Li Tiao tried to force a smile and get away with it, but the Fourth Prince's stern look made her suppress her smile, resulting in a forced, insincere one.

She was about to cry. Did this man think she was mocking him with that expression?

"Who's behind this?" Li Tiao asked, her teeth chattering. "I'm no important person, who would bother to spread rumors about me..."

"What you said makes sense."

Seeing that the Fourth Prince nodded readily, Li Tiao's mind raced as she tried to figure out how to exonerate Granny Liu.

However, to everyone's surprise, the fourth prince suddenly spoke up again: "Maybe it's the eighth prince too!"

“The Eighth...Eighth Prince?” Li Tiao was even more unable to speak coherently.

Did the Fourth Prince know something? Why did he suddenly mention the Eighth Prince?

"What? Are you afraid of Lao Ba?"

"No, no..." Li Tiao shook her head like a rattle drum.

Good heavens, is she tired of living? Daring to admit she has feelings for the Eighth Prince.

"It's certain that Granny Liu can no longer serve you, so you should go back."

"Your Highness..." Li Tiao's words were on the tip of her tongue, but seeing the Fourth Prince staring at her like a cold-faced devil, she dared not say anything more.

After fleeing from the Fourth Prince's place back to her own room, Li Tiao calmed down and began to wonder whether the Fourth Prince was lying to her about Granny Liu, or if it was true.

"Master, why was Granny Liu locked up by the master?"

Chunxi's words gave Li Tiao, who was deep in thought, an idea. She narrowed her eyes and then instructed Chunxi: "Go and find out who knows that my birth chart is incompatible with the palace?"

"Master, this..."

Li Yao gave Chunxi a serious look, and Chunxi had no choice but to do as Li Yao said.

Chunxi returned quickly: "Master, it seems that only the people in the Prince's Office know about this rumor, and only the people in our West Third Office know about it. No one else knows about it except the Prince's Office."

Upon hearing Chunxi's words, Li Tiao suddenly stood up: "Really?!"

Chunxi nodded.

Li Tiao pressed down on the table and slowly sat down. She thought that the Fourth Prince hadn't lied to her this time, and that Granny Liu really was the Eighth Prince's person.

She was a spy for the Eighth Prince, who wanted her to die on the Fourth Prince's side, so how could he let her escape?

Liu Mama was someone the Eighth Prince placed by his side to look after him, which is why Liu Mama didn't let Chunxi get involved in the rumor about "incompatible birth charts".

Meanwhile, in order to get by, Granny Liu only spread the word within a small circle.

Now that she's been captured by the Fourth Prince, what if Granny Liu can't hold back and tells everyone, including the fact that she's a spy for the Eighth Prince...? Li Tiao didn't dare to think any further.

Run! You have to run!

Otherwise, living in constant fear would easily lead to premature aging, and Li Tiao would never want to be scared to death in the palace.

However, figuring out how to run is a skill, and simply pretending to be a eunuch like before is obviously inappropriate.

So, dressed as a palace maid?

That won't work either, because compared to eunuchs, palace maids are almost never allowed to leave the palace.

The path of conflicting birth charts has clearly been blocked as well.

You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub. After racking her brains for two days, Li Tiao came up with a relatively painful idea: jump into the lake!

She could swim, so she was sure she wouldn't die. She would wait underwater until no one was looking for her, then emerge from the lake after dark and the wind was high. She would then change into a eunuch's clothes and quietly leave the palace.

Li Tiao even researched which lake in the Imperial Garden would be the easiest place for her to "drown," and prepared the money she needed to escape, hiding it near the lake she was going to jump into.

Everything was ready, and Li Tiao had sent Chunxi away. She was about to quietly leave the prince's quarters when Su Peisheng stopped her before she even reached the door.

"Master Li, are you going out?"

"It's so stuffy outside, I need to get some fresh air."

“Master Li, you should wait a bit before going out. The Lady from Yonghe Palace is arriving soon and has asked to see you. It would be inappropriate if you were not there.”

The Consort De wants to see me?

Although Li Tiao found it strange, she knew that Su Peisheng was just a messenger, so she didn't make things difficult for him and postponed her departure for the time being.

Li Tiao even wondered if she should deliberately provoke Consort De later, making her dissatisfied with her so that the Fourth Prince would write a letter of divorce and divorce her?

Thinking about it this way, Li Tiao felt that it seemed like a good idea.

Just as she was pondering these thoughts, Consort De's entourage arrived at the prince's residence.

Li Tiao followed the others to pay her respects to Consort De.

After the tedious formalities, Consort De asked the Fourth Prince, who was with her, "Is this Li Tiao?"

Before the Fourth Prince could speak, Li Tiao, as she had planned, spoke first in front of him: "Your Majesty, this servant is Li Tiao."

Interrupting someone is a big deal in the palace, and Li Tiao was waiting for Consort De to get angry.

As expected, Consort De didn't even glance at Li Tiao, and spoke to the Fourth Prince again: "Fourth Prince, you want to find someone for your room, I understand that you want someone good-looking, but you can't disregard the rules."

"Yes, Mother is right, I will remember it."

"This Li Tiao... I said from the beginning that she wouldn't do, but you just... never mind, let's not talk about that. What about Yun Hui? How is Yun Hui's health?"

Just as Li Tiao was racking her brains trying to figure out how to continue her advance on the path of provoking Consort De, she heard the name "Yun Hui" again. Li Tiao subconsciously looked at the Fourth Prince.

Before the Fourth Prince could speak, Li Tiao heard a affected voice: "This servant greets Your Majesty. I am late in welcoming you, please forgive me."

"Get up quickly, you're not feeling well, so don't bother with these formalities."

Li Tiao was kneeling, and since Yun Hui had already walked in front of her, Li Tiao naturally couldn't see Yun Hui's face, but her heart started beating rapidly like a war drum.

The voice was exactly the same as Yun Hui's, whom Li Tiao knew.

"Yunhui, I have always thought you are very steady and proper. With you serving the Fourth Prince, I feel much more at ease. Although you are only a concubine now, you are still the Fourth Prince's person in name and in fact. We are all concubines, but there is still a seniority. You must act like a mistress and not let anyone look down on you."

"This servant thanks Your Highness for your instruction."

"Yes, I know you are a sensible person."

Consort De's words seemed to have a hidden meaning. Although she did not name names, she was referring to Li Tiao. According to Li Tiao's original plan, she should have retorted in a way that would have been suicidal.

But right now, Li Tiao was preoccupied with whether the Yun Hui in front of her was the same person she knew, so she temporarily ignored her plan.

As Yun Hui stepped back to wait to the side, Li Tiao caught a glimpse of Yun Hui out of the corner of her eye. Upon seeing her, Li Tiao felt as if she had no bones left and was about to collapse to the ground.

Is God playing a cruel joke on us? This Yun Hui really is the Yun Hui I know!