return

After the group returned to the capital, He Lin didn't even enter the gate of the General's Mansion. Instead, he put on Xi Chen's mask and went straight to the palace to see Emperor Liang. Unfortunately, it was already late at night, and the chief eunuch didn't even go in to announce their arrival. He Lin was simply told that His Majesty was not seeing anyone at the moment, even if it was an extremely urgent matter.

When they found Wu Yuan, Wu Yuan suggested that he try again as He Lin, and maybe they could meet him.

Upon hearing this, He Lin immediately realized why He Wei had been imprisoned by His Majesty—it was because of him.

Strangely, the general's mansion was unusually quiet, without causing the slightest ripple.

Logically speaking, the person most anxious about He Wei's imprisonment and most likely to speak to His Majesty would be the First Madam. As the Emperor Liang's elder sister and the eldest princess of Liang, she would be the one most likely to enter the palace to plead with His Majesty. However, she made no move at all, and even invited several ladies to go out for tea in the afternoon.

Contrary to her usual behavior, Madam Tong showed no sign of anxiety, instead confining herself to her Fragrant Garden to eat vegetarian food, chant Buddhist scriptures, and tend to her flowers and plants.

Only He Yu rushed into the palace early in the morning to plead with the Crown Prince and Empress, and has not yet returned home.

Jiang Yi found the attitudes of the two ladies of the General's Mansion quite strange, but she had no clue how to figure it out. There was gossip about this matter everywhere in the mansion. Normally, the First Madam would have beaten up and kicked out those who were gossiping about their master behind his back long ago...

Something's not right, something's really not right.

Upon closer reflection, everything seemed to have happened somewhat deliberately, as if someone was behind it all, allowing the matter to spread and fester.

Who could it be? And what is his purpose in doing this?

Jiang Yi tossed and turned in bed, completely baffled.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind: He Lin!

She threw off the covers, jumped out of bed, grabbed a cloak from the clothes rack, put it on, and went outside.

"Gu Ziyu! Shan Yanzhi! Are you there?"

"I need to speak with you!"

"..."

Jiang Yi shouted something in the Luoying Courtyard, and Xia Zhi heard the sound and quickly went out.

"Miss, what's wrong?"

"Aren't Gu Ziyu and Shan Yanzhi here?"

Xia Zhi shook her head: "He probably isn't there."

That's right. If the two of them were here, there's no reason why they wouldn't come out when Jiang Yi called them.

Who else can help her send a message to He Lin?

It was already past 11:45 PM. At this hour, not only the General's Mansion, but probably even the Imperial Palace would have been locked long ago. Besides, even if she could leave the General's Mansion, without a waist token, she couldn't enter the palace gates...

Jiang Yi appeared extremely anxious, pacing back and forth in the courtyard, muttering something under her breath. Xia Zhi also became worried.

"Miss, it's so late. What do you need them for? You can just tell me what to do."

"No, you won't see He Lin."

"Young Master?" Xia Zhi asked in confusion, "Didn't the Young Master go to the palace? Miss must have something important to discuss with him."

Jiang Yi nodded: "Mm."

Xia Zhi lowered her eyes and thought for a moment: "We probably can't enter the palace, but Young Master He Yu can."

"He Yu?"

Jiang Yi's eyes immediately lit up, and she excitedly slammed her fist into her palm: "That's right! There's also He Yu! He's He Lin's older brother, how could I forget about him! Let's go, let's go!"

"Miss! Slow down!"

Jiang Yi left without warning and disappeared in a flash. Xia Zhi quickly grabbed a lantern from the room and followed her.

...

When they arrived at He Yu's courtyard, the two of them were completely lost, as they had never been there before and it took them a long time to find the gate.

Seeing that the lights in the room were still on, Jiang Yi looked around and gently knocked on the door twice.

Soon, the door was opened.

Upon seeing the person who had arrived, He Yu's eyes widened in surprise.

"It's you? How come you..."

Just then, a servant on night patrol came to the scene. Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Yi pushed him into the house. Xia Zhi followed closely behind, blew out the lantern, and slipped inside, closing the door behind her.

He Yu's face flushed red, not from embarrassment, but from anger. He had already run into trouble everywhere that day, and Jiang Yi had even sneaked into his room. If his second brother found out, how could he explain himself? He would be wronged to death!

What are you doing in the middle of the night?

"Shh, shh, shh, I'm begging you!"

Jiang Yi clasped her hands together in a pleading gesture and shook her head at him.

"you……"

The patrolmen outside heard voices coming from his room and approached to ask, "Young Master, what's wrong?"

He Yu looked at the person in front of him who kept bowing and looking pitiful, sighed helplessly, and then replied, "It's nothing, you can leave now."

"yes."

Jiang Yi turned around and listened through the crack in the door. When the footsteps outside faded away, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She had arrived in such a hurry that she hadn't even put on her clothes properly, only a white cloak wrapped around her. He Yu turned half his body slightly to the side, trying his best not to look at her.

"Jiang Yi, are you crazy? What are you doing in my room in the middle of the night? Does He Lin know?"

"I came here for He Lin! Go save him now!"

Upon hearing this, He Yu turned around abruptly, but considering their respective identities, he turned back around.

"What's wrong with He Lin?"

