“It really was that little wretch who laid hands on me first! She even grabbed a long bench! I didn’t even dare to lay a finger on her! It was all that Jiang Xuening instigating from the sidelines, deliberately inciting the little wretch to do this!”

“She’s always been bullied by you—how would she dare hit you?!”

“It’s true, Father! I’m not lying. Listen to my explanation…”

“It’s one thing for you to be domineering within the manor, but to go out and lay hands on her—what will people say about the Earl’s manor if word spreads? You even let someone catch you in the act, bringing the Embroidered Uniform Guard people who arrested you! Do you know how much money the manor spent to bail you out?”

“What?”

“Thirteen thousand taels! A full thirteen thousand taels—all gone!”

…

Because everyone who relayed the message said she and You Fangyin had come to blows before being arrested and interrogated by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, everyone in the Earl’s manor assumed she had laid hands on You Fangyin while outside, which led to this calamity.

Even the Earl of Qingyuan thought so.

After all, who could believe that someone as spineless as You Fangyin, who could be bullied by even a lowly maid in the manor on ordinary days, could possibly take the initiative to grab a bench to deal with You Yue, the legitimate young miss who practically held her life in her hands?

It was like lying without even choosing believable words!

You Yue, facing the Earl of Qingyuan’s raging fury, truly had no way to defend herself!

After being locked in prison for a night—cold and hungry, with jailers who were especially fierce—she was given cold, rancid-smelling rice. At night they didn’t even light a single lamp for her. In the darkness she could hear the sounds of rats crawling and squeaking, frightening her into screaming desperately…

The entire night passed without her daring to close her eyes even once.

By the time the Earl’s manor sent people to fetch her back the next morning, both her eyes were swollen from crying, the whites completely bloodshot. Her clothes were filthy, her hair disheveled. She threw herself into the Earl’s wife’s arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

You Yue had originally thought that once she returned to the manor, this nightmare would end.

She didn’t expect it was only the beginning.

Barely back at the manor, she was reprimanded by her own father, who ordered her to kneel on the ground, demanding to know how she had caused such a great disaster. He also said that if she hadn’t bullied and beaten You Fangyin, she would never have attracted the Embroidered Uniform Guard!

Heaven knew the truth was that You Fangyin had been first to grab the long bench to hit her!

At that time, she hadn’t even had the courage to fight back!

But who told her she was accustomed to bullying You Fangyin? When she used the truth to defend herself, from her parents down to the maids, not a single person believed her. Instead, they all frowned, thinking she was making excuses for herself, shirking responsibility!

And furthermore—thirteen thousand taels!

How much money was that!

You Yue’s eyes widened: “Father, have you gone mad? How could you give them thirteen thousand taels?! That new Commandant Zhou in the Embroidered Uniform Guard is in cahoots with Jiang Xuening! Once this money reaches his hands, it’s the same as reaching Jiang Xuening’s hands! I understand now, I understand…”

By the time she reached this point, her features suddenly twisted.

“This is all a trap, a scheme! Father, you must believe me—it was that little wretch Jiang Xuening who deliberately incited You Fangyin to hit me, then deliberately reported it to the authorities, having that man surnamed Zhou come to swindle money from our Earl’s manor! Since they dared to do such things and forced Father to pay, why don’t we report it to the palace? We can certainly make them pay for this!”

The Earl of Qingyuan, just thinking about those thirteen thousand taels, felt his entire heart bleeding. Though he had managed to secure You Yue’s release, the Earl’s manor was already stretched thin. Those ten-plus thousand taels of silver felt like having his tendons pulled and his skin peeled—excruciatingly painful.

So seeing his beloved daughter return, not only did he feel not a trace of joy, but instead grew even more furious.

Hearing her still talking nonsense, the Earl of Qingyuan finally could bear it no longer!

“Smack!”

The slap delivered in his rage finally struck out, landing on You Yue’s face!

You Yue, who had just been saying they should report the official and accuse Zhou Yinzhi of accepting bribes, had her face twisted to the side by the blow. Her head buzzed. Unable to steady herself, she fell directly to the side!

“Yue’er!”

“Father!”

“My Lord, what are you doing?!”

For a moment, some went to support You Yue, some went to restrain the Earl of Qingyuan. The hall became complete chaos.

You Yue couldn’t believe that her father, who had always doted on her, would actually hit her—and moreover, hit her over this matter of being wrongly imprisoned. She was completely stunned, tears streaming down.

She suddenly pushed away everyone trying to help her.

