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Xiao Jinyan spoke as he grabbed her wrist, an instinctive reaction when facing danger. A flash of silver zipped through the air, and he guessed that she held a silver needle in her hand. If he had been slower, who knows which acupoint he might have gotten pricked in.

This was also the first time he realized that Shen Chuwei’s vigilance and ability to counterattack were far from weak.

Shen Chuwei was startled upon hearing Xiao Jinyan’s voice. Who would have thought that Xiao Jinyan would break into the Imperial Palace at night?

She put away the silver needle in her hand, "Jinyan, how did you get here?"

Xiao Jinyan said, "I was worried and came to check on you."

Shen Chuwei was somewhat concerned, "Didn’t I say that I’m very safe right now? This is the Imperial Palace; what if you get discovered?"

Xiao Jinyan hadn’t thought about these issues when he came; seeing that she was truly safe, he felt somewhat relieved.

"How did you end up in the Imperial Palace?"

"This was an accident." Shen Chuwei recounted to Xiao Jinyan everything that happened today.

A look of surprise appeared in Xiao Jinyan’s eyes, "So the Emperor of Nanzhao Country thinks you are Feng Wuyou because you two look alike?"

Shen Chuwei wasn’t sure either, "It should be so, if we didn’t look alike, probably there wouldn’t have been such a misunderstanding."

Xiao Jinyan then asked, "Do you know of this Feng Wuyou?"

Shen Chuwei nodded, "I’ve heard of her, and I have even seen her childhood portrait; indeed, she does resemble me somewhat."

Xiao Jinyan had never mentioned Feng Wuyou in front of Shen Chuwei because he feared she would misunderstand, yet she knew all along and had even seen her portrait—

Had he known this, he should have just asked directly.

"Where did you see her portrait? Do you know why I want to investigate her?"

Even though Xiao Jinyan didn’t remember, Shen Chuwei wouldn’t admit that she had sneakily opened the hidden compartment and looked it over.

"Isn’t that portrait something you’ve always kept yourself? At first, I was curious about your relationship with her, but now I can guess— you were childhood sweethearts."

"Because you don’t remember, and since you’ve kept her portrait and a piece of jade stone, your relationship must have been good. That’s why you want to find her."

Xiao Jinyan asked again, "What jade stone?"

Uh-oh! Shen Chuwei let slip too quickly and mentioned the jade stone; wasn’t that the same as telling Xiao Jinyan that she had secretly opened the hidden compartment?

"You’ll know when you return to Daxia."

Xiao Jinyan, unable to remember the past, could only check these items upon returning to Daxia.

"Then why did you choose to stay?"

On his way here, he noticed that the palace was quite expansive; even for a princess, it was extraordinarily extravagant.

Shen Chuwei leaned close to Xiao Jinyan’s ear and whispered, "If I stay, I’ll get to see the National Master."

Xiao Jinyan looked at her puzzled, "Is the National Master in the capital?"

Shen Chuwei shook her head, "He’s not here, but the Emperor has already written to him. I estimate he will arrive in the capital soon enough."

Xiao Jinyan had checked before, and the National Master wasn’t in the capital. Hearing her say this, he knew the information was accurate.

"If they discover you are an impostor and accuse you of deceiving the monarch, it’s too dangerous."

Shen Chuwei explained, "I told him he recognized the wrong person, but the Emperor insisted I was Feng Wuyou. I initially thought to keep insisting, but then he said the National Master was coming— such a good opportunity that I can’t miss."

"It was his mistake in the first place, and I just went along with it half-heartedly..." as Shen Chuwei wrapped her arms around his neck, she whispered softly, "If it really doesn’t work out, we can sneak away."

Xiao Jinyan tapped her forehead lightly, "You have quite the nerve, but it’s not as simple as you think. This is Nanzhao, do you think you can just slip away whenever you want?"

At that remark, Shen Chuwei paused; she hadn’t considered how to slip away at the moment, only that she could meet the National Master, but now that she thought about it, it indeed seemed not that easy to escape.

"Let’s meet the National Master first and see if he’s amiable. If he’s too fierce and not easy to talk to, I’ll take the initiative and say they’ve recognized the wrong person. That should be doable."

Xiao Jinyan knew she wanted to stay for his sake, hoping to meet the National Master sooner to help him regain his memory.

"I’m not at ease with you staying in the palace."

Shen Chuwei smiled, "I’ve stayed in the palace before, don’t worry. I can protect myself."

Thinking about how she had risen to become the Crown Princess, Xiao Jinyan found it indeed incredible.

Shen Chuwei continued to reassure him, "Jinyan, I’m really fine. You don’t have to worry about me."

What Xiao Jinyan was really concerned about was her safety, and without him by her side, if anything happened, there would be nobody to help her.

"Then do you know what Feng Wuyou is to Ye Haoting?"

Shen Chuwei shook her head, "I guess Feng Wuyou is Ye Haoting’s daughter, because he treats Feng Wuyou too well. When I asked him if he was my father, he did not deny it nor confirm it; instead, he just laughed very heartily. What do you think?"