Long Yin returned to the imperial table and continued his unfinished work after seeing off his mother.

There was a lot of important work that had accumulated which needed tending to. He was so immersed in his imperial duties that he hardly ate or slept. He did not even notice Lu Xue when she walked in.

That was until a cup of warm tea was placed next to his hand.

He frowned and was about to say something when a soft voice spoke next to his ear, "Cousin Long Yin, you've been working all day. Have a drink and take some rest."

Long Yin gave a start and turned to look. He was a little surprised to see Lu Xue, but there was a happy twinkle in his eyes. "When did you come to the Palace?" His tone softened.

Lu Xue covered her mouth with her hand and turned away a fraction to cough softly before replying, "I've been in the Palace since morning. Aunt Liangwei said that you were busy working in the study and I didn't want to disturb you, but now that it's getting dark and I need to leave the Palace, I decided to stop by and say goodbye."

Long Yin quickly got up when he saw how pale she looked. He held her arm. "Have a seat first."

Lu Xue wanted to decline the offer, but he was already helping her to take his seat.

It was the imperial seat that was usually used by Uncle Emperor to mark the Palace Memorials and Cousin Long Yin was seated there a while ago too. It made her uncomfortable to be sitting there.

"It's really fine. It's getting dark soon and I need to return to the mansion. Great-grandmother is alone at home." She struggled to stand up.

Long Yin stopped forcing her when he saw how determined she was.

"Let me walk you out, then," said Long Yin as he held her hand casually and led her outside.

Lu Xue felt a little awkward about this.

historical

Cousin Long Yin would often hold her hand and even carry her when they were younger, but this became rare in the past two years.

She knew that it was because she was grown up now and her cousin was just trying to avert any uncomfortable situations, but why was he not doing that now?

Moreover, she was not feeling unwell and could walk on her own.

At this thought, she pulled away from him gently. When he looked over at her, she gave a perfect excuse. "Cousin Long Yin, I'd like to walk on my own."

Long Yin was slightly taken aback. He glanced at her and relented. He released his hand when he saw the determination on her petite face. "Alright."I think you should take a look at

When they walked out of the imperial study, Lu Xue said, "You should stop here, Cousin Long Yin. I can leave the Palace on my own. You've been hard at work the entire day and should rest early."

This time, Long Yin did not listen to her. He saw her back all the way to the Grand Duke Mansion before returning.

The sky was already dark by the time he returned to the Palace.

He went straight toward Grand Phoenix Palace, intending to have dinner with Lu Liangwei.

However, he bumped into Hexin the moment he walked into Grand Phoenix Palace.

"Big Bro Long Yin." Hexin greeted him.

Long Yin nodded and asked, "Where's Yaoyao? Why isn't she with you?"

"There's something Yaoyao has to attend to. She'll be here shortly," Hexin replied. The truth was that Yaoyao had just received Beitang You's letter from the homing pigeon and made an excuse for Hexin to leave so that she could read the letter alone.

Hexin paused before saying, "By the way, Big Sis Lu Xue just came here to see you. Did you manage to meet up with her?"

The moment she said this, Hexin privately felt like she was being a busybody by asking this question.

She had noticed that Big Bro Long Yin seemed to be in a good mood and guessed it must be because he had met Lu Xue.

As she quietly thought about this, Long Yin said, "Yes. I just saw her back to the mansion."

"Oh." Hexin glanced at him and shut her mouth, staying silent.

"Let's go in," said Long Yin. He was about to walk into Grand Phoenix Palace when he suddenly noticed something. His gaze fell onto the corner of her dress. He frowned and asked, "Are you hurt?"

Hexin looked at him blankly. "No, I'm not."

Long Yin pointed to the corner of her dress. "There's blood over there."