Standing up, she rushed directly out of the hall, running all the way back to her own room.

Immediately taking out keys, she rummaged through chests and cabinets, finding anything of value.

The maids and servants, seeing her terrible expression, didn’t dare step forward to stop her.

But they also didn’t know what she was trying to do.

The Earl’s wife was busy staying in the hall to persuade the Earl to calm down. Only the eldest miss, You Shuang, worried about her and hurried back to check on her. Seeing her turn out all her savings, she was startled: “What are you doing? Father was just angry for a moment. You’ve always bullied You Fangyin—locking her in the woodshed for ten days at a time. This time you even hit her outside, causing this incident. Are you really going to run away from home to threaten someone?”

“Even you believe them and not me?”

You Yue had always felt this elder sister was of one mind with her. In the Earl’s manor, only the two of them were legitimate daughters. You Fangyin, born of a lowly concubine, wasn’t even fit to carry their shoes.

She hadn’t seen her speak up when she went too far with You Fangyin on ordinary days.

Now she was pretending to be a good person!

She laughed coldly: “Fine, fine! If you don’t believe me, then don’t! That Jiang Xuening is an evil spirit who devours people without spitting out bones. We’re all in the capital—sooner or later there will be a day when you run into her. I’ll just wait and see what fate befalls you all then!”

You Shuang felt that after a day locked in prison, she was no longer rational. Hearing these words, she was stunned.

But You Yue had already turned out her private savings to count.

Her face showed a somewhat terrifying obsession as she said: “As for running away from home? Rest assured, I’m not that foolish. They’re only treating me with such harsh words over those ten-plus thousand taels of silver, aren’t they? I’ll make you all see—what does ten-plus thousand taels of silver amount to!”

“Why are you counting money?”

You Shuang was inexplicably frightened.

But You Yue looked at her and smiled: “It’s nothing.”

In her heart, though, she was thinking that the little wretch You Fangyin was also locked in prison right now, suffering hardships—surely in a state several times more miserable than her own. And there would always be a day when she had to return to the manor.

When that time came, she would repay her tenfold, a hundredfold!

After speaking, she turned and directly summoned the servant who had previously gone to investigate the situation at Shuxiang Inn, asking: “How is the situation with Ren Weizhi?”

That servant had been secretly gathering information these past days. This very morning there happened to be important news. Hearing You Yue ask, he hurriedly reported from outside: “Yesterday, Boss Lu from the famous Youhuang Pavilion in the capital went to the inn to visit Young Master Ren. Early this morning he went again. Word has spread that Boss Lu has already put in money and bought some shares, but we don’t know yet if it’s true or false.”

You Yue’s heart leaped with joy hearing this.

With such a major merchant getting involved, the matter was reliable.

But immediately after, she became anxious.

If this matter was seized by others first, she wouldn’t be able to gain any advantage.

At once, she only said “I understand,” took the banknotes from the box, and headed toward the door.

You Shuang’s eyelids twitched watching. She grabbed her and asked: “Where are you going?”

You Yue impatiently shook her off: “None of your business!”

The two days of palace leave passed in the blink of an eye.

Once again it was time for the study companions to return to the palace.

People gradually arrived at Yangzhi Studio, and it began to liven up.

That evening, Jiang Xuening had spoken with You Fangyin in her cell for quite a while before leaving. Upon returning, she didn’t know why, but nightmares plagued her. She barely closed her eyes the entire night. During the day she was only busy taking inventory of the things Yan Lin had previously given her, packing them all into boxes one by one to be handled by Jiang Boyou. So when she returned to the palace the next day, she still hadn’t quite recovered.

But she only looked somewhat tired.

Among the study companions, there were plenty who looked more haggard than her.

After the previous incident of investigating treasonous words, all the palace maids in Yangzhi Studio had been completely replaced. They all looked like new faces.

Every one stood with lowered head and eyes, keeping their distance.

In Liushui Pavilion, Chen Shuyi was brewing tea, Xiao Shu was drinking tea, Zhou Baoying was eating tea snacks, while Yao Rongrong sat cautiously to the side, observing everyone but not daring to speak.

Yao Xi and You Yue sat facing each other.

Both women’s eyes were somewhat reddened. However, Yao Xi buried her head, lowered her eyes, and wore a sullen expression, looking at the cup before her, faintly revealing a gloomy air, but didn’t speak. You Yue’s eyes remained swollen and puffy. Even though she had rolled a boiled egg over them, she still looked as bedraggled as if she’d just taken a beating. When she raised those eyes, she stared without any concealment, deathly fixed on Jiang Xuening who had just walked in from outside.

