Chapter 25: Are You Out of Your Mind?

Li Xianjin reached out, intending to grab Lin Zhaoyan's wrist, but she dodged him.

His consciousness seemed to be drifting into a haze. "My sister... hoped to bring the two of us together, and thus resorted to this desperate measure. Even I have been caught in her trap. I apologize for involving you."

Lin Zhaoyan lowered her gaze to look at him.

He clutched his forehead, his expression pained. "What is wrong with you?"

"I have been drugged with an aphrodisiac; I am feeling quite unwell..." Li Xianjin bit his lip, drawing blood. "Zhaoyan, if you stay here, I will not be able to control myself."

"If we are seen together in this room, the rumors will be disastrous. Do not worry about me; leave at once!"

Li Xianjin’s body trembled slightly, as if he were holding something back. Lin Zhaoyan gave a simple "Oh" and said quite decisively, "Very well, I shall take my leave."

With that, she turned and left the room without a moment's hesitation, thoughtfully closing the door behind her.

As Lin Zhaoyan stepped out, she noticed a dark shadow leaning against a stone pillar. The figure emerged from the darkness, and Lin Zhaoyan was startled.

"Your Majesty...?"

Su Chengyun walked toward her. As he drew closer, she could smell the rich, mellow scent of wine on him.

Lin Zhaoyan wanted to back away, but Su Chengyun beckoned to her, and she was forced to stop in her tracks.

"Zhaoyan," Su Chengyun lowered his head and held out his hand. "Come here."

Lin Zhaoyan frowned, staring at Su Chengyun, and said politely, "Your Majesty is drunk."

No sooner had she spoken than Su Chengyun seized her wrist and pulled her toward the woods.

"Your Majesty!" Lin Zhaoyan tried to shake him off, but mindful of his status, she could not defy him.

Is he out of his mind? Lin Zhaoyan took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm.

He dragged her into the bamboo grove and pressed her down beneath him. Su Chengyun’s warm breath brushed against her neck, causing a faint, ticklish sensation.

"Do you like Li Xianjin?" Su Chengyun squinted, his eyes bloodshot and filled with an aggressiveness that made it hard to breathe.

Lin Zhaoyan leaned back, avoiding his gaze, and couldn't be bothered to respond.

Su Chengyun took her silence as consent, his fingers tracing her cheek and rubbing back and forth.

She could endure no more.

With a crisp "slap," Lin Zhaoyan calmly pulled back her hand, as if nothing had happened.

Su Chengyun froze, looking down at the back of his own reddened, swollen hand.

He had been struck? He had been struck by Lin Zhaoyan?

Su Chengyun seemed to sober up slightly. Before him, Lin Zhaoyan stared at him steadily, looking displeased.

Yet he laughed, stroking his hand with a look of satiated satisfaction. "Like a little kitten, truly adorable."

What a pervert!

The smell of wine on Su Chengyun made Lin Zhaoyan frown; she only wished to get away.

He examined her for a moment, his gaze wandering over her, then smiled.

"I see... However, whether you like Li Xianjin or not, you will never be able to marry him."

"I have no desire to marry him either," Lin Zhaoyan rolled her eyes internally.

"The Noble Consort is delusional, and Li Xianjin is arrogant and ignorant of his place. Sooner or later, I will eliminate these threats one by one." His gaze was sinister, his words cold and measured.

Lin Zhaoyan was stunned. Before she could process his meaning, Su Chengyun inserted something into her hair. She reached up to touch it—it was a hairpin.

Su Chengyun pinched her cheek hard, leaving a burning pain.

Yet, he acted as if nothing had happened, floating away as he turned to leave, his gait slightly less steady and somewhat more frivolous than usual.

Lin Zhaoyan took out the hairpin to examine it carefully. It was a jade pin carved with a magnolia flower, exquisitely crafted.

A magnolia flower?

Lin Zhaoyan recalled the clothes the head maid had prepared, which also featured magnolia patterns, and remembered the magnolia earring that Jiang Ruoqing had dropped. She could not help but feel perplexed.

