That hoarse, sharp accusation, filled with a shattered trust, struck Xiao Xun's face like a poisoned ice pick, shattering the last vestige of false peace amidst the ruins of the post station.

The wind and snow howled past the ruins, stirring up the still-warm smell of blood and the smoke of burning. In the flickering torchlight, Xiao Xun's handsome face remained as hard as the hardest jade, showing no sign of dishevelment or anger. His fingers, gripping Xin Jiuwei's wrist, didn't loosen their hold in the slightest; instead, they tightened, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force, as if he wanted to imprint her slender wrist bones into his palm.

His deep eyes, like frozen pools, reflected Xin Jiuwei's pale face, etched with anger and blood loss, and the almost bursting flames of betrayal burning within her. He offered no rebuttal, no explanation, not even a flicker of emotion. That calm was an unfathomable abyss, a chilling control, more suffocating than any roar of fury.

"Return to the manor." Xiao Xun's voice was low and calm, piercing through the howling wind and snow, carrying an unquestionable command. Those two words, like cold iron chains, instantly locked away all of Xin Jiuwei's struggling attempts.

He stopped looking at her, as if the "liar" he'd just called her was nothing more than a meaningless whisper. He gripped her wrist, turned, and walked steadily toward the dark carriage parked outside the post station, heavily guarded by armored cavalry. The wind and snow whipped up the hem of his dark cloak, making it flutter loudly. His back was as straight as a mountain, shielding him from the carnage and wailing behind him, and from all of Xin Jiuwei's attempts to escape his gaze.

Xin Jiuwei staggered forward, pulled by his forceful strength. The violent movement caused a tearing pain in the wound on her left shoulder, and a strange numbness was rapidly spreading throughout her left arm. But the physical pain was nothing compared to the agony in her heart!

Liar! Utterly and completely liar!

Those blood-stained handkerchiefs, Liu Ya's tearful secret report, the imperial physician's heavy sighs, the broken cries behind the screen, and the suffocating smell of medicine and death permeating every corner of the Prince's mansion…all of it! All the "evidence" that tore at her heart, threw her into chaos, and drove her to rush headlong into the lion's den! It was all a carefully woven lie! A massive and cruel deception tailor-made for her!

Anger surged and roared in her chest like magma, scorching her internal organs! She wanted nothing more than to immediately shake off that cold hand and tear his hypocritical mask to shreds with the sharpest words! But... but why? Why, beneath this overwhelming anger, did a sharper, more unbearable pain surge deep within her heart?

He half-forced her into the spacious yet strangely oppressive black carriage. The heavy curtains fell, instantly shutting out the howling wind and snow, the stench of blood, and the last ray of light. The carriage was filled with the cool scent of agarwood, Xiao Xun's usual fragrance, but now it felt like the heaviest shackles, making it hard for her to breathe.

Xiao Xun sat down opposite her. In the darkness, his silhouette remained clear, like a lurking beast. He didn't light a lamp, nor did he speak; only his steady breathing was exceptionally clear in the silent carriage, reminding Xin Jiuwei of his healthy and disease-free state.

The carriage slowly started moving, leaving that bloody battlefield behind. The wheels crushed the frozen earth and remaining snow, making a monotonous and dull sound, as if crushing the taut strings of Xin Jiuwei's heart.

silence.

A suffocating silence spread through the carriage.

Xin Jiuwei leaned against the cold car wall, her right wrist still tightly gripped by him, the force like an iron clamp, declaring an unquestionable control. Waves of pain and numbness washed over her left shoulder, causing a fine layer of cold sweat to bead on her forehead. But what she found even more unbearable was the churning in her mind of the scenes from when he was critically ill.

She recalled the overwhelming panic that swept over her the moment she received Liu Ya's secret report! It felt as if the whole world was collapsing! She remembered the three days and three nights of tireless travel, the wind and snow cutting like knives on her face, with only one frantic thought burning in her mind: Faster! Faster! He can't die! He absolutely can't die because of me!

She remembered stepping into the secluded courtyard of the Prince's mansion, the thick, pungent smell of medicine and blood filling the air; she remembered Liu Ya's pale, haggard, and swaying figure; she remembered the imperial physician's heavy, powerless sighs; she remembered the blurry, terrifyingly thin silhouette behind the screen; and she remembered those broken voices, as if using the last strength of their lives to call out to her—"Wei...Wei'er...is that you?" "It's good that you're back...don't worry..."

Every memory was like a red-hot, dull knife, cutting back and forth in her heart! The worry, the fear, the pain of wishing she could take his place, and the deep self-reproach... were so real! So unforgettable! She even gave up her investigation of Qi Huaiyu, let down all her guard, like a drowning person grabbing onto the last piece of driftwood, placing all her hopes on the faint thought that "perhaps I can sense the residual poison!"

But now… all of this!

All this worry! All this pain! All this torment!

They were all fake!

It was all Xiao Xun's doing! He orchestrated this elaborate scheme to lure her to the capital and keep her firmly under his control!

A tremendous sense of absurdity and the humiliation of being utterly manipulated overwhelmed her raging fury like a cold tide, causing her to tremble uncontrollably. She bit her lower lip hard, tasting an even stronger metallic flavor of blood, barely managing to keep the sob from escaping her throat.

Why?

Why was she so worried? Why was she so afraid? Why did she feel such a heavy sense of guilt because he might die because of her?

Was it solely because of the symbiotic Gu? Was it simply because of the fear of bearing the responsibility for his death?

No…it seems there’s more to it than that…

In the darkness, Xiao Xun seemed to move slightly. He remained silent, but the fingers holding her wrist brushed against her skin almost imperceptibly and with extreme lightness. The movement was so quick it was like an illusion, carrying an indescribable, almost soothing meaning, yet instantly covered by a deeper chill.

This subtle touch, however, was like a pebble thrown into stagnant water, stirring up even greater ripples in Xin Jiuwei's chaotic heart.

She suddenly recalled that chaotic, rainy night at the Yingzhou villa… his burning breath, his desperate yet obsessive gaze, and what followed… the aches and chaotic memories in her private parts… those entanglements she had deliberately buried, unwilling to confront…

Could it be... could it be because of these things?