The mistress who remarried has returned.

Su Yunxi pursed her lips and remained silent.

Qin Huai pulled on the reins at the crossroads, urging the horse to continue southeast. His voice, barely louder than the winter wind, boomed, "Four years ago, on that rainy night, what...what happened to you?"

When Su Yunxi heard him ask about the rainy night four years ago, she still remembered that after talking with Madam Qin, she was soaked by the rain and ran to the military camp to find him, and heard him say that he would take away all the light in her world. It was too painful, and even thinking about it made her heart ache.

She bit her tongue, her eyes glistening with tears, but ultimately said nothing. Exposing his seven years of exploitation of her would do her no good.

"It's one thing to ignore Xue Wenying in the manor and not say a word to her," Qin Huai said in a deep voice. "But now you're treating me the same way. You've really crossed my line."

When Su Yunxi heard him mention her ignoring Xue Wenying at the Xue residence, she assumed he was displeased that she had offended his beloved. Since she had indeed fallen into his hands—besides the Crown Prince needing a follow-up appointment, her cloak had also been ruined—she couldn't withstand any further of his machinations. Even if she didn't want to speak, she couldn't remain silent any longer, so she said:

"I don't want Miss Xue's maid to wear the old clothes she was going to throw away. They're forcing me to give them to them. I don't want them, so what's the point of arguing with them in my situation? Can't I just keep quiet? If I like them, they mean well, but they're forcing me to like them when I don't. That's humiliating."

As Su Yunxi spoke, her nose began to sting with tears.

"My brother is at her residence, and you've come to help her too. What can I say? Can I say that even servants don't want this, so why are you giving me this junk? What if you accuse me of being ungrateful? I can only remain silent."

Qin Huai glanced down at her old clothes, pondered for a moment, and said, "She gave you clothes that her servants didn't want, which upset you. I rushed to the Xue residence to punish Wang Shi without even changing out of my blood-stained clothes, and sent a whip dipped in salt water to the Ministry of Revenue to beat her to a pulp while she was serving in Su Yuanzhou. You weren't happy then either?"

"You didn't come here for me." Su Yunxi's voice trembled as she spoke these simple words, almost choking with emotion. "What is there for me to be happy about? Just because I benefited from Miss Xue, am I supposed to be as happy as a fool? Qin Huai, I'm not that easily satisfied. I don't care about basking in someone else's glory and gloating over it. It's either mine or it's not. There's no middle ground."

"I know you're domineering and selfish in relationships. Let me see where the cloak is first, then I'll tell you who I came here for, and who's really benefiting from whom." Qin Huai gently rested his chin on her forehead, lightly rubbing it. "We'll talk later."

"What are you talking about?"

"Let's talk about things we haven't questioned each other about in recent years."

Su Yunxi looked up in confusion and saw him staring down at her. There was no mockery of her situation in his eyes, nor any resentment for her past betrayal. He was looking at her with the same affection as before. Perhaps she had encountered a bad situation at the Xue mansion today and hoped that her former husband could give her some care. She was just letting her thoughts wander in the direction of her own hopes.

"Didn't you have something to do?" Qin Huai glanced at the weather; it was still dark and terribly cold. "Go take care of your business first. It's cold; there's no need to wander around the streets like this."

Su Yunxi clutched the food box tightly in her arms, too afraid to say that her job was to go to the East Palace to feed her husband, give him medicine, change his dressings, and bathe him. Last time, he kissed her so disrespectfully, and she didn't like being humiliated by him in that way. What's worse, Kang Yin caught them.

I had fantasized about getting close to him many times, but this shouldn't have happened under these circumstances.

"What do you mean by 'something'?" Qin Huai asked.

Su Yunxi stammered, "What else could I possibly have to do? All I do all day is deal with the two things at the Su family's East Palace."

Seeing her carefully protecting the food box, Qin Huai, though his expression was not good, suppressed his temper and said, "I have neglected to take care of you these past few years, and Zhou Yu has filled the gap. He has taken good care of you and protected your reputation for the past four years. Now that he is in trouble, it is only right that you repay him."

Su Yunxi was taken aback, a warm feeling rising in her heart. His words seemed to imply he realized she had been wronged; did he believe in her character, that she was innocent in the blind date? She didn't have the courage to ask directly, worried she might misunderstand again. She whispered, "He has been kind to me. If it weren't for him these past few years, my father would probably have started treating the three of us coldly four years ago, and it wouldn't have come to this. If you can understand, then please send me to the East Palace first. I really need to go there to see him and give him the medicine."

"Tell me, have you and he been husband and wife these past few years? Once you've told me, I'll send you to the East Palace." Qin Huai asked bluntly, his voice trembling slightly at the end.

His question was based on distrust. If they trusted and knew each other, she should know that she wouldn't give herself to anyone except him. Su Yunxi felt disappointed and answered bluntly, "I have never been husband and wife with him..."

Qin Huai's breath hitched. "You've kept your virginity for the past four years?"

Su Yunxi lowered her chin and nodded, her ears filled with the sound of his breath coming in disarray.

"Speak up. Don't just nod."

"I have remained chaste for the general for four years." When you're under someone's roof, you have no choice but to bow your head. Besides, his cloak is in her trash can, so she has even more reason to flatter him.

Qin Huai remained silent for quite some time.

Su Yunxi inexplicably felt that his quietness brought a lot of unfamiliar charm to her.

"You and Zhou Yu have been flaunting your relationship right under my nose for four years. I didn't miss seeing you dressed up so extravagantly next to him." With a slump in her neck, Qin Huai lowered his face and whispered in her ear, "Don't try to fool me now. If you get me involved, you'll have to clean up the mess."

Su Yunxi had indeed been sulking with Qin Huai for the past four years. Every time she might see Qin Huai, she would dress up excessively, not wanting to lose too badly. She wanted to show Qin Huai that he didn't care about her and that she was doing well.

At this moment, I felt like I had been digging my own grave for the past four years; who would have thought I'd end up in his hands? It just goes to show, you can't be too ostentatious...

Su Yunxi felt a slight itch as his breath tickled her ear. She raised her hand and gently touched her ear, accidentally brushing her fingertips against his neck. It was burning hot, and her hand trembled from the heat. She looked up at him, and the suppressed emotions in his eyes frightened her.