Although it wasn’t yet the fifteenth day of the first month, the marquis’s residence was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, bustling with activity.

Nanny Li walked into the kitchen, poking her head in and shouting, “Is the bird’s nest soup for the madam ready yet? If the marquis can’t wait and blames us later, I won’t take responsibility for you all.” Though her words sounded complaining, her face was full of smiles. The kitchen manager, Nanny Zhang, nimbly went to check the stove and replied, “It’s ready, it’s ready. Oh my, look how happy you are now that the madam is back – your smile is stretching from ear to ear!”

Nanny Li glared at her sideways but her smile didn’t diminish, “Of course I’m happy the madam is back, but what’s even more precious is the marquis’s devotion to the madam. Not only does he stay in her room every day, but he also thinks of ways to arrange food for her. I think all the blood bird’s nest and ginseng in this residence will be eaten up by the madam.”

Nanny Zhang covered her mouth with a handkerchief and laughed, “Yes, yes, yes, who doesn’t know the marquis loves the madam most? And you’re the most influential person in the madam’s quarters – you’re so blessed, so blessed!”

Nanny Li smugly touched the pearl hairpin on her head and chatted with Nanny Zhang a bit more before carrying the finished bird’s nest soup back to the room. As soon as she pushed open the door, she saw the marquis and madam quickly separate, with the madam still blushing. Nanny Li immediately felt embarrassed and quickly pretended she hadn’t seen anything, setting down the food box and saying, “The blood bird’s nest the marquis ordered – it just finished cooking so I brought it right over. Please enjoy it slowly, madam.” She then flew out to the outer room like a bird.

Yuanxi looked at the bowl of bird’s nest soup with a somewhat glazed expression, then looked up pitifully, “Do I still have to eat it? Can’t I stop eating it now…”

Xiao Du picked up the bowl, scooped a spoonful, blew on it to cool it, then brought it to her mouth, “Of course you have to eat it. Look how thin you’ve become. Now that you’re back, I need to nourish you properly.”

Yuanxi obediently opened her mouth and swallowed, unable to help but feel amused as she mumbled, “I went to the imperial palace, not prison. There, everything was served by attendants, and His Majesty arranged everything properly. What hardships could I have suffered?”

Xiao Du snorted lightly, “What’s so great about the imperial palace? Nothing there is as good as our residence.”

Yuanxi smiled and clung to his arm, then lowered her head and said softly, “That’s natural, because in the imperial palace… there’s no you.”

Seeing her bashfully nestling in his arms, Xiao Du felt his heart melt like honey. Just as he was about to embrace her tightly, Yuanxi sat up straight and asked seriously, “By the way, why was His Majesty so readily willing to let us go? I thought even if the Empress Dowager woke up, he would find other reasons to keep us.”

Xiao Du set down the bird’s nest soup and smiled smugly, “That’s because he was afraid he had listened to treacherous ministers and instead fallen into my trap.”

Yuanxi asked curiously, “What treacherous ministers? What trap?”

Xiao Du then realized what he’d said and suddenly lowered his head, tightly closing his lips. Observing his expression, Yuanxi suddenly understood a bit and probed, “It’s related to my father?”

Xiao Du sighed, knowing he couldn’t keep hiding it from her forever, and told her everything about Luo Yuan bringing back information about Xia Mingyuan’s entire scheme. Seeing Yuanxi’s expression growing increasingly sad, he finally couldn’t bear it and said, “Anyway, it’s all over now. Don’t ask too much about it.”

But Yuanxi raised her eyes determinedly, “No, I want to know. I can’t have gone into the palace in confusion and come out in confusion without even knowing what the truth was.”

