"I don’t want to be the heir to Prince Ping."

That was the one thing Fu Yi was certain of. “Honestly, I haven’t figured everything out yet. I never wanted the title in the first place. The more she schemes, the less I’ll let her succeed. And as for my origins—I’ve already begun looking into them in secret. Now that I know something’s off, I have to get to the bottom of it.”

Maybe it was because he’d died once. Maybe it was because he’d met Bai Qingqing again. But Fu Yi felt a kind of fearlessness he’d never known before. He still remembered what she once said to him—and this time, he wanted to live a life of his own choosing.

“Don’t worry too much,” he told her. “I promised I’d help your family, and I meant it. I won’t go back on my word. There are some things that feel wrong to me, though I can’t quite explain why. Just give me a little time. I’ll get to the truth.”

...

The Bai family was deeply grateful to Ning Yan. Everyone in the household wanted to express their thanks properly, so they decided to invite him to their home. Bai Jinghuai even penned the invitation himself.

Only after sending it out did he start having second thoughts. Wrinkling his brow, he grabbed his eldest son. “Ah, what was I thinking? People still suspect us right now—this might look bad, right? Others might think I’m trying to curry favor with the commander. What should we do?”

Bai Yan looked perfectly calm. “It’s no trouble. You know as well as I do—Lord Ning never accepts invitations from any household in Xuancheng. He might not even come. I was thinking, since we want to thank him, maybe we should tailor our gesture to his tastes?”

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“Then tell me—what does he like?”

Bai Yan hesitated, then fumbled for words, looking just as troubled as his father. “He’s the commander of the Embroidered Guards, has more status and reputation than our whole family combined. It’s not like he lacks anything. Maybe... I should go find out what he’s fond of?”

Bai Jinghuai gave a helpless tug at the corner of his mouth. “You think you can find that out? The day he returned to Xuancheng, everyone and their uncle was already trying. Not a single person could figure out what he likes. The man doesn’t seem to be interested in anything.”

“Then… maybe we should ask Qingqing?” Bai Yan suggested cautiously. “It might be a bit improper, but she does seem to have some acquaintance with Lord Ning.”

Father and son exchanged a glance. It seemed like a workable idea. They had Bai Qingqing brought in.

When she heard their request, Bai Qingqing was stunned for a moment—then suddenly laughed. The whole scene felt oddly familiar. Once, she had done the same thing, asking Qiyue what Ning Yan liked. She never imagined someone would now come asking her the same question.

Bai Yan saw her laugh and asked carefully, “Is Lord Ning’s taste… funny?”

Bai Qingqing said, “...No, it just reminded me of something amusing. As for what he likes...”

She furrowed her brow and thought hard, seriously weighing the question. Finally, she said, a little uncertainly, “Does teasing people count?”

Bai Yan: “...”

Bai Jinghuai: “...”

The scary part was—it didn’t feel off at all.

Bai Jinghuai rubbed the bridge of his nose. “No, not that kind of hobby. We want to thank him for his help, but we just don’t know how to begin…”

Bai Qingqing nodded rapidly, like a pecking chick. “Exactly, I felt the same way. I even thought about asking someone back then. But in the end, he said if I wanted to thank him properly, I should just ask him directly.”

Bai Yan blinked in confusion. “You meet with him often? When did you need to thank him?”

“Oh, that time with the Princess Consort of Prince Ping and Consort Xian—it was Lord Ning who told me about it. He was also the one who brought me to the Eldest Princess.”

“And… how did you thank him afterward?”

Bai Qingqing fell silent. The memory of that day rose in her mind, strangely difficult to put into words. How was she supposed to explain that to her father and older brother?