After being reborn, the aloof prime minister was once again forced by a tyrant.

Xiao Jingchen sat slumped outside the Princess's residence for a long time. When he saw two small blue sedan chairs embroidered with crane patterns from the Ministry of Rites swaying towards him at the alley entrance, he was instantly terrified.

He scrambled to his feet, ran a hundred paces, and looked back. Sure enough, the sedan chairs had stopped in front of the Princess's residence, and several officials in red robes had gotten out and were negotiating with the gatekeeper.

"A bunch of persistent old scoundrels!"

Xiao Jingchen cursed, turned around and darted into a narrow alley, hugging the wall as he sped toward the Prince Rui's residence.

The back door of Prince Rui's residence was ajar. He slipped inside, and the old steward, who was watering the flowers with a copper kettle, was so startled by his master's appearance that he dropped the kettle: "Your Highness! What's wrong—"

"Don't ask!" Xiao Jingchen panted heavily, grabbing the old steward's arm. "Move all the servants in the manor to the front gate! Bring sticks and brooms; anyone who dares to approach the gate is to be thrown out! Tell them I've contracted a terrible illness and am closing the gates to all visitors!"

The old steward was full of suspicion, but seeing his flustered expression, he dared not ask any more questions and quickly summoned the servants of the mansion to the front yard.

Xiao Jingchen finally breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and walked towards the bedroom. He needed to quickly change into clean clothes and hide in the secret room, at least until those court officials dispersed.

Pushing open the moon gate of the dormitory, an old plum tree was in full bloom, and on the stone table under the plum tree was a pot and two cups of tea, with the aroma of tea wafting in the air.

Xiao Jingchen paused, a chill creeping up his spine.

A person sat upright beside the stone table, wrapped in a snow fox fur cloak, with a silver hairpin half-tied up, and a pair of red tassel silver pendants inlaid with pearls on their ears swaying gently in the wind. Who else could it be but Yu Shu?

"Your Highness is back?" Yu Shu looked up, her smile as warm as a spring breeze. "You must be tired from your journey. Have a cup of tea to soothe your throat."

Xiao Jingchen stood frozen beneath the moon gate, his hands and feet icy cold. His lips moved for a long time before he managed to force a smile that was more like a grimace: "Yu... Yu Shu... what are you doing here..."

"Naturally, I've come to settle accounts with His Highness." Yu Shu slowly rose and walked closer step by step. "His Highness did such a thing, then just left without even saying goodbye. Even with the best self-control, Yu Shu feels wronged."

Xiao Jingchen felt a chill run down his spine and turned to run.

He rushed through the corridor, through the moon gate, and headed straight for the front yard. All he could hear was the sound of the wind and the pounding of his own heart.

The front door was right in front of him. The old steward and several servants were guarding the door. When he saw him rushing over, they hurriedly pulled the bolt.

"Your Highness, outside—" Before the old steward could finish speaking, the door was pulled open by Xiao Jingchen.

Everything before my eyes was crimson.

Below the steps, more than twenty people stood densely packed together, dressed in black gauze hats and scarlet robes, holding memorials, arguing amongst themselves about something.

Upon hearing the door open, Zhao Qian, the Minister of Rites, who was leading the group, looked up abruptly, his wrinkled face contorted with elation: "Your Highness! We have an important matter to report! It concerns the very foundation of the nation, and we humbly request Your Highness to spare the time—"

Xiao Jingchen slammed the door shut, locking it with three bolts.

He pressed himself against the door, cold sweat pouring down his back. Caught between a rock and a hard place, escape was truly impossible this time.

Just as I was figuring out the safest way to climb over the wall, a warm breath brushed against the back of my neck.

"Why are you running?"

Yu Shu had appeared behind him without his noticing, her arms encircling his waist inch by inch.

He whispered in Xiao Jingchen's ear, his voice so soft it was almost a whisper: "Aren't we 'good brothers'? Since we parted ways with the Northern Barbarians, Your Highness has been missing me terribly, so why did you run away as soon as you saw me? Is Yu Shu that scary?"

