The mistress who remarried has returned.

Xue Wenying's tone was bitter, "Seeing that Liangdi has found a new backer, I'm happy for her. Which wealthy young master is so generous in spoiling his sister that Master Wei is willing to part with this prized possession of his shop?"

Upon hearing this, everyone realized that the young lady from the Su family was from the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace. They then went back to their respective places as if forming a united front. Their elders had instructed them to avoid suspicion and stay away from the Eastern Palace, which was now in decline, so as not to cause trouble.

Birds and beasts scattered, a sight Su Yunxi was used to.

Shuang'er said disdainfully, "Consort Su is really capable. What high branch has she climbed onto this time? Even His Highness the Crown Prince, who is on his deathbed, is startled awake."

Su Yunxi knew what they cared about most: "The clothes were a gift from Qin Huai."

Xue Wenying's face turned deathly pale. It felt as if she had been struck in the chest by a sledgehammer, leaving her unable to recover for a long time. The arrogance on her face seemed to crack like a glass mirror.

Shuang'er was furious. "The eldest young master is so busy with state affairs that he would never concern himself with such trivial matters as women's clothing. It is even less likely that he would give you clothes that are much more expensive than Miss's."

Su Yunxi couldn't let Qin Huai get involved with the Crown Prince and damage his reputation, so after giving Xue Wenying a warning, she stopped the psychological torture: "I was just joking with Miss Xue, why did you take it seriously?"

Xue Wenying breathed a sigh of relief, as if she had been released from a trance. It must have been some young nobleman, attracted by her beauty, pursuing her. But she was truly despicable, daring to act recklessly under Qin Huai's name. Being angry at her and crushing her was a small matter; Qin Huai's reputation was a much bigger issue. She couldn't tolerate it!

"I'll ask Qin Huai if he gave it to you." Xue Wenying went straight to Qin Huai.

Su Yunxi hadn't expected Xue Wenying to be such a sore loser, going to Qin Huai's place over such a trivial matter. If she had known this would happen, she would have kept a low profile and avoided making Qin Huai's darling so angry.

He dug a huge hole for himself.

But she was merely anticipating Xue Wenying's actions and acting in self-preservation. Let Xue Wenying be.

The maidservant came to Su Yunxi's side and said, "Miss Yunxi, your father is waiting for you in the corridor over there."

"understood."

Su Yunxi glanced at Xue Wenying and saw her go to Qin Huai, where she sat down next to him with a wronged expression.

Qin Huai glanced at Su Yunxi.

Sigh... Su Yunxi was speechless. If Xue Wenying brought up Qin Huai to back her up, she would have no choice but to admit defeat.

Remembering that Yan Yixiao had only been gone for a few days, she took the opportunity to look at the table where the elder, Old Madam Qin, was sitting. It didn't take long for her to spot Zhou Yuan next to Consort Shu. Zhou Yuan was slumped over the table, her arms behind her head, a small, listless bundle. The flowers in her hair were the same pearl hairpins that Consort Shu had bought for her; she hadn't bought anything new. Living with her stepmother, how good could her situation be? She understood Zhou Yuan's predicament very well.

Having decided to save Yan Yixiao, they would spare no effort in doing so.

Once she confirmed Zhou Yuan's presence, Su Yunxi immediately went to Su Yuanzhou's side. There was a guard standing by the rockery in the garden who kept glancing at her; it was most likely Lin Enxiao. She was just waiting for Lord Su to inform Qin Huai before Lin Enxiao could approach her.

Su Yuanzhou frowned and asked, "You made quite a commotion just now. Those girls were all swarming around you like little magpies. Did you offend anyone?"

Su Yunxi smiled rather reservedly, "I haven't offended most of the girls."

"You haven't offended most of them?"

"I only offended one person."

"Who did you offend?"

"Xue Wenying".

"You! You! You!"

Su Yunxi looked at the helpless Lord Su. Could it be that he had some expectations regarding her social skills?

Su Yuanzhou was unsure of Qin Huai's feelings for his girl, saying, "If you have Qin Huai's favor and are influential enough, what does it matter if you offend Xue Wenying or the higher-ups?"

As he spoke, Su Yuanzhou pointed to the sky.

Su Yunxi had no idea what was going on in the sky. Her father's wishful thinking had backfired, and the abacus beads had even hit her in the face. But Qin Huai had said that she wasn't worth his antagonism towards the imperial family.

