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

The Xie family head muttered that he didn't care anymore. Seeing that the atmosphere had become awkward, Ning Yu quickly tugged at Xie Yan's sleeve, "Let's go back first. Let's forget about this. There's no rush."

A cold glint fell upon her, and she released her grip, her eyes filled with an almost imperceptible pleading as she looked at Xie Yan.

Xie Yan remained silent for a moment, then stood up. "Then I'll take my leave."

"Where did you buy the sachet, brother? It's quite exquisite."

Suddenly, a voice with an indistinct meaning blocked their path. Xie Yan turned around and saw that the man's gaze had fallen on the sachet hanging from his waist.

He raised an eyebrow. "Your sister-in-law made it."

Xie Xun's lips curled slightly, revealing neither joy nor anger, but his eyes seemed to glance at Ning Yu.

Ning Yu naturally noticed it, her heart suddenly raced, feeling as if a cold glint was on her back, and she wished she could run away as fast as she could.

"I'm going to the racecourse with your sister-in-law this afternoon to play polo, so I won't be joining you. Have fun."

Xie Yan pulled Ning Yu's hand and walked out. Xie Xun watched the two of them leave hand in hand, and the chess piece he was holding was now a handful of dust when he loosened his grip.

Ning Yu rarely went out to play polo, so she rarely wore riding clothes. After returning to the Mo Academy, Xie Yan ordered someone to fetch her riding clothes.

She ran into Qingfeng as she went back to her room to change. "Miss, the master wants to see you."

Ning Yu was startled and subconsciously looked around. There were hardly any people around at the moment.

"Go back and tell the governor that I will go there later."

"Your master wants you to go now."

Ning Yu glanced in the direction of the main courtyard, closed her eyes, and said, "I can't go there now."

Hearing what the messenger said, Xie Xun sat in his armchair, his sinister aura pressing down on the entire room, making it hard for anyone to breathe.

Xie Yan had only been back for two short days, yet he dared to disobey him.

The polo field is located on Jade Belt Mountain, and many sons of high-ranking officials and nobles love to play here.

Ning Yu played with Xie Yan here for about an hour. When everyone went to eat and the atmosphere became lively, Xie Yan said he would teach her how to ride a horse and shoot arrows.

She wasn't one of the soldiers in the army, so Xie Yan was very lenient with her. He helped her choose a fine horse and took her to draw her bow and arrow.

In the lush forest, horses galloped, arrows whistled through the air, striking the wings of wild geese. Ning Yu still held the reins, and as she watched the goose flutter twice and fall, her eyes sparkled.

"Excellent archery skills."

Xie Yan held the reins with one hand, smiled, and handed her the bow. "Try it."

In the corridor not far away, Xie Hemian scratched his head when he saw his second brother's unfriendly gaze. "Second brother, the two of them are husband and wife. Their intimacy is perfectly legitimate."

"Legitimate?" Xie Xun muttered to himself, looking at the two men on horseback shooting arrows.

Suddenly, Xie Yan's words from that morning flashed through his mind: "Ayu is my lawfully wedded wife, why shouldn't the imperial clan recognize her?"

"Now that my older brother is back, let's just forget about all those ridiculous things."

He didn't want to see his two older brothers cause chaos over a woman; who knew what kind of mess the Xie family would become then.

Just thinking about that scene terrifies him.

Xie Xun narrowed his eyes but remained silent.

All he knew was that an indescribable and unfamiliar emotion was churning in his chest, and it had been there ever since Xie Yan returned.

"Can't you tell? I'm jealous."

Xie Hemian's throat tightened, and he helplessly rubbed his forehead. He didn't think his second brother would be jealous. It was just that he was unhappy that someone had taken away a toy he had enjoyed and hadn't had enough of.

"Hey, Big Brother also has that medicine pouch." Xie Hemian noticed the sachet tied around Xie Yan's waist with his sharp eyes.

Xie Xun's dark eyes fell on him. "You have one too?"

