"Sister... Sister..." Lu Tianjiao called out as she hurried along the corridor from Chenghua Palace to Shaohua Pavilion.

Mei Xiyuan, whose face was clouded with anger, seemed not to hear her urgent call at all. She just kept walking forward, gritting her teeth, her eyes full of grievance and anger.

She wondered why Xuan Yuanhan would trample on her self-esteem and pride time and time again, and why all her good intentions were always met with his ruthless reprimands or neglect.

She had tried to convince herself more than once to be patient and give each other time and space to gradually accept the other. But right now, she just couldn't swallow this injustice.

Seeing that Mei Xiyuan was clearly furious, Lu Tianjiao looked around and, seeing that there was no one else, suddenly stopped chasing her and reminded her, "Sister, do you know why His Highness was so angry just now?"

Upon hearing this, Mei Xiyuan stopped, trying her best to maintain her composure in front of her. Without turning her head, she frowned and coldly asked with her back turned, "You know?"

Lu Tianjiao finally sighed softly, then quickly caught up with Mei Xiyuan and blinked slightly before saying earnestly, "Sister really shouldn't have touched that sachet."

"What do you mean?" Mei Xiyuan asked, puzzled.

Lu Tianjiao then said in a mysterious yet gentle tone, "Sister, you may not know this, but that sapphire blue sachet was a gift from Princess Yue the day before Your Highness's wedding to you. Your Highness seems to... treasure it very much."

"Oh? So it was a gift from Xuanyuan Yue. Hmph... But Xuanyuan Yue, as a princess of noble birth, has such terrible taste! How dare she use such a mediocre sachet as a wedding gift? It seems the taste of the Western Qin royal family is far inferior to that of my Eastern Ning royal family!" Mei Xiyuan said leisurely, her face revealing endless pride and superiority, a contemptuous smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

After saying that, they continued walking slowly toward Shaohua Pavilion, chatting as they went.

"Does sister know who made this sachet?" Lu Tianjiao asked with a hint of eeriness in his voice.

However, Mei Xiyuan said with great disdain, "With such stingy materials and workmanship, isn't this the kind of stuff that lowly commoners would use, picked up from small shops on the side of the street?"

Lu Tianjiao smiled and shook her head, saying, "Your sister knew you would never guess. This sachet was made by that girl Yi Shangyun, but it was passed on to His Highness through Xuan Yuan Yue."

Mei Xiyuan suddenly realized, "So that's how it is. No wonder he was so angry with me just now. He even yelled at me in front of the servants over such a crude sachet. It seems... His Highness really cares about this Yi Shangyun... Xuan Yuan Yue... she's really enthusiastic, so she's involved too. I, the dignified Princess Consort of Qin, haven't even entered the palace yet, and she's already in a hurry to find a concubine for her royal uncle, and a lowly servant like Yi Shangyun at that. All the lowly people in this world are indeed birds of a feather, all dreaming of flying up to the top and becoming a phoenix... Hmph..."

After a moment of contemplation, Mei Xiyuan suddenly looked up at Lu Tianjiao and smiled. The smile was as alluring as a cat's eyes, yet it sent a chill down one's spine, making one feel uneasy. Then she said, "It seems my sister already knew about this?"

Lu Tianjiao knew that Mei Xiyuan was blaming him for not giving her a hint or reminder back then, which made her look so embarrassed in front of Xuan Yuanhan today, and further increased the rift between the two of them.

As they talked, the two of them were back in Shaohua Pavilion in the blink of an eye.

As the New Year approached, the chill in the air grew stronger. Upon entering, a maidservant served hot tea. Lu Tianjiao hurriedly stepped forward to take it and respectfully handed a cup of freshly brewed Jade Dew Tea, with its floating buds and leaves, lush and green, fragrant aroma, bright green liquor, and white hue like jade, to Mei Xiyuan.

Mei Xiyuan lazily took the tea with a slender hand, a faint smile playing on her lips, seemingly quite pleased with Lu Tianjiao's respectful attitude in admitting his mistake. She then gently lifted the tea lid and savored the mellow aroma of the tea.

Seeing that her anger was subsiding, Lu Tianjiao explained, "Sister, Tianjiao was only suspicious at first, but judging from His Highness's rage today, this must have been done by that wretched woman. His Highness has never cared about these needlework trinkets before."

As they were talking, another maid came in and handed Mei Xiyuan an exquisitely crafted hand warmer with carved floral patterns. She then took the teacup from Mei Xiyuan's hand and left.

As Mei Xiyuan listened to what Lu Tianjiao was saying, she thought to herself that this woman had actually kept a trick up her sleeve, making her cannon fodder in front of Xuan Yuanhan while she herself hid behind and watched the show.

Although she was furious inside, she tried her best to suppress it. Then she gently touched the charcoal sticks in the hand warmer with her delicate hand to make them burn brighter.

After a moment of silence, she told herself, "Forget it. This woman still has value to be used. I'll settle this score with you later!"

So she smiled and said, "Sister, don't misunderstand. I was just asking casually. I trust you, which is why I dared to keep you by my side. You've had a hard day too, so go and rest for a while! I need to rest too, because I have to go to the palace with His Highness later."

