How dare you!? 成何体统

Chapter Five: A Night Meeting with Prince Duan

Yu Wanyin: "If someone drinks it, will they remember what they said afterward?"

Beizhou: "That's tricky. To ensure memory loss upon waking, the dosage has to be large, but that would make it taste strange in tea or wine, easily detectable."

Yu Wanyin: "No problem, I have a plan."

Feeling like a genius, she took the drug from Beizhou and went to the imperial study to find Xiahou Dan. Everyone knew Consort Yu was now highly favored and could go anywhere unimpeded.

Xiahou Dan was reviewing memorials, "A faction loyal to the Empress Dowager has accused your father of bribery under the guise of card games. It seems the Empress Dowager wants to take him down. Should we address it?"

Yu Wanyin nonchalantly replied, "Sure, demote him."

Xiahou Dan: "So heartless?"

Yu Wanyin shrugged, "He's not my real dad, I don't know him, and he plays no role in the plot. Demoting him might relax the Empress Dowager and spare him from greater harm."

Xiahou Dan: "Alright then."

Thus, they happily decided.

Xiahou Dan picked up the vermilion brush to write the decree, his strokes slow but neat.

Yu Wanyin watched curiously, "You practiced calligraphy?"

Xiahou Dan: "Not well, but it's passable. I only dare write short phrases. Want me to teach you?"

Yu Wanyin eagerly, "Yes, yes, I need to learn quickly."

Realizing the conversation had strayed, she suddenly remembered her purpose, "Right, can you summon Xie Yong'er to your bed tonight?"

Dead silence.

Xiahou Dan stared at her without speaking, his brush hovering in mid-air, a drop of ink falling.

Yu Wanyin: "?"

Xiahou Dan slowly asked, "You want me to call another woman to bed?"

Yu Wanyin: "..."

Why did this feel so weird? Like she was a poor cad forcing his wife to work—Xiahou Dan playing the wife.

Yu Wanyin's scalp tingled, "Not really to bed. When she arrives, drug her and then extract information. I don't remember the candidates' names, but she does. She knows several worthy candidates will die unjustly. Next year's exam, the list of defectors comes from her."

She explained her plan.

Xiahou Dan reluctantly agreed, "Fine, but you have to stay and watch the whole time, no leaving."

He gave her a resentful glance after speaking.

Yu Wanyin's scalp tingled even more.

When did Xiahou Dan start acting so weird? Thinking back, it seemed to have begun after their brothel adventure.

It must be the suspension bridge effect, definitely.

If someone here had to be romantically obsessed, it shouldn't be Xiahou Dan.

Yu Wanyin read romance novels to pass time, but she was long past believing in the "dominant CEO falls for me" trope. As a working adult, she understood the world's reality. There was a barrier between social classes, and CEOs were too clear-headed to engage in philanthropy.

Unless, this was a survival game, and her knowledge of the plot gave her value beyond an ordinary worker?

He needs a closer bond with me. She coldly analyzed the situation to suppress her untimely emotions.