When Gan Qiongying woke up, it was already afternoon.

Suffering from a hangover and overthinking, coupled with her dream of escaping for her life last night, which lasted from beginning to end, she ended up sleeping very tiredly.

In her dream, she felt someone was waiting for her. She was carrying a small bundle containing gold, silver and valuables, and was running wildly along a country road, with a large herd of horses chasing after her. Many people whose faces she couldn't see were gradually approaching.

The scene was so realistic that when Gan Qiongying woke up, even her calves were sore.

It was like she had been pedaling an air bicycle for hours in bed.

She stood on the ground, shaking her leg, and called for someone to come in and serve her. Soon, Yinyue and Manyue came in together.

Upon seeing Gan Qiongying, Manyue immediately knelt down to pay her respects, her voice trembling with tears as she said, "Last night I heard that the princess's carriage had fallen into the river. I was terrified! Your Highness..."

"Alright, what river? It's just a ditch, it's no big deal. Stop crying, I'm annoyed."

Gan Qiongying was indeed troubled because she always felt that her dreams were very strange. She had fallen asleep drunk at Zhongli Zhengzhen's banquet and dreamed that she was being dragged behind a horse. She originally thought it was just a dream about what she had been thinking about during the day.

She was frightened by the ending of her character, Princess Duanrong, in the original story.

But there seems to be some connection between the dream I had last night and the dream I had at the banquet.

Because she was being dragged along behind the horse, and she was fleeing for her life with her bundle, on the same road.

Gan Qiongying frowned and rubbed her brow.

Upon seeing this, Manyue immediately fell silent. Gan Qiongying gestured for her to stand up, and Yinyue pulled her along, clearly still somewhat inconvenienced by her previous "punishment" actions.

But she quickly stepped forward and began to massage Gan Qiongying. Her technique was obviously very good. Gan Qiongying put her hands down and handed them over to her, letting out a comfortable hum.

Of all the maids beside her, Manyue was undoubtedly the most devoted. At this moment, the little girl's round face was tightly furrowed, and her tear-streaked face could not hide her worry. It was clear that she had rushed over without even taking care of her injuries after hearing that she had fallen into the river last night.

Gan Qiongying's headache subsided slightly, and she took Manyue's hand.

Human hearts are not made of wood or stone; genuine concern can always move people.

Therefore, even though it didn't fit her character, Gan Qiongying still held Manyue's hand, her face tense, and said in a low voice, "Your massage is still the most comfortable..."

Then, trying to make amends, she awkwardly added, "Once you've recovered, come back to my side and take care of me. You won't have to do any heavy work."

"Why!"

Man Yue responded loudly, forgetting even to express her gratitude. The moment she took Gan Qiongying's hand, tears streamed down her face.

Gan Qiongying was only trying to avoid upsetting her, but the real Princess Duanrong would never say such things, much less hold hands with a maid and look at each other with tears in her eyes.

So she scoffed and said, "Go cry somewhere else, where's the prince consort?"

"Your Highness, he left an hour ago, saying he was going to inspect the shops. He should be back soon."

Gan Qiongying nodded upon hearing this, and remembering that Li Hua hadn't been wearing his mask last night, she asked again, "Does he look anything unusual?"

While serving Gan Qiongying her washing up, Yin Yue said, "Your Highness, this servant has not noticed anything different about the Prince Consort."

She paused and then said, "When the Prince Consort was eating, I noticed that his eyes seemed a little red. Perhaps he didn't sleep well last night."

Gan Qiongying was cleaning her teeth with a brush, rinsing her mouth with salt water, and then letting out a soft snort.

He definitely didn't sleep well, but his eyes were red, probably from crying.

After washing up, Gan Qiongying went outside and saw that it was getting late and the sun was about to set.

She ate a meal that combined breakfast, lunch, and dinner; it must be said, the Prince Consort's residence was indeed very simple.

Compared to the Princess's residence, it's like heaven and earth.

Normally, Gan Qiongying had more than ten kinds of food to choose from for every meal, even breakfast, all of which were delicious and visually appealing. It is said that the chefs came from the imperial kitchen and were specially assigned to her by the emperor.

Therefore, the four side dishes and one bowl of rice in front of her made Gan Qiongying sit at the table and sigh with admiration.

"Princess, why don't we set off back to the Princess's residence?" Manyue glared at Tianjiao, who had prepared the meal, feeling that the people in the Prince Consort's residence were ungrateful and unlikable.

To serve such crude food is utterly humiliating.

However, Manyue was unsure of Gan Qiongying's current attitude towards the驸马 (the驸马's husband), so she didn't dare to explicitly say that she would go back to the princess's residence for a meal. Instead, she said sarcastically, "I wonder if the驸马's residence is deliberately designed to appear exceptionally poor, hoping that His Majesty will award the驸马 a plaque for being incorruptible?"

"It would be better to wait for the chastity arch to be erected!"

What Manyue was saying was, of course, that she knew the prince consort hadn't actually consummated his marriage with Gan Qiongying. She was subtly mocking the prince consort for pretending to be a virtuous and chaste woman.

Gan Qiongying almost spat out her food after taking just one bite.

When it comes to verbal sparring, Manyue has never lost. Every time she speaks witty and sarcastic, Gan Qiongying feels that maybe one day she can utter a Tai Chi Bagua diagram.

The sweetheart next to Li Hua was so angry that her face turned purple, but she didn't dare to talk back, and she didn't know how to talk back either.

He could only step forward, kneel, and offer a low explanation, "The prince consort eats the same things every day..."—a gesture that was quite polite.

Of course, the people around Li Hua were very polite, not because they liked Gan Qiongying, but because they were afraid of dying and also afraid of causing trouble for the prince consort.

After all, it is an indisputable fact that Princess Duanrong mistreated her husband in the past.

Gan Qiongying raised her hand, signaling both of them to shut up.

She didn't mind the simple menu; she just realized... how true the saying "it's hard to go from luxury to frugality" really is.

She used to find even a packet of instant noodles delicious, but after indulging in a life of luxury for a while, she now has no appetite for even four dishes and a soup.

Fortunately, she quickly adjusted her mindset and ate slowly.

The maids also fell silent and stood aside to wait.

Just as Gan Qiongying was finishing her meal, Li Hua returned.

Because it was the height of summer, the doors and windows were open during the day, and Gan Qiongying immediately spotted Li Hua entering the courtyard.

What happened between the two last night was indeed quite chaotic, but now that they've met, their expressions remain completely calm.

Gan Qiongying still had doubts about Li Hua and planned to test him, but she didn't intend to let Li Hua know that she had discovered his true colors. She just pretended that she was really drunk last night.

After Li Hua regained consciousness, he felt that his mindset and behavior last night were extremely shameful and despicable. His desire for warmth from Princess Duanrong was no different from drinking poison to quench his thirst, and he did not want to recall it at all.

The two looked at each other, and the atmosphere became a little awkward.

Fortunately, Sanjiu quickly entered the room carrying a bowl of ginger soup. She placed it next to Gan Qiongying and, though somewhat reluctant, said respectfully, "Princess, this is ginger soup that the Prince Consort specially ordered the kitchen to prepare to warm you up."

Li Hua, who was entering the room while lifting his robe with one hand, thought, "..." He came back at the wrong time.

He ordered the ginger soup when he woke up, remembering Gan Qiongying's words that she had fallen into the river while drunk the night before and was in a dazed state.

He went outside for a walk and regained his senses, but it wasn't appropriate to have him removed now.

Gan Qiongying raised an eyebrow in surprise upon hearing this, genuinely shocked.

This is truly bizarre.

The prince consort actually cares about her?