When Gu Qingqiu opened her eyes again, it was already dusk outside.

"Ziyun," Gu Qingqiu called softly.

The maidservant nearby had very sharp ears and immediately ran to Gu Qingqiu's bedside. "Madam, you're awake! What would you like to eat? Let me bring you your medicine first."

Gu Qingqiu shook her head. "Did you get the answer?"

Ziyun lowered her head in shame. "They said the prince was just feeling a little unwell and told me not to get in the way."

Gu Qingqiu had long guessed that she and her maid were isolated in the Prince's mansion. When Gu Qingqiu was present, they might still be mindful of her status and position, but when Gu Qingqiu was not present, they were never polite to a maid.

"Never mind, you go get the medicine." Gu Qingqiu felt it was better not to meddle in other people's business.

But even late into the night, the painful and angry sounds continued, just like the day before, and only stopped in the early hours of the morning.

According to Gu Qingqiu's observation, the women in the Prince's Mansion would leave the mansion in the evening and return the next morning, while the doctor would still go to Chu Yunhan's room every morning.

Could it be that Chu Yunhan has been poisoned with some kind of aphrodisiac? Is that why he had to dismiss the women in the palace tonight?

Why didn't they take me with them? Are they pretending I don't exist?

Helpless, Gu Qingqiu had no choice but to admit that thanks to Chu Yunhan, her sleep quality had been terrible these past two nights.

On the third night, Gu Qingqiu finally couldn't take it anymore.

Ziyun was still awake when she heard the noise.

Seeing Gu Qingqiu's dark face and faint dark circles under her eyes, Ziyun asked with concern, "Madam, should I find some cotton balls to plug your ears?"

"Mm." Gu Qingqiu nodded.

Ziyun fell asleep the moment she put on the cotton, leaving Gu Qingqiu staring blankly.

Gu Qingqiu looked at the cotton on the table and thought that it would be most useful to stuff it in Chu Yunhan's mouth, so she angrily stuffed the cotton into her pocket and went to Chu Yunhan's courtyard.

There were no servants or doctors coming and going tonight, only a drowsy gatekeeper.

Gu Qingqiu entered Chu Yunhan's courtyard without any hindrance.

She carried the cotton towards the sound. The room was dark, not even moonlight could penetrate it. The only things that allowed Gu Qingqiu to determine her direction were the sound of the shaking chains and the sounds of struggling.

Gu Qingqiu groped her way to the bedside. The person on the bed seemed to sense something and asked through gritted teeth, "Who is it? Get out!"

Gu Qingqiu naturally didn't answer, but instead stuffed the cotton she brought into the mouth of the person on the bed.

Chu Yunhan never expected that someone would dare to do such a thing to him. His struggling movements paused for a few seconds, and then he let out a whimper.

Gu Qingqiu was too lazy to understand what Chu Yunhan was saying, but instead tentatively touched his forehead and pulse.

Although she couldn't be considered an expert due to long-term illness, Gu Qingqiu had recently read quite a few medical books out of boredom, and this was a good opportunity to test her learning progress.

However, the patient was not very cooperative, making it difficult for Gu Qingqiu to calm down and feel the disordered pulse.

So Gu Qingqiu followed Chu Yunhan's body down and actually touched a very erect thing.

Gu Qingqiu:......

After a half-second silence, Gu Qingqiu withdrew her hand as if she had touched a hot potato, and then quickly left the room.

If Gu Qingqiu could see the expression on Chu Yunhan's face, she would definitely be frightened by his violent eyes and bulging veins.

However, since she couldn't see, she felt at ease returning to her room and getting a good night's sleep. When she woke up the next day, she felt unusually refreshed.

Ziyun combed Gu Qingqiu's hair. "Madam, did you sleep well last night?"

Gu Qingqiu thought of Chu Yunhan, whom she had stuffed with a wad of cotton, and felt a rare pang of guilt. She cleared her throat and asked, "Um... where did you get that cotton from yesterday? Did someone see it?"

"I found it in the storage room, pulled out from a quilt that isn't often used," Ziyun explained. "That's where your dowry was kept, Madam. No one else in the mansion goes in there, so naturally no one would know about it."

"That's good." Gu Qingqiu felt that it was best to destroy the evidence just to be on the safe side, and instructed, "Go and destroy the cotton that was stuffed in your ears yesterday. If anyone asks about this, just say you don't know anything and pretend nothing happened."

Ziyun looked puzzled, but still agreed, "Yes, Madam, I will go and process the cotton right away."

Half an hour later, Ziyun returned looking somewhat flustered. "Madam, what happened last night? Why did I hear people outside talking about cotton, about digging three feet into the ground to find it, and about paying a price? I was a little scared, so I came back first."

Gu Qingqiu knew that Chu Yunhan would definitely cause trouble for her after he had nothing to do in the morning, but luckily she...

"It's alright, don't be nervous," Gu Qingqiu comforted her. "As long as you insist that you don't know anything, they don't have any evidence. If you panic like this, you'll just give yourself away."

Ziyun asked in surprise, "Madam, so the person they're looking for is you?"

"Hmm." Gu Qingqiu calmly admitted, seeing Ziyun's jaw nearly drop in surprise.

Ziyun leaned closer and whispered, "Madam... I suddenly realized that the wad of cotton that was left on the table last night is gone. Could it be some kind of evidence?"

It should have been burned to the ground by the enraged Chu Yunhan.

Gu Qingqiu chuckled and said, "It's alright, don't think about it so much. Go and get that book I didn't finish reading last time."

The advantage of being inconspicuous is that it's less likely to arouse suspicion, but this kind of thorough investigation still requires routinely asking about Gu Qingqiu's situation.

As evening approached, the butler finally arrived at Gu Qingqiu's door. "Madam, I apologize for disturbing you."

Knowing you're bothering me, why did you still come?

Gu Qingqiu put down her book and asked, "What is it?"

The butler hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Did Madam sleep well last night? Did she go anywhere else? Did Miss Ziyun go out in the middle of the night?"

"No," Gu Qingqiu answered decisively.

"Um..." the butler continued, "Has Madam used any cotton recently?"

"No." Gu Qingqiu's tone was somewhat impatient.

"May I come in and take a look?" The butler had been searching all day without finding any results and was very worried about incurring Chu Yunhan's wrath, so he could only bite the bullet and continue asking.

"It's inconvenient." Gu Qingqiu closed the book.

This was unexpected for the butler, but he didn't dare offend Gu Qingqiu. Just as he was about to take his leave, he heard Gu Qingqiu's lazy words.

"Unless you tell me what kind of poison the prince has been poisoned with?"