Highness...you didn't leave?" Su Yaoyao was somewhat surprised.

"This is where I listened to the scriptures," Xiao Chenyuan said calmly. "Why are you leaving?"

He walked over and stopped in front of her.

They were very close; Su Yaoyao could smell the faint sandalwood scent on him and see her own slightly reddened eyes reflected in his.

"Did you cry?" he asked.

"No." Su Yaoyao turned her face away.

Xiao Chenyuan remained silent for a moment, then suddenly reached out his hand.

My fingertips gently brushed across the corner of her eye.

The touch was warm, with the roughness of a thin callus.

"It's wet here." He withdrew his hand, his tone indifferent.

Su Yaoyao bit her lip and didn't say anything.

"If you were upset, why didn't you yell back earlier?" Xiao Chenyuan looked at her. "With Miss Su's eloquence, it shouldn't be difficult to make him even more embarrassed."

"What's the point of scolding him?" Su Yaoyao raised her eyes, the tears still glistening, but her gaze had cleared. "If a dog bites me, am I supposed to bite it back?"

A faint smile flickered in Xiao Chenyuan's eyes.

"At least you're clear-headed."

He turned around, took a scroll of scripture from the bookshelf, and handed it to her:

"The Diamond Sutra. If you're feeling down, you can copy it."

Su Yaoyao took the scripture; the thick paper felt cool to the touch.

"Is Your Highness trying to comfort me?" She tilted her head to look at him.

"You could say that," Xiao Chenyuan paused, "It's also a way of apologizing."

"apologize?"

"I shouldn't have eavesdropped just now," he said frankly. "Although this library is my place, it was still impolite."

Su Yaoyao smiled.

This person... is quite interesting.

"Then I accept." She hugged the scriptures tightly, the prayer beads on her wrist swaying. "However, Your Highness, you just heard it, the Second Prince said... that you will never fall in love with a woman in this lifetime."

She looked up and stared straight at him:

Is it true?

Xiao Chenyuan twirled his fingertips—the place was empty; the prayer beads had already been given away.

"The Buddha said, it cannot be spoken." He avoided answering.

Su Yaoyao persisted: "Then I'll ask another question."

She stepped forward, closer to him, and lowered her voice:

"Your Highness gifted this string of Buddhist prayer beads to my daughter, truly only as... an apology?"

Xiao Chenyuan lowered his eyes and looked at her.

The morning light slanted in through the window, casting dappled shadows on her face. Her eyes were bright, holding a hint of probing, a touch of cunning, and a barely perceptible... expectation.

"Su Yaoyao," he said slowly.

"Um?"

"You ask too many questions."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Su Yaoyao was stunned for a moment, then quickly chased after him: "Your Highness has not yet answered me!"

Xiao Chenyuan continued walking, his voice carried on the wind:

"You can figure out the answer yourself."

Su Yaoyao stood there, watching his slender figure disappear into the depths of the scripture pavilion, and suddenly smiled.

She looked down at the Buddhist prayer beads on her wrist, then at the Diamond Sutra in her bosom.

"If you want to think for yourself, then think for yourself."

She murmured to herself, her fingertips tracing the string of prayer beads.

Anyway…

"There is ample time."

----

On the way back to her residence from Xiangguo Temple, Su Yaoyao kept her eyes closed to rest.

The prayer beads on her wrist swayed gently with the bumps of the carriage, the sandalwood beads making a soft, crisp sound as they tapped together.

Unconsciously, her fingertips caressed the warm, smooth Buddhist prayer beads, her mind replaying the events of the day.

Xiao Chenyuan was unlike any man she had ever met before; he was insightful, powerful, and... exceptionally handsome...

I wonder what this kind of person would look like on the couch...

As she was thinking, the carriage suddenly stopped.

"Miss, it seems there's a traffic jam ahead," the driver's voice came.

Su Yaoyao lifted a corner of the carriage curtain to look out.

