The Dark Moonlight returns to the capital, and the mad prince is accused of forcing love.

Upon hearing that the old lady still wanted to pursue the matter, Madam Fu quickly cast a pleading look at Lin Zuoqing.

Seeing that Lin Zuoqing was thinking with his eyes down, she looked at Lin Zhiwei beside him.

Lin Zhiwei received Fu Shi's gaze and quietly tugged at Lin Zuoqing's sleeve.

Lin Zuoqing's right hand, which was resting on his knee, twitched slightly.

Xu Qianhui could clearly sense that he was hesitating.

This man, who never hesitates, is struggling with his bottom line because of Lin Zhiwei.

He really loves her...

In that case, I'll take on the role of the bad guy myself.

Xu Qianhui looked at the person at the head of the table: "When Ahui first entered the mansion, her aunt had the nanny teach her the rules. One of them was that disrespecting elders would result in being punished by kneeling in the ancestral hall for three days. Madam, you are her aunt's elder, so you should be able to apply this rule."

Madam Fu turned around abruptly: "Xu Qianhui, what nonsense are you spouting!"

Xu Qianhui seemed to be startled; she swayed and collapsed to the ground.

Her eyes reddened, and she whispered, "Aunt, did Ahui say something wrong? But you did talk back to the old lady just now..."

"What does it have to do with you if someone doesn't respect me?" The old lady sneered. "Just do it this way."

Then she looked at Xu Qianhui and said, "You silly girl, I told you to get up a long time ago, why are you still kneeling on the ground? Aren't you afraid of hurting yourself?"

Seeing that the old lady had made the final decision, Madam Fu could only grit her teeth and bear it.

Before Xu Qianhui could get up, Lin Zuoqing bowed to the old lady.

"Grandmother, I still have to investigate the case, so I won't disturb your rest any longer."

He turned his head and exchanged a glance with Xu Qianhui.

There was nothing in that gaze, yet everything was there.

Xu Qianhui lowered her eyes, stood up and bowed: "Madam, things have taken a turn for the better, I'll take my leave now."

The old lady waved her hand: "You've had a long day, go and rest."

Xu Qianhui should be correct.

As she passed by Lin Zuoqing, she slowed her pace by half a beat.

Lin Zuoqing turned his head to look at her, but she walked away slowly as if she hadn't seen him.

......

Back in the side courtyard of Ci'an Hall, Xu Qianhui changed her clothes and leaned against the window, excitedly rubbing her hands together.

The old lady has temporarily lost Fang Mama as her helper. She was angry and slammed the table just now. Even if Fu Shi did not notice it for the time being, how could she not think of the trickery when she was kneeling idly in the ancestral hall for three days?

She would definitely guess why the old lady was still pretending to be sick when her health had improved somewhat.

Once she understands, she will definitely seek help from the Duke of Rongguo immediately.

Duke Rongguo... he knows his own background.

Just thinking about what was about to happen made Xu Qianhui excited.

Hurry up, Auntie, be smart, don't keep me waiting.

As night fell, Xu Qianhui had just lain down in bed to go to sleep when there was another knock on the door.

She threw back the covers, her face full of sorrow.

She knew it! In the Duke's mansion, her happiness never lasted through the night.

"Ah Hui, are you asleep?"

Lin Zuo'an was standing outside the door.

He probably just finished appeasing Qin Miaoyun and then came here to act all horny.

Xu Qianhui rubbed her throat, trying to make her voice resonate in her chest, and asked, "What's wrong?"

The voice was low and hoarse, and just by listening to it, one could tell that the speaker had suffered a great injustice.

As if afraid of being discovered, Lin Zuo'an lowered his voice and said, "Ahui, open the door and let me in. I have something to say to you."

I also happen to have something to say to him.

Xu Qianhui got out of bed, opened the door, let Lin Zuoan into the room, closed the door, and began to count silently in her mind.

one two Three......

Lin Zuo'an stood by the door, his tall figure illuminated by the candlelight, enveloping Xu Qianhui.

