So what if she's my sister-in-law? You seduced me first.

In the dimly lit tent, a tingling sensation, along with the coldness of a sharp knife, spread throughout Ning Yu's body. Ning Yu's hands, which were gripping the blankets, suddenly clenched, and she turned to glare at the man.

The two were very close. In order to block his figure, she was almost sitting on his waist and legs. However, she was slender and he was too tall, so she couldn't block him very well. When she turned her head, she almost kissed his chin.

He wasn't wearing many clothes, and his hot chest was pressed against her body. Her heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively wanted to create some distance between them.

The next second, he exerted force with his arm, and her whole body fell back into his arms, with a sharp knife against her neck.

Her breath hitched; she wished she could get rid of the dog as soon as possible.

"Your subordinate wouldn't dare. Please forgive me, Your Highness, and allow me to conduct a search—"

The sounds from outside came in intermittently. Ning Yu gestured to him with her eyes to put the knife away; she wouldn't say anything out of turn.

But the man refused, looking down at her with his eyes, signaling for her to send him away.

She could only feign anger and say to the people outside the tent, "To conduct a massive search of my bedside in the middle of the night, is there no law under the emperor's nose?"

The deputy general was in a dilemma, so he had to compromise, "I will search around the courtyard to prevent the thieves from breaking in and accidentally injuring the Crown Princess."

There was silence inside, and the guards who had followed them in immediately began searching elsewhere.

It wasn't that Ning Yu didn't want to talk, but the scoundrel behind her was so hateful that he was afraid she would say something wrong, so he held her tightly.

The weather was hot, and the man's body was like a furnace. Fine beads of sweat appeared on her skin, and even through the thin fabric, her body felt scalding hot, as if they were sticking together.

"Sir, no suspicious traces have been found." In the dim light of the night, the soldier checked every corner.

The bed curtains swayed gently, blocking out most of the view. The deputy general of the Imperial Guard frowned, looking at the motionless curtains. He hesitated for a long time, but did not dare to go forward to lift them and see if the person speaking inside was the Crown Princess.

Offending the Xie family ruined his career.

"Now that I've confirmed the Crown Princess is unharmed, I'm relieved. However, a guard just saw the Crown Princess go out to fetch water; did he see anyone suspicious?"

Oh no, there's a hidden sentry watching us.

Ning Yu stared intently at the sharp blade against her neck and said, "No."

As the heir apparent of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion, with the powerful Xie family as her backing, if she had really encountered assassins, she would have already called for help, and wouldn't be so calm.

The lieutenant realized he was being paranoid; fetching a bucket of water was probably related to some private matter concerning a woman, and he shouldn't waste time there.

"Then I shall take my leave."

They closed the door when they left. Ning Yu was about to speak when the man suddenly reached out and pushed her down onto the bed, covering her mouth.

She instinctively twisted her waist in an attempt to struggle, but he was extremely strong, and their bodies were instantly entangled in an extremely ambiguous position.

Ning Yu bit his hand in anger. Xie Xun winced in pain, and his fierce eyes, like those of a tiger or wolf, instantly turned away from the window and looked down at her.

Ning Yu was startled by his gaze and unconsciously stopped struggling, looking at him timidly with her beautiful fox-like eyes.

Xie Xun moved his hand away, looking at the teeth marks on his hand, his voice so low it was almost inaudible, "Someone dared to cut out your tongue."

The bed in the temple was small, so the two of them squeezed onto one. His presence filled the air, and when Ning Yu heard his threatening words, her already cold face became even more unpleasant.

"stand up."

If word got back to the Xie family that she was in bed with some random man, disheveled and in such a state, she would be doomed.

Her slender, delicate fingers, like white scallions, poked straight into his chest. Xie Xun looked down at her face.

Their eyes met, and the atmosphere inside the tent inexplicably changed, as if the temperature in the air had risen.

Xie Xun looked at her for a while, then looked away and sat up.

Ning Yu immediately pulled her clothes tighter and sat up. Remembering what he said about someone being there, she hurriedly lifted the curtain, slipped on her shoes, and went to the window.

