Late at night, at the Prince Residence.
Baihan thought to just find any room to spend the night, but suddenly the voice of Nanny Xiao echoed from behind her.
"Princess Consort, the night is deep and the dew is heavy, you should retie with the Prince."
Baihan's smile faded gradually, and she awkwardly came up with an excuse, "Nanny, I, I'm having my period, it's not good to share a room with the Prince."
But Nanny Xiao was remarkably unperturbed, "Princess Consort, I have checked the clothes you changed today, and you are not having your period."
Baihan's expression fell again.
She had miscalculated. Nanny Xiao came from the harem, and her cunning was too much for her to handle.
Nanny Xiao continued solemnly, "Princess Consort, the Prince is actually a good man, it's just that his past experiences have made him the way he is. You could try to accept him."
She could try to accept him, but he didn't want to accept her!
Regardless of her resistance, Nanny Xiao's attitude was still incredibly firm.
Thus, she was led by Nanny Xiao to the front of Yan Lin's bedroom.
"Nanny, the Prince will not let me enter the room," Baihan said with utter helplessness.
The Prince detested her so much, he certainly would not let her enter. They should not demean themselves by asking.
However, Nanny Xiao calmly shook her head and then called out loudly to the person inside, "Prince, the Empress Dowager wishes for you to treat the Princess Consort well. You do not want to be summoned to the palace again tomorrow, do you?"
After a long silence, it seemed that the person inside finally compromised.
"Come in."
"Princess Consort, please go in, this servant will take her leave now," Nanny Xiao said with a smile, nodding her head, then withdrew.
Baihan had no choice but to brace herself and open the door.
Inside, under the dim candlelight, Yan Lin sat at the edge of the bed, dressed in loose, thin clothes, his hair cascading down from his temples, revealing his exceptionally handsome profile.
His long fingers were holding a book.
Didn't he have a vision problem? Why then could he still read?
As Baihan harbored doubts, Yan Lin spoke in a cold voice, "Come here, read to me."
Baihan: "..."
She was reluctant internally, but remembering how he had protected her in front of the Jiangnan's Consort today... her heart inevitably softened.
Nevermind, she would read to him.
She walked over slowly, picked up the book, and began to read from the first page.
It was a military book, truly dull for her, but he seemed quite interested.
After reading for a long time, Baihan felt her throat becoming hoarse. She couldn't help but ask, "Prince, it's so late, aren't you going to sleep?"
Her meaning was, wasn't he going to sleep by himself?
Upon hearing this, the Prince raised his eyebrows and said in a deep voice, "I only let you in so as not to disappoint the Empress Dowager."
His implication was clear: letting you in was already a favor, don't expect anything else.
Baihan was at a loss for words. She hadn't expected anything else!
"Your bed is ready over there," the Prince once again spoke coldly.
Baihan looked and saw a particularly narrow cot nearby, with a pillow and a blanket placed on it.
That bed was truly meager.
"Prince, may I propose a deal?" Baihan pondered for a while before speaking out.
Hearing her words, Yan Lin's piercing gaze narrowed, his voice turning cold and indistinct, "A deal?"
"Yes, Prince, my maid has been detained by the Chu Family. I will cure your poison if you help me save her, how about that?" Baihan looked at him and spoke earnestly.
"How is it that I wasn't aware that the Princess Consort knew medical skills?" Yan Lin's slender fingertips pressed down on his sleeve, he said coldly.
Chu Baihan frowned, thinking to herself that there was much he did not know!
Suppressing her emotions, she explained softly, "I was sent away to Jiangnan when I was eight, and fortunately, my master took me in and taught me medical skills diligently; otherwise, I wouldn't have survived in Jiangnan."
"Did you learn medicine just to survive in Jiangnan, or was it for Su Yuan?" Yan Lin suddenly thought of something, his tone becoming increasingly colder.
What? What does that dog Su Yuan have to do with this? Chu Baihan frowned deeply.
"Don't you know how many medical halls the Su Family has opened over the years? They serve as the Crown Prince's claws, pulling all the doctors in the capital city to earn him a reputation," Yan Lin's words grew more sarcastic with each sentence.
"It's not..." Chu Baihan was at a loss for words.
She truly did not know that the Su Family had started opening medical halls over the years.
When she had left the capital, there had been no such thing in the Su Family Residence.
Seeing his cold, indifferent expression, Chu Baihan knew he had already decided she was in league with the Crown Prince's party, and that anything she said would be useless.
Clenching her teeth, she too lost the will to explain and turned irritably to go to bed.
Although he couldn't see her, Yan Lin could imagine her irritated, fuming demeanor just now.
He frowned...
The old fox from the Chu Family really did not know better, actually sending such a hot-headed spy this time.
Soon, soft sounds of sleep came from that direction.
But after a while, he heard the sound of climbing out of bed, followed by footsteps walking toward this side.
His expression turned colder, his whole body radiating hostility.
She couldn't restrain herself any longer and was planning to kill him in the middle of the night?
Sensing her approach to the bed, Yan Lin's palms gathered Inner Strength, ready to act as soon as she made a move.
But who would have thought that the next moment, a soft body would fall into his embrace, even rubbing against his chest?
"Chu Baihan!" Yan Lin clenched his teeth, feeling murderous.
Yet the person in his arms was totally oblivious...
Chu Baihan nestled her little face against his chest, continuing to sleep deeply.
Initially, Yan Lin thought she was doing it on purpose, but after several attempts to wake her up failed, he finally realized she was truly asleep...
Could this be somnambulism? Doing things unconsciously while asleep. Thinking this, his expression darkened even more.
"Don't pout, it doesn't look good," just then, the person in his arms suddenly muttered.
At that moment, Yan Lin's face was both dark and cold.
Chu Baihan, you're really something, despising me even in your sleep.
"If you think of killing me again, next time I'll poison you in advance... poison you dead..." In her sleep, Chu Baihan, completely unguarded, spilled all her thoughts.
Upon hearing this, Yan Lin actually found it amusing.
Alright, very well! Even planning to murder me in her dreams.
Exhaling a cloud of breath, Yan Lin, going by his feelings, pinched her little face and asked coldly, "I ask you, what is the Crown Prince and the Chu Family's plan?"
But all he got in return was silence.
He truly wanted to strangle her to death at that moment, having never been so provoked by anyone in all these years.
But thinking that he still needed to draw out the Crown Prince, he suppressed his anger once more.
And in her sleep, Chu Baihan's courage was indeed great; she sprawled over the entire bed like an octopus, firmly grasping his arm.
In the end, a certain Prince could only lie down beside her with a dark face.