Jun Yelan watched Lan Yan, who was looking serious, and the words on his lips did not come out. He gave a nod in response.
Lan Yan leaned closer and said, "I have a plan. When night falls, Your Highness, you just need to cooperate with me."
His ears were filled with her warm breath. Jun Yelan moved to the right and said, "Mm." He inexplicably agreed to Lan Yan's idea.
Lan Yan immediately smiled, threw open Jun Yelan's quilt, and startled him. She laughed, "Your Highness, your leg needs more massage to recover faster."
Hearing this, Jun Yelan's eyes dimmed. Even the imperial physicians could not help him; his legs would never heal. He disliked people touching his legs and tried to pull away.
But Lan Yan had already grabbed Jun Yelan's leg and said with a grin, "Your Highness, you must trust my technique." She began to massage slowly. She had learned a few moves from a doctor before; this was a small matter.
Jun Yelan's legs showed no reaction, but seeing Lan Yan's persistence, he relented. He leaned against the headboard, watching Lan Yan beside him with such concentration that he became mesmerized.
Lan Yan finally stopped massaging his leg when her hands grew tired. She felt that Jun Yelan needed to go out more for fresh air; his complexion had turned pale.
She would start slowly, to make Jun Yelan less resistant to going out. She couldn't help but look at Jun Yelan's face. Actually, after looking for a while, he was quite pleasing to the eye. But others would not think so; those fearful and disgusted glances would hurt Jun Yelan.
She thought of a way: a mask would cover it. Then she would go out herself and catch the thief in the manor first.
Jun Yelan noticed Lan Yan staring at his face. Her eyes held no disgust, but instead, there was concern. He was stunned and turned his head slightly, telling himself he must have seen it wrong.
Lan Yan had already withdrawn her gaze and spent the day with Jun Yelan.
When night fell, she spread out the bedding and sat on the floor, staring at the door with narrowed eyes.
Jun Yelan did not know Lan Yan's plan; she had only told him to cooperate. He could not reveal his hand yet, so he had not made a move.
This time, being discovered by Lan Yan, he could use her to get rid of the troublesome people in the manor. His gaze fell on Lan Yan.
Lan Yan's eyelids drooped, her eyes unmoving. After a long while, she heard faint footsteps and a smile of excitement flashed across her face. She stood up, lunged directly at Jun Yelan, and exclaimed charmingly, "Your Highness."
Jun Yelan's whole body trembled. He was too unaccustomed to the current situation. He watched Lan Yan's hand reach for his neck, his breathing becoming erratic. He whispered, "What are you doing?"
"Your Highness, he wants to know what we're doing at night, so let him know. Then we can seize him," Lan Yan thought it through and realized this was the only way to lure the spy.
As long as he stayed at the door, she would have a way to catch him.
Seeing Lan Yan so confident, Jun Yelan did not say much more. However, Lan Yan was too close to him; he could feel her softness.
Lan Yan, seeing Jun Yelan's agreement, continued to wrap her arms around his neck and moved her lips closer. "Your Highness."
Listening to her deliberately charming voice, Jun Yelan felt a softness spreading through his bones, and his ears turned crimson. At this moment, he wished this charade would end quickly, yet he also somewhat hoped it wouldn't.
The person outside the door chuckled. He thought that the Prince, a useless man, had an unexpectedly proactive Consort. He took out the paper and brush from his怀 and began to write.
He listened to the sounds from within the room and curiously peeked through the window. But this time, he only saw Jun Yelan lying on the bed and murmured, "Where is the Consort?"
"I'm here!" Lan Yan's voice emerged from behind, startling the servant.
Lan Yan stood with her hands on her hips, staring at the unfamiliar face of the servant before her, and laughed, "Was it good to watch!"
The servant shivered all over, fear flickering in his eyes. He swallowed, knowing he had been discovered! What should he do now!
"Why aren't you speaking? I'm waiting to interrogate you!" Lan Yan snatched the paper from his hand, scanned its contents, and sneered, "It's indeed written in detail."
It detailed Jun Yelan's nightly activities, not missing a single day.
The servant became fearful and cried, "Consort, this servant was wrong."
Lan Yan shoved the servant inside and closed the door. "You should say that to His Highness." She looked at Jun Yelan.
The people in the manor did not often see Jun Yelan. When the servant saw him, he was startled by the cold aura emanating from Jun Yelan. He trembled like a sieve and called out, "Your Highness."
Jun Yelan remained silent, clenching his hand resting by the bed, deep anger welling in his eyes. He sneered, "The person behind you is truly ubiquitous. What else did he have you do!"
The servant was unwilling to speak at first, but under the dual gaze, he braced himself and said, "He only ordered me to monitor His Highness's nightly activities. The rest is not my concern."
Jun Yelan's eyes darkened. "It seems there are others like you in this manor, each performing their duties. Ha." He let out a cold laugh, unable to suppress the hatred churning within him.
The servant lowered his head even further, not expecting to be guessed. "Your Highness, I truly did nothing else; please spare this servant."
At this moment, Jun Yelan found it ridiculous. It seemed that his long absence had led people to believe he was a fool! This person deserved to die!
Lan Yan, listening from the side, kicked over the servant and said with amusement, "You can beg anyone for mercy, but you have no right to beg His Highness. I won't waste words on you. Hand over the list of your accomplices and the person behind you."
"This servant doesn't know!" The servant lay on the ground, enduring the pain, and said, "This servant was arranged by the First Prince, and I truly have no connection with anyone else in the manor."
Lan Yan turned to look at Jun Yelan. Seeing that he had no reaction, she realized he had already guessed who it was.
She knew this First Prince; he was coupled with the original host's elder sister and was currently a powerful figure in the capital. When Jun Yelan was healthy, the First Prince was a nobody.
It seemed the First Prince was deliberately seeking revenge, intending to cut all ties. If she had the chance, she would definitely seek revenge against this person.
"Your Highness, how do you intend to deal with him?"
Jun Yelan looked at Lan Yan's cheeks and loosened his grip. He said, "All matters of the Prince's manor will be entrusted to you." He also wanted to see Lan Yan's character, as she was so different from before.
Perhaps she was a spy he had acquired, but it didn't seem like it; a spy wouldn't wear their emotions so openly.
Lan Yan then dragged the servant away, had him beaten thirty times, leaving him half-dead, and sold him to an agent. She also instructed Xia Lian to tell the agent to "take good care" of this servant.
Thus, the servant was taken away, and at the moment he entered the agent's hands, he was throat-slashed by a black-clothed figure who appeared out of nowhere.
By then, Lan Yan had finished her tasks and lay back down on the bedding on the floor. She thought that there was more than one spy in the manor and she would find a way to eliminate them tomorrow.
In any case, she had to provide Jun Yelan with an environment for good recovery. Drowsily, she murmured, "Jun Yelan, I will protect you."
Jun Yelan, who was not asleep on the bed, was startled by these words, his eyelashes trembling. He turned to look at Lan Yan, saw that she had fallen asleep, and felt an inexpressible emotion.
He did not know how long he had watched before falling asleep, but he had a good night's rest and found himself a little attached to someone's scent.