She has a certain weight.

Father was foolishly indulging in fantasies.

Upon reaching Qin Huai's side, Su Yuanzhou bowed deeply, saying, "This humble one greets the General."

When Su Yunxi arrived, Xue Wenying was sitting close to Qin Huai, and the two were talking. Because they cared so much about Qin Huai, the two even maintained a polite distance while speaking. Su Yunxi could already feel a burning pain in her breath.

Upon hearing this, Qin Huai's gaze swept past Su Yuanzhou and landed on Su Yunxi. She had put on a suitable light makeup and dressed so attractively that she had indeed developed some feelings for him.

A delicate fragrance of sandalwood and cypress wafted into his nostrils. Qin Huai glanced at the sachet at Su Yunxi's waist, its tassels gently brushing against her lower abdomen and calves in the breeze.

"What brings Lord Su and his daughter to my place? Did I make an appointment with you?"

With so many people and eyes on Qin Huai's side, and Zhou Qiu, who was also present at the banquet, having a deep grudge against the Crown Prince, Su Yunxi's arrival was tantamount to a lamb entering a tiger's den.

Qin Huai's aloof tone made Su Yunxi shrink back. In the past, Qin Huai had always secretly seen her, hiding it from Xue Wenying. Her father's impulsive bringing her here today was undoubtedly an offense, and might even create a rift between him and Miss Xue. Su Yunxi was merely Qin Huai's secret plaything. In public, he wouldn't acknowledge her.

"Xixi, the general is asking you a question, quickly greet him." Su Yuanzhou immediately pushed his daughter closer to Qin Huai to show her respect.

Caught off guard by her father's push, Su Yunxi had no choice but to grab Qin Huai's arm with both hands to steady herself. His arm stiffened abruptly when she touched him, and his gaze fell on her bare wrists. He didn't see the agate bracelet he had personally polished on her wrists, so he assumed she had thrown it away long ago and didn't often stare at it.

Xue Wenying said gently, "I hope you weren't hurt? Lord Su has made you a little wary; how could you have fallen?"

Qin Huai immediately brushed Su Yunxi's hand away from his arm. Su Yunxi realized that Xue Wenying wasn't worried about her, but rather that she minded her holding onto Qin Huai's arm. The blisters on her palms from the copper stove used for boiling medicine were aggravated by the cool fabric of Qin Huai's clothes.

Qin Huai saw the bulging blisters. She just frowned and silently endured the pain without making a sound. How could her palm be burned so badly?

To avoid suspicion, Qin Huai brushed her away with the hand he had used that night to hold the dagger and prevent her from committing suicide. Su Yunxi should have been sensible enough to remain silent in front of Miss Xue, but she was unwilling to accept that her seven years of embarrassment had been so shameful. She couldn't deny that ever since their unpleasant parting, she had always remembered his hand and his cloak. When she finally spoke, she realized her voice was hoarse and strained. "Qin Huai, have you been changing the dressing on your hand properly these past few days?"

Qin Huai recalled the scheming way she bent down to pick up his cloak from the trash can, which made her polite greeting seem extremely hypocritical. He simply smiled faintly.

"Are you still angry and upset?" Su Yunxi remembered that every year on this day, he would suffer from headaches because of his brother's death anniversary. The headache, coupled with being angry about the cloak, was too harmful to his body. It was indeed her recklessness in the matter of the cloak that trampled on his dignity, and she felt guilty.

Qin Huai mocked himself, saying that she had always been so indifferent and ignoring to him, perhaps thinking that he would heal himself no matter what, so she found it inexplicable that he was still angry.

He pursed his thin lips, and since no one was there to comfort or console him, he asked, "Is there anything to be happy about?"

Shen Shu clicked his tongue. Liangdi really dared to ask such a question. Four years ago, she stepped on Qin Huai to remarry into the Eastern Palace, hurting Qin Huai to the core. How could Qin Huai be happy?

When she had just remarried Zhou Yu, Qin Huai had to mutilate himself to control himself from falling out with the imperial family for her sake. The fact that he didn't kill her with his sword when he saw her again was purely due to his good upbringing.

Su Yuanzhou broke out in a cold sweat. Had he just sent his daughter to pay her respects or to commit suicide? ...After being cuckolded for four years, what's the general so happy about?