Only then did Xiao Du continue, “I suspected from the beginning that they were keeping you and mother to lure me in. So I deliberately arranged for some people to linger outside the city gates and made some fake reports to send back to the palace. Then I arranged for Luo Yuan to see your father, pretending to test you on his behalf. After he saw you, he used the note we had prepared in advance to fabricate a story, making Xia Mingyuan think everything was within my plan. Your father is such a cautious person – even though this was just speculation, as long as there was the slightest possibility, he wouldn’t risk everything he had gained. So he’d rather lose this opportunity than take the risk. And just as the Empress Dowager woke up, His Majesty could only release you first.”

Yuanxi suddenly understood, “No wonder Young Master deliberately had me walk close to him that day – it was to make others believe I had secretly slipped him that note.”

Xiao Du nodded, then suddenly asked, “By the way, why was he able to imitate your handwriting so well that he even fooled your father?”

Yuanxi replied, “Because I used to always ask him to copy books for me to satisfy my tutor, so he deliberately practiced my handwriting. Over time, he became able to imitate it seven or eight parts accurately.”

Xiao Du made an “oh” sound, then his expression became somewhat sullen. Seeing him like this, Yuanxi laughed and asked, “What’s wrong? Are you still jealous now?”

Xiao Du snorted lightly, “Do I seem like such a petty person?” He pulled Yuanxi into his arms and added, “When we have a daughter in the future, we must find her a female tutor.”

Yuanxi buried her face in his chest and laughed quietly. After being separated for these days, even his little jealousies had become so endearing and memorable.

The next day, Xiao Du had business to attend to and reluctantly left the room, repeatedly instructing Yuanxi not to wander around and to wait for his return, as if afraid that once he left, she might disappear again.

Yuanxi found it amusing yet felt warm in her heart. She opened the window and saw the snow in the courtyard slowly melting. In a few more days, that delicate yellow tree he had specially planted for her should start sprouting and budding.

She couldn’t help but curve her lips, imagining the scene of flowers blooming profusely by the window. Just then, Nanny Li pushed open the door and called, “Madam?”

Yuanxi turned her head and suddenly remembered something very important that she hadn’t wanted to ask in front of Xiao Du. She closed the window and asked Nanny Li, “Do you remember whether I applied orchid hair oil the day I went to the palace to see the Empress Dowager?”

Nanny Li quickly shook her head, “No, madam has never had a box of orchid hair oil.”

Yuanxi’s heart sank as she pressed further, “Where did you find the hair oil I used that day?”

Nanny Li was somewhat frightened by her expression and hurriedly thought carefully before saying, “I was afraid there wouldn’t be time to prepare on the day of entering the palace, so I prepared all the clothing and grooming items the day before. The hair oil… I don’t remember if I took it out, but I just remember when I was doing your hair, there happened to be a box at hand, so I used it.”

Yuanxi suddenly stood up, “Can you still find that box of hair oil?”

Nanny Li felt an ominous premonition and hurriedly searched through her memories of that day while looking around the room for that box of hair oil, but finally discovered she couldn’t find the box she had used that day anywhere.

Yuanxi felt a chill run down her spine and couldn’t come to her senses for a long while. So someone really had been playing tricks with this matter. Who exactly was that person… She suddenly found she didn’t dare think further.

Just then, An’he called from the doorway, “Madam, Third Miss is here.”

Since returning home, Yuanxi hadn’t had time to see Xiao Zhixuan. Hearing that she had come, she quickly composed her earlier emotions and smiled, “Quickly let her in.”

Xiao Zhixuan walked in and excitedly called, “Sister-in-law!” but her face was full of worry. She looked at Nanny Li beside Yuanxi and hesitated, “Sister-in-law, could you have Nanny Li step out first? I have something to tell you.”

Seeing her expression, Yuanxi immediately understood and had Nanny Li go out and close the door. She took Xiao Zhixuan’s hand and said gently, “What happened? Just tell sister-in-law.”

Xiao Zhixuan showed a frightened expression and said tremblingly, “I know sister-in-law just returned and I shouldn’t trouble you with these things, but I accidentally discovered something and don’t know who to tell. That matter is about…” She paused, raised her terrified eyes, and whispered, “It’s about the princess!”