Chapter 16: Solving It For You

The Crown Prince of the current dynasty, Xiao Ze.

In the dimly lit room, only faint shadows of the lamp flickered, casting an indistinct silhouette of the man, adding an eerie chill that pressed upon the air.

Only a pair of eyes, black as ink, stood out, reflecting the image of Dou Hongyan.

Surprise briefly flashed across the face of the exquisite and radiant woman.

Dou Hongyan, caught in a nightmare, faintly felt as if a venomous snake was coiling around her neck. Struggling, she opened her eyes, barely catching her breath before she saw Xiao Ze’s dark, bloodshot eyes, fixated on her like a predator on its prey.

Terrifying and unsettling, the overwhelming possessiveness nearly consumed her. Over the years, Dou Hongyan had nurtured a tiger only to be troubled by it; she thought she had found an ally, but unknowingly invited a wolf with predatory eyes.

Now, the wolf, still far from appeased, had come to demand an explanation from her...

She swallowed nervously, her gaze flickering evasively as she hid herself under the blanket, revealing only half of her delicate, endearing face.

Her hands reached up to the cold fingers resting on her neck. Half-asleep and slurring her words, she murmured, “In the middle of the night, you woke me.”

She was about to close her eyes again.

“Hmph.”

Xiao Ze grasped her chin, forcing Dou Hongyan to look back at him. “Don’t play dumb.”

“It hurts…”

Her chin felt as if trapped in iron pincers. Her eyes reddened instantly as she whimpered, “Why are your hands so cold? You even smell like the desert wind. You won’t get into my bed like this.”

Xiao Ze sneered coldly, his icy aura undiminished, but the grip on her chin gently eased.

He sat leisurely beside Dou Hongyan’s bed, ignoring her protests, and asked, “Explain yourself to me. Let me see if I am satisfied.”

“It’s just about some damned dead man who came back,” Dou Hongyan said absentmindedly.

Her indifferent tone softened Xiao Ze’s expression somewhat.

“And…”

At this point, Dou Hongyan’s anger flared, and she complained petulantly, “I wrote to you about this first thing in the morning. Now you come asking me about it? You should blame the slow delivery of the letter!”

At least she had pledged her loyalty in the letter, hoping to calm him down.

But in the end, she was the one who suffered.

“I received it.”

“You received it and still scold me!”

Dou Hongyan lifted one leg and arrogantly rested it on the man. Now she felt secure.

She had said all that needed to be said. Xiao Ze no longer wore the look of a cuckold, and there was no reason to confront her further.

He casually grasped her jade-like calf, stroking it like one would a cat. His tone was casual but laced with deadly intent. Raising his eyelids, he glanced at the drowsy Dou Hongyan with narrowed eyes.

“I’ve come to ask you what you intend to do.”

She gave a small yawn.

Regarding Shen Yishu, she was indifferent: “Naturally, I will be the same as before.”

Usually, with no one around at the Marquis’s estate, she could easily deceive Xiao Ze, but not this time. This time, Dou Hongyan was about to become someone else’s wife.

Shen Yishu...

Xiao Ze rolled the three characters over his tongue, then suddenly laughed aloud, having made up his mind. His thin lips were icy as he said, “If that is so, then let him die. We will be as before.”

A useless wretch.

Better if he perished completely.

“Your Highness, do you have poison?” Dou Hongyan probed cautiously.

Xiao Ze responded with a dark silence, his attitude unmistakably clear.

He had rushed back at once upon hearing news of Shen Yishu’s arrival. Who had the leisure to carry poison with them? Now, desiring Shen Yishu’s death, he would have to find another time.

Relieved by this answer, Dou Hongyan quietly exhaled.

“I will pass the poison to Xiyue. She will take care of Shen Yishu for you.”