The wind in the forest stopped, making it even quieter.

The bright moon hung in the sky, casting down its clear frost-like light.

Luo Sheng came back to her senses in that warm, dry embrace.

Coming back to her senses, she stopped her tears and regained her rationality.

She firmly pushed the man away, as if that warm, broad embrace wasn’t worth a moment’s attachment.

“I would trouble Your Highness to help me bury her properly.”

If there ever came a day when she achieved her great revenge, she would return to bring Zhaohua back home.

Back to Nanyang City, which belonged to them.

If that day never came, then let Zhaohua rest here, because by then she wouldn’t even know where she herself would be buried.

The dug-up soil was scattered back onto the grass mat, covering that hand that hadn’t been properly covered.

Luo Sheng reached out to pull the grass mat, her ice-cold fingertips touching the equally cold bracelet. She paused for a moment, then gently removed the bracelet.

This pair of bracelets had confined Zhaohua for twelve years—let them not confine her anymore.

Walking out of the dense forest, the world instantly opened up.

Luo Sheng looked back with a glance and said calmly, “Let’s go.”

Wei Han walked silently by her side.

After walking for some time, Luo Sheng turned her head to look at him: “Isn’t Your Highness curious about my relationship with Court Lady Yu?”

This man’s silence was bewildering.

Wei Han gazed at those pitch-black eyes and felt the impulse to embrace her again.

Miss Luo was so heartbroken—did he really need to ask about her relationship with Court Lady Yu?

If it were him… he probably wouldn’t let Miss Luo be this sad.

Wei Han didn’t know why this thought suddenly occurred to him.

“If Miss Luo wants to speak of it, you will naturally say so.”

If he were to ask, there were many things he wanted to ask.

For instance, why Miss Luo appeared at the old residence of Prince Zhennan’s mansion, why the disfigured woman he saw there became Miss Luo’s cook, why Miss Luo shot and killed Prince Pingnan…

However, if getting to the bottom of these matters would cause Miss Luo displeasure and wariness, then he wouldn’t ask.

Luo Sheng walked forward for a long while before saying softly, “Thank you, Your Highness.”

Wei Han hesitated for a moment, then said, “Miss Luo, you can call me by my name.”

Luo Sheng’s tone turned cold: “No, it’s more appropriate to call you Your Highness.”

Wei Han returned to silence.

Was his name really not easier to say than “Your Highness”?

He actually thought “Shengsheng” sounded better than “Miss Luo.”

The two walked in silence for a long while. Luo Sheng’s footsteps paused: “Your Highness’s estate is in that direction.”

“I’ll escort you back.”

Luo Sheng refused: “There’s no need to trouble yourself. We can part ways here.”

Wei Han shook his head, his tone firm: “I will escort Miss Luo back to where I took her from.”

From beginning to end—only then could he feel at ease.

Seeing his resolute expression, Luo Sheng no longer insisted.

On this night, she had no mood to insist on anything.

The estates connected together in a continuous stretch. The red lanterns hanging under the eaves had not yet been extinguished, dimly illuminating the path.

Standing in the quiet little courtyard, Luo Sheng stopped: “Your Highness, please return.”

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow.” Wei Han looked at her deeply, then lightly leaped onto the wall.

His movement was so effortless that it would make all households with daughters wish they could plant a patch of cacti on their walls.

Luo Sheng went directly to the side room.

Xiu Yue was resting in the side room—she definitely wouldn’t be asleep at this hour.

Her unusual behavior still needed an explanation for Xiu Yue.

Luo Sheng knocked softly on the door. She had only knocked twice when the door opened.

She walked in, her clothes and hands both stained with mud.

Xiu Yue called out softly: “Princess—”

Her tone carried an involuntary tremor.

She wasn’t clever, but she wasn’t a fool either.

She hadn’t seen Zhaohua yesterday, and today the Princess was so unusual—Zhaohua must have encountered some trouble.

