Skin as delicate as porcelain, veiled in a layer of orange gauze beneath the twilight.

She had her eyes closed, wholly unguarded in her repose. Her cheeks were faintly flushed, the corners of her lips always holding a trace of that bright, lively smile, clear and fresh like apricot rain and pear clouds.

——However, this seemed to be a side of her that belonged only to him.

Pei Zhaoye recalled the scene in the main hall of the government office earlier today.

When facing outsiders, her gentleness and kindness actually carried just the right touch of cleverness— not hypocritical, yet enough to protect herself.

Why was it that she trusted him, of all people?

Pei Zhaoye found it rather puzzling.

From the moment she had met him, he had seized her money and spoken to her with frivolous words, yet she had always treated him with such sincerity and warmth.

So intense it seemed as though, from the very first moment she saw him, she had already… liked him for a long, long time.

Pei Zhaoye’s heart was stirred slightly by this thought.

The gaze tracing her brows and eyes grew darker and deeper.

Lizhu had been waiting with her eyes closed for quite a while. When she opened them slightly in puzzlement, she suddenly felt a kiss fall upon her forehead.

Treasure-like, and tender with affection.

Lizhu, surprised, touched her forehead.

Pei Zhaoye held her fingertips, kneading them slowly, as though gently rolling a flower between his fingers.

He said, “Actually, whether you tell me or not doesn’t matter. I don’t mind.”

These words sounded somewhat familiar.

In their previous life, after she married Pei Zhaoye, she had met Tan Xun again. Once, even at a palace banquet, Tan Xun had stopped her in Fanglin Garden and spoken a few words with her.

He had seemed worried that Pei Zhaoye, relying on his power as a minister, might secretly beat her in private.

Lizhu had found his concern absurd and paid it no heed. After returning to the residence, afraid Pei Zhaoye might feel sad if he heard, she had stammered and not told him the truth when he asked.

At that time, he had said the same words.

——The Princess and Tan Xun were once husband and wife, after all. There are things inconvenient to tell outsiders; it is only natural. I do not mind.

Yet, based on what Lizhu knew of him in this life, she thought for a moment, then asked: “Are you perhaps hiding the second half of that sentence?”

Pei Zhaoye lifted his eyes. The tips of his brows moved slightly, and his gaze seemed a little strange.

“How do you know everything?”

Still had the nerve to say that!

It was only because she had been deceived by him so many times that she had gained experience!

Seeing Lizhu looking at him with subtle displeasure, he spoke unhurriedly: “I only said I don’t mind you. I never said I don’t mind him. If he dares to kiss you, I’ll stuff charcoal into his mouth and burn that filthy mouth of his.”

“……”

She suddenly understood why, in her previous life, Tan Xun had always asked whether Pei Yinzhi had ever hit her.

He must have been the one beaten himself.

Thinking of this, Lizhu couldn’t help but feel a little more sympathy toward Tan Xun.

After all, in their previous life, after they divorced, he had known he was in the wrong and had truly never made any improper advances toward her—so how did he end up being beaten?

Lizhu spoke softly: “…There was no kiss, only a misstep in position. If he had truly tried to kiss me, would I have just stood still? I’m not a fool.”

In truth, Pei Zhaoye knew that as well.

Yet he still wanted to ask.

He just wanted to hear her say it like that.

He also found himself rather inexplicable, what right did he have to question her?

He clearly didn’t even dare to keep her.

“So fragrant.”

Lizhu caught a whiff of a sweet, soft scent at the tip of her nose. Looking around, she said, “What smells so good? I’m hungry, I want to eat.”

Pei Zhaoye laughed: “You’ve never even eaten roasted sweet potatoes?”

She obediently shook her head.

“There’s nothing good about it. Just something from the countryside to fill the stomach. How could such a thing appear on a princess’s table? If you’re hungry, we can go to a restaurant in Xiangcheng…”

“Everyone eats it. Why can’t a princess? Do you think a princess must eat dragon liver and phoenix marrow every day?”

Lizhu tugged at his sleeve:

“Buy it for me. I’ve never had it before. I want to eat this.”

Pei Zhaoye was persuaded by her. He bent slightly, slid his arm beneath her knees, and lifted her down from the tree.

Her nose was filled with his dry, cool scent.

But since his injury had not yet fully healed, Lizhu dared not let him hold her for long. As soon as she touched the ground, she stepped away from him and walked toward where the smell was drifting from.

It turned out there wasn’t anyone selling roasted sweet potatoes after all. A few peddlers carrying shoulder poles had come from the city and were sitting by the ridge of a field, setting up a fire to roast some for their evening meal.

Seeing this pair of exceptionally handsome man and beautiful woman walking over, the peddlers all focused their eyes on them intently.

