"It is I who have judged you. You are not worthy to stay by Xiao Liu's side." The Crown Prince's gaze was like a sharp sword piercing Ye Wuxia. Even some thoughts that he had deliberately suppressed broke free of their restraints and surged out at this moment.

Ye Wuxia met his gaze with a stern face, then suddenly chuckled and said mockingly, "Who does the Crown Prince look down on? You don't actually think you're the only one in the world who truly cares for Xiao Liu, do you?"

"Although I do not have your power and influence to control people's hearts, I will not implicate Xiao Liu for my own selfish desires. Whether it is to help the disaster victims or to rebuild after the disaster, I have already made arrangements, and there is absolutely no way that something will go wrong."

The disaster-stricken area is not far from Beijing.

If he hadn't still had a shred of reason left, he would have returned yesterday. The delay was only because he was worried about Xiao Liu and didn't want to harm her in a moment of impulsiveness.

The Crown Prince looked at Ye Wuxia coldly.

A faint sense of disappointment crossed my mind.

Just now, he really wanted to get rid of this person! Such a good opportunity.

Ye Wuxia curled his lips in a mocking smile. They were both men; how could he not know what was going on in his mind? Besides, the Crown Prince's murderous intent towards him was almost tangible just now; he must have already decided what crime to convict him of!

The two men exchanged a glance, sparks flying, but the silence returned in an instant.

"I can communicate with the little mirror now."

The crown prince thought for a moment, then backed down and proceeded with the original plan.

Ye Wuxia's expression changed slightly. "How did you do that?"

"After consummating our marriage with Xiao Liu, and now that I can tell Xiao Liu directly about the leak of my inner thoughts, as for empathy, Xiao Jingzi said he doesn't know. I haven't told Xiao Liu about it yet, for fear that she'll be too shy to be close to us anymore." After the Crown Prince finished speaking, he stared intently at Ye Wuxia.

Then, to Ye Wuxia's surprise, he backed down.

Ye Wuxia looked at the empty alley. Apart from the bright moon shining on the white snow, there wasn't a single person in sight. If it weren't for the footprints still in the snow in front of him, he would have thought that his confrontation with the Crown Prince was just a figment of his imagination.

However, with Ye Wuxia's intelligence, she quickly figured out the reason why the Crown Prince backed down. It was probably to win him over! After all, two against four would be much easier than one against five.

Most importantly, some things are irreversible.

Even the crown prince doesn't have that much ability.

The guards at the Prime Minister's residence were almost all the Crown Prince's men. Unlike the Crown Prince, Ye Wuxia couldn't come and go freely, so she obediently knocked on the back door and waited for the maid guarding the door to announce her arrival.

After all that back and forth, Ye Wuxia's face was numb from the cold before she finally saw Fang Ruotang.

Fang Ruotang was wrapped in a thick fur coat, with a white fox fur collar around her neck. Her cheeks were rosy, and she looked warm and cozy. There was also a mark on her right cheek from sleeping, indicating that she had been woken up from her sleep.

Why are you here at this hour?

After Fang Ruotang finished speaking, she gave a small yawn.

Ye Wuxia asked, "Did I disturb your sleep?"

"Yes!" Fang Ruotang answered bluntly, leaving Ye Wuxia speechless.

"So hurry up and tell me what it is, then I need to go back to sleep."

These past two days, she'd been fooling around with the Crown Prince, which had greatly reduced her sleep. It was a rare treat that the Crown Prince had let her off the hook tonight and hadn't bothered her, so she went to bed early. But she hadn't expected the Crown Prince to not come; instead, it was Ye Wuxia who came.

“I just got back. There’s no charcoal in the house, and it’s so cold I can’t sleep. I wonder if you could let me stay for the night? If it’s inconvenient, that’s okay too. I can ask other colleagues.”

Fang Ruotang tilted her head and looked at Ye Wuxia.

"You, the master of the Vice Minister's mansion, can't even afford charcoal in your room?"

Even though he's been away on business these past two days and the house has gotten cold, the servants will definitely warm it up before he returns. Besides, there's a little maid to warm the bed!

She has it.

Fang Ruotang asked whatever came to mind.

"Don't you have a maid to warm your bed?"

"Um?"

Ye Wuxia's expression cracked slightly.

Fang Ruotang said, "The hot water bottle is either too hot or it gets cold quickly, so I don't like using it. When it's too cold, I always ask my maid to sleep with me."

Ye Wuxia glanced at Fang Ruotang's face and saw that she looked like she was talking about what to eat tomorrow, so she knew that the girl didn't have any other ideas.

I breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt a tightness in my chest.

Why don't I have any possessiveness towards him?

Can a man who hires a bed warmer be compared to a young girl like them?

"I don't like sharing a bed with someone." After saying that, Ye Wuxia realized that her words were inappropriate and immediately added, "But I want to share a bed with you."

Fang Ruotang opened her eyes slightly, and her sleepy mind finally noticed that Ye Wuxia's lips were a little purple from the cold, and her ten drooping fingers were red and swollen.

"Oh! You're cold! Why didn't you say so? Go take a shower right away to warm yourself up. I'll have the kitchen make you some ginger soup."

"Xingbai, take Vice Minister Ye to the hot springs."

Fang Ruotang called out to Xingbai, who was also awake and guarding the door, and instructed, "I didn't lose the men's clothes I wore last time, did I? Find them and give them to Minister Ye to appease him. Tomorrow morning, go to my second brother's courtyard and get a set of new clothes that he hasn't worn yet."

"Also, tell the kitchen to make a pot of ginger soup and bring it over. I don't need anyone to serve me here. Once you're done, go to sleep! Drink a bowl of ginger soup before bed so you don't catch a cold."

Fang Ruotang's few words quickly put the courtyard into a flurry of activity.

Ye Wuxia went to take a bath, and she also shrank into bed. In just a short while, the warmth in the quilt had dissipated, and she shivered from the cold. She subconsciously wanted to open her mouth and call Xingbai to sleep with her, but then she stopped herself when she thought of Ye Wuxia and moved a little further in, making room for him.

After soaking in the hot soup for a while and drinking a bowl of ginger soup, Ye Wuxia felt as if she had come back to life.

He went straight to Fang Ruotang's room and saw her curled up in a small ball. Without much hesitation, he gently lifted the covers and climbed into bed.

Fang Ruotang was worried about Ye Wuxia and was not sleeping soundly. Hearing the noise, she opened her eyes to look at the person who came in, and then snuggled up to him.

"I'm so sleepy, I'm going to sleep. Oh, right, Lord Liu has issued a marriage certificate for us, so you're already my little husband!"

Fang Ruotang mumbled in a daze, calling for Xiao Jingzi to produce the marriage certificate. Then she slapped Ye Wuxia's chest and muttered, "I'll show you this, and give it back to me tomorrow."

Ye Wuxia was taken aback. She lowered her eyes to speak to Fang Ruotang, but saw that Fang Ruotang had fallen asleep instantly with steady breathing. She was both amused and exasperated, but looking at the marriage certificate in her hand, she could not hide her joy.

Recalling the Crown Prince's concession just now, Ye Wuxia pursed her lips and looked at the carefree little girl in her arms with a complicated expression.

Compared to Ye Wuxia, whose mind was in turmoil, the Crown Prince was like a trapped beast in the Eastern Palace, wanting to destroy the world and tear everything apart, but... the night was peaceful.