Inside the house, the charcoal crackled with a "pop" sound, and I was wrapped in a warm quilt. I leaned into Nan Chengyao's strong and determined arms, our bodies closely entwined. I listened to his steady heartbeat, one beat at a time. The raging wind and snow outside the window seemed to be isolated in another world.

  He smiled self-deprecatingly: "So, at that time I didn't dare to look at you, because maybe with just one glance, I would have softened and agreed to Dong Di's conditions, so that you could walk to my side unscathed."

  I quietly leaned into his arms and softly replied: "Your concubine has already been perfectly fine by the palace wall."

  He didn't say a word, but silently brought the hand I had bandaged to his lips and gently kissed the injured palm.

  Then his voice rose again, with a sense of relief and promise: "There won't be a next time, I guarantee it."

  My heart slowly softened, just wanting to say something, but then I heard Yan's voice coming from afar: "Second sister, the yam porridge is ready—"

  Before he had even finished speaking, he was already standing beside my bed with a big bowl of yam porridge.

  I took a glance at the porridge in the bowl and couldn't help but laugh as I turned to him: "There's so much, I won't be able to finish it."

  He raised his sword-shaped eyebrows: "You can't finish it, but you have to eat it. This porridge was personally guarded by me while they cooked it, and I served it with my own hands. You must finish it no matter what!"

  I couldn't help but laugh, thinking that he had been pampered since childhood and had never even entered the kitchen, let alone done such things. I looked at the dense red blood vessels in his eyes, just like Nan Xiangyao's, and said, "Why do you have to do these things yourself? It would be better to leave them to Shu Ying."

  His complexion was somewhat unnatural, but in just a twinkling of an eye he smiled again: "Isn't it good to have me serve you?"

  My heart sank, although he tried his best to cover it up, but after all, he was not good at pretending. As I took a sip of the yam porridge from the spoon in his hand, I calmly opened my mouth: "Where's Pusu, why haven't we seen her?"

  Her hand holding the spoon stiffened, her eyes dropped and she didn't make a sound. I felt increasingly uneasy: "What had happened to her?"

  Nan Chengyao tightened his grip on my hand slightly, then said: "I don't want to deceive you, she is not in the Dongji business firm, I have already sent someone to look for her, you don't need to worry."

  I closed my eyes slightly, then opened them again, looking at him with a pleading gaze: "Your Highness, Shuying has been following me since childhood, in my heart, she is like a younger sister. Please, Your Highness, for my sake, you must find her."

  He nodded: "Don't worry."

  I don't know why, but after he said that, my heart inexplicably relaxed a little. Just as I was about to thank him, Qin Zhao's voice suddenly came from outside the door: "Your Highness, there is a military report."

  Nan Chengyao didn't avoid me and calmly said: "Speak."

  "Zhao Mo led his men to chase Dong Ming near the Hanhai Desert, and he is now being held in the Yecheng prison. Please instruct on how to deal with him, Your Highness."

  Suddenly, I felt a suffocating sensation in my chest and couldn't catch my breath. Nan Chengyao loosened his grip on my hand and was about to help me lie down on the bed. I reached out to hold onto his arm and spoke softly but firmly: "Your Highness, let's talk here. The entire Dong family has been involved with me in too many ways; I think I should know."

  It was actually a huge stone that had been weighing on my mind since I woke up, and several times I wanted to ask it out loud, but I endured it. Now, suddenly hearing that Dong Ming is not dead, the relaxation has not yet unfolded, and the news of his capture and imprisonment follows closely.

  Nan Chengyao gazed at me for a while, then let out an almost inaudible soft sigh. He spoke to Qin Zhao outside the screen: "Don't move him for now, I'll go interrogate him myself."

  Qin Zhao responded with a "yes", and then asked again: "What about Chen San's disposal?"

  Nan Cheng Yao faintly asked: "Isn't Dong Ming's whereabouts what he revealed?"

  "No."

  "Does he still not have even half a mind to surrender?"

  "No."

  Nan Chengyao smiled and said: "He's a rare talent, but unfortunately..."

  Across from him, she held her rice bowl and stared at him: "Your Highness means... kill?"

  Nan Chengyao still had a careless smile on his face, but his eyes were cold and detached: "Those who cannot be abandoned are those who can achieve great things, and they should be able to come and go as they please."

  I know that what he did was actually nothing wrong, since it can't be taken for oneself and is destined to oppose, letting the tiger return to the mountain is not as good as cutting the grass and eliminating the roots.

  But understanding is one thing, and it's still hard to suppress the faint chill in her heart.

  Nan Chengyao reached out and took a pillow, gently supporting me against it, then said: "Let Yunliu stay here to accompany you, I'll go with Qin Zhao and come back soon."

  I watched him nod slightly and then saw his back disappear behind the screen.

  "Sister, hurry up and drink the porridge while it's hot." Yi said as she scooped another spoonful to my lips.

