The mistress who remarried has returned.

I never imagined that our reunion would be like this; he was still the refined and elegant young master of a prominent family.

She fell from being the Crown Prince's bedmate to a quagmire, becoming a pariah whom everyone wanted to kill.

The Crown Prince was seriously injured and could not be delayed. Su Yunxi gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, and lifted her skirt to go inside.

The room was quiet, with only the sound of her footsteps.

There was a thick layer of dust on the desk in the study, and it was clear that Qin Huai had wiped some of it before sitting down.

He was still wearing his blue court robes, and his black gauze hat was placed on the table where he was wiping it. His hair was meticulously styled, making him look even more handsome and upright. He leaned back lazily in his chair, perhaps tired, and closed his eyes to rest.

The house had been neglected for years, and the mural hanging on the wall had become loose. Su Yunxi watched as the mural fell down and hit Qin Huai on the shoulder.

"Qin Huai, be careful of the murals." Su Yunxi broke the silence of the past four years, speaking first instinctively. She had resented him for four years, yet she still couldn't bear to see him in any danger.

Upon hearing this, Qin Huai opened his eyes, his hidden sharpness revealing itself in his brows and eyes, and he let out a barely audible chuckle.

Su Yunxi realized that it was her words, "Tan Huai, be careful," that made him laugh. He probably laughed at her hypocrisy, which disgusted him. After all, they hadn't been in contact for four years, and this concern was really abrupt.

She was just subconsciously worried that he wouldn't get hurt; she wasn't being hypocritical. The painting was quite heavy.

Qin Huai casually caught the mural and tossed it into the corner. Then he turned his gaze over and looked Su Yunxi up and down.

"Your Excellency's presence graces my humble abode; I have failed to greet you properly."

His words were polite, but Su Yunxi precisely sensed the sarcasm. Admittedly, the people of the imperial family were all masters, but now that the Crown Prince was about to die in the Eastern Palace, she herself could hardly protect herself, so what kind of master was she?

"I have been presumptuous in disturbing the general."

Qin Huai quietly observed Su Yunxi. She deliberately used her hair to cover the wound on her cheek, carefully hid her hands inside her sleeves, and kept her back straight so that others would not see her embarrassment. Just like when he first met her, she was full of backbone.

Its unique appearance was exactly like the stray cat he used to keep. Every time he let the cat out to eat, the expensive breeds would swarm and frantically grab the food, while the little stray cat would quietly wait for its share, proudly not competing with the crowd for food. He loved it dearly.

"I was in Jingzhou on business a few days ago." Qin Huai's hand rested on the armrest of the chair, the veins on his pale skin clearly visible. "I only returned to the capital late last night, having received your message from Liu Shun."

This explains why Su Yunxi hadn't received a reply from him in the past few days.

He was just clarifying casually. Su Yunxi really shouldn't have let her heart flutter and speculate about his thoughts. She still remembered how his hand, which was resting on the chair at this moment, had gently stroked the top of her neck many years ago when he said to her, covered in blood and waiting to die in a dilapidated temple, "Follow me from now on." From that moment on, her gloomy life was filled with light.

However, he himself extinguished that light four years ago.

Su Yunxi felt a strange stinging sensation on her nose, then nodded. "It's alright. I understand the general is busy with official duties."

"I have long intended to catch up with you, my lord. However, since you remarried, it has been inconvenient to disturb you." Qin Huai paused for a moment, "It has been four years, and finally I have the opportunity to reminisce."

Su Yunxi's heart leaped into her throat, and a bead of sweat slowly rolled down her forehead. The disparity in their social status made her instinctively wary; she and he were like an ant and a boot, an unequal relationship.

My relationship with Qin Huai ended terribly four years ago.

She was caught in the Crown Prince's bed by Qin Huai, who discovered her having an affair with him. His eyes were bloodshot, and he slapped her in front of Xue Wenying, angrily questioning her, "So you slept with the Crown Prince, didn't you?"

She was so badly beaten that she saw stars. Holding back her tears, she looked at him and Miss Xue beside him. Feeling wronged, resentful, and jealous, she stubbornly said, "What can he do to me if I sleep with the Crown Prince? Compared to the Crown Prince, I'm nothing."

