Ji Zeyu wore a black crossed-collar arrow-sleeve shirt, his ink-black hair bound high behind his head and hanging down his straight back. His jade-like face showed no expression whatsoever, his handsome features cold as frost.

Seeing Ji Zeyu like this, Li Helan felt a flutter in her heart and said in a sweet, teasing voice, “Why has the Prince Consort come? Could it be that you missed this palace?” As she spoke, she stepped forward to take Ji Zeyu’s arm.

Ji Zeyu looked straight ahead, raised his arm to avoid Li Helan’s touch, and directly sat down boldly in a rosewood chair by the window, saying in a deep voice, “When the incident occurred in the palace, you were accompanying the Empress Dowager?”

Li Helan’s hand froze in midair, her expression instantly darkening. “What, has the Prince Consort come for this matter?”

Ji Zeyu replied, “Otherwise, what else could it be for?”

“You!” Li Helan gritted her silver teeth. “Ji Lan, don’t forget your position. Don’t refuse the toast only to be forced to drink the penalty wine! Do you think you’re the only man in the world? This palace is honored as Princess Imperial—how many men pursue this palace eagerly. Only you, the moment you see this palace, you glare angrily. What exactly do you want this palace to do!”

“Doesn’t Princess Imperial do whatever she wants anyway?”

Li Helan’s face turned ashen. “You still resent me… If you don’t like it, I’ll dismiss those people. You don’t need to always show me such a face!”

“No need to force yourself. You can be with whichever man you like—it’s up to you.” Ji Zeyu’s expression was indifferent. “I don’t wear worn-out shoes.”

“You! How dare you, how audacious!”

Ji Zeyu paid no attention, lowering his eyes to play with the riding whip in his hands, saying casually, “What was the situation in the palace that day? If you’re willing to speak, then speak. If you don’t want to tell me, I’ll take my leave.”

“What kind of attitude is this!”

Ji Zeyu glanced at Li Helan and simply rose to leave.

“Stop!”

Li Helan was so angry she stamped her feet, taking large steps to catch up and reaching out to grab Ji Zeyu’s sleeve.

If Ji Zeyu didn’t want to be touched, who could reach his clothing? Li Helan’s hand fell empty once again.

“Is Princess Imperial willing to tell me?” Zeyu looked sideways.

Li Helan glared with gritted teeth, saying, “You come to ask this palace about matters, yet your attitude is so neglectful. Do you think this palace must tell you!”

The corner of Ji Zeyu’s lips twitched slightly, and he again stepped forward.

Looking at his elegant and handsome retreating figure, Li Helan felt both love and hate. They were husband and wife after all—even if she kept many male favorites, she still had to bear children with this man.

Moreover, among her male favorites, who possessed Ji Zeyu’s handsome looks? And that aura of his could only be possessed by someone who had been tempered on the battlefield.

“You stop. Must this palace beg you to tell you?”

Ji Zeyu halted, looked back at Li Helan once, then stepped back into the room, sat down in the same rosewood chair as before, and waited silently for Li Helan to speak.

Li Helan’s face was dark, but reluctant to give up this opportunity to spend time with Ji Zeyu, she had no choice but to tell him about what had happened in the palace.

Ji Zeyu kept his eyes lowered, playing with his whip, as if Li Helan’s words hadn’t entered his heart at all.

After Li Helan finished speaking, Ji Zeyu asked, “Without any investigation, the person was just detained?”

“It’s obviously her—would Mother Empress wrongly accuse her?”

Ji Zeyu laughed mockingly, then asked, “The person was detained by the Empress Dowager?”

Li Helan looked at Ji Zeyu’s expression and felt an indescribable resentment in her heart, saying dissatisfiedly, “What, why should the Prince Consort care about that lowly woman! Whether she lives or dies, what does it have to do with you!”

Ji Zeyu didn’t answer. This time he rose and left, his long legs striding away so quickly that Li Helan couldn’t catch up even if she tried.

“Come back! Ji Lan, you come back to this palace!”

Ji Zeyu didn’t look back and quickly walked far away.

Li Helan clenched her fists tightly, her spine rigid and shoulders hunched as she watched Ji Zeyu’s departing direction through gritted teeth, her eyes gradually reddening.

This was her Prince Consort—this was his attitude toward saying even a word to her!

