Early in the morning, Prince Jinying’s residence welcomed a special guest.

The visitor looked anxious and hurried, none other than Lu Zhu. Speaking of which, on the day Jiang Ruan entered the bridal chamber, Lu Zhu had gone to fetch some sobering soup for her, but when she returned, Jiang Ruan was nowhere to be found. She naturally didn’t know such events had occurred. After much difficulty finding Tianzhu, she was startled to see Tianzhu was injured, who only said Xiao Shao had sent people to rescue Jiang Ruan.

She had to care for Tianzhu while anxiously waiting until now. The person who came to fetch her said Jiang Ruan was unharmed at the residence, but Lu Zhu’s heart was still very worried. She only regretted not having wings growing from her back to immediately fly to Jiang Ruan’s side.

The vast Prince Jinying’s residence was built even larger than the Jiang residence. The maid who led the way pointed out the direction and left. Lu Zhu, entering such a grand residence for the first time, unknowingly got lost.

After much difficulty spotting someone ahead, Lu Zhu couldn’t care about anything else and hurriedly ran over, saying: “Young Master.”

Jin Er was lost in thought when suddenly he saw an anxiously-looking little maid running toward him. This maid looked unfamiliar, but smiled very sweetly and appeared quite well-behaved, seeming somewhat familiar. Jin Er thought she was a newly arrived maid from the residence, but calling him “Young Master” was rather strange.

Seeing this person staring straight at her, Lu Zhu thought, fairly speaking, Jin Er was quite handsome and could be considered a dashing young man. But he smiled like a rogue. Lu Zhu frowned but still asked: “Young Master, do you know where Miss Jiang from the Jiang residence is staying?”

When Lu Zhu asked this, Jin Er suddenly understood. He wondered why this little maid looked so familiar—she was one of the young madam’s personal maids. Thinking his master had a stuffy personality, it would be better to take a roundabout approach through the young madam’s side. He deliberately crossed his arms and looked at Lu Zhu with a roguish smile: “You mean the young madam? She’s staying with our young master.”

Lu Zhu’s attention focused entirely on Jin Er’s words “young madam,” not noticing that Jin Er called Xiao Shao “master.” She widened her eyes: “What young madam?”

Jin Er found Jiang Ruan cunning and ruthless, so how could this little maid beside her be so naive? With mischievous intent, he smiled: “They’re sleeping together—if not the young madam, what else? The young madam was drugged yesterday, and our young master personally helped her resolve it… Ouch!”

Jin Er deliberately spoke ambiguously, and just as he was getting excited, he unexpectedly received a kick from Lu Zhu. Lu Zhu had grown up in the marketplace and was different from those delicate maids in inner quarters. This kick was delivered with real force, hitting Jin Er’s vital area precisely. Jin Er cried out in pain, covering his lower body and glaring furiously at Lu Zhu.

Lu Zhu glared back without courtesy, cursing: “Bah! Perverted scoundrel! What nonsense are you spouting? If this young lady hears such filthy words again, be careful that thing in your pants never rises again!” After roaring at Jin Er like a lioness, Lu Zhu turned and stomped away angrily, leaving Jin Er standing alone in a daze.

He was wrong—he shouldn’t have thought the young madam’s maid would be easy to bully. How could the maid of someone like the young madam be easy to bully? Hiss—Jin Er drew in sharp breaths from the pain. As a minor leader of the Imperial Guards and Xiao Shao’s personal shadow guard, with his handsome appearance, usually only girls threw themselves at him. He never expected to fall to a little maid today! Damn girl, Jin Er ground his teeth—if he caught her again, he’d definitely teach her a proper lesson.

In the tree, Jin San and Jin Yi were cracking sunflower seeds while watching the show. Jin San said: “Courting death. Angering the young madam’s maid—Jin Er isn’t far from death now.”

Jin Yi’s face, identical to Jin Er’s, showed no expression change, as wooden as a stone. Jin San looked at him with disdain, thinking how twins with the same appearance could have such different temperaments. One never showed any expression, while the other was as frivolous as a street rogue.

Setting aside what happened with Lu Zhu, the “young madam” and “young master” from Jin Er’s mouth were not as intimately entwined as rumors suggested. Jiang Ruan sipped her lotus leaf honey water. Prince Jinying’s residence seemed accustomed to being quiet and had never had women visiting. Steward Lin searched for a long time before finding a cook who could make sweet water and several pastries.

Originally intending to please the future young madam, Jiang Ruan actually wasn’t used to eating such sweets. The servants of Prince Jinying’s residence were overly enthusiastic toward her. Though she kept people at a distance in her heart, she could only appear gentle on the surface.

