The mistress who remarried has returned.

Qin Huai remained silent for a long time.

Su Yunxi knew he was too lazy to pay attention to her and was still angry about her behavior today. Whether it was harassing an innocent young man in the mountains behind his house or threatening to betray him, it was enough to make her die.

Su Yunxi sighed, "I'll return the token to you. Let's reschedule for another day. I'm going back to the East Palace now."

At least when I go back, I'll have my own clean room, which is both clean and inexpensive. It's not a big deal to endure it a little longer.

As he spoke, he reached into his clothes to take out the token and return it to him.

"I lied to Lord Qin to keep this appointment, and you're going back to serve Zhou Yu? Who are you trying to fool?" Qin Huai snorted, then turned and walked uphill. "Come with me."

"Why did you lie to your father about going up there tonight?"

"You don't need to worry about that."

Su Yunxi didn't understand what lie he meant by lying to keep the appointment, but she knew that canceling her appointment because she needed to use the restroom would make her seem untrustworthy. She couldn't imagine what kind of image she had in his mind, but... she really couldn't solve her problem in the temporary outhouse at his Yingtian Pavilion.

Arriving at the outside of a fragrant pavilion, one sees gauze curtains swaying at the door, and fragrant mist swirling inside. If one did not know it was a clean room, it would be much more grand than Lord Su's bedroom.

Qin Huai waved his hand first, signaling the servants to move aside, then walked to a secluded spot and said, "Go ahead and use it."

Su Yunxi asked, "Besides you, has anyone else used it?"

"No." Qin Huai scrutinized her. He didn't find the past seven years and every day with her disgusting, but why didn't he find his bathroom dirty and was willing to share it with him? Was this bait to lure him in?

Su Yunxi opened her sachet and took out a piece of soft paper. As the paper was taken out, a delicate cypress scent filled the air.

Qin Huai had never seen a girl carry her paper in a sachet, making everything smell fragrant. "There's paper inside the sachet?"

"Is that not allowed?" Su Yunxi held the tissues in her hand and hid them in her sleeve, then walked towards the washroom.

Qin Huai was lazily leaning against the artificial hill, waiting for her.

Su Yunxi entered the washroom and saw that the chamber pot was lined with soft pine shavings and was very clean. But she leaned out from behind the tall potted plant and looked at Qin Huai not far away, calling softly, "Qin Huai... could you come here for a moment?"

Qin Huai asked her, "Do you need me to help you?"

She felt quite embarrassed by his question.

"There's no need to be so polite. It's just that I'm a little scared. The curtains here cast a lot of shadows when the wind blows, which looks like ghosts." Su Yunxi asked cautiously, "Could you stand a little closer and answer when I call you?"

Qin Huai had not forgotten that she had betrayed him, and he was at her mercy.

Su Yunxi pressed further, "Is it okay...?"

After a long pause, Qin Huai finally said, "You're a lot of trouble, you know that?"

Su Yunxi whispered again, "Please..."

"How will you beg me? You try begging."

Su Yunxi really didn't expect him to actually ask her to beg. After holding back for a long time, she finally said softly, "Brother Qin, please come and keep your beautiful little sister who you have raised for many years company. I'll give you a back massage in a bit."

After she finished speaking, she didn't hear Qin Huai's reply, and she couldn't see his expression from a distance. She only saw him seem to stare at her for a moment. This was all she had to ask for help. If he didn't come, she planned to go home immediately.

"They're here."

Just as Su Yunxi was about to give up, she heard Qin Huai's voice respond and saw him walk over. It seemed his back was quite sore and he needed someone to massage it for him.

Su Yunxi then entered the clean room. The music from the banquet hall hadn't stopped yet, presumably some master was still listening to the music. Su Yunxi wasn't worried about Qin Huai hearing anything, nor would she feel embarrassed.

However, the wind instruments suddenly stopped, and in an instant, all was quiet except for the rustling of the curtains.

Su Yunxi was once again in a situation where she had no choice but to speak out. It was truly...

Suddenly, she was no longer afraid of the ghostly shadows cast by the curtains fluttering in the wind.

Because the sheer awkwardness is just unbearable.

Qin Huai heard the rustling sound of fabric rubbing against each other at the door, followed by the rather rapid sound of water, which fell on the pine wood and made a muffled soaking sound. Later, the sound of water became gentle, followed by the sound of paper being picked up, and then the rustling sound of clothes being put on.

Qin Huai's hands clenched up at some point, and the veins on the back of his hands bulged out quite high.

After Su Yunxi came out of the washroom, she washed her hands at the pool outside, dried them with a tissue, and stepped out. She turned her face slightly away from Qin Huai, and her neck was red.

