The fairy’s face was so fair that it looked like it had been carved out of white jade. Right now, she was looking at Feng Wu with an innocent look on her face.Feng Wu said, “Tell me now. What’s the 12 Trials of Love?”

Master Linghu had kept Feng Wu guessing. So far, she only knew that it was an easy task, but not the specifics.

“I see —” The fairy, who had been frightened by Feng Wu, returned to her senses. Blinking at Feng Wu, she said, “Well, the name is pretty self-explanatory. The 12 Trials of Love means that the two of you will have to form ties of affection 12 times.”

“The two of us?” Feng Wu frowned.

The fairy nodded, then pointed a tiny finger at none other than Jun Linyuan himself!

Feng Wu asked, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

The fairy said, “The first trial starts right now.”

Feng Wu asked, “What’s the first trial?”

She was curious but scared at the same time…

In her pretty dress, the fairy twirled in Feng Wu’s mind and pointed her fairy wand at Jun Linyuan. Her sweet voice then rang out in Feng Wu’s head. “The first trial: Hug the host of the peach blossom.”

Feng Wu asked, “Who’s the host?”

The fairy almost rolled her eyes at her. “That handsome, spectacular teenage boy, of course! Hey, my pretty master, where are you looking?”

Feng Wu asked, “You mean Jun Linyuan?”

The fairy nodded.

Feng Wu stomped her foot. “I was going to pick Feng Xun! Why did it become Jun Linyuan?”

The fairy cringed a little. Of course she wouldn’t tell Feng Wu that she had chosen Jun Linyuan herself.

But!

Anyone would choose Jun Linyuan, all right? He was handsome, talented, and powerful. The fairy wondered if there was a problem with her pretty master’s eyes.

The fairy cleared her throat. “Well… you have yourself to blame for that. You let the bottle slip, and threw me onto him.”

Feng Wu felt like slapping herself, and was utterly depressed.

The fairy prompted Feng Wu. “Hey, do it.”

Feng Wu asked, “Do what?”

The fairy stomped her foot. “The first trial, of course. Hug your peach blossom host. The mission comes with a time limit.”

Feng Wu was dumbfounded.

“Finish this trial in the next 15 minutes, or this mission is deemed a failure. That way, the broken star piece you need will disappear forever.”

Feng Wu: !!!

The fairy said, “Yes, just like that.”

Feng Wu didn’t know what to say.

So, this was the easy mission Master Linghu had promised, except that it wasn’t easy at all!

Sensing how resentful Feng Wu was, the fairy shuddered a little, but still reminded Feng Wu, “Hey, the host is leaving —”

Feng Wu had to finish this task in 15 minutes, and Jun Linyuan was leaving. How frustrating!

The fairy just happened to add, “The hug has to last for more than 2 seconds to be deemed valid.”

Feng Wu said, “Shut up!”

Covering her mouth, the fairy’s big, pretty eyes darted around.

Meanwhile, Feng Wu couldn’t begin to vent her frustration. This was only the first trial — God knew what the rest of the 11 trials were.

The thought completely baffled Feng Wu.

It was like the fairy said; Jun Linyuan acted as if Feng Wu wasn’t there. He turned around in an arrogant manner, and looked very resolute when he started to walk away.

“Quickly!” the fairy reminded Feng Wu. “Think about your broken star piece!”

The broken star piece —At the thought of the broken star piece, which could save her beautiful master, Feng Wu forgot everything else, and charged at Jun Linyuan like a cannonball!

Thump!

She bumped into Jun Linyuan’s back with such great force that her nose almost bled.

Closing her eyes, Feng Wu threw her arms around Jun Linyuan’s lean waist.

Everyone was astonished!

Especially Feng Xun!

Right now, Feng Xun was staring unblinkingly at Feng Wu.

“Did little Feng Wu suddenly realize what she wants?”

Little Yuanbao’s eyes were wide as well.

“I thought His Royal Highness hated it when other people got too close. And isn’t he a neat freak? Why hasn’t he pushed Miss Feng away?”

Jun Linyuan was the most shocked of them all.

He had only just quarreled with Feng Wu and was still mad at her.

It was natural that he would save her again, but his pride wouldn’t allow him to talk to her.

But the last thing he expected was for the girl to hug him of her own accord in public. What… what does she want?

No one noticed that the crown prince’s fair earlobes had turned a light pink.

Meanwhile, the peach blossom fairy reminded Feng Wu in her head, “No! That’s not right! You can’t hug him from behind! It has to be from the front!”