Xiao Shao sat across from her. The morning air was naturally fresh, and the slanting sunlight illuminated his beautiful profile, seeming to gild it with a layer of golden light. The golden qilin embroidered on his black robe made him appear even more coldly elegant like jade. Even his manner of drinking tea revealed an elegance and nobility carved into his bones.

Some people, even doing nothing while sitting there, naturally attracted attention. Though Jiang Ruan had seen much of him these past days, she still couldn’t help but be slightly entranced by such beauty.

She lowered her head to sip the honey water—somewhat sweet—then looked at Xiao Shao: “The Xuan You affair was your doing?”

Xiao Shao nodded.

Jiang Ruan asked again: “You sent his head to Consort Chen?”

A flash of coldness passed through Xiao Shao’s eyes: “He brought it upon himself.”

Jiang Ruan rested her chin on the cup’s rim. Xiao Shao doing this was nothing more than venting anger for her. She carefully observed the young man before her. She had originally felt he had helped her greatly, but these past days the subtle feeling in her heart had grown increasingly strong. She was no fool—living a second life, if she couldn’t understand what that strange feeling in her heart was, she might as well have lived in vain.

Such a heaven’s favored son, helping her time and again—if this were her previous life, she probably would have already fallen. Unfortunately, their intersection was in this lifetime. Jiang Ruan felt slightly bitter in her heart. She had returned bearing hatred, destined to have blood-stained hands in this life. She didn’t even dare grow close to the Zhao family—how could she dare give her heart? In her previous life, she died too early and didn’t know what happened afterward. But Xiao Shao had always been the Emperor’s faction. When the Emperor died, Xiao Shao was still in the southern frontier. If Xiao Shao returned, how could Xuan Li let him go? In her previous life, she wondered what his final fate had been.

Thinking of this, Jiang Ruan unconsciously furrowed her brow tightly. Seeing her expression, Xiao Shao thought she was worried about Consort Chen’s affairs and softened his voice: “I’ve already arranged matters in the palace. You needn’t worry too much.”

Jiang Ruan came back to herself, her voice gentle: “Xiao Shao, you’ve helped me greatly, but Consort Chen and I are irreconcilable enemies in this life. I have my own methods—you needn’t interfere anymore.”

Xiao Shao was silent for a moment: “I understand.” He knew Jiang Ruan had many secrets. These secrets couldn’t be discovered even by the most excellent spies among the Imperial Guards. Though he was curious now, he didn’t want to pry. Everyone had secrets belonging to themselves. Jiang Ruan’s secret lay in her eyes always hiding a touch of darkness. That darkness was too profound—though well-concealed, occasionally it would unconsciously reveal traces, filling her entire being with murderous aura.

Last night when she was unconscious, she had also called out a name: Xuan Li.

Xiao Shao lowered his eyes, his long lashes concealing the emotions within. What grievance did she have with Xuan Li? Last night when Jiang Ruan was delirious, calling out that name, her tone was clearly sorrowful and indignant. He had ordered spies to investigate but found no grievance between Xuan Li and Jiang Ruan.

After a long silence, Xiao Shao said: “What do you plan to do?”

“Xuan You is already dead, and the Vice Minister’s residence and Jiang Li will reap what they sowed. Consort Chen expended so much effort staging this drama—how can I let her end it hastily?” A dark gleam flashed through Jiang Ruan’s eyes. Xiao Shao saw it and said: “If anything happens, I will always help you.”

“Thank you.” Jiang Ruan thanked Xiao Shao, thinking his move was indeed brilliant. With Xuan You’s death, all traces were erased. Though Jiang Li and the Vice Minister’s residence appeared to have saved their lives, the more this affair developed, the more people would be implicated, and the Vice Minister’s residence would find itself in increasingly dire straits. She wouldn’t sympathize with Jiang Li and Zuo Jiang—these two had wanted to harm her, so even death would be too light a punishment. The only one who hadn’t received punishment was Consort Chen. Since Consort Chen had such leisure to meddle in her affairs, how could she disappoint Consort Chen?

Jiang Ruan smiled coldly inwardly. She seemed not to have seen the holy monk Hui Jue for quite some time. However, he should now be called Imperial Preceptor.

In the General’s residence, Zhao Guang paced back and forth in his study. The sword on the wall was taken down one moment and hung back up the next. Zhao Yuanfeng said coolly: “Father, if you keep walking like this, I’m going to get dizzy.”

“What do you know!” Zhao Guang was looking for somewhere to vent his anger. Zhao Yuanfeng had walked right into it, immediately erupting: “Your nephew was drugged, and I can’t even take a few steps?!”

