If you were cold and aloof in your past life, why are you crying in this one?

In just a few days, Jiangzhou City was in an uproar and the situation changed drastically.

Soldiers patrolled the streets and alleys on horseback, their hooves echoing through the long street.

The officers and soldiers searched and arrested people house by house and alley by alley, asking everyone they met in detail about their whereabouts, creating a huge disturbance.

The people in the city didn't know exactly what had happened; they only knew that a nobleman had been kidnapped by bandits.

The whole city was in a state of panic, and everyone on the streets and alleys was whispering and lamenting that such a distinguished person had suddenly met with misfortune.

……

Late at night

After reading the official document, Wang Jue stood up, stretched his stiff shoulders, and turned to walk into the inner room.

The door to the inner room was ajar.

He gently pushed the door open a crack and, by the light coming in from the outside, saw the person who should have been in the hands of Yu Liang's henchmen, now sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning against the bedpost, his head slowly drooping down.

Wang Jue's movements were already very gentle, but the door hinge still made a slight "creak".

Xi Lingxian suddenly raised her head, her eyes instantly shifting from hazy to alert.

She recognized who it was, and her expression changed from wary to disgust.

Xi Lingxian's drowsiness dissipated at that moment.

She straightened up, her brow furrowing slightly: "When did you arrange this?"

"The day you agreed to move here, I had the secret guards find someone with a similar build to you and disguise him as you."

Xi Lingxian was silent for a moment, then suddenly thought of a question: "Is that person... safe?"

"My men are with you. You'll be fine."

Xi Lingxian looked at him. "You knew all along that they would make their move that night?"

"I guessed it would be in the next few days," Wang Jue said casually. "After Princess Nankang arrived, Yu Liang's patience ran out. He's eager to impeach your father in court, and if he can also keep you under his control, he'll have another bargaining chip."

"So you asked me to move in with you because—"

Wang Jue continued, "If I had told you beforehand that someone was impersonating you, I was afraid you would have been nervous and given yourself away. So I only said that you moved in, without giving a reason."

Xi Lingxian recalled how many times she had cursed him in her heart since she agreed to move in, calling him a "lecherous scoundrel," "malicious," and "taking advantage of someone in distress."

Even this evening, she seriously considered using the dagger under her pillow to stab him if he dared to come near her at night.

Thinking of this, her expression became somewhat subtle.

Wang Jue noticed the change in her expression and raised an eyebrow slightly: "What are you thinking about?"

"It's nothing," Xi Lingxian said, turning her gaze away expressionlessly.

Wang Jue did not press the matter. He turned and sat down on a chair in the outer room, picked up the scroll of military strategy, and continued to read it.

Xi Lingxian blinked, slowly sat up, and pulled the blanket under her chin.

Her hair was a mess from sleeping, with a strand sticking up on her head and another sticking to her cheek.

"That was a clever move of yours," she said casually. "You had a double impersonate me, making them think they had succeeded, and then you wiped them all out in your hideout. Very thorough."

Wang Jue looked at her, and the corners of his mouth slowly curved into a smile.

"If I didn't even have this much ability," he said in a nonchalant tone, "I wouldn't have gotten to where I am today."

Xi Lingxian blinked and looked at him.

He sat in a chair, his robes slightly wrinkled, his hair somewhat disheveled, and a bluish stubble on his chin.

People who haven't slept all night are always like this.

But there was a confident, composed light in his eyes, as if he had everything under control.

This person is indeed quite capable.

He could see the whole picture before things happened, calculate every step clearly, and make her sleep peacefully in the eye of the storm.

"Those people," she changed the subject, her tone tinged with confusion, "are they really that stupid?"

Wang Jue raised an eyebrow: "What?"

"I mean, do they really need to make such a big fuss to kidnap someone?" Xi Lingxian tilted her head, as if seriously considering the question. "The people around Princess Nankang, Liyang Manor, sleeping powder, carriages... they went to such lengths just to get rid of me. I don't think this will be so easy. How can they be so confident?"

Wang Jue chuckled softly after hearing what she said.

"You think they're stupid?" he retorted.

Xi Lingxian thought for a moment: "Not stupid... just a little... naive?"

Wang Jue shook his head, stood up, walked to the bedside, sat down, and looked down at her.

"Actually, this is a very clever tactic." He lowered his voice, "By kidnapping you, we can threaten your father—he can't ignore this—and we can also threaten me."

He paused, his gaze falling on her face. "One bargaining chip, controlling two people at the same time. Yu Liang has calculated this deal very shrewdly."

"It's a pity that one miscalculation occurred; otherwise, this game would have been very exciting."

Xi Lingxian listened, her brows furrowing slightly.

"What part was miscalculated?"

Wang Jue did not rush to answer.

He looked at her disheveled hair, her cheeks slightly flushed from just waking up, and her clear, bright eyes staring at him without blinking.

A sudden, intense, almost tyrannical impulse surged within him.

Whether he loves her or not, he can't let her go; he'll just keep entangled with her for the rest of his life.

He slowly leaned down into Xi Lingxian's widening pupils, his warm, soft touch landing on her brow.

As light as a falling leaf.

Xi Lingxian froze.

Her eyes were wide open, her eyelashes fluttering gently beneath his lips like a startled butterfly.

"They miscalculated..." he said in a low voice. "The real treasures are hidden deep inside and not easily revealed to others."

Having learned his lesson from his past negligence, how could he possibly allow even the slightest danger to befall her again?

Xi Lingxian's mind went blank.

Wang Jue pulled the blanket back up for her when it slipped off.

"You go to sleep first."

He turned around, walked out of the inner room, and closed the door behind him.

"I sleep in the outer room. Call me if you need anything."

Xi Lingxian bit her lip, staring at the closed door, and pulled the blanket over her head.

The calming scent of the incense was soothing, and Xi Lingxian, having slept too much during the day, was feeling drowsy and not very sleepy.

As I got up to drink tea, I heard a few low, indistinct words coming from the outer room.

Why isn't he asleep this late?

After drinking her tea, Xi Lingxian heard the sounds outside growing increasingly urgent.

Listening more closely, it sounded a bit like sleep talking.

Is Wang Jue talking in his sleep?

She put on her coat and quietly peeked out. Wang Jue was sleeping on a long, low couch in the outer room. The couch was just big enough for a man who was over eight feet tall to sleep on, but it was still a bit cramped.

By the dim candlelight of the inn beside the couch, she looked at the person lying on the couch.

Seeing his tightly furrowed brows and the fine beads of sweat on his brow, he really looked like he was having a nightmare.

Strange, this person is all-powerful and capable of anything, what could possibly frighten him?

Suddenly, the person reacted even more violently, closing their eyes, shaking their head, and uttering low murmurs.

"Lingxian, no!"

"don't want!"

This nightmare seems to be related to her?