“No compensation?” Yan Shiyao sniffled.

Qi Qingchen looked at her with a meaningful gaze, chuckling softly, “What do you want?”

Yan Shiyao’s shoulders trembled as she wept, and she murmured quietly, “Would it be possible… to see my mother?”

She knew that Qi Qingchen was her last resort. She couldn’t make demands of him directly — she could only take it one step at a time.

The man’s throat bobbed as he gave a good-natured nod.

Only by seeing what Chu Wantang looked like now would she behave herself.

Yan Shiyao’s brow twitched slightly. She hadn’t expected Qi Qingchen to agree.

After all, back in Xuanzhao, she had infuriated him to the point where he had glared at her the entire time, even telling her not to come begging him for favors in the future.

“Go change your clothes.” Qi Qingchen glanced at Yan Shiyao with a faintly disdainful look.

Yan Shiyao obediently let out an “Oh,” then cast a pained glance at the food that had fallen into the flower bed, rubbing her stomach. She was so hungry…

“After you’ve changed, come to the dining hall for a meal,” Qi Qingchen said indifferently.

Yan Shiyao’s eyes suddenly lit up. She deliberately curved her lips into a beautiful smile, both eyes gazing at Qi Qingchen with warmth, her smile radiant and bright.

The man exhaled, his voice low and slightly hoarse. “Why aren’t you going to the bedchamber to change already?”

Yan Shiyao pursed her lips, turned her head, and slowly made her way toward the bedchamber.

Qi Qingchen: “…?”

“Your Highness.” Jiang Jin stepped forward and approached Qi Qingchen, her eyes downcast with a drowsy look. “Zhuqing didn’t do it on purpose.”

Qi Qingchen’s expressionless eyes settled on her. “Don’t go looking for trouble with her. You have three months left before you give birth — take good care of yourself.”

“Your Highness, this concubine didn’t…”

“Silence.” Qi Qingchen cut her off impatiently. “Yan Shiyao was crouching beside the flower bed. Are you suggesting that Yan Shiyao beckoned Zhuqing over herself and had her own food bowl knocked over?”

Jiang Jin’s face turned ashen. The hand resting on her abdomen tightened. She had no desire whatsoever for His Highness to discover her wicked intentions…

——

On a still and quiet night, the maidservants went about tidying the bed with unchanged expressions.

Just as the night before, Yan Shiyao was still resting in Qi Qingchen’s bedchamber.

The following morning, the maidservant Xiao Chun followed Qi Qingchen’s instructions and brought Yan Shiyao her medicinal decoction. Yan Shiyao asked nothing, and obediently drank it down to the last drop.

After finishing the medicine, she laughed with bitter irony. If she were still the eldest young lady of the Chancellor’s residence, Qi Qingchen would have been overjoyed for her to carry his child. But now, if she were to become pregnant, he would surely be terrified.

He feared she would use the child to coerce him into rescuing her mother…

At that thought, a subtle flicker crossed Yan Shiyao’s calm and composed eyes. If Qi Qingchen had no intention of helping her, then perhaps this too could be a way.

“Eldest Young Lady Yan, His Highness has instructed this servant to bring you a medicinal ointment. Would you like this servant to help apply it?” Xiao Chun asked respectfully.

Yan Shiyao’s face flushed red. She took the ointment and stammered, “N-no… that won’t be necessary.”

Xiao Chun nodded. “Eldest Young Lady Yan, please freshen up and go have your morning meal. After His Highness returns from court, he will take you to the imperial prison.”

“Alright.” Yan Shiyao stood up with excitement — only to cry out in pain and crumple back into the sandalwood chair.

“Eldest Young Lady Yan, are you alright?” Xiao Chun noticed that Yan Shiyao’s eyes had turned red at the rims and said with concern, “Eldest Young Lady Yan, are you feeling unwell? This servant will go fetch the physician to examine you.”

“No need.” Yan Shiyao shook her head with a smile.

The sweeter the smile on her face, the deeper the hatred for Qi Qingchen burning in her heart!

“Then this servant shall take her leave.” Xiao Chun smiled faintly and withdrew from the bedchamber.

——

After finishing her morning meal, Yan Shiyao stood at the entrance of the residence, waiting for Qi Qingchen to return from court.

At a quarter past the Hour of Si, a carriage slowly came to a halt before the gates. Wu’an lifted the cotton curtain. Qi Qingchen raised his eyes and saw Yan Shiyao idly kicking at the ground. He had not yet stepped down from the carriage when Yan Shiyao spotted him and came trotting over.

“Qi Qingchen, are we leaving?” she asked, her voice bright and sweet.

The man raised an eyebrow slightly. “Did you think this Highness deliberately came back to fetch you?”

Yan Shiyao bit her lip. “Then… then, when will we go?”

