The mistress who remarried has returned.

If it weren't for the need to wait for Qin Huai to make her father realize her worth before she could go see Lin Enxiao, she really wouldn't have had the courage to stand here and hear Qin Huai say in front of Xue Wenying, "What does this have to do with me?"

She didn't want to continue harboring illusions, and wanted to extinguish her hopes and resentment towards him. So she raised her delicate chin and said in a trembling voice, "My father has found me a new partner. Will you agree to it? That's why I came to ask you this."

Qin Huai felt a pang of guilt at her reddened eyes and looked at Liu Shun, "Who is Lin Shanbao? And who is Lin Enxiao?"

Liu Shun knew this family well. "Lin Shanbao is a servant bodyguard of Consort Shu. He has three sons. Lin Shanbao has a back ailment and is bedridden year-round. One son is a gambler, another is lazy and gluttonous, and Lin Enxiao is Lin Shanbao's youngest son, who now serves Consort Shu."

Qin Huai nodded after hearing this.

Liu Shun asked Su Yunxi with suspicion, "Given Liangdi's personality, she would never agree to this marriage. Was she forced into it by Lord Su?"

Su Yuanzhou immediately replied, "I did not force my daughter; she came of her own volition. If she hadn't wanted to, given her personality, she would have gone to the authorities to sue me; she would never have forced herself to agree. Indeed, she came to the Qin residence of her own volition. If you don't believe me, General, you can ask her."

Su Yunxi said softly, "It was indeed my own choice to come. Otherwise, my father wouldn't have been able to kidnap me."

Qin Huai's heart skipped a beat. So, she had paid such a high price to come to his side. Was it all for the sake of seeing him on this day?

Liu Shun whispered in Qin Huai's ear, "Last time she asked me to pass on a message to the general, and it took her five or six days to finally see him. I'm afraid she remembered that the general was in a bad mood today and was worried that if she didn't pass on the message in time, she would miss today. So she brought her marriage along with her father to the Qin residence to see you. If he doesn't agree to that marriage, her father will never bring her to the Qin residence."

The concubine must have been terrified, forced into marriage by her father. Now, with no one to rely on and no one to stand up for her, she's been married off to a father and his four sons—truly pitiful. She's overcome countless obstacles to accompany you through this difficult time; even a heart of stone should soften your heart.

Qin Huai remained silent. He had already seen through Su Yuanzhou's intentions. Su Yuanzhou was testing him through Su Yunxi and wanted to climb up to the Qin family as a safe haven. However, Su Yuanzhou was not discreet enough. He could not give Su Yuanzhou any hope, otherwise this person would definitely cause trouble for the Qin family. Just the fact that Su Yuanzhou openly brought Xixi to find him showed that he was not thoughtful in his actions and did not finish what he started.

As for Su Yunxi, he needs to put her in a difficult position for the time being. He is not only a man, but also the legitimate son of the Qin family, and he cannot act as he pleases. She has indeed piqued his curiosity.

"Lord Su, you've actually set your sights on the Qin family!"

Su Yuanzhou suddenly bent over, breaking out in a cold sweat. He realized in an instant that he could fool everyone but not the general. Everyone said he was asking for instructions out of respect for the general, but the general knew that he was testing his daughter's worth. This was good, as it would let him know how much his daughter meant to the general, and everyone would no longer have to be ambiguous and guess.

Su Yunxi felt that her father was digging his own grave, looking like a clown, utterly pathetic in front of Qin Huai, his attempt to climb the social ladder exposed. He deserved it; he brought it on himself.

She was anxiously awaiting Qin Huai's answer. She actually knew the answer, but she stubbornly wanted to hear it yet was also afraid to.

Qin Huai slowly said to Su Yuanzhou, "Your daughter is to be married off, why are you asking for my opinion? Her husband's family is now in the Eastern Palace, you should go and ask the Crown Prince for his opinion. No matter who she is married to, or how many men she has to serve, it has nothing to do with me anymore. You should give up on that idea as soon as possible."

Xue Wenying sighed softly, called out Rongzhi in a low voice, and then nodded her chin toward Su Yunxi, "Give her a little face, that would be nice."

Qin Huai looked over and saw that Su Yunxi's face was already bloodless, and she was backing away step by step, the tears in her eyes shimmering with each step. He tightened his grip, but ultimately remained silent.

Su Yuanzhou then realized that his daughter meant nothing to the general. The Crown Prince was dying; what was the point of asking? There was no need. He immediately looked down on his daughter and respectfully said to Qin Huai, "I understand the general's meaning. Arrange for Lin Enxiao to take Xixi home. Lin Shanbao's wife has urged us four or five times to send her to the bridal chamber. I won't delay any longer; let her go and consummate the marriage."

Qin Huai's face was extremely ugly. He hadn't expected Su Yuanzhou to take Zhou Yu so lightly. He had revealed Zhou Yu as a pawn, but it had no effect at all. This good-for-nothing was being treated like a treasure by someone who took care of him every day.

The socialites nearby were whispering amongst themselves.

"Isn't that girl her father's biological daughter? How could he bear to send her to serve four men?"

"How pitiful! Her father doesn't care about her at all. But she seems so well-behaved."

"Maybe she just looks well-behaved, but is actually a very bad girl inside. Otherwise, why would her own father dislike her so much?"

"General Qin also neglects her. It seems that he was only interested in her for a short time before. Now that Miss Xue has returned to the capital, he has completely forgotten about her."

These whispers left Su Yunxi nowhere to hide, allowing them to gossip and criticize her. Thankfully, it ended there, and she could leave.

Her toes scraped against the ground, leaving marks on the brick beneath her feet. Qin Huai had forgotten about her, but she wasn't a bad girl.

Looking at Su Yunxi's face, Qin Huai knew that with her intelligence, she must have expected what she would encounter here today. Yet, she had come through thorns. What exactly happened to her in the barracks four years ago? Was it because he cared too much back then that he wronged her? Her coming to see him despite all the injustice she had suffered truly moved him.

Qin Huai, not wanting to speak too much with Su Yunxi in public, nodded to Xue Wenying, who had bought a vase to give to his mother as a token of gratitude for her shelter. "I'll take you to my mother's place."

Su Yunxi realized that Qin Huai was going to take Xue Wenying to see her mother, and she could leave to see Lin Enxiao and take care of Zhou Yuan's affairs. But for some reason, her vision was blurry. She felt so arrogant when she was dressed up and crushing Xue Wenying, and now she felt so embarrassed.

She still couldn't understand why the man who had once prayed to heaven, earth, sun, and moon with her and promised to marry her when she grew up would eventually take another girl to meet his parents.

Xue Wenying did not immediately follow Qin Huai.

At this moment, Zhou Qiu returned to the table, holding a robe belonging to the eldest prince. Su Yunxi recognized it as the robe she had handed to the messenger last night.

Xue Wenying remembered something and felt that now was the right time to say it. The last straw is often what breaks the camel's back. "Rongzhi, there is one more thing I need to remind you of. You need to personally give Consort Su a heads-up. After all, it involves the Qin family's statement, so we cannot be careless."

Su Yunxi immediately realized that Xue Wenying was planning to report her for claiming that the cloak was a gift from Qin Huai, which was intended to deliver a fatal blow to her.

Qin Huai frowned. "What is it?"