At that time, she never thought she would have to ask him for help. After realizing Xue Wenying's place in his heart and recognizing her own place, she only thought that she should not lose too badly. In the end, they should never see each other again. It was better to have a reputation for betrayal and climbing the social ladder than to be used and then kicked away by Qin Huai. Since he did not love her, then he would hate her.

"Why is Master so silent and doesn't look well?" Qin Huai sat up straighter and tapped the opposite chair on the table with his long, clean fingers. "Sit down and talk."

Su Yunxi was not unfamiliar with the look he was giving her at that moment.

Qin Huai's beloved stray cat once ran to his neighbor's house to eat meat and snuggled in the neighbor's arms. Qin Huai looked at the stray cat with such a serious gaze at the time, and after the stray cat returned home, he kicked it to death.

She didn't believe that Qin Huai's statement about finally having a chance to catch up was a genuine reunion.

Generally speaking, reminiscing about the past and settling scores are synonymous.

If the Crown Prince hadn't taken her as a concubine after the incident four years ago, thus preserving her reputation, she would probably have been killed by Qin Huai long ago.

Su Yunxi glanced at the chair Qin Huai had gestured for her to sit in. The chair was covered in dust and piled with old books. She realized that he had only said he would offer her a seat; she was not entitled to sit on equal footing with him. She said with difficulty, "Qin Huai, I know you hold a grudge about what happened back then and don't want to see me. I only did it because I had no other choice..."

"Your Majesty is too kind. How could I not want to see you?" Qin Huai chuckled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "I think of you every day. You said you were desperate; are you facing difficulties in life?"

The Crown Prince's murder of his father shocked the court and the public. The Emperor deposed the Crown Prince, confiscated the Eastern Palace, and ordered the Ministry of Justice to carry out the torture of cutting flesh and scraping bones on the Crown Prince at the Caishikou execution ground in Xuanwu Gate. Everyone in the capital knew about the Crown Prince's ordeal. She was covered in swill and horse manure while cleaning up the Crown Prince's half-dead body at the Caishikou execution ground.

As the Protector General, Qin Huai was sent to Jingzhou on orders to hunt down the remnants of the Crown Prince. How could he not know her situation? Not to mention that her husband had fallen from grace and her life was difficult, the people in the Su family alone were enough to make her suffer. He was the only person in the world who knew her secret.

She had told him about her family because he made her feel safe.

He probably asked the question simply to make Su Yunxi expose her past wounds for his own amusement.

Su Yunxi clenched her fists under her sleeves. Now that she was here, she no longer cared whether she would be laughed at. If he felt better, perhaps the chances of him helping her would be slightly higher. She personally tore open her bloody secrets and told him clearly that she was not doing well.

"General, the Crown Prince's palace has been raided, and I've lost my backer. This morning, I was beaten at the Su residence; she slapped my face a few times and hit my knees several times. My whole body aches terribly. These are the difficulties I'm facing."

She never liked to talk about herself, because it was meaningless and often made people look down on her. It was better to keep it to herself and let others think that she was just an ordinary girl from an ordinary family.

Qin Huai scrutinized Su Yunxi's flushed face as she held back her tears. If she blinked, a string of tears would roll down her cheeks, but she didn't. "We haven't been in touch for four years. I always thought my master was living a glorious life. I never knew such a change had happened."

Su Yunxi glanced at him. Did he think that by saying he knew but pretended not to, he wouldn't be hypocritical? But she had come to ask for a favor, so all she could do was listen to reason.

Liu Shun brought in tea and bowed to Qin Huai to report, "Lord Zhang of Linzhou has sent you a piece of gold-inlaid jade, saying it's an antique from the previous dynasty of a neighboring country, the jade from the dragon's hat, priceless. He begs you to put in a good word for his son with the Emperor."

As he spoke, Liu Shun placed the tea on the table and opened the gift box, presenting the gold-inlaid jade to Qin Huai's side.

Su Yunxi looked at the gold-inlaid jade. The egg-sized, entirely green jade was surrounded by fine gold wire, making it precious and exquisite, and it was not an ordinary item.

Qin Huai didn't even glance at the jade. He simply took a sip of his tea and asked her, "Did the master send Liu Shun to deliver a message requesting an audience? Is there anything he wishes to discuss?"