“You really want to eat it?”

Pei Zhaoye rubbed his nose.

Lizhu nodded. She had already seen it, there was a whole sack of them.

Pei Zhaoye stepped forward and exchanged a few words with the men.

The peddlers had thought they were the owners of the land, coming to drive them away, but unexpectedly, they only wanted some of their sweet potatoes.

“No need to pay. We’re just resting here. Dug them up by chance. If you don’t mind, noble sir, take a few and eat.”

Since they said so, Pei Zhaoye didn’t insist on paying.

He only glanced at the miscellaneous goods piled in the basket behind them—herbal drinks, trinkets, little toys—and casually picked out a bamboo dragonfly. After asking for the price, he paid.

Lizhu was watching them roast the sweet potatoes for her. When she looked up and saw the little gadget in his hand, that with a twist of fingers could fly into the air, her eyes curved as she smiled:

“What’s that? Let me play with it.”

The peddlers’ gazes shifted between the two of them, then they exchanged looks and whispered:

“So stingy.”

“Exactly. Covered head to toe in gold and silver, and he brings such a pretty young lady out—only buys her a sweet potato? A bamboo dragonfly?”

“……”

Pei Zhaoye heard every word.

Lizhu, however, didn’t notice. While she waited eagerly for the sweet potatoes to finish roasting, she idly chatted with them.

The peddlers spoke about the recent unrest in the city.

“…Heard they’ve caught quite a few officials. Don’t know if they’re really going to be executed.”

“I heard it’s not the officials they’re after, it’s the one who committed the murder at the Mei Residence.”

“They say it was a bandit from Hongye Stronghold. Who knows what grudge they bore—killed the whole family of three, tsk tsk.”

Lizhu’s thoughts stirred slightly.

“You all don’t know?”

The firelight cast its glow over her pure, clear face. Speaking with such a face naturally carried a sense of trust and persuasion.

“The woman who killed them was a righteous heroine who gave her life to save her elder sister.”

The peddlers all turned to look at her, their interest piqued by her words.

Amid the crackle of burning twigs, Pei Zhaoye bent one knee and turned over the sweet potatoes. Beside him, the young girl’s words were lively and fluent, her tone vivid, her storytelling naturally captivating.

Pei Zhaoye’s lips curved slightly.

So that was what she had in mind.

As dusk deepened, the peddlers who had shed a few hot tears after hearing her story shouldered their poles and set off homeward.

As they walked, they kept talking:

“——In the past, I only ever heard of brotherly loyalty. Today I finally know, sisters too can risk their lives for each other, braving fire and blades. That Zhao father and son were true villains who bullied men and women alike, they deserved to be cut into a thousand pieces!”

“The Zhao father and son committed evil first, and the Mei family of three aided them. Madam Zheng had no choice but to kill in order to save her elder sister. What wrong did she do? Why sentence her, instead of those Zhao men?”

“This world—wicked people run rampant, while the good are all wronged to death by them!”

After the people had gone far, their sweet potatoes were finally roasted.

Pei Zhaoye fetched some cool water, rinsed the sweet potatoes in it, peeled them, and handed one to her.

“If you want this story to spread throughout the whole city, relying on just those few won’t be enough.”

Lizhu blew softly on the sweet potato.

When it had cooled a little, she carefully took a bite. The taste indeed wasn’t very good, yet the faint sweetness mixed with the coarse texture gave it a unique flavor.

“Let me think… is there a faster way?”

Pei Zhaoye’s gaze swept over her fingers.

“Can you write that kind of verse or essay?”

Lizhu froze for a moment, then nodded firmly, clearly having thought of something.

“I can also compose a few simple tunes,” Lizhu thought aloud. “One night might not be enough, but by tomorrow—I should have it ready by tomorrow!”

Even trials weren’t conducted that quickly.

Lizhu held the sweet potato, deep in thought. The steam reddened her fingertips, but she didn’t notice.

“…Right, do you know any performers?”

Pei Zhaoye put out the firewood and turned his head toward her:

“Where would I get to know any performers? But there are plenty of singers and dancers in the Pei residence with no proper engagement, why not use them?”

Lizhu blinked.

“You’re really smart.”

“……” Whether he was smart or not, he didn’t know—but she certainly loved to praise people.

“Huh?”

Lizhu then noticed he had roasted only one sweet potato. “Aren’t you eating?”

Pei Zhaoye gave a cold snort: “That lousy sweet potato, I ate it every day when I was little. Just the sight of it makes me want to vomit. Why would I eat it? Only a little princess like you, who’s never suffered hardship, would find it delightful.”

Lizhu gave a small hum, ignored him, tore off another strip of skin, and took another bite.

As she peeled it, the soft, glutinous sweet potato stuck to her hand.