Yan Yunning, somewhat annoyed, pinched his arm.

Outside the bedchamber doors, Xiao Wan — who had come to call them for the evening meal — withdrew her raised hand with a flushed face.

“Prepare a late-night supper and hot water.”

Judging by past experience, it would likely be the second half of the night before they were finished.

Xiaoyue gave a nod, and the two of them departed together from outside the chamber doors.

Remembering that the evening meal had yet to be taken, Xuan Yanyu dared not be too excessive. At the third quarter of the Hour of the Ox, he carried the freshly bathed girl to Qishan Hall.

The maidservants busily set out dishes upon gilded serving trays.

Yan Yunning nestled in Xuan Yanyu’s embrace, too exhausted and drowsy to keep her eyes open. If she had guessed correctly, the outside world was pitch black — it was likely around one or two in the morning.

Did they truly need to make up for the missed evening meal?

Would eating at breakfast tomorrow not suffice?

“Ningning, eat a little before sleeping.” The man’s low, husky voice carried a note of contentment.

“Xuan Yanyu — have you ever seen anyone with eyes they can barely keep open still sitting down to eat?” The girl’s voice was thick with drowsiness.

The serving maidservants and the cooks in the kitchen — who knew how they were cursing in their hearts.

“You need not open your eyes. This Crown Prince will feed you.” Xuan Yanyu reasoned with her gently. “Eat a little — otherwise you will not be able to wake for breakfast tomorrow.”

Yan Yunning turned her face to the side, pressing her cheek against his chest, and covered her ears with her hands, continuing to sleep.

Xuan Yanyu pressed his lips together. He should have waited until after the evening meal before being so carried away.

“Ningning?”

“Xuan Xixi — be quiet.” Yan Yunning murmured in a soft voice.

With no other recourse, Xuan Yanyu carried her back to the bedchamber.

The maidservants, seeing this, cleared away the freshly laid-out dishes and withdrew.

The following morning.

The Grand Commandant’s Manor.

Lu Jin’an crept stealthily through the wooden doors and, upon catching sight of Yu Zhi curled up on the soft couch, felt such heartache that tears welled in her eyes. “First Young Miss.”

“Nanny Lu, why have you come? If Su Rouqia discovers you are not at her side, she will punish you.” Yu Zhi merely glanced at Lu Jin’an before turning her face away, unwilling to let her see her wretched state.

“First Young Miss, this old servant has brought medicinal ointment. I will apply it for you and leave at once.” Lu Jin’an wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

The outside world all said that the Grand Commandant doted on the First Young Miss and was even searching for her younger brother on her behalf. In truth it was the opposite — the Grand Commandant doted on his concubine!

Her First Young Miss lived a bitter life. Had it not been for the fact that when the First Young Miss married, she had been sent by the Madam to attend to Yan Ruijing — and the Grand Commandant had never laid eyes on her — she truly would never have been able to slip into the Grand Commandant’s manor.

That very day they had just arrived in Xuanzhao, she had noticed the Grand Commandant’s concubine and found a way to have the woman take her in as a maidservant, intending to look in on the First Young Miss.

But upon entering the manor, she discovered that the First Young Miss’s life in the Grand Commandant’s manor was worse than that of the most lowly maidservant.

Nothing at all like what the outside world said!

She finally understood now why the Madam had been unwilling to let Little Lemon marry Xuan Yanyu. With the General gone and no family backing, she feared Little Lemon would be bullied in the Prince of Xuan’s Palace. But now Little Lemon was already Xuanzhao’s Crown Princess. Xuan Yanyu was sincere in his feelings toward her — the investiture of the Crown Princess alone had been tremendously grand, known throughout all of Xuanzhao, with a betrothal gift and dowry twice the customary amount. His Majesty Prince Xuan had personally traveled to Qilan to deliver the betrothal gifts and dowry — it was plain to see how greatly Xuan Yanyu valued Little Lemon.

Unlike the Grand Commandant, who had climbed to his current position by leaning on the General’s household and now treated the First Young Miss this way for the sake of his standing.

Little Lemon’s status was merely that of an officially-born daughter of Qilan’s Prime Minister’s manor — nothing that Xuan Yanyu could exploit. Xuan Yanyu’s feelings for Little Lemon were genuine; the situation the Madam had feared would not come to pass. And she no longer had the means to separate them even if she tried.