Xiao Jingchen stood frozen in place, feeling a chill run from his tailbone straight to the top of his head. He dared not turn around, nor dared he struggle.

"Um... Yu Shu... you didn't bring those things outside, did you...?"

Yu Shu readily admitted, "Yes, I just wanted to see if Your Highness was more afraid of those nagging old folks or more afraid of me."

Xiao Jingchen's legs went weak, and he nearly fainted: "You...you're too mean..."

Yu Shu buried her face in the nape of his neck, her nose slowly rubbing along the neck line. "Hmm? Am I bad? Compared to Your Highness taking advantage of my drunkenness, riding on top of me, pulling up your pants and running away, I'm much more reasonable."

The old steward and several servants huddled behind the screen wall, staring wide-eyed as their prince was embraced from behind by the Northern Di Khan, not daring to utter a sound.

Outside the door, Zhao Qian was still shouting loudly, "Your Highness, have mercy and listen to what we have to say!" His voice was so loud it could lift the roof off.

Ahead lay a cold shoulder, behind him a passionate embrace. Xiao Jingchen was paralyzed, feeling as if he were facing imminent doom.

At this moment, Yu Shu released his grip, straightened his sleeves, and resumed his gentle and refined gentlemanly demeanor.

He nodded slightly to the old steward and said politely, "Please trouble you, sir, to guard the back gate. I have a few private words to say to His Highness, and we don't want any outsiders present."

The old steward nodded repeatedly and led his servants away faster than rabbits.

"Hey! Stop right there!" Xiao Jingchen yelled, turning around abruptly. "Why are you listening to him so much?! Whose butler are you anyway?!"

Yu Shu smiled, her eyes crinkling: "Stop shouting, they've already disappeared."

"What...what exactly do you want?" Xiao Jingchen pressed against the door, staring at him warily, and mustered his courage to speak, "I was drunk that night, I didn't mean to offend you. If you want any compensation, just say the word."

The smile on Yu Shu's face gradually faded.

"Compensation?" He tilted his head, his tone innocent like a child, but his words sent chills down one's spine. "Your Highness, what do you think should compensate me with? Should I break your legs, lock you in this secret room of the Prince Rui's mansion, strip you naked and lock you on the bed, making you my sex toy every day, with both your mouths used only as my seminal vesicles?"

He took a step forward, and Xiao Jingchen involuntarily retreated until his back hit the door panel, leaving him with nowhere to go.

"Or—" Yu Shu leaned down to look him in the eye, her fingertips gently tracing his cheek, "to turn Your Highness into a human oil lamp and place it on the table in my Northern Di royal tent, so that Your Highness will never run away, and will always be able to look at me alone. Which do you think is better, Your Highness?"

Xiao Jingchen felt his blood run cold.

He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word. His legs went weak, and he slid down the door panel, collapsing to the ground.

Yu Shu stared at his pale face for a couple of breaths, then suddenly burst out laughing, her eyes crinkling as she regained her gentle and tender demeanor.

"Just kidding. Your Highness's courage is getting worse every day." He bent down, picked the person up, and walked calmly to the stone table. "You're so scared, it seems you're really afraid of me."

Held in Yu Shu's arms, Xiao Jingchen trembled, both ashamed and angry: "You...you...Yu Shu...you've gone too far! You know I'm timid, yet you still scared me like this!"

Yu Shu helped the man sit down on the stone bench, then took her own seat. She picked up a teacup, filled it about seven-tenths full, and pushed it opposite him. "I've come to help Your Highness with the antidote. Your Highness has been away from me for over half a month; you must be suffering greatly. I was worried about you, so I came uninvited. I hope Your Highness won't blame me?"

