“Then do you know anyone who does?” Yan Yunning smiled sweetly.

Xuan Yanyu looked her up and down, his tone low and subdued. “Why would you think I do?”

Yan Yunning blinked her large eyes, her tone carrying a coaxing quality. “I’m just asking around, aren’t I? What if you do? So, do you or don’t you?”

“No.” The man’s throat bobbed up and down.

Yan Yunning’s composure cracked slightly, and she couldn’t help but snap, “Fine, if you don’t, you don’t.”

Petty man.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. Yan Yunning turned and walked away.

“She dares to snap at this palace?” Xuan Yanyu radiated a dangerous aura.

“Exactly, she’s far too bold. Your Highness, shall we teach her a lesson?” Ye Chen’s figure flickered, appearing beside Xuan Yanyu like a phantom.

Xuan Yanyu’s tone turned impatient. “Who asked for your meddling?”

Ye Chen’s mind turned it over. It must be because she is the elder Miss Yan’s sister, so His Highness is showing her favor by extension — he understood.

“Have Ye Jian bring the antidote for the Manzhu Xiang poison over.”

Ye Chen froze, a flicker of surprise crossing his face, momentarily unable to react.

His Highness wanted to help Yan Yunning? Was it because of Elder Miss Yan that he would help Yan Yunning?

Xuan Yanyu fixed him with a dangerous gaze.

Ye Chen felt a shiver run through his entire body under that stare. “Your Highness, I’ll go see to it at once.”

……

The County Magistrate’s residence.

Liu Sisi nestled softly in Chen Kai’s arms, the corners of her lips curved into a smile.

Bai Yue and Chen Ali sat on wooden chairs not far away.

“My Lord, I have thought long and hard about this — I wish to send Ali to live with my elder brother and sister-in-law.” Bai Yue’s expression carried a look of exhaustion, her breath faint.

“Nonsense.” Chen Kai’s expression changed abruptly, and he slammed his palm on the table.

His daughter, sent to be raised by someone else — what would the other officials think of him?

“My Lord, please calm your anger. Sister is probably confused from her illness.” Liu Sisi’s fingertips lightly hooked at the corner of Chen Kai’s robe, her voice delicate and soft.

Chen Kai patted Liu Sisi’s hand. “My Sisi is still the sensible one.” With that, his expression turned dark as he glared at Bai Yue. “Get back to your courtyard.”

Bai Yue bit down on her lip, and with a heavy thud, she knelt to the ground. She lifted her head, her eyes filled with pleading. “I beg my Lord to grant this.”

“Mother, please get up.” Chen Ali’s tears burst forth.

Bai Yue forced back the stinging in her eyes and turned to the maidservant Xiao Yu beside her, her voice hoarse. “Xiao Yu, take Ali away.”

“Mother, don’t beg them — don’t beg them for my sake.” Chen Ali was pulled along by Xiao Yu, her legs kicking wildly as she cried herself hoarse.

Bai Yue raised a hand to wipe away her tears, her voice choked yet as gentle as she could manage. “Ali, be good and listen.”

Liu Sisi rested weakly against Chen Kai’s shoulder, raising a hand to stroke his chest. “My Lord, look at them — how touching.”

Chen Kai let out a cold snort.

“My Lord, would you please go to the study? I have something to say to Sister.”

Chen Kai touched her face, puzzlement in his tone. “What do you have to say to her?”

“My Lord, it’s a secret.” Liu Sisi’s red lips curved slightly.

Chen Kai tilted his head back and laughed. “Well now, my Sisi is keeping secrets from her Lord.”

Liu Sisi hugged Chen Kai’s arm and wheedled, “Then could my Lord let Sister and me speak alone?”

“Of course, of course — I’ll settle accounts with you tonight.” Chen Kai tapped the tip of Liu Sisi’s nose.

Liu Sisi watched Chen Kai’s departing figure, her eyes dimming.

“Side Madam, the medicinal broth is ready.” A maidservant approached Liu Sisi respectfully.

Liu Sisi adjusted the robe that had slipped from her shoulder and took the medicinal broth from the maidservant’s hands. “All of you, leave.”