Was there a connection, or was it merely a coincidence?

Clutching the magnolia ornament, she headed out of the woods.

"Lin Zhaoyan!"

This time, it was Zhou Jingxuan.

It was a busy night indeed.

Zhou Jingxuan ran toward her, panting. "Are you alright?"

"All is well. What is it?" Lin Zhaoyan looked at Zhou Jingxuan, whose forehead was beaded with sweat; it seemed he had been looking for her for a long time.

"I noticed you had been gone for quite a while, so I grew worried and came to find you."

He came to find her just for that? Lin Zhaoyan raised an eyebrow, unsure of what to make of it.

"What happened to your face? There is a red mark." Zhou Jingxuan immediately noticed the welt on her cheek.

"It is of no importance," Lin Zhaoyan waved her hand.

On an impulse, she took the initiative to tell him what had just occurred.

In such a situation, she trusted this fellow the most; it was better to have him help her analyze it.

"After I left the banquet, my clothes were soiled, and a maid took me to change..."

"That sounds like a trap from the very start!" Zhou Jingxuan looked alarmed. "What was the purpose? To ruin your reputation or to frame you?"

"You are quite knowledgeable," Lin Zhaoyan said languidly.

It seemed this ally was reliable. Lin Zhaoyan nodded inwardly.

Zhou Jingxuan felt a moment of guilt—wasn't that just from reading too many online novels in his previous life?

"Er, I know a thing or two about these palace schemes," he said, putting on airs. Lin Zhaoyan nodded repeatedly.

"I ran into Zhao Jiuyuan on the way, and I beat him up."

Zhou Jingxuan chuckled secretly.

"Later, I met Li Xianjin in the room, and I left him behind."

Zhou Jingxuan felt a sense of satisfaction.

"...After that," Lin Zhaoyan frowned and handed the magnolia hairpin Su Chengyun had given her to Zhou Jingxuan, "I met the Emperor."

Zhou Jingxuan stopped smiling.

He furrowed his brows and took the jade pin. "He gave you this?"

"Yes," Lin Zhaoyan nodded.

"Did he strike your face?" Zhou Jingxuan clenched his fists, his eyes burning with anger.

"...Yes." Seeing Zhou Jingxuan’s anger, though she did not understand it, she added, "It is fine, I hit him back."

Zhou Jingxuan was taken aback. "What?"

Lin Zhaoyan said flatly, "He is insane."

Zhou Jingxuan’s lips twitched as he lowered his head to suppress a laugh. He examined the magnolia hairpin, frowning. "This flower looks familiar."

"Does it look like the earring Jiang Ruoqing lost?" Lin Zhaoyan reminded him.

"I will investigate it," Zhou Jingxuan said seriously. "Leave it with me for now."

Lin Zhaoyan nodded; that was exactly what she intended.

The two walked side by side. Zhou Jingxuan asked in a low voice, "Are you afraid of him?"

Lin Zhaoyan remained silent.

She was afraid, simply because he represented the supreme imperial power, capable of bestowing life or death with a single word.

But she was not afraid; her life was worthless anyway, and she did not truly belong here, so she had no heavy attachments.

"What about you?" Lin Zhaoyan did not answer but asked him in return.

Zhou Jingxuan pondered. "I am afraid."

Listening to his casual tone, it did not sound like he was actually afraid.

Lin Zhaoyan smiled faintly. "No matter. As long as one does not provoke him, all will be well. Nothing will happen."

Is that so? Zhou Jingxuan paused slightly, then nodded, deferring to her words.

"Why did he seek you out?"

"He does not wish for the Li family to align themselves with military generals," Lin Zhaoyan said, hitting the nail on the head.

"Is Li Xianyu trying to expand the Li family's influence through marriage alliances?"

Lin Zhaoyan was long accustomed to Zhou Jingxuan calling Li Xianyu by his given name; he had always been unrestrained.

"Then... do you like Li Xianjin?" Zhou Jingxuan hesitated for a few moments, but could not help asking.

Although he considered himself to understand Lin Zhaoyan well, he still hoped to hear the answer from her own lips.