Compromise

Early in the morning, Shi Yi got out of bed and stood on the veranda.

She stretched, yawned, and took a deep breath. A fresh morning had begun. The clear blue sky was dotted with drifting white clouds. The spacious scenery and crisp air filled her with a sense of immense relaxation.

Having not exercised in a long time, she began to do some light warm-up stretches on the veranda. She stood straight, bent one leg backward, and grasped her instep with her right hand, pulling it upward. For her next move, she reached her right hand behind her back with her elbow pointing up, grabbed her right elbow with her left hand, and pulled it to the left. She held the pose for a moment before releasing it.

She performed the movements with practiced ease, entirely unaware that Prince An had been standing opposite her, watching for who knew how long. He frowned at her strange gestures, thinking to himself, *What kind of martial art is this? It looks so bizarre.* Thus, he watched her intently, dazed.

A moment later, Xiao Jing also woke up. Seeing Brother Lun staring ahead in deep thought, she crept closer, popped her head out to block his view, and asked,

"Brother Lun, are you looking at Sister Shi Yi?"

An Dinglun quickly denied it, "No, I'm not. You must be mistaken."

"Huh? Am I really mistaken? I saw your eyes glued to her without blinking."

Dinglun turned away awkwardly.

Hearing their chatter, Shi Yi turned around. Seeing Prince An standing there, she spoke up,

"Do you have a habit of peeping at others? You've been standing there for so long without saying a word."

With that, she marched aggressively toward him, arms crossed over her chest and chin held high, her face filled with annoyance.

He said nothing, only giving her a cold glance before turning his head away.

Being ignored made Shi Yi mad enough to blow a fuse, but she managed to restrain herself. *Hmph... I really want to slap him to death right here.*

Seeing the tense atmosphere, Xiao Jing asked innocently,

"What's wrong with you two? Weren't things great last night? Why is it so tense this morning? Brother Lun, did you bully Sister Shi Yi again?"

At the mention of last night, both of them were too embarrassed to speak. Remembering that scene, Shi Yi's face flushed red. She quickly coughed a few times to brush it off. Prince An was equally embarrassed. *Behaving like that, how can I call myself a gentleman?* He wished he could dig a hole and crawl into it.

Seeing this, Xiao Jing deliberately tried to give them some space.

"Ah... Sister Shi Yi, I have something to do, so I'll head out first. You two take your time talking!"

Before anyone could speak, the young girl swiftly slipped away.

Only she and he remained on the veranda.

Shi Yi had no choice but to speak first.

"About last night..."

Before she could finish, he interrupted,

"Last night was my impudence. I am truly ashamed and beg your forgiveness, young lady."

With that, Prince An bowed in apology, his demeanor incredibly sincere. Shi Yi felt awkward for a moment, not knowing what to say. For a split second, she felt this man wasn't entirely heartless.

But that thought was quickly extinguished. Prince An continued,

"However, business is business. Currently, you are still a suspect of Prince An's Manor. You should return with me for further investigation."

Hearing this, Shi Yi showed her dissatisfaction,

"What? I have to go back with you? On what grounds?"

He stepped closer coldly, a cunning smirk playing on his lips,

"On the grounds that... I am Prince An. Right now, you are in the Imperial Capital, my territory. Do you think you can escape my grasp?"

The two glared at each other, the air thick with tension.

Shi Yi carefully weighed her options in her mind: *Clashing with him like this won't do. If we can negotiate, we should. After all, I am innocent, so I have nothing to fear. If I run now, he'll think I have a guilty conscience. I can ask the Eighth Prince for help with this...*

After hesitating for a moment, Shi Yi said,

"Fine. How about we make a bet?"

"A bet? What kind of bet?"

She looked at him and replied confidently,

"Give me five days, and I will prove my innocence. If the deadline passes and I cannot produce evidence, I will willingly let you deal with me as you wish. Whether you want to execute or torture me, I won't utter a single complaint. But if I win... then you must stop bothering me, and..."

"And what else?" he asked.

"And you must grant me one request."

"What request?"

Shi Yi put on a mysterious look,

"I haven't thought of it yet. I'll tell you when I do. Don't worry, I won't make an unreasonable demand. It will definitely be something within your power."

After a moment of silence, Prince An finally agreed,

"Fine, let's do that."

His ice-cold gaze locked onto her, scrutinizing her. *Let's see what tricks you are trying to play. This time, I will definitely catch your weakness.*

Meanwhile, she let out a smug smile. *You have no idea that in my past life, due to the nature of my job as an assassin, I did quite a few professions. I'm a professional detective; how could this little obstacle stump me? If I win, I can openly demand that he call off the engagement, and then I'll be free. Truly killing two birds with one stone.*

Once the agreement was made, she patted Prince An's shoulder and said,

"Alright, let's go."

He frowned,

"Go where?"

"To find evidence, of course. Come on, first we go to Prince An's Manor."

Before he could react, Shi Yi grabbed his hand and dragged him straight out the door, quickly leaving the small alley for the main street, heading straight for his estate.

Looking at the slender hand tightly holding his, his heart suddenly fluttered. An indescribable emotion crept into his mind. Half of him wanted her to let go, while the other half wanted her to hold his hand like this forever.

The corners of his mouth twitched upward involuntarily before he quickly pulled them down. He was smiling.