CHAPTER 82 — WHEN THE THIRD PRINCE CAUGHT HER IN THE DARK
Tang Ke Xin knew perfectly well that there was no such thing as coincidence. The capital was vast, the night was deep, and yet she had fallen straight into Ye Lan Jue's arms. Even if someone beat her to death, she would never believe it was mere chance.
There was only one explanation.
He had known she would come to the Mu Residence tonight.
He had known she intended to steal something.
And so he had been waiting for her.
"What a coincidence," she said lightly, springing out of his embrace and forcing a smile as she looked up at his expressionless, frost‑cold face.
She knew it was not a coincidence.
He knew she knew.
But she could only pretend.
"Climbing walls in the dead of night, breaking into courtyards… yes, what a coincidence indeed." His voice was slow, dangerously soft, each word edged with a chill that made the air tighten.
Was this woman truly fearless?
She had actually dared to steal from the Mu family.
Up on the wall, Dong'er—who had been preparing to leap down—froze mid‑movement. Her limbs stiffened, her breath caught.
Heavens above… what is happening?
She had followed her young mistress into the Mu Residence, only to be caught red‑handed by the Third Prince himself.
She wanted to faint.
Or die.
Preferably both.
And judging by His Highness's tone, he fully intended to involve himself.
"Indeed, Your Highness," Tang Ke Xin replied, forcing her voice to remain steady. "To encounter the Third Prince here—what a fortunate coincidence."
She ignored the dangerous aura radiating from him and tried to bluff her way through. After all, he had caught her in the act.
Ye Lan Jue's gaze swept over her, then followed the rope tied securely around her waist. He tugged lightly, retrieving the climbing tool she had used.
His eyes glinted.
"Quite a clever little contraption."
"Average," she said with a strained smile.
She reached out to take it back, but he held it firmly. She would not be retrieving anything from him tonight.
"Your Highness… could you perhaps let go of me first?" she muttered, mortified. The rope was still tied around her waist, and the other end was in his hand. The posture was… compromising, to say the least.
"Tell me," he murmured, lifting his gaze to hers, "should I report this to the Prime Minister… or to the Empress?"
His voice was low, magnetic, and far too composed.
But the threat beneath it was unmistakable.
Tang Ke Xin's face fell.
He was threatening her.
Openly.
Deliberately.
She could not allow the Prime Minister to know. He already restricted her movements and assigned people to watch her every step. If he discovered she had broken into the Mu Residence, she would never be allowed to leave the house again.
And the Empress—already burdened with too much—must not be troubled further.
"Your Highness, with our… friendship, surely—"
"Friendship?" Ye Lan Jue arched a brow. "When did we become friends? What friendship?"
Tang Ke Xin choked.
Right.
They had no friendship.
They had merely used each other—she to help the Empress, he to hunt the mastermind.
Up on the wall, Dong'er grew more rigid by the second.
The Third Prince wants to tell the Empress?
If that happened, she would be implicated too. She might as well dig her own grave now.
"Where is the item?" Ye Lan Jue asked suddenly, his voice turning colder still.
Tang Ke Xin stiffened.
He knew.
He knew she had come to retrieve something.
He knew exactly why she was here.
How?
She had not told Dong'er beforehand.
She had only decided after arriving at the Mu Residence.
How could he possibly know?
"Bring it here," he said, giving her no room to feign ignorance.
"I… I don't understand what Your Highness means," she said, blinking innocently. She would not hand over the jade pendant. She needed it to annul the engagement.
She considered running, but the rope around her waist was still in his grasp. Escape was impossible.
Dong'er remained silent on the wall, but the absence of noise from the Mu Residence meant she had not been discovered. At least that was one small mercy.
"Tang Ke Xin," Ye Lan Jue said, lips curving faintly, "this prince wishes to see how long you can keep pretending."
She said nothing, mind racing for an escape.
"This prince does not mind," he added lazily. "I can simply take you to the palace and hand you over to the Empress."
Her heart turned cold.
He was ruthless.
Others saw him as heroic, righteous, awe‑inspiring.
But she knew the truth—he was the most dangerous man in the underworld, cunning and merciless.
He would absolutely do it.
"I truly don't know what Your Highness is talking about," she said quickly. "I have nothing on me. If you don't believe me… you may search me."
It was her last gamble.
Surely, even with his blackened heart, he would consider propriety.
Surely, he would not actually search her.
Dong'er nearly fell off the wall.
The Third Prince to search Miss? That's improper!
Tang Ke Xin also held onto that fragile hope.
But Ye Lan Jue merely brushed her hand lightly—then pulled her straight into his arms.
His lips curved.
"Mm. That is not a bad idea."
Tang Ke Xin froze.
Of course.
She should never have hoped.
This man was beyond shameless.
Dong'er nearly fainted.
He's really going to search her? Truly?
"Your Highness," Tang Ke Xin said sharply, "men and women should not be so intimate."
Firstly, it was improper.
Secondly, the jade pendant was hidden on her person. If he searched her, he would find it instantly—and he would absolutely take it.
"That rule applies to others," he said calmly. "Not to you, though."
She stared at him, speechless.
What did he mean by others?
What did he mean by not to you?
His hand slid to her waist, pressing lightly as he searched.
Finding nothing, it began to move upward.
In ancient times, many people hid items in their inner garments.
His search was logical.
But his hand—
his closeness—
this entire situation—
Was absolutely not.
Although Tang Ke Xin did not have the jade pendant hidden in her bosom, she was nonetheless utterly stunned by the manner in which Ye Lan Jue conducted his "search."
His hand was far too bold, far too deliberate, and far too close.
"Your Highness," she whispered quickly, grasping at the first excuse she could form, "I had only just entered. I could not find the item. The Mu Estate is heavily guarded, and I know no martial arts. Dong'er feared I would be discovered, so she sent me out first. She is still searching inside."
It was a flimsy explanation, but it was all she had.
Ye Lan Jue's hand stilled.
He looked down at her with a faint, unreadable smile—one that was not quite amusement, not quite disbelief, and not quite mercy.
But then, in the next heartbeat, his expression shifted.
His gaze darkened.
His arm tightened around her waist.
He turned, preparing to spirit her away into the night.
Tang Ke Xin felt it too—the faint disturbance in the air, the soft crunch of gravel beneath approaching footsteps. Someone was coming.
She held her breath.
She did not move.
She did not dare.
A sound drifted from within the courtyard.
"Dong'er…" she breathed, barely audible, thinking of the girl still inside.
"Who's there?"
The voice was sharp, alert, and far too familiar.
Mu Shaoyi.
He had heard her whisper.
If Ye Lan Jue carried her away now, Dong'er would be discovered. And if Dong'er was caught inside the Mu Residence in the middle of the night… the consequences would be catastrophic.
Ye Lan Jue clearly realised this as well.
He stopped moving.
A lantern's glow flickered across the courtyard as Mu Shaoyi approached. His steps slowed when he saw the tall figure standing in the shadows.
"Y–Your Highness?"
His voice cracked.
Even though he dared to posture before the Fourth Prince, he would never behave so recklessly before the Third. Ye Lan Jue's presence alone was enough to crush the breath from his lungs.
Mu Shaoyi's gaze travelled from Ye Lan Jue's face…
to the woman in his arms.
First, he saw the rope tied snugly around her waist.
Then he followed the rope to the other end—firmly held in the Third Prince's hand.
His expression froze.
His mind spun.
Was this… the Third Prince's special fixation?
Mu Shaoyi's body trembled.
He swallowed hard.
Slowly—very slowly—his eyes lifted to the woman's face.
And when he finally saw who it was—
His entire world tilted.