495 252 Palace Examination (two combined into one)

This situation caught everyone off guard, even the crown princess hesitated momentarily. The moment the bookshelf collapsed, she instinctively stepped forward, trying to dodge the impending disaster.

However, the room was so narrow that taking a few steps forward almost made her bump into Xiao Liulang.

Xiao Liulang heard the noise first, informed of someone's entrance, then the bookshelf fell and blocked the door. The room had no oil lamp or windows, once the door was closed, the room rapidly plunged into the depths of darkness.

Without seeing the intruder, he simply obeyed the instinct to avoid strangers, stepping backwards and pressing himself almost against the wall.

Xiao Liulang's aversion to strangers wasn't recent. Since the time Fen Lin knew him, he found that Xiao was a man with a severe social aversion, but Fen Lin always opportunistically tried to get close despite his unsociability.