The paper remained hidden in her sleeve. Knowing she couldn’t go—her secrets would be exposed once her clothes were off—Ruan Ning made an excuse: “Your Majesty can go; I’ll wait here.”
“I want you to accompany me,” Yan Xuan smiled, gently scratching her palm.
“I get dizzy when I soak,” Ruan Ning lied.
Yan Xuan looked at her, smiled again, and asked, “Really not going?”
“Not going,” Ruan Ning replied, shaking her head.
Yan Xuan’s lips formed a bleak arc as he turned and left.
When the room was empty, Ruan Ning opened the paper.
It was a simple map marking a location in Yan Xuan’s palace, with Sui Huan’s writing below: “A Ruan, find a way to get something from here.”
Ruan Ning instinctively burned the map, the black ash falling on the table.
This was her beauty trap: to gain Yan Xuan’s trust, enter his palace, and retrieve what Sui Huan needed. Unfortunately, she was not the original body.
Her feelings for Sui Huan were limited to gratitude and sympathy for his unrequited love, while Yan Xuan had accompanied, teased, and protected her. He was her sick, obsessive lover.
Ruan Ning carefully swept the ash into her palm, planning to discreetly dispose of it when the door opened and Yan Xuan walked in.
“My beloved, what are you holding?” Yan Xuan saw it at a glance.
“Nothing, nothing,” Ruan Ning felt guilty, trying to hide her hand.
“Is it something Ning Ye brought?” Yan Xuan smiled, his eyes calm and unreadable.
Ruan Ning was shocked. He seemed to know everything! Recalling his repeated invitations to join him, she understood he wanted her to speak up voluntarily.
Her heart turned cold. Should she explain? But how?
Ruan Ning lowered her head, her throat choked: “Yes.”
Yan Xuan approached, slowly opening her hand. A small pile of fine paper ash lay in her palm, burned clean, with no trace of its previous contents.
Yan Xuan’s eyes darkened as he turned to leave.
Ruan Ning rushed to hug Yan Xuan from behind, tightly holding his waist: “A Mo, I was wrong. Don’t go.”
Yan Xuan pried her fingers off one by one, forcing a smile: “It was my mistake.”
