Chapter 37: Rankings

As the night approached the end of the night, with dim lights and shadows, two carriages successively stopped in front of the gates of the Yu Mansion. Servants hurried over upon hearing the sound, helping Yu Xinyi into the mansion in a fluster.

At this moment, Yu Xinyi was already awake, though still weak. She held onto Yu Lingxi’s hand and whispered, “Sui Sui, you didn’t guess wrong…”

Yu Lingxi knew that she must have gathered intelligence during her visit to the Eastern Palace. He grasped her hand in response, comforting her in a low voice, “Sister, rest assured, nothing will happen.”

Afterwards, he reminded the attendants, “Speak softly, don’t disturb the lady.”

Ning Zizhuo sat in the carriage, watching as Yu Xinyi was assisted into the room to rest.

Yu Lingxi noticed two bruise marks on Ning Zizhuo’s neck and wrist. It seemed that Sister had bitten him fiercely when she was delirious. Aware of Yu Lingxi’s gaze, Ning Zizhuo smiled indifferently, pulling down his sleeve to cover the marks.

It was widely known that the Prince of Nanyang was a spoiled and arrogant playboy who liked to engage in frivolous activities. However, at critical moments, he displayed a rare sincerity and youthful camaraderie.

Yu Lingxi carefully folded his golden robe and respectfully returned it, saying, “Thank you, Your Highness. Both my sister and I will forever remember your kindness.”

“It was just a small favor, no need to be so polite, Miss.” 

The Prince of Nanyang waved his hand generously, his voice carrying the clear and lively tone of a young man. “Besides, I didn’t do much. Just arrived at the palace gate, heard about the fire near the Eastern Palace, encountered His Majesty who came after receiving the news, and then rushed here in time.”

Without that fire, he wouldn’t have been able to bring the Emperor so quickly. The entire process of entering the palace, seeking an audience, and reporting would have taken at least half an hour.

If that were the case, he couldn’t imagine what might have happened to Yu Xinyi in the Eastern Palace.

A woman as passionate as Yu Xinyi should not suffer such humiliation.

Listening to Ning Zizhuo’s explanation, Yu Lingxi subconsciously looked in the direction beside him. The Yu Mansion’s carriage stood quietly at the steps, empty. There was no sign of Ning Yin.

Yu Xinyi stood in the clean room, splashing cold water on her head. The stimulation caused her limp and hot body to tighten suddenly, finally regaining her senses.

When Yu Lingxi entered, he saw his sister shaking off the cold water, smashing the wooden basin, and saying, “That despicable person, Ning Tan, infuriated me! Indeed, there’s not a single good person among the royal family!”

Those who were kind and good among them either died young or suffered various tragic fates. What kind of people were left?

Yu Lingxi said, “It’s not entirely accurate to say that. Perhaps there are one or two good ones among them.”

Yu Xinyi knew she was referring to Ning Zizhuo and picked up the cloth draped over the screen to wipe her face, saying, “Those are just exceptions among the mediocre.”

Changing into dry clothes, the sweet and sticky fragrance from the military uniform disgusted her.

After a day of tension, Yu Lingxi finally had a moment to catch his breath. She couldn’t help but hug her sister’s thin and firm waist, saying with lingering fear, “Sister, I was really scared tonight.”

Yu Xinyi, with wet hair spread out, turned around and patted her sister’s back. “Sui Sui, don’t be afraid. Sister grew up in the army camp, skilled in various abilities. Ning Tan’s petty tricks can’t harm me.”

Yu Lingxi nodded.

There were important matters to discuss. After relaxing for a moment, Yu Xinyi restrained her emotions and said, “We already know that the matter of the disaster relief grain is a plot orchestrated by the Crown Prince.”

To not alert the enemy, the Crown Prince will definitely find a way to contact the traitor who stole the grain and destroy the evidence,” Yu Lingxi said.

Yu Xinyi released her and furrowed her brow, “Indeed, this is a difficult problem.”

However, Yu Lingxi shook her head, “No, this is our opportunity to counterattack.”

“What does Sui Sui mean?”

“Assign someone to closely monitor Wang Lingqing, the Ministry of Revenue’s Assistant Minister. If the Crown Prince takes action, he will surely communicate with him secretly. The granary holding the thirty thousand stones of disaster relief grain is vast and cannot be destroyed so quickly. By following the trail, we can find the true hiding place of the grain.”

“Brilliant!”

Yu Xinyi couldn’t help but admire her and changed her anger into joy, “Sui Sui, who did you learn this from? You’ve become even more clever.”

Yu Lingxi smiled but remained silent.

