As the night deepened, Yu Qianqian cried herself to sleep until she fell into a coma. Mu Beichen comforted her until she was sound asleep, his deep eyes trembling slightly as he looked down at the ground.

He glanced back at the woman sleeping soundly in the bed curtains, her face still streaked with tears, and silently said in his heart, "Qianqian, as your man, I feel ashamed. From the moment we first met, every step of our journey has been fraught with hardship. You have always stood in front of me during the most difficult times, overcoming obstacles and enduring so much pain and torment alone, yet you have always persevered. Qianqian, every time I see your strength and unwavering resilience, my heart aches."

"This time it's my turn to protect you. I will get the antidote back for you. As for that woman Su Ruan, she has done terrible things and hurt you so badly. I will find her and make her pay for her crimes even if I have to dig three feet into the ground!"

He also knew that he shouldn't have given Su Ruan the opportunity to poison Yu Qianqian, and he shouldn't have left her any room to escape. Even if she was a woman with a heavy sin and no feelings in her own world, no matter what the reason, he had a thought of letting her go, but it was an undeniable fact.

When the Northern You Kingdom had just quelled the war, Su Yu retired due to illness, and the Jiang Lan Kingdom completely turned against him. He had just ascended the throne and, with his overwhelming power, soon found out where Su Ruan was hiding. However, he hesitated to take action and instead kept a close watch on her every move. He believed that nothing would escape his notice and that killing Su Ruan only required the right opportunity.

The only thing overlooked was that Su Ruan had been skilled in perfumery since childhood, and no one expected that Su Ruan would cleverly use the Demonic Incense and several other medicines while Yu Qianqian was treating her face, thus creating a deadly poison without anyone knowing.

Especially recently, Yu Qianqian has been needing more and more medicine to apply to her scars. However, because she has always been in good health, the so-called deadly poison only has a hypnotic effect. So Su Ruan began to frantically search for other spices, trying to concoct a stronger medicine.

Finally, on the night Yu Qianqian left Luochen Palace, he strolled under the moon, thinking about the murder case a few days ago, when he inadvertently discovered Su Ruan collecting flower petals everywhere. He then sent his guards to follow her to the back garden and captured her.

If... Yu Qianqian finds out about all this, how will I handle the situation?

Thinking of this, Mu Beichen's gaze fell on Yan Yuqianqian with only sadness, and his heart was in turmoil.

He left Fengyi Palace without a moment's hesitation, and under the cover of night, he secretly summoned a group of guards to hunt down Su Wan.

When dawn broke, the palace remained quiet as ever, and no one knew what had happened that night.

After finishing the morning court session on time, Mu Beichen did not go directly back to his palace or to Fengyi Palace. Instead, he went to the Imperial Study under the pretext of handling government affairs.

In reality, he didn't return to his palace simply because he didn't want to recall the mistakes he had made in that place. He didn't go to Fengyi Palace because he was afraid to face Yu Qianqian.

Every time he saw Yu Qianqian looking almost completely exhausted, he felt both heartache and guilt. From the very beginning, Yu Qianqian had endured almost all the hardships for him. He had thought that one day he would become the king of the world and be able to protect her and give her everything she wanted.

Even now, though he holds the highest position in the world and has the submission of countless people, he has failed to protect her. He can only watch helplessly as she withers away like a dead flower.