Feng Wu already felt like burying her head in the ground, and she wanted to send the fairy flying with a smack when she heard that.

She cried out in her head, “Why didn’t you say so earlier?!”

The fairy cringed.

What other choice did Feng Wu have?

She had hugged him already, so what difference would it make if she threw herself into his arms? She gave in.

Hence —

Jun Linyuan had yet to recover from the shock when Feng Wu ran to the front and put her arms around him, burying her head in his chest so that her cheek was pressed to his body.

Wait —

To Feng Wu’s surprise, she didn’t hear a heartbeat under her ear.

What she didn’t know was that the crown prince was so shocked that his heart had skipped a beat.

What Feng Wu cared about now was if this hug counted.

If the fairy told her no, Feng Wu swore that she would throw the fairy away.

The fairy sounded relieved when she said, “Great! The first trial has been completed!”

Before the fairy could say another word, Feng Wu ran away from Jun Linyuan.

Jun Linyuan had been so conflicted that he clenched his fists. He was thinking whether he should hug her back, when the girl dashed off.

He was speechless.

She didn’t just dash off, she ran like she was flying. She ran all the way out of the peach blossom grove and disappeared into the distance…

Jun Linyuan was speechless.

He and Feng Xun exchanged looks.

“Ahem —” The crown prince cleared his throat to cover his embarrassment.

Crossing his hands behind him, he stood there looking every bit as handsome as the crown prince of an empire should look.

With an amazed look on his face, Little Yuanbao said the wrong thing. “Your Royal Highness, she took advantage of you!”

“What are you talking about?” Feng Xun rapped the little monk’s head with his knuckles. “It’s only taking advantage if it’s one-sided.”

The monk scratched his head in confusion. “I don’t get it.”

Jun Linyuan glared at Feng Xun. “What are you talking about?

Feng Xun rubbed his nose. Hm, it seemed that Boss Jun still wouldn’t admit it — they still had a long way to go.

Feng Wu didn’t know what happened after she left, but she could take a guess.

“Ahhh —”

In the empty woods, Feng Wu knocked her head against a tree.

The fairy cringed. She wanted to comfort Feng Wu, but feared that she might take the brunt of Feng Wu’s vexation.When Feng Wu started banging her head against a tree, the fairy finally couldn’t take it anymore.

“Hey, pretty master, please don’t do that —” The fairy had a sweet girly voice, which was quite pleasing to the ears.

But Feng Wu felt as though a fire was burning inside her.

“Why couldn’t it be Feng Xun? It would be so much easier to hug him. I can do it at any moment. Why did it have to be Jun Linyuan…” Feng Wu felt like crying.

The fairy rubbed her nose. She didn’t dare admit that she had chosen Jun Linyuan for her pretty master because she had found the teenager so handsome…

“That was only the first trial, and there are 11 more to go…” Feng Wu wanted to cry, but no tears would come. “What are the other trials like?”

The fairy stammered. “Well… They’re… mostly like this one. I think?”

“Are you sure?”

The fairy raised a black cloth and took a peek at the description of the remaining trials. Instantly, her voice wasn’t so confident anymore, and she said gingerly, “Well… I… think so.”

Feng Wu waved her hand in resignation. “Sigh. I shouldn’t blame you. It’s just fate, I guess. I’ll take it one step at a time.”

The fairy nodded immediately.

Feng Wu asked, “When will the second trial begin?”

The fairy said, “Tomorrow.”

Feng Wu let out a breath of relief. “Good. I can take a short break.”

She had a hunch that the so-called 12 Trials of Love was going to be a consecutive series of tasks that she would have to finish in one go…

After that, she went back to Fallen Star Yard.

Chaoge rushed up to Feng Wu as soon as she saw her. “Xiao Wu, you’re back.”

Feng Wu nodded at Chaoge. She then sat down at her table, rested her chin on one hand, and sighed.

Seeing this, Chaoge thought that Feng Wu had failed, so she sat down next to her, held her hands, and tried to console her. “Xiao Wu, don’t be sad. You didn’t get to meet Master Linghu this time, but I’m sure you’ll meet him some other day. Plus, only a handful of people in the imperial capital have met Master Linghu so far; it’s only normal that you didn’t get to meet him. Don’t beat yourself up over it.”

Feng Wu remained silent. She wished that she had never met Master Linghu.

All of a sudden, Feng Wu narrowed her eyes, a suspicious look in them.

