There were still quite a few people at Ziyun Tower early in the morning. Shen Yunjiao wrapped a shawl around her neck to cover the shocking hickeys.

When Shen Yunjiao walked out of the restaurant, she saw a familiar carriage parked at the entrance.

Fu Xia's eyes were dark and swollen, and she squatted by the carriage with a distressed expression, clearly having not slept all night.

When she heard footsteps and looked up, she was overjoyed and jumped up. She ran to Shen Yunjiao's side and said, "Miss! You've finally appeared! I waited in the palace gate all day yesterday before I heard from a palace eunuch that the princess had asked you to stay overnight. Don't worry, the palace sent someone to tell the master and the eldest son last night."

Shen Yunjiao was stunned for a moment.

She was confused yesterday and couldn't remember any of these things.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Huaijin had informed his family in advance.

Fu Xia had been living in fear all night. She had a lot of questions on her mind, but seeing Shen Yunjiao looking exhausted, she could only keep them to herself.

When Shen Yunjiao got off the carriage, Fu Xia was waiting beside her, wanting to help her walk together.

However, Shen Yunjiao did not want to be touched by anyone at the moment. Her eyelashes trembled violently as she avoided Fu Xia's support.

Fu Xia looked at Shen Yunjiao with some surprise, only to see her guiltily hide her hands in her sleeves to cover the red marks on her wrists: "You don't need to help me, I can walk by myself."

Seeing that Shen Yunjiao seemed somewhat absent-minded, Fu Xia also felt inexplicably uneasy.

Did her daughter have a fight with the princess last night?

As Shen Yunjiao staggered back to the Prime Minister's residence, panting with every step, Xiao Huaijin rushed back to the palace without stopping.

He stormed in without informing the palace staff, and barged directly into Qixiang Palace where Chu Xiyue was located.

Chu Xiyue barely slept last night either. The little palace maid she sent told her that Shen Yunjiao had run away.

Even the guards who helped her kidnap and drug her have disappeared without a trace.

Will we be discovered?

Chu Xiyue was feeling uneasy when she saw Xiao Huaijin come to her palace alone.

Her cousin stared at her with a cold expression, and Chu Xiyue felt as if the air around her had frozen, so stuffy that she could hardly breathe.

Xiao Huaijin dismissed the servants, his brows furrowed with cold indifference, and asked Chu Xiyue in a chilling tone, "What did you do last night?"

Chu Xiyue instantly realized that Xiao Huaijin had likely come to interrogate her.

She glanced at him hastily and then hurriedly smiled guiltily, "Cousin, why did you suddenly want to come and see Yue'er?"

"Chu Xiyue, I know you were the one who drugged Shen Yunjiao last night," Xiao Huaijin said impatiently, looking at her coldly.

"Cousin, you know everything. I was wrong."

Seeing Xiao Huaijin's appearance, Chu Xiyue knew he must have interrogated the guard.

She made up her mind and decided to just tell the whole truth.

"Cousin, I only did this because I was angry that she was a married man and seduced you." Chu Xiyue cried and sobbed, her voice extremely noisy.

Xiao Huaijin was always measured in his actions and rarely got angry.

At this moment, his face darkened completely, his expression tense, his eyes icy: "So you just randomly picked a man to ruin her reputation?"

"She was naturally promiscuous; otherwise, why would she be with her cousin—"

"Smack!"

Before Chu Xiyue could finish speaking, Xiao Huaijin raised his hand and slapped her hard.

Although he secretly wished to tear Chu Xiyue to pieces, he couldn't actually do anything about it at that moment.

Chu Xiyue is the Empress Dowager's most beloved grandson, and her life must not be harmed.

"Cousin, sob sob sob, I was wrong." Chu Xiyue was naturally terrified. The man in front of her was the future emperor, the man who stood at the very top of power.

She was blinded by jealousy and came up with such a foolish idea.

"Chu Xiyue, I'll repeat myself here: Shen Yunjiao didn't seduce me; on the contrary, I couldn't ask for her more than I wanted," Xiao Huaijin said coldly.

Chu Xiyue stopped crying and stared blankly at her handsome cousin.

Xiao Huaijin continued, "It was because you drugged me yesterday that I had the opportunity to take advantage of you. In fact, I should thank you."