Xiao Jingchen felt a chill run down his spine, and he abruptly stood up, taking a half-step back: "N-no, I don't feel uncomfortable... Don't come any closer! That poison, I had someone examine it, and they... they couldn't find anything. Are you lying to me—"

"Why would I lie to Your Highness?" Yu Shu seemed hurt, a thin mist clouding her watery eyes. "That medicine is a secret remedy from the Northern Barbarians; naturally, the doctors of the Central Plains can't detect it. Your Highness knows best what it's like when it takes effect. If I truly wanted to harm you, why would I have traveled all the way to the capital?"

Xiao Jingchen was speechless at his question. The symptoms were indeed very real; when they flared up, he felt hot all over and his mind was filled with Yu Shu's face—it was quite wicked.

"Please sit down," Yu Shu said softly. "Let me take your pulse and see how strong the medicine is. If it's not too deep, there might be other ways to counteract it. If it has already penetrated to the bone... then we'll have to do it the way I'm telling you."

Xiao Jingchen was half-believing and half-doubting. After hesitating for a long time, he finally moved to the opposite side of the stone table and sat down, extending his hand with some doubt.

Yu Shu lowered her eyes and "chopped" for the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, her brows furrowing more and more tightly. Finally, she withdrew her hand and sighed deeply: "The medicine has already entered the heart meridian. If it had been delayed by another half month, even a celestial being could not have saved it."

Xiao Jingchen's face turned pale: "Then... is there still any hope?"

"Yes." Yu Shu looked at him, seemingly hesitant, "but this method... I'm afraid Your Highness won't agree."

"Tell me," Xiao Jingchen hurriedly said, "As long as you don't kill me, I'll do anything—" He suddenly stopped, staring warily at the other person, "You don't have any other conditions for helping me detoxify, do you?"

Yu Shu squinted and forced a smile: "In Your Highness's eyes, is Yu Shu the kind of person who takes advantage of others' misfortunes?"

Xiao Jingchen nodded inwardly, but shook his head decisively: "No, no! You are a virtuous gentleman, a role model for us all, a living bodhisattva of the Northern Barbarians, a great benefactor of the grasslands! All the tribes of the Northern Barbarians praise your benevolence..."

Yu Shu then smiled with satisfaction: "The detoxification method I mentioned the other day wasn't just a bluff. This medicine is yin in nature, so it needs to be combined with yang essence and yin energy, and then supplemented with my Northern Di secret technique of pushing the meridians to slowly expel the poison from the meridians. If it's not resolved in one day, it will linger for another day; if it's not resolved in three days, the illness will penetrate the skin; if it's not resolved in seven days, it will penetrate the internal organs; if it's not resolved in half a month, it will penetrate the bones. Once it's in the bones, it needs to be circulated three hundred times to be completely removed."

Xiao Jingchen was stunned, his mouth opening and closing repeatedly before he finally managed to utter a sound: "Three...three hundred times? What kind of number is that?"

Yu Shu looked troubled, as if extremely reluctant to speak: "It is exactly what Your Highness thinks."

"What do you mean?"

"It was that night that Your Highness and I did...that thing." Yu Shu said, her ear tips turning slightly red, as if she was too shy to speak. "It requires...doing that thing three hundred times, each time with me using my internal energy to guide the flow, drawing out the poison from your body little by little. There can be no carelessness. If you give up halfway, all your previous efforts will be wasted, and the effects of the medicine will backfire even more fiercely than before."

Xiao Jingchen felt as if he had been struck by lightning, his mind buzzing. Three hundred times? Three hundred times?! Even if you used him as a teapot lid and kept lifting it, it would take at least half a year!

He jumped to his feet, his face flushed red: "Yu Shu! You...you really were lying to me! What kind of poison could...do this!"

Yu Shu calmly said, "If Your Highness does not believe me, I will press it for you and you will know. The area one inch below the Mingmen point on the lower back is where the medicinal properties gather. Pressing it will trigger the effect."

Xiao Jingchen was still skeptical, and before he could speak, Yu Shu had already gotten up and walked around behind him. A slightly cool hand gently placed on his lower back, accurately landing on an inch below his groin through the fabric, and gently rubbed it a couple of times with her fingertips applying slight pressure.