Wait —

Master Linghu had astonished her at first with how reverent he appeared, before he showed her the roulette with some impossible tasks.

He had then told her that the 12 Trials of Love was the easiest one, and that he was practically giving it to her.

“The easiest one? Like hell it is!”

Had Feng Wu known what the 12 Trials of Love involved, or what she had to do with Jun Linyuan, she would rather try stealing that imperial seal or killing the young East Sea dragon king.

“Xiao Wu, what’s wrong? Please tell us. We might not be able to solve your problem, but we can still offer moral support,” said Chaoge.

Feng Wu didn’t know how to begin to describe how she felt.

How was she supposed to tell the others about the 12 Trials of Love? She had no idea what to expect. What if the task required her to marry Jun Linyuan?

“Argh!” Frustrated, Feng Wu smacked the table and jumped to her feet.

“Xiao Wu, what’s wrong?” Chaoge was a little frightened.

Only then did Feng Wu return to herself. She looked up to find the others all eyeing her with concern…

She suddenly realized that she was overreacting.

All these people here needed her protection, and she had to keep this family safe. The last thing she should be doing was bemoaning her fate and frightening everyone else.

“Don’t worry about it.” Feng Wu waved at them with a smile. “I’ll take care of it. You guys go to bed now. It’s late.”The night passed without incident.

Feng Wu was woken up by rustling the following morning.

What was that?

She rubbed her forehead, feeling dazed.

She had tossed and turned in bed the whole night without getting any sleep. As a result, Feng Wu felt as though she was sleepwalking when she got out of bed that morning.

“Pretty master, wake up. Wake up.”

Feng Wu heard a girl’s sweet, soft voice.

She woke up with a start and sat up, still clutching her duvet. Her memories only came back to her slowly after a long while.

“The 12 Trials of Love!” Feng Wu rubbed her forehead, feeling distressed. She had a feeling that she was going to have some very tough days ahead of her.

“I’ll do anything to save my beautiful master!”

Clenching her fists, Feng Wu told herself that.

“The second trial starts now.” The soft girly voice rang out in Feng Wu’s head.

Feng Wu’s stomach lurched. “What is it?”

The fairy paused and gave Feng Wu an awkward glance.

Feng Wu said, “Just tell me. I’m ready.”

“Alright.” The fairy looked sympathetically at Feng Wu. “The second trial requires you to hold the host’s hand within two hours, and —”

“Hold his hand?” Feng Wu almost jumped to her feet.

“Yes —” Seeing how freaked out Feng Wu was, the fairy said tentatively, “And, you’ll have to hold his hand for at least a minute.”

“You —” Feng Wu pointed at the fairy. “I can’t do that. Please change it.”

Holding hands was such an intimate way of expressing one’s emotions, and it felt much more significant than a hug.

“I can’t change it.” The fairy looked innocently at Feng Wu. “You have to do it, or you can give up.”

Feng Wu was speechless.

Of course she knew what her two options were. Proceed with the mission and she would find all the broken star pieces, but if she gave up now…

Seeing that Feng Wu had lowered her head in disappointment, the fairy kindly reminded her, “Pretty master, you only have two hours left.

“And if you don’t finish the trial before time is up…

“The mission will be considered a failure.”

The fairy drew an hourglass as she spoke.

The sand began to fall quickly, so fast that it made Feng Wu want to scream.

She only had two hours. Even if she wanted to hold Jun Linyuan’s hand, she still had to find him first. That meant that two hours might not even be enough.

Hence, she quickly got out of bed and prepared to go out.

Qiuling entered the room to help Feng Wu get ready, but saw that the latter had already washed, changed and made herself presentable.

“Miss —”

Qiuling was only able to utter one word before Feng Wu waved her off. “I need to go out. It’s urgent.”

As soon as she said that, Feng Wu ran out the room like a gust of wind. The next second, she was nowhere to be seen.

“Miss, where are you going —”

Qiuling called after Feng Wu.

Where was she going? Should she go to the crown prince’s residence so early in the morning? Feng Wu wasn’t going to let other people know what she was up to.

Hence, she didn’t answer, but only waved at Qiuling.

When Chaoge arrived, all she saw was Feng Wu waving in the distance.

Chaoge asked, “What’s that about? Where is Xiao Wu going, so early in the morning?”