"This is a long story, but in short, he is not in the manor right now. You must go to the palace to find him! It's because His Majesty imprisoned Father, and it was a setup to lure He Lin into the palace!"

He Yu: "What did you say?!"

"..."

Jiang Yi waited all night in Luoying Courtyard without daring to close her eyes, fearing that something might happen to He Lin.

Early in the morning, someone came to the palace to announce the imperial decree. It was Li Shengquan, the chief eunuch who served Emperor Liang.

By the time Jiang Yi arrived, the imperial edict had already been read aloud.

Li Shengquan bowed and smiled as he handed the imperial edict to Qi Shuangyun: "...Madam and Madam Tong, please rise. His Majesty's decree has been issued, and it should not be long before General He returns to the mansion safely."

Qi Shuangyun said politely, "Thank you for your trouble, Eunuch Li."

"I dare not, I have other matters to attend to in the palace, I shall take my leave now."

"Someone, escort Eunuch Li out properly."

Qi Shuangyun opened the imperial edict and looked down at it, while Su Tong beside her didn't look too good.

"Who are you looking at with that long face so early in the morning? The general is about to go back to his residence. Who do you want to pick a fight with at this hour? Why don't you go back and tidy yourself up?"

Seeing this, Jiang Yi couldn't stand it anymore and quickly walked towards the main hall.

"Mother, Madam."

Only when she saw Jiang Yi did Su Tong's expression soften a little: "Yi'er, you're awake."

"I heard someone from the palace has come. Is it related to Father?"

Before Su Tong could answer, Qi Shuangyun said sarcastically, "Oh, the sun must have risen in the west today. The Second Young Mistress is actually concerned about matters of the manor. Speaking of which, you've been married into our General's Mansion for quite some time now. As a daughter-in-law, how can you be so unseemly to be away from home all day? Your father-in-law is imprisoned and we don't know the situation, yet you sleep in your room until the sun is high in the sky before getting up. That's even more inappropriate! Do you think it's enough to just say a few words now?"

"I……"

Jiang Yi was furious and about to argue back when Su Tong stopped her.

"Madam, Yi'er is still young and doesn't understand these things. It's all my fault. I will teach her slowly in the future."

"mother!"

Su Tong quietly tugged at her hand, signaling her not to say anything more.

Qi Shuangyun glanced coldly at Jiang Yi and couldn't help but let out a soft snort.

A servant excitedly reported from outside the hall: "Reporting to the Madam, the General and the two young masters have returned!"

As soon as the servant finished speaking, Qi Shuangyun quickly handed the imperial edict to the maid beside her, looked around, and hurried out.

Jiang Yi's eyes lit up too; He Lin was back!

"General!"

Qi Shuangyun ran to He Wei's side, took his arms in her hands and looked him over. Seeing that he was not injured and was alright, she was relieved.

"General, you've suffered these past few days. Have those people made things difficult for you?"

He Wei took her hand away and gently patted it twice to reassure her: "I'm fine, madam."

Then he looked at Su Tong with a very complicated expression.

Su Tong stood there obediently and properly, a glint of light in her eyes, her lips pursed, quietly looking back at him.

Jiang Yi, standing nearby, couldn't help but sigh, "The love between parents!"

Sigh, these two people clearly love each other and are worried sick about each other, but they are separated by Qi Shuangyun and cannot openly express their feelings for each other, so they can only hide them in their hearts.

From the moment Su Tong saw He Wei, she knew that He Lin's background could no longer be hidden. She looked at him with pity, wondering what he would do in the future.

Even if His Majesty were to punish her for deceiving the emperor, what would she fear? The only person she couldn't let go of was He Lin.

He Lin is her sister's only surviving child. They share the same blood. He suffered so much as a child, and just when his life was finally starting to stabilize, everything was about to go back to square one. The palace is nothing but a tomb that devours people without spitting out the bones. How could she possibly let him go?

Jiang Yi blinked hard at He Lin, as if asking him how he was doing. He Lin shook his head slightly after seeing this.

He Wei said, "Lin'er, your mother must be tired. Help her back to rest for a while."

He Lin nodded: "Mm."

Back at Qinxiang Garden, Su Tong couldn't stop crying. She held He Lin's hand and called out to him, "Lin'er, it's all my fault for not protecting you. How can I face your mother like this..."

"It's alright, Mother, don't worry, nothing will change, I promise."

Just as Jiang Yi had guessed, Emperor Liang's decision to imprison He Wei was not as simple as it seemed on the surface. His defiance of the emperor was merely a pretext; more importantly, he wanted to find out He Lin's true identity from He Wei.

It seems that He Wei refused to admit it, insisting that He Lin was his biological son and not the Third Prince Qi Junheng at all. As a result, he angered Emperor Liang, who imprisoned He Lin in order to force him to return to the capital and personally visit the palace.

If He Lin requests an audience with Emperor Liang as the head of Yu Ling Pavilion, Emperor Liang will not grant it. However, if He Lin requests an audience as He Lin himself, Emperor Liang will definitely grant it.

It seems that Emperor Liang is unaware that Xi Chen is He Lin.

It's ironic, really. Emperor Liang would never have known that his own son had been by his side for years under a different name, as a reclusive subject. The person he had been searching for was right beside him. This wasn't fate playing tricks on him, but rather He Lin's punishment for him...