"Yes, it was delivered by the Mo family this morning. They said it was a medicine sachet to repel mosquitoes in the summer."

"Bring it here so I can take a look."

Xie Hemian shrugged. "It's inside the house. I think Mother has one too."

Xie Xun glanced at the people in the horse farm not far away, his eyes growing increasingly cold. The sachet he wanted, everyone had one; were they just trying to fool him with something like that?

---

"Your Highness, Your Highness, the young prince is here. He says he wants you to come over."

"Young Prince?!" Xie Yan's otherwise cheerful expression changed slightly. He pulled on the reins with a thud and looked back.

The servant boy ran up to him, saying, "The young prince heard that the young master is here and said he has something he'd like to give you."

"You can play here for a while. If you get tired, go to your room to rest. I'll pick you up before we go back to the mansion."

Ning Yu knew he must be very busy since he had just returned, so upon hearing his words, she hummed in agreement, "Go ahead and go."

After Xie Yan left, Ning Yu rode her horse around the horse farm by herself.

She wasn't a very good archer. When she saw a gray rabbit leap out of the bushes, she was about to shoot again when suddenly, a sharp arrow whistled past and struck the rabbit squarely in the body. The rabbit whimpered twice and fell to the ground.

She looked up in surprise and saw the man riding a horse in the woods; her face turned pale instantly.

"Commander-in-Chief".

She was just happily riding a horse with a wild man, but when she saw him, she was terrified, like she'd seen a wolf. Would he really eat her?

Xie Xun's face was frighteningly cold. "Come here."

Ning Yu's hand holding the reins was stiff and unable to move. She subconsciously glanced around, but didn't see anyone familiar. Her stiff hand loosened, and she rode her horse step by step toward him.

As they approached, the two horses nuzzled each other affectionately. Ning Yu opened her mouth to speak, but he suddenly grabbed her slender waist with his whip, spun around, and dragged her onto his horse, placing her in front of him.

The man's breath enveloped her as he pulled her into his arms, pinched her chin, and kissed her deeply.

Ning Yu almost twisted his neck, and cried out in pain.

Xie Xun found her noisy, so he grabbed her waist and turned her around to sit facing him.

"Spending the day with him and sharing a bed with me at night, Ning Yu, you're very busy."

Ning Yu felt as if her waist was about to be snapped. Enduring the pain, she said in a trembling voice, "I couldn't refuse the prince's suggestion, so I came to the horse farm."

"If you can't refuse him, then refuse me?" He looked down at her with a sinister smile. "Your intentions are written all over your face. Do you really think I'm easy to fool?"

Ning Yu felt a chill run down his spine. Before he could think of an explanation, he added, "He also has the sachet that was embroidered for me."

"I---"

Her chin was suddenly lifted up by him. "Everyone has it, and this is how you try to fob me off?"

"I embroidered yours myself, while the maids helped me embroider the others. I was afraid that the old lady and my mother would find out, so I came up with this idea."

Ning Yu's eyes welled up with tears as she tried to appease him. "Don't be angry. You've been sending people to keep an eye on the Mo Academy all day long. Don't you know about what happened between me and the Crown Prince?"

"Now that you mention it, I do remember." Xie Xun's eyes were dark with unease. "Your elder brother wants you to be included in the family register. Do you want your name to be listed alongside his?"

Of course she wanted to. She had already married into the Xie family, and Xie Yan was an exceptionally good person. Why wouldn't she want to? Why would she give up being a perfectly good princess consort and think about something else?

But she couldn't tell him that.

She carefully considered her tone, then gently placed her hand on his chest, "You'll be getting married in less than two months."

The implication was that he had no right to interfere with her, and that she wanted to be included in Xie Yan's family genealogy.

Xie Xun gave a cold laugh and smirked as his rough fingertips traced her lips upwards.

How could a woman he hadn't even gotten tired of sleeping with be legitimately following another man all day long?

"My elder brother has always lived a simple life. You're living in that dilapidated place in the Mo family compound. How about I give you a new identity so you can leave the Xie family?"