Compared to Ning Yin, these tricks of the trade were truly beneath notice.

“Enough talking. I’ll take people to monitor it right away.”

Yu Xinyi said, “Whether it’s carrier pigeons or urgent secret messages on fast horses, intercept them all.”

Yu Lingxi was concerned about her sister’s health, “Sister needs rest. Let Qingxiao handle it.”

Tomorrow at noon is the deadline, and who could sleep?

Yu Xinyi hugged her sister and pressed her hand on the back of her head, “Sui Sui, take good care of Mother.”

After that, she picked up her dagger and walked out briskly.

The copper clock dripped, and the streets echoed with the sound of the night watchman’s clapper.

After sitting for a while, Yu Lingxi couldn’t help but think of the figure of Ning Yin who stopped the carriage, as well as those cold and mysterious eyes like moonlight reflected in a cold pond.

She took a deep breath, opened the door, and called the maid, “Prepare some late-night snacks and warm wine.”

After a short while, the late-night snacks were ready. Yu Lingxi packed them in a lacquered food box and went to the backyard, holding a lamp. The lamp in the room was still lit. Yu Lingxi asked the maid to wait at a distance and approached the door, knocking lightly.

The door was slightly ajar, and with a slight touch, it creaked open.

Without thinking much, Yu Lingxi stepped in, only to hear the sound of water splashing.

Looking up, she realized that Ning Yin was sitting naked in the bath by the window.

Seeing Yu Lingxi entering uninvited, he showed no embarrassment. He calmly raised his eyes, and in his pitch-black eyes reflected the faint and fragmented gleam of water. His upper body had well-defined contours, with fine droplets of water rising and falling with his breath.

The dim yellow light added a touch of warm luster to his overly pale body.

Yu Lingxi’s footsteps halted, and her gaze involuntarily followed the water droplets dripping from his jaw, sliding down the undulating contours and landing on his firm chest.

After half a year of recuperation, the once visible scars had faded, except for an old whitish scar across his left chest, about two inches long, resembling a wound inflicted by a short blade. Yu Lingxi had seen this scar in her previous life. Every time she saw it, she couldn’t help but wonder what kind of extraordinary expert could stab Ning Yin in the heart.

“How much longer does Miss want to watch?”

With a splashing sound of water, Ning Yin raised his arm casually on the edge of the bathtub, proposing shamelessly, “Want to come closer for a better look?”

Yu Lingxi respectfully declined.

It wasn’t because she was shy. After all, she had witnessed even more stimulating scenes while assisting him in bathing in her previous life. It was purely that Ning Yin’s current body made her feel a sense of danger ingrained in her bones.

“I have prepared supper. I’ll be waiting for you in the corner pavilion,” she said, then exited the room.

Taking a deep breath of the damp post-rain air, she slowed down her pace, suppressing the restlessness in her body. Huddled in the moonlit corner pavilion, Ning Yin, his hair damp with the night air, emerged after a patient wait. He navigated the puddles cast by the moon, his steps echoing softly.

He wore a snow-white inner robe, his semi-dry ink-black hair scattered, exuding a refreshing mist of water. If one disregarded his excessively cold brows and eyes and his fierce and hidden temperament, he indeed possessed the elegant and unparalleled demeanor of a gentleman.

On the stone table, a table full of supper was laid out, including delicate pastries, fine wine, and exquisite dishes, all fresh and new. Under the octagonal lantern light in the pavilion, Yu Lingxi looked like a vivid and lively painting, even the individual strands of her hair shimmered with an inner light.

“Please, have a seat,” Yu Lingxi smiled and gestured.

Ning Yin watched her for a while before pulling up his robe and sitting across from her, his tone calm as still water, “This time, Miss, are you here to apologize or to express gratitude?”

“Neither.”

Yu Lingxi poured wine into the cup, handing it to him. “Tonight, we have double happiness. I invite Wei Qi to join us in celebration.”

Ning Yin took the cup but didn’t drink, “Just an hour ago, Miss was planning to sacrifice herself. The crisis is not yet resolved, so where does the double happiness come from?”

Yu Lingxi raised her eyes and smiled, whispering, “With the help of a noble figure, my sister and I escaped the danger. That is the first joy.”

Pausing for a moment, she looked at Ning Yin with determined eyes, “Tonight’s events prove that I and Wei Qi share a common goal, mutual benefits, cooperation, and mutual gain. This is the second joy.”

Ning Yin raised an eyebrow slightly, showing a hint of interest in his deep and upward-sloping eyes.

“How does Miss know what my goal is?” he asked.