  I looked at the faint blue under his eyes and the dense red blood vessels, and couldn't help but feel a little heartache: "You've been marching back and forth, exhausting your energy, and then you guarded me for a day and night. Your body probably can't take it, just call a maid to come over and you can rest for a bit. And as for the young master's side, you should also send someone to tell him not to be too tired."

  "I'm fine, and as for Nan Chengyao, you don't need to feel guilty at all," Ling's eyebrows and eyes turned cold: "It was he who owed you!"

  I slightly furrowed my brow, "Pian, you're not a child anymore, can you directly address the Third Prince by name?"

  His eyes flashed with anger: "He actually dared to leave you in this city as bait to lure in Dong's old thief, can't I even call his name?"

  I let out a soft sigh: "Your Highness must have made arrangements for all sides, so I'm free to do as I please now?"

  The anger in his eyes slightly subsided, and he reluctantly opened his mouth: "If it weren't for the fact that he really cares about you, do you think I would let it go like this?"

  I took the spoon from his hand and drank another mouthful of porridge, without saying a word.

  While feeding me, he continued to speak: "That day we were unable to break through for a long time, and you were taken away. No one knew what would happen. At that time, it was the Third Prince himself who braved the rain of arrows and flew onto the city wall. The 'Turning Spirit' sword was out, and with just one move, he took the life of the old thief Dong."

  Although he was extremely dissatisfied with Nan Chengyao, when he said this, his face still showed a hint of admiration and yearning. Perhaps he himself also sensed it, and smiled slightly awkwardly, then scooped another spoonful of porridge to feed me, before continuing to speak.

  "Dong Laozei died, and the defenders of Ye City also collapsed. We took down Ye City and immediately went to find you. Afraid of accidentally hurting you, the Third Prince issued a strict order that no one was allowed to be injured by swords within Ye City. He had me and Qin Zhao, Mo Ou Yang Xian lead separate groups out of Ye City in different directions to look for you, while he himself rushed to the Dongji merchant house. Later, I received news that you were safe, so I led my troops back, and when I arrived at the merchant house, he had already ordered the extermination of the entire Dong family."

  My heart sank and I was speechless.

  While Yan didn't notice my abnormality, he continued to feed me porridge on one hand and talked to himself on the other: "Later you fell into a coma and no matter what method we used, it was ineffective. We've been keeping watch ever since. Now that I think about it, those two military doctors really had a hard time. If only we couldn't find anyone else, I would have skinned them alive! The third prince didn't say a word, but his gloomy expression made even me feel cold. No wonder those two military doctors looked like they were about to collapse every time they reported your condition."

  He said with a smile that he couldn't help but bring up, while I couldn't laugh at all. After hesitating for a moment, I still opened my mouth with some hesitation: "The Dong family..."

  "Except for Dong Ming, who was escorted out by Chen San, a slave of the Dong family, and fought to the death, and the prince temporarily spared Chen San's life in order to capture Dong Ming, no one else in the Dong Mansion was left alive."

  A crisp opening, without a hint of hesitation.

  Seeing me silent, he sighed: "The third prince has already said it early this morning. If they dare to hurt you, the entire Dong family will be exterminated. Don't you understand what kind of person your husband is? To be honest, if I were him, I would do the same."

  He scooped another spoonful of porridge to feed me, but I just couldn't swallow it anymore. He saw the situation and didn't force me again, put down the bowl, stood up and looked out the window, his voice had a rare sigh and calmness.

  "Second sister, I know you are kind and benevolent, but this world is like that, only victory or defeat, right or wrong. Who is innocent? Who is unjustly accused? Even heaven cannot arbitrate. Don't take all the responsibility on yourself, the Dong family was exterminated because they hurt you, but Dong's rebellion is an ironclad fact, according to the law, they should be punished by exterminating their nine clans, and the Third Prince did not do anything wrong. As a prince, he must demonstrate his power and maintain the imperial authority."

  He turned to me and said, "Besides, the people left in the Dong family can still be used for something, but wanting to bring down the Eastern Palace is not something that can be done overnight. Since Dong Di has already died, the remaining people are not enough to make the Third Prince achieve his goal, so he will not strike at them and scare away the snakes. Why bother keeping the lives of those who hate him, only to let people whisper among themselves, spreading rumors about his cruel and ruthless reputation?"

  I never thought that Yu would say such a thing, for a moment, I could only stare blankly at his handsome face, unable to utter a single word.

  I naturally know that Wei Congming is extraordinary, but he has always been unwilling to get involved in court affairs. For this reason, I don't know how many headaches he has caused for Father and Mother.

  This time following Nan Chengyao on the expedition, even if Nan Chengyao didn't avoid or guard against him, after all, the days were too short. However, he was able to clearly see through everything that could be said and unsaid, the twists and turns, in such a short period of time, which I had not expected.

  He glanced at my expression, then turned his gaze back to the window and spoke in a loud voice, with a hint of pride between his eyebrows: "Father always wanted me to enter the court as an official, but I never would. In fact, I'm not ignorant of these intrigues and struggles, I just disdain them."

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