Night had fallen, and through the cracks in the window, one could see that the Imperial Guards had almost completely surrounded the courtyard, patrolling and searching everywhere with their swords at their sides.

She frowned deeply, closed the window, and returned to her tent.

"Still searching."

Xie Xun's wounds had reopened in some places, and the wounds were burning with pain. He looked at the woman standing by the bed after lifting the curtain, and said weakly, "Go and get the medicine so I can change my dressing."

Seeing him in pain made Ning Yu feel incredibly relieved. She forced a smile and said, "We've used up all the medicine. First, bandage the wound tightly to prevent excessive bleeding—"

Before she could finish speaking, the man's aura suddenly turned arrogant, and his previously gentle expression became frightening. He grabbed her by the back of the neck.

The two were suddenly face to face. Before Ning Yu could speak, he leaned close to her ear, and his voice, like that of a demon, quickly reached her ears.

She looked up, and in those downcast eyes that looked down at her, there was an expression of displeasure.

"My lord, we've fallen into a trap! Those masked experts have all headed for the main hall. The Crown Prince has been assassinated."

The news, like a bolt from the blue, was deafening and caught everyone off guard. The deputy general, who was still staring at the house, was shocked and hurriedly turned around and shouted, "Damn it! Their target is the Crown Prince! Go and protect the Crown Prince!"

The hurried footsteps, mixed with the sounds of swords and spears, rushed away into the distance. The two people inside the house exchanged a glance, and Ning Yu quickly put down the porcelain bottle in her hand and walked to the window to look outside.

Sure enough, the person had disappeared.

"They're gone. Take advantage of the chaos now and leave quickly too."

When Xie Xun looked at her, Ning Yu instantly understood the meaning in his eyes. Suppressing her displeasure, she stepped forward to continue applying the medicine for him.

She removed the blood-stained bandage, roughly took the wound medicine, sprinkled it on the wound, and then bandaged it with a new bandage.

He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but Xie Xun felt her press her wound twice in a malicious way. He looked down at her with a pale face.

Ning Yu seemed oblivious, watching without blinking as the blood on the bandage deepened.

"Alright, give me the antidote, now you can leave."

The pain continued to radiate from the wound. Xie Xun ignored her words and slowly gathered his clothes together and fastened his belt.

Although she didn't know where those assassins came from, she guessed they were probably related to this man. Ning Yu just wanted to get rid of this hot potato as soon as possible.

Seeing his unhurried manner, she felt an urge to curse him.

Just then, a cluster of firelight suddenly ignited in the northwest sky. Ning Yu saw the mottled window illuminated in a crimson glow and quickly opened the window to look out.

A thick plume of black smoke, fueled by the wind, rose slowly up the pagoda, while blazing flames leaped upwards. Before long, the fire spread, and with the help of the east wind, the flames raged across the sky.

These assassins dared to set fire to and kill people at Huguo Temple right under the emperor's nose. Ning Yu looked at the raging fire and felt that the man walking behind her was as scary as a wolf.

After an unknown amount of time, the sounds of monks running to fetch water spread throughout the surrounding area. In the dead of night, figures came and went in the temple, and nobles who were sleeping fled in panic, accompanied by curses and shouts.

Soon, Ning Yu saw several figures dressed in black nimbly scaling the wall and heading towards them.

Just as she was about to run, she saw the man standing still, while all the masked experts surrounded him.

The noise outside was so loud that Ning Yu couldn't hear what they were saying. She only saw the man glance at her as he left, and his expression was definitely not friendly.

Seeing that he was about to leave, she quickly stopped him, saying, "The antidote."

Xie Xun turned around, his dark, unfathomable eyes peering at her. "Within two days, someone will deliver the antidote to Madam."

Ning Yu gritted her teeth in anger and watched him leave.

"Miss, Miss---"

A moment later, Qinghe, who had also been awakened by the noise, hurriedly ran in with her bundle and pulled her outside.

"What are you looking at? Fire! Run!"