The mistress who remarried has returned.

Su Yunxi trembled with fear, and finally said in a trembling voice, "But Empress Xiao is about to die. This is the only way I can help her. Human life is at stake, this is not a trivial matter."

"You can ask someone else," Qin Huai said, his thin lips pursed slightly. "How can he be the only solution? There are far too many people around Consort Shu."

"If I ask someone else for help, will you obstruct me?"

"I won't interfere. But whether Liu Shun will interfere, I don't know." Qin Huai smiled and said, "As long as it's not at my residence, I don't care."

Liu Shun retorted sternly, "As long as I'm alive, let's see who dares to help you! I'm not like the general who doesn't care!"

Su Yunxi bit her lip. So, Qin Huai simply wouldn't allow her to continue helping the East Palace through anyone. She stood firmly in front of Lin Enxiao. In Qin Huai's eyes, she saw a girl with a terrified face, so panicked that she was almost unrecognizable.

Xue Wenying's tone was slightly sarcastic: "Everyone knows that Consort Liang and the Crown Prince are deeply in love, but you can't use the General time and time again just for the sake of the Crown Prince. Acting so disrespectfully towards the General at his residence today, isn't that a complete betrayal of the General's years of support and care? Do you really...dislike the General that much? Knowing he's suffering today, you don't even care? Compared to the Crown Prince, is the General really nothing?"

Qin Huai's heart clenched painfully.

Su Yunxi had no choice but to confess that she hadn't betrayed Qin Huai back then. She could no longer afford to be stubborn with him; she had to tell the truth. Although Qin Huai had never loved her, once he learned that he hadn't been used or betrayed, and that he had actually wronged her, he wouldn't make things difficult for her out of resentment at being betrayed by a young woman. At most, he would simply forget her completely; she would no longer leave any trace in his heart.

Thinking of this, Su Yunxi's eyes suddenly stung with tears. The thought of him disappearing completely from her heart forever caused her heart to ache terribly.

But saving lives is the priority, and we can't continue to act impulsively.

Just as he was about to speak, he heard footsteps coming from the other side of the artificial hill.

Xue Wenying also heard some noise coming from the artificial hill. She went to take a look and then came over with a panicked expression. "Rongzhi, I saw from afar that the Second Prince brought your father and mother, your uncles and brothers, and a group of guests from the Qin family."

Su Yunxi faintly heard footsteps. She was utterly exasperated. Zhou Qiu must have been secretly monitoring Qin Huai and discovered his entanglement with her. He planned to use Qin Huai's involvement with the Crown Prince to control him, forcing him to submit. If Qin Huai refused, he would report it to the Emperor. The Emperor was currently looking for a way to dilute the Qin family's military power, and his involvement in the Crown Prince's assassination attempt was a perfect pretext.

Qin Huai was already heartbroken today because his relationship with his mother was at a freezing point. If his mother saw him entangled with a woman from the Eastern Palace in the back garden, she would probably be extremely disappointed in him.

Su Yunxi then realized that she had made a huge mistake, like rubbing salt into his wounds.

Xue Wenying was furious. "Consort Su, look at the mess you've made! Whether you're willing to die or live for the Crown Prince, or to strategize and plan, why did you act so recklessly in the Qin residence, completely disregarding Qin Huai's and the Qin family's reputation? If his parents, the servants, or his uncles and brothers saw this, how would he face them?"

Su Yunxi is also getting anxious. She originally planned to get things done quietly and leave without causing trouble for Qin Huai. She really didn't expect that Qin Huai, who is usually rational, clear-headed and focused on the big picture, would abandon the banquet and come to this garden to wait for her.

Xue Wenying offered a suggestion to Qin Huai, "Since the Second Prince is trying to find fault with you, you have no choice but to hand over Lin Enxiao and Consort Su. This will embarrass the Second Prince and make you look foolish."

Xue Wenying intended to kill Consort Su immediately. Handing her over to the second prince would ensure he distanced himself from the situation, leaving Consort Su with no chance of survival.

Qin Huai said in a deep voice, "Liu Shun, drag Lin Enxiao to Zhou Qiu's side and ask him what his subordinates are plotting in the back mountain of the Qin residence. Does Zhou Qiu also know about it?"

Upon hearing that Qin Huai was going to hand Lin Enxiao over to Zhou Qiu, Zhou Qiu, in order to resolve the issue and prevent the situation from escalating further, would inevitably kill Lin Enxiao with a knife.

Xue Wenying gritted her teeth. Qin Huai had only handed over Lin Enxiao, without mentioning handing over Su Liangdi.

Seeing the guards approaching to arrest Lin Enxiao, Su Yunxi remained protectively in front of him. In desperation, she threatened in a low voice, "Qin Huai, if you hand Lin Enxiao over, I'll expose everything you've done to the Second Prince. Don't blame me if that happens and your Qin family's fortune is ruined!"

Qin Huai's body stiffened abruptly, his gaze fixed on Su Yunxi's face. The girl who once shielded him from an arrow with her own body and told him she was willing to do anything for him had now turned against him, willing to sacrifice his entire fortune for Zhou Yu.

"What did you say?" Qin Huai asked Su Yunxi as if to confirm.

Su Yunxi hadn't forgotten the meticulous care Qin Huai had given her over the past seven years, but that meticulous care was all out of exploitation. She didn't think there was anything wrong with her words, and she smiled slightly, "I think you heard me."

Qin Huai didn't ask any more questions, but fell silent.

Qin Huai's silence caused Su Yunxi's heart to ache, but she had no other choice but to protect Lin Enxiao. Regardless of whether it was a scheme to save Empress Xiao's life for the Eastern Palace, Lin Enxiao himself had committed no crime and should not have lost his life because of her.

Liu Shun could hardly believe what Su Yunxi was saying. "What day is today? It's the anniversary of Qin Yun's death, the day Madam told the General that it wasn't you who died. You know how the General feels. You...you really dare to say that! Today you're going to ruin the General's mansion! Are you going to betray the General and make him a sinner of the Qin family!"

Yes, she was going to betray him.

He supported her for seven years, and she not only betrayed him and used him, but also tried to sell him out.

A shattering sound echoed in Qin Huai's heart as he moved closer to Su Yunxi.

Su Yunxi subconsciously took a step back until her back hit the artificial hill. He lowered his hand, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her up, pressing her against the hill.

The lines on his fingertips, roughened by martial arts training, left a painful sensation on her delicate wrist.

He whispered in her ear, "Wearing the clothes I gave you, in my courtyard, seducing the second prince's guard because of your husband's affair, and on this day, threatening to betray me with my life savings? How am I supposed to treat you?"