Xiao Chi Zhan watched her feigned composure with a lazy, unhurried gaze, his index finger tapping with a dry clicking sound.
Ye Luan calmly sat beside him, gently caressing his leg and slowly massaging pressure points.
"Every time it rains, Your Highness's left leg hurts, doesn't it?"
"Beneath the lamplight, beauty's skin; within the bones, blood is veiled."
The ethereal voice sent a shiver through Ye Luan, and her movements became even more gentle.
Even Xiao Chi Zhan, who was accustomed to killing, found himself admitting that as he looked at the crimson beauty under the lamplight, he didn't feel the usual rage and madness at that moment. Read books.
"Didn't anyone tell you that everyone keeps their distance from me on rainy days? Look, the guards outside have all withdrawn."
His voice carried a hint of teasing, his deep eyes as profound as a bottomless abyss.
"Your Highness won't kill me."
"But you lied to me," Xiao Chi Zhan's smile deepened. "You can heal!"
Now, lying would cost her her life.
Ye Luan smiled, "Only superficial knowledge."
The cool, dim light fell upon Xiao Chi Zhan's face, as if cloaked in a thin layer of mist.
Ye Luan could feel him trembling with pain, yet he remained composed, even teasing and frightening her.
"If Your Highness is in pain, you should cry out."
"Call me what?"
Ye Luan's movements paused, her expression unchanged as she said, "Chi Zhan Gege."
"Mm."
Ye Luan focused on massaging his leg.
Feeling the involuntary tremors, she frowned slightly. This was definitely a sequela of having had her bones broken.
How did his bones break, and how did they recover to this state?
"Are you feeling better? Your Highness—Chi Zhan Gege."
Xiao Chi Zhan narrowed his eyes slightly, his tone nonchalant, "Where did you learn that?"
"From reading medical books when I have nothing else to do."
"Oh, so I was just an experiment."
Having been by his side for some time, Ye Luan knew he wasn't angry.
The heavy rain pattered against the lotus leaves, causing fallen petals to drift onto the clear river, forming a scattered pattern. A light, cool breeze carrying the scent of flowers entered through the window.
On the lake, a vast mist spread, resembling snow-white ethereal jade.
"I'll close the window."
Ye Luan lifted the curtain and walked to the window. Looking at the pouring rain outside, she shivered and pulled the two windows shut tightly.
The gilded, ornate lamp flickered with the wind.
In the dim tent, Xiao Chi Zhan's complexion was terrifyingly pale.
He toyed with a knife in his hand. Despite being in excruciating pain, he seemed to have lost all sense of feeling, appearing eerily indifferent.
Ye Luan poured a cup of tea and approached, "Have some tea."
"I want to kill someone."
His chilling words echoed in the dim room, eerie.
Ye Luan put down the teacup, snatched the knife from his hand, and unhesitatingly slashed her own arm. "Drink." kanδん
"If blood can quell your desire to kill, I'll let you drink your fill."
The blood, bright red, stung Xiao Chi Zhan.
A flicker of imperceptible confusion crossed his deep crimson eyes. The jade-like arm was only an inch away from him. In a rage, he exclaimed, "Ye Luan, are you insane!"
With a clang, the knife fell to the ground.
Under the dim lamplight, Ye Luan saw the furious crimson in his pupils and smiled inwardly, a touch of madness in her heart.
"You finally seem human."
The madman had finally become human.
She didn't know how she made it through the night.
In her mind, his enraged voice and that terrifying figure were all she saw, in a state of panic.
The soft yellow candlelight made the figure increasingly ethereal.
As she drifted into a dazed sleep, she heard him curse her. She felt as if she were trapped beside a demon, surrounded by the scent of blood.
She couldn't escape, couldn't break free. She was like a shadow, a curse that ensnared her nerves.
In the void of darkness, all she saw was that tall, snow-white figure, crimson eyes and white hair, looking at her with a chilling smile of death.
The rain had fallen all night.
Dragon-coil and phoenix-bird incense burners burned with ambergris. Ye Luan felt as if she were drowning. She blinked and slowly awakened.
The wound on her arm had been bandaged.
In truth, she had been careful, only a small scratch, nothing serious.
"A Luan, are you awake?"
Ye Luan came back to her senses and slowly dressed and got out of bed to wash up.
"Come in."
Lan Mu Rou pushed open the door and sighed slightly upon seeing the wound on her arm.
"It's time to eat. We'll be docking soon."
"Understood."
Ye Luan was escorted back to the prince's mansion.
What was different was that she was now living in Fuyuan, Xiao Chi Zhan's courtyard.
Recently, something had happened in the imperial court, and Xiao Chi Zhan was always out early and returning late.
The rain was incessant, and the dew was heavy.
Ye Luan, wrapped in fox fur, lay on the couch, staring out at the pear trees battered by the wind and rain, her eyes filled with a complex emotion.
She found herself increasingly unable to comprehend her own actions, hating her own indecisiveness.
"Miss, Miss Ye, the Prince has been carried back. Hurry and see him—"
The anxious voice, mixed with the sound of the door being knocked and the patter of rain, struck Ye Luan's heart. Her expression was indifferent, as cool and aloof as a proud plum blossom.
"Miss Ye—"
Ye Luan finally opened the door. She threw on her fox fur, held a hand warmer, and walked across the moonlit flagstones to the study next door.
Rainwater dripped down from the yellow eaves, wetting the stone lanterns flanking the courtyard, carrying a faint scent of pine.
In the dim inner chamber, the man lying on the bed had fallen into a coma, weak.
Imperial physicians were gathered around. Blood, bandages, and poisoned blood filled the room, the smell pungent.
Ye Luan took a few glances and then came out.
The leader of the Dragon Scale Guards, Long Tian, who was guarding the door, saw her and respectfully said, "Miss Ye."
"What kind of injury does he have?"
"He's been poisoned with a rare toxin."
Long Tian looked meaningfully at Ye Luan's expression. Given the Prince's methods, no one other than the woman before him could get close to his body.
He couldn't help but suspect that the Prince's sudden poisoning was related to this woman.
"Can the imperial physicians treat it?"
The mist-shrouded rain made the small courtyard feel desolate and cool.
Long Tian smiled faintly, his laughter laced with an unidentifiable meaning, "Miss Ye needn't worry. The Prince won't die."
"Oh, right. News of the Prince's injury has been suppressed. Miss Ye should not go out for the next few days."
Ye Luan nodded, "Then I will stay and tend to the Prince."
"Miss, please come back tomorrow. It's too chaotic tonight."
Ye Luan stared intently at Long Tian for a few moments, her eyebrows slightly raised. She picked up the paper umbrella from a maid and left.
The study was only a few steps away from the main courtyard. After returning, Ye Luan stood under the eaves, watching the drizzling rain fall on the grass, trees, bricks, and stones, her gaze inscrutable.
"Miss."
A familiar voice sounded. Ye Luan turned around and saw Fu Dai.
"Miss, are you alright? You're really alright—"
Fu Dai wept torrentially. Ye Luan brought her back into the inner room, her heart filled with a growing unease.
After returning, she had begged Xiao Chi Zhan for several days before he agreed to let Fu Dai return to serve her. Fu Dai had only been released yesterday, severely injured, and had been staying in the side room.
"Are your injuries healed?"
Fu Dai was fair-skinned and cheerful, but after enduring so much torment, she appeared somewhat dejected.
However, upon seeing that Ye Luan was unharmed, she smiled through her tears, "Miss, don't worry. Your servant has recovered."