Even in the darkness, Qin Huai could see that her ears and neck were flushed red. "If you weren't scared, why didn't you call me 'Brother Qin'?"

Su Yunxi had called him "Brother Qin" when she was in the urge to relieve herself, and she didn't think anything of it. So why did he repeat it like that, making her feel so embarrassed? "Brother, I was in such a state, why would I call you again... I forgot I didn't ask you to come over."

"Brother Qin before, now you're all 'Big Brother,' right?" Qin Huai's voice was rather deep. "You deliberately called me here, didn't you?"

"How is that possible?"

"If you need something from me, what trick can't you use?"

"There's no need for that..." Su Yunxi took the token out of her clothes and handed it to Qin Huai. "It's not up to me to decide when your family's wind instruments stop. You think too badly of me. That's prejudice against your sister."

"What kind of sister are you? I only have one sister, and she's already married into the Sun family." Qin Huai held the token in his hand, his fingertips brushing against the edge of her palm. Neither of them said anything. He lowered the token to his waist, saying, "My carriage is ahead."

"it is good."

Qin Huai walked ahead first, followed by Su Yunxi. When they arrived at the carriage, Chen Lin had already placed a stool down. Qin Huai glanced at Su Yunxi and gestured for her to get on the carriage first. Su Yunxi then stepped onto the stool and climbed onto the carriage.

Qin Huai stood behind her, observing how the cloak outlined the curves of her shoulders and back as she walked.

Su Yunxi entered the carriage and sat down in a corner.

Qin Huai also entered the carriage and sat down opposite Su Yunxi. The carriage was originally spacious, but it seemed cramped because of his arrival. His long legs were slightly open, and she was sitting opposite him, completely surrounded by his territory.

Chen Lin asked from outside, "Master, where are we going?"

"Let's leave the mansion first," Qin Huai instructed Chen Lin.

It would take half an hour for the carriage to leave the Qin residence. During the journey, the carriage would inevitably bump along, and Su Yunxi's legs would unintentionally brush against Qin Huai's knees with each bump.

Qin Huai rested his chin on his hand, gazing at the night view outside the window, feeling the gentle touch on his knees. "Where are we going, Su Yunxi?"

When Su Yunxi heard his question, she didn't actually know where to go. She just wanted to stay with him, whether in the carriage or on the roadside. "How much did you drink? Is your head throbbing badly? Why don't we go back to Jiuli Lane? You can get some rest there."

Qin Huai turned his face towards her, his gaze falling on her cheek, and suddenly chuckled, "Okay."

He instructed Chen Lin, "Go to Jiuli Lane."

Su Yunxi guessed that he was probably laughing at her for being hypocritical in her concern, or at her for deliberately seducing him for the sake of the Eastern Palace. After all, a poor woman with nothing entering the villa of a powerful man in the middle of the night was either a criminal or a thief.

Then came endless silence.

Accompanied by the sound of horses' hooves and wheels, Qin Huai said softly, "Give me a good beating."

"..." Su Yunxi had completely forgotten about this, so she sat down next to him and punched his broad shoulders with her two embroidered fists.

Qin Huai breathed a sigh of relief.

Su Yunxi suddenly felt a pang of envy for him; he seemed to be enjoying it. After massaging him for a while, she wasn't paying attention and whispered, "It's your turn to massage me..."

Qin Huai fixed his sharp gaze on her lips. "What did you say?"

"Hey, do you want me to massage your legs again...?" Su Yunxi expressed her fear of the powerful minister to the fullest extent, since she had done a lot of trouble today.

Upon arriving at Jiuli Lane, Chen Lin placed the stool under the carriage.

Qin Huai alighted from the carriage first. When the guards saw the general leading his men, they quickly lit lanterns. Qin Huai instructed his servants, "You don't need to serve me. You can all go home and rest for the next two days."

The servants didn't understand why the general had suddenly given them leave, but they didn't delay. They quickly packed their things and went home. None of them dared to speculate whether there were other people in the prince's carriage.

After the servant left, Qin Huai lifted the curtain of the carriage window and glanced at Su Yunxi, who was rubbing his hands in a pitiful manner. He had been massaging Su Yunxi's legs the whole way.

It was improper for the General Protector of the Nation and the Crown Prince's concubine to visit an outside residence late at night.

Logically, he shouldn't have done this, but... he really wanted to see how she planned to persuade him to continue serving the Crown Prince.

She cheated on him four years ago, and today she threatens to betray him. If she thinks she can control him just because she calls him "brother" a few more times, she's overestimating his temper!