Hadn’t Xiao Chun told her that Qi Qingchen would take her to the imperial prison after returning from court?

“Imperial Brother, why is Eldest Young Lady Yan at your residence?” Princess Zhiyuan looked at Yan Shiyao with unconcealed contempt.

She was naturally aware that Yan Shiyao was at her imperial brother’s residence. Sister-in-law Jiang Jin had sent word to her, and she had come precisely to help Sister-in-law Jiang Jin teach Yan Shiyao a lesson.

When their mother consort had fallen ill, it had been Sister-in-law Jiang Jin who cared for her. She absolutely would not allow Sister-in-law Jiang Jin to suffer at Yan Shiyao’s hands.

“Oh.” Qi Qingchen fixed his gaze on Yan Shiyao, the corners of his mouth curving into a smile. “Eldest Young Lady Yan volunteered to serve as this Highness’s personal maidservant. Why would this Highness refuse?”

Yan Shiyao kept her eyes lowered, straining with great effort to hold back her tears. She swallowed her grievances and bowed respectfully. “Shiyao pays her respects to Her Highness the Princess.”

The girl’s voice trembled almost imperceptibly. Qi Qingchen looked down at Yan Shiyao, who was half-crouching on the ground, with a complicated expression. She…

Was indeed as pitiful as she had said yesterday…

When all was said and done, she had been dragged into this by Xuan Yanyu. His Imperial Father would not have had the Chancellor and the Chancellor’s wife thrown into the imperial prison if it weren’t for Xuanzhao and Xuan Yanyu.

Had Xuan Yanyu not lodged at the Chancellor’s residence for over a year — had the Prince of Xuan not kept him detained in Xuanzhao — her family would not have fallen into such trouble so swiftly.

It was her fault for having taken Xuan Yanyu in and brought him back to the residence that day.

His Imperial Father had had no plans to move against the Chancellor’s residence these past few years — if he were to act, it would have been only after a Crown Prince had been established. But because of Xuanzhao and Xuan Yanyu, the timeline had been brought forward.

Her title of Commandery Princess had been stripped away by the Prince of Xuan through some unknown means. Had she been a little wiser, she would have waited. His Imperial Father had not intended to come to a rupture with Xuanzhao.

The Prince of Xuan and Xuan Yanyu would certainly have known this — which meant that the Chancellor’s wife was someone His Imperial Father would have released sooner or later.

Only she, foolish as she was, had humbled herself and gone to his residence in tears for the sake of the Chancellor’s wife. Had she been able to think this through clearly, she would still be that noble Commandery Princess of Xuanzhao.

There was no point in saying any of this now. From the very step she had taken into this residence, she had made a mistake — she had fallen into a trap. A trap that even he could not control…

She truly was foolish. The Chancellor’s wife was, after all, the mother of Xuanzhao’s Crown Princess. She could have simply waited, and His Imperial Father would never have kept the Chancellor’s wife imprisoned in the imperial prison indefinitely.

No matter how His Imperial Father chose to deal with the Chancellor and his wife, he would spare their lives. He still had to give Xuanzhao face.

If Xuanzhao’s Crown Princess had no connection to the Chancellor’s residence, then she would have true cause for anxiety — His Imperial Father might truly have…

“Ah—” Yan Shiyao let out a sharp cry of pain, jolting Qi Qingchen out of his thoughts.

Yan Shiyao had been holding a half-crouching bow. Princess Zhiyuan appeared not to have heard, occupied with fiddling with her pastries, looking down at Yan Shiyao from on high.

Yan Shiyao’s legs had long since gone numb and swollen from the strain, and they buckled, sending her crumpling to the ground.

Princess Zhiyuan rolled her eyes. She was just putting on a show.

“Get up.” Qi Qingchen stepped down from the carriage and extended his hand toward Yan Shiyao.

Yan Shiyao placed her hand in his palm. The next moment, she was yanked upright — and unable to steady herself, she fell against Qi Qingchen’s chest.

“Imperial Brother, the imperial decree for your marriage to Eldest Young Lady Yan has already been revoked by Imperial Father. You shouldn’t continue to act this way.” Qi Zhiyuan felt her anger flare the moment she saw Qi Qingchen holding Yan Shiyao.

Didn’t her imperial brother know what sort of person Yan Shiyao was now?

Yan Shiyao’s fingers curled in fright around Qi Qingchen’s robes. She was afraid he would push her away.

“Now you know fear? Weren’t you quite formidable back in Xuanzhao?” Qi Qingchen said words that cut straight to her heart. “This Highness finds himself displeased when he recalls it, and so, today, this Highness has no intention of taking you to the imperial prison to see the Chancellor’s wife.”

Yan Shiyao’s lips parted slightly. After a long silence, her voice trembling, she spoke. “Then… then what must Shiyao do for you to be even a little happier?”