But this wasn’t her main concern.

She had asked him to come after careful consideration.

She had originally wanted them to relay the message directly to him, but she feared they might not deliver it properly.

She really didn’t want to meet again – otherwise, the first time Mingyan Chu and the others returned with a reply, she would have had them announce that he should come over.

She found his remaining trace of guilty conscience extremely distasteful, yet she still had to borrow this guilt, this last thread of old affection.

Seeing him silent, only holding the soup and looking at her, she suppressed the strong urge to ask him to leave and spoke first: “I asked you here because I have a favor to request.”

“Except for leaving the palace, name anything else.” This time, he replied quite quickly.

“You’ve imprisoned Zhuiming and the others in the palace dungeons?”

“Mm, you want to bargain with me?” He answered lightly, as if he didn’t think this was particularly unjust.

“You are the master of this world – what could I possibly do? I only hope you won’t imprison them in the palace.” She took another bowl, filled it with rice, and placed it before him. The palace dining was exquisite – appetizers, soups, rice dishes, desserts, fruits… each had different vessels. With his sudden arrival, there was no shortage of usable items, just that the vessels didn’t match their contents.

She picked up some food with chopsticks and placed it on the plate in front of him, then filled a bowl of soup for herself.

He sat down, lowering his head to drink the soup, still saying nothing.

But his eyes were very sharp, sweeping over her body repeatedly.

She feared such gazes, yet at the same time her heart was completely open. Perhaps because she had nothing left and wasn’t worried about losing anything.

She watched him finish the soup and begin eating, slowly chewing the food she had served him. Suddenly she thought – if Aluo hadn’t returned, if her parents had only been executed by the previous emperor, perhaps the scene before her eyes would be what they naturally deserved.

Warm and sweet.

She couldn’t help but smile, stood up, and knelt before him again!

“Confining them is fine, but please don’t put them in the palace’s sunless dungeons. I know I’m not Aluo and have no right to make demands of you. I won’t fight for the wine cellar – I have no right to. Let my family’s case be as you wish. I’ve already failed them, but if I can’t even accomplish this small thing, how could I live with myself? I only ask this one thing of you, this last thing.”

“Put them in Huo Chang’an’s villa with soldiers guarding them – is that acceptable? At least there they can see outside sunlight and hear outside voices.”

He still said nothing. Suzhen gritted her teeth and was about to kowtow heavily when her shoulder suddenly tightened – somehow he had come before her.

“I agree.” He pulled her up.

His grip was so strong it hurt her. When their four eyes met, she saw the tightly wound fierce look in his eyes.

Suzhen’s heart relaxed, and he immediately released his grip, returning to his seat to continue eating.

Suzhen lowered her head to drink soup. Having said what needed saying, she had nothing more to say to him.

The room’s four corners had incense burners – it wasn’t cold, but the atmosphere between them was like an icy, snowy cold pool, eerily cold to the extreme.

Lian Yu ate very quickly afterward. He didn’t serve himself other dishes, just eating the things she had casually placed before him, finishing two large bowls of rice – the one she had filled, then adding another bowl himself.

Suzhen’s heart was calm, yet she still couldn’t help the slight coolness in her eyes.

Not from love, nor anger, nor hate.

“If you hadn’t had a request, would you still have invited me for this meal?” He set down his bowl, stood up, and asked with slight mockery.

Suzhen walked over and opened the door, smiling: “The person who can dine with you is no longer me. What does it matter whether I invite you or not?”

“Rather, let me ask you – if I could ultimately never drink wine from that wine cellar, would you still come eat this meal because of that slight guilt?”

By now he had walked outside with a dark expression. Unlike his former self, from some unknown time he had become cold, hard, and intimidating to behold. Hearing her words, his brow jumped sharply.

His eyes turned frighteningly cold.

Suzhen said no more, slowly closing the door.

“Feng Suzhen.”

His cold, deep voice suddenly came from outside.

“I… am not preventing you from marrying, but he’s truly unsuitable for you. I will let you go after this war ends. Then you can marry whoever you want! During this time, if you want to see Lian Xin, you can send word, but you cannot move about other places freely.”

“Fine, don’t make me wait too long.”

Her back pressed tightly against the door, she agreed compliantly.

She knew what he meant – he was afraid Aluo would be hurt seeing her.

As if infected by the cold air outside, she shivered slightly and closed her eyes tightly.

As the palace women’s respectful farewell sounds rang out and his footsteps faded away, she walked back to the table, silently poured a cup of wine, and placed it at the seat where he had just sat, slowly finishing the rice in her bowl.

Afterward, she called for palace women to bring water for bathing and had them prepare some clean men’s clothing. This request for clothing clearly surprised them, but everyone moved quickly and soon had everything ready.

