Everyone in the room turned their heads toward the source of the voice.

They saw Gong Shilin had appeared at the doorway at some point.

As he spoke, he had already walked inside.

His expression was calm. Walking into the room, he said earnestly to Natuo: “The item in your hand is mine.”

“Yours?” Natuo clearly didn’t believe him.

“I probably accidentally dropped it somewhere when I came to see you before, but I never expected the Princess Consort would pick it up.” His tone was flat, revealing no trace of deception.

“Are you telling the truth?”

“When have I ever lied to you?”

“But I’ve never seen you carry this thing before. Moreover, this is medicine—you’re not injured. Besides, this bottle is obviously not from our Huyi, so how could it be yours?”

One question after another, all filled with doubt!

Gong Shilin explained unhurriedly: “This item indeed does not belong to Huyi. I obtained it from a physician from Da Lin, who said it was excellent golden wound medicine, so I paid for it. To be prepared for any eventuality, I’ve kept it on me, but I never told you about it, so naturally you wouldn’t know.”

His answer was methodical and well-reasoned!

No flaws could be found.

Natuo was somewhat skeptical, but in the end he still released Jing Xuan.

Actually, it would be more accurate to say he forcefully flung her aside!

Jing Xuan’s body lost its balance and immediately tumbled from the bed onto the floor.

Half of the blanket was pulled down with her.

She lay there limply, utterly disheveled.

Yet not a single person reached out to help her.

More precisely, they didn’t dare to help!

How ridiculous! She bore the title of Third Princess Consort, yet had now fallen to such a state.

She was even less than a servant girl.

Amid her bitter smile, she struggled to lift her eyes toward the man who had come to rescue her.

She knew of him, but wasn’t familiar with him.

She only knew he was Gong Shilin, son of Left Prime Minister Gong!

He was good friends with Natuo.

Jing Xuan had seen him twice before.

Once was catching a distant glimpse of him, and the other was their previous encounter in the corridor.

Natuo looked at Gong Shilin, frowning. “Shilin, you know I trust you and cannot tolerate you lying to me. I’ll ask you one more time—is this bottle truly something you dropped?”

“I’ve already stated it very clearly. This bottle is indeed mine. If you don’t believe me, you’re welcome to go to my residence and inquire.”

“You…” Natuo’s words reached his lips but he swallowed them back. How could he actually investigate? He and Gong Shilin had been good friends for many years—if he made a big fuss over this matter, wouldn’t that clearly show their friendship was superficial?

And Gong Shilin had calculated precisely this point, which was why he dared to speak this way.

Facts proved he had bet correctly.

Natuo indeed didn’t pursue the matter. Instead, he handed the bottle to him while saying: “You really are something, not keeping track of your own things. It’s fortunate this is just an ordinary bottle of medicine. If you lost something else important, where would you find it?”

Gong Shilin smiled: “I’ll be more careful.”

“It’s just that some people treated this item as a treasure. If one didn’t know better, they’d think you gave it to her as a love token.”

His words carried implications.

Gong Shilin pretended not to understand.

He simply placed the bottle into his sleeve, as if the item truly belonged to him.

Natuo couldn’t detect any trace of deception or panic on his face, and wondered if perhaps he himself had been overthinking things.

Just as he was about to speak—

Someone arrived from the palace!

They said the King of Huyi had suddenly fallen gravely ill and had coughed up blood upon rising this morning.

Upon hearing this, Natuo set aside other matters and rushed to the palace.

After all, with no heir apparent established, if the King of Huyi suddenly passed away, the court would be thrown into turmoil. Therefore, who was present at the emperor’s deathbed was extremely important.

But before leaving, he didn’t forget to remind Gong Shilin: “I’m heading to the palace first. If Father King is all right, remember what I told you—I’m hosting a banquet at my residence tomorrow evening. You must come.”

“I know.”

Natuo was about to leave, but glanced once more at Jing Xuan, who was still in her disheveled state on the floor, his eyes full of disgust. He instructed the kneeling servant girls: “Clean this up quickly.”

“Yes.” The servant girls responded in unison.

After he left, the girls finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Gong Shilin didn’t leave. He couldn’t concern himself with propriety or the principle of men and women maintaining appropriate distance. Before the servant girls could act, he lifted Jing Xuan from the floor and gently placed her on the bed.

Taking this opportunity, he pressed the small bottle into her hand.

He said softly: “Returning it to its rightful owner!”

Jing Xuan clutched the medicine bottle tightly in her palm, tucking it under the blanket before the servant girls approached and discovered it.

“Thank you,” she said softly as well.

“Just a small effort.” As Gong Shilin spoke, he stepped back a few paces and cupped his hands. “Thank you, Princess Consort, for finding my item.”

Jing Xuan followed his lead: “Just a small effort.”

“Then I won’t disturb the Princess Consort’s rest any longer. I take my leave.”

With those words, he had already turned and departed!

Jing Xuan gazed at his retreating figure, her heart a jumble of emotions.

She had thought this person would be as cruel and ruthless as Natuo. Who would have imagined he would save her today?

This kindness—she would remember it.

After leaving the Prince’s residence, Gong Shilin sat in his carriage on the way back, his gaze fixed continuously on the curtain before him.

The wind gently lifted the curtain.

It revealed glimpses of the scene outside, visible yet obscured.

Heavy snow was still falling, occasionally drifting inside!

His vision gradually focused as his thoughts suddenly drifted back to a year ago.

That day, the Third Prince was getting married.

Nearly all the officials of renown at court had come!

And among the crowd was he, Gong Shilin.

He would never forget that day.

A woman dressed in red wedding robes emerged from the sedan chair. A gentle breeze drifted past, lightly lifting the red bridal veil on her head.

That exquisite face hidden beneath appeared and disappeared.

Perhaps it was fate—when the bride passed before him, the cold wind grew even stronger, lifting her red veil even higher!

Though it was only a fleeting moment!

But in that instant, he saw the woman’s features.

Just one glance, yet it was engraved in his heart!

Never forgotten.

When they met in the corridor before, he had almost been unable to restrain the excitement in his heart.

That was one year later, when he saw that woman again.

There was joy, there was heartache, but more than anything, there was regret!

Thinking of this, he smiled bitterly.

Some things in this world are simply that way—what’s missed is missed.

And he must bury this budding emotion in his heart.

Otherwise, the consequences would be unthinkable.

With this thought, his heart grew even heavier.

Yet also somewhat difficult to let go.

The servant driving the carriage outside suddenly turned back and asked through the curtain: “Young Master, which way should we go now? Return to the residence or go to the palace?”

He had previously told Natuo he would return to the Hanlin Academy to handle matters later.

And the Hanlin Academy was located within the palace.

Gong Shilin thought for a moment. Natuo had already entered the palace—they might inevitably run into each other when leaving.

So he said: “Let’s return to the residence first.”

“Yes!”

The carriage slowly moved forward, heading toward the Gong residence.