A large crowd had gathered in front of the Yongning Marquis's residence, and the cries of women and the curses of men could be faintly heard.

Several servants were struggling to hold back someone; the scene was chaotic.

"Go around to the back door," Su Yaoyao instructed, lowering the carriage curtain.

As soon as the carriage turned around, a familiar voice pierced through the noise:

"Liu Xinghua! You get out here right now! Your brother's about to be beaten to death, aren't you going to do anything about it?!"

He is Aunt Liu's brother, Liu Dafu.

Su Yaoyao frowned slightly and gave Jingzhe a wink.

Jingzhe understood and quietly got off the bus, blending into the crowd to inquire.

Before long, Jingzhe returned. "Miss, it's Aunt Liu's brother causing trouble in front of the mansion. He says... he claims our Marquis's mansion cheated him out of his money, and he wants an explanation."

"Scammed him out of his money?" Su Yaoyao sneered. "Has Granny Lin made her move?"

"Yes," Jingzhe said in a low voice. "The original owner of that 'ancient jade from the previous dynasty' came to redeem it today. The item that Liu Dafu brought out was fake, and according to the pawnshop's rules, he should pay three times the amount of silver. He couldn't pay, so the original owner made a scene at the mansion."

Su Yaoyao's lips curled into a smile: "Is the person you found reliable?"

"Don't worry, young lady, they won't trace it back to us. Fifteen thousand taels is enough to give him a hard time."

"Ha, who told him to dare accept it?" Su Yaoyao paused, then asked, "Where is Aunt Liu?"

"The concubine is inside and hasn't come out. It's the old steward from the Marquis's side who's handling things. But judging from the way he's acting, Liu Dafu won't leave until he gets the money."

Su Yaoyao pondered for a moment: "Go back through the back door, ignore him."

"But Miss, if this matter gets out of hand, it will damage the reputation of the Marquis's mansion..."

"Reputation?" Su Yaoyao laughed. "What does a concubine's brother's gambling debts have to do with the legitimate daughter of the Marquis's mansion? If anyone should be disgraced, it's Aunt Liu and Father."

She leaned against the car wall, her fingertips gently tapping the scroll of the Diamond Sutra:

"The bigger the commotion, the better. When Father can't handle it anymore, he'll naturally remember... who can help him solve his problems."

----

Sure enough, that very night, Marquis Yongning summoned Su Yaoyao to his study.

The atmosphere in the study was heavy.

Marquis Yongning, Su Cheng'an, sat in his armchair, his face ashen.

Aunt Liu knelt at his feet, weeping bitterly.

"My lord, I really didn't know my brother would do such a thing... That pawnshop is my family's only property. Now that this has happened, if my brother can't repay the money, he will face legal trouble!" Aunt Liu tugged at Su Cheng'an's clothes and wept bitterly.

Su Cheng'an irritably shook her off: "He brought this on himself! Gambling and accepting bribes—aren't those all illegal? Now this has come to the gates of the manor; the whole capital knows that my Yongning Marquis's mansion has such a relative!"

"My Lord..." Aunt Liu was about to cry and plead, but Su Cheng'an interrupted her.

"Enough!" He looked at Su Yaoyao, who had just entered, his brows furrowing even more.

"Yaoyao, you saw what happened today. The Liu family..."

"What does Father want to say?" Su Yaoyao asked calmly, "Is the Marquis's mansion supposed to repay the debts owed by Aunt Liu's brother?"

"Of course not!" Su Cheng'an immediately denied, but his tone softened, "It's just... after all, it's your aunt's family. If a lawsuit really breaks out, it won't look good for the Marquis's mansion."

Su Yaoyao sneered inwardly.

Now you're thinking about saving face? When you were condoning Aunt Liu's misappropriation of her mother's dowry, why didn't you think about saving face then?

"Does Father mean that his daughter should pay for this?" she asked directly.