“Yes, Side Madam.” The maidservants dared not say another word and retreated one by one. The last maidservant to leave pulled the chamber door shut behind her.

Liu Sisi’s slender fingers pinched the rim of the medicine bowl. “Sister, this is the last dose — be good and drink it.”

“Can you spare Ali.”

Liu Sisi let out a lilting laugh, the sound saturated with desolation and mockery. “Spare Ali? Did your father spare us? The Liu Family — hundreds of souls, from top to bottom — all gone because of your father. What did they do wrong? Tell me, tell me — which one of them was not innocent?”

“But my father didn’t know at the time.” Bai Yue explained urgently.

Back then, her father had still been the Prime Minister, while Liu Sisi’s father had just taken up the post of Deputy General. When the two nations went to war, a map of the defense formations was leaked, and all fingers pointed to the Deputy General. Her father had submitted a memorandum to the Emperor.

Having lost the battle, the Qi Emperor flew into a towering rage and, without even conducting an investigation, ordered the Liu Manor to be ransacked and its members executed.

Liu Sisi had only survived because her mother had hidden her away.

Later, when her father learned the truth, he reported it to the Emperor — but it was already too late. Every last soul among the hundreds in the Liu Manor was gone.

Consumed by guilt, her father donated his entire fortune as penance. He suffered nightmares every single night, and within a few years he had passed away from illness. Her mother followed her father shortly after. Without its pillar, the once-great Prime Minister’s Manor collapsed into ruin almost overnight.

“Didn’t know? He didn’t know, yet he rashly submitted the report? What a pity for the hundreds of souls of my Liu Family. You can’t bear to lose your Ali — but my little sister was only five years old back then. She was just five.” A tear slipped from the corner of Liu Sisi’s eye.

“I’m sorry.” Bai Yue bit her lip, snatched the medicine bowl from Liu Sisi’s hand, and drank it down in one go.

“It’s not enough — just you alone is not enough. Not nearly enough.” Liu Sisi laughed until tears streamed down her face, her voice carrying a frenzied edge.

With a wet sound, Bai Yue coughed up a mouthful of blood. She held herself up with great effort, reaching out to grab the corner of Liu Sisi’s robe. “Spare Ali.”

“Sister, this is what you all owe me.” Liu Sisi wrenched her robe free with a forceful jerk.

“I… I want to see Ali one last time.” Bai Yue collapsed to the ground, her voice faint and carrying a faint tremor.

“Sister, it’s best you don’t. In that state, you would frighten her.” Liu Sisi gave a cold laugh.

“Sisi… do you know why I was willing to drink your broth?” Bai Yue smiled, her voice now barely audible.

“You weren’t willing? You couldn’t have escaped it anyway.” Liu Sisi stepped up onto the wooden chair, smiling with bewitching ease.

“That’s true. I am atoning for my father’s sins. But do you know? I am not actually the daughter of Prime Minister Bai. He took me in — and not only me. He took in many children who had nowhere else to go.” A trickle of blood seeped from the corner of Bai Yue’s mouth, her voice growing ever weaker.

“Sisi… what happened back then — it was the one and only mistake my father made in his entire life. He… he never intended it… Sisi… let go of your hatred. Live well. I can see that Chen Kai truly loves you.”

Bai Yue’s consciousness began to blur, her body curling into itself. She murmured faintly, “What a pity… I never got to see my Ali.”

A single unshed tear still hung at the corner of her eye as she lay there quietly, closing her eyes forever.

Liu Sisi’s legs gave way beneath her, and she crumpled heavily to the ground. Her trembling hands stroked the jade pendant at her waist. “He didn’t mean it — he was innocent. Does that mean I was not innocent? Does that mean I was wrong to seek revenge?”

……

“Are you sure your information is accurate?” Yan Yunning lay draped over the enclosure wall, craning her head to peer inside.

The courtyard, though plain, was swept clean. A cage held a few chickens inside, lending the small yard a warmth of everyday life, cozy and inviting.

“How could it be inaccurate? You must trust our High— our Young Master unconditionally.” Ye Chen stood with his arms crossed.