Chapter 4 

After venting for a while about palace politics, the young man seemed to accept reality. He glanced around the room, sighed heavily, and remarked, 

“This place is so cramped.” 

Chen Linyao’s eye twitched. She had always been proud of her 42-square-meter apartment. If he had to find a 6,000-yuan rental in Beijing or Shanghai, he’d learn what cramped truly meant. 

“This blanket of yours, don’t you think it’s a bit tasteless? The colors are gaudy, and the pattern—how absurd. I never imagined someone would dare to use something like this.” 

If not for the fact that he could have killed her without blinking ten minutes ago, Chen Linyao would have snapped back. She lived alone—was it not her right to use the pink cartoon-patterned blanket she loved as a child? What gave him the right to criticize? Had he never heard of respecting the host when entering someone else’s home? 

“But, well, at least the bed is soft enough. I quite like it. I suppose I can endure staying here for a while.” 

“Wait!” 

When it came to this, Chen Linyao responded immediately. 

The young man’s gaze carried the unspoken question, ‘What’s your problem now?’ 

“Hey, there’s only one bed in my apartment. You can’t just sleep with me.” 

This time, his expression shifted to mild disgust. He then said. “Men and women should not be so close. Who said I wanted to sleep with you?” 

“But there’s only one bed in my room.”

“Hmm. I’m aware.”

Chen Linyao froze, her mind racing. There was one bed, and he didn’t want to share it. So that meant... 

“You’re expecting me to sleep somewhere else?” 

The young man raised an eyebrow, surprised. “Exactly. I didn’t think it was such a difficult concept.” 

“No, that’s not right. I’m the woman, the owner of this apartment, and the owner of this bed. Why should I sleep somewhere else?” 

“Are you saying you refuse?” 

“Of course!” 

“Does that mean you won’t let me sleep on the bed?” 

“Exactly!” 

The young man’s face darkened in thought. After a moment, he reached into his sleeve and pulled out a small piece of paper, his expression growing conflicted. 

“Someone mentioned to us that you might not be able to afford the costs of accommodating us, so they asked me to temporarily stay with you out of sympathy.” 

Chen Linyao’s eye twitched again. She glanced at the white slip of paper, which bore a phone number and the words “Police Station” written underneath. 

“The woman who gave me this paper spoke at length, expressing her sympathy for you. In the end, I felt moved and agreed to follow her here,” the young man paused briefly before adding, “If any issues arise, this paper has a way to contact her, and she will come to resolve them.” 

Chen Linyao had a thousand words on the tip of her tongue but didn’t dare let them out. The female officer had apparently given him her contact details. If she refused to let him stay, she’d have no choice but to send him back to the hospital. Recovering in the hospital… that would cost 2,000 yuan a night. 

“But since you don’t want me to sleep here, I suppose I’ll just have to go back to where I was,” the man tilted his head to stare at the ceiling as though lost in nostalgia. “Honestly, that place wasn’t bad. Though lacking in grand decorations, it was clean, and there were people attending to my every need all day. It wasn’t much different from life in the imperial palace. When I heard I’d face numerous problems here, I didn’t want to leave in the first place.” 

He lowered his gaze, sighed dramatically, and continued in a tone of mock sorrow, 

“If not for Imperial Father teaching me that a man must always be generous, I wouldn’t bother creating trouble for myself.”

“Y…you...” 

So, taking over my bed is what you call generous? 

Generous, my foot! 

This was outright coercion. 

Having lost her claim to her own bed, Chen Linyao could only grab her old blanket and repurpose the sofa into a makeshift sleeping area. 

Her room was divided into sections with a thin sliding wall separating the bedroom area. However, this left little space in the main area, and the wardrobe was built into the room itself, making it impossible to move.

For clothes, she could make do with a plastic rack she usually used temporarily for hanging freshly ironed garments. However, undergarments posed a bit of a problem.

As she peeked out the window, she saw the sun nearing the horizon. It had taken ages to handle the paperwork to bring him out of the hospital, most of it related to the police case. 

Originally, Chen Linyao had planned to go out and buy a small shelf for her undergarments, but as she took a few steps toward the door, she turned back to glance at the young man—and a thought struck her. 

He was still wearing the same ancient-style outfit he had on when they first met. 

When he arrived, the young man had no belongings apart from the clothes and accessories he was already wearing. Unfortunately, she didn’t own any men’s clothing that would fit him. 

Should she take him shopping for some clothes? 

Think Chen Linyao was kind and compassionate, even after being bullied by him? 

Of course not! 