After bathing, Suzhen changed clothes, let down her hair, and tied it in a male topknot, just as when she first entered the capital.

Then she wrote one more letter – the final letter.

With everything completed, she leaned against the bed, keeping her eyes open waiting for dawn, to meet with someone.

That woman he didn’t want her to see.

Li Manor.

When Si Lanfeng left, Li Zhaoting had wanted to call him back but ultimately refrained. Both pieces of news Si Lanfeng brought were good news – Lian Yu’s deployment, and that Gu Xiluo seemed to have quarreled with Lian Yu.

He had also wanted to ask if he’d seen that person, but remembering her actions, his heart grew cold and he gave up the idea.

After seeing Si off, he had someone drive him to the Quan mansion.

Quan Feitong’s arrangements were increasingly mature – at this critical juncture, one couldn’t be careless.

Unexpectedly, upon reaching the Quan mansion, when the steward led him to meet Quan Feitong at the lakeside pavilion, he encountered an unexpected guest – Wei Chenghui’s daughter, Wei Wuxia.

“Entrusted by big brother, I only thought to try my luck. That person might not be in the palace, but unexpectedly I really saw sister-in-law.”

Quan Feitong habitually rubbed his nose, speaking leisurely: “What kind of person is Lian Yu? He can only feel at ease keeping people under his nose. The possibility of her being in the palace was extremely high. But I was just speculating. After all, that person must be hidden away – being able to encounter her was entirely due to younger sister-in-law’s good fortune.”

Quan Feitong had extremely high standards. Wei Wuxia was rarely praised and was quite pleased, recounting what she had witnessed in the palace.

“She said she was invited by Lian Xin?” The light gathered in Quan Feitong’s eyes quickly scattered, his voice also turning slightly cold.

Wei Wuxia had been smiling as if seeking credit, but was intimidated by his sinister tone and momentarily choked up.

Li Zhaoting smiled inwardly – he knew what Quan Feitong was thinking!

Quan Feitong might not love her much – mostly enjoying opposing Lian Yu – but which man could tolerate his wife speaking for his enemy?!

Fortunately, he had never gotten involved with her!

He didn’t like her, so she turned to Lian Yu. When Gu Xiluo returned and Lian Yu abandoned her, she fed blood in the cellar, wanting to reconcile with him. When he said he’d consider it without immediately agreeing, she turned to pledge loyalty to Quan Feitong.

He knew she loved him – otherwise she wouldn’t have risked her life in the cellar. But so what if she loved him? If he was unwilling to respond, she would seek affection from others. If she had been as self-respecting toward him as Gu Xiluo was toward Lian Yu, perhaps when they met in the palace that time, he would have agreed to her on the spot.

Throughout their journey, she had impressed him, and he had even praised her cleverness. He had already told her brother that if his great cause succeeded, though she couldn’t be the legitimate wife, he would give her a title and perhaps children. But she couldn’t wait.

He stood with hands behind his back, quietly watching the cold smile in Quan Feitong’s eyes, saying nothing. Chao Huang and his wife also didn’t dare speak much. Just then, they saw the steward hurrying over, stopping before Quan Feitong with a strange expression that somehow conveyed excitement.

Quan Feitong didn’t even lift his eyelids: “What is it?”

“Master, there’s a letter from the palace.”

“Our informant?”

“No, it’s from one of the Princess’s female guards, saying she was entrusted by Madam to deliver this letter.”

“Her letter?” Quan Feitong almost immediately jumped up.

The steward quickly pulled the letter from his chest and respectfully handed it to him.

Li Zhaoting’s heart tightened. Chao Huang and Wei Wuxia were also shocked – this Feng Suzhen could actually get the Princess to do things for her?!

Quan Feitong walked to one side and quickly unfolded the folded paper.

It contained only a few lines, extremely sloppy handwriting, yet each character was bold and eye-catching.

Treacherous Minister:

Greetings. Tomorrow, please have Chao Huang personally bring skilled fighters to the Huo mansion to rescue my imprisoned companions from the Court of Judicial Review. This way, I can no longer be constrained by that person in the palace. In the next two days, you need no informants or spies – you’ll naturally hear news of me in the palace. I will find a way to accomplish this. When the time comes, please enter the palace to receive me and bring me back. From then on, I will forever quietly accompany you by your side! As long as you don’t mind, don’t… fear.

Wife, Zhen.

Everyone watched from behind as his shoulders trembled slightly, growing more suspicious – what exactly did this letter from Feng Suzhen say?! Was this anger, shock, or… what?

“Senior brother, this letter—” Li Zhaoting’s suspicions grew, and he couldn’t help but inquire, but then saw Quan Feitong slowly turn around, his eyes bright as stars.