"I'm checking your wound!" Song Yaozhu said in a serious tone, pressing a few fingers next to his wound, while actually one finger was already on his chest.

"Does Your Highness practice martial arts regularly?" Otherwise, how did you develop those pectoral muscles?

Wow, he's really grown up! Those pectoral muscles feel really nice!

Xie Liwei bit his lower lip, his face burning hot.

"Is the check complete?"

"Almost done, almost done." She poked his pectoral muscles again, but unfortunately she couldn't squeeze them with her hands.

They're all family, so why let the good stuff go to outsiders? What's wrong with me taking a second look? Who knows which girl will benefit from it later?

At this moment, the maid brought in a basin of hot water, along with wound medicine, gauze, and other items.

"Let me wipe the blood away for you." Song Yaozhu took a wrung-out handkerchief and wiped the area around his wound.

Xie Liwei kept his eyes closed, unable to look. She was so close to him, and he could smell her perfume. Although it wasn't an intimate scene, he felt like he was being treated like a prey, his clothes disheveled.

Suddenly, he felt the handkerchief move down, brushing against his chest...

A tingling sensation spread from his tailbone, and he couldn't help but tremble in fear. Fortunately, he managed to hold back and didn't react violently.

The handkerchief was still tracing its way across his chest, making his mouth dry and his temper flare up.

"Your Highness, my injury is on my shoulder." His voice was unusually hoarse when he spoke.

"I know, it's because I saw the blood flowing here." Song Yaozhu lied through her teeth, showing no shame at being exposed for her lust.

Heaven and earth can bear witness that her feelings for Xie Liwei's body were purely those of a woman admiring a man, and there was absolutely no inappropriate desire involved.

After all, this wasn't a man she could have. Although her moral standards weren't very high, they weren't that low either.

Once this is all over, if she's still alive, she'll keep a male concubine like that!

It's a pleasure to look at every day!

Xie Liwei had no idea what she was thinking. If he did, he'd probably spit out a mouthful of blood. To actually do someone else's bidding—it was utterly outrageous!

He felt ashamed, but also secretly pleased. She was interested in his body; perhaps he could use his good looks to seduce her in the future.

Xie Liwei kept this plan in mind, thinking he could try it out in the future.

"Your Highness and Your Highness, the imperial physician has arrived."

After the imperial physician came in, he re-bandaged Xie Liwei's wound and gave him some instructions. The gist of it was that he needed to rest, but he also needed to move around, otherwise the flesh would grow together and he wouldn't be able to use his arm properly in the future.

After seeing the imperial physician off, Yuwen Xian came over with an angry expression.

"It was really my fault. My groom wasn't paying attention when feeding the horses today and fed them some wild grass, which caused the horses to go out of control and become agitated."

Yuwen Xian apologized profusely.

Song Yaozhu glanced at Xie Liwei and said, "It seems this person isn't after us. But Princess, please be careful and don't let the villain get away with it."

Yuwen Xian apologized a few more times, and even took out all the good medicinal herbs from his storeroom to compensate the man.

Song Yaozhu returned home laden with goods.

On the carriage, Xie Liwei began to feel drowsy due to the effects of the medicine.

"What happened today is aimed at me."

Yuwen Wuji wanted to kill him, but failed, so naturally he wouldn't let it go.

“I know. That mad horse grass will excite a horse to the point of losing control, running wildly until it is exhausted and dies from exhaustion. No horse lover would allow this grass near their horses. All of ***’s horses are very well cared for, which shows that she really loves horses. Someone knows that we are going to her today and wants to borrow her help.”

*** is the Emperor's most beloved younger sister. Who could possibly have gotten their hands on her residence? Only Yuwen Wuji could.

"The horse was calm at first, but suddenly became agitated. It probably wasn't because of the mad horse grass," Xie Liwei said.

"Crazy Horse Grass is what *** gave us. As for the truth, who knows?" Song Yaozhu shrugged.

People's hearts are fickle; she can no longer trust even the children she once raised.

At this moment, Yuwen Xian entered the palace with the dead horse. Her anger had not subsided, but when she arrived in front of the Qiankun Hall, her face returned to calm.

"Brother, one of my horses has died. I suspect someone is trying to kill me. Please, brother, thoroughly investigate my residence!"

Yuwen Wuji comforted her as usual, then told her to go to the palace stables and choose a horse she liked before sending her away.

Even after leaving the palace, Yuwen Xian still felt miserable. She had realized from a young age that there was no true kinship in the Yuwen family. Yet, she still held onto a sliver of hope, which had now been dashed.

The wind outside the palace chilled her cheeks, and tears streamed down her face.

"Princess, let's go back," the palace maid whispered, knowing that the princess must be in a very bad mood.

The princess treated the horses as friends and family; in her heart, the horses were more important than people.

Outsiders all say she is the emperor's most beloved younger sister, but only those close to her know that the affection her brother shows her is cold and indifferent. He can satisfy all her material desires, but he cannot satisfy the princess's heart.

"Let's go." Yuwen Xian's voice was icy; she was utterly disappointed in Yuwen Wuji.

He knew perfectly well that those horses were different to her, yet he still used what she cared about most as a knife. The royal family was all about scheming and manipulation; the only one who truly cared for her, her sister-in-law, died in a fire when she was only five. All her memories are hazy, but a question has lingered in her heart for ten years.

—I've been living in my sister-in-law's palace all this time. Why am I still alive when everyone else in the palace is dead? Was that fire an accident or was it deliberately caused?

She never voiced this question in her heart to anyone, and spent the next seven years in the Qiankun Palace. She deeply understood the ruthlessness of emperors, so when she was twelve years old, she presented a gift to Yuwen Wuji, won his favor, and obtained the opportunity to leave the palace and establish her own residence.

"Your Highness..." The palace maid looked at her mistress's dejected figure and ultimately said nothing.

The wind in the capital is always so special, always carrying the different feelings of different people.

Song Yaozhu was making a fan in the room. She asked Xie Liwei to help her arrange the silk threads while she wrapped the threads around the fan frame.

"Why should I do this kind of thing?" Although he didn't understand, Xie Liwei's tone was not impatient.

"Things we haven't tried always seem easy. It's like how officials think farming is easy, and idle rich kids laugh at scholars for their hard work."

Xie Liwei chuckled, "Princess, don't try to flatter me. Just tell me what you're up to and what you want me to do."

Song Yaozhu chuckled and leaned closer to Xie Liwei, saying, "Your Highness understands me best!"

Xie Liwei raised an eyebrow at her, his mood greatly improved because of her words.

"Tell me about it!"

"I have this feeling that I'm in charge of directing, while the prince is in charge of digging the pit."

"Just say we're in cahoots," Xie Liwei sneered at her.

"Nonsense, we have a marriage certificate and witnesses, it doesn't count as 'adultery'."

Xie Liwei stopped what he was doing, looked at Song Yaozhu, and his eyes held a deep meaning that she could not understand.

"Does Your Highness acknowledge that we are a legitimate married couple?"