The next day.
Inside the Regent's Palace.
Yan Li was curled up on the side of the bed, one arm resting loosely on the bed as a pillow, while the other hand still tightly gripped the dagger, maintaining the same posture she had taken before going to sleep the night before.
She didn't know how much time had passed when there was a knock on the door. She frowned impatiently, wondering who was disturbing her sweet dreams so early in the morning.
"Yan Li, wake up! The Prince is willing to see you!" Outside, Liu Xing's slightly happy voice pierced through the crack in the closed door and reached Yan Li's ears.
She was not fully awake yet. She raised her eyes slightly and was about to subconsciously rub them when she suddenly stopped when she saw the dagger in her hand.
What happened last night can only be described as unbelievable; the truth and the falsehood were so intertwined that Yan Li was already in a daze.
There are very few people who can freely enter and leave the Prince's mansion. Assassins, who never return, are naturally not within her consideration.
Of the remaining people, after much deliberation, she preferred that what happened last night was just a dream.
"Yan Li?"
When Liu Xing received no response, his tone suddenly changed, becoming more anxious. "You've been sleeping for a whole day and night. Are you thinking of committing suicide?"
"The prince is already planning to see you, so you mustn't make a mistake."
The sudden change in her expression brought Yan Li back to her senses. She quickly put the dagger back in its place, straightened her clothes and hair, and then went to open the door.
She simply couldn't understand how Liu Xing could connect sleeping for a day and a night with contemplating suicide.
"real?"
Yan Li looked at Liu Xing who had rushed over, his face showing no joy as he had expected, only a genuine sense of amazement.
It would be strange if she were happy.
Yan Li originally thought that she could enjoy these peaceful days for a few more days, but as soon as she opened her eyes, she was busy all day long. There was so much work to do all day long.
As a result, these days, everyone wants to die, which dramatically increased her workload, much like pulling up a scallion from dry land.
"Yes, the prince specifically instructed me this morning to take you there..."
Liu Xing was speaking quite fluently at first, but then he suddenly stopped, and the corners of his lips slowly straightened.
Yan Li looked up: "Don't tell me you forgot the second half of the sentence."
She felt a sense of familiarity with this scene, as if it had happened countless times before, yet her heart remained completely unmoved.
Liu Xing could no longer laugh. He looked at Yan Li with a complicated expression and said, "No, the prince asked me to take you to the water dungeon. He said he would wait for you there."
Almost instantly, Liu Xing considered the worst-case scenario. He opened his mouth, but Yan Li interrupted him.
"Going to the water dungeon? You don't need to lead the way, I know the way." Yan Li withdrew her gaze, closed the door, and casually replied, "Go on with your business."
Seeing that she was completely unprepared, Liu Xing became extremely nervous. He grabbed her and opened his mouth, but his eyes fell on the strange red mark on the back of Yan Li's neck.
It was small, but it was too eye-catching to be placed on that fair neck.
"Why is your neck red?" He pointed, but his eyes were fixed on Yan Li in front of him, as if for some reason, he wanted an answer.
Liu Xing didn't know what side he was on, but seeing this scene was like seeing the child he had raised being abused.
Once a thought takes hold, it sprouts wildly like bamboo shoots in spring, and no matter how much you try to suppress it, you can't stop it unless a sword appears out of thin air and cuts it off at the root.
Yan Li hadn't looked in the mirror, so she naturally didn't know what Liu Xing was talking about. She just subconsciously touched the spot Liu Xing was pointing to, her brows furrowing slightly. "I don't know, it must have been from being pressed down by a hand."
Liu Xing's eyes darkened: "A hand pressed down? Then this hand is quite special. He's not stupid; these are clearly red marks left by someone sucking on them."
Which bastard did this?!
She even tried to cover for him with such a clumsy lie, but he clearly remembered that the people guarding her yard said they hadn't seen her go out.
Liu Xing overlooked something extremely important.
The people guarding Yan Li's courtyard were also loyal to Wen Shaoxing, so how could they possibly reveal that Wen Shaoxing had entered Yan Li's room?
Last night, he happened to be switching shifts with Liu Shi, Liu Yue, and Liu Mang, so he missed the spectacular scene. Otherwise, he wouldn't have worried for nothing.
At this moment, Yan Li did not notice Liu Xing's abnormality. After casually rubbing his hands a couple of times, she put them down. When she looked up and saw that Liu Xing's expression had changed, she felt a little confused.
…＊…
Despite Yan Li's persistent refusal, Liu Xing still stubbornly sent her to the water dungeon, even reminding her along the way: "Yan Li, you must remember, answer whatever the prince asks you later, don't lie."
Yan Li nodded somewhat numbly.
A short while later, Liu Xing pushed open an iron gate: "Go along this road to the end, and the prince will be waiting for you in the innermost water dungeon."
The water prison was extremely damp and even had a chill in it. Yan Li went straight to the end of the road and finally saw the person she was going to see at the end of the darkness.
"Come here." The two simple words were unremarkable, yet Yan Li detected an extremely strange tone in them.
She looked at Wen Shaoxing, who was hiding in the darkness, and walked forward.
Before Yan Li could ask, Wen Shaoxing suddenly grabbed her neck and slammed her against the iron door.
"Yan Li, do you remember who that person inside was?"
He gripped Yan Li's chin, forcing her gaze to a certain spot. Facing the threat of death, Yan Li showed no panic. She calmly stared at the barely recognizable body in the water dungeon:
"The assassin that night."
Yan Li's tone was extremely calm, without the slightest resistance, letting Wen Shaoxing pinch her, even though the force was constantly tightening.
But at this moment, her inner strength was far less than her outward appearance. A little voice was screaming wildly in her heart and calling out in her mind, and the voice grew stronger and stronger as it went on, as if it was about to overflow from the corner of her lips.
She's probably going to die.
The time before death is always agonizing. Yan Li slowly closed her eyes and waited quietly.
But just then, Wen Shaoxing chuckled softly, and suddenly leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Ah Li, are you closing your eyes to ask me for a kiss?"
Asking for a kiss?
No, she was waiting to die.
Yan Li looked up almost subconsciously, but at that moment, Wen Shaoxing had already kissed her. He was like a victorious hypocrite, no longer suppressing himself, gently biting her lips, and then raising his hand to cover her eyes, refusing to see the shock in her eyes.
Sober yet also lost, he seemed to have found his antidote, plotting that if she dared to resist even a little, he would lock her up.
Fortunately, Yan Li was already stiff as a dried mummy, thus escaping death.
She simply couldn't believe that her nightmare had become reality so quickly.
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