"All right, since Her Highness is no longer in serious danger, I should take my leave. The King is still waiting outside."
As he spoke, Lin Xuan turned and walked toward the door.
When he reached it, his steps suddenly halted.
He did not turn around, merely letting out a soft laugh with his back to Princess Qingxiang.
That laugh carried a hint of teasing and a hint of carefree ease.
"Oh, right. When I last met Your Highness, you were dressed as a dashing young gentleman, looking every bit the heroic figure. Who would have thought that upon meeting again, you would be such a charming and lovely young lady? Princess, you truly have many faces—quite an eye-opener."
After saying that, he did not wait for any response from behind him. He pushed open the door and strode out.
Leaving behind only the girl in the room, frozen stiff in an instant.
Princess Qingxiang stared blankly at the door as it closed once more, Lin Xuan's final words echoing through her mind.
He... he recognized me long ago?!
He knew from the very beginning?!
Then just now... when he was treating me...
That embarrassing reaction... that...
A shriek of mortified fury was smothered tightly beneath the blankets.
Princess Qingxiang wrapped herself even more tightly, her face so red it seemed ready to drip blood.
He had recognized her long ago, yet he had pretended not to know!
And he had deliberately... deliberately teased her like that!
But...
Why was she not truly angry? Instead...
She touched her burning cheeks, her mind filled with the carefree figure of his departing back.
Lin Xuan...
This time, once that name had been carved into her heart, it could never be erased.
As night fell, the bustle of Dali City gradually faded, replaced