The mistress who remarried has returned.

Xue Wenying felt a pang of bitterness and asked Qin Huai in a low voice, "Why did you and Su Liangdi come back one after the other?"

Qin Huai didn't say anything. His guilt towards Xue Wenying vanished completely after he learned that Xue Wenying was the person behind his separation from Xixi for four years.

After the banquet ended.

Qin Huai, his wife, and Xue Wenying rode in the same carriage.

Madam Qin said sarcastically, "General Qin, you are truly upright and honorable. The young lady who once took six arrows for you was used as a tool for your spite, and now you have finally gotten your wish and are with Miss Xue. Congratulations!"

Qin Huai looked at his mother and said, "Mother, you heard Miss Xue say that I used Xixi as a tool to spite her, and you believed it and passed it on to Xixi?"

He paused, then turned sarcastic towards his mother, "Mother, you're really helpful. You've personally made your beloved Xixi run away from her son."

Madam Qin was taken aback. Had she made some wrong decision? She had always believed that she was helping Xixi. "Isn't that how you treat Xixi? Then why did you keep her in the villa for seven years without bringing her back to the manor?"

Qin Huai said coldly, "Because I know my mother won't let me have anything I like. My mother hates me. She will take away anything I like. Only in this way will my mother's guilt and remorse towards Qin Jun be lessened. Therefore, I dare not expose Xixi to my mother."

After a long silence, Madam Qin suddenly realized that she had misunderstood Qin Huai regarding Xixi. Then, had she also misunderstood Qin Huai about Qin Jun's situation back then? "Could it be that your feelings for Xixi are genuine? Then why did Xue Wenying tell me that you..."

As he spoke, he suddenly composed himself and looked at Xue Wenying.

Xue Wenying's face turned pale. How did Qin Huai find out about this? Could it be that Su Yunxi, that little bitch, had the courage to question Qin Huai about it? She thought Su Yunxi was heartbroken and would never have the courage to bring it up again, since mentioning it would be as painful as being slowly sliced ​​to death.

Qin Huai glanced at Xue Wenying, threw the letter Xue Wenying had written to Madam Qin accusing him of having an affair with Xixi in front of her, and then stared at her indifferently, "All my guilt and attempts to make amends to you end here."

Xue Wenying hadn't expected that Qin Huai had found out she was the one who had reported him and tried to get Madam Qin and Lord Qin to reprimand Qin Huai and distance him from Su Yunxi. She understood that Qin Huai was telling her that she had character flaws and wasn't worth his continued compensation. So she laughed and said, "What did I do wrong? Didn't you change your mind and fall for Su Yunxi after your mother married me off to Suzhou? What are you pretending to be a victim for? You and Su Yunxi have wronged me in the first place."

Qin Huai stretched his hand out of the car window to signal Liu Shun to stop the car.

Liu Shun then stopped the carriage.

Qin Huai looked at Xue Wenying and said, "Whether I marry you or break off the engagement, it has always been Madam Qin's decision. I have never liked you. How can you say I have changed my mind?"

Xue Wenying swayed violently. Qin Huai had never liked her? She suddenly realized that all the hatred she had felt over the years had been one-sided. It turned out that Qin Huai had never liked her.

Qin Huai chuckled lightly, "Miss Xue has made quite a bit of money off me over the past ten years. I advise you to stop while you're ahead. Don't let it happen again. If it does, I won't be so polite."

After speaking, Qin Huai got off the carriage.

Madam Qin and Xue Wenying were left alone.

Madam Qin only realized later that she had listened to Xue Wenying's slander and forced Qin Huai and Su Yunxi to break up. Qin Huai had not used Xixi. She suddenly seriously examined herself and wondered if she had been too prejudiced against Qin Huai.

The words that Xixi said to her, whether shifting all the blame for Qin Jun's mistakes onto Qin Huai, would lessen the guilt of a mother neglecting her eldest son, seemed deafening at this moment.

Madam Qin smiled and said to Xue Wenying, "It seems that you won't be able to enter the Qin family's gate on the eighth day of the second month. I'm willing, but he's not. Do you need me to introduce you to someone?"

Xue Wenying clutched the letter of denunciation tightly, her eyes filled with self-mockery. She had thought she was the one who had been wronged, but she never imagined that she had never truly entered a man's heart. Oh well, what a worthless man he was.

***

After the palace banquet, Su Yunxi came to the East Palace ahead of the Crown Prince because he was going to escort Zhou Yuan and Empress Xiao back to the palace.

She got off the carriage and saw Qin Huai waiting under the palace wall in the distance.

Qin Huai didn't even try to avoid people; he made it clear that he was there to pick someone up.

Su Yunxi didn't take any precautions, after all, Zhou Yu had already written a letter of release for her as a concubine, so she actually had nothing to do with Zhou Yu. She walked closer to Qin Huai.

Qin Huai saw her. "I'll wait for you here."

"Oh," Su Yunxi responded softly.

Seeing that she only responded with a sound and then silently stayed by his side, Qin Huai frowned. "What's wrong?"

"You were slashed on the arm by a sword from the Daqi people. Does it hurt badly?" Su Yunxi regretted that she and Madam Qin had indeed acted somewhat recklessly in sending Xue Wenying to Daqi.

Qin Huai smiled, pursing his lips. "If you hadn't caused this trouble, I wouldn't have known the truth. So, this sword didn't hurt. On the contrary, I feel that this sword came too late."

Su Yunxi asked, "When are we going to Daqi?"

"After my younger brother's spring exams," Qin Huai said.

Su Yunxi thought for a moment, "Then can I bring my pillow? I can't sleep if I have to change my pillow in a different place. And my wood and incense-making tools too."

"Sure, you can bring anything you want," Qin Huai said affectionately. "You can do whatever you want in the rear camp."

Su Yunxi didn't say anything more and went into the East Palace.

Not long after, Zhou Yu returned to the East Palace after escorting Empress Xiao and Zhou Yuan back to the palace. He saw Qin Huai outside the East Palace. The two men only glanced at each other and did not greet each other or say anything.

Zhou Yu entered the Eastern Palace.

Su Yunxi was idly fiddling with the tassel of a lantern under the eaves.

Zhou Yu was extremely moved by the sight. He walked closer and embraced the unsuspecting Su Yunxi.

Su Yunxi was suddenly pulled into an unfamiliar embrace. She quickly took a few steps back, turned around, and saw that it was Zhou Yu. She then bowed to Zhou Yu and said, "Your Highness."

As Zhou Yu watched the Eastern Palace regain its former prosperity, and his retainers gradually returned home, his legs now able to move freely without crutches, he sighed, "Consort, we are no longer inferior to others. Those who threw horse manure at you have all been dealt with by me. Linglong, who once bullied you, I have ordered her to commit suicide. Consort, no one can bully you anymore."