Qiuling looked perplexed. “I have no idea…”

Rubbing her chin, Chaoge said, “Is she running toward the crown prince’s residence? No, she can’t be. Xiao Wu can’t be going to see His Royal Highness.”–

However, to everyone’s surprise, Feng Wu really was headed in Jun Linyuan’s direction.

The fairy would remind her of the time whenever she slowed down.

The crown prince’s residence was some distance away from the Feng manor. Feng Wu rode as fast as she could, but it still took her some time to get there.

Feng Wu hesitated when she got to the residence.

As a matter of fact, the atmosphere in the residence had been rather strange since the crown prince got back the night before.

Feng and Granny Gong sensed it more keenly than anyone else.

“Is His Royal Highness still in his study?”

Granny Gong arrived with a lunchbox, only to find that the lights were still on in the study. She glanced at Feng in bewilderment.

“Did something happen yesterday?” Granny Gong looked perplexed.

Feng was with His Royal Highness all the time, so she thought that he must know the answer.

Rubbing his chin, Feng smiled a little.

Granny Gong cried out, “You’re smiling!”

Feng asked, “Am I?”

Granny Gong nodded earnestly. “Yes, and it’s a sneaky smile. Tell me: What’s going on with His Royal Highness?”

Feng gave her an unconcerned glance. “Aren’t you a bit too old to gossip?”

Granny Gong stepped on Feng’s foot. “Hey —”

Feng raised his chin and smiled. “Take a wild guess.”

Granny Gong mumbled, “Don’t tell me that Miss Feng Wu has something to do with this.”

Feng gave her a mysterious smile.

Granny Gong frowned. “Seriously? It’s really about her?”

Feng glanced at Granny Gong. “I thought you liked the girl, but you don’t sound so fond of her now.”

Granny Gong complained, “His Royal Highness likes her, and so should we. But you’ve seen it yourself. That girl is outrageous. She slapped His Royal Highness, and I’m so…”

Everyone cared about the children they raised.

Granny Gong had been taking care of His Royal Highness since he was little, so of course, she sympathized with him. As a result, she began to hold a grudge against Feng Wu.

Feng only smiled. “His Royal Highness tried to take advantage of her first. You can’t blame her.”

Granny Gong said, “I know that, but I just can’t bring myself to see His Royal Highness mistreated. By the way, what happened yesterday? His Royal Highness has been in there the whole night and hasn’t come out yet!”

Just then, the door was flung open!

“Cough —”

The handsome crown prince walked out, looking as stunning and charismatic as ever.

He started walking without looking at anyone.

Feng immediately followed him.

Granny Gong asked, “Your Royal Highness, where are you going?”

Jun Linyuan said casually, “I’m taking a walk.”

Feng Wu was at the back door, but Jun Linyuan left via the front gate. The two of them ended up missing each other.

Feng Wu had no idea that Jun Linyuan had left, and was still hesitating under the lantern hanging above the gate.

Liu San was the gatekeeper at the crown prince’s residence.

This wasn’t a job for just anyone, and Liu San had grown quite good at reading people.

He had seen the way His Royal Highness and Granny Gong treated Feng Wu, and had learned something from it.

Seeing Feng Wu wandering around while biting her fingers, Liu San hastily walked over to her.

“Miss Feng, are you here to see His Royal Highness? It’s too wet out here. Would you like to wait inside?”The fairy reminded Feng Wu in her head, “You have 90 minutes left.”

Feng Wu took a deep breath and decided to face her doom.

“Sure!”

Sticking out her chest, Feng Wu marched into the crown prince’s residence.

Liu San had already sent someone to fetch Granny Gong, who was amazed to hear the news.

Although she still held a grudge against Feng Wu, she knew better than to offend the girl, so she came out to greet Feng Wu herself.

“Granny Gong —”

Feng Wu smiled when she saw the old maid.

However, Granny Gong looked a little awkward when she saw her today. She quickly looked away after glancing at Feng Wu resentfully.

Given how sensitive Feng Wu was, she couldn’t miss that.

“Granny Gong, did something happen?” Feng Wu asked suspiciously as she took Granny Gong’s arm.

Granny Gong snorted and looked away.

“This seems quite serious,” thought Feng Wu.

She tried to appease the old maid. “Granny Gong, have I done something to upset you? Please tell me. Don’t keep it all to yourself. I won’t know if you don’t tell me.”

Granny Gong darted a look at Feng Wu. “Do you really want to know?”

Feng Wu nodded with a smile. “Yes, and if I’ve done something wrong, just be straight with me and tell me so.”