Ning Yan was amused by her coaxing tone, but before he could respond, the door swung open. Zidai walked in, rubbing her eyes. Seeing her mistress standing by the window, she immediately woke up and hurried over to shut it.

“Miss! The night air is chilly! How could you leave the window open? What if you catch a cold?”

Bai Qingqing only grinned at her sheepishly. Zidai, exasperated, bustled around, rubbing her hands to warm them, pouring her a cup of hot water, and nagging without pause. She forbade her from reading any further and insisted she lie down at once.

Bai Qingqing kept her ears pricked, listening intently. Only when she was sure there wasn’t a single sound outside did she finally relax and close her eyes. That was close. At least no one had caught him.

…

Ning Yan made his way back to his residence and went straight to Wen Jiang.

The moment Wen Jiang saw him, his eyes widened in shock. Without hesitation, he pulled out a set of golden needles and pricked a few key points. “How did you end up like this? Didn’t Old Mu say it wasn’t serious?”

A dangerous, bloodthirsty aura radiated from Ning Yan. His eyes were a terrifying shade of red, making Wen Jiang’s hair stand on end. He dared not relax for even a second.

By the time Ning Yan had stabilized somewhat, Wen Jiang had already finished brewing the medicine. Without so much as a glance, Ning Yan downed it in one go.

“That incense… Was it really as potent as Old Mu claimed? You’ve been exposed to it so many times before—I thought it would have no effect on you by now.”

Ning Yan finally looked somewhat human again. He replied lightly, “Mm. At first, it had no effect.”

Wen Jiang’s ears twitched. “At first?”

Curiosity flared in his eyes. “Wait—so something changed? Something pushed you to the brink of losing control? Don’t tell me you ran into some kind of spirit beast?”

A deep chuckle rumbled from Ning Yan’s throat. He cast a sidelong glance at Wen Jiang, who immediately shut his mouth. Fine, if he didn’t want to say, whatever. He was just a little curious.

“Eh? Where’s your jade pendant?”

Ning Yan adjusted his sleeve. “Gave it away.”

“You what?!”

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Wen Jiang practically shouted, his eyes going round. “You really did run into a spirit beast, didn’t you? What kind of creature could possibly trick you into giving away the jade pendant you never part with? It must have been a high-ranked one!”

Ning Yan suddenly asked, “If someone says I’m impressive, what do they mean?”

Thrown off by the random question, Wen Jiang blinked. “Isn’t that something you hear all the time?”

Seeing the dissatisfied expression on Ning Yan’s face, Wen Jiang’s quick-witted mind started working again. “Ah, it depends on the person. If it’s a man praising you, it’s a sign of respect and admiration. But if it’s a woman…”

Wen Jiang deliberately paused, observing Ning Yan’s calm demeanor without any signs of impatience. He immediately concluded that the person who praised him was a woman!

“If a woman praises you, it’s likely that she’s developed feelings for you. Ah, this isn’t something unusual. Haven’t you heard it before?”

Ning Yan thought to himself, "Just as I suspected," subtly complimenting him, thinking he hadn’t figured it out.

What did "two things cleared" mean? It was just a different approach. Using the pretext of owing him a favor, she still came to ask for a token... Never mind, never mind. It was fine as long as the young lady had put that much thought into it; he might as well cooperate a bit.

Ning Yan waved his hand, signaling Wen Jiang to go rest.

At this point, Wen Jiang’s curiosity was clawing at him. “Lord, which young lady praised you? And aren’t you planning to take back your jade pendant? That’s…”

Ning Yan turned his head and glanced at him. Wen Jiang froze, pouted, and reluctantly said, “Alright, I won’t ask. Just make sure you take the medicine for two more days. After Old Mu clarifies the origin of the incense, it’s best to get the formula. Only then can I make a final judgment on whether it will affect your health.”

…

Bai Qingqing stayed up late the night before and was a little groggy when she woke up in the morning after being startled by Ning Yan.

After dressing, she hung a refreshing sachet around her neck and went to the nearby courtyard to find Madam Qiao.

Nurse Ruan was talking to Madam Qiao and immediately smiled and stepped aside when she saw Bai Qingqing. “Miss, please talk to Madam. She didn’t sleep well last night because of the wind outside.”

Bai Qingqing was taken aback, but didn’t show it. She walked over to Madam Qiao’s side and sat down. “Mother didn’t sleep well?”

Madam Qiao rubbed her forehead. “This has never happened before when we’ve come to Qinghan Temple. Last night, I kept feeling like there was some noise outside. I kept waking up and dozing off. I even thought about sending someone to check on you.”

Afraid her words might alarm Bai Qingqing, Madam Qiao patted her hand. “It’s probably just a case of getting used to a new place. Don’t worry about it. Qinghan Temple is heavily guarded, so there’s no chance of anything happening. Besides…”

Madam Qiao lowered her voice. “Besides, this time, Princess Huifu came as well. I heard the emperor sent the Commander of the Jinyiwei to keep watch. There’s definitely nothing to worry about.”

Bai Qingqing nodded obediently, thinking to herself, no wonder Ning Yan appeared here. She hadn’t expected that he was actually under the command of the Commander of the Jinyiwei, which certainly gave him grounds for pride.

After breakfast, the women went to the main hall to pray for the Xuan Dynasty.

All the prominent families in Xuancheng had come, but strangely, Bai Qingqing didn’t see the Princess Consort of the Ping Prince.

However, she did see Princess Huifu.

To her surprise, the princess looked to be about the same age as her, with a gentle expression. She appeared to be someone very fortunate.