Xiao Huaijin's words stirred up a storm in Chu Xiyue's heart.

So it turned out that my cousin was the one who provoked the Crown Princess?

And yet, for no apparent reason, I became my cousin's accomplice?

"Cousin, so you kidnapped her to the East Palace yesterday afternoon, and you were the one who took the aphrodisiac off her last night?"

Chu Xiyue felt like the sky was falling. Her gentle cousin, whom she had always admired, was actually such a dissolute person.

“You were the culprit last night,” Xiao Huaijin said calmly, the cold killing intent hidden in his phoenix eyes sending chills down Chu Xiyue’s spine. “If you tell us what happened yesterday, you’ll be the first one to suffer.”

After saying this, Xiao Huaijin turned and left without looking back, leaving Chu Xiyue alone, trembling with fear.

If Xiao Huaijin hadn't been mindful of his royal status, would he have ruthlessly eliminated him?

Chu Xiyue knew she had gotten herself into big trouble.

But she tried her best to remain calm. She was the most beloved granddaughter of Empress Dowager Dayong, and neither Xiao Huaijin nor Shen Yunjiao dared to lay a finger on her.

—

The next day at noon, Shen Yunjiao sat at the dining table in the flower hall of the Shen residence, looking somewhat listless.

Recently, court affairs have been very busy. Shen Zhizhang, who had finally managed to find time on his day off to have a meal with his family, was dressed solemnly and sat diagonally in front of Shen Yunjiao.

Aunt Liu, with her usual gentle smile, sat down next to Shen Zhizhang.

She picked up a piece of food and gave it to Shen Yunjiao, smiling gently, "Please eat more, young lady, to nourish your body."

"Why is your face so pale today?" Shen Zhizhang looked up and saw that Shen Yunjiao's face looked unwell, so he frowned and asked.

Shen Qinghuai, who was sitting opposite Shen Yunjiao, also noticed that his younger sister looked a little pale, and quickly asked with concern, "Did you catch a cold from the wind last night?"

Shen Yunjiao shook her head: "I just didn't sleep very well last night."

It's not her fault; her body is too weak. All medicine has some degree of toxicity, especially the kind of poison she was given.

Moreover, during the process of taking the antidote, Xiao Huaijin tormented her so much without any regard for her own health that her body felt like it had suffered a serious illness.

Excessive sexual activity harms the body, and coupled with insufficient kidney qi, this is what people today often call kidney deficiency.

Shen Zhizhang looked at his beloved daughter, who was a little thin, and felt a pang of heartache in his eyes: "You need to eat more and nourish your body."

"Thank you for your concern, Father. I'll eat a few more bowls of rice today," Shen Yunjiao replied obediently. The only sound at the table was the soft clatter of bowls; the atmosphere was very quiet.

Shen Yunjiao lost her appetite and couldn't help but recall what Fu Xia had said to her earlier that day.

The maids who had accompanied Aunt Liu were all sent back to the Prime Minister's residence by the Pei family yesterday.

It is said that these girls are wicked and deliberately seduce Prince Pei.

"Aunt, the Pei family sent people back to the Prime Minister's residence this morning. Are you aware of this?" Shen Yunjiao put down her chopsticks and looked directly at Aunt Liu with her clear eyes.

Everyone at the table stopped eating, especially Shen Yunmo. Remembering his elder sister's threats to him last time, he instinctively buried his head in his rice when he heard the words "Pei Mansion."

Aunt Liu felt very guilty. She secretly glanced at Shen Zhizhang and, seeing that his expression was calm, she hurriedly gave a smile in return: "This just happened, right? I didn't know about it either."

"According to the steward of the Pei family, these girls are quite cunning and are trying to use their beauty to seduce the young master. The Pei family thinks that these are their own maids and it's not easy to deal with them, so they sent them over early this morning," Shen Yunjiao said with a slight smile.

"These wretched girls, how dare they do such a rebellious thing!" Aunt Liu replied angrily after hearing this. Then she gave Shen Yunjiao an apologetic smile. "Young lady, they must have had different thoughts because you weren't here. Since these maids and servants are not loyal, let the matchmaker sell them off."

"I'll leave everything to Auntie's arrangements," Shen Yunjiao replied with a faint smile.