The mad princess forces love upon him, and the aloof imperial advisor trembles every night.

Zhou Qingchen smiled.

That smile was so pure it was almost blinding: "Wherever Your Highness is, that's where I'll be."

Zhou Qingchen spoke each word clearly and firmly.

"If you ascend to the throne, I will stand beneath the imperial steps, or remain hidden behind a curtain, to accompany you in witnessing this vast land and its glorious prosperity."

"If you grow weary and only wish to find a rich fiefdom, I will accompany you to pick mulberry leaves in spring and harvest rice in autumn, living the most ordinary pastoral life."

"if……"

He deliberately dragged out the melody, his fingertips playfully tracing the outline of Chu Xuanjing's collarbone.

"If you want to leave all this troublesome stuff behind and wander the world—that would be even better."

"Just you and me, with a sword and a horse, braving the wind and rain, witnessing the changing seasons and the vastness of the martial world."

"Your Highness, where do you suggest we go?"

The gloom in Chu Xuanjing's heart was soothed by his words.

He lowered his head and kissed Zhou Qingchen's eyelids: "Wander the world?"

His voice carried a hint of indulgent teasing.

"My dear Qing, you used to love traveling to mountains and rivers and visiting famous scholars... Now you've been trapped in this den of dragons and tigers beside me for seven years. Aren't you bored to death?"

"No, I didn't."

Zhou Qingchen immediately looked up, her expression more serious than ever before. "Being with you, I'll never be bored."

"Whether it's the treacherous capital city of Kyoto or the carefree world of martial arts—as long as you're by my side, everywhere is a beautiful scene, and every day is a wonderful day."

Chu Xuanjing knew that he was by no means kind.

He schemed against his brothers, murdered his own mother, and won over court officials. The blood on his hands and the evil deeds he committed at night are probably too numerous for even the judges of the underworld to record. He is destined for the deepest hell, where he will never be reborn.

But he just couldn't bear to part with it.

It was hard to bear seeing even a hint of disappointment cast over those ever-clear, peach-blossom eyes that reflected his beauty.

He couldn't bear to see this only peaceful place where he could find peace tainted by dust because of him.

He gently kissed Zhou Qingchen's earlobe, feeling the slight tremor in the person in his arms.

"Okay," he promised in a low voice.

"My dear Qing, you are so good. I promise you, when the dust settles down in the future, we will find an opportunity, whether it is to travel incognito or to tour the world, to go out with you and have a good time for a hundred days."

Zhou Qingchen's eyes suddenly lit up, as if she had fallen into a galaxy: "Not enough."

He cupped Chu Xuanjing's face in his hands and quickly pecked him on the lips: "How can a hundred days be enough? I want A-Jing to stay with me... two hundred days."

Chu Xuanjing's eyes were dark, and he glanced at him with a half-smile: "What if... I still disagree?"

Zhou Qingchen kissed him again, this time lingering longer.

When they parted, both of them were breathing heavily.

A blush rose to Zhou Qingchen's cheeks, her eyes glistening with tears, yet she still stubbornly asked, "Then... how about this? A-Jing... two hundred days? You agree, okay?"

Chu Xuanjing remained silent.

He grabbed Zhou Qingchen by the back of the head and kissed him back hard.

The kiss was aggressive and bloody, conquering and plundering until Zhou Qingchen was kissed until her whole body went limp, her breath came out in broken gasps, and she could only weakly clench her fists and gently pound his solid chest, letting out a small animal-like whimper.

"My dear Qing..." Chu Xuanjing pressed his forehead against his, panting, "There's always a way... that makes me lose control."

Before he finished speaking, he had already leaned in and pressed the person down into the soft brocade quilt.

Zhou Qingchen, however, was like a nimble fish. Taking him by surprise, she rolled over, wrapped herself in the blanket, and rolled to the inside of the bed, revealing only her flushed face. Her voice was soft and breathless from the kiss just now:

"You...you haven't agreed to me yet...how about two hundred days? If you don't agree, I...I won't agree to you either."

Chu Xuanjing chuckled softly.

The laughter rolled out from deep in his throat, carrying an unprecedented indulgence and pampering.

He said no more, and with a skillful movement, he rolled the person and the brocade quilt back into his arms, locking them firmly inside.

"Mmm," he kissed the top of Zhou Qingchen's head, "I'll do as you say. Two hundred days it is."

He lowered his head and whispered in his ear, his warm breath brushing against his earlobe:

"If my Aqing continues to be this obedient and compliant, even a year would be fine."

He then reached out to kiss her—

"master--!!!"

Outside the door, Zhui Feng's deliberately lowered voice suddenly came.

Chu Xuanjing paused, the tenderness in his eyes vanished instantly, replaced by the coldness befitting the Third Prince.

He quickly pulled Zhou Qingchen into his arms, carefully wrapped her in the blanket, leaving only her head exposed, before speaking:

"Enter."

Zhui Feng pushed open the door and entered, and the two people embracing on the opposite bed were already used to it.

He bowed his head: "My lord, the eldest prince... has passed away."

He then gave a brief report on the earth-shattering events that had occurred at the Star-Picking Tower, including the strange purple lightning and the "Oath of the Great Ancestor" that followed.

Zhou Qingchen peeked out from Chu Xuanjing's embrace, her eyelashes still damp: "The ancestral oath? Your Highness, how come I've never heard of such an ancestral precept in the royal family?"

Chu Xuanjing gently stroked his hair: "Not to mention you, Aqing, even I have never heard Father Emperor mention a single word about it."

Zhui Feng added: "The news coming from the palace is that the founding emperor once made a solemn oath by blood: any descendant of the Chu family, whether emperor or relative, who harbors murderous intent towards the Imperial Preceptor Si Chen or acts upon it, will be punished by heaven and earth."

"This oath... is engraved in a secret chamber of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and no one but the emperor may see it."

Chu Xuanjing remained silent for a moment, then suddenly chuckled softly.

The laughter grew louder and louder, eventually turning into a near-manic burst of laughter.

"Chu Xuanche... Chu Xuanche!!!"

He laughed until tears streamed down his face.

"Since you were little, you've always bullied and humiliated me, stolen my things, and beat my people because of your status as the eldest son... Now look what happened, you've been struck dead by lightning... Hahahaha... Good! Very good!"

"What goes around comes around! Retribution is inevitable!!! Hahahaha..."

He laughed so hard he could barely breathe; his expression was sinister and wild, completely different from the gentle lover he had just been.

Zhou Qingchen gently took his hand.

Chu Xuanjing stopped laughing, his eyes turning sinister: "Zhuifeng, get ready. Tomorrow morning, I will personally 'send off' my eldest brother on his final journey—remember to remind me that the tears must be 'genuine' and the grief 'touching,' after all, we are 'brothers with deep affection.'"

He paused, then asked, "Did my maternal grandfather accept the 'gift' he sent the other day?"

Zhui Feng stiffened slightly, lowered his head even further, and replied with a forced smile:

"Minister Li... returned it intact."

"And they spread the word...that the Li family is of humble status and dares not presume to associate with them, that they have...have no grandson like you."

In an instant, the temperature in the dormitory room plummeted.

A murderous glint flashed in Chu Xuanjing's eyes: "You ungrateful old fool... since that's how it is... then..."

"Your Highness, please calm down," Zhou Qingchen interrupted him, her voice gentle yet firm.

"Minister Li has students and old friends all over the court and the country, and he is also your maternal grandfather, with whom you share a blood relationship. Acting rashly at this moment is definitely not the best course of action."