As dawn broke, Gu Yan arrived at the Empress's palace. Su Bi, holding a man's hand, seemed to have been waiting at the palace gate for a long time. Upon seeing Gu Yan, she forcefully pulled the man forward and said, "Master, I saw this man acting suspiciously in front of Her Majesty's palace."

Gu Yan looked over and said, "It's Young Master Ke."

This person was Ke Huai.

"Your Highness..." Ke Huai looked embarrassed and tried to shake off Su Bi's hand, but Su Bi was a martial artist and he, a weak scholar, could not shake her off no matter what.

Su Bi asked, "Does the master know him?"

"This is Young Master Ke Huai. We had a chance to travel together when His Majesty personally led the expedition. Su Bi, please release Young Master Ke."

"Yes." Su Bi released her hand.

Gu Yan asked, "Why is Young Master Ke here?"

"I..." Ke Huai stammered, "Actually, after the prince gave me money and sent someone to take me away that day, I had nowhere to go, so I turned back and met the princess. She invited me to go with her, and I agreed. Later, I heard the news that His Majesty was in trouble. Because His Majesty had helped me, I secretly followed General Lan's army into the palace... Your Highness, you must not misunderstand. I have no other feelings for His Majesty. It's just that His Majesty helped me escape from the Ke family, so I thought I should come and see if I could help..."

Su Bi scoffed.

Ke Huai's face flushed slightly. He knew he couldn't be of much help, but his mother had taught him since childhood to repay kindness. In his opinion, His Majesty had indeed been kind to him. Once he understood this, he could calmly deal with Su Bi's mocking expression.

Gu Yan wasn't worried that Ke Huai would have designs on Feng Guang, because even if Ke Huai did, he wouldn't have the ability to take Feng Guang away; he was confident of that.

“Young Master Ke, don’t worry, His Majesty is alright now. I’m on my way to see His Majesty, Su Bi.” Gu Yan instructed, “Take good care of Young Master Ke.”

"Yes, Master."

"Young Master Ke, then I'll go in first." Gu Yan left a stiff smile and turned to enter the palace.

Su Bi turned around and saw Ke Huai staring at her. He smiled and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

“When Chief Qian and General Lan’s men were fighting, I was hiding in the shadows and saw that you were on Chief Qian’s side… Why…” Ke Huai asked in confusion when he saw that the chief’s expression was normal, “Why do you call Prince Qian ‘Master’?”

"Naturally, it's because I'm originally one of Prince Qian's people. Why do you have to ask such an obvious question?" Su Bi gave him a look that said, "How can you be so stupid?"

Ke Huai didn't care about these things, and he was able to live peacefully in the Ke family for so many years, which shows that he is a patient person.

He didn't show any anger or annoyance, but Su Bi was puzzled. "You're not angry when I say that to you?"

“What Young Master Su said didn’t make me angry.” Ke Huai laughed generously. “I’ve heard much worse things at home. Besides, what Young Master Su said about me was true and he didn’t mean any harm, so I’m not angry.”

Su Bi narrowed his eyes. His survival environment was a matter of life or death, which determined that he would not like people who exuded a saintly aura. He looked down on such people, and they would not survive more than three days in their circle before being betrayed by others. So he still mocked, "If you were beaten up, would you still smile and say you don't mind?"

"I don't cause trouble, so why would anyone hit me?"

Even if you don't cause trouble, what if someone just can't stand you and wants to beat you up?

"Young Master Su, there's no such person..." Before Ke Huai could finish his sentence, a sharp pain shot through his neck, and he collapsed to the ground.

Su Bi withdrew her hand and said slowly, "That's just the kind of person I am."