This atmosphere—even a fool could see something was wrong.

When Jiang Xuening first entered, she didn’t notice Yao Xi, because You Yue at this moment looked truly too miserable and too conspicuous, impossible not to notice at first glance.

She had imagined You Yue would be in a bad state, but hadn’t expected it to be this bad.

Looking at those eyes that wished they could devour her, she must have learned about the ten thousand taels as well, right?

Only Jiang Xuening wasn’t guilty in the slightest.

The corners of her lips held a slight smile as she strolled in. Without any ambiguity, she looked directly back at You Yue, saying in a joking manner: “Looking at Miss You like this, how is it like you returned home and suffered a calamity? Even powder and rouge can’t cover the marks on your face. What happened?”

You Yue truly despised her to the bone.

But after that incident at the teahouse, she finally understood thoroughly: whether in the palace or outside it, she couldn’t compete with this woman. At least not currently!

This woman had a viper’s heart, utterly vicious and malicious!

She both hated and feared Jiang Xuening. She also knew that in Yangzhi Studio, she had no advantages whatsoever. So facing her obvious provocation and mockery, she could only bite back her teeth mixed with blood and swallow it, not daring to retort even once.

Everyone present had discerning eyes. From just this simple exchange, they guessed that during those short two days outside the palace, You Yue had probably taken a great fall before Jiang Xuening, to the point where although she harbored resentment now, she was too frightened to even dare talk back.

Seeing her cowed, Jiang Xuening felt relieved.

But when she sat down leisurely and raised her head, she inadvertently met Yao Xi’s cold gaze. Yet when she saw her lift her head, that coldness was withdrawn.

Yao Xi actually stretched her lips into a smile toward her.

Jiang Xuening suddenly recalled that night deep in the palace when Zhang Zhe told her he wanted to break off the engagement. Thinking again of Yao Xi’s current smile, she felt a sudden chill run down her spine: Yao Xi was narrow-minded and her thoughts weren’t very pure. Could she be thinking that it was she who tattled behind her back and ruined her marriage prospects?

But Yao Xi didn’t say a single word.

And Jiang Xuening couldn’t very well ask.

The details of this brief moment of exchanged glances were as if they had never happened, not stirring up half a ripple.

All eight of their study companions had mostly arrived by evening.

When they left last time, Grand Princess Leyang Shen Zhiyi was still being confined by the Empress Dowager.

By the time they returned to the palace this time, Shen Zhiyi’s confinement had already been lifted. Moreover, the study companions had been with her for some time and were now familiar with Shen Zhiyi. Immediately, at Xiao Shu’s suggestion, when dusk was approaching, they calculated the time and went to Mingfeng Palace to find her, to help relieve her boredom.

Shen Zhiyi was indeed extremely bored.

Because she had pleaded for the Marquis of Yongyi’s manor, she had actually gotten into an argument with her mother over a disagreement. She was told to reflect in confinement, but she didn’t know what she had done wrong. So although her confinement was lifted today, she stubbornly refused to go to Cining Palace to pay respects.

The study companions came at just the right time.

Mingfeng Palace was her sleeping quarters. She had all sorts of playthings—she pulled everyone to play together. Sometimes performing shadow puppets, sometimes playing double-six, and playing hide-and-seek several rounds. It wasn’t until very late when Nanny Su came to remind them that they finally stopped.

Jiang Xuening hadn’t slept well the previous night. The entire day she had barely closed her eyes. While playing, she was somewhat distracted. When watching them play double-six, her head kept nodding, nearly dozing off.

Shen Zhiyi took in this scene.

She didn’t care what others thought. First she had everyone else disperse, but then she went and took Jiang Xuening’s hand, puffing out her cheeks: “Ningning, are you sleepy? Yangzhi Studio is so far from my sleeping quarters. You should just sleep here tonight.”

Sleep here?

Hearing the word “sleep,” Jiang Xuening’s whole body jolted. Whatever drowsiness she had was immediately frightened away!

She opened her mouth to refuse.

But the joyful expression Shen Zhiyi had worn while playing with everyone earlier was already gone. Her eyelids lowered, she smiled, but looked somewhat dejected and melancholy, saying in a low voice: “I want to find someone to talk to.”

Only then did Jiang Xuening discover that she herself seemed to be the type who yielded to soft tactics but not hard ones.

