“Then this jade pendant…” Chunhe looked at the jade pendant in Sangjiang’s hand and hesitated.

Sang Jiang glanced down at the jade pendant that Long Jingyu had forcibly shoved back into her mouth, and pursed her lips: "Let's keep it for now."

Chunhe nodded: "Then let's find another opportunity to return it to the Eighth Prince later."

She wasn't oblivious to Long Jingyu's feelings for Sang Jiang, but what Long Jingyu had done had sealed their fate, making a relationship impossible.

Chunhe sighed softly, "Princess, it's getting late, you should get some rest."

“Hmm,” Sang Jiang nodded and led Chunhe to wash up and rest.

...

Xifeng Kingdom.

Nangong Luoying rubbed her eyes and slowly opened them.

She had lost count of how many times she had cried herself to sleep on the floor, only to wake up in bed again. She hurriedly checked her clothes to make sure she was alright before slowly getting up.

She touched her already flat stomach and then ate a piece of pastry and drank some water under the moonlight.

When she reached the door again, she found that Granny Wang, who had been guarding the door, was gone. Nangong Luoying tentatively pushed the door open, and surprisingly, it opened. After being locked up for so long, her first thought was that they had plotted against her. She slowly retreated back to the bed.

She sat down on the edge of the bed, hugging her legs tightly, her eyes fixed on the doorway like a frightened rabbit.

After about five minutes, Nangong Luoying confirmed that there was no one outside the door before she slowly got up and tiptoed out.

The man, dressed entirely in black, stood in the shadows, almost blending into the darkness. He kept watching the commotion until he saw Nangong Luoying walk out of the courtyard by the moonlight, at which point he turned back.

As soon as Nangong Luoying left the courtyard, she ran desperately outside. After running a short distance, she discovered that she had been imprisoned in the capital all along. However, when she was asked to find that courtyard again, she could not find it no matter what she did.

She didn't have the mind to think too much right now and just ran towards the palace based on her memory.

When she finally saw the palace gates, her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down. Tears streamed down her face as all the pent-up grievances of the past few days burst forth.

It was so late and the palace gates were already closed. The guards at the gate didn't recognize her at first and shouted at her sternly, "Go away! Where did this beggar come from? Get out of here!"

Nangong Luoying felt like she had found a target to vent her anger after he yelled at her. She raised her eyes and looked at the guard, saying, "How dare you! Open your dog eyes and see who I really am!"

Her voice was a little hoarse, but her face remained unchanged.

Upon recognizing her face, the guard immediately knelt on the ground with a thud: "Princess! Princess, please forgive me! I was blind and did not recognize your greatness! I know I was wrong!"

Nangong Luoying felt exhausted, hungry, and sleepy. She felt like she might faint at any moment, so she didn't bother to waste any more words with the guard: "Get out of the way."

Upon hearing her words, the guards quickly and tactfully stepped aside, because the eunuchs around Consort Shu had been guarding the palace gates ever since she went missing, fearing that they would not know when she returned.

As soon as Nangong Luoying entered, Eunuch Ma rushed over. Upon seeing Nangong Luoying, he burst into tears: "Oh dear! My little aunt! You're finally back! Do you know how worried Consort Shu was! It's good that you're back... Oh, Princess? Princess..."