The mistress who remarried has returned.

Xue Wenying had been watching the Second Prince make things difficult for the Crown Prince's concubine without paying attention, but Qin Huai spoke up unprepared. Why was he going against the Second Prince because of Concubine Su? This Second Prince was very likely to be the next Crown Prince. As a powerful minister, he should be even more cautious.

She then gently advised, "Rongzhi, the other party is the second prince of the Zhou family. You must not harbor any resentment towards him..."

Before he could finish speaking, Qin Huai's meaningful gaze fell on Xue Wenying's face. He then chuckled softly but said nothing.

Xue Wenying stopped talking abruptly, her heart pounding with anxiety under Qin Huai's gaze. Suddenly, she was startled. Was Qin Huai making a comparison? She was polite and wary of the Second Prince, but not as indifferent to him as Consort Su. She didn't continue to persuade him, lest she misunderstand Qin Huai's thoughts and act contrary to his true intentions.

Does he like that kind of reckless courage that disregards the overall situation and confronts the royal family?

Xue Wenying felt a deep sense of crisis because of Su Liangdi's indomitable spirit. Su Liangdi was too different from others, she was too conspicuous, how dare she act like this?

Zhou Qiu, embarrassed by being stopped by Qin Huai in front of everyone, laughed and said, "Brother Qin, I was just standing up for you, and you're stopping me? Are you still hung up on this woman who cheated on you, or what?"

Su Yunxi stared cautiously at Qin Huai, while Zhou Qiu was also curious about the same thing as her.

"I don't care how you want to make trouble for the Crown Prince, but don't use my name to do so," Qin Huai said coldly. "Don't cause trouble in my residence. I won't provide a place for the Second Prince to intimidate the First Prince's woman."

Su Yunxi's warmth and anticipation vanished instantly. It turned out he simply didn't want anyone causing trouble at the manor on his father's birthday. He would have intervened if any other nobody had been bullied by Zhou Qiu. But if Zhou Qiu had made things difficult for her elsewhere, he wouldn't have cared.

Su Yunxi's expectation, like a small flame that had just been lit, was extinguished in an instant.

Zhou Qiu had been splashed with water, and now he was being suppressed by Qin Huai, unable to retaliate. The surrounding young masters and princes were all watching him; he was being held back by this powerful minister and was losing face. "What if I insist on dealing with her here at the Qin residence?"

"If you insist on causing trouble, I won't stop you." Qin Huai's voice was completely cold.

Zhou Qiu ultimately failed to gain any respect from Qin Huai, and his chest heaved uncontrollably. One day, he would make Qin Huai submit to him and call him lord.

Seeing that Zhou Qiu's arrogance had subsided, Qin Huai said to Shen Shu, "I have to take Wen Yin to see my mother. If the Second Prince continues to cause trouble, send troops to remove him. If the Emperor inquires, report the truth. Say that he wanted to beat the First Prince's concubine. I felt it was inappropriate for the Second Prince to kick someone when they're down, so I stopped him."

Shen Shu nodded. "Understood."

His friend's reasoning was quite reasonable. It seemed he had overthought things. He had thought the second prince was bullying Consort Su, and his friend was furious. It turned out he was just trying to stop Zhou Qiu from causing trouble at the Qin residence.

Xue Wenying breathed a sigh of relief. Qin Huai had spoken up to stop Zhou Qiu for the sake of the Qin family, not to protect Su Liangdi. Indeed, if the Second Prince caused trouble at the Qin residence and the higher-ups found out, it would inevitably spoil the birthday celebration.

When Zhou Qiu heard that Qin Huai showed no mercy and threatened to send troops to remove him and report to the Emperor if he continued to act out, he was taken aback. Qin Huai had only wanted to vent his anger on Consort Su and had disliked the Crown Prince for a long time. He did not intend to actually report the matter to the Emperor and let the Emperor know that he had taken advantage of the Crown Prince's decline to torment the women of the Crown Prince's palace, as it was not a glorious thing.

"I originally came here to avenge Brother Qin. If Brother Qin doesn't appreciate it, I certainly won't have stepped in. In that case, let's just forget about the shoe-shining incident."

Zhou Qiu then flexibly removed his feet from the stool, but he was still very dissatisfied with Qin Huai's businesslike attitude. This man never made any mistakes in his actions, and he did not believe that he was truly without emotions or weaknesses. If he were to find his weakness, he would make Qin Huai follow his lead and kneel before him, barking like a dog!

Su Yunxi stood there with red eyes.

Qin Huai didn't say anything more, nor did he glance at Su Yunxi again, and left with Xue Wenying.

But the image of Su Yunxi's reddened eyes lingered in his mind. Besides, she didn't need to come here today to suffer such humiliation, yet she came to him anyway. Even if he was considering the greater good of the Qin family and should distance himself from the Crown Prince, he still needed to find an opportunity to soothe her emotions. He... felt heartache.

Shuang'er whispered to Su Yunxi, "Some people think that dressing up nicely will attract the general's attention, but they're nothing compared to a single hair on my young lady's head. The general has looked through the roster for a long time, but none of them suit his taste. He only has eyes for my young lady and can't accommodate anyone else. I advise some people to have the sense to stay away. After being warned by the general himself, they should dutifully serve the four men of the Lin family."

Su Yunxi looked up at the backs of Qin Huai and Xue Wenying walking side by side toward Qin's mother, and felt a burning sadness in her eyes, so she lowered her gaze and stopped looking.

Liu Shun carefully examined Su Yunxi's clothes, and couldn't help but smile. The general was hiding his true intentions well; he was even thoughtful enough to buy clothes for his young lady behind the scenes.

After walking for a while, Qin Huai said to Xue Wenying, "You go ahead and walk ahead, I'm going back to get something."

Xue Wenying asked instinctively, "What are you getting?"

Qin Huai frowned. "Don't ask any more questions."

Xue Wenying dared not ask any further questions and immediately said aggrievedly, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked. Rongzhi."

Seeing the aggrieved look on her face, Qin Huai recalled the years his mother had forced her to remarry in Suzhou. She had suffered greatly at the hands of her husband's family there, and a sense of guilt welled up inside him. He softened his voice and said, "It's alright. Go ahead."

Xue Wenying was quick to know when to stop, and she didn't have the guts to stop moving forward. She wouldn't disobey Qin Huai's words, lest she offend him. So she curtsied to Qin Huai and took the lead.

When Qin Huai arrived at the bottom of the corridor, he lazily found a secluded spot to stop, away from the hustle and bustle of the banquet, and breathed in the fresh air. This place was close to the garden and was relatively quiet. He could see the empty swing in the distance.

Su Yuanzhou told Su Yunxi to wait for him outside, while he himself kept apologizing to Zhou Qiu.

Su Yunxi also didn't want to see her father's servile demeanor here, so she did as she was told and left, moving away from the venue and strolling along the corridor towards the garden.

They arrived at the bottom of a corridor and were surprised to see Qin Huai standing there. Wasn't he supposed to be taking Xue Wenying to see his mother? Perhaps Xue Wenying had left for something and he was waiting for her.