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

The carriage moved slowly through the night.

Chun Tao and Jing Zhe were assigned to look after Jiang Jingchen and Xie Yu, who were also drunk—as for He Qing, well, he was naturally taken care of.

Inside the carriage, Su Yaoyao was half-pressed down by Xiao Chenyuan—his hand, gripping the hem of her clothes, never let go. Ling Feng had a great deal of effort to help her into the carriage, but as soon as she sat down, Xiao Chenyuan leaned directly onto her.

"Your Highness..." Su Yaoyao tried to push her away, "Please loosen your grip, or your clothes will tear."

There was no progress.

Xiao Chenyuan buried his face in the crook of her shoulder, his dark hair cascading down, a few stray strands tickling her chin.

Su Yaoyao sighed, resignedly sat up straight, and let him lean on her.

The carriage jolted slightly.

Xiao Chenyuan suddenly stirred and muttered something under his breath.

"Your Highness?" Su Yaoyao listened intently.

Xiao Chenyuan didn't respond, but instead snuggled closer to her.

The hand that had been gripping the hem of her clothes loosened its hold and instead wrapped around her waist.

His arms were strong and powerful, holding her tightly, making it impossible for her to break free.

"……cold."

His voice was soft, slurred with drunkenness, yet it carried an indescribable fragility.

Su Yaoyao was stunned.

cold?

There was a heater burning in the carriage, yet he was still wearing a cloak...

Su Yaoyao pulled her cloak over, intending to drape it over Xiao Chenyuan, but as soon as she moved, the arms wrapped around her waist tightened even more.

"Don't go..." Xiao Chenyuan's voice carried a kind of suppressed obsession, "Let me hold you for a while."

Su Yaoyao was stunned.

This was the first time she had seen Xiao Chenyuan like this—

The aloof, ascetic, and eternally dignified Crown Prince was now like an insecure child, clinging to her tightly and refusing to let go.

Her heart softened, and she gently reassured him, "I won't leave, I just want to put a coat on you. Please let go of my hand, okay?"

"Oh no!" Xiao Chenyuan pressed himself against her. "Let go... and you'll run away."

Su Yaoyao suddenly remembered the rumors about this Crown Prince—the eldest son of the Empress, born into nobility, but orphaned at a young age.

His maternal family was the most prestigious family in Jiangnan, with strict family rules and extremely high expectations for him.

The emperor was preoccupied with state affairs, and although he valued him, he neglected to get close to him...

How lonely did he grow up in?

How did you gradually cultivate yourself into this state of being, free from desires and without joy or sorrow?

For twenty years, he lived like a flawless jade sculpture, aloof, solitary, and untouched by worldly dust.

Even a jade carving can grow cold.

Shedding his usual dignified and aloof demeanor, he now... seemed surprisingly vulnerable.

Like a child.

A child who grew up alone in the deep palace, guarding Buddhist scriptures and a solitary lamp.

"This humble woman will not run away." Su Yaoyao raised her hand and gently patted his back. "Your Highness, please rest assured."

Xiao Chenyuan seemed to have been calmed down, and the strength in his arm loosened a little, but he still didn't let go completely.

You're lying.

"I do not lie."

"You said last time that you wouldn't run away..." Xiao Chenyuan's eyes were unfocused, as if he was recalling something, "and then... you went to seduce Xie Yu."

Su Yaoyao: "..."

Where is this going?

"And Jiang Jingchen..." Xiao Chenyuan continued muttering, his tone full of grievance, "Why...why is he your cousin?"

Su Yaoyao was both amused and exasperated: "Your Highness, my cousin is my blood relative, that can't be changed."

"Then we don't need him," Xiao Chenyuan said domineeringly. "I'll be your cousin."

"..."

Looking at his childish behavior after getting drunk, Su Yaoyao's scheming and flirtatious thoughts suddenly faded away.

Instead, a strange, subtle pain emerged.

She initially approached him to take advantage of his influence, for revenge, and to survive in this cannibalistic world.

Teasing him, teasing him, and watching him lose control—this was a game she meticulously designed.

But now...

She raised her hand and gently brushed aside the stray hairs that were slightly messy on his forehead.

When his fingertips touched his cold skin, Xiao Chenyuan suddenly opened his eyes in his arms.

"...Su Yaoyao," his voice was terribly hoarse as he stared intently at her.

"No one but you would dare to treat me like this."

"No one but you can make me feel... that I'm still alive."

Su Yaoyao didn't know how to answer at this moment.

"Your Highness, you've had too much to drink. Let's go back to the East Palace."

"The Eastern Palace..." Xiao Chenyuan repeated, then suddenly smiled.

The smile was faint, yet it was like moonlight breaking through the clouds, breathtakingly beautiful.

"It's cold..." He hugged her tighter. "It's too cold there..."

Su Yaoyao felt a lump in her throat.

She didn't know how cold the Eastern Palace was, but she knew how cold loneliness was.

In her previous life, her parents died young, and her brother passed away from illness. She struggled alone in the entertainment industry, witnessing the coldness and warmth of human relationships.

Those lavish banquets, those glamorous stages, those men fawning over her... all of them were scheming and exploitation.

She thought she was already used to it.

But looking at the man in front of her who seemed to have everything but actually had nothing, she realized that some coldness cannot be warmed by fine clothes and delicacies.

"Your Highness..." she called softly.

