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墨書 Inktalez
Three days later, the Yun residence was in an uproar.
"An imperial marriage?!"
Yun Jinxiu clutched the edict, her fingertips turning white.
— The Emperor had actually betrothed her to Xiao Jingyan!
"Miss, what should we do?" the maid Mo Zhu fretted, pacing anxiously. "The heir of the Prince of Zhenbei is notorious for his debauchery. I've heard his manor is filled with concubines. If you marry him, won't that mean..."
Yun Jinxiu sneered and tossed the edict onto the table. "What’s there to panic about? It’s just a transaction."
She should have seen it coming.
That night at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, Xiao Jingyan had clearly lured her in on purpose. He must have uncovered her identity and might even know… that she was investigating the old case of the Yun Family.
"Prepare the sedan chair," she said as she stood up, her eyes glinting coldly. "I want to meet this 'fiancé'."
In the study of the Prince of Zhenbei's Manor,
Xiao Jingyan paused in his writing, raising his gaze to the intruding Yun Jinxiu, a smirk playing on his lips. "Miss Yun, are you so eager before even entering the door?"
"Stop pretending," Yun Jinxiu slammed her hand on the desk. "What exactly do you want?"
Xiao Jingyan leisurely set down his pen and pulled out an object from his drawer, sliding it across to her—
It was the jade pendant that had sunk into the bath at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.
"Cooperation," he said, meeting her eyes directly. "You help me investigate the old case of the Red Flame Army, and I will assist you in avenging the Yun Family."
Yun Jinxiu's pupils constricted sharply.
— He even knows about this!
After a long silence, she suddenly smiled. "Alright. But..."
She leaned closer, pressing her golden silk fan against his throat. "If I find out you’ve told even one lie, I won’t hesitate to make sure you become a 'short-lived ghost'."
Xiao Jingyan chuckled softly and suddenly grabbed her wrist, pulling her into his embrace!
Yun Jinxiu stumbled into him, and she heard him whisper in her ear, "Three years as a term. After three years, if you still want to leave, I will set you free."
The red candles burned high; the matchmakers had already been incapacitated by Yun Jinxiu’s fragrant powder.
She abruptly tore off the heavy phoenix crown, and with a swift motion, the golden silk fan unfurled, the sharp edge pressing against Xiao Jingyan's throat. "Young Master, tonight you will sleep in the study."
Xiao Jingyan leaned against the intricately carved bed, his festive attire half-open, revealing the gruesome tattoo of the character "crime" on his collarbone. He flicked the fan's blade lightly, a lazy smile on his lips. "Madam has a cruel heart; on our wedding night, you leave me to guard an empty room?"
"Stop pretending," Yun Jinxiu retorted, pulling out an account book from her sleeve and slapping it onto the table. "Explain clearly—why does your grain business exclusively purchase Southern Dian Aconite? That herb is the main ingredient for concocting Drunken Haze."
Suddenly, the candlelight flared up.
Xiao Jingyan's gaze darkened as he seized her wrist and flipped her over! The bed curtains snapped at the golden hooks, layers of red gauze falling like a blood mist. He whispered in her ear, "Madam might as well explain why every month on the fifteenth, the 'patients' you rescue at the southern city clinic are all orphans of the Red Flame Army?"
—It turned out they had been monitoring each other for a long time.
As the clock struck three, Yun Jinxiu threw three silver needles into the bedpost, marking a boundary. "Let’s set three rules. First, no crossing boundaries without permission; second..."
"Second, during our cooperation, we shall not interfere in each other's private affairs." Xiao Jingyan suddenly tossed her a bronze key. "Third, tomorrow we will raid the transport office."
The key felt cold and chilling in her palm; Yun Jinxiu recognized it as a standard issue from the royal treasury—the very place where her mother's medical records last appeared.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Young Master has quite the ambition."
"Likewise," Xiao Jingyan said, playing with her scattered hair. "After all, aside from the Langya Bai Clan, there are no others capable of resolving the poison known as 'July Soul Separation.'"
Yun Jinxiu froze suddenly. This was the true name of her fetal poison, something even her father did not know.
Thunder rumbled outside, illuminating their faces with fleeting shadows.
At dawn, heavy rain poured down.
Yun Jinxiu was in front of her dressing table altering her appearance when suddenly she caught sight of Xiao Jingyan's figure in the copper mirror. He wore half a bronze mask and tossed her a sword. "The transport commissioner Zhao Huai'en is colluding with Ting Yu Lou; today there will be a fierce battle."
"Is Young Master planning to make me a doomed lovebird?" She retaliated by slamming the scabbard back at him.
Xiao Jingyan chuckled softly and suddenly wrapped his arms around her waist, leaping out of the window! In the downpour, his voice rang clear: "Madam is mistaken; it’s a case of collusion."
That night, flames engulfed the transport office.
As Yun Jinxiu flew through the beams entangled in golden thread to seize account books, Xiao Jingyan was just piercing open Zhao Huai'en's clothing with his sword—revealing that man's chest bore an inverted pattern of nine-turn silver leaves!
"Bai Clan Traitor..." Her pupils constricted sharply.
The rain washed away the blood as they stood back to back amidst a pile of corpses, finally seeing each other's true forms for the first time.
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