Gan Qiongying got up and searched the whole house for the person. It was still pouring rain outside. In the middle of the night, how come there was still no sign of the person?

Gan Qiongying summoned her maid. Tonight wasn't the night shift for the full moon; it was Tianjiao who was standing outside.

"Where is the prince consort?" Gan Qiongying asked Tianjiao.

Sweet Corner knew where the Prince Consort had gone, but as his person, her first instinct was to keep it a secret for her master. Therefore, she avoided Gan Qiongying's gaze, bowed her head, and said, "Princess, please don't worry. The Prince Consort's leg ailment flared up last night, and the pain was so bad that he couldn't sleep. He was afraid of disturbing the Princess, so he found another courtyard and is currently applying a hot compress to his leg."

Gan Qiongying initially believed it and had someone bring her a medicine pack well in advance. Knowing that the weather was changing these past two days, she kept the medicine pack warm at night.

However, just before going to sleep, the prince consort suddenly wanted a hug and wouldn't let go, so Gan Qiongying forgot about giving him a hot compress.

Hearing Sweetie say that, she felt extremely guilty. She hadn't served the God of Wealth well. Gan Qiongying immediately said to Sweetie, "Which courtyard is the Prince Consort in? Bring me my clothes and take me there..."

Such attempts to curry favor are certainly not to be missed.

After all, there's not much time left before the 200,000 yuan bonus is due next month.

"What about the full moon?" Gan Qiongying asked.

"Sister Manyue is already asleep. It's my turn to be on night duty tonight."

Although Sweetie is young, she has traveled all over the country with Li Hua and is quite steady and composed, without any panic.

She approached Gan Qiongying very attentively, but instead of offering her clothes, she poured her a glass of water before saying, "It's raining heavily outside. When the prince consort went to the neighboring courtyard, he took Sanjiu with him and even took the umbrellas."

"With such heavy rain, the ground is already flooded. The princess will definitely get her shoes and socks wet if she goes over there. And with the wind blowing outside, she might catch a cold."

Sweet Corner said, "Besides, there's no umbrella... Even if I find one, it will take a while. Why don't you wait a little longer, Princess? The Prince Consort has been gone for quite some time now, and the medicine should have been applied by now. I'll go and urge him on, and he'll definitely be back soon."

Gan Qiongying had no suspicions up to this point, but Tianjiao then helped her back to the bedside and said to Gan Qiongying, "The prince consort left because he was afraid of waking the princess. Why don't you go to sleep first, princess?"

This statement was not suspicious, but Gan Qiongying suddenly thought that Li Hua was just applying a hot compress, it wasn't anything to make a big fuss about, so why did he have to go to the neighbor's yard?

Besides, Sweetie is his personal maid. If Li Hua's legs really hurt, Sweetie will definitely jump three feet high to follow her. She'd be so heartbroken she'd cry, yet she'd still stay here calmly to take care of her?

The swishing sound outside was incessant, and occasionally a thunderclap would rumble from afar.

Gan Qiongying had just woken up and was still a bit groggy. But after hearing two claps of thunder, she became more alert and realized that Sweetie was just lying to her.

That little brat is quite cunning; she's so sluggish she's stopped growing.

It seems that even after a full moon, he still hasn't developed any feelings for her.

We still need to keep working hard.

However, Gan Qiongying remained calm and actually lay down following Tianjiao's gentle touch. Tianjiao covered her with a blanket and said to Gan Qiongying, "Princess, don't worry, this servant will go to see the Prince Consort now."

Gan Qiongying nodded and really wanted to go to sleep. The main reason was that she had quickly figured it out: Li Hua probably went to see Zhongli Zhengzhen today.

In the story, Li Hua is actually Zhong Li Zhengzhen's brother. Li Hua has been kept busy by Gan Qiongying and has not had time to send messages out. Now that he is in charge of the princess's mansion, he will definitely have to send some messages out.

Gan Qiongying closed her eyes, her mind racing.

She wasn't angry with Li Hua at all, even if Li Hua really betrayed her tonight, just like in the story, and revealed everything to Zhongli Zhengzhen.

Gan Qiongying is not the real Princess Duanrong. Gan Qiongying and what she wants to do are two different things. Princess Duanrong used her life and every means to protect Gan Lin and Gan Lin's throne. Because for Princess Duanrong, her background and upbringing limited her choices.

She was so intelligent and sincere, and she did everything she could for her family and loved ones. But in her mind, Gan Lin was the emperor, and an emperor cannot give up his throne, just as a princess cannot run away to live in seclusion in the mountains in pursuit of freedom.

But Gan Qiongying is different. Gan Qiongying comes from another free and equal world. Her thoughts are not more advanced than Duanrong's, but they are more open-minded.

