"So, are you still willing to leave now?" The Fourth Prince asked again after waiting for Li Tiao's answer for a long time.

The Fourth Prince is now very concerned about whether Li Tiao will leave.

The bright yellow light in the distance was no longer visible. Li Tiao withdrew her gaze and said, "Thank you, Fourth Prince. I will take care of myself in the future, so please don't worry about me."

After saying this, Li Tiao curtsied to the Fourth Prince and gestured for Hongye to quickly bring her shoes so she could change into ice skates and leave.

After Li Tiao left, the Fourth Prince remained standing in the same spot.

Su Peisheng cautiously said, "Master, Master Li has left."

Blinking, the Fourth Prince pulled himself out of his thoughts, turned around and prepared to leave, after all, it was getting late and the palace should be locked soon.

"Your Majesty, this servant thinks I just saw His Majesty."

Because of Su Peisheng's words, the Fourth Prince paused in his steps.

“It’s over there.” Su Peisheng pointed shrewdly in the direction where he had just seen the Emperor.

Following the direction Su Peisheng was pointing, the Fourth Prince glanced back at the spot where he and Li Tiao had just been standing: "Let's go."

After Li Tiao returned home, she thought about Master Kang. Whether Master Kang was with her or the Fourth Prince, it made her feel uneasy.

She became increasingly aware of the saying, "Serving a ruler is like serving a tiger."

We haven't even had much contact with Master Kong yet, and things are already like this... What if...?

Li Tiaozhen felt that her inexplicable time travel was extremely tragic. She couldn't have a single peaceful day. She was constantly being frightened. Sooner or later, she would become the first time traveler to be scared to death.

What saddened her even more was that she refused the Fourth Prince's offer to help her leave.

With her head resting on the kang table, Li Tiao felt immense regret every time she thought about it. When had she become so kind, actually considering the Fourth Prince's feelings!

She banged her head on the table a few times as a form of self-punishment.

"Master, are you feeling unwell?"

Hongye was startled by Li Tiao's action of banging her head on the table.

"It's nothing, I just..." Li Tiao stopped and looked at Hongye: "Hongye, try not to meet with the Fourth Prince's people in the future, understand?"

"Master, this servant..."

Li Tiao saw Hongye's embarrassment and knew her predicament. But the Eighth Prince said he could help her leave, and the Fourth Prince also said he could help her leave. It was as if Master Kang had eyes in the back of his head, always appearing without warning. It was terrifying.

He might not die alone, but dragging two princes with him meant certain death.

“Hongye, you don’t need to explain. I’m not heartless; I know you’re in a difficult position. But when I was skating earlier today, didn’t you see anyone else?” Li Tiao asked.

Hongye was about to shake her head when she remembered Su Peisheng's actions while they were waiting in the distance. Suddenly, she realized something: "Was it really the Emperor?"

“I didn’t see anyone, but I did see bright yellow. In this vast palace… In the entire Qing Dynasty, who could wear such bright yellow?” Li Tiao asked Hongye.

Only the emperor remained.

Seeing that Hongye understood, Li Tiao said, "You probably know me. I don't have any great ambitions. I just want to live a peaceful life. But now it's hard to say whether I can even live a peaceful life. It wouldn't be good to drag others into this."

Hongye was a native of ancient times and had served in the palace for quite some time, so she naturally knew the seriousness of the matter: "Your Highness, I understand, but should we think of a way to tell the Fourth Prince? What if he doesn't know that the Emperor was just now..."

"Need not."

Li Tiao figured the two of them probably wouldn't have much contact in the future, so there was no need to say so much unnecessary stuff, lest he misunderstand that she had feelings for him.

To say that Li Tiao's situation wasn't difficult would be an understatement, because ever since that night of ice skating, she hadn't left the house and had been eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist scriptures with Su Ma La Gu, and her days had been peaceful.

But if that were the case, Li Tiao would feel much more at ease.

But who knew that after only two days of peace, something horrifying happened in Su Ma La Gu's courtyard.

"The person is gone?" Li Tiao stood up abruptly upon hearing Hongye's words.

"Yes, Master."

After a long moment of stunned silence, Li Tiao slumped down.

The death of a palace maid was not a big deal in itself, but what was strange was that the maid bled from all seven orifices after eating something.

Moreover, the food that the palace maid was eating was originally Li Tiao's!

It was cold, and the people in the small kitchen, who were probably from the northwest, made mutton soup for Li Tiao. Although the chef in the small kitchen was very skilled, Li Tiao couldn't stand the mutton's gamey smell, so she didn't eat it and let the palace maid serving her eat it instead.

Hongye had already been given some, but Li Tiao still had things to do and Hongye hadn't finished, so she hadn't eaten yet. The palace maid who had drunk the mutton soup, however…

Someone is trying to kill me!

Su Ma La Gu is a vegetarian, and there weren't many people serving in this courtyard to begin with, so they all ate vegetarian food with Su Ma La Gu. That's why Li Tiao only has some meat in her daily meals now that she lives here, and only Li Tiao eats the meat.

It was obvious that someone was targeting him, but he didn't expect that he wouldn't eat it, but the palace maid would.

Li Tiao kept swallowing, feeling extremely thirsty. She picked up the teacup to drink some water, but her hands were trembling violently.

“Master…” Hongye stepped forward and took Li Tiao’s hand, “Don’t frighten me.”

Li Tiao put down her water glass and stared intently at Hongye: "Who do you think did this?"

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!