Nayan returned to his residence, unable to forget Zhao’er, constantly thinking of her in his heart.

He summoned the steward and asked, “Go and investigate—has the Duke’s youngest daughter already been married off?”

Although he was a prince and needed only one word for Zhao’er to become his “prize possession,” how could he force the matter when cherishing beauty had been a virtue since ancient times?

The steward replied, “Yes.”

He added a reminder, “But do not make any noise about it.”

“Understood.”

The steward withdrew.

Nayan sat alone in the room, his heart filled with longing.

Zhao’er’s appearance was deeply imprinted in his mind.

He could not forget for a long time!

His mouth repeatedly murmured, “Zhao’er, Zhao’er… how interesting!”

…

At the Third Prince’s Residence, in the evening.

In a remote, dilapidated courtyard, in an inconspicuous corner, a faint orange-red glow and wisps of white smoke emanated.

From afar, one could smell the scent of burning spirit money.

Drawing closer, one could see a woman dressed in a white long gown with loose, flowing hair kneeling on the ground. She held a stack of joss paper in her hand, with a fire basin placed before her.

Though her face appeared calm, her eyes gazed sorrowfully at the burning flames before her.

Then she placed joss paper into it.

Soon, someone discovered her.

Three little maidservants ran over hurriedly toward the firelight.

They saw the Princess Consort kneeling before the fire basin.

They were frightened on the spot!

“Princess Consort, you…”

“Hurry and put it out, put it out!”

“If the Prince finds out, it will be terrible.”

The maidservants were extremely worried.

Walking up to Jing Xuan, they tried to pull her up.

“Princess Consort, let’s hurry and leave.”

If this had been before, Jing Xuan would certainly have been dragged away by the few of them.

But just as the maidservant’s hand barely touched her arm—

“Insolent!”

Eh!

Her voice was extremely stern.

Carrying a fierce edge.

The maidservant’s hand immediately withdrew, her eyes widening greatly.

Filled with surprise and confusion.

She froze.

Then they saw Jing Xuan throw all the remaining spirit money in her hand into the fire basin before slowly rising.

Her originally calm face became increasingly resolute and fierce.

The maidservant sensed something was wrong with her manner and retreated a step, moving her lips, “Princess Consort…”

Before she could finish speaking, what greeted her was a resounding slap.

“Smack!”

The five-finger imprint marked the maidservant’s face.

It struck her face with burning pain.

“You…” The maidservant couldn’t believe it.

Accompanying it came another slap.

Jing Xuan’s arm descended twice, her palm seeming to burn like fire—one could see how heavy these two slaps were.

Her delicate brows furrowed tightly together.

“I am the Third Princess Consort—how dare you address me with such familiarity?”

“…”

Another maidservant suddenly said, “Princess Consort, we were trying to help you. If the Prince sees you burning spirit money here, at that time surely…”

Before these words were finished, Jing Xuan raised her hand and slapped that maidservant across the face.

Three slaps in succession completely stunned the several maidservants.

What was wrong with the Princess Consort today?

She seemed completely different from before!

As if she had become a different person.

Jing Xuan said, “Since you follow me, I am your master. Your lives are also held in my hands. Even if I am not favored, the Prince would still listen to my words.”

“…”

Her gaze wandered over the several maidservants as she continued, “The Prince said I was not permitted to leave the dilapidated courtyard, yet now I have still come out. Think about it—if the Prince were to find out, would your lives be spared?”

“Princess Consort…”

“If you want to live, you must listen to me. And if you dare to secretly report my affairs to the Prince, the consequences… will not be as simple as just slapping your faces.”

The several maidservants were truly frightened.

After a long silence—

They all knelt on the ground together, “Yes, we will obey everything the Princess Consort says.”

Very docile.

Jing Xuan’s cold eyes narrowed as she said, “You may all withdraw. I will return on my own shortly.”

“But…”

“I do not wish to repeat myself.”

The maidservants exchanged glances with each other, worried in their hearts.

Jing Xuan said, “Did you not hear what I just said? Moreover, with the residence so heavily guarded now, there is no way I could escape anyway.”

Indeed!

So—

The maidservants responded, “Yes.”

They knelt on the ground without moving.

Jing Xuan then turned and left.

The maidservants watched her retreating figure and whispered among themselves.

“What do you think has happened to the Princess Consort?”

“How would I know?”

“Just now, her gaze truly frightened me. Did you see it?”

One maidservant covered her own face, looking aggrieved, “More than just seeing it? Didn’t I also receive two slaps on my face?”

So pitiful.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

The maidservant beside her also said, “I also received a slap on my face!”

How pitiful indeed!

They had never experienced Jing Xuan’s former ruthlessness.

For the sake of justice, Jing Xuan could rebel against her own brother, even going so far as to personally poison her own mother consort to death.

This kind of ruthlessness was not something ordinary people possessed.

The maidservant who hadn’t been struck then looked at the fire basin still burning with flames and quickly said, “We should still hurry and put out the fire, or it will be bad if we attract the residence guards.”

“Right, right, right, hurry up.”

The three of them busied themselves.

“Who do you think the Princess Consort is honoring?”

“This… I’m not clear.”

…

In the days since Natuo had overseen Gongshi Lin’s execution, he had been in a state of bewilderment and dejection.

It had already been three days since he had gone to the palace to visit the King of Huyi.

He shut himself in his room, continuously drinking for several days.

The pain of being betrayed by his brother, mixed with the pain of watching his brother die before his own eyes—that feeling surged toward his chest, as if someone were strangling his neck, making it difficult to breathe.

It was also like ten thousand ants gnawing at his chest, yet he didn’t know how to scratch?

He was nearly on the verge of collapse.

Outside the Prince’s residence, the lanterns were bright red, and everything appeared no different from usual.

But inside the Prince’s chamber, it was pitch dark.

The large red wooden door was tightly closed.

The maidservants and servants in the residence delivered meals on schedule, but when they went to deliver the next time, the previous meals remained completely untouched—however they were brought in was exactly how they were brought out. The only change was that the dishes went from hot to cold.

And the only words Natuo said were “bring wine.”

If anyone tried to offer even one more word of advice, he would immediately throw wine bottles.

He even smashed everything in the room that could be smashed, and nearly took the lives of several servants.

Therefore, no one dared to advise him anymore!

As long as Natuo asked for wine, they would immediately send several bottles into the room.

From three days ago until today, it had never stopped.

Inside the room, it was a complete mess.

Looking in by the faint light, one could clearly see objects smashed everywhere, and wine bottles lying askew in all directions.

Natuo’s body slouched limply with his back against the bed, both hands hanging on the ground—one hand spread open, the other gripping an empty wine bottle.

His face was covered with stubble.

His clothing was disheveled.

His topknot tilted to one side.

He was completely in a state of utter degradation—even more terrible than when Bai Yin had been drunk before.