On the way back, Ye Zhi purposely chose a carriage alone with the Little Traitor, just to tell him a little secret.

For this little secret, she even asked Ming Yan to ride in another carriage.

"Do you know? The day you went for the examination, I went to Longhua Temple early in the morning to pray for you. Secretly, let me tell you, I saw Liu Qingxi and the Crown Prince having a tryst there. The Crown Prince wanted to make Liu Qingxi his concubine, she refused, but later the Crown Prince said when he becomes Emperor, he would make her Empress. Her expression improved a bit, and the two embraced."

In her excitement, she rattled off her words without pausing for breath.

Finally, her eyes glittered as she looked at the Little Traitor, hoping he would share his insight.

Although Shen Chen was a bit tired, he played along with her, feigning surprise as he said, "I didn’t expect the two of them to be so frivolous, meeting secretly. The Emperor is in his prime, yet the Crown Prince dreams of becoming Emperor—it’s truly against the principles of our ancestors."

Ye Zhi nodded, indicating that he was right.

"And then?"

Shen Chen continued, "As a woman, Liu Qingxi lacks self-respect, Ah Zhi, you mustn’t learn from her."

Getting the answer she wanted, Ye Zhi beamed with joy, her eyes crinkling: "Mmm, okay."

What she wanted was for the Little Traitor not to favor Liu Qingxi, to stand by her side instead.

Her thoughts were almost written on her face, how could Shen Chen not see through them...

He had just been following along with her words earlier as well.

The two sat inside the carriage, the wheels turning round and round, heading towards the Ye Mansion.

Ye Zhi suddenly remembered something and reminded him:

"By the way, don’t tell anyone, because Ji San was guarding the gate at that time, and the courtyard was surrounded by Hidden Guards. It was with great difficulty that I snuck in using Qinggong, and it wouldn’t sound good if word got out."

He responded with a simple, "Alright." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

After that, he closed his eyes to rest for a while, surrounded by the familiar scent of hibiscus, feeling very at ease.

During the past few days of exams, in the moments he finished a paper, he would think of Ah Zhi, wondering how she was, if she was behaving in the mansion or causing trouble with Huanhuan and the Thirteenth Princess.

At this moment, he felt very at ease.

The little girl opposite him was chattering away, sharing stories of the past few days.

For instance, she had installed a swing in his courtyard, hoping he wouldn’t blame her.

Yet there was not a hint of fear in her tone.

Also, she had helped him water the flowers, seemingly making a pot of them wilt even more...

In such an environment, Shen Chen unexpectedly fell asleep defenselessly.

Ye Zhi stopped talking, opting instead to quietly admire his face. He was truly handsome; his usual brooding and cold eyes were closed, losing a bit of their chill.

She quietly instructed the coachman to drive the carriage more steadily.

Then she sat back to admire the Little Traitor’s beauty...

Soon, they arrived at the Ye Mansion.

Even though she very much wanted the Little Traitor to sleep a bit longer, they were already at the door, so she woke him up.

The Ye Family originally wanted to hold a feast today to celebrate Xiao Chen’s return from the exams, but they thought he must be exhausted, so they scheduled it for tomorrow, letting him go back to rest early. After all, he did look tired.

After politely thanking everyone, Shen Chen didn’t delay returning to Lingteng Garden, where he washed up and promptly fell into a restful sleep.

The next morning.

Ye Zhi got up early and reported to his garden. He hadn’t woken up yet, and she didn’t dare disturb him. She sat quietly beside the swing, waiting for him to awake.

Shen Chen got up later than usual by an hour, having just finished his exams and with the thought that Ah Zhi would soon know about their marriage, his heart felt wide open, allowing him to sleep a little longer.

This was the most restful night’s sleep he’d ever had in his life.