“Princess, has Zhaohua run into trouble?”

Luo Sheng remained silent.

“Was she made difficult by some noble, or was she placed under house arrest because associating with us exposed her identity—”

“Zhaohua is dead.”

Xiu Yue froze, looking at Luo Sheng in disbelief: “Princess, what are you saying?”

Luo Sheng’s eyelashes trembled as she said softly, “Xiu Yue, Zhaohua is dead—killed by Wei Qiang.”

Xiu Yue retreated in panic, shaking her head repeatedly: “Impossible, impossible—just the day before yesterday she was fine—”

Luo Sheng sat down, her voice chillingly cold: “It should be because of me.”

“Princess!” Hearing Luo Sheng say this, Xiu Yue’s expression changed immediately. “You mustn’t think that way.”

Luo Sheng laughed self-mockingly: “I’m not blaming myself randomly, but making a reasonable deduction. Zhaohua followed Wei Qiang for twelve years and was brought to Beihe by him, which shows she was favored. So what circumstances would make Wei Qiang strike so ruthlessly?”

Xiu Yue was rendered speechless by the question, her mind filled entirely with the news of Zhaohua’s death.

“I think it must be that Zhaohua discovered Wei Qiang had become suspicious of you and me, forcing her to desperately take the risk of trying to eliminate Wei Qiang.”

“Why didn’t she just endure it a bit longer—” Xiu Yue’s face was already covered in tears, but she couldn’t finish her complaint.

If it were her, if she detected the Princess was in danger, she wouldn’t be able to endure it for even a moment either.

Luo Sheng closed her eyes, her voice trembling slightly: “Xiu Yue, Zhaohua used her death to warn us.”

Whether the assassination of the Crown Prince succeeded or failed, only one path remained for Zhaohua: death.

She was heartbroken, but from a certain perspective, she could understand Zhaohua’s choice.

Among the four maids, Zhaohua was actually the most proud. Those years of submitting to a beast must have been a living hell every single moment.

Therefore, when Zhaohua gave her the bracelet, she had asked Zhaohua to walk this path with her.

Zhaohua had agreed, but the willpower that supported her determination to stay alive was actually gone. So when she discovered Wei Qiang might pose a threat to her or Xiu Yue, she resolutely made this choice.

Rather than calling it impulsive, it was better to say it was calmly facing death, seeking liberation.

“She was too foolish, really too foolish…” Xiu Yue murmured, repeating this phrase over and over.

Luo Sheng sat quietly, listening to her vent.

Xiu Yue finally broke down. In this quiet courtyard late at night, she covered her face and wept.

“Princess, this servant hasn’t even had the chance to call her Sister Zhaohua…”

Her Sister Shufeng, Sister Zhaohua, and Sister Jiangxue were all dead.

Her fiancé Yang Zhun was also dead.

Then what about the Princess? Could her Princess, who had returned from the dead, truly reach the end of that road unharmed?

At this moment, Xiu Yue seemed to plunge into an abyss of fear, trembling all over.

A hand gently patted her back.

“Xiu Yue.”

Xiu Yue lowered her hand and stared blankly at Luo Sheng.

Luo Sheng’s expression was calm: “Don’t be afraid.”

“Princess, I’m afraid for you—”

Luo Sheng smiled: “Then there’s even less need to be afraid. I’ve become Miss Luo, and every day I’ve lived is earned. Every bit of justice I’ve claimed back from those beasts is also earned. We only gain, we don’t lose. Don’t you agree?”

Xiu Yue nodded forcefully: “The Princess is right.”

“From now on, don’t call me Princess anymore.”

Xiu Yue froze.

“From now on, even when there’s no one around, you should call me Miss, and I’ll call you Xiu Gu. Wei Qiang may have detected something and might be watching us. Be careful of walls having ears.”

Princess Qingyang and her maids Feng, Hua, Xue, and Yue would remain in her heart.

From now on, whether in public or private, she was only Miss Luo.