Qin Yu opened her eyes to see Luo Shangyu looking down at her from above, her bright green eyes brimming with amusement.
“Haha…” Qin Yu laughed awkwardly, meeting her gaze.
“Yu Xi, you really are ‘cute and brainless’!” The smile on Luo Shangyu’s face grew more pronounced.
Luo Shangyu’s teasing made Qin Yu feel like she was sitting on needles.
“Your lying skills are also quite pathetic.” Luo Shangyu’s finger gently brushed against Qin Yu’s cheek.
“Have you told any other lies?”
The touch of her fingertip felt terrifying to Qin Yu.
She tried to keep her voice calm, but a hint of fear leaked out involuntarily, “I… I haven’t…”
“Still making excuses, Yu Xi?” Luo Shangyu paused for a moment before smiling brilliantly.
“Or rather, should I call you… Qin Yu?”
“What… what are you talking about?”
Hearing that her identity had been exposed, Qin Yu’s expression instantly fell into a panic.
She grabbed the quilt and tried to hide her face.
“Oh my, your reaction completely gave you away!” Luo Shangyu used her hand to pull the quilt away from Qin Yu’s face.
“I didn’t! Of course I’d be flustered if you mistook a maid like me for the Crown Prince!” Qin Yu began to argue.
“Tch, still stubborn.” Luo Shangyu reached her hand toward Qin Yu.
“What are you doing!” Alarm bells rang in Qin Yu’s heart, and she was nearly ready to resist.
However, Luo Shangyu did not touch her.
Instead, she reached under the pillow.
‘Phew—’ Qin Yu breathed a long sigh of relief.
At least Luo Shangyu wasn’t using violence to interrogate her…
‘Wait a minute! Where did Luo Shangyu just reach? Under the pillow? Under the pillow, there was…’
‘I’m doomed,’ Qin Yu screamed internally.
Looking up, he saw Luo Shangyu toying with the Key-shaped Pendant.
Inside was the symbol of her true identity.
‘There really is no arguing my way out of this now…’ Qin Yu gripped the bedsheets, her mind racing as she tried to come up with an explanation.
‘Dammit! I had so many excuses back when I was late for school, so why can’t I think of a single one now?’
“Still putting on a show?” Luo Shangyu stroked Qin Yu’s head as if offering comfort.
“I knew who you were from the very first moment I saw you.”
“Your cover story was flawed from the beginning. Since you intended to circle around for a sneak attack, you would have naturally traveled light. Why would you bring a maid along?”
“That’s… the Crown Prince’s little hobby…” Qin Yu murmured.
But Luo Shangyu ignored the comment entirely, “I kept an eye on your tent. From the moment you entered, no one ever came out. At that time, there were no fluctuations of Space Magic on the entire battlefield, so it was impossible for you to escape using Space Magic. Therefore, you had to be inside that tent.”
“Finally, while your appearance has changed, your demeanor and aura are nothing like what a maid’s should be.”
Luo Shangyu’s tone was flat, as if she were merely discussing a trivial matter.
Listening to her explanation, Qin Yu realized she had lost completely.
Her disguise had been torn away by Luo Shangyu, leaving her exposed down to her very core.
Qin Yu’s mind went blank.
Every excuse she had prepared got stuck in her throat.
Luo Shangyu’s playful gaze told Qin Yu that further denial was futile.
From the moment she first saw her, she had probably suspected, or even confirmed, the truth.
The sense of defeat was like ice water being poured over her head.
Her meticulously planned disguise and her desperate gamble with the Transformation Potion were so fragile in the eyes of the real Luo Shangyu.
Luo Shangyu enjoyed the complex expressions on Qin Yu’s face—shock, panic, and defeat.
Ultimately, the light in Qin Yu’s eyes flickered out.
She knew what the fate of a captured Crown Prince would be.
Luo Shangyu let go of the pendant, allowing it to fall beside Qin Yu.
She leaned down, her lips close to Qin Yu’s ear.
“Drinking a Transformation Potion to turn into this cute appearance… To avoid being captured, you really went all out, didn’t you, Crown Prince?”
The mockery in her words made Qin Yu feel a mix of shame and rage.
This was psychological torture!
Qin Yu originally wanted to gather one last ounce of strength to escape the situation, but Luo Shangyu’s strength had been enhanced by magic.
With just a slight push, she pinned Qin Yu against the bed.
“Qin Yu, you need to understand the reality of the situation. You are no longer the Crown Prince. You are my prisoner—my property!”
Luo Shangyu’s voice was majestic, filled with an unquestionable certainty that embodied the arrogance of a superior.
“You…!” Humiliation and powerlessness surged into Qin Yu’s heart, and she couldn’t help but lower her head.
Luo Shangyu said no more.
Her free hand reached for the steel collar around Qin Yu’s neck.
Just as Qin Yu thought she was going to unlock it, she pulled a much more exquisite leather collar from under her own pillow.
“That one is too crude; it doesn’t suit you.” As she spoke, Luo Shangyu swapped it for the leather collar.
The moment the collar buckled, it began to shrink, fitting perfectly against Qin Yu’s neck.
Qin Yu felt as if a shackle had been placed deep within her soul.
Her magic was completely suppressed, and even her control over her body weakened.
A powerful sense of restraint washed over her.
A long, thin golden chain extended from the collar, with the other end held in Luo Shangyu’s hand.
Luo Shangyu gave it a gentle tug.
“Ugh!” The pressure on her neck forced Qin Yu to tilt her head back, meeting Luo Shangyu’s downward gaze.
The posture was incredibly humiliating, much like a pet being led on a leash.
Luo Shangyu scrutinized Qin Yu carefully: the messy white hair, the reddened eyes, the bitten lower lip, the hurried breathing, the chest heaving violently from anger and shame, and the delicate black collar around her neck.
“This look of yours, ha! You really look like a proper girl! Is it because you’ve been a woman in disguise for so long that your true feelings are coming out now, or is it…” Luo Shangyu paused, her fingertip hooking Qin Yu’s chin.
“When you turned yourself into a girl, did you change more than just your appearance? Did your very essence change as well?”
“Right now, are you a ‘he’ or a ‘she’?”
The question was like a sharp dagger, stabbing straight into the truth Qin Yu least wanted to face.
Qin Yu opened her mouth but couldn’t make a sound.
For 16 years, the previous identity and gender… had all been completely overturned, shattered, and reshaped.
Luo Shangyu stopped pressing.
She simply tightened the chain in her hand, pulling the despondent Qin Yu closer while her other hand gently wrapped around her trembling shoulders.
“Get some sleep, Crown Prince. Our story still has a long way to go~” Luo Shangyu said softly, brushing the messy bangs away from Qin Yu’s forehead with a possessive touch.
Qin Yu lay limp in Luo Shangyu’s arms.
She had completely given up, allowing Luo Shangyu to do as she pleased.
The chain on the collar seemed to weave into an inescapable net, leaving Qin Yu’s future in total chaos.
The restraints on her body and the scent of Luo Shangyu felt incredibly real.
Qin Yu realized with absolute clarity that her life as a defeated prisoner had only just begun…