When Hongshi returned to the mansion, he had just sat down when a maid from the main courtyard ran up excitedly to tell him that the Fujin (princess's wife) had prepared wine and dishes and invited him to come and enjoy them.

In the past, Hongshi would never have refused, but today, upon hearing the words "Fujin," he was filled with rage and roared, "Get out! Don't bother me..."

The maidservant was terrified by Hongshi's outburst and turned pale before retreating timidly.

Hongshi locked himself in his study, dismissed the servants, and refused to see anyone.

Sitting behind his desk with his eyes closed in deep thought, the image of Irgen's figure and smile kept lingering in his mind. Hiroshi reached out to grab him, but missed.

After a long time, Hongshi took out a portrait from the bookcase. The person in the portrait was Irgen.

Hongshi gently stroked the portrait with pity and murmured, "I'm sorry for you. I know that it was Ulanara Shuzhen who harmed you, but I couldn't avenge you."

Hongshi was filled with remorse and could only apologize to the portrait of Irgen, saying guiltily, "I've always known that she did all this, but she's the Empress's niece, and I couldn't do anything about it. I thought that after what happened before, she would reflect on her actions and change her ways. For the sake of our son, I could only endure this humiliation. Do you know? Just today, I learned that the life-or-death situation I faced was also caused by the Empress and her niece..."

Hongshi was so heartbroken at the thought that he couldn't speak. He closed his eyes and let the tears fall before slowly saying, "They were so ruthless in their attempts to control me, killing you and almost taking my life... Irgen, if you were still alive, you would never have been so cruel to me. It's all my fault... It's all my fault..."

Hongshi could no longer contain his anger and swept the table with all his might.

The writing brush, ink, paper, inkstone, and even a blue-and-white porcelain vase all fell to the ground. The blue-and-white porcelain vase shattered instantly, and the crisp sound echoed throughout the study.

The door was suddenly pushed open.

Hongshi was in a daze when he saw Irgen enter. Hongshi exclaimed in surprise, "You...you're back?"

The maid who happened to be passing by the study heard the commotion in Hongshi's room and rushed in without thinking. Seeing the mess in the room, she stood frozen at the door. She looked quite a bit like the deceased Irgen, and only then did Hongshi realize that the person he had been longing for had returned.

The maid stood helplessly at the door. Seeing Hongshi's haggard appearance, she asked timidly, "Your Highness, are you alright?"

Hearing the maid's voice brought Hongshi back to his senses, and upon closer inspection, he realized it was just his imagination.

"It's okay, I...I'm okay..." Hongshi slumped into a chair, looking utterly dejected.

Hongshi looked down and saw that the portrait of the Irgen clan was also on the ground. The ink had flowed over it and was about to stain the portrait black. In a panic, he reached out to grab it, but he ignored the slag next to the portrait. A sharp pain shot through him, and Hongshi pulled his hand back as if he had been electrocuted. Blood gushed out.

Seeing that Hongshi's hand was stabbed, the maid rushed over and asked anxiously, "Your Highness, your hand is injured..."

The maid hurriedly put Hongshi's hand in her mouth and sucked on it. Fortunately, it was just a minor injury and nothing serious.

Hongshi was momentarily dazed. He remembered that the portrait had not been picked up yet and was about to bend down to pick it up when the maidservant quickly picked up the portrait of Irgen before Hongshi could.

She carefully smoothed out the portrait, then gently rolled it up and handed it to Hongshi, whispering, "Your Highness, your portrait..."

Hongshi took the portrait, suddenly felt his mouth was dry, and waved his hand to the maid, saying, "Go and make me a pot of tea..."