In a moment of impulse, I forcibly kissed my brother's best friend.

"I think I just saw Princess Yuzhen's carriage leave in a hurry," Li Zhige said solemnly. "I'll go and inquire first; you guys continue searching other places."

"Brother, I'll go with you!" Li Zhiwei said. "I'm a woman, it'll be more convenient for me."

She then turned to Xie Wanrou: "Sister Wanrou, I'm leaving this to you."

Xie Wanrou's eyes were already brimming with tears, and she nodded heavily. The two then hurriedly turned and left.

After returning to the princess's residence, Li Yuzhen glanced at Xie Yige, who had been knocked unconscious, and expressionlessly instructed the accompanying guards, "Lock her up first. Take this jade pendant to Cui Yutang and see how he reacts."

"Yes, ma'am."

Li Yuzhen had just changed into her new clothes and was about to rest when a palace maid came to report.

"Your Highness, Cui Yutang has arrived and is waiting in the front hall."

It hadn't even been the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn.

Li Yuzhen gripped the gold hairpin tightly in her hand, and her expression became even more unpleasant.

She deliberately strolled slowly toward the front hall. Inside stood a figure in sky blue, draped in a black cloak, tall and straight as a pine tree, with thin lips pressed tightly together and a cold expression that seemed to freeze the air in the entire hall.

"Cui Yutang," Li Yuzhen slowly picked up the teacup beside her, her tone laced with sarcasm, "you hid in Donglin back then to avoid marrying me. And now you've delivered yourself right to my doorstep?"

"Why did you arrest her? Where is she?" Cui Yutang asked directly, showing no intention of engaging in any further discussion.

"Why did you arrest her?" Li Yuzhen took a sip of tea, put down the teacup, and traced Cui Yutang's appearance with her beautiful eyes. "Naturally, it's because she saw something she shouldn't have seen."

Cui Yutang frowned slightly: "You went to the Great Ci'en Temple again?"

"So what if I went?" Li Yuzhen's lips curled into a cold smile.

"Yuzhen," Cui Yutang took a deep breath, lowering his voice, "Give her back to me, please. She won't say a word."

"Is she the reason you refused to marry her back then?" Li Yuzhen's eyes were fixed on his face.

"I didn't even know her two years ago, so what business is it of hers with our marriage?" Cui Yutang said helplessly. "Besides, we never had any romantic feelings for each other, so why are you forcing it?"

"I just can't stand your family's arrogant attitude!" Li Yuzhen's voice suddenly rose. "They don't even respect me, a princess! What's so great about the Cui family of Qinghe?"

"The marriage alliance between the Cui family of Qinghe and the royal family was inappropriate from the start. You must understand the principle that what goes up must come down. It's not that I look down on the princess."

Li Yuzhen's expression softened slightly, and the atmosphere in the hall grew cold.

After a long silence, she suddenly spoke: "It's not impossible for me to let her go. But you have to agree to one condition."

"What are the conditions?"

"Marry me."

Cui Yutang sighed softly, his voice low but carrying an unwavering resolve: "I have no intention of starting a family in this life."

Why?

Cui Yutang didn't speak, he just shook his head.

His beloved Yige is already married. All he can do for the rest of his life is silently watch over her. How can he marry someone else when his heart is filled with her?

"Yuzhen," he sighed earnestly, "he will be sad if you do this."

Li Yuzhen was taken aback.

"Give her back to me, okay?" Cui Yutang looked at her, his gaze calm and sincere. "If you were in the same situation, he would be just as anxious and helpless."

Li Yuzhen seemed to have been struck by something, and her expression suddenly became listless.

After a long silence, she only left one sentence: "Get out."

The person then disappeared from the front hall.

When Cui Yutang finally found Xie Yige, his heart was breaking.

She lay there, pale and silent, as if she had already lost all life. There was a bruise on her forehead, bloodstains on her wrists from the ropes she had used to struggle, and her body was already cold.

He quickly took off his cloak, his body trembling slightly, and gently wrapped her in his arms.

Then, with a frantic heart, I pressed my face close to hers to feel her breath.

Faint, warm.

She is still alive.

"Yige, Yige, wake up." His voice was hoarse and trembling with obvious sobs. He kissed her forehead while gently stroking her cold cheeks with his fingers, then pressed his face against hers, trying to warm her up a bit.

Xie Yige's eyelashes trembled slightly as she slowly opened her eyes. A white light filled her vision, and through the blur, she saw a sky-blue figure.

"Cui Yutang...is that you?" Her voice was so weak it was almost inaudible.

"It's me." A tear fell onto her forehead, burning hot.

"Don't worry, I'm fine." Xie Yige raised her hand and gently touched his face. "I was just knocked unconscious by them, and it still hurts a little. I haven't recovered yet."

"I'm sorry I'm late."

"It's not too late." She forced a weak smile. "I was so stupid. I thought she was being forced, and I tried to save her..."

"Don't do this again." His voice was deep and solemn. "Your safety is more important than anyone else's."

"Okay, I'll listen to you."

"Good girl." Cui Yutang couldn't help but kiss the tip of her nose again.

A blush rose on Xie Yige's face, finally giving her some color.

She suddenly remembered something, reached into her bosom, pulled out a pre-packaged talisman, and handed it to him: "Oh right, I went to the Great Ci'en Temple today to get you a talisman, thankfully it didn't fall off."

Cui Yutang was taken aback.

"The monk Xuanling said you'll do well in the imperial examinations." She smiled, her eyes crinkling into crescents. "So don't feel pressured."

Cui Yutang took the talisman and held it tightly in his hand.

He looked at her pale face, at the wound on her forehead, at the bloody marks on her wrists from the rope, at how she, despite having just survived a life-or-death ordeal, was still thinking about his imperial examination—

His deep, dark eyes locked onto her, his heart surging with emotion he could hardly contain.

In that instant, a crazy idea suddenly popped into his head.

He wanted to take her away from her.

Regardless of whose wife she was, regardless of any social norms or the four thousand family rules, he wanted to keep her by his side and never let anyone hurt her again.