The mistress who remarried has returned.

"Uncle, did anyone from the Protectorate General's Mansion come by today?"

This is the fifth day. Every day before going to the Eastern Palace to attend to the Crown Prince, Su Yunxi would come to the agreed-upon teahouse and ask the shopkeeper the same question.

The prince fell from grace, and his two lower legs were subjected to the torture of having flesh cut off and bones scraped. The wounds festered and smelled foul, and his condition worsened day by day.

The shopkeeper looked up from his ledger. The young woman seemed ethereal and otherworldly, like a rare orchid in a secluded valley. Her every glance evoked pity. "No one from the manor has come today either."

Seeing the young woman's hopeful eyes instantly dim and fill with despair, the shopkeeper couldn't help but feel sorry for her and said, "Are you waiting for your husband? Has he abandoned you?"

Su Yunxi lowered her head quietly upon hearing the shopkeeper's question.

She appealed to all her former friends and relatives who had been on good terms with the Crown Prince, but all of them changed their tune. Some berated her, some cursed her, and some even told her to urinate in front of her and see if she was worthy to speak to him. When the wall falls, everyone pushes it down, and all the favors the Crown Prince had shown her in the past are now forgotten.

It seems that the hope of the General Protector's Mansion is nothing but wishful thinking.

Su Yunxi didn't answer the shopkeeper's question, but said softly, "Thank you, Uncle."

Stepping out of the teahouse, Su Yunxi carried the food box and headed towards the nearby East Palace, intending to attend to the Crown Prince during his illness.

Suddenly hearing the sound of horses' hooves, he turned around abruptly and was stunned, unable to believe it for a moment.

Seeing the carriage of the Protector General's Mansion stop on the roadside in the distance, he quickened his pace.

Four years ago, I had an old injury to my knee from an arrow wound. This morning, I was hit with several sticks, and when I walked fast, my limp became obvious.

The journey wasn't long, but by the time they arrived at Liu Shun, the attendant of the Protector General, they were already drenched in sweat from the winter pain.

Her hand gripped the food box tightly, her gaze fixed hopefully on Liu Shun. "Shunzi, what did Qin Huai say?"

Four years later, Su Yunxi uttered the name she had deliberately forgotten again, and her heart ached with a subtle, persistent pain.

More than a thousand days and nights have passed, but the pain is still so vivid.

Upon hearing the sound, Liu Shun looked the woman up and down. There were handprints and scratches on her face, and bloodstains on the back of her hand that was holding the food box. Moreover, she had been well taken care of by the general in the villa before, so she did not look like a cripple.

She abandoned General Qin's only woman, betrayed him with a heartless heart, and climbed the social ladder to become the Crown Prince's concubine. The higher you climb, the harder you fall. She only has herself to blame and does not deserve sympathy.

Su Yunxi noticed Liu Shun's disdainful gaze, so she casually touched her hair, letting the strands fall to cover the finger marks on her face, and also hid her hand, which had been scratched by the hairpin, in her sleeve.

"General, you'll have a short time after the midday court session. You may come with me."

"Please wait for me a moment." Su Yunxi glanced towards the interior of the East Palace. "I'll take some food to the Crown Prince and then I'll go with you."

Liu Shun was well-mannered. Although he disapproved of her unscrupulous character, he did not say anything unpleasant to the general's only woman.

Su Yunxi was stung by the disappointment in Liu Shun's eyes. She suppressed all her resentment and grievances. After living under the same roof for seven years, this was how she was perceived by them.

She carried the food box and walked towards the East Palace.

"Miss Xue's husband died of illness, and the General's Mansion took pity on her and brought her back to reunite with her. She's been back in the capital for several months now. Have you heard?"

Hearing Liu Shun's words behind her, Su Yunxi's already pale face turned even paler, and she might choke up if she spoke, but she just nodded silently.

"General Qin's wedding is approaching," Liu Shun said softly. "It's too late for you to turn back now, and you shouldn't disturb the general."

Thinking she wanted to return to Qin Huai's embrace, Su Yunxi was so embarrassed that her ears burned, but there was no turning back now. The Crown Prince's life was in her hands. "Shunzi, I have to go this time."

Xue Wenying is the woman Qin Huai has loved since he was a teenager. She married far away to Suzhou in her early years, and the two suffered from lovesickness. Recently, she returned to the capital as a widow, which is a loss for Qin Huai.