What was more, Little Lemon’s position could help the First Young Miss escape from the Grand Commandant’s manor. The First Young Miss had been raised before her eyes from childhood — beautiful and talented. And yet now she had been reduced to this frail, sickly state.

These past few nights she had lain awake, too troubled to sleep. She was deeply grateful that Little Lemon was now Xuanzhao’s Crown Princess.

“No need, Nanny. Go back quickly.” Yu Zhi forced a smile.

“First Young Miss.” Lu Jin’an lifted her sleeve, revealing the woman’s arm — mottled with bruises from a fall, the wrist so slender that it could be encircled in a single hand. To think the Grand Commandant’s wife had wasted away to such a state.

Lu Jin’an shed tears as she gently applied the ointment.

“Nanny Lu… I miss Mother.” Yu Zhi raised her hand to cover her lips, not daring to cry aloud.

Seeing Nanny Lu made her think of her mother.

When her father was alive, he had been Xuanzhao’s great general. Her younger sister had been personally selected by His Majesty Prince Xuan as Crown Princess. Suitors had come to her in numbers too great to count.

Back then, the man who was now the Grand Commandant had done everything to please her. He would have agreed to any outrageous demand she made.

He had even pried open the icy waters of a river in a snowstorm to catch fish for her — all because she had said in passing, “I so wish I could eat fresh fish.” His arm had been purpled with cold for days, without feeling for a long while afterward. In that moment she had resolved that she would marry this man.

Her father had disapproved of him, yet in the end agreed to her wishes. Her father had said — so long as he was there, the man who was now the Grand Commandant would not dare mistreat her.

But later her father and mother both departed. Her younger sister went missing. Then her younger brother disappeared as well. A new great general of Xuanzhao was soon appointed by His Majesty Prince Xuan.

And the man who was now the Grand Commandant became a different person. At first, without letting her notice, he had someone slip a contraceptive decoction into her food. Later he openly had maidservants bring the decoction for her to drink. She had secretly spat it out once — she had carried a child in her womb, wanting someone to lean on in the years ahead. But when he found out, he personally fed her an abortifacient.

From that time on, she never again secretly discarded the contraceptive decoction.

Thinking of that child, Yu Zhi’s nasal passage burned with an ache so sharp it nearly stole her breath.

And even so, before others he still maintained the facade of a doting husband who bore her no resentment for having no children. She despised him, yet had no means of fighting back — for the Grand Commandant had promised to help her search for her younger brother.

Since the outside world already spoke of the Grand Commandant helping her search for her brother, that Grand Commandant who prized his reputation would surely put genuine effort into the search. That had been her purpose in deliberately spreading the rumor in the first place.

“First Young Miss — do not cry. This old servant will take you away from the Grand Commandant’s manor. We will live well from then on.” Lu Jin’an’s voice trembled, her heart constricting with anguish.

Compared to Little Lemon, it was the First Young Miss she grieved for more deeply. She had watched the First Young Miss grow from childhood — the Madam would not blame her for this. The First Young Miss was her child too; she would not fault her for allowing Little Lemon to marry Xuan Yanyu.

“We cannot leave. Nanny — the Grand Commandant has built up this image of himself in public precisely because he fears censure from the ministers. After all, my father still has many colleagues and friends at court. He will not let me go.”

“If I flee from the manor on my own, where would we run? If discovered, what would the outside world say? They would say I am ungrateful — for the Grand Commandant has put on such a convincing performance.” Yu Zhi closed her eyes and broke into open weeping.

It would also tarnish her father’s name. Such a good Grand Commandant — and she had run away. People would say she did not know what was good for her, that her father had raised a daughter without sense.

She should have listened to her father.

She should have listened to her father…

To leave, she had to strip away the Grand Commandant’s mask. But she could not do so now. If she tore off his mask at this moment — who would help her search for her brother?

“We can. We can leave — and when the time comes, the Grand Commandant will be on his knees before you, begging you not to go.” Lu Jin’an dried her tears with a handkerchief. “First Young Miss — it will be possible to leave very soon.”

She would find a way to see Little Lemon. Once she saw Little Lemon and explained the situation, the First Young Miss could be freed from the Grand Commandant’s manor.

With Little Lemon’s current standing, someone of her own rank would likely never gain an audience. She could only wait.