She knew Ji Zeyu minded that she kept male favorites, but Ji Zeyu was so cold to her, unwilling to show her even a bit of kindness. She was honored as Princess Imperial—couldn’t she seek her own happiness? Ji Zeyu made her suffer such grievances—why should she have to endure it!

On Ji Zeyu’s side, he quickly left Princess Imperial’s mansion. His attendant, who had witnessed everything, said worriedly in a low voice, “Duke, if Princess Imperial bears a grudge like this, what if she goes to His Majesty to file a complaint? Wouldn’t that be bad?”

Ji Zeyu didn’t care at all, giving a cold laugh and saying, “Let her.”

The attendant, knowing the inside details, naturally also looked down on Li Helan’s promiscuous behavior, especially with someone as excellent and proud as Ji Zeyu. So the attendant didn’t try to persuade him further.

Ji Zeyu mounted his horse. The silver-white horse with a coat like silk, Baiyun, affectionately pawed the ground a few times.

Ji Zeyu gently stroked Baiyun’s smooth mane, lowered his eyes in thought for a moment, then immediately spurred the horse to quickly leave Princess Imperial’s mansion.

In the dark room behind Cian Palace’s rear hall.

Qin Yining slept drowsily with her arms wrapped around herself. For two days, the Empress Dowager had only ordered someone to bring her thin gruel once—so thin you could see your reflection in it. She was so hungry that her vision was blurry. Combined with the cold and dampness in the hall, she had no strength left in her entire body. She was too cold to want to move and felt light-headed, wanting only to sleep.

Just then, she heard the sound of chains being moved outside the door. After the sound of a door opening, a small palace attendant, short in stature and appearing to be about twelve or thirteen years old, poked his head inside to look around.

Qin Yining squinted to look at him, knowing he was the palace attendant responsible for bringing her meals these past few days.

The small palace attendant looked around the room, then quickly went out, returning shortly after.

Seeing the bedding he was carrying in his hands, Qin Yining was somewhat surprised.

After the small palace attendant entered, he didn’t speak to Qin Yining but went directly to place the bedding on the warm kang by the window. Then he quickly ran back outside and with difficulty carried in a basket of charcoal, lit a charcoal brazier, and placed a brass water kettle on the brazier to boil water.

After finishing these tasks, he finally brought in a basket from outside containing four or five white flour steamed buns.

Qin Yining looked at all this in confusion. Seeing the small palace attendant about to leave after putting down the items, Qin Yining quickly asked, “Eunuch, please wait—what are these?”

The small palace attendant stopped, saying with lowered eyes and head, “This servant doesn’t dare accept Princess Consort’s address as ‘eunuch.’ This servant is acting on the Empress Dowager’s orders.”

Qin Yining was even more surprised. How had the Empress Dowager thought this through? With the Empress Dowager’s temperament, she should torture her thoroughly before finally killing her, but she had waited two days—not only had no one come to torture her, but now even bedding and a charcoal brazier had arrived.

“Why would the Empress Dowager give such orders?”

“This servant doesn’t know either.” The small palace attendant kept his head down. After saying this one sentence, as if Qin Yining were a fierce beast, he ran away like flying.

Qin Yining was extremely puzzled. She rose and dragged the heavy chain to the edge of the kang, took down the bedding, and placed it in the sheltered area next to the charcoal brazier.

Who would have thought that a small blue bundle would fall out from inside the quilt.

Qin Yining quickly put down what she was holding and picked up the bundle.

Inside the small bundle were a small porcelain box and a note. The handwriting on the note was unfamiliar—the horizontal strokes turned upward, the characters lean and hard. At a glance, one could tell the writer had a rebellious and aloof personality.

The content of the note was also simple. Besides explaining that the porcelain box contained blood-activating and stasis-resolving ointment, there were just four brief characters—”use endurance, wait quietly.”

Qin Yining looked the note over in confusion. Both the ink and paper were of the most ordinary kind, with no clues to be found.

She couldn’t figure out who had this ability—to make the Empress Dowager relent and order people to bring her things, and even smuggle medicinal ointment inside. But at least this way she could live a bit more comfortably.

Qin Yining placed the note into the burning charcoal brazier, watching as the flames licked the note until it disappeared in the blink of an eye. Only then did she feel at ease wrapping herself in the quilt, sitting by the charcoal fire to warm herself while applying medicine to her injuries.

At the same time, Li Qitian met with Ji Zeyu in the imperial study.