The reporting Hidden Guard lowered his head even further. "Yes."

"Who?"

Li Yun’s question was concise, but his deep, somber voice promised a gathering storm. It made everyone nearby tense up, terrified of attracting his notice.

The Hidden Guard answered, "Lord Jiang Yuchuan, Junior Minister of the Ministry of Justice."

After saying this, the Hidden Guard proceeded to explain, in detail, how Jiang Yuchuan had met Ming Lingyi and helped her drive away the scoundrels who were trying to accost her.

Li Yun sat in his seat, stroking the ring on his thumb, and remained silent for a long time.

This ring... it was the first gift Ming Lingyi had given him, shortly after their engagement all those years ago.

In truth, the jade was the finest white jade money could buy at the time. Even now, it would be a prized family heirloom for any wealthy household. But for the ruler of the Dayan Dynasty, a man who commanded a vast empire and possessed every rare treasure imaginable, the material of this ring was hardly remarkable.

And yet, in all these years, Li Yun had never once considered replacing it.

It was a gift from his Yuan Niang, which made it his most treasured possession. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Nothing else could take its place.

’But now, in my Yuan Niang’s heart, have I become someone who can be replaced at any moment?’

Jiang Yuchuan.

Li Yun couldn’t help but repeat the man’s name twice in his mind. He had some impression of this Jiang Yuchuan.

He had passed the imperial examinations at a young age, yet had gone neither to the Hanlin Academy nor one of the Six Ministries, choosing a place like the Ministry of Justice instead.

The man was clever and had his methods.

In just three short years, he had solved one bizarre case after another at the Ministry of Justice, rising from the lowly position of Chief Clerk to the post of Junior Minister.

Especially two years ago, when he thoroughly investigated the Minister of Revenue’s collusion with the border garrison, brought the truth to light, and recovered over eight hundred taels of Official Silver. News of the affair was known not just in the Capital City, but likely by everyone across the entire Dayan Dynasty.

It was Jiang Yuchuan, then just a Chief Clerk, who had discovered a discrepancy while organizing case files. He reopened the investigation into that major corruption case, found the evidence, and completely uprooted the former Minister of Revenue and his network in the Capital City.

And thus, he had made a name for himself with Li Yun.

A young prodigy whom Li Yun himself had once praised as a pillar of the Dayan state.

But now...

Li Yun prepared to leave the palace. His original plan had been to give Ming Lingyi and Li Yan a few days to get along, and he had resolved not to be so tactless as to interfere. But who could have thought that a single moment of inattention would be enough for some rogue to try and get close to his Yuan Niang?

Ming Lingyi went to bed very early that night. She couldn’t help but feel happy at the thought that she wouldn’t have to get up early anymore.

A stick of calming incense burned in the room. The spring night was cool and refreshing without being cold—perfect for sleep.

Ming Lingyi was fast asleep not long after she lay down.

It was at this moment that Li Yun appeared in the small rear courtyard.

With his martial prowess, entering Ming Lingyi’s room without waking anyone in the courtyard was a simple matter.

And even if he did make a sound and wake someone, his Hidden Guards were there to restrain the two meddlesome maids.

The moment Li Yun entered the room, his eyes fell upon the person on the bed, her breathing even and deep.

The room was not large. The moment he stepped inside, the overwhelming scent of ambergris he wore scattered the faint aroma of calming incense, completely taking over the space.

In her sleep, Ming Lingyi looked exceptionally soft and peaceful. Not like when she was awake, when she was always so cold and distant toward him, treating him like an insignificant stranger.

Li Yun couldn’t remember the last time he’d been able to look at Ming Lingyi like this. His gaze fixed on her sleeping form, almost greedy.

Before he knew it, Li Yun found himself sitting on the edge of the bed. He reached out and took hold of Ming Lingyi’s hands, which were resting on top of the covers.

Compared to the pampered, delicate hands Ming Lingyi used to have, Li Yun could now feel a thin layer of calluses in the palms of the hands he held.

But they were still soft.

Li Yun’s brow furrowed. His mood soured at the thought that her hands had changed because she was running this restaurant.

"Why must you be so stubborn?"

Li Yun murmured.

But there was no one to answer him.

Even in the darkness, his gaze could trace the lines of her brows and eyes on the bed.

He couldn’t resist reaching out to touch the face of the woman he longed for day and night.

Unlike the body lying in Kunning Palace, the face Li Yun touched now was warm. It was no longer cold to the touch, a chill that had once seemed to seep from his fingertips straight into his heart, freezing the very blood in his veins.

Fu Yunzi had told him that if a soul was reincarnated, then the lingering wisp of spirit forcibly held within the corpse by the Kunshan Cold Jade would eventually dissipate. When that happened, not even the Kunshan Cold Jade could call back the soul of the one who had passed.

The reason he hadn’t come to see Ming Lingyi for the past two days was that he had been busy seeing to the matter of sending the body from Kunning Palace—the body that had kept him company for five years—to the Imperial Mausoleum.

He had sent it to the Imperial Mausoleum, along with the Kunshan Cold Jade.

"Yuan Niang." Li Yun gazed, mesmerized, at the woman on the bed. His hand, which had been resting on Ming Lingyi’s cheek, had moved, and the pad of his finger now rested against her red lips.

Perhaps due to her recent labors, Ming Lingyi had lost weight, making her features more defined. But Li Yun thought she was too thin; her face felt almost sharp to the touch.

He lowered his head, pressing his lips to hers.

The warm, soft contact made Li Yun cradle the side of her face, surrendering completely to the sensation.

He had only meant for it to be a light touch, but upon contact with that softness, he couldn’t resist licking her lips. His tongue, as if with a will of its own, parted them.

In her sleep, Ming Lingyi felt as if she were being stalked by a fierce beast before it pounced. As a soft whimper escaped her, Li Yun seized the opportunity. His tongue slipped past her teeth, delving deeper, conquering her mouth as if it were a fortress.

Ming Lingyi felt breathless in her sleep. She couldn’t possibly know that her shortness of breath wasn’t from some imaginary beast in her dream, but from the man who had stolen into her room in the dead of night and was now kissing her with a fierce hunger that left her breathless.

Seeing that he was about to wake her, Li Yun finally lifted his head and pulled away.

His own breathing was ragged. When a sliver of moonlight illuminated the woman on the bed, his eyes were drawn to her lips, now rosier and fuller from his kiss. In that instant, the color in Li Yun’s eyes deepened, growing darker still.