“In that case, younger sister will go back first, and elder sister should also rest for a while.” After Lu Tianjiao finished speaking, a hint of doubt appeared in her eyes as she bowed and withdrew.

Mei Xiyuan watched her departing figure, a cold and hateful look in her eyes.

"Your Highness," Zhao Mama hurriedly called to Mei Xiyuan as she passed by Lu Tianjiao, seemingly waiting until she left before entering, displaying an extremely cautious demeanor.

When he reached Mei Xiyuan, he gave her a wink, and Mei Xiyuan knew that this was an indication that important news had arrived.

Seeing that Lu Tianjiao had completely gone far away, Mei Xiyuan asked with a serious expression, "Has there been any news from my brother?"

Then Zhao Mama took out a secret letter and handed it to Mei Xiyuan, lowering her voice to say, "This is a secret letter that His Highness the Third Prince just sent, instructing the princess to handle it as soon as possible."

"Oh? What's so urgent?" She quickly took the secret letter, opened it, and her beautiful eyes moved carefully over the paper. However, the more she read, the more her brows furrowed.

Finally, his eyes narrowed, flashing a cold, sharp light.

Upon seeing her cold and stern expression, Granny Zhao guessed that it was not good news, but still asked softly, "Princess, what did the Third Prince instruct you to do?"

However, Mei Xiyuan remained silent for a long time, only tearing the secret letter in her hand one by one with her delicate, jade-like hands, and then kneading it repeatedly in her palm.

After a long pause, she slowly spoke, "Granny, the thing I feared most is about to happen!"

Zhao Mama hesitated for a moment, then said nervously, "What is the princess most worried about?... Could it be that there is news about the legitimate princess?"

The room fell silent. The news had come too quickly and too suddenly. The two of them were stunned and speechless for a long time.

Half a day later, Mei Xiyuan asked blankly, "Does the old nanny know who the Emperor suspects?"

At this moment, no matter how wildly Zhao Mama imagined things, she could never have guessed such a mysterious person. The most noble legitimate princess of Dongning Kingdom, who was lost in a foreign land, was someone that no one in the entire Dongning royal family had ever seen.

So she asked curiously, "This old servant is foolish, please enlighten me, Your Highness?"

Mei Xiyuan felt that the saying "enemies are destined to meet" was true. It turned out that the person she hated the most right now might be the one who had been the biggest obstacle in her life since birth.

Not only does she vie for her father's favor, but she also vies for the title of the most noble princess of Dongning Kingdom on the Lingkong Continent; and now, she has even stolen away the husband she was most proud of. Perhaps in the future…

What's most infuriating is that she lost this war before it even began. This was simply because she was the most esteemed legitimate princess of the renowned Dongning Kingdom, which resonated throughout the entire Lingkong Continent, while she herself was merely born to the empress's concubine, ultimately remaining an illegitimate child.

As she was deep in thought, Zhao Mama noticed that she was lost in thought, so she reached out and gently shook her, saying, "Princess, who exactly is the legitimate princess that His Highness suspects, and where is she now?"

Mei Xiyuan slowly came to her senses, her face pale, and said, "Granny, there's no need to worry. This person is right here, even though he's far away."

After a moment's thought, Granny Zhao said, "So close yet so far... Could it be Miss Lu?!"

Thinking that the only woman Mei Xiyuan was closest to in the Western Qin Kingdom was Lu Tianjiao, Zhao Mama casually guessed.

"Hmph... If she really were the legitimate princess, then I wouldn't be afraid of her."

Just as Granny Zhao was puzzled, Mei Xiyuan suddenly said, "The person that Your Majesty suspects is that lowly hussy who will be entering the Prince's mansion soon—Yi Shangyun."

"It's her! How is that possible?" Granny Zhao exclaimed in great surprise.

Then, with concern, he asked, "Does His Highness have any proof? Such an important matter must not be mistaken."

"My brother didn't say anything in his letter, he just wanted me to find that woman as soon as possible, because he wanted to see her in person." Before Mei Xiyuan could finish speaking, Zhao Mama hurriedly said, "Princess, you must not! If the legitimate princess is really found, it will be extremely disadvantageous for you."

Mei Xiyuan knew perfectly well that if Dongning Kingdom found the only daughter of the deceased Empress, she would lose everything she had now, and as an illegitimate child, she would be forever trampled underfoot by others.

Just like her mother, although she is now the mother of the Dongning Kingdom, she can only be a step-empress. She has never even had the wedding night ceremony, which is the biggest regret in a woman's life.

"Then how should we reply to His Highness?" Granny Zhao asked worriedly.

Mei Xiyuan blinked slightly and said, "Let's stall for time and say that this princess will do her best to help him find it."

"If the tide was born, why was the cloud born?" Is this some kind of joke that heaven is playing on her?

Today, with the rare warmth of the sun in this harsh winter, and the annual Lunar New Year's Eve, a time for universal celebration, Mei Xiyuan was suddenly filled with a strange, chilling coldness and fear.

At this moment, she stared intently at the warm sunlight streaming through the window, yet found it exceptionally dazzling. She could only hope that Mei Zhixuan had made a mistake, that it was all just a misunderstanding. Otherwise…