Zhao Yuanping couldn’t bear watching and said: “Father, why are you anxious? The person has been dealt with cleanly by Prince Xiao. Ruan girl wasn’t harmed in the slightest and is staying well at Prince Jinying’s residence. Why are you taking your anger out on Third Brother?”

A few days ago, Xiao Shao had someone deliver a message to the General’s residence. The messenger had explained the whole story, nearly making Zhao Guang grab his sword to hack down the Vice Minister’s residence and that debauched prince. But the messenger said to let Zhao Guang remain calm—everything was arranged by Xiao Shao. The next day, the Vice Minister’s residence had a scandal, and Third Prince’s residence was massacred.

Even using one’s toes, one could guess this was Xiao Shao’s doing. But Zhao Guang was still very unhappy: “Why should an outsider interfere in my family affairs? Besides, Ruan girl is an unmarried daughter—what’s the meaning of sending her to Prince Jinying’s residence? Yuanjia, go bring your nephew back!”

Zhao Yuanjia was inexplicably called upon by Zhao Guang and said helplessly: “Father, bringing Ruan’er back now wouldn’t that give people an opportunity? Since Prince Xiao helped Ruan’er, he won’t harm her.”

These past days, several unfamiliar pairs of eyes had been watching outside the General’s residence. The guards searched everywhere but couldn’t find them, thinking they must be spies, quite possibly targeting Jiang Ruan. Currently, everyone claimed Jiang Ruan was at the General’s residence. If they revealed any movements now, it would only be disadvantageous to Jiang Ruan and the entire General’s residence. Zhao Guang naturally understood this reasoning, but understanding was one thing, and heart dissatisfaction was another. Originally, Jiang Ruan was his Zhao family’s granddaughter, but the revenge was carried out by outsider Xiao Shao. Moreover, the attitude of the person who delivered the message that day—thinking about it made Zhao Guang feel stifled, as if Prince Jinying’s residence was Jiang Ruan’s real home and they, the General’s residence, were the bad people.

When Zhao Guang’s stubborn temper flared, he found Xiao Shao disagreeable no matter how he looked at him. Though grateful that Xiao Shao had saved Jiang Ruan at the crucial moment, he still felt indignant. He angrily said to Zhao Yuanjia: “What do you know? Who knows if that Xiao boy has designs on Ruan girl and harbors improper thoughts toward her? Ruan girl is young—what if she’s deceived?”

After all, Zhao Mei had been deceived by her poor judgment of character, ruining her entire life and involving a pair of children. This was forever Zhao Guang’s heartache.

Zhao Yuanping burst out laughing: “Father, Xiao Shao developing feelings for Ruan girl? Don’t say such things outside. Besides, could Ruan girl be deceived? It would be good if she doesn’t deceive others.”

Everyone in Great Jin knew Xiao Shao was naturally cold and didn’t approach women. Even if Jiang Ruan was stunningly beautiful, in Xiao Shao’s eyes she would be just another passerby. Moreover, with Jiang Ruan’s temperament—seemingly gentle on the surface but actually aloof and ruthless—Zhao Yuanping, following the Zhao family tradition, felt women should be like Zhao Mei: passionate and simple. Though Jiang Ruan was his nephew’s daughter, with such a temperament, men wouldn’t like her.

Of course, many years later, facts would prove that Zhao Yuanping, the Zhao family’s smartest strategist, also had moments of misjudgment. But for now, he still believed his thoughts were correct.

However, Zhao Guang was extremely protective of his family. Hearing Zhao Yuanping’s words, he became furious, heavily slapping the table and stretching his neck: “Are you still a Zhao family member or not? What’s wrong with Ruan girl? Ruan girl is excellent—that Xiao boy just hasn’t encountered someone as good as Ruan girl. Get lost!”

Zhao Yuanfeng finally grew impatient listening and stood up: “Father, now isn’t the time to quarrel with Big Brother and Second Brother. Prince Xiao’s matter can be discussed another day. Ruan girl suffered such grievances—shouldn’t we do something?”

“What can we do?” Zhao Guang became angry at the mention: “That Xiao boy already did everything!”

“Isn’t there still Consort Chen?” Zhao Yuanfeng reminded.

Zhao Guang frowned: “A palace woman—how can we interfere?” Though burning with anger, Consort Chen was in the inner palace. As a minister, he had no opportunity to act, and this matter couldn’t be publicized. He couldn’t think of any solution.

