It would have been fine if Huo Chang’an hadn’t mentioned Wuyan, but once he did, Suzhen was shocked. In her anger, she coldly interrupted him, “What nonsense are you spouting? Wuyan is my friend. Wouldn’t this make me unrighteous? No, I can’t do that. Marquis Huo, Wuyan is already married. You shouldn’t be like this, still fantasizing about getting her!”

Huo Chang’an looked at her and suddenly burst into laughter. Finally, staring at her slowly, he said, “Do you think I want you to be with Murong Liu to make Wei Wuyan fall from favor?”

“Isn’t that it?” Suzhen looked at him cautiously.

“Yes, I do want her to fall from favor, but since you know something about what happened between Wei Wuyan and me, you should know who the man in her heart truly is.”

Huo Chang’an’s lips curved slightly, his smile extremely frivolous and unrestrained.

Suzhen suddenly frowned, “But she’s already married to Sixth Young Master.”

“She doesn’t like Murong Liu. Marrying him was only to avoid me and get revenge on me. Tell me, with my status, in all the vast world, where else could she hide from me except the imperial palace?”

“But now she regrets it too.”

Huo Chang’an said this flatly, taking a sip of wine.

Suzhen was startled, “How is that possible? They say Murong Liu dotes on her greatly.”

“Imperial favor has an expiration date. How long do you think it can last?” Huo Chang’an sneered in response, lightly swirling his wine cup, leisurely watching the liquid swirl restlessly in the cup. “One year, two years, five years… ten years enough? Each generation has its talented beauties, and so it is with women. Today the emperor likes your appearance and temperament, tomorrow he likes hers. Before Wuyan, Murong Liu most favored Murong Consort. After Wuyan, there’s Gu Shuangcheng, and now there’s also Miaoyin.”

Suzhen listened with her head down, unconsciously gripping her cup tightly.

The next day at morning court, Li Zhaoting and Gao Chaoyi didn’t attend—the two had already departed for Minshan Prefecture. Everyone knew that Lian Yu had sent them together so that Gao Chaoyi could restrain Li Zhaoting. As for how this case would unfold and who would emerge victorious, the court was already half in an uproar.

On the way to the Golden Throne Hall, Suzhen heard groups of three to five officials speaking in nervous whispers. Of course, she couldn’t hear everything they said, but occasionally catching words like “Huang Tianba” and “Li Zhaoting” was enough to know the gravity of the situation.

During morning court, thinking about Huo Chang’an’s words, she actually became distracted and had no idea what Lian Yu and the ministers were discussing.

She stood restlessly, calculating when court would end, just like waiting for the teacher to dismiss class in her old private school. She thought fortunately this wasn’t a classroom where teachers called on students. Just as she was thinking this, she suddenly heard Lian Yu ask softly, “What does Chief Justice Li think?”

Instantly, all eyes in the hall focused on her.

Suzhen was dumbfounded, thinking “What were you asking about?” She controlled her panic, stepped forward, and bowed properly, saying, “Your Majesty is wise. Everything should naturally be done according to Your Majesty’s words.”

“Good. Your monthly salary is docked as a warning. Let’s see who dares to daydream in court again.”

The entire hall burst into laughter. Si Lanfeng’s eyes moved, and he kindly reminded her in a low voice, “After discussing what a previous minister reported, His Majesty said nothing else and just asked, ‘Is Chief Justice Li agreeable to docking your salary?'”

Suzhen, remembering her clever answer to handle any situation, was so ashamed she wanted to crawl into a hole. Quan Feitong glanced at her, and she quickly looked away. Looking up, she saw Lian Qin staring at her coldly, so she turned to the other side, only to meet Wei Chenghui’s gaze. There was an indescribable gloomy meaning in this Grand Tutor’s eyes.

She shivered inexplicably.

However, Lian Yu was finally willing to acknowledge her, which gave her small comfort.

Without Huo Chang’an mentioning it, she wouldn’t have known, but once he pointed it out, she vaguely felt that Lian Yu had been distancing himself from her imperceptibly.

Logically, if he liked her and her injuries hadn’t healed, after she returned from the villa, he should have come to see her, or at least sent someone with gifts.

But he hadn’t.

After court, protocol dictated that Lian Yu should leave first, and the ministers would exit the hall only after the emperor had left.

Suzhen hesitated for a moment, then chased after him.

Everyone watched in surprise, but thinking she was someone the emperor valued, they didn’t dare say much.

Lian Yu’s group walked very quickly, and she had to chase for some distance before catching up.

“Your Majesty, this minister has urgent matters to report.”

She called out breathlessly from behind. The group ahead stopped, and the first to turn around was Lian Qin’s fierce gaze. “What are you doing? If you had something to report, why didn’t you say so earlier?”

Among the group of men, Lian Yu looked over.

His gaze was indifferent, appearing slightly cool in the early spring.

Lian Jie said softly, “This isn’t proper protocol, Li Huaisu.”

Lian Yu waved his hand to stop him and said flatly, “What do you need to report? Speak.”

“Your Majesty, this minister specifically requests to accompany Your Majesty’s southern journey.”

Suzhen said with her head down, her eyes rolling around as she secretly observed Lian Yu’s expression.

“Nonsense. Denied.”

Lian Yu was equally direct, coolly dropping four words without anger or irritation, then led everyone away. Suzhen even heard Mingyan Chu and Qinglong snicker.

She was stunned, ground her teeth, then ran forward again, “Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please hear this minister’s words—”

Before she could finish, Lian Yu had already ordered Baihu, “Stop her.”

Baihu received the order, leaped over to block her, and said coldly, “Lord Li, please return.”

Suzhen was already used to Baihu’s cute face-changing ability and knew she absolutely obeyed Lian Yu’s commands. Seeing Lian Yu walking farther and farther away, she rolled her eyes and pressed her hand to her chest, saying, “It hurts so much, so much pain, it’s killing me.”

Baihu frowned, seeing her obviously faking, secretly angry, and was about to chase her away when Suzhen kept staring at the tall black figure ahead without stopping. Her heart darkened, thinking Huo Chang’an’s words really couldn’t be trusted. Lian Yu never truly liked her—if there was anything, it was just some small interest left over from Shitou. Now with new favorites in the harem, naturally…

Remembering Lian Yu’s certainty that day, she smiled self-mockingly, sat down on the ground with her head lowered, feeling physically and mentally exhausted. She heard Baihu’s soft exclamation and looked at the ground distractedly, smiling, “Hu’er, you go ahead. I won’t go over and cause trouble.”

“Does the wound really hurt?”

The voice that answered her was a man’s slightly deep tone.

A pair of hands fell on her arms, quite strong, lifting her entire body up.