Even if Shen Zaiye truly hadn’t intended to kill her, his foolish action without prior consultation had indeed nearly cost her half her life.

Xu Yangui listened in shock, taking a while before responding, “So you’re saying you’re at odds with the most powerful person in your Zhao kingdom?”

“Yes,” Taohua nodded. “Saving me would mean opposing the new empress of Zhao. Not saving me, letting me die, would remove an easily exploitable weakness from your Prime Minister. Master Xu, if you were Shen Zaiye, how would you choose?”

Xu Yangui fell silent. He suddenly felt it might have been better not to know. If he remained ignorant and Jiang Taohua died from this poison, he would merely feel regret. But now, knowing and not saving her would be more than just regret.

However, if he were to save her, setting aside how to do so, would indeed create complications.

His face scrunched up as he looked at her and asked, “Do you want me to tell the Prime Minister?”

“Never mind,” Taohua lowered her gaze. “Your reaction already tells me what he would be. You might as well not tell him, to spare him from devising new ways to deal with me.”

After giving her a long, meaningful look, Xu Yangui nodded, “Alright, I’ll pretend I never heard this.”

“Mm, and please return that medicine to me,” Taohua said. “Even the imperial physicians probably can’t figure out the formula. Your Great Wei doesn’t dabble in poison arts, so there’s no point in wasting it.”

“We’ll discuss that later,” Xu Yangui stood up. “For now, you should comfort Shen Zaiye. He was truly frightened this time, yet he couldn’t show it outwardly. He must be quite distressed.”

Raising an eyebrow, Taohua muttered, “He brought it upon himself. It’s none of my concern.”

Clicking his tongue, Xu Yangui felt he had done his best. If these two wanted to keep tormenting each other, so be it. He had other matters to attend to.

Qing Tai had remained kneeling the whole time. As soon as Xu Yangui left, the room fell into complete silence, making her feel even more uneasy.

“You can get up now. I’m hungry, go prepare dinner,” Taohua said.

Qingta’s heart sank as she looked up at her mistress. “Aren’t you angry with me, my lady?”

“If I were, I’d have shown it long ago,” Taohua smiled. “You little maid, you can’t hide anything. It’s all written on your face. I commend you for enduring so anxiously by my side for so long. I doubt you’ve completed many of Madam Lu’s orders.”

Qing Tai choked up, her whole body trembling. “When did you find out?”

“The first time you tried to give me the love potion,” Taohua stretched lazily and flopped onto the bed, looking at her with a relaxed expression. “It was too obvious. Your face was full of struggle over committing a misdeed, so I didn’t eat it that time.”

However, her refusal to eat it meant the new Empress Lu wouldn’t let her marry far away. Pretending to eat it didn’t convince anyone either, as her reaction wasn’t quite right. So after much internal conflict, she eventually swallowed it, obediently keeping Qing Tai by her side as she embarked on the journey to Great Wei.

Qing Tai gritted her teeth. “You should have killed me outright. I never had good intentions from the start…”

“Your heart is far better than others,” Taohua glanced at her. “Alright, stop feeling guilty. To be honest, I had my reasons for keeping you by my side.”

“What reasons?” Qing Tai asked, red-eyed.

“Because you’re even more foolish than the average person,” Jiang Taohua said seriously. “I can see right through whatever you’re planning. This way, it became harder for Madam Lu to control me. Rather than killing you and replacing you with someone cleverer, I might as well keep you.”

Qing Tai was stunned. She stared blankly at her mistress, her lips quivering before suddenly bursting into tears. “My lady…”

“There, there,” Taohua said, both amused and exasperated as she reached out to pat Qingta’s head. “Just do your duties well. Don’t worry about harming me; I have my plans. If you truly feel guilty, just make me something delicious tonight.”

Qing Tai collapsed to the ground, crying her heart out without restraint.

Her mistress always had a sharp tongue but a soft heart. That’s why every time she had to do something for Madam Lu, she felt guilty. Had her mistress known all along? Knowing that she couldn’t bear to harm her, and thus treating her so kindly…

If so, hadn’t all her years of self-reproach been in vain?

The more she thought about it, the more upset she became. Qingta’s cries were so earth-shattering that they nearly scared Gu Huairou, who had just entered, right back out the door.

“What’s going on here?” Madam Gu peeked inside. “Miss Jiang, did you hit Qingta?”

Taohua felt utterly wronged and pouted, “I’m not that heartless. The little maid is just crying over past sorrows.”

She then poked Qingta’s forehead, “A guest has arrived. Go pour some tea. You can cry when no one’s around.”

Biting her lip, Qing Tai wiped her tears and quickly poured tea for Madam Gu before swiftly retreating.

“I always thought Qing Tai was a capable maid,” Gu Huairou said, shaking her head as she watched Qing Tai leave. “But now she’s crying like a child.”

“Even the most capable people have moments of sadness,” Taohua smiled at her. “Did you need something, Madam Gu?”

