The wicked imperial concubine is courting death again; the comments section teaches her how to win w

Qi Yitang's knees buckled from the push, and she staggered two steps.

When he came to his senses, his heart was pounding, and he ran desperately toward Xie Ling.

"Tangtang!"

The distance of just a few meters felt like an eternity, as if she were walking on cotton, cold and soft.

"Yanzhi..." Just as she was about to fall due to exhaustion, Xie Ling rushed forward and caught her as she lunged at him.

The two slid to the ground in each other's arms, and Xie Ling pressed her tightly into his embrace, his grip so tight it felt like he was embedding himself into her bones.

Qi Yitang doesn't remember much about what happened after that.

Before losing consciousness, she heard Zhao Yan's terrified voice, "No, you're not the prince—"

Immediately following were the clanging sounds of swords being drawn and the dull thuds of flesh colliding.

"Don't kill him..."

Before she could even finish those words, Qi Yitang closed her eyes and fainted in Xie Ling's arms, her consciousness swallowed up by the overwhelming darkness.

……

That night, the Hall of Mental Cultivation was brightly lit.

The floor heating in the inner hall was burning very brightly, and the warmth enveloped every corner.

Li Degui quietly carried in the copper basin and medicine box, adjusted the hot water to a temperature that was not too hot to touch, wrung out the cloth, and presented it to Xie Ling with both hands.

"……His Majesty."

Xie Ling took the handkerchief and gently and slowly wiped the dirt off Qi Yitang's face and body.

Her face was covered in streaks of ash, and there were dry bits of grass stuck in her hair; she looked pitiful.

He picked them clean little by little.

Then, holding Qi Yitang's wrist, he gently applied ointment to the wound.

The numerous abrasions and wounds were shocking to behold, and Li Degui's heart ached at the sight, his eyes welling up with tears. "Your Majesty has truly suffered greatly..."

It's obvious without him saying it. From childhood to adulthood, when has Qi Yitang ever suffered like this?

Xie Ling focused intently on her work, her tone chillingly cold, "Is it cleaned up?"

"Your Majesty, rest assured, Lord Li has handled everything properly, ensuring that no one escaped. As for..." Li Degui paused, carefully choosing his words, "...the Empress's cousin..."

Xie Ling said calmly, "As long as they don't die."

Li Degui knew in his heart that he was bound to suffer no matter what.

It's not surprising, really. To His Majesty, let alone some insignificant cousin, even if it were his own brother, if he dared to do such a thing, he would be severely punished.

The young eunuch brought over the prepared medicinal soup, which Li Degui placed on the nearest table before quietly leaving.

The flickering candlelight cast their intertwined shadows onto the gauze curtains behind them, where they merged into one long, continuous shape.

Xie Ling reached out and brushed a stray hair from Qi Yitang's forehead, his thumb gently stroking her furrowed brow.

Bend over, foreheads touching.

"Tangtang, do you know how crazy I am about to go without you..."

If she had been missing for a few more days, Xie Ling couldn't guarantee what she might have done.

Even in his deep sleep, Qi Yitang seemed to sense something. He made a grasping motion in the air and mumbled incoherently, "Yanzhi..."

"I was wrong... I'll never run around like that again..."

"Don't be afraid, Tangtang, your husband is here." Xie Ling held her hand, cupped it in his palm, and gently kissed it.

Those glaring scars were reflected in his eyes, and a gloomy mood quietly grew, like vines spreading in the dark night, silently binding every inch of his bones and blood.

Not only was she wrong, but he was completely wrong as well.

He shouldn't have let her out of his sight!

……

Qi Yitang woke up the next morning.

To be precise, I was woken up by hunger; my stomach, which had been empty for almost two days, was screaming violently inside me.

Her eyelashes trembled, and she laboriously lifted her eyelids, her gaze wandering aimlessly.

Ok?

What came into view was a completely unfamiliar palace, neither Yaotang Palace nor Yangxin Hall.

The bedding was unfamiliar dark-patterned brocade, the curtains were unfamiliar begonia-colored gauze curtains, and even the fragrance in the air was not the perfume she usually used.

Her forehead was still slightly warm, and a bitter taste of medicine lingered in her mouth. Fragments of yesterday flashed through Qi Yitang's mind.

Yanzhi brought her back; he must have given her her medicine while she was asleep.

The people are safe, but... where is this?

Qi Yitang thought that when she woke up she would see a group of people gathered around the bed, crying with joy, saying, "Your Majesty, you've finally woken up." But the palace was empty, with no one in sight.

Not only was Xie Ling absent, but Yun Zhu, Yun Ying, and Li Degui were also nowhere to be seen!

She sat up blankly and found that her clothes had been changed, the wound on her wrist had been carefully treated and wrapped with a thin layer of gauze, and the same was true for the frostbitten spots on the soles of her feet.

"Gurgle..." My stomach growled again.

Qi Yitang, who was always easygoing, decided to ignore all the other things for now. Since he wasn't going to die, he would solve the problem of being hungry first.

She threw back the covers and got out of bed. Just as she was about to go to the door to take a look, a dark figure suddenly spoke up beside her.

"Your Majesty, you're awake."

"!" Qi Yitang was startled by the sudden appearance of the voice.

What is that?!

Upon closer inspection, she discovered that the person was none other than Chi Zheng, whom she had sent to follow her fourth brother.

Qi Yitang asked in confusion, "Chizheng, what are you doing here?"

Chi Zheng: "His Majesty summoned me back overnight."

"You're here, but where's Yuan Shu?" Qi Yitang asked. "And Yun Zhu and Yun Ying? I've been awake for so long, and I haven't seen a single one of them!"

Chi Zheng was very honest. "Your Majesty, His Majesty forbade me to speak, so I dared not."

As if realizing something, Qi Yitang felt a chill in her heart.

Could it be that Xie Ling took his anger out on everyone around her because of her disappearance, and punished them all?

Qi Yitang felt that they couldn't be blamed. They didn't have supernatural vision; how could they know the villains had planned this all along? Besides, this wasn't even part of the original story; even the comments section couldn't have predicted it.

Even if we assume she wasn't missing any limbs, she still made it back safely.

Seeing Qi Yitang's worry, Chi Zheng added, "Your Majesty, don't worry, they're all still alive."

Qi Yitang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Knock knock—" A knocking sound came from outside the hall.

Chi Zheng opened the door, and Li Degui came in carrying a food box, his expression full of surprise. "Your Majesty, you're finally awake! You scared this old servant half to death!"

Finally, we heard a normal line of dialogue.

Qi Yitang felt a little more at ease and peeked behind him, "Where's Yanzhi?"

Li Degui's eyes flickered slightly. "His Majesty has some business to attend to and will be there shortly... Your Majesty, you must be hungry. Please have something to eat first."

Qi Yitang was obviously hungry, so she didn't stand on ceremony and immediately started eating.

Now she can eat anything, no matter what it is!

Halfway through her meal, she mumbled, "Is Yanzhi in the Imperial Study? After I finish eating, could you take me to him?"

She needs to check on how Yunzhu, Yunying, and Yuanshu are doing.

And then there's Zhao Yan... Although he's a bit slow and a bit stubborn, he's still a relative.

Upon hearing this, Li Degui hesitated, looking troubled, and whispered, "Your Majesty, please forgive me, but without His Majesty's permission, you are currently unable to go anywhere, nor can you even leave this palace."

Qi Yitang paused in her action of tearing into her food. What did that mean?

Is she...being imprisoned?