At this moment, the guards in the main hall noticed He Jin and quickly stood at attention and saluted.

"Your Highness!"

Jia Min was startled, and slowly opened her slightly closed eyes. At this moment, He Jin was already standing in front of her, his hands hanging down, respectfully greeting her.

Good morning, Aunt.

"It's getting late." Jiamin smiled gently. "I heard that you young people like to have brunch, what's it called...? Heh, I happen to have some tea and snacks here, consider it your brunch. Come and have some!"

"Thank you, Auntie, but I'm not hungry." He Jin looked alert and glanced around furtively, but there was no sign of Sang Qing.

"Ah Jin, what are you looking at?"

"nothing……"

Are you looking for someone?

He Jin paused for a moment, then said truthfully, "I heard that my aunt sent Sang Qing over. I happen to have a few robes that I need her help with. I wonder if she has finished with her aunt's business yet?"

"I'm done with my work." Jia Min took a casual sip of tea. "But I've already sent her back."

"go back?"

He Jin frowned, calculating the time. Just now, when he was recording the video outside the palace, Sang Qing was still arguing indignantly. Then he sent the video to Nie Xin. Even though that corner of the Imperial Garden was remote, it would only take a dozen minutes to go back and forth.

Can Queen Jiamin make a person disappear into thin air in just over ten minutes?

He Jin's heart was pounding.

He grew up without a mother; Jiamin raised him and his sister. His uncle and aunt were far more important to him than his biological parents.

He knew that Jiamin was sometimes too self-righteous and arrogant.

As the empress of a nation, it's inevitable that she would have a temper.

But he always believed that Queen Jiamin was kind-hearted... at least she wouldn't intentionally harm anyone!

He Jin's hand clenched into a fist at his side, trembling slightly.

“Aunt,” he said in a low but clear voice, “please forgive my rudeness… I clearly saw Sang Qing in this hall just now, and when I came back, I didn’t see her leaving!”

"What do you mean?" Queen Jiamin narrowed her eyes. "Are you saying that I locked Sang Qing up?"

He Jin lowered his head. "I didn't say that... but it's too strange that he could disappear in just over ten minutes. I'm also worried that Young Master Xin might not let this go. Given General Nie's favor towards him, he might personally stand up for his son."

"Shut up!" Jiamin slammed her hand heavily on the sofa armrest, her expression fierce. "You want to use Nie Zhen to intimidate me?"

"No matter how powerful Nie Zhenjun is, he is just a general. We are a member of the royal family. Why should we be afraid of him?"

He Jin glanced at her: "That's right, Nie Zhen is just a general, but his military power is real, with hundreds of thousands of troops in the South Seas serving him! And what does our royal family have besides an empty title?"

He gave a wry smile, a hint of self-mockery in his upturned lips. "Aunt, you understand everything... Nie Xin is unhappy because the Nanyang military is unhappy! You want to consolidate imperial power so much, why are you going against him?"

Jiamin's face darkened.

It has to be said that these words touched a nerve with her, which is why she dislikes He Jin.

He Jin lives too clearly, sees things too thoroughly, and is too difficult to control.

But He Jin was wrong about one thing: she really let Sang Qing leave!

The moment Sang Qing refused the US dollars and passport, she knew this path was a dead end.

She was thinking of a more roundabout way to deal with Sang Qing.

So, in broad daylight, and in the Imperial Palace, a place with many eyes and ears, even if she were stupid, she wouldn't do anything to Sang Qing!

"He Jin, are you questioning me by speaking to me in that tone?"

"I didn't dare to question my aunt, I just gave her a slight reminder."

"I really don't know where that girl went!" Jiamin said angrily. "She couldn't sew those clothes, so I let her leave."

“Every word I’ve said is absolutely true.” She stared coldly at He Jin. “Do you want me to swear an oath?”

He Jin was slightly taken aback.

Southeast Asia is a religious country where oaths to deities are taken very seriously. Once an oath is made, no one dares to break it.

Jiamin wouldn't joke about something like this.

Has Sang Qing really left?

“Ah Jin, since we’ve come this far, I might as well be frank with you.” Jia Min sighed. “I do want to bring your sister and Nie Xin together, and I also hope that Sang Qing will leave Nanyang on her own. But Sang Qing doesn’t agree, and I can’t force her, can I?”

"Don't worry, I know what I should and shouldn't do. Offending the Nie family for Sang Qing is not worth it!"

He Jin looked hesitant, but still nodded.

Queen Jiamin waved him away, and after calming down, she frowned deeply.

Where did Sang Qing go?

After she left the main hall, did she perhaps encounter someone else?

Jiamin's heart skipped a beat, and a name suddenly flashed through her mind...

"Guards!" she commanded in a deep voice, "Summon Prince Hea!"

...

Sang Qing huddled in the corner; the only feeling she got from there was cold.

White walls, white room, white carpet, even the window frames are white.

It's like a world of ice and snow.

The summer in Southeast Asia is scorching hot, but she was shivering all over here.

The woman on the bed slowly sat up, looking at her with curious eyes.

A moment later, the woman followed her example, bending her knees and hugging her knees, curling up into a ball and sitting there.

Sang Qing took a deep breath, a sense of fear crawling over her like a million insects. The woman probably didn't recognize her, but she recognized the woman…

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!