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

Yun Nian was taken aback by his question and paused for a moment.

She thought about it seriously for a moment, then shook her head and said, "Nian'er doesn't want to marry anyone."

She said this frankly, without a trace of pretense in her eyes.

Qin Jiuchen stared at her, and she looked back.

Eyes facing each other.

After a while, Qin Jiuchen suddenly stood up.

He walked around the desk and slowly approached Yun Nian.

Yun Nian subconsciously took a half step back, but then forced herself to stop and stood still.

Qin Jiuchen walked up to her, looked down at her, and exuded an invisible sense of pressure.

"To use the information from this jade pendant to exchange for Miss Yun's lifelong happiness, I'm afraid I'm at a disadvantage."

Yun Nian: "Of course, it's not just that."

She leaned slightly forward and revealed Yun Chengming's future plans for Qin Jiuchen.

Qin Jiuchen listened, his gaze gradually deepening.

He did know that Yun Chengming was secretly investigating him, but he did not expect the other party to act so quickly and to have such a deep plan.

Even more unexpectedly, Yun Nian would reveal this secret in its entirety.

"How do you know all this?" he asked in a deep voice.

Yun Nian said frankly, "Although my father is wary of me, there are some things that need to be done. Since I grew up by his side, I can naturally hear and see some things."

This explanation was reasonable. Qin Jiuchen gave her a deep look and didn't ask any further questions.

"Nian'er will obey the prince's arrangements in everything."

Yun Nian curtsied respectfully, "As long as Your Highness helps me break free from this marriage, I am willing to be Your Highness's eyes and ears in the Yun household."

Qin Jiuchen looked at her lowered eyes and suddenly smiled.

He leaned down, getting close to Yun Nian, his warm breath brushing against her face.

Yun Nian's breath hitched, and her heart suddenly raced.

"Miss Yun," he said jokingly, "does seem like a heartless man."

Yun Nian was taken aback: "What?"

"Just now you said," Qin Jiuchen's gaze fell on her rosy lips, his eyes darkening, "that nothing happened between us."

Yun Nian's face flushed red again.

She hurriedly turned her face away, avoiding his burning gaze: "N-no, that's not what I meant. It was an accident that day..."

Before she could finish speaking, a slender hand reached out, gently pinched her chin, turned her face back, and forced her to meet his gaze.

"Yun Nian,"

He called her name, "Remember what you said today."

Yun Nian stared blankly at his handsome face so close to hers, momentarily forgetting to react.

Qin Jiuchen released his grip, straightened up, and resumed his usual aloof and distant demeanor.

He stopped looking at her and turned to walk towards the door.

"Chensha".

"exist."

"Send Miss Yun back."

"Yes."

The door opened and closed again, and Qin Jiuchen's figure disappeared outside.

Yun Nian stood there for a long time before finally letting out a long sigh.

My tense nerves suddenly relaxed.

Every time he confronted Qin Jiuchen, it felt like he had exhausted all his energy.

In any case, Qin Jiuchen did not reject her proposal today, which means there is still hope.

-

The next morning, Yun Nian woke up to a rich fragrance.

The aroma is warm and mellow, with the unique bittersweetness of ginseng and the fresh sweetness of chicken wafting in, whetting the appetite.

She opened her eyes.

"Miss, you're awake?"

Qiluo pushed open the door carrying a tray, her bright smile spreading across her face. "Smell it, doesn't it smell delicious? I've stewed a pot of ginseng chicken soup. My mother said this soup is the best for nourishing the body. Recently, Miss has been injured and overworked, and it pains me to see you like this, so I wanted to give you something nourishing."

As she spoke, she placed the tray on the small table beside the bed and carefully lifted the lid of the stew pot.

Steam rises from the steamer, and the aroma becomes even stronger.

Yun Nian propped herself up and sat against the headboard, looking at the bowl of soup. Her heart felt warm, but something still felt off.

"Qiluo,"

She asked softly, "Where did you get the money to buy ginseng?"

Qi Luo's smile froze for a moment, then she lowered her head. "Miss, please don't worry about it. I didn't steal or rob; I bought it properly."

Yun Nian frowned and raised her voice to ask again, "Where did it come from?"

Qiluo bit her lip, nervously twisting the hem of her dress with both hands. After stammering for a long time, she finally whispered, "Yes... this servant pawned the gold chain and went to the pharmacy to buy ginseng and chicken..."

"Nonsense!"

Yun Nian sat up abruptly. "That gold chain was the only keepsake your mother left you. How could you sell it!"

Qi Luo's eyes instantly reddened, but she stubbornly raised her head: "But right now, Miss is the most important person to me. It hurts me to see Miss unwell. No matter how precious that chain is, it's just an inanimate object. How can it compare to Miss's health?"

Looking at Qi Luo's red eyes, Yun Nian felt a pang of sadness in her heart.

Scenes from my past life uncontrollably surfaced before my eyes.

That rainy night, she was delirious from the poison. Qi Luo rushed out to buy her medicine despite being advised against it, but was blocked in the alley by Qin Jiaxue's men and beaten to death.

She couldn't even find Qiluo's body...

Yun Nian suddenly threw off the covers, nimbly rolled out of bed, quickly put on her outer robe and shoes, grabbed Qi Luo's hand, and walked out.

"Quick, let's go to the pawnshop right now and redeem your chain!"

"Miss!"

Qi Luo stamped her feet in frustration, "You should drink the soup first."

Seeing her anxious expression, Yun Nian knew that this girl genuinely cared about her.

Her heart softened, she sighed helplessly, released Qiluo's hand, picked up the warm soup, tilted her head back and drank it all in one gulp.

The chicken soup was delicious, and the slight bitterness of the ginseng was neutralized by the sweetness of the red dates. The warm feeling slid from my throat all the way to my stomach, which really invigorated me.

"alright,"

Yun Nian put down the stew pot, took Qi Luo's hand, and said, "Let's go."

-

The two arrived at "Longchang Pawnshop" in the west of the city.

Yun Nian quickly redeemed Qi Luo's gold chain.

On their way back home, the two walked side by side on the bustling street.

As they were walking, a little boy of about four or five years old suddenly came running up and grabbed the hem of Yun Nian's skirt.

"elder sister!"

The little boy looked up, his eyes red and swollen, "Please, save my mother! She...she's fainted, and I can't wake her up no matter how hard I try..."

Yun Nian's heart tightened, and she squatted down, asking softly, "Little brother, don't worry, where is your mother?"

The little boy pointed to a narrow alleyway beside him, sobbing, "It's in that alley, sister, please, please help my mother..."

After saying that, he loosened Yun Nian's skirt, turned around and ran into the alley. His small figure quickly disappeared at the alley entrance.

Qi Luo tugged at Yun Nian's sleeve with some concern: "Miss, this..."

Yun Nian stood up, looking at the deep alley, her brows furrowed.

"Let's go take a look."

She hesitated for a moment, then said, "If someone really faints, we can't just stand by and watch them die."

The two quickly walked into the alley.