But she's pregnant! She can't do anything reckless! Panicked, Su Yushan instinctively raised her hand to push him away, mumbling, "No..."

Hearing her soft, sweet voice, Hongli finally came to his senses. He sighed inwardly, realizing that he should hate her, yet he had developed feelings for her again, and that she actually had the audacity to reject his advances.

Hongli, enraged and embarrassed, glanced at her sideways and gave a mocking smile.

"What right do you have to refuse? Don't forget, you're the one begging me now! What's so great about your brother? When I dote on you, I can elevate your family, but once I'm tired of you, you're nothing! You expect me to bow down to Hongchang for a snobbish and selfish woman like you? You're not worthy!"

"If you're unwilling, why did you say you wanted to negotiate? Were you deliberately playing me for a fool?" Su Yushan looked at him in shock, her eyes filled with grievance, belatedly realizing what was happening.

Meeting her reddened eyes, Hongli did not soften. His dark pupils sharpened, and he gave a disdainful sneer.

"So what if I'm teasing you? What? You're not happy? You don't think I'll care about your feelings like I used to, do you?"

Enraged, Hongli immediately released his arm around her waist, refusing to touch her again.

He released her so suddenly that Su Yushan lost her balance, leaned backward, and fell onto the wooden board, scraping her palms painfully.

She knew that Hongli hated her and was willing to lower herself, but being treated so contemptuously, her self-esteem was ultimately shattered.

Since he was unwilling to help from the bottom of his heart, it would be futile for her to beg him. Realizing this, Su Yushan suddenly felt ashamed. Who gave her the courage to naively believe that Hongli would help her?

She ran away from him, causing him to lose face. He was too disgusted with her to help her family.

Having faced reality, Su Yushan dared not hold any more hope. She closed her eyes and said in a mournful voice, "It was my overestimation of my abilities that caused you so much trouble. Please forgive me, Fourth Master. I will leave now and will no longer be an eyesore to you."

Knowing that crying was a sign of weakness, she was unwilling to shed tears in front of him again, lest he mock her once more.

With tears welling in her eyes, Su Yushan alighted from the carriage. Li Yu, who was waiting outside, quickly reached out to stop her, "Hey—Princess, don't go! Princess, please wait!"

He was trying his best to persuade her, but unexpectedly, the master inside the carriage shouted, "Let her go!"

The master is probably just saying things out of spite. It's rare for the princess to come back, and if she disappears again, the master will probably regret it.

Li Yu, who was usually obedient, disobeyed her master's orders this time and followed directly after her. "Princess, you can't leave. Let's talk this out!"

She was the one who wanted to leave in the first place, and now she's the one who's brought herself back. With all this back and forth, Hongli naturally looks down on her. She's not afraid of being despised by him, but she's afraid that he'll humiliate her and still refuse to help her.

What should she do now? How can she save Jiafeng? Should she go to Hongchang? If she goes and is bullied by Hongchang again, she really won't be able to go on living!

Why not go to Prince Yi? I've heard that Prince Yi is reasonable and understanding; he shouldn't show favoritism and should handle this impartially, right? But Hongchang is deliberately setting a trap, and she has no evidence to prove her brother's innocence! Besides, she's just a commoner; how easy is it for her to see Prince Yi?

Stumbling aimlessly on the bluestone slabs, Su Yushan felt lost and helpless despite the vastness of the world. Her head throbbed with pain, and she suddenly felt dizzy and collapsed to the ground.

Li Yu was startled upon seeing this and hurriedly turned around and shouted, "Help! Help! The princess has fainted!"

At his shout, two guards immediately ran over, but they looked at each other and neither dared to go up and hug Su Gege. After all, she was the Fourth Prince's woman, and anyone who dared to hug her would probably have their hands chopped off!

Just as they hesitated, a deep shout came from behind them, "Get out of the way!"