She knew why Shen Zhiyi had been confined. She also knew she had been close with Yan Lin since childhood. Thinking that at this moment, though she was honored as Grand Princess, she could only watch her imperial brother order heavy troops to surround the Marquis of Yongyi’s manor while being powerless to help…

The words that had reached her lips couldn’t be spoken.

Jiang Xuening finally said: “Alright.”

The Grand Princess’s sleeping quarters were naturally as luxurious as could be—golden hooks, fragrant bed curtains, high beds, and soft pillows.

Shen Zhiyi managed to drag Jiang Xuening onto the bed.

She changed Jiang Xuening into her own nightclothes, drove out all the palace maids and matrons serving in the palace, and barefoot, clutching an embroidered brocade pillow, came to her side, lying flat on the bed just like her.

Deep in the palace, all was silent.

The lamps in the hall were all extinguished. Only the Korean paper pasted on the windows still reflected some light from outside.

Jiang Xuening suddenly felt somewhat dazed.

Shen Zhiyi beside her, looking at the bed canopy, blinked and said: “Ningning, why do adults think so differently from us? Yan Lin is so wonderful, and the Marquis’s manor is so wonderful too. When I was little, I even visited their manor. That cherry tree grew so tall, and the cherries on it were all red. I heard it was planted by Yan Lin’s aunt back then. I was greedy and mischievous, always wanting to climb that tree to pick cherries to eat. Yan Lin always said they weren’t ripe and wouldn’t let me go up. Once, I tricked him by saying his father was calling him to practice martial arts, then secretly climbed up the tree myself and picked those cherries to eat. They really were so sour my teeth hurt.”

Tears slid across the corners of Jiang Xuening’s eyes.

Shen Zhiyi folded both hands over her chest, desperately wanting to cry: “Later when Yan Lin came back looking for me, he couldn’t find me. I hid in the tree, wanting to startle him, but accidentally fell down from the tree. When I hit the ground, it hurt so much I cried loudly. Yan Lin was frightened. When he came to his senses, he didn’t dare move me. After calling people over, he scolded me with a cold face, saying I deserved it. When his mother saw him being so fierce, she brought out the family rod and beat him to appease my anger. I’ve already forgotten how old I was then, and forgotten what else happened later. I just remember that tree—so tall, so tall. The sun was so big, so big. And those cherries—I clearly remember they were sour, but thinking back on them now, they seem so sweet, so sweet…”

As she spoke, she truly began to cry.

These past days, even throwing tantrums, she hadn’t cried once. But perhaps because she felt Ningning was different from others—from their very first meeting, she could speak to her heart. So she felt such words could be said to her.

Though she was certainly close with Xiao Shu, such closeness had a layer between them…

Sometimes she even felt uncomfortable.

Clearly she was the most honored Grand Princess in this palace, yet when others looked at Xiao Shu, when Mother treated Xiao Shu, it seemed no different from how they treated her. And she always felt that Ningning and Ashu were different too.

Shen Zhiyi had never felt so heartbroken before.

She couldn’t help but embrace Jiang Xuening, burying her head against her, and all her tears fell down. But she didn’t dare let the palace attendants outside the hall hear, so she suppressed her voice, weeping quietly.

Jiang Xuening felt the area around her neck grow wet.

She only heard her muffled voice: “I’m so afraid that later Yan Lin will disappear, the study companions will disappear, everyone will disappear, you’ll disappear too, and only I will be left alone…”

Jiang Xuening’s throat choked.

She had to force her eyes wide open, exerting all her strength to restrain herself, just so her emotions wouldn’t collapse on such a night, in such a deep palace.

Even being honored as a Princess, she had such moments of heartbreak and fear…

Living in this world, who could be exempt from such things?

Shen Zhiyi cried for a long time. When she cried herself tired, she gradually grew drowsy, and lying beside her, slowly fell asleep.

Jiang Xuening tucked in the corners of the quilt for her.

Turning on her side, she gazed at this Princess who should have been showered with endless love and favor, thinking of her tragic, even desolate fate in her previous life. After a long while, she gently leaned down to kiss her forehead, then withdrew, stepped barefoot on the cold floor of this sleeping hall, and walked to a carved window, gently opening it a crack to look outside.

Palace lanterns hung high one after another.

Red walls with flying eaves, layer upon layer.

Mingfeng Palace, compared to the plain Yangzhi Studio, was truly too similar to Kunning Palace. Jiang Xuening couldn’t sleep, and didn’t dare to sleep.