After taking the medicine, she sat absentmindedly on the couch by the window, a state of constant medication being detrimental to her health.
As she pondered, she thought of Fudai again, wondering about the extent of her injuries.
"Qiuyue."
Upon hearing the call, Qiuyue respectfully entered from outside the door.
"Is there a guqin?"
"Does the young lady wish to play the zither?"
Ye Luan nodded.
Qiuyue ordered someone to bring a fine Jiao Wei zither and placed it under the begonia tree in the courtyard.
The original owner was a simpleton, spoiled and useless.
However, Ye Luan, from a distinguished family in her previous life, was proficient in everything from zither and chess to calligraphy and painting. She enjoyed playing the zither, finding solace and forgetting her troubles in the melody.
The clear and gentle notes were like the secluded orchids in a mountain valley, melancholic yet lingering.
When Xiao Chizhan returned, he saw her in white, sitting under the begonia tree, playing the zither.
Her black hair cascaded down her waist, held by a single jade hairpin to manage stray strands. Her stunningly beautiful face, unadorned by makeup, exuded a cool, gentle aura.
Her eyes were slightly downcast, her red lips humming softly as her slender fingers plucked the fine strings. The bright, crisp reverberations drifted on the breeze, striking his heart.
This was the first time he had seen her like this – aloof, alluring, and as beautiful as a painting.
He stood silently in the corridor, observing her, so different from her usual self. In his mind, her playful, radiant, weak, ingratiating, ruthless, and calculating demeanor flashed by like a zoetrope.
Truly a woman of many facets.
A thought suddenly surfaced in his heart.
Hide her.
Hide her away where no one could see her.
Perhaps it was the overwhelming aura of the man.
Ye Luan sensed it quickly. As she looked up, her eyes met his blood-red gaze, as deep as a bottomless pool. The music abruptly stopped.
Pink petals drifted down, scattering like snowflakes.
Xiao Chizhan’s figure grew closer. He walked slowly to her side, bent down, and gently brushed a petal from her hair, his movements uncharacteristically tender.
Ye Luan felt a pang of discomfort. When had this demon become so gentle?
"Lift your head."
As Ye Luan raised her head, he leaned in and kissed her, gently claiming her lips, tracing their shape again and again.
All around the palace, there were nannies and palace maids.
Ye Luan felt humiliated and instinctively pushed him away.
However, Xiao Chizhan suddenly grabbed her, lifted her, and sat down on Ye Luan's stool himself.
With her waist held by him, Ye Luan sat on his lap, shifting uncomfortably.
"Why has His Highness returned so early today?"
Xiao Chizhan didn't know what was happening to him.
He had been distracted all day, with no interest in playing with others. He found himself walking back.
He coughed lightly, feigning annoyance, "You bother yourself too much with my affairs."
*As if I care.*
Ye Luan rolled her eyes internally and saw no point in continuing the conversation, leaning her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes.
Xiao Chizhan looked at the person in his arms, his stern expression gradually softening, the sharpness in his eyes dissipating.
Ye Luan, of course, wasn't truly asleep. She had already made the worst-case scenario plans: if her scheme failed and he didn't die, what would she do?
At that time, even without evidence, he would suspect her and go to great lengths to capture her.
Therefore, she was thinking that the best way to deal with this man was to evoke his pity, ideally to make him fall in love with her, so much so that he couldn't bring himself to kill her.
To personally pull him down from his pedestal, to make him love her to the point of obsession, so much so that even killing her would be unbearable – this, she thought, was the ultimate revenge.
A wild plan slowly unfolded in her mind.
"What are you thinking?"
Her cheeks ached, and Ye Luan was forced to open her eyes.
Suppressing her thoughts, she wrapped her arms around Xiao Chizhan's neck, her fox-like eyes blinking playfully. Although her actions appeared innocent, they were imbued with a seductive charm that stirred the soul.
"Your Highness, was hunting fun?"
"Do you like it?"
Ye Luan replied, "Yes, I quite like it."
"Heh." Xiao Chizhan let out a sneer. "What trick are you planning now?"
She had clearly stated before that she disliked it.
Ye Luan deliberately nestled against him, leaning into his embrace, her voice sweet and pampered, "Doesn't Your Highness like it? Since I've become Your Highness's person, I naturally must share Your Highness's joys."
*Share His Highness's joys.*
Xiao Chizhan's mood inexplicably improved. He rubbed her waist and said, "Do you want to go again?"
"Yes." Ye Luan looked at him with a smile. "Can we go alone, just the two of us, secretly?"
She absolutely did not want anyone to witness her entanglement with Xiao Chizhan. When the time was right, she would coax him into letting her return to the Ye manor to settle matters with Ye Xue.
Before that, she needed to cultivate their relationship, to make him feel pity for her. Even if her secrets were exposed, and he suspected her, it wouldn't cost her her life.
"When do you want to go?"
*Tonight?*
Xiao Chizhan's rough fingertips caressed her skin as he nodded in agreement.
"Play a tune for this king."
Ye Luan's eyes curved into a smile as she looked at him. "What tune does Your Highness wish to hear?"
"Play one that you like."
"Alright, then I'll play 'Spring Flowers Autumn Moon'."
She started to get down from him, but he held her waist, preventing her from moving.
Ye Luan glanced back. "Doesn't Your Highness want to hear the music?"
Xiao Chizhan said nothing, instead cupping her face and gazing intently at her lips with his deep eyes.
She immediately understood.
*Such a repressed tease.*
Ye Luan smiled faintly, looped her arms around his neck, and gave him a light kiss, like a dragonfly touching the water.
He was not satisfied. He held her head and kissed her passionately.
Sparse petals fell upon them, like a rain of flowers, creating a breathtaking scene.
Looking at the delicate beauty in his arms, Xiao Chizhan couldn't help but curve his lips into a smile.
"Go ahead."
The attendant palace maids immediately brought another bench and placed it behind the guqin.
Ye Luan directed them to rearrange the positions.
Being further away would allow Xiao Chizhan to see her more beautifully, to captivate him.
The melody she played was clear, elegant, and soothing, with a hint of cold fragrance and the proud spirit of plum blossoms. Her very bones exuded an inherent pride.
Xiao Chizhan watched, entranced, as if he were looking beyond her face and straight into her soul.
After an unknown duration, Ye Luan finished her piece and stopped.
But Xiao Chizhan continued to gaze at her, lost in his own thoughts.
Ye Luan narrowed her eyes slightly, concealing the emotions within them. She walked to his side with a smile, "Your Highness, was it good?"
He remained silent. He pulled her onto his lap, provocatively lifting her chin, his expression one of untamed defiance.
"Legend has it that the eldest legitimate daughter of the Ye family is a useless fool. After seeing you today, the rumors are false."
Hearing his suggestive words, Ye Luan casually replied, "Your Highness also said it's a rumor. Rumors cannot be trusted."
"Can you cook?"
"Are the cooks in this temporary palace not enough for Your Highness?"
Xiao Chizhan played with the stray hairs by her ear. "This king wants to eat what you personally cooked."