The mistress who remarried has returned.

Shuang'er was also afraid that Liangdi would gain face in front of General Qin, and did not want Liangdi to have any chance of making a comeback.

Qin Huai stood up, intending to leave the Xue residence. "Now that things here have been settled, I won't bother you any longer."

Xue Wenying smiled and said, "It's all thanks to your personal visit that things could have been handled so smoothly. I know you have a hundred important matters to deal with every day."

Qin Huai nodded. "It's alright. If you have any difficulties in your life, just let me know. If I can't come in person, I'll ask someone to help me out."

Xue Wenying escorted Qin Huai to the outside of the Xue residence. The entire Xue family rose, led by the old lady, to see him off with bows.

After leaving the Xue residence, Su Yunxi was determined to pull her younger brother away from this troublesome place. If she rushed up to him now to ask him to arrange a follow-up visit, she was afraid she would be walking into a trap.

However, Su Yunze leaned back and tried to stop, calling out softly, "Sister, slow down, your legs hurt. Sister, slow down and stop for a bit."

Su Yunxi really didn't want to linger, lest she run into Qin Huai again and cause trouble, but since her brother had stopped, she had no choice but to stop. "Why did you stop? Why don't we talk about it when we get home?"

Su Yunze still wouldn't leave. "Sister, I want to say this here."

Su Yunxi had no choice but to stop.

Xue Wenying escorted Qin Huai to the gate of the mansion and immediately saw Su Yunxi and Su Yunze talking not far away.

Liu Shun hurriedly said, "General, since Liangdi hasn't gone far yet, why don't we ask her about the cloak's whereabouts in person and retrieve it as soon as possible so we can feel at ease?"

Qin Huai nodded. "Then why aren't you going? You're dawdling like this. I don't dare trouble you. Shall I go myself?"

Seeing that the general found him tedious, Liu Shun hurriedly went over to him.

Su Yunxi, oblivious to the commotion at the gate, finally relented to her brother, saying, "Since you insist on saying it here, then so be it."

Su Yunze cautiously glanced at his older sister's face and said softly, "Sister, I'm sorry. I made a mistake today and almost had to drop out of school. Please don't be angry, it's not worth ruining your health."

Hearing her brother apologize, Su Yunxi stopped hiding her grudge and stood in the street to criticize him. Her stern expression was quite fierce. "What on earth are you thinking? For some material things, you've even abandoned your own reputation, running to kneel in the Xue family's reception hall to be humiliated. Do you know how heartbroken I was when I saw you kneeling like that? We kneel to heaven, to earth, to our mother, to those who are worthy, not just to anyone."

She paused, then continued, "Moreover, my sister is not what she used to be. She is also struggling to survive. She only has a few people around her who are worth protecting, but her abilities are limited. She is afraid that if she is not careful, she will lose even one of them."

Su Yunze listened intently to his sister scolding him with his head down, without arguing back. He liked it when his sister was fierce, because he knew it was because she cared about him.

Seeing that her younger brother didn't retaliate, Su Yunxi continued her stern criticism: "Xue Ping is alright; he's an honest child. He admitted in public that you didn't hit him, so your innocence is preserved. What if Xue Ping had been framed beforehand and denied it? What if you were wronged? Your sister doesn't have the ability to go against the Xue and Qin families right now. If you were expelled from school, what would your sister do? How would you explain it to your teacher? Your studies are so excellent; it would be such a waste to give them up. Just you wait, when we get home, I'll give Mother a good scolding too."

Su Yunze remained silent, but he wasn't angry at his sister for scolding him. He said those same few words again, "Sister, hit me. Sister, don't be angry. It's not worth getting sick from getting angry. It's all my fault, and Mother can't do anything about it."

Su Yunxi's eyes reddened. "Tell me, if those salt-soaked whips from the Qin family army were to lash you or me, wouldn't Mother be unable to sleep all night again? Promise me you won't be willful anymore, and you'll discuss every decision with me."

Seeing that his sister had finished criticizing him, Su Yunze immediately said obediently, "Sister, I know I was wrong. I will discuss any decisions I make with you from now on. Please don't be angry anymore."

Su Yunxi felt like she had punched cotton. Her brother kept repeating the same few obedient words, but in reality, he had his own reasons and plans. Fortunately, it was a close call, so she wasn't angry anymore. However, she was still feeling a bit shaken and had just had a scare. She touched her brother's hair again and again and looked at his little face over and over again.

She hadn't even experienced adulthood yet, but she already felt the bitterness of raising children for many years. Having raised her younger brother, she no longer had the desire to have children of her own; it was too difficult.

"To my sister, the incense-making tools are not as important as you in the slightest. Do you understand?"

Su Yunze nodded.

Su Yunxi grabbed her brother's hand, trying to leave quickly, but her brother broke free from her grasp.

"Sister, please wait a moment."

"What's wrong? You've finished talking, aren't you going to leave?" Su Yunxi said, lowering her voice, "You should hurry home."

"Sister, please wait for me a moment, please wait for me a moment." Su Yunze walked quickly to the stone lion behind the side gate of the Xue residence and searched the flower garden for a long time.

Su Yunxi called out to him, "Little brother, what are you looking at? The grass is covered in snow, aren't your hands cold?"

After a short while, Su Yunze returned carrying a cloth bag and handed it to his older sister. "Sister, these are for you. Open them and take a look."

The boy's hands were red from the cold snow, and the thin strap of the bag left two white marks on his hands. His eyes were full of anticipation as he handed the bag to Su Yunxi like a treasure.

Su Yunxi took the cloth bag, opened it to look inside, and saw that it contained her incense-making tools: a mortar and pestle, a small brush, a drying board, a knife, and all the utensils were there. A sudden surge of heat rose in her chest, and her emotions overflowed uncontrollably. "These are..."

"Sister, before Wang and I went into the Xue residence, I forced Wang to return your incense-making tools to me. If she didn't return them, I wouldn't go into the Xue residence with her. In the end, she had no choice but to return them to me." Su Yunze scratched his hair. "Sister, do you like them?"

Su Yunxi lowered her head and touched her incense-making tools. Her nose tingled, and she forced back her tears. Finally, she pinched Su Yunze's nose and said, "Silly boy, I like you. You're such a silly boy."

"I want my sister to be happy. I'm willing to do anything for her." Su Yunze whispered to his sister, "Sister, when we get home, let's put the incense-making tools back in their original places, so that you can make incense whenever you have free time."

Su Yunxi choked up, too moved to speak. She looked at her younger brother for a while before taking out a few coins from her clothes, intending to rent a carriage to take him home first. It was already afternoon, and the Crown Prince couldn't be left alone, so renting a carriage today was unavoidable.

We should save where we can and spend where we can. That's how life is—we take it one step at a time, and there's always a way out.

Those who practice martial arts have extremely sharp hearing, and Liu Shun and the others heard all of these words.

Liu Shun pondered, how could someone so upright have done something as treacherous as to curry favor with the Crown Prince and betray the General?

Qin Huai stared intently at the siblings, his gaze deep and unfathomable, lost in thought.

"Su Liangdi, please wait."

Just as Su Yunxi was about to go with her brother to rent a car at a crowded intersection, she heard Xue Wenying's voice calling her back.