With her delicate face and slender waist, the royal uncle lost control.

Yun Nian lifted her tearful eyes from her arms, glanced at the hand, and then quickly lowered her gaze again.

"Thank you, Your Highness, for saving my life."

She avoided his hand, braced herself against the bed frame, and slowly moved her body, trying to get out of bed on her own.

With every movement, sharp pain shot through the cane wound on his back and the stab wound on his neck, and cold sweat instantly soaked through his temples.

Her face was deathly pale, yet she clenched her teeth tightly, refusing to utter a sound, her face filled with stubborn obstinacy.

She finally managed to move to the edge of the bed, her feet barely touching the ground, when suddenly the world spun before her eyes, and she fell forward uncontrollably.

An arm steadily caught her falling body, and with a gentle pull, she landed in an embrace filled with the cool scent of pine and snow.

"He's injured like this, and he's still trying to be brave."

Qin Jiuchen's voice came from above.

Before he finished speaking, he lifted her up in his arms with a slight effort.

"hiss!"

The sudden jump and change in posture aggravated the wounds on her back and buttocks, causing Yun Nian to gasp in pain and tears to well up uncontrollably again.

In the excruciating pain, she instinctively reached out and tightly hugged his neck, burying her face in his shoulder and neck, her soft gasps escaping her lips: "...It hurts so much."

"Benren," Qin Jiuchen said, holding her and turning to leave. "We'll go back to the manor right away."

Yun Nian leaned against his chest.

Waves of weakness and excruciating pain from surviving the ordeal washed over her, and her consciousness became somewhat blurred.

She pursed her lips, turned her head away somewhat defiantly, and said in a muffled voice:

"Isn't Your Highness afraid that Nian'er has some other scheme up her sleeve, deliberately luring you here?"

Qin Jiuchen was striding out of the bedroom when he heard this, and only said, "You don't have that ability."

Yun Nian's other hand, which was resting on his chest, unconsciously curled up and slowly tightened its grip on his dark collar.

The finest brocade fabric crumpled into a ball in her palm.

Qin Jiuchen noticed a slight pull on his chest.

He lowered his head and looked at the person in his arms.

The light was dim, illuminating her profile.

She bit her lower lip tightly, her long eyelashes trembling and drooping.

A surge of annoyance welled up in her chest, turning into a burning, aching sensation that stung her eyes.

Her knuckles turned white as she gripped his shirt.

After a long silence, she whispered, "Your Highness, I hate you..."

Qin Jiuchen was taken aback, his eyes darkening.

He raised his eyes and looked ahead, his jawline slightly tense.

His Adam's apple bobbed. "I understand..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Jiuchen turned around, lightly touched the pillar with his toes, and holding Yun Nian, his figure suddenly soared up like a swan, landing lightly on the high courtyard wall.

Yun Nian felt the wind whistling past her ears, and the scenery rushing past her feet.

The jolting caused by her light-footed movements aggravated her wounds, but she endured it with all her might, burying her face even deeper into his arms.

Soon, the familiar outline of the Prince Ningxiang's residence came into view.

Qin Jiuchen descended directly from the high wall into a secluded courtyard, which was the guest courtyard where Yun Nian was temporarily staying.

The moment her feet touched the ground, Qiluo, who had been waiting patiently, rushed over, "Miss, how are you?!"

In the courtyard, there were already prepared nannies and maids who came forward.

Qin Jiuchen carefully placed Yun Nian on the bed, and immediately a royal physician came forward to examine her pulse and check her injuries.

Yun Nian's consciousness had become blurred under the alternating onslaught of pain and exhaustion.

She only saw many figures moving in front of her, heard Qiluo's calls, and felt someone carefully cutting away the clothes that were sticking to her wounds. Cool ointment was applied, bringing a brief moment of relief, followed by sharper pain from cleaning and bandaging...

She wanted to say something to stop Qiluo from crying, but her eyelids felt as heavy as lead, and she couldn't open them no matter what.

The noisy voices around me gradually faded away, eventually turning into a silent darkness.

……

I don't know how much time passed.

In a daze, Yun Nian felt an invisible, chilling aura approaching.

She struggled, trying to pry open her eyelids that were stuck together.

The vision gradually cleared from blurry.

She turned her sore neck slightly and met a pair of phoenix eyes that were quietly watching her.

Those eyes were extremely beautiful, with slightly upturned corners. They should have been a charming and affectionate shape, but at this moment they were as deep and cold as an ancient well, revealing no emotion.

Qin Jiuchen sat on the stool by the bed.

Yun Nian paused, took a moment to compose herself, and then, in a hoarse and dry voice, uttered a few words:

"Greetings, Your Highness..."

Seeing that she had woken up, Qin Jiuchen's expression remained largely unchanged; he simply said:

"The imperial physician has already treated your wound with the best medicines from the palace. With careful treatment, it should not leave a scar."

Yun Nian lowered her eyelids.

She gently turned her head to face the top of the tent, no longer looking at him. "Thank you for your trouble, Your Highness."

Distancing, polite, with a deliberate sense of distance.

Qin Jiuchen frowned slightly. "You're still angry."

Yun Nian pursed her lips, remained silent for a moment, and then whispered:

"Nian'er is of lowly status; how could she possibly be qualified to be angry with the Prince?"

That's what she said, but her puffed-out cheeks and deliberately avoided gaze clearly showed that she was "unhappy" and "stubborn."

A hint of helplessness flashed deep in Qin Jiuchen's eyes.

He pondered for a moment, then asked, "How can I avoid getting angry?"

Yun Nian was somewhat surprised.

She turned her head back to look at him, her clear eyes reflecting the flickering candlelight and his shadow.

She asked softly, "Does Your Highness believe I didn't steal your list?"

Qin Jiuchen's gaze met hers.

Then, he hummed in agreement.

"Chensha has investigated."

"The source of that leaked information was not Yun Chengming."

The stubbornness and aloofness in Yun Nian's eyes gradually melted away, transforming into gentle ripples.

She lowered her eyes again, and after a long while, she replied, "Yes, thank you, Your Highness, for remembering my innocence."

His tone remained lukewarm.

Qin Jiuchen stared at her for a moment, his gaze slowly moving from her forced calm face to the thin scar on her snow-white neck.

Perhaps it was because she turned her head to speak that the wound was aggravated, and a little bit of bright red blood seeped out, which looked particularly glaring on her fair skin.

His eyes darkened slightly.

He got up and walked to the table.

Hearing the noise, Yun Nian couldn't help but secretly turn her head to peek out of the corner of her eye.

He picked up the medicine pot from the table and turned to walk towards the bed.

She felt a sudden panic and quickly turned her head back, maintaining her aloof demeanor.

The bed sank slightly as Qin Jiuchen sat down.

"come over."

Yun Nian was startled and turned her head. Her pair of watery deer eyes were wide open, full of confusion and wariness as she stared at him.

Qin Jiuchen met her gaze, his expression unchanged.

He simply opened the cap of the ointment and repeated, "Your neck wound is bleeding. I'll apply the ointment."

"Oh……"

Yun Nian then realized what was happening and gave a blank reply.

Qin Jiuchen leaned down and got closer.

His warm breath brushed against her skin almost imperceptibly, sending a slight shiver down her spine.

Yun Nian's body tensed up subconsciously, and her fingers unconsciously gripped the blankets beneath her.