Xiao Chenyuan suddenly raised his hand and touched her face.

His fingertips were icy cold, yet his movements were very gentle.

"Why do you..." His voice was low, almost a sigh, "always have to provoke me?"

Su Yaoyao was stunned.

"Buddhist beads... hot springs... plum pavilion..." Xiao Chenyuan's fingers slowly traced her eyebrows, her nose, and finally stopped at her lips, "and today..."

His eyes were unfocused, yet they carried a deep-seated, long-suppressed emotion:

"Su Yaoyao, do you think... I'm easy to fool?"

"This humble woman did not..." Su Yaoyao retorted subconsciously.

"You do." Xiao Chenyuan interrupted her, his fingertips gently caressing her lips. "When you look at me, your eyes are full of calculation... I know it all."

As he spoke, he suddenly leaned closer.

Their noses almost touched, their breaths mingling.

"But..." Xiao Chenyuan's voice was even lower, slurred with alcohol, yet each word was clear, "I still came."

"Knowing it's a trap, knowing you're teasing me... I still came."

His eyes gradually cleared, yet they became so deep they seemed to want to devour you:

"Su Yaoyao, you win."

As soon as he finished speaking, he lowered his head and kissed her.

This kiss was not as rough and forceful as Mei Ting's, but rather carried an almost devout tenderness.

He gently sucked on her lips, his tongue tentatively tracing their shape. His movements were clumsy, yet they somehow made Su Yaoyao's body go weak.

Su Yaoyao closed her eyes and reached out to wrap her arms around his neck.

This tacit consent made Xiao Chenyuan kiss even deeper.

His hand moved up from her waist, "Yaoyao... what's wrong..."

He squeezed it, "So soft..."

Su Yaoyao trembled at his blatant words.

Xiao Chenyuan, however, did not give her a chance to escape.

His kisses moved down her body, from her lips to her chin, and then to her slender neck.

Take a gentle bite.

"Your Highness..." Su Yaoyao called out to him unconsciously, her voice as soft as melted sugar.

Xiao Chenyuan paused for a moment.

He looked up at her dazed eyes, her flushed cheeks tinged with desire, and her slightly swollen, moist lips.

A struggle flashed in his eyes.

Then, as if using his last bit of strength, he buried his face in the crook of her shoulder, his voice muffled:

"I'm drunk," he said softly, as if explaining, or perhaps talking to himself.

"Yes." Su Yaoyao nodded. "Your Highness is drunk."

"So..." Xiao Chenyuan's hands were still wrapped around her waist, the tightness increasing rather than decreasing.

"What I say and what I do... are all meaningless."

Su Yaoyao looked up at him.

Eyes facing each other.

The candlelight flickered, reflecting the dark emotions churning in his eyes.

"Then, Your Highness, would you like...?" she asked softly, "to have it count?"

Xiao Chenyuan remained silent for a long time.

So long that Su Yaoyao thought he wouldn't answer anymore.

Then, he suddenly pulled her into his arms, his voice muffled:

"hope."

He paused, then added:

"But I cannot."

Su Yaoyao leaned against him, listening to his steady heartbeat, and suddenly smiled.

She reached out and hugged him back.

"Then we'll wait until Your Highness is able to."

She spoke casually, yet every word was clear:

"This humble woman... will wait."

Xiao Chenyuan froze.

He looked down at the bold and cunning woman in his arms, at the candid smile in her eyes, and at the Buddhist prayer beads on her wrist that belonged to him…

After a long while, he slowly tightened his arms.

He hugged her even tighter.

It felt like being hugged...

The only source of warmth in this cold world.

The carriage stopped in front of the East Palace Gate.

When Ling Feng lifted the carriage curtain, this was the scene he saw—his master was holding Miss Su tightly, the two of them leaning against each other like a pair of inseparable lovers.

He silently lowered the carriage curtain and cleared his throat:

"Master, we've arrived."

Inside the carriage, Xiao Chenyuan slowly released his hand.

The dazed look in his eyes gradually faded, and his usual clarity returned. Only his ears remained flushed, betraying his earlier loss of composure.

"Today..." he began, his voice now calm, "thank you, Miss Su."

Su Yaoyao straightened her slightly disheveled clothes and smiled, her eyes crinkling: "Your Highness is too kind."

She got up and got out of the car, and Xiao Chenyuan followed her out.

The two stood in front of the East Palace Gate, the moonlight as clear as water, bathing them in its glow.

"Ling Feng, escort Miss Su back to her residence," Xiao Chenyuan instructed.

"Yes."

Su Yaoyao curtsied and said, "This humble woman takes her leave."

She turned to leave, but her wrist was gently pulled.

Xiao Chenyuan looked at her, his eyes swirling with complex emotions, which ultimately coalesced into a single sentence:

"Be careful on the road."

Su Yaoyao smiled: "Your Highness is the same."

She withdrew her hand, turned around, and got into the carriage.

The wheels rolled on, and the journey went further and further away.

Xiao Chenyuan stood in front of the palace gate, watching the direction she had left, remaining motionless for a long time.

A night breeze blew by, carrying the fragrance of plum blossoms.

He raised his hand and touched his lips.

There... her warmth still lingers there.

"evil creature……"

He whispered, but a hint of a smile, unnoticed even by himself, flashed in his eyes.

That's it.

It is a sinful thing...

Just accept it.