“In Wei Qi’s eyes, do I appear so naive?” she replied with a question, not answering directly. “After all, how could I come up with the idea of sacrificing myself if not for that?”

Yu Lingxi raised her cup, “I toast to you.”

Ning Yin held the wine glass but didn’t move. Alone, he returned from hell, needing pawns, not allies.

Yu Lingxi didn’t mind, touching her cup to his, producing a clear and crisp sound.

She took the initiative to drink as a gesture of respect, pursing her lips and sipping little by little. Tilting the cup, she let the rosy wine linger on her lips, painting them with a tantalizing sheen that mirrored the desire in her eyes.

Ning Yin remained silent for a while before, under her expectant gaze, he raised his hand, brought the cup to his lips, drank it all in one go, swallowed, and then placed the cup upside down.

Yu Lingxi smiled contentedly.

Banana leaves dripped with rain, and the night was quiet.

Supporting his temple, Ning Yin calmly stated, “This is the last time.”

After all, he gave up the grain for the uprising, enticed by the sweet beauty in front of him. However, it didn’t matter; he wouldn’t engage in a losing deal. He thought of a more interesting way to play.

As for the ripe meat that came to his mouth, sooner or later, he would recover it from her.

Ning Yin stared at her moist and charming lips, and his slender fingers intentionally or unintentionally toyed with the edge of the cup.

After a moment, he casually said, “It’s the fifth day, right?”

“What?” Yu Lingxi tilted her head.

But Ning Yin didn’t elaborate, hooked with a mysterious smile, and slowly said, “Actually, I’m curious. Miss has concerns for the world, many worries, but where does Wei Qi rank among them?”

“I have never had concerns for the world. It’s just…”

It’s just that in the previous life, being alone was too lonely and hard, so she wanted to grasp any warmth she could and protect everyone she wanted to protect.

As the wine surged, a trace of warmth spread in her abdomen.

Yu Lingxi seriously thought about Ning Yin’s question, counting on her fingers, “Parents, older brother, sister, they are equally important to me. Next would be Ah Buli, Xue…”

Ning Yin’s eyes dangerously narrowed.

Yu Lingxi thought again, realizing that she didn’t owe Xue Cen anything in this life. So, she changed her statement, “Next is the cat, and then Wei Qi.”

Ning Yin sneered.

Even a cat could be ranked higher than him.

He nodded knowingly, tapped the cup, stood up, and said, “Wei Qi understands.”

The last time he said “Wei Qi understands” was when he was plotting to make Xue Cen fall into the lake and drown.

Yu Lingxi’s heart skipped a beat and asked, “You haven’t eaten yet, where are you going?”

“To kill a cat.”

Ning Yin stood with his hands behind his back, and a gust of wind lifted a strand of his hair, brushing past the corner of his lips. He spoke with a smirk, “Kill one more, and my position in Miss’s heart can rise by one. After killing them all, Wei Qi will become the most important person in Miss’s heart.”

He used the gentlest tone to utter the most ruthless words.

For others, such words might be a joke, but Yu Lingxi knew that Ning Yin was serious, he could really do it. Unable to help but sigh lightly, she stood up and said, “Wei Qi, come here.”

Ning Yin remained motionless.

Yu Lingxi walked up to him and repeated, “Come closer.”

Ning Yin, still with his hands behind his back, looked at her for a moment, reluctantly inclined his body slightly to get closer.

Yu Lingxi then raised her head and, meeting his cold gaze, placed her hand gently over her own heart.

“There’s a different way of calculating that.”

The corridor was quiet. She looked into Ning Yin’s eyes, speaking in a warm tone, “In my life, there are only a few important people, and they live in my heart. For every one you kill, it’s like stabbing a knife into my heart. If you kill them all, my heart will die, and it will only make me drift further and further away from you. Do you understand?”

Ning Yin’s gaze lowered, falling on the soft chest covered by her delicate hand.

After a quiet moment, he shook his head with a sneer, “This is unfair.”

“What…”

Yu Lingxi was puzzled, but he grabbed her wrist and pressed her palm against his chest.

Completely different from the soft and plump touch of a woman, beneath the thin fabric, his muscles were firm, and the steady heartbeat thumped against the chest, making Yu Lingxi’s fingertips tingle slightly.

Whether it was the effect of the alcohol or the lingering scent of the medicine, Yu Lingxi felt enveloped in his shadow, frozen like prey locked in by a hunter.

However, Ning Yin didn’t give her a chance to retreat. His long and powerful hand firmly held her palm.

He leaned in, his deep voice suppressing a chuckle, “Miss, guess how many people I have here?”

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