His face drew closer, his breath pressing in.

The warm air sprayed across her brows and eyes.

Yu Qingwu hadn't expected Xie Jin Yan to be so direct.

However, since he was being so blunt, she wouldn't beat around the bush either.

Yu Qingwu's expression suddenly turned serious as she reached out and pushed away Xie Jin Yan's handsome face, which he had deliberately brought close.

With a stern face, she said, "Your concubine despises corrupt officials the most, as Your Highness knows. I especially loathe those who abuse their power, ruining others' futures to benefit their useless relatives. Therefore, I would never do such a thing."

"If my cousin Yu Zhen truly has talent, whether he participates in the imperial examinations or simply becomes a retainer under Your Highness, it will be due to his own abilities. But if he lacks ability, even if I were to promote him, he would only be a mediocre person. I fear he wouldn't even have the chance to meet His Majesty, naturally causing no trouble for Your Highness, let alone accomplishing anything."

"In that case, even if I promoted him, it would be useless."

Yu Qingwu didn't directly say whether she would find a shortcut for Yu Zhen, but instead rationally analyzed Yu Zhen's situation.

Such an answer was the most standard, yet also the most evasive.

These skills had originally been taught to her by her master when she was young. At that time, Qingwu didn't understand why her master was teaching her these things, and even after she became Xie Jin Yan's Liangdi, she felt they were useless.

But now, she understood more and more.

Being by the side of a crown prince, even a woman in the inner palace would inevitably be involved in such matters.

Answering yes or no at this moment would both be wrong; only such a fair and ambiguous answer would prevent the other party from finding fault.

Xie Jin Yan wasn't a fool; hearing Yu Qingwu's response, he naturally understood that she was deliberately being vague.

But although it was ambiguous, he had to admit that what she said was very true.

However, her repeated caution made him feel a little uncomfortable.

After listening to Yu Qingwu's words, Xie Jin Yan didn't reply.

He simply sat up straight, looking at her with a faint expression. After a long while, he said with a light smile, "Shijie is becoming more and more like a Crown Princess. Your ability to deal with me is quite impressive, and what you say leaves me with no fault to find."

"Very good..."

He gritted his back teeth, but a smile tugged at the corner of his lips, the emotion in his eyes unreadable.

Seeing Xie Jin Yan like this, Yu Qingwu knew that he was a little unhappy, unhappy with her excessive caution.

Yes, she was becoming increasingly cautious.

She didn't want to be like this, but now she had too many attachments. Living in the royal family, she dared not make any more mistakes.

But looking at Xie Jin Yan's expression, Qingwu felt a little pained.

She was silent for a moment, then quietly and carefully took his hand, calling him softly with a somewhat ingratiating and coquettish tone, "Your Highness, what I said was indeed to appease you. I don't want to be like this, but I don't know why, after staying in the royal family for so long, I've become increasingly fearful."

"Knowing that my brother and cousin Yu Zhen are still alive, I am both happy and uneasy every day, always afraid that I will do something wrong that will implicate them, and also afraid that they will do something wrong that will anger Your Highness, anger Father Emperor..."

"I didn't intentionally treat you formally or distance myself from you."

"But, I don't know what else to do."

"After all, aren't the Crown Princesses, Imperial Concubines, and Imperial Consorts of all dynasties mostly like this?"

Yu Qingwu curved her lips, trying her best to show a bit of a smile, but in the end, the smile at the corner of her mouth turned into a bitter one.

She paused, then looked up at Xie Jin Yan again, forcing a smile and saying, "Your Highness, I am really scared. Before, I was just afraid that you would suspect that there was still something between me and Senior Brother Xiao, but now, I am afraid of too many things. Once a person cares about too much, their edges will be gradually smoothed out. At least, that's how it appears on the surface, isn't it?"

From yesterday until now, Yu Qingwu had spoken so many words to Xie Jin Yan for the first time...

Xie Jin Yan was originally a little unhappy, but after hearing Yu Qingwu's explanation, he felt somewhat guilty instead.

In the end, Shijie's caution all stemmed from his attitude.

He was always suspicious of her, so she became more and more uneasy, and more and more distant from him.

It was all that damned Qin woman's fault, spouting nonsense for no reason!

Xie Jin Yan felt annoyed in his heart, and the expression on his face instantly softened. A hint of guilt appeared in his eyes as he raised his hand and gently stroked the woman's hair, saying softly, "Shijie, I never believed Qin's words, and I never doubted you. As for your brother, I've never gotten along with him since I was young."

"Although he is a eunuch, he was personally cultivated by Father Emperor. To put it bluntly, he's like Father Emperor's half son. When I occasionally returned to the palace when I was young, if I made a slight mistake, your brother would go to Father Emperor and complain, causing me to have to copy books every time I came home. So, I've always been at odds with him..."

"Even without the A Yue incident, even if he wasn't your brother, I would still be at odds with him. But no matter how much we were at odds, it wouldn't lead to anything big."

Mentioning the years when Yu Qi reported him for his misdeeds, Xie Jin Yan's tone was slightly indignant. He scratched Yu Qingwu's nose and complained, "Speaking of which, you two siblings have very similar personalities, as if you were specially sent by heaven to discipline me. When we were at the Shifu, you complained about me every day. When we got to the palace, your brother haunted me, and as soon as I made a small mistake, he immediately went to Father Emperor to complain..."

"Thinking about it now, I still feel angry."

As Xie Jin Yan spoke, he deliberately revealed a bit of anger in his expression.

Yu Qingwu was originally very uneasy, but seeing Xie Jin Yan like this, she couldn't help but be amused by him. She replied娇声 (jiao sheng - a delicate and charming voice), "That's not our fault. Who told Your Highness to be... asking for a beating when you were young?"

"Look at what you're saying!" Seeing Yu Qingwu smile, Xie Jin Yan immediately took over the conversation. He pretended to have a headache while feigning displeasure, saying, "In this life, I can be considered to have met you two siblings. What kind of bad karma have I incurred?"

As Xie Jin Yan spoke, he sighed again and again.

Yu Qingwu couldn't help but laugh again at his antics...

Seeing that she no longer seemed uneasy, Xie Jin Yan sat up straight again, his face becoming serious once more as he began to talk about important matters. "Shijie, stop laughing for now. I have something important to tell you."

He took a sip of tea, looked at her earnestly, and said, "A Wu, do you remember when you told me before that you felt that Qin was deliberately targeting you? Today, I arrested her eldest sister and two personal maids and questioned them. You were right. Qin is indeed deliberately targeting you, and even... wants to take your life."