Sighing, Gu Huairou sat by her bedside and said, “Nothing in particular. You’ve finally returned, so I wanted to come see you. These past two weeks have been unbearable in the household. Even the Madam has been hoping for your quick return.”

Slightly startled and remembering Xu Yangui’s words, Taohua lowered her eyes and asked, “What happened?”

“Something seems to have occurred in the court,” Gu Huairou speculated. “It must be a major issue, otherwise the Master wouldn’t be losing sleep every night, falling ill from overwork. In all my time here, I’ve never seen him so haggard and helpless. Yet he won’t say a word to anyone, not even allowing the Madam past the gates of Linwu Court.”

Taohua turned her face away, chuckling lightly, “He must have done something he’s ashamed of and fears retribution.”

“What do you mean?” Gu Huairou looked at her, puzzled. “You haven’t seen how he looks. It’s as if the sky has fallen. It’s not just guilt.”

Jiang Taohua fell silent, staring at the pillow on her bed. Suddenly, she remembered the things on Shen Zaiye’s bed.

He had said, “I slept comfortably, so naturally, I left them there.”

If he slept so comfortably, why was he suffering from insomnia? He regretted trying to kill her, so why was he so harsh when they met again?

Pursing her lips, Taohua asked, “What does the Madam want me back for?”

Gu Huairou shook her head, “I’m not sure. I just often hear the Madam mentioning you, saying if only you were here, you’d surely know what the Master is thinking.”

“This time, I don’t know what he’s thinking either,” Taohua said expressionlessly, rolling deeper into the bed. “I’m still not well and need a couple more days of rest. You should go back and rest now.”

“Ah?” Gu Huairou mumbled, “I thought I’d come to chat with you for a while, but you’ve become strange too.”

“It’s nothing. I’ll be fine in a couple of days,” Taohua said, closing her eyes. “You should go now.”

Madam Gu pouted, hesitating as she stood up, but ultimately left. As soon as she was gone, Taohua flipped over and sat up. After a bout of dizziness passed, she wrapped herself in a blanket and ran out!

“My lady, dinner…” When Qing Tai returned with the food, the room was already empty.

At Linwu Court.

Shen Zaiye finished his medicine with a stern face, sucking on a preserved plum as he frowned, continuing to read the document in his hand.

Recently, the Imperial Censor Qin had shown signs of allegiance, wanting to help him secure Duan Shinan’s position as Minister of Agriculture. Duan Yunxin was certainly doomed to die, but what Qin wanted in return was for him to spare Qin Jieyu, who was still in custody.

However, since he already had leverage over Qin, why make a losing deal? Keeping Qin Huaiyu was enough; it would be better if both Duan Yunxin and Qin Jieyu died. It would also serve as… a form of closure for Manager Xu.

Just as he was pondering this, the door to the main room was pushed open. Shen Zaiye looked up, about to ask why Zhanlu had entered without knocking when he saw a bundle of blankets roll to his feet.

Shen Zaiye: “…”

Reflexively wanting to step on it, the blanket quickly darted away. Then, a disheveled Jiang Taohua jumped into his arms, hugging his waist coquettishly and blinking up at him. “My lord, the night is long. Do you need your concubine’s company?”

Shuddering, Shen Zaiye wore an expression as if he’d seen a ghost. “Did you take the wrong medicine?”

Hadn’t she been all prickly earlier? How had she become so docile now?

“Hehe,” Taohua looked at him teasingly. “I heard my lord hasn’t been sleeping well lately. I was worried you might be too exhausted, so I thought I’d help you get some good rest.”

His body stiffened, and Shen Zaiye turned his face away. “I’ve been sleeping just fine.”

“Is that so?” Taohua narrowed her eyes, reaching out to turn his face back towards her. Eyeing the dark circles under his eyes, she raised an eyebrow. “You look so haggard despite sleeping well? What’s troubling my lord?”

Shen Zaiye lowered his gaze, displeasedly removing her hand. “Naturally, it’s matters of state.”

“I see,” Taohua smiled smugly, sitting on his lap and trying to snuggle her bare feet into his embrace. “Then please spare some time to hold me, just for a moment.”

Giving her a disdainful look, Shen Zaiye frowned. “What are you up to this late at night?”

Despite his words, his actions were honest. He held her waist securely, afraid she might fall.

Taohua let out a mischievous laugh as if some scheme had succeeded. Shen Zaiye felt goosebumps rising all over. “What’s going on with you?”

“Nothing,” she said, hugging him tightly and whispering, “I just haven’t seen you for so long. I wanted to hold you more.”

His gaze softened. Shen Zaiye pressed his lips together, reaching out to stroke her hair. The weight that had been hanging in his heart seemed to finally settle back into place.

The room fell quiet. Taohua didn’t speak further, and Shen Zaiye didn’t break the atmosphere. He allowed her to nuzzle against him like a cat as if indulging in a long-awaited reunion.

After a long while, Shen Zaiye finally curled his lips into a smile. He carried her to the bed and said softly, “Stop messing around. You look as pale as a ghost. Are you trying to seduce me in this state?”

(End of Chapter)