Xiao Jingchen froze: "No, don't press it!"

Yu Shu ignored him, secretly channeling her internal energy. Her fingertips suddenly became hot, and she rubbed them hard twice more.

A surge of tingling, numbness, and heat shot up his spine, causing Xiao Jingchen to shudder and collapse into Yu Shu's arms.

That familiar feeling returned—a dense heat surged from her lower abdomen, and the images of that night with the Northern Barbarians uncontrollably surfaced in her mind: Yu Shu's voice, Yu Shu's soft lips, Yu Shu's large member…

"How is it?" Yu Shu held his arm and pulled him half into her arms, whispering in his ear, "I have never lied to Your Highness."

Xiao Jingchen's body went limp on one side, and he asked breathlessly, "Then... besides that, are there any other methods? Medicine? Acupuncture? Moxibustion? Anything will do!"

Yu Shu shook her head, a fleeting smile crossing her eyes, but her face remained solemn and pained: "I told you, this medicine is a secret medicine of the Northern Barbarians. I only intended to scare you, to prevent you from acting like a hooligan while drunk, and I would give you the antidote in a couple of days. I didn't expect you to leave without saying goodbye, and now the poison has entered your heart. If this medicine is not used to cure you, you will die."

As he said this, his eyes reddened and his voice trembled, "Even if I resent you, I can't bear to see you die."

"You..." Xiao Jingchen's throat tightened, "Are you really not doing this to get revenge on me?"

"If I wanted revenge on you, why would I come to find you and help you detoxify?" Yu Shu buried her face in his neck, rubbing her nose against him again and again. "I came in such a hurry because I was afraid you would suffer more. Tangtang, why do you never believe in my heart?"

Xiao Jingchen's heart trembled violently, a tingling sensation spreading from his neck throughout his body. He opened his mouth, wanting to say that the one he liked was clearly Prime Minister Xie, but the words stuck in his throat. At that moment, Yu Shu was holding him, docile and aggrieved, so he couldn't bring himself to say anything that would spoil the mood.

He raised his hand as if possessed, and gently patted Yu Shu's hand wrapped around his waist: "I...I believe you. I knew it. You've been so good to me, how could you bear to poison me and kill me? It's all my fault. I shouldn't have run away so recklessly. But now...are we really going to do this three hundred times?"

"The medicine has seeped into your bones; you can't skip even one dose." Yu Shu's tears fell instantly. "I know Your Highness is afraid of me, and I know Your Highness doesn't care about me. But your life is at stake, so I hope Your Highness will do me the difficult thing and let Yu Shu detoxify you. If Your Highness feels it's an insult... then let it be that Yu Shu forced Your Highness."

Upon hearing his self-deprecating tone, Xiao Jingchen's heart clenched even more: "It's not humiliation! How could it be humiliation! I'm just afraid you'll feel wronged..."

"I'm not wronged." Yu Shu took his hand, a slight smile playing on her lips. "As long as Your Highness can live well, I'll do anything for you."

Xiao Jingchen was so stunned by this gentle but deadly blow that he completely forgot that he had just been scared half to death by this person.

He turned his head and stared blankly at Yu Shu's face, recalling that night with the Northern Barbarians, and even earlier, when Yu Shu, as the Khan of the Northern Barbarians, first came to the capital. The two of them strolled arm in arm, riding horses and enjoying the spring scenery, listening to operas in brothels. He got drunk and ended up leaning on someone's back, being carried all the way down Zhuque Street.

Yu Shu always treated him with gentleness and patience. Even though she knew that she was deliberately delaying him on His Majesty's orders to prevent him from seducing Prime Minister Xie, she was neither angry nor annoyed, as if he would be forgiven no matter what he did.

His lower abdomen burned even more intensely, and he suddenly couldn't tell whether it was because of the "poison" taking effect, or because he had always longed to be close to this person.