Bai Qingqing forced herself to calm down, bracing herself against his broad shoulder as she stood up. She quickly backed away several steps, her face full of suspicion. “What is this, Lord Ning?”

“Where did you get that scent from? It’s disgusting.”

Bai Qingqing froze for a moment, then instinctively raised her sleeve to smell it. Was there still any left? It seemed like it had mostly dissipated.

“Give me the sachet back.”

Ning Yan stared at her hand reaching toward him, small and pale, with a faint pink tint to her fingertips. She felt self-conscious under his gaze and instinctively curled her fingers slightly.

The pale green sachet was placed into Bai Qingqing’s palm. She wasn’t sure if it was intentional, but his fingertip brushed against her palm as he placed it there. The roughness of his touch made her shiver, and she quickly pulled her hand back, clutching the sachet tightly and giving it a soft sniff.

At this moment, the effect on her wasn’t as strong, but having the sachet in her hand made her feel secure.

With Ning Yan’s disturbance, the overwhelming fear that had nearly consumed her seemed to subside a little, especially since Ning Yan was from the Jinyiwei, which in Bai Qingqing’s mind represented upright righteousness. Her complexion looked a little better than before.

The room fell silent for a while. Bai Qingqing glanced at Ning Yan a few times, then quickly looked away when he seemed about to meet her gaze. Her eyelashes fluttered slightly, like the wings of a small butterfly.

Ning Yan couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly. He tapped his fingers on his knee. “Do you have something to ask me?”

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As soon as he finished speaking, Bai Qingqing hurriedly nodded, then after a moment, shook her head. Her lips were bitten slightly red, giving her an undecided look.

“If you have something to say, just say it. Don’t keep holding it in and end up crying. I don’t have a handkerchief on me.”

“I have one!”

Bai Qingqing felt that this person’s words were far from gentle! But after thinking for a moment, she tentatively asked, “I do have something I can’t quite understand…”

She omitted any mention of the Prince Ping’s residence and her own identity, and began to fabricate a “friend” out of thin air. She truly couldn’t understand the actions of the Princess of Prince Ping’s residence—when she had eagerly sought her attention, she had been disdainful, yet after Bai Qingqing had kept her distance, she resorted to underhanded tactics. Bai Qingqing couldn’t comprehend it.

Bai Qingqing thought the story she had made up was flawless, but to Ning Yan’s ears, it was as though she was only one step away from mentioning the Prince Ping’s residence and her name.

However, he didn’t call her out on it. When he heard about her being locked in a room with that man and the use of seductive incense, his eyes darkened.

Yet Bai Qingqing, with an expression full of expectation, waited for him to explain. Her still-wet eyes were clear and pure, which prevented the malicious thoughts from stirring in Ning Yan’s heart.

“You… that friend of yours, they didn’t like their son, so they became anxious. They’ve set their sights on you.”

“But, but they didn’t like him originally.”

“It’s all a show of superiority. It’s best if someone comes knocking at their door, something they can control from above. If your… friend hooks onto it, that’s even better. They can act aloof to gain benefits and make it seem like they had no choice in the matter, gaining both fame and profit.”

Bai Qingqing: “…”

Why does it have to be so complicated? Isn’t marriage supposed to be a simple and important thing in life? Why does it always have to be so scheming?

She seemed to have been struck, lying limply against the soft pillow, her gaze dazed. She didn’t forget to sniff the sachet from time to time. Her absent-minded look was somehow endearing.

Ning Yan, however, had a cold look in his eyes. The Princess of Prince Ping’s residence certainly had guts. They must have figured that this girl had a soft temper and was easy to manipulate. It seemed they felt their family affairs weren’t complicated enough, which gave them the leisure to act in this way.