If there was anything in her room that might fit him, it would be the long silk nightgown Tang Beibei had gifted her for her birthday—a sleeveless, flowing number. 

Chen Linyao imagined the moment when the man took a bath. She would graciously take his ancient outfit and wash it.

“Where are my clothes?” 

“I saw that outfit three days ago and figured it must be filthy by now, so I washed it for you. No need to thank me—I’m a generous person too,” she replied with mock sincerity. 

“Hmm. Then do you have something for me to wear in the meantime?” 

“Oh dear, I forgot. By now, all the shops must be closed.” She grabbed a long dress from her wardrobe and said, “Apart from this long gown, nothing else in my closet would fit you.” 

The thought was enough to bring her glee… 

Let it be known: I… Chen Linyao, am not a woman who can be easily pushed around. 

A mischievous plan took shape in her mind. Chen Linyao abandoned the idea of going out to buy a shelf and instead cleaned out an old cardboard box to use temporarily. 

Feigning ignorance, she spent nearly two hours on this project until the sun set. She then set about boiling water to prepare instant noodles for the young man. She chose the spiciest flavor, loaded with chili oil and sesame paste, silently hoping he’d spill the soup all over himself—and that the stains would ruin his outfit. 

The more it spilled on his cloth, the better.

The aroma of the noodles filled the air as she served them into a bowl. The young man wandered over, drawn by the smell, only to find Chen Linyao smiling invitingly. 

“It’s already late, so you must be hungry. I made something for you to eat.”

The other party raised an eyebrow in surprise before glaring suspiciously at the bowl of noodles. Then, with a flick of his fingers, a long silver needle appeared. 

Chen Linyao froze in shock. She hadn’t expected him to have a concealed weapon hidden in his ancient clothes. It seemed her plan to secretly wash that outfit had been a good decision after all. 

He prodded the noodles with the needle for a while, his brows furrowing in thought. Worried, Chen Linyao cautiously asked, 

“Is there a problem?” 

“Strange,” the young man replied, his tone filled with suspicion. 

The way he stared at the bowl made Chen Linyao nervous. She hesitated before asking again,

“What’s strange about it?” 

“Hmm. It seems there’s nothing wrong with this bowl of noodles,” the young man turned his suspicious gaze toward Chen Linyao. “How odd. Considering that you made it, there really should have been something wrong with it. Why can’t I detect anything?” 

The absence of a problem is what makes it strange? 

Bah!

Bah! Bah! Bah!

“I didn’t put anything strange in the noodles.”

“Hmm. Then why don’t you eat some first?” 

Chen Linyao picked up the chopsticks and took a bite to set an example. She had no ulterior motive for this bowl of noodles, so eating it wasn’t an issue. After seeing that she remained fine, the young man snatched the chopsticks from her hand and started using them himself. 

“Hey, those are my chopsticks. Use another pair.” 

“Or is there a trick hidden in the other chopsticks?” The young man countered, narrowing his eyes like like he had caught her in the act. “I’ll use these, then.” 

Chen Linyao was speechless. An innocent person fears no ghosts at night, but he was suspicious of even her chopsticks. Clearly, he knew he’d been nothing but trouble for her and was afraid of retaliation. 

And yet, he had the audacity to claim he was generous. Generous my foot! 

Just wait... If I don’t get back at you today, don’t call me Chen Linyao. 

At that moment, there was a knock at the door, followed by the voice of a young girl Chen Linyao knew well. “Sister Chen?” 

It was Song Xiuying, the landlord’s twelve-year-old daughter, whom Chen Linyao called Xiao Ying. 

When she opened the door, Xiao Ying stood there with a deliveryman holding a large cardboard box. 

The deliveryman bowed apologetically several times before explaining, “I’m sorry for the delay. You didn’t leave a contact number, and I couldn’t find the apartment right away.” 

“I didn’t order anything,” Chen Linyao replied, confused. Then a voice called out from inside the apartment. 

“I ordered it.” 

Turning toward the young man in the room, she saw him casually add, “The woman who gave me that slip of paper assumed I wouldn’t have any proper clothes, so she let me select a few. She arranged for them to be delivered.” 

Chen Linyao stared at the box for a long time before finally signing for it and reaching out to take it. 

A man’s revenge can wait ten years. Surely, a weak woman like me can bide her time too. 

“That’ll be 1,878 yuan.”

“...” 

Chen Linyao turned slowly to face him. 

“Or would you prefer that I move back to my previous accommodations? They have clothes for me there as well.”

Chen Linyao wept internally, then turned back to the deliveryman. 

“Can I pay by credit card?”