The mistress who remarried has returned.

Su Yunxi stopped and turned around. She saw Xue Wenying walking towards her. She was not alone; Qin Huai and Liu Shun were also not far behind her.

What's going on now...?

Has she gotten herself into trouble with them again?

"Miss Xue, is there something you need?" Su Yunxi was forced to respond unhappily, still feeling upset about being forced by Xue Wenying to accept the servants' unwanted old clothes in the courtyard earlier.

Avoid direct contact with Xue Wenying if possible, as she is always causing her trouble.

"It's not my business," Xue Wenying said, glancing back at Qin Huai before turning her gaze back to Su Yunxi's face. "It's a matter concerning the General. It's inconvenient for the General to call you, since you are a married woman."

What about Qin Huai?

What could Qin Huai possibly need from her? She only ever pesters Qin Huai for help; she wouldn't dare walk right into his trap now.

Su Yunxi glanced at Qin Huai, but Qin Huai was staring straight ahead, as if he hadn't seen her. She immediately realized that he didn't want to appear familiar with Miss Xue and was avoiding suspicion. His cold demeanor made it seem as if he didn't know her.

Su Yunxi asked Qin Huai, "General Qin, what brings you here?"

Surely she shouldn't be the butt of today's joke, but honestly, just now her own brother was arrested to take the blame, kneeling in the hall like a pitiful little thing, and she and Wang Shi had such an embarrassing public feud. Her family affairs are such a mess, isn't that ridiculous?

Qin Huai did not speak to her.

Su Yunxi was so angry that her teeth itched. Wasn't it him who kissed her in the East Palace? Now he was acting like he didn't know her. How hypocritical!

Liu Shunyan said, "Liangdi, I have received definite news that General Qin's indigo cloak is with you. Is this news true?"

An indigo-colored...cloak.

Su Yunxi's heart skipped a beat. She had cut the indigo cloak several times and thrown it into the trash can.

Since Liu Shun asked her that question, he must have inquired at the Eastern Palace and obtained clear information.

If Su Yunxi said she hadn't seen the cloak, then Li Changchuan would be guilty of lying to Liu Shun and would be punished. She couldn't let Li Changchuan get away with it, so she said softly, "The cloak is with me. I wonder what happened to it..."

Su Yunxi asked rather subtly about the other person's intention in searching for the cloak. She hadn't expected Qin Huai to ask again after he'd already thrown it away; she hadn't anticipated him bringing it up again.

I'll be wearing it in a couple of days.

Just as Liu Shun was about to say something, he heard Qin Huai answer Su Yunxi's question in person.

"....................." What did he say?!

He's going to wear it in a couple of days?!

No way....

Su Yunxi's feelings at this moment were simply indescribable; neither seal script, Song script, nor cursive script could express her feelings at this moment.

Qin Huai scrutinized Su Yunxi's expression with his usual serious demeanor, but what kind of expression was that? He hadn't seen anything like it on her face in years. Was she embarrassed because she'd been caught hiding his cloak?

Liu Shun added, "Here's the thing, Consort Su, the General accidentally lost his cloak. It was made by the Old Madam herself, wearing her reading glasses. The next two days is the Master's birthday, and the birthday banquet will be held at Yingtian Pavilion on the back mountain of the Qin Mansion. It will be cold and windy then, and the Old Madam specifically instructed the General to wear this cloak on that day. If the cloak is with you, Consort Su, then please ask you to return it."

Su Yunxi tried to remain calm as she said, "So that cloak was made by the old lady herself while wearing her reading glasses. She was going to wear it on the master's birthday banquet, right? It needs to be returned... right?"

Qin Huai said in a deep voice, "Yes."

Upon hearing this, Su Yunxi observed Qin Huai's expression. He remained as stern and unsmiling as ever. She couldn't imagine what his expression would be when he saw his cloak torn to shreds in her trash can. How could she then ask him to send a doctor to the Eastern Palace for a follow-up examination?!

She thought he found her cloak dirty and threw it away. She was angry and worried that keeping it would damage his reputation, so she planned to destroy and bury it. It turned out that he had accidentally lost it.

Indeed, he was a scion of a prominent family and held an important position. He couldn't possibly have time to fuss over trivial matters with someone as insignificant as her. Besides, this cloak was extremely valuable and was made by his grandmother. Even if he thought it was dirty, he could simply choose not to wear it and wouldn't just throw it away.

It was her carelessness that led to this incident being handled so hastily.

What should I do...?

Xue Wenying quickly said, "In that case, I will go to Liangdi's house to fetch the cloak and then deliver it to the General. The General is busy with official duties, so please go and attend to your business."

Su Yunxi thought Xue Wenying's idea was good. It was good to delay for a while and give her time to think of a solution. At least she could mend it a bit. So she said, "Then I'll have to trouble Miss Xue."

Qin Huai, observing Su Yunxi's ever-changing expression, said calmly to Xue Wenying, "It's cold, you don't need to go through all that trouble. Besides, you'll need to comfort Xue Ping when you get back to the manor; the child is injured and needs an adult to comfort him. I'll just stop by the Su residence on my way and pick it up."

Xue Wenying didn't want Qin Huai and Su Yunxi to be alone, but she also didn't want to go back and forth, which would be inefficient and make her seem petty and narrow-minded. So she said, "You always think so thoroughly about me. So I'll do as you say."

Su Yunxi now wished that Xue Wenying and Qin Huai could linger a little longer in their lovemaking and not rush to get their clothes. She couldn't think of a good way to delay them, but the two seemed to have already finished their lovemaking...

Qin Huai nodded to Xue Wenying to take his leave, and then said to Su Yunxi, "I still have things to do at my post, so don't waste my time. I'm not idle every day."

Su Yunxi swallowed hard, and considerately suggested, "Why don't you go ahead and attend to your duties, General? I also have some things to do and won't be home until later..."

Qin Huai lowered his eyes to examine the food box in her hand.

Su Yunxi quickly hid the food box for the Crown Prince behind her back, not daring to say that she was going to the Eastern Palace to deliver food to the Crown Prince and attend to his illness, lest she provoke him into abusing her.

Qin Huai glanced at the food box behind her again, "Let's pick up the cloak on the way."

Seeing that his elder sister was busy and couldn't get away, Su Yunze wanted to help her out, so he said, "Elder sister, I'm going home now. I'll take the general home to get his cloak. Where is the cloak? Leave this to me."

Su Yunxi couldn't very well say that the cloak was lying in the trash can in her room, so she resolutely stopped her younger brother from taking Qin Huai home to retrieve the cloak, as neither her brother nor her mother could handle that situation.

But she herself... couldn't handle it either.

I have absolutely no clue.

What an absolutely terrifying and unexpected situation!

"The place I put it in is a bit hard to find. If you can't find it, I'll have to find it myself. After all, it belongs to the general, it's very precious, and my sister cherishes it very much..." Su Yunxi said cautiously, while secretly observing Qin Huai's expression, her heart filled with panic. "My sister carefully placed the cloak in a very secure place..."

Qin Huai's gaze lingered on Su Yunxi's face, his expression the most varied he'd seen in all the years he'd raised her. Combining this with the love letter, he could probably guess where she'd put the cloak. It turned out she still harbored feelings for him all along...