Zhao Yuanping snapped his fingers: “We can’t touch Consort Chen, but isn’t Minister Chen still around?” He smiled: “I think Consort Chen acts so recklessly because Minister Chen currently lives too arrogantly.”

Zhao Guang pondered for a moment and nodded: “Right, that old bastard—I’ve wanted to deal with him for a long time. Perfect opportunity to give him some color and show him the General’s residence isn’t easy to bully. You three sit properly—this matter is of great importance…”

A royal prince of a nation vanishing just like that, even if he was a worthless prince, still stirred considerable waves in court. The Emperor had never liked this son and didn’t show great sorrow. Empress Dowager Yide was rarely somewhat distressed, but it didn’t seem like she was heartbroken over this matter.

Jiang Ruan stayed at Prince Jinying’s residence for several days. After the commotion died down, instead of returning to the Jiang residence, Xiao Shao sent two people to escort her into the palace. Xiao Shao’s subordinates weren’t ordinary people, making this arrangement more secure.

Returning to the palace, she still went to pay respects to Empress Dowager Yide. Jiang Ruan pretended nothing had happened, but saw that Empress Dowager Yide appeared much more haggard. Seeing Jiang Ruan, Empress Dowager Yide seemed to remember something and asked: “I heard your third sister had such an incident on her wedding night. What exactly happened?”

Jiang Ruan shook her head: “Third Sister won’t say, so I don’t know the specifics either.”

The Empress Dowager shook her head and sighed. She naturally knew Jiang Ruan’s relationship with the Jiang family wasn’t very good. Initially at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, Jiang Quan hadn’t even sent a proper family letter. She had observed Jiang Ruan’s attitude toward the Jiang family—not warm, so maintaining cold distance now was natural.

“That Zuo Jiang, I also think he’s no good person, completely disrupting social order. If common people follow his example, won’t the world be in chaos?” Obviously, this matter was very serious in Empress Dowager Yide’s eyes. Though Empress Dowager Yide had stepped back from political affairs these years, the keen insight developed in earlier years remained. Zuo Jiang had already crossed Empress Dowager Yide’s bottom line. Regarding world affairs, Jiang Ruan wouldn’t discuss them before Empress Dowager Yide. After speaking for a while, Empress Dowager Yide seemed tired and took a rest first.

Jiang Ruan walked outside with Nanny Yang, asking: “Nanny, do you know why Imperial Grandmother is in low spirits?”

Empress Dowager Yide appeared quite downcast, rarely showing a somewhat aged and haggard appearance. Jiang Ruan didn’t think Empress Dowager Yide was lamenting Xuan You’s death. In fact, Empress Dowager Yide was a decisive person who had long been disgusted with Xuan You. The imperial decree allowing Xuan You to leave the palace early and establish his own residence was her decision.

Nanny Yang smiled: “Princess, perhaps the Empress Dowager has been somewhat tired recently, appearing listless. She’ll be better in a few days.”

This response was perfunctory. Jiang Ruan replied with a slight smile: “Is that so? Then please trouble Nanny Yang to care for Imperial Grandmother.”

“This servant doesn’t deserve such words from the Princess.” Nanny Yang was an old person beside Empress Dowager Yide and also greatly appreciated Jiang Ruan. Originally, Jiang Ruan had sacrificed herself to save the Empress Dowager but never mentioned it afterward. Getting along with her, she understood what should and shouldn’t be asked. The palace was most suitable for survival by clever people like her. Nanny Yang looked at Jiang Ruan with some admiration.

Jiang Ruan slightly lowered her eyes. Indeed, Empress Dowager Yide also had secrets. Currently, she hadn’t reached the level of intimacy to share secrets with Empress Dowager Yide. However, she wasn’t interested in others’ secrets. If Empress Dowager Yide didn’t speak, she wouldn’t ask further. Today she came for more important matters.

“Nanny Yang, many incidents occurred at home these past days, making me very uneasy. I heard the palace’s Buddhist hall can calm the mind and spirit. I’d like to go listen to some sutras.”

Since the Imperial Preceptor entered the palace several years ago, the Emperor had built a Buddhist hall in the palace for convenience. Usually, devout palace women often went to listen to Buddhist sutras, and the Emperor was pleased to see this.

Nanny Yang also knew about the events on Jiang Li’s wedding day and felt quite emotional. Princess Hong’an was appropriate and composed, intelligent and steady, but unfortunately born into the Jiang family. Though sisters from the same residence, how could they be so different? Thinking this, she smiled: “The Princess means the small Buddhist hall? It’s at the end of the South Garden. This servant will take the Princess there.”

Jiang Ruan smiled: “Thank you, Nanny.”