With legs weak, the sickly stable boy became a mad regent.

"Ah Chao..."

The boy's fingers twitched almost imperceptibly.

He looked up at her.

The candlelight flickered, casting soft shadows between her deliberately arched brows and eyes. That feigned languid charm seemed to veil her like a layer of indistinct mist.

It's abrupt. It's suspicious.

But... for some reason, I don't dislike it.

Itchy. An unfamiliar itch.

"……good."

His voice was low and hoarse, his Adam's apple bobbing as he silently ground the name between his lips before slowly uttering it:

"Ah Chao... Miss Xie bestowed this name upon you."

Ah Chao. With the rising sun, has the past been swept away?

That's... a ridiculously naive idea.

He lowered his eyelashes, concealing the mockery that flashed in his eyes.

"Ah Chao's life was saved by Miss."

He spoke slowly, each word carefully chosen, wrapped in a humble shell, yet revealing a cold, hard core.

"If Miss ever needs my help, I will do my utmost, even at the cost of my life."

coming.

Shen Nannan closed her eyes.

He said the same thing in his past life, in that humble yet sincere tone.

Then she believed him and started treating him like a dog she could command at will.

And then what happened? Later, the dog grew fangs, and the first thing it bit was her.

"I won't kill you ten thousand times over."

She turned around, trying to make her expression look natural.

"Just live well."

Ah Chao suddenly looked up.

Something flashed across his eyes.

"Does the young lady wish me to live?"

He repeated it softly, as if savoring the phrase, while another murmur faded into the darkness.

"Everyone curses me to die."

Shen Nannan heard it, and her heart skipped a beat.

Oops, I let it slip.

In his previous life, in the Regent's Palace, the courtiers secretly cursed him as "the reincarnation of Yama" and wished he would die sooner.

She was the only one who, even when she was terrified, never uttered a single curse.

Because she knew that if he died, the Shen family would be truly finished, and any one of those wolves and tigers outside could tear her to pieces.

"I spent money to buy you back, not to watch you die."

She forced herself to remain calm, adopting the airs of a spoiled young lady.

"If you die, wouldn't all my money go down the drain? I need you to keep me alive to compete with Su Yue!"

Ah Chao looked at her without saying a word.

His gaze was so deep, it was as if he could see right through her.

Shen Nannan couldn't stand the stares. "You...you should rest."

After saying that, he turned to leave.

But his wrist was grabbed in an instant.

The force wasn't strong, but it held me firmly.

Shen Nannan's blood seemed to freeze at that moment.

Countless nights of such imprisonment and helplessness in her past life suddenly swept over her, and her face turned deathly pale.

"Let go!"

Ah Chao didn't let up.

He looked up at her, his breathing somewhat rapid due to his still-healing injuries.

"Miss..." he murmured, staring down at her sleeve.

Get closer,

He twitched his nostrils slightly, then leaned in and sniffed her wrist.

Shen Nannan felt a chill run down her spine and instinctively reached out.

"Snap—"

A slap landed,

Her body went limp; that slap had no power at all.

Only after hitting him did she realize she'd messed things up—she'd come to tame him, not to provoke him.

Her hands trembled, unsure of what to do.

The boy showed no anger whatsoever; he touched the cheek she had slapped with his tongue.

"I apologize. I was feeling a little dizzy just now. I apologize for being so abrupt, Miss."

He smiled at her.

But it sent chills down Shen Nannan's spine.

"Are you satisfied, Miss?" He turned his face to the other side.

"How about... we attack this side too?"

He stared intently at her.

That gaze was captivating. It was burning.

It felt like he wanted to swallow her whole.

In their past life, most of the time they spent together was in bed.

That man was unpredictable, but when it came to that matter, he seemed to have inexhaustible energy.

Every time,

It was that same gaze—it made her feel like she had nowhere to escape, that it saw right through her, inside and out.

"Crazy," she cursed inwardly.

I was a madman in my past life, and I am a madman in this life too.

"You! Take good care of yourself! I'm leaving now!"

She dared not linger any longer and fled almost as if escaping from the storage room filled with the smell of medicine and an invisible pressure.

It wasn't until she had walked quite a distance and a night breeze blew that she felt a chill on her back, which startled her into breaking out in a cold sweat.

Qiu Yu, carrying a lantern, came to greet her. Seeing her pale face, she asked worriedly, "Miss, are you alright? Is that stable boy...?"

"He's awake." Shen Nannan interrupted her, rubbing her throbbing temples.

"Once he recovers, he'll be transferred to work in my courtyard."

"Yes," Qiu Yu replied, wanting to say that this was against the rules, but not daring to ask any further questions.

Shen Nannan glanced back at the small house with its dim yellow light.

A blurry profile was projected onto the window paper. The boy sat motionless against the headboard, like a silent statue.

Her mind was filled with Ah Chao's eyes—she suddenly remembered her past life—he always loved to sniff her neck, like a wolfhound that recognized its master.

Sometimes, when he's been really rough with her, he'll say in a hoarse voice, "My little girl smells so good."

She looked away, her body still trembling.

"How long until Father and Mother return?"

Qiu Yu was taken aback: "Master and Madam are calculating the days, and it seems it will be another two or three months. The military affairs at the border are heavy, and Master is the commander-in-chief, how can he easily extricate himself..."

Two or three months.

Shen Nannan closed her eyes.

My father and mother are still at the border and know nothing about the undercurrents in the capital.

But the spies within the Shen family had already been planted, and she had to be the first to drag out those venomous snakes hiding in the shadows.

Fortunately... she still has time.

She raised her hand and looked at her wrist. It seemed as if the warmth of his palm still lingered there.

He is the most venomous snake.

But it is also the sharpest knife.

She wants to hold this knife in her own hand!

Xiao Yunzhao, I'm not as cunning as you.

But there's one thing I'm good at that you can't escape...

------

The moonlight was dim and desolate in the storage room.

The boy, who should have been weak and asleep, was now sitting quietly against the headboard, his eyes clear, deep, and cold.

The wound was painful, sharp and persistent, but this pain was already a normal part of him, ingrained in his very being.

"Mo Bai."

A very faint rustling sound came from the shadows. The next second, a figure in black appeared silently in the shadows of the corner, kneeling and bowing his head.

"master."

Ah Chao's voice was calm, "Getting into the General's Mansion was easier than I expected. Go and investigate whether the Shen family has any connections with the Crown Prince. Also—"

He paused.

"Has Shen Nannan, the eldest daughter of the Shen family, been acting strangely lately? Who has she met, and what has she said? We need every detail."

"Yes."

Mo Bai looked up and glanced at his master. His master was staring at his fingertips, as if looking at something extremely interesting.

He dared not look any longer, and with a flash, he disappeared into the shadows.

Ah Chao leaned back against the headboard.

Moonlight streamed in through the window, falling on his pale fingertips.

He slowly brought his finger closer to the tip of his nose.

Moonlight fell on his pale face, and he chuckled softly.

"Miss……"

"It smells so good."