Gan Qiongying knew that there were many choices in life, and that people did not live only to inherit the throne, nor did she have the fixed idea that being a princess meant she had to be a princess for life.

All she wanted to do was run away.

She could never possibly utilize the power left behind by Princess Duanrong.

Those forces were too superficial. Although Princess Duanrong had painstakingly built them up over many years, it would be a great pity to abandon them. However, all of them were traceable. Even if Li Hua hadn't found out and informed Zhongli Zhengzhen, anyone with some means could still trace them back to her.

If Gan Qiongying were to flee, she absolutely could not let anyone know where she was.

That's why she entrusted her household to Li Hua, and let him see the list of guests, even the private correspondence between the ministers, the estates in various places, and so on.

They were sending him a message, instructing him to pass it on to Zhongli Zhengzhen.

That's why Gan Qiongying brought Li Hua to the birthday banquet.

In fact, this was to create an opportunity for Li Hua to meet Zhong Li Zhengzhen.

This way, he can do Li Hua a favor and thank him for the 200,000 taels he receives each month, thus saving him from being caught in the middle.

Through her understanding over this period of time, and by observing Manyue sleeping with Tianjiao, she managed to extract some information and learn that Lihua was also forced into this situation.

He probably had no feelings for the royal family of Jinchuan. How could a prince who grew up in the city have any sense of belonging to the royal family?

This was also meant to confuse Zhongli Zhengzhen with this information, ideally spreading it widely so that he could later use it as a covert pretext for his own schemes.

Gan Qiongying could understand the logic, and everything was proceeding slowly according to her plan.

But Gan Qiongying couldn't sleep.

If they meet, so be it. She won't stop them. Tomorrow, when the male guests are all together during the hunt, they'll naturally run into Zhongli Zhengzhen, won't they?

Back then, the two brothers could have easily conspired about anything in the woods.

Why was he running out in the heavy rain?

Gan Qiongying sat up in bed, rubbed her face, and her expression was one of genuine worry.

Li Hua is already lame, and it will definitely be slippery outside after a heavy rain. They will definitely have to choose a grove of trees or something similar to hide when they meet. What if he falls on a small path?

Moreover, his legs would ache whenever it rained or was cloudy. Manyue had heard this from Sweet Corner. One winter, when Lihua's leg pain was at its worst, he couldn't even walk.

What if he falls again? He's already caught a cold from the rain and is already weak.

For so many days, she's had the people in the manor stew ginseng soup for Li Hua every day to nourish his body. Isn't that all for nothing?!

That was a century-old ginseng bestowed upon him by the emperor. Gan Qiongying had specifically asked someone to inquire at outside pharmacies, and one root was extremely expensive!

Moreover, Li Hua had so many business matters to handle every day that the account books were piled up higher than the emperor's memorials.

What if I get sick!

It will interfere with making money!

Gan Qiongying was really worried, so she sat up again. Tianjiao was no longer at the door. She had bought time for her master earlier, and now she must have gone to inform him.

Gan Qiongying walked to the door and opened it. She was about to call Manyue to get up and help her get dressed when she looked up and saw Lihua holding an umbrella, walking through the small door from the thick darkness towards the door.

Sweet Corner followed closely beside him, carefully supporting him. Sanjiu didn't use an umbrella at all; he was soaking wet, like a duck. He was holding an umbrella in his hand, tilting it towards Lihua.

Even so, Gan Qiongying immediately saw that Li Hua was walking towards her with one foot in the ground and the other in the water, the lower half of his robe completely soaked.

Needless to say, his shoes and pants were definitely wet too.

Gan Qiongying frowned, even looking a little angry.

She was angry because Li Hua didn't know how to take care of his body.

"It's just a hot compress on my leg, how could it wake me up? Why are you running outside in this heavy rain?"

Gan Qiong's tone was tinged with emotion and reproach. Dressed in thin clothes, she took two steps towards the outside, grabbed Li Hua's sleeve, and pulled him from the rain into the corridor.

The sound of rain in the corridor grew louder, and a cool breeze rose.

As Li Hua approached, she shivered instinctively because she felt guilty, heard Gan Qiongying's questioning tone, and was indeed soaked to the bone.

He stood before Gan Qiongying with a gentle expression and a slight bow. The overwhelming aura he had when he was with Zhongli Zhengzhen was gone, and his eyes were full of fear.

Sweetie had already rehearsed her story with him, and Li Hua hadn't expected Gan Qiongying to wake up in the middle of the night and find him not there.

Gan Qiongying usually sleeps soundly through the night, so why did she wake up halfway through the night today?

Is it because... I wasn't holding him?