Anyone could see that Xiao Lingchen was distraught.

Even during the winter hunt, Xiao Lingchen, as the regent, could not abandon all official duties and devote himself to leisure.

He had to meet with his ministers constantly to discuss and decide on political matters. Also, sending Xiao Qingwan to the palace was not a simple matter. Her rank, timing, residence, and how to deal with Emperor Xuanyi were all things that needed to be confirmed again and again.

Even if Emperor Xuanyi clearly expressed his displeasure, Xiao Lingchen would not back down and retract his promise to let Xiao Qingwan enter the palace.

They are now practically openly opposing Emperor Xuanyi, and the maternal relatives are even more eager to cause trouble for him.

However, although he tried his best to remain calm and clear-headed, and to handle political affairs thoughtfully, everyone noticed that his deep eyes were now filled with a dark and bitter look, his handsome face was as pale as paper, and he had lost all his spirit and vitality.

The officials and advisors were anxious and worried about this, and Xiao Shisan, who knew part of the situation, was even more distressed.

He had some idea of ​​what the adults were thinking. He thought the two of them would naturally get back together, but he didn't expect their conflict to escalate. Forget about making up, they were almost in a cold war and stopped talking to each other!

His subordinates and advisors were all terrified and came to ask him in hushed tones what had happened.

Xiao Shisan shook his head with a wry smile, keeping his mouth tightly shut, refusing to utter a single word.

Now, even adults have reached the point where they can't eat or drink and are restless day and night.

He stood guard outside the door and witnessed Lord Xiao staying up all night, reviewing official documents by lamplight.

It seemed that he had to devote all his energy to official duties in order to stop himself from lingering outside the Second Sister's tent.

Xiao Shisan paced around like an ant on a hot pan, finally unable to resist, and barged into Xiao Lingchen's study to earnestly persuade him.

"My lord, please eat something! Your stomach is already fragile. How long did it take me to help you recover? If you get sick again, I'll be so sad."

Xiao Lingchen coughed softly twice.

He has been unable to eat or sleep properly these past two days, caught a cold, and has visibly become thinner and weaker.

“She won’t be sad,” he whispered. “She’s ignoring me, so why would she worry about me? You should send someone to ask her if she’s been alright these past few days.”

Xiao Shisan said anxiously, "How could the young lady not worry about you! Sir, please stop overthinking, okay? The young lady cares most about you, so why are you hesitating? If I had known you would act like this, I would have pretended not to see you when I saw the young lady barging into your room, and let you two get together sooner, so I wouldn't be so hesitant now!"

"What good news? What's barging into my house?"

Xiao Lingchen suddenly looked up.

Xiao Shisan sighed heavily and stepped forward, whispering, "Now, I won't hide it from you anymore. Do you remember a few months ago, when the young lady made a mistake, I temporarily had her locked up in the manor?"

Xiao Lingchen frowned, vaguely remembering hearing Xiao Shisan mention it once.

However, at that time, he did not have a good relationship with the young ladies in the mansion, and he almost never spoke to Bai Shu. Xiao Shisan was in charge of the internal affairs of the mansion, and he rarely asked about them.

As Bai Shu and he grew closer, Bai Shu never mentioned this incident, and Bai Shu almost forgot about it.

Xiao Lingchen said in a deep voice, "What mistake did she make that warrants you locking her up in the manor?"

Xiao Shisan lowered his head sheepishly and said in a low, cautious voice, "Miss, she...she wanted to climb into your bed..."

Clang—