The mistress who remarried has returned.

Su Yunxi clearly sensed that Qin Huai was unwilling to talk to Xue Wenying, so she remained silent.

Xue Wenying stood up and walked to Su Yunxi's side. "How did Liangdi burn her hand? It looks pretty bad. Qin Huai just burned his hand too. There's an ice bucket here, quickly use ice to cool it down."

As he spoke, he asked Shuang'er to bring over the ice bucket.

Su Yunxi's burns on her hands were old wounds from two days ago, and ice cream would not help anymore. Moreover, she had been in a secluded spot in the garden for a long time, and her body was cold, so she was unwilling to put her hands into the ice.

Xue Wenying carried the ice bucket over herself and gently pinched the blisters on Su Yunxi's palm. "You have to take good care of burns. If you accidentally break them, they can leave scars."

Su Yunxi's blisters were quite severe. Although Xue Wenying only lightly pinched the edge, it was already painful enough to make her wince. She pulled her hand back sharply, not used to putting on airs with someone she disliked, and bluntly refused, "No need. It was burned a couple of days ago, no need to soak it in ice again."

Su Yunxi glanced at the list of concubines that Qin Huai was choosing, feeling incredibly jealous because of his selection. But this jealousy should belong to Miss Xue; she had no right to be jealous.

"ah."

Xue Wenying let out a soft cry, and then the ice bucket fell to the ground, scattering ice everywhere. The servants rushed to clean it up, and Xue Wenying staggered back two or three steps, looking as if she was about to fall.

Qin Huai quickly reached out and steadied Xue Wenying's shoulder, helping her regain her balance. She then bit her lip, her eyes red, and said, "Su Liangdi, I'm so sorry. I meant well. I didn't know this was an old injury. I overstepped my bounds. Please don't be angry."

Su Yunxi gently rubbed her hands. Her fingertips had just been pressed against an ice cube, and they were very cold. She noticed that Qin Huai's gaze was studying her expression, but she didn't say anything. She clearly hadn't pushed him hard, yet he almost fell. She hated this kind of scheming and intrigue; it was boring and frustrating, yet she couldn't win against it.

Shuang'er said discontentedly, "Consort Su, why did you push Miss? That's going too far. Miss was very kind at the banquet, but you not only didn't appreciate it, you even bullied her. And now that you're with the General, you still don't restrain yourself at all. You're being far too arrogant."

Su Yuanzhou heard that Miss Xue's maid was dissatisfied with his daughter. He was not sure of his own daughter's worth, but Miss Xue was a well-known favorite of General Qin. It would be right for his daughter to be polite and submissive to Miss Xue. "Miss Shuang'er, how did Xixi offend Miss Su just now? Please tell me, and I will have Xixi apologize to Miss Xue."

Xue Wenying quickly stopped her, saying, "Shuang'er, there's no need to say anymore. It's all trivial and not worth mentioning."

Shuang'er said, "Miss, you're just too good-natured, that's why you get bullied by Liangdi time and time again."

As she spoke, she bowed to Qin Huai and reported, "Before coming here, Lord Su sent a maid to find Consort Su. Miss, being considerate of Consort Su's shyness at a men's gathering, asked her to come and join in the fun. But when Consort Su arrived, she mocked Miss Xue, saying her clothes were not as valuable as hers, that her cloak was made of fox fur while Miss's was made of raccoon fur, and went to great lengths to belittle her. Today, she clearly dressed up intentionally to embarrass Miss, and all the ladies present laughed at Miss, calling her a vulgar woman."

After listening, Qin Huai gazed at Su Yunxi in silence.

Su Yunxi did not argue. So what if she did it? Could she just let others bully her without fighting back?

When Su Yuanzhou learned that his daughter had embarrassed Xue Wenying twice in a short period of time, he walked up to Su Yunxi and said sternly, "Xixi, quickly apologize to Miss Xue."

Su Yunxi lowered her head and repeatedly rubbed her cold fingertips. Even though she had dressed up today to embarrass Xue Wenying, and had anticipated that Xue Wenying would embarrass her first, she did not think she was wrong. She was also not wrong for not wanting to dip her hands in ice earlier, so why should she force her?

Su Yuanzhou was quite exasperated by his daughter's stubborn nature and urged her in a low voice, "Xixi, have some manners, okay? You're the one who doesn't know what's good for you, why don't you apologize?"

Su Yunxi remained silent, neither arguing nor cooperating.

Xue Wenying stared innocently at Qin Huai. "It's also my fault. She once took an arrow for you, and I always wanted to help her when she was in trouble. Now she's so cold and silent, I don't know what to do. Otherwise, I should go and apologize to her. I don't want to make enemies with the girls in the capital."

