Chapter 2 has two faces.

Ling Wei's hand slid down and gripped the man's neck. Yi Shao's breathing became rapid, and his cheeks flushed red.

"You up on the roof beam," Ling Wei suddenly raised her voice, "after watching the show for so long, aren't you going to come down and help your dramatic and fire-playing young master?"

Before she could finish speaking, a dark figure swooped down from the roof beam, heading straight for Ling Wei's back.

However, just as the shadowy figure moved, a sharp sword light burst through the window, arriving first and intercepting it.

The clang of metal rang out as the two figures clashed swiftly in the not-so-spacious room, their sword energy and palm strikes surging, causing the red candles to sway violently.

However, the dark figure was clearly entangled by a well-prepared opponent and could not get even a fraction closer to the bed.

Ling Wei calmly released her grip on Yi Shao's neck.

The other person immediately started coughing violently, tears welling up in their eyes.

He looked up at Ling Wei, and for the first time, his phoenix eyes, which had been filled with grievance or resentment, revealed straightforward astonishment.

Ling Wei smiled and even reached out to smooth his messy long hair at the back of his head.

“Your bodyguard is quite skilled,” she glanced at the two fighting fiercely. “I put a lot of effort into arranging things so that she could hide here without worry.”

Yi Shao's cough gradually subsided.

He stopped pretending and, while Ling Wei was half-pressing and half-supporting him, raised his hand and slowly wiped away the wetness from the corner of his mouth with the back of his fingers.

When she looked up again, the naive, spoiled, aggrieved, and helpless look on her face had completely vanished like the tide.

A slight smile curved his lips, and a mischievous glint appeared in his eyes.

“Oh dear,” he said, his voice still clear and bright, but without the deliberate affectation, and with a touch of languidness, “You’ve been discovered, Your Highness is truly… a master of deception.”

He tilted his head, a gesture that, when made with his current face, carried a unique charm. "When did you start to doubt me?"

Ling Wei didn't answer. Instead, she stood up, took a jar of extremely sticky, black ointment from the outer room, and scooped out a large dollop with her fingertip.

Upon seeing the foul-smelling paste, Yi Shao's lazy smile froze, a clear look of disgust flashed in his eyes, and he involuntarily shrank back.

Ling Wei walked back to the bedside and looked down at him: "Young Master Shao, your appearance is indeed pleasing to the eye, and your obsession with cleanliness is also well-known."

As she spoke, she tore off strips of red curtain cloth, wrapped them tightly around his wrists, and smeared the sticky ointment on his wrists, which were tied behind his back, without any hesitation.

"Ugh..." Yi Shao's brows furrowed tightly, and his face began to turn pale. It wasn't fear, but purely the physiological discomfort of being touched by something he extremely loathed.

He tried to struggle, but Ling Wei tied him up very professionally. The more he struggled, the more the sticky ointment smeared everywhere.

Ling Wei continued working, binding his hands behind his back, then tending to his ankles, applying ointment and binding them tightly. Finally, she fixed him to the bedpost in a humiliating position.

Throughout the process, Yi Shao kept biting her lower lip, inhaling through her teeth. Her beautiful phoenix eyes were filled with tears, which she wasn't faking this time, but rather a result of pure disgust and humiliation.

"Alright," Ling Wei clapped her hands and stepped back to admire her masterpiece.

A peacock bound with sticky strips of cloth, its face screaming "I'm filthy!"

"I ask, you answer. If your answer satisfies me, your skilled bodyguard and that anxious little servant outside might still be breathing. If I'm not satisfied..."

She picked up the medicine bottle and shook it, then her gaze shifted to where the medicine was hidden by her clothes.

Yi Shao's face turned even paler, and when he looked at the places on his body that might have been rubbed against him, he almost fainted.

“Ask away,” he forced the words out of his throat. “Everyone says that the Fifth Princess is a useless fool with all her martial arts skills. After being injured, she lost even her martial arts skills and only…” He paused, glanced at the medicine pot, and swallowed the word “useless fool” back. He changed his words to, “Seeing her today, I realize that the rumors are misleading. Your Highness has keen insight and was hiding your true abilities.”

"Smack!"

Ling Wei picked up the jade ruyi and tapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"Ah!" Yi Shao cried out in pain, his handsome features scrunched up. "I even praised you! Why did you hit me!"

Ling Wei raised an eyebrow: "Just now, did someone call me an idiot?"

Yi Shao: "That's called using a technique of praising by first criticizing. Didn't I praise His Highness later?"

“I don’t want to hear this,” Ling Wei said, lifting his chin with her jade ruyi and forcing him to look at her. “Think carefully before you praise me next time. Now, answer the questions. First, how did you hurt your leg?”

Yi Shao inhaled sharply, enduring the sticky discomfort all over his body, and said irritably, "The horse got spooked and fell. Someone tampered with the saddle. The imperial physician said it's beyond repair unless we find the long-lost Nine-Turn Vein-Regenerating Ointment." As he finished speaking, a shadow of gloom flashed across his eyes.

"Secondly, the secret guard, is there only one left?"

"Yes. The rest have been cleared out."

"Third, besides betting on both sides and discarding useless pieces, did the Yi family send you here for any other reason?"

Yi Shao paused for a moment, his eyelashes drooping: "...Some of my property deeds and personal seals were kept by them. They said they would give them to me after I've established myself in the Prince's mansion." He sneered, "Establish myself? I'm afraid those things won't even reach me by the time my body is cold."

Ling Wei nodded, indicating that she understood.

She put down the jade ruyi, seemingly not intending to ask any more questions or to untie him from this extremely uncomfortable restraint.

"Wait a minute," Yi Shao said hurriedly when he saw her turn to leave.

Ling Wei paused, turning half of her face to the side.

The candlelight outlined her figure with a hazy golden edge, and her crimson wedding dress made her skin appear as white as jade.

The gaze beneath her long lashes seemed veiled by a thin mist, glancing over with a languid yet all-knowing detachment.

“Aren’t you going to ask,” he lowered his voice, his eyes narrowing slightly, “why did I have to put on this show?”

Ling Wei turned around and walked to the bedside.

She lightly tugged at his hair ornament with her finger, "Use those words to provoke me, make me hate the Yi family, and maybe I can take care of them. Or, get my attention, make me feel that you are pitiful and delicious, so that I can take you under my wing and deal with the Yi family."

She released him, her fingertips brushing against his brow.

"You're not at a loss either way."

Yi Shao pursed his lips, neither admitting nor denying, but his eyes looked more and more like those of a fox secretly observing.

Ling Wei suddenly reached out and pinched one of his cheeks, gently pulling it outwards.

"Ugh!" Caught off guard, Yi Shao's mouth opened slightly as she pulled his lips, and his captivating eyes widened in surprise. His previous deep scheming instantly crumbled, revealing a bewildered and silly expression.

“Next time,” Ling Wei released her hand, her tone still calm, “don’t try anything funny. Just come over and say, ‘My lady, they’re bullying me. Help me.’ That’s all.”

"You've put on such a painstaking act, and I still have to play along and expose you. Aren't you tired?"

After speaking, she stood up and faced the man who was tightly bound and staring at her with a complex expression:

"Tonight, you'll stay in this position and reflect on your actions. If I find out you've secretly untied it, or tried to clean off these greases..."

She pointed to the guards outside who had already been subdued, "Your guards, and everyone you brought, including this priceless shimmering brocade wedding dress you're wearing, will become ten times more spectacular than they are now."

She didn't linger, turned and walked towards the door without the slightest hesitation.