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The first to react was Shen Chuwei. She set down her chopsticks, ran over to Xiao Jinyan, and while crying, pulled out a small handkerchief to wipe the blood from the corner of Xiao Jinyan’s mouth, "Your Highness, what’s wrong with you? Please don’t scare me!"

Xiao Jinyan, faced with Shen Chuwei’s streaming tears, was taken aback for a moment. His blood-stained lips quivered as he uttered four words, "...I’m fine."

"Your Highness, you’re vomiting blood, how can you possibly be fine?" Shen Chuwei turned her head towards Liu Xi, "Eunuch Liu, quickly go call the Imperial Doctor."

Liu Xi, overly frightened, finally reacted, "Oh, oh, this servant will go call the Imperial Doctor right away."

Xiao Jinyan struggled to speak, "Don’t make a fuss."

Shen Chuwei continued to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, "But Your Highness, you’ve vomited blood."

Xiao Jinyan weakly said, "Help me to the bedroom to rest."

"Alright, alright."

Shen Chuwei called over Liu Xi, and with one on each side, they helped Xiao Jinyan to the bedroom.

Because they didn’t make a fuss, only a few people in the palace knew that Xiao Jinyan had vomited blood.

Before leaving, Liu Xi instructed a small eunuch, a maid, and Chun Xi who were present, "No one is to reveal this incident, understand?"

The servants answered in unison, "Your servants understand."

Shen Chuwei closed the bedroom door upon returning.

Xiao Jinyan was already seated at the round table, picked up the teapot in front of him to rinse his mouth, and then washed his face with water prepared in advance.

The fake blood Shen Chuwei gave him actually tasted not bad and was even a bit sweet; it was just sticky and uncomfortable on his lips.

With the spy unmoving, Xiao Jinyan had no patience to let a ticking time bomb stay by his side, so he thought of using himself as bait to make the spy reveal their identity.

Xiao Jinyan had seen Shen Chuwei eating tomato sauce before, which looked quite like blood, so he thought about borrowing some.

Turns out Shen Chuwei had fake blood packs that were even more realistic than tomato sauce.

The fake blood pack was designed to be held in the mouth in advance and spat out immediately upon biting through, making it very convenient.

Shen Chuwei approached the round table, offering exuberant false praise, "Your Highness, your acting is so powerful, it’s truly award-winning."

Xiao Jinyan thought of how miserably Shen Chuwei cried just now, and with a smile, said, "Your acting isn’t bad either."

Shen Chuwei’s eyes curved into smiles, "Your Highness is too kind, how can I compare with you?"

Xiao Jinyan chuckled softly, "All you know is how to flatter."

Shen Chuwei giggled twice in response.

Xiao Jinyan looked down and saw his clothes stained with fake blood, stood up and spread his arms, and commanded, "Undress me."

"All righty." Shen Chuwei efficiently untied the sash, loosened the laces, and removed the outer robe... The whole set of actions were done without any hesitation.

Xiao Jinyan watched Shen Chuwei, catching a glimpse of her flushed little face, cheeks still bearing the traces of tears, and he thought of how she had just been crying profusely.

He stretched out his long fingers to her cheek, his fingertips touching the damp remains of her tears.

Shen Chuwei lowered her eyelids and saw a hand, immaculate and slightly cool to the touch, and puzzledly looked up at Xiao Jinyan, "Your Highness, what is it?"

Xiao Jinyan’s thin lips parted slightly, "You look really ugly when you cry!"

Shen Chuwei, "..." If you can’t speak nicely, then don’t speak, okay?

"So what if it’s ugly? That’s called acting! If I didn’t cry, how would others believe that Your Highness is truly ill?"

Xiao Jinyan chuckled softly, withdrew his hand, and walked behind the screen.

Shen Chuwei touched her face, dissatisfied, "Where was I ugly when crying? No taste at all, it was clearly a committed performance!"

Xiao Jinyan, who had just stepped into the bath, heard this and couldn’t help but laugh aloud.

Shen Chuwei, "..." Ever heard of manners?

In the quiet of the night,

a slender figure tiptoed out of a side room and followed the corridor all the way to the side gate, imitating the call of a cuckoo several times.

A cat’s meow came in response from over the wall.

The slender figure took out a piece of paper from their sleeve pocket and passed it through the crack of the gate.

Just as it was passed through, Weichi leaped down from the tree and pinned the slender figure in one swift move.

At the same time, Qin Xiao caught the contact on the other side of the door, and with a wail, received a punch from Qin Xiao.

Weichi and Qin Xiao brought the people to the Study Room.

At that moment in the Study Room, Xiao Jinyan was seated at his desk drinking tea.

Shen Chuwei, standing by the side and dozing off, woke up only when the door of the Study Room was pushed open from the outside. She saw Weichi and Qin Xiao bringing in two people and her eyes lit up, finally caught them.

Now she could go to sleep; she was so tired she could die.

Weichi and Qin Xiao pressed the two people to the ground.

"Master, we have caught them."

Weichi handed over the small note with both hands.

Xiao Jinyan set down his teacup, took the note from Weichi, and cast his eyes down for a glance. The note roughly contained a line mentioning his blood-vomiting illness.

He looked up at Luluo and another young eunuch with a cold voice, "Who is your Master?"

Luluo and the contact eunuch kept their mouths shut and didn’t answer.

Xiao Jinyan scoffed, "Thinking that by staying silent I won’t know who your Master is? The Internal Affairs Department has a record; even Concubine Yu cannot save you."

The small eunuch prostrated himself on the ground, begging desperately, "Crown Prince, spare my life! This servant was only following orders."

Luluo, seeing she could no longer hide, also began to beg for mercy, "Crown Prince, this servant had no choice, please spare this servant."

Xiao Jinyan coldly said, "As long as you can testify against Concubine Yu, I can ensure your safety."

Luluo kept kowtowing, "This servant is willing to testify."

The small eunuch followed suit, knocking his head on the floor, "This servant is also willing to testify."

Xiao Jinyan ordered, "Take them away and keep them under strict watch."

"Your subordinate obeys the order."

Weichi and Qin Xiao each grabbed a person and left the Study Room.

Xiao Jinyan turned his head to look at Shen Chuwei, who had just been dozing off, "You can go to rest now."

Shen Chuwei rubbed her eyes, "Oh."

Xiao Jinyan stood up and walked out of the Study Room.

Shen Chuwei leisurely followed him.

When they entered the bedroom, Shen Chuwei touched her now-empty stomach and looked up at Xiao Jinyan, who had already walked to the bed, "Your Highness, I’m hungry."

She hadn’t finished eating her evening meal when Xiao Jinyan vomited blood, and despite hurrying, she still didn’t eat enough.

In order to cooperate with Xiao Jinyan’s act, she had to unhappily set down her chopsticks and play along.

It was already the middle of the night; the little bit she had eaten for dinner had long been digested.

Xiao Jinyan turned around, saw Shen Chuwei touching her flat belly, and ordered Liu Xi to prepare a meal.

The maid laid out several dishes one by one on the round table and then exited the room.

Xiao Jinyan hadn’t eaten much for dinner either, and seeing the full table of food, fragrant and alluring, he too felt hungry now.

Normally not eating after dinner, he made an exception and sat down at the table, picking up his chopsticks and starting to eat in a leisurely manner.

Shen Chuwei also sat down, the rice was freshly cooked and smelled fragrant. Seeing Xiao Jinyan had begun eating, she couldn’t wait to pick up her chopsticks and start eating.

After finishing a bowl, Shen Chuwei wanted to serve another but was stopped by Xiao Jinyan.