Su Yunxi glanced at Qin Huai. If Qin Huai asked her to apologize, she would force herself to apologize because she needed to get away from him unscathed, meet Lin Enxiao for Yan Yixiao's sake, and couldn't bear the consequences of disobeying Qin Huai.

Her fingertips ached from rubbing them so much.

"She dressed up today not to embarrass you. She did it for someone else." Qin Huai's voice rang in everyone's ears. "You tried to be nice to her two or three times, but she didn't accept it. You should have learned your lesson by now. That's just her personality. Bringing me into it won't work. Even if you force her to apologize, she won't be convinced. She's just going through the motions."

Xue Wenying was taken aback, not having gained any favor, but she could tell that Qin Huai disapproved of her repeated attempts to curry favor with Consort Su. It seemed she couldn't act like that again. "It seems Shuang'er misunderstood her. But who was she dressed up for?"

Su Yunxi didn't understand why Qin Huai was so angry that night that he held a dagger to her neck, yet he never acted unfairly or took sides to help his favorite. He was a very good young master from a noble family, but she was always extremely disappointed yet couldn't give up.

But she dressed up so extravagantly just to provoke Xue Wenying. Who did he think she dressed up for?

Qin Huai didn't say anything more.

Just then, someone came to Zhou Qiu with a message: "The Emperor summons you, Second Master. Because Consort Shu sent someone to the Eastern Palace to retrieve a robe that the Crown Prince wears, the Emperor wants you to arrange for it to be immediately sent to Empress Xiao in the Cold Palace, so that she may find some comfort. The Emperor praised Consort Shu for her kindness."

Qin Huai looked at Shen Shu, "I didn't hear you mention anything."

Shen Shu leaned closer to Qin Huai and said, "Empress Xiao is ill. I'm having someone inquire about the extent of her illness."

"I'm off now." As Zhou Qiu walked, he instructed his men to keep a close eye on Qin Huai's movements. If he couldn't get the support of the Qin family, who controlled half the country, even if the crown prince fell, his position would still be unstable.

Su Yunxi noticed that Zhou Qiu had already been granted a separate palace by the Emperor and now referred to himself as "this palace," indicating that the Emperor intended to support him. Zhou Yu, knowing this, was inevitably depressed.

After Zhou Qiu left, Qin Huai leaned back in his chair, one hand resting on the armrest. The bluish veins under his skin were clearly visible on the back of his hand. With Zhou Qiu gone, he was less hesitant. "What do you want?"

Upon hearing the general's question, Su Yuanzhou hurriedly replied, "Xixi is a child with little fortune. After the incident at the Crown Prince's Palace, usually no one dares to take her in. Fortunately, the Lin family offered one hundred taels of silver to take her in as their daughter-in-law, so that she could live with Lin Enxiao as a family. Xixi herself is willing. However, she said that since she has received favors from General Qin, she cannot make her own decision about marriage. She asked me to bring her to you for your instructions."

As he spoke, Su Yuanzhou pushed Su Yunxi between Qin Huai and Xue Wenying.

Su Yunxi felt utterly ashamed. It was clearly her father who wanted to assess her worth to determine if she could climb the social ladder in the Qin family, yet he pushed her out to ask Qin Huai for his opinion. What was she asking? Did he approve of her being with another man? The answer was too obvious: Qin Huai didn't care about her at all.

Xue Wenying found it laughable. Qin Huai was betrayed by Su Yunxi back then and became a laughing stock in the capital. What does it have to do with Qin Huai who she is to be matched with now?

One of the young noblemen, feeling smug for Qin Huai, said, "Brother Qin, how arrogant she was back then! She climbed up to the Crown Prince and then dumped you. Now her own father is selling her for a pittance of a hundred taels. Brother Qin, why don't you quickly say 'What does this have to do with me?' and make her cry her eyes out?"

"She's made a fool of herself by coming here to ask; does she really think Brother Qin would be reluctant to let her be sold?"

Qin Huai glanced at the silent Su Yunxi and said humbly, "Your father is arranging a marriage for you, so you need my advice, right?"

Su Yunxi was completely unaffected by the blatant ridicule from others, but her eyes reddened just from hearing Qin Huai's restrained tone.

He was usually very cultured, and even though he was inwardly pleased, his tone remained polite and humble. Su Yunxi, however, felt as if a thousand arrows were piercing her heart amidst this gentle laughter. Compared to the rude young master, Qin Huai's detached and indifferent politeness was far more hurtful.