Seeing Pei Xuanzhi like this, Madam Pei immediately spoke up, "When you were imprisoned, your father and I were at our wit's end, so we went to find Wan Ning. Wan Ning went everywhere for your sake, even going to the Gu Mansion to confront Gu Jie, and only then did she secure a glimmer of hope for your life."

Pei Xuanzhi sighed deeply upon seeing this, "This time, I owe the Prime Minister and Wan Ning a huge favor."

Madam Pei looked at Pei Xuanzhi's appearance and sobbed, comforting him, "It's okay. If you see Wan Ning and the Prime Minister in trouble in the future, we will help them."

Pei Xuanzhi responded and accompanied Madam Pei into the inner hall.

Prime Minister's Mansion.

Song Wanning was currently attending to trivial matters in the mansion when she saw Zhuque, who was standing beside her, lower his head and said to her, "Madam, I heard from my subordinates that the Yin Mansion has managed to sneak in a few more women. Although they are working outside, Madam, you have to be on guard. If Caique hadn't been keeping a close eye on this matter and found out that they used to work in the Yin Mansion, they would have been fooled. Now these women insist that they were sold from there and came here, but it's hard to get rid of them now that they've been accepted. Madam, you have to think of a solution."

"Oh..." Song Wanning's voice was very low, still looking at the account book.

Seeing this, Zhuque knew that Song Wanning would not listen to anything at this moment, so he changed the topic and said, "Madam, I'm afraid the Prime Minister is about to come back. Madam, please go to the door and take a look. You have read this account book three times, and you haven't seen me change it."

Song Wanning finally came to her senses and said to Suzaku beside her, "Good Suzaku, you noticed my little trick. You're right. I can't concentrate on reading anyway, so why not go to the door and see the Prime Minister?"

As Song Wanning said this, she put down the account book, stood up and went to the door to check, and immediately saw the prime minister coming in from outside.

Song Wanning took two steps forward, grabbed Yin Yichen's hand, and said to him, "It's so hard to come back. How are things going?"

"It's done, Pei Xuanzhi wasn't hurt at all." Yin Yichen's face was cold, and it seemed that he was angry.

Seeing Pei Xuanzhi like this, Song Wanning lowered her head and said, "His being okay is secondary. Your being okay is the most important thing. Now that we're openly going against Gu Jie, I'm afraid we don't know what kind of trouble will come out of this. Gu Jie is a mean-spirited man, and now that he's set his sights on you, how can I not be worried?"

Yin Yichen lowered his head and saw Song Wanning's appearance. Her eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and her face was a little more sad than usual.

Yin Yichen's anger had vanished by now. He whispered to Song Wanning, "Don't be afraid. I'm not that easy to deal with. We just have to wait for our people to find the mage and break His Majesty's illusion. Then everything will be fine."

When Song Wanning heard Yin Yichen say this, her expression finally brightened up. She said softly to Yin Yichen, "I believe you, but we should also share the ups and downs together."

Seeing her like this, Yin Yichen put his arm around her shoulders and walked into the house.

-

In the palace.

Gu Jie had just arrived at the palace to meet Concubine Yu. With a dark face, he said, "This Yin Yichen has ruined my grand plan. Although the Pei family has said they will no longer do business with the grain department, the officials there know what happened. Although I succeeded, my authority is gone. I see that he is truly rampant. Even now, I don't know what trouble he will cause in the future. You must explain this to the emperor and instruct him to kill him."

Upon seeing this, Concubine Yu hurried forward and pinched Gu Jie's shoulders. "Before we left, our master told us not to act rashly. The emperor is listening to me right now, but if we act too arrogantly and let the people below see the clues, I'm afraid things will become even more difficult in the future. Yin Yichen used to be the emperor's right-hand man. If we take action against him now, I'm afraid it will arouse the suspicion of the court officials for no reason."

Gu Jie heard what Concubine Yu said and lowered his head and said, "That's what I said, but he's really gone too far. Even if we don't kill him, it would be better to find a crime to lock him up first to prevent him from doing bad things outside."

After hearing this, Concubine Yu immediately said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I will naturally handle this matter and prevent him from doing anything bad. I will brainwash the emperor in a few days and make him take action against Yin Yichen. Now our lives will be better."

"When will the emperor become completely insane? I heard that he is still lucid from time to time. This is not a good sign." Gu Jie asked from the side.

Concubine Yu looked at Gu Jie and said, "The old emperor is only like this a few times, so don't provoke him. I'm afraid it will take another two months for him to completely faint. By then, this world will not be ours."

"It's too early to say that," Gu Jie said with a dark face. "The late emperor forced my mother to leave the palace while she was pregnant with me and executed my family members. Now he's dead, and I can't return to my ancestral hall. But his son is still alive, and the blood feud of the late empress dowager must be avenged."

"Your Highness is right. We've been planning for so many years, and it's finally time for us to make our mark." Concubine Yu smiled and said, "The day is not far off when we will slay these enemies one by one."

Seeing this, Gu Jie finally felt better. He looked at Concubine Yu and said, "I'll leave the Prime Minister's affairs to you. I'm going to leave the palace first. Otherwise, I'm afraid it will attract attention."

"I understand." Concubine Yu arranged for Gu Jie to leave the palace, then dressed up and took the zither to the emperor's palace.

When the emperor saw Concubine Yu, his expression immediately relaxed. He looked at her and said, "Concubine Yu, I was just about to send someone to call you. My headache has come back, and only by listening to your music can I feel better. Please play the piano for me."

"I understand, Your Majesty. I will play a song right now to put Your Majesty at ease." Concubine Yu said as she knelt on the ground and began to play the piano.

As the music of the piano flowed, the emperor beside him closed his eyes and looked as if he was enjoying it.

Concubine Yu said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, the Prime Minister who has been coming to the palace lately has been giving my brother a hard time. My brother has been wronged. Your Majesty, please help me."

The emperor chuckled when he heard this. "He is just like that. Tell your brother not to take it personally."

Yu Meiren continued playing the zither, "I think the Prime Minister might be having second thoughts, otherwise why would he be like this?"