The mistress who remarried has returned.

Qin Huai remained silent.

Su Yunxi was caught lying by Qin Huai, and she was in a panic. In her mind, he would never come alone and waste time with her, a fallen concubine of the Eastern Palace. She had miscalculated. When she was sweet-talking Qin Huai, she did not think that she would be caught. Now she did not know how to answer Liu Shun. No matter what she said, it would be a lie, and Qin Huai would not believe her.

She certainly didn't come to the Qin residence today to see Qin Huai, let alone to offer herself up and have a relationship with him to fulfill the promise of that deal.

She even disregarded his authority and tried to break her promise, showing that she didn't respect him at all!

Qin Huai gave a self-deprecating smile. After his cloak was torn up a few days ago, he decided not to let her affect his emotions. But today, seeing her appear, he was moved by her charm again. He couldn't keep someone who could so easily sway his emotions. He looked at Su Yunxi with cold eyes and said, "This humble servant did not mean to disturb Master's busy work. Master, please pretend that this humble servant is not here."

Su Yunxi's heart pounded wildly. How could she pretend he wasn't there? Seeing him address her as "Master" in a distant manner and refer to himself as "this humble servant," she nervously swallowed again. When he was being gentle, he wouldn't refer to himself as "this humble servant"; he usually referred to himself as "I."

Qin Huai said rather good-naturedly, "We haven't finished talking to Guard Lin yet, and he hasn't been mischievous anymore. Why are you keeping him hanging on? Didn't you want to go back and live a comfortable life with him?"

Did she just use the word "moisturize"?

She couldn't even remember what she had said to Lin Enxiao. So, was Qin Huai really bothered by the word "moisturizing"?

Su Yunxi sensed the murderous intent hidden beneath his calm tone. Her first instinct was to loosen Lin Enxiao's grip, intending to create distance and lessen Qin Huai's anger and resentment. But they were too close at this point. When he was angry, it was best not to clash with him; showing weakness was more appropriate.

Thinking of this, Su Yunxi loosened her grip on Lin Enxiao's wrist, but somehow, a thread on her sleeve got caught on the button on Lin Enxiao's cuff, and the two of them were now connected. She tried to pull them apart for a long time right under Qin Huai's nose, but couldn't.

Lin Enxiao's expression changed from peacefully passing away to now appearing as if he were dying and coming back to life.

Su Yunxi panicked, and the more panicked she became, the more she pulled.

Qin Huai's expression grew increasingly grim. His gaze fell upon Lin Enxiao's thigh as she tugged at her sleeve, the tassel of her sachet brushing against his, the layers of her skirt swaying against his feet. Lin Enxiao must have felt the slight tickle from the sachet and the slight weight of the skirt on his shoes, and he too felt a stirring of desire.

Noticing Qin Huai's gaze, Su Yunxi broke out in a cold sweat.

Lin Enxiao dared not move an inch. He had no courage to reach out to Su Yunxi under Qin Huai's nose. He simply pulled back forcefully, leaning against the artificial hill, letting Consort Su do as she pleased. If he joined in, they would inevitably bump into each other. Judging from the general's expression, he was not at all as indifferent to her with several men as Consort Su had claimed. Just because they had gone public did not mean the general was unconcerned.

Su Yunxi tried her best to pull on her sleeve, but the quality of both the fox fur cloak made by Master Wei and the buttons made by the royal guards was too good, and she couldn't pull it open no matter how hard she tried.

Qin Huai's voice trembled violently as he tried to maintain the refined air of a noble young master, and he asked gently, "You two are in cahoots?"

Su Yunxi took a breath and finally gave up struggling. Looking at Qin Huai, she replied in a completely resigned manner, "A loose thread on my clothes got caught on his button. I can't get it off..."

"Your Highness is reluctant to unbutton his shirt?" Qin Huai smiled faintly. "Shall I help Your Highness unbutton it?"

Lin Enxiao felt like he was melting into the artificial hill, his heart pounding in his chest. Where had his mother gotten the audacity to think of buying General Qin's former mistress as his wife? He'd always felt something was wrong, and it seemed his instincts were right. "I have a dagger at my waist. Draw it and cut open my buttons, quickly. Cut off my sleeves too. If that doesn't work, cut off my hands too."

Lin Enxiao has a style somewhat like a gecko cutting off its tail to survive.

Su Yunxi was terrified by Qin Huai's tone. Before he could even reach out to untie her, she reached into Lin Enxiao's waist and fumbled for the dagger.

"You want to reach for the dagger in his waist, right?" Qin Huai watched as the young woman's hand trembled as she reached for Lin Enxiao's waist. His cold eyes were now wildly agitated, devoid of reason. He remembered the feeling of her hand touching his body when they were intimate in bed that night at the Su family mansion. Did Lin Enxiao even deserve to experience that tingling, stimulating touch?

Su Yunxi's hand froze halfway, unsure whether to grope for a dagger or simply leave Lin Enxiao's clothes tugged at. She looked at Qin Huai with panicked eyes, "What should we do...?"

Liu Shun suddenly gripped the hilt of his sword at his waist, intending to help Consort Su cut open Lin Enxiao's cufflinks. This was intolerable! How dare he blatantly use the general to facilitate the Crown Prince's affairs! At this moment, they were still entangled and unable to distance themselves.

But then they saw Qin Huai walk towards Su Yunxi.

Liu Shun paused his sword-drawing motion, fearing that if the general went over there, he would slap Su Liangdi across the face again, since the general was visibly furious and his face was turning black.

Xue Wenying recently put on a smile. Some people don't need anyone to do anything to them; they just start courting disaster on their own.

Qin Huai walked to Su Yunxi's side. A faint fragrance of sandalwood and cypress wafted into his nostrils. The image of the young lady asking Lin Enxiao in a sweet voice if she smelled good stimulated every nerve in his mind. "Where is it connected? Lift it up so I can see."

Su Yunxi was afraid of Qin Huai. Ever since he slapped her four years ago, she had been afraid of him. He was strong and muscular, while she was small. She was afraid when he raised his hand slightly. She didn't know what he would do to her, whether he would hit her face or break her arm. She dared not raise her hand to him.

Qin Huai approached.

Liu Shun wanted to advise her, but he was unwilling to. The general had taken in Liangdi when she was ten years old and cared for her meticulously, yet Liangdi had repeatedly used the general for Zhou Yu's sake. Even though he owed Liangdi a favor, he simply couldn't bring himself to advise the general. After all, the general hadn't wronged Liangdi.

Lin Enxiao extended his hand, which in turn lifted up Su Yunxi's sleeve.

Qin Huai glanced at Su Yunxi, then raised his hand towards Lin Enxiao's sleeve. But as soon as he did, Su Yunxi cowered and covered her face with her hands, sobbing as she said, "I'm no longer your mistress. You have no right to hit me, no matter what I do. If you hit me again, I'll never speak to you again."