He stepped forward, and Xu Qianhui spoke first.

"Second Young Master, let's break up."

Lin Zuo'an paused, and in the next instant, he panicked.

He grabbed Xu Qianhui's shoulders and asked anxiously, "Ah Hui, what's wrong? Are you unhappy because you feel I don't spend enough time with you?"

Xu Qianhui looked at him, her eyes slowly reddening, but she stubbornly took two steps back and broke free from his grip.

She asked, "Do you know that your trusted brother is planning to send me to the General of the State's mansion?"

"What do you mean by 'your brother sent you to the General of the State's mansion'?" Lin Zuo'an asked, somewhat bewildered. "My brother clearly said that you and General Chu were close, and that he treated you well..."

"Didn't you ever think about why he's so good to me?"

Xu Qianhui gave him a push—she had wanted to do this ever since she learned that he had agreed to marry Qin Miaoyun.

Today I finally found an opportunity.

Her eyes were red as she glared at him: "Lin Zuo'an, do you even have a heart?"

Instead of being angry at being pushed away, Lin Zuo'an became even more anxious: "I've thought about it, Ahui, I've thought about it. I was so scared when I thought you didn't want me anymore. I was afraid that you would hate me because of what happened these past few days, and I was even more afraid that you would really marry Chu Yunci."

As he spoke, he reached out to hug Xu Qianhui.

Xu Qianhui did not dodge, but just as he was about to touch her, she slapped him hard across the face.

After hitting Lin Zuoan, she quickly covered her face to hide the urge to laugh, her voice choked with emotion.

"I won't listen! You're lying to me!"

"You and Qin Miaoyun are so close, talking head-to-head and shoulder-to-shoulder. But you clearly said you wouldn't really like her!"

"You didn't even know...you didn't even know your brother wanted to kick me out of the Duke's mansion..."

"Your heart is with Qin Miaoyun, so why are you coming to see me?"

Lin Zuo'an was truly stunned by this blow.

Xu Qianhui silently counted to one hundred and fifty-nine.

Having probably never seen Xu Qianhui like this before, Lin Zuoan was stunned for a long time before suddenly stepping forward to protect Xu Qianhui.

He looked hurt, and large tears fell onto her neck.

"Ah Hui, I love you, I really love you... I'll never—"

"Knock knock knock".

A crisp knock on the door brought him to an abrupt halt.

A timid female voice came from outside.

"Miss, Madam requests your presence at the main courtyard."

Xu Qianhui immediately pushed Lin Zuoan away.

She wiped her eyes, opened the door a crack, and asked softly, "What does Aunt want with me so late?"

"Madam...she can't sleep and wants to talk to Miss."

The young maid looked no more than fourteen or fifteen years old, and she didn't dare to meet Xu Qianhui's eyes when she spoke.

Xu Qianhui smiled and said, "Okay, I'll be right there."

After saying that, she closed the door, pulled the jade hairpin from his hair, and said in a low voice, "Consider this a keepsake for me. Go now, and don't come back again."

Lin Zuo'an wanted to say something more, but Xu Qianhui had already opened the door again and left with the little maid.

It takes only a quarter of an hour to walk from the side courtyard of Ci'an Hall to the main courtyard.

For many years, the Fu family and the Duke of Guo had been living separately, and Xu Qianhui was brought to the place where the Fu family lived.

The courtyard was quiet. Xu Qianhui walked to the door and turned to look at the little maid.

If she didn't stop her, she really would knock on the door and go in.

The maidservant thought for a moment and said, "Please trouble Miss to wait here."

Xu Qianhui chuckled: "Didn't Lord Lin explain this to you?"

"Young Master Qingshu didn't say..." The maid realized her slip of the tongue and quickly corrected herself, "It was Madam who was looking for Miss Biao, it has nothing to do with the Young Master. Anyway, Madam told you to wait here, so you can't leave."

Fu has already been forced to kneel in the ancestral hall as punishment.

Still three days.

Does that mean she has to wait here for three days?