She understood even more clearly that she had once brought shame upon Qin Huai. The most illustrious and upright young master of a noble family had become a laughing stock in the court, and she was the person Qin Huai hated the most.

For both emotional and rational reasons, and to save face, I shouldn't bother Qin Huai.

However, the Crown Prince, who had protected him, had fallen from grace and was executed by the Emperor for regicide, leaving him to fend for himself in the Eastern Palace.

My conscience is not dead; I cannot stand idly by and watch my benefactor suffer.

The peaceful years she, her mother, and her younger brother had enjoyed were entirely due to the Crown Prince's protection.

The Qin family had served the imperial court for generations, wielding military power and carrying considerable influence in the emperor's court.

If Qin Huai is willing to lend a helping hand, the Crown Prince might still have a glimmer of hope.

"Your Highness, please hang in there. I will find a doctor to treat you as soon as possible."

Su Yunxi took out a steamed bun from the food box and fed it to the Crown Prince in the East Palace, which was in a mess after being ransacked by the imperial court.

The prince pushed the steamed bun away, his gaze falling on the fresh wounds on the back of Su Yunxi's hand. His voice was weak and hoarse, "Did you get beaten up at home again?"

Su Yunxi lowered her eyes and remained silent. With the Crown Prince's power gone, she had lost her backing, and the people in the Su family had long been eager to get rid of her.

But Su Yunxi never liked to talk about family matters, so she often avoided the topic, only pushing the steamed bun forward again, saying, "Eat some."

"When I, Zhou Yu, was at my peak, I had three thousand retainers. Now, I'm fallen on hard times, and all my followers have scattered. You are the only concubine left by my side. It's truly heartbreaking." The Crown Prince's face was pale. Realizing he was powerless to change anything, he hastily gave his final instructions. "You are strong-willed, so don't bother begging Qin Huai for me. I buried several thousand silver notes under the jujube tree in the front alley and back yard. Dig them all up, take your mother and brother, and run away. From now on, we part ways."

"You are my husband." Su Yunxi stared at the white leg bone protruding from the prince's calf. "I need to find a doctor to treat your leg. I'm not leaving."

"The Qin family has been loyal to the Emperor for generations, and Qin Huai would not do anything against the Emperor's will. It is the Emperor who forbids me from taking medicine and seeking medical treatment." The Crown Prince said worriedly, "Moreover, he has not made things difficult for you for the past few years out of consideration for my dignity, but that does not mean that you have run into him. He will not take the opportunity to retaliate. Everyone says that he is a kind-hearted young master from a noble family, but that is only because you have not offended him. He will not have any pleasant words for you."

Su Yunxi's heart tightened. Since she switched allegiance to the Crown Prince four years ago, she and Qin Huai had no contact. Occasionally, when they met at banquets, they acted like complete strangers, keeping to themselves.

"I know."

Su Yunxi made up her mind to go to the Qin residence, and the Crown Prince's gentle persuasion could not stop her.

As he left the Eastern Palace, the Crown Prince sighed helplessly, "Why don't you understand? I have a grudge against him for stealing my love. Why would he help me? Just think about what happened to the stray cat he kept in his hands."

The grudge of having one's love stolen.

The Crown Prince doesn't understand.

Qin Huai never loved her.

She was merely a tool that Qin Huai kept in the villa to spite Xue Wenying, who had married far away.

It took her four years to figure out the role she had played in the past.

Why choose someone like her?

This resentment, weighing heavily on his heart, had become increasingly unbearable over the past four years.

She followed Liu Shun to the villa, the courtyard where she and Qin Huai had lived together for many years, a place she had considered home for all those years.

The surrounding area is deserted, indicating that it has been uninhabited and unmanaged for a long time.

The garden full of roses she once planted has long since withered and died.

Qin Huai was a scion of a prominent family with strict rules. Marriages were arranged by his parents, and there was no custom of taking concubines. It was inconvenient to visit the Qin family mansion.

She was once raised here discreetly by Qin Huai, until four years ago when Qin's mother in the mansion learned of her existence.

"General Qin is in the study." Liu Shun pointed to the study as he rode his horse to the carriage after Su Yunxi got off.

Su Yunxi arrived at the study and knocked on the rosewood door.

"Come in."

A response came from inside the door.

His voice was as clear and gentle as ever, and even though he knew the visitor was her, there was no anger in his voice.

But Su Yunxi truly remembered what happened to the stray cat he had raised when he took it in.

He always kept his joys and anger to himself and never showed them on his face.