Highly recommended:

Meanwhile, Ushiha and Suhar had already come down from the roof. To make the Fourth Master and the others believe that their relationship was irreversible, Ushiha stayed at the inn. Suhar, of course, prepared another room for her and her servant.

Chuncao helped Wuxiha wash up before saying, "Princess, since I'm here with you today, there's no turning back. If Your Highness doesn't agree, I'll be beaten to death."

Ushiha's heart tightened as well. She took Chuncao's hand and said, "Don't worry, I will protect you. Otherwise, don't come back to the palace with me tomorrow."

Chuncao said with a bitter face, "Princess, I am a servant sent by the Imperial Household Department. If I don't go back to the manor, where else can I go? I have served you for so long, and you have always been good to me. I would have no complaints even if I lost my life for you. It's just that I'm afraid of pain!"

Ushiha felt a pang of pain in his heart and quickly comforted her, saying, "Don't worry, no matter what, I won't let Father take his anger out on you."

Chuncao was truly terrified. She knew she would definitely be punished; it was just a matter of how light or heavy the punishment would be.

Neither the master nor the servant slept soundly that night.

The next day, Fourth Master woke up with a dark expression. Ushiha hadn't returned all night. He even began to regret not having taken men to raid the inn the day before.

"Your Highness, you've already agreed to their marriage, why do you have to make Wuxiha uncomfortable!" Lanqin was getting her hair done by her maid when she saw in the bronze mirror that the Fourth Prince was holding out his arms for Nianxia to get dressed, his face dark with displeasure.

"This is utterly outrageous!" Fourth Master said, still indignant. He had never suffered such a loss before; he had no choice but to agree, leaving him with absolutely no room for argument.

Lanqin waved to the maids, signaling them to all leave.

“Your Highness, if you truly care for Wuxiha, please stop hindering her. Besides you and me, only Bechuk knows she didn't return last night, and what about her maids? At least several lives have been lost. I plead for them. If Your Highness ruins this marriage, I fear they will all be implicated,” Lanqin said.

The Fourth Prince's expression softened slightly, but he was still very displeased. "Even if she agreed, Ushiha should still give her a talking-to. This girl, I've raised her with my own hands, and she's already decided on her own marriage like this. Does she even respect me?"

Lanqin patted Fourth Master's chest and, going along with his temper, said, "Yes, this girl, when she comes back we should punish her by confinement, and we should prepare less of her dowry."

“That won’t do. If we give them less, Dayuan will look down on us. Wouldn’t Wuxiha be wronged?” Fourth Master immediately objected.

Lanqin chuckled, but deliberately kept a straight face and said, "Alright, alright, we'll do as the prince wishes. When she returns, we'll punish her according to the prince's orders."

When the servants came to announce that Suhar and Ushiha had returned, they were waiting for a response at the gatehouse. Fourth Master and Lanqin had already finished their breakfast. Fourth Master was already waiting with Lanqin, but when he heard that Ushiha had returned, he didn't come in first. Instead, he stayed at the gatehouse with the foreigner, which reignited his anger.

"Quickly call them in, come directly to the South Courtyard." Lanqin quickly smoothed things over, "Your Highness, Ushiha was afraid that Suhar would be bored waiting there alone, so he didn't come in first."

Are you worried he'll be bored, so you keep him company?

Fourth Master's face immediately darkened again.