After speaking, Chun Yan hurriedly ran out of Qinghui Courtyard. Yinshuang, who was sitting in the room eating pine nut candy, saw Chun Yan leave and quickly stuffed the candy into her clothes before following.

The gatekeeper woman saw Chun Yan come out and approached with a fawning expression: “Miss Chun Yan!”

Chun Yan pulled the gatekeeper woman’s arm to a secluded spot, looked around to ensure no one was there, then said: “Is there some instruction from His Highness?”

“Master Tong says His Highness came personally. The carriage is waiting outside the side gate. His Highness wishes to see Eldest Miss once and asks Miss Chun Yan to speak well to Eldest Miss. His Highness wants to see Eldest Miss just once…” the gatekeeper woman said.

Chun Yan’s heart pounded wildly, her face flushing red with anxiety: “Isn’t His Highness severely injured? How did he come personally?! What if he catches a cold? How terrible that would be?!”

“This shows His Highness’s true feelings for Eldest Miss. Miss, quickly go inform Eldest Miss and have her come at once. In this freezing weather, if something happens to His Highness at our mansion’s gate, we truly cannot bear the responsibility!” the gatekeeper woman said.

“I understand!” Chun Yan’s heart was entirely devoted to Prince Liang, and she couldn’t help resenting Bai Qingyan. It was all because Eldest Miss had returned Prince Liang’s jade pendant that His Highness came anxiously despite his injuries. If something happened to His Highness, even if their Eldest Miss died ten thousand times, it wouldn’t be enough to atone.

Chun Yan was both angry and distressed, almost tearing the handkerchief in her hands to shreds as she turned and rushed frantically toward the main room.

Just as Chun Yan ran off, Yinshuang jumped down from the wall, startling the messenger woman. The woman pressed her chest and glared at Yinshuang, about to leave, when Yinshuang knocked her unconscious with one punch.

Yinshuang looked at the woman unconscious at her feet, hoisted her onto her shoulder, and entered Qinghui Courtyard.

“Eldest Miss! Eldest Miss!” Chun Yan hurriedly entered the main room, went around the brocade screen to see Bai Qingyan practicing calligraphy with sandbags wrapped around her wrists, and fell to her knees with a thud. “Eldest Miss, this servant knows Eldest Miss doesn’t like this servant mentioning Prince Liang, but yesterday Eldest Miss had this servant return Prince Liang’s jade pendant, and today Prince Liang came personally. His Highness is injured so severely he’s barely alive, yet for Miss’s sake, he still came to our Duke’s mansion! Miss… this servant begs you, His Highness has true feelings for you! Please see His Highness just once!”

Chun Yan kowtowed repeatedly, tears streaming down her face with genuine emotion. In both her previous and current lives combined, Bai Qingyan had never seen Chun Yan show such loyalty to her. Besides anger, what filled her heart more was desolation.

Outside the door, Chun Tao was about to lift the curtain and enter the main room when she saw Yinshuang carrying a woman inside. She was startled at first, then realized that Chun Yan had gone to meet Prince Liang’s people again and was caught by Yinshuang.

Yinshuang casually threw the unconscious woman on the ground and extended her hand with a smile to ask for candy: “Caught another one! Sister, candy…”

Chun Tao felt embarrassed, remembering how she had pleaded for this shameless Chun Yan before Eldest Miss that day, and immediately felt mortified.

She showed nothing on her face, reaching out to poke Yinshuang’s forehead: “You silly girl! Wait here!”

Chun Tao lifted the curtain and entered, glanced at Chun Yan prostrating on the ground, kowtowing, then quickly walked to Bai Qingyan’s side and whispered in a low voice: “Miss, Yinshuang knocked out another gatekeeper woman and carried her into the courtyard.”

Chun Yan didn’t know what Chun Tao had told Eldest Miss, only looked hopefully at Bai Qingyan, hoping she would go see Prince Liang: “Eldest Miss…”

From beginning to end, Bai Qingyan never looked at the continuously weeping Chun Yan. Only after finishing the last character did she set down her brush: “Perfect timing to catch her. Let’s use today to… clean house in the Duke’s mansion. Chun Tao, send Chun Xing to Mother’s courtyard to inform her, have Nanny Qin request Steward Hao, and arrange for all the managers and off-duty servants, and maids to gather in the front courtyard.”

Chun Tao bowed and hurried out to instruct Chun Xing.

Soon, Chun Tao returned carrying a copper basin of water, helping Bai Qingyan wring out a towel while asking: “Eldest Miss, this servant had Yinshuang carry that woman with Chun Xing to the heir’s wife’s courtyard. Will Miss go over?”

She nodded: “Mm, naturally I must go.”

Hearing this, Chun Yan quickly crawled forward on her knees, crying and pleading: “Eldest Miss, this servant begs you! Cleaning house can be done anytime, but seeing Prince Liang is urgent!”

“Chun Yan! You…” Chun Tao was startled. She thought Chun Yan was kneeling here to repent, but unexpectedly, she was begging Eldest Miss to go see Prince Liang.

Seeing Bai Qingyan remain completely indifferent, only methodically removing the sandbags from her wrists and gazing at the just-written calligraphy while flexing her wrists, Chun Tao became frantic. Her voice rose several degrees as she straightened her back and pointed accusingly at Bai Qingyan with hatred: “Eldest Miss! In this freezing weather, His Highness is still at the Duke mansion’s back gate. If something happens to him, can you bear the responsibility?!”

The four words “bear the responsibility” immediately made Bai Qingyan furious. Her sharp gaze pierced Chun Yan like knives, and the murderous aura from fighting through mountains of corpses and seas of blood was overwhelming, instantly frightening Chun Yan into a cold sweat with a chill down her spine.

“Bear responsibility?!” She threw the hand towel Chun Tao handed her onto the desk, blood rushing to her head.

“Chun Yan, are you possessed by a ghost! Or bewitched! Did Miss drag Prince Liang to wait at our Duke mansion’s backside gate in this heavy snow? What does our Miss need to bear responsibility for?! Miss is the unmarried daughter of the Duke’s mansion. Just because someone stands at the Duke mansion’s back gate, Miss must see them! What kind of reasoning is this? All the rules Nanny Tong taught have gone to the dogs!”

“How can it be the same?! That’s Prince Liang!” Chun Yan stiffened her neck and argued with Chun Tao, her heart aching at the thought of Prince Liang’s severe injuries.

Bai Qingyan was utterly disappointed in Chun Yan, suppressing her anger as she said: “Serving as a maid of the Duke’s mansion while having your heart with Prince Liang’s mansion! Chun Yan… how wronged you must feel! Today, the Duke’s mansion is cleaning house—go seek your future with Prince Liang!”

“This servant doesn’t mean that!” Chun Yan hurriedly kowtowed. “This servant… this servant is truly worried about Prince Liang’s health! Please show mercy, Eldest Miss! This servant has followed Miss since childhood and will follow Miss through all her life!”

She laughed coldly: “Follow me through all lives?! You dare say it, but I dare not accept… A maid who constantly arranges her master’s marriage affairs and coerces her master to meet outside men—I cannot bear such responsibility!”

“Miss! Miss! Chun Yan knows her mistake!” Only now did Chun Yan become frightened and cry out, trembling as she begged for mercy.

“Usually, Miss is lenient with you because of your young age, spoiling you until you don’t know your place, repeatedly using Miss’s name to entangle with outside men! Now you even dare coerce Miss to see Prince Liang… you’re trying to destroy Miss, Chun Yan!” Chun Tao cried with anger, wishing she could slap this fool awake.