Qi Guze had no idea how he got up and left Hua Rong Manor. It was as if his mind and soul had been completely taken away by the conversation with Princess Yinshan. Now he was like a walking corpse.

When Qi Guze regained consciousness, he found himself on the street. He awkwardly checked and recognized that this was the way back to Tianxiang Tower. Meanwhile, Princess Yinshan's words kept replaying in his mind.

Meanwhile, the Duchess of Zhenguo was very worried about Xu Yuehuai. In the past, even if she didn't return to the manor, she would send someone to deliver a message and bring her a dessert. But today, she waited and waited but didn't see her at all. She felt that something was wrong, so she took a sedan chair to Tianxiang Tower to look for her.

To my surprise, when I arrived at Tianxiang Restaurant in a hurry, the once bustling restaurant was now incredibly deserted. There were only a handful of customers in the restaurant, and the waiters were listless. Some were whispering among themselves in small groups, while others were looking up at the sky, seemingly unsure of what to do.

When the Duchess of Zhenguo saw this, her heart skipped a beat. She thought to herself that something must have happened, otherwise the restaurant wouldn't be in this state.

She immediately thought of Xu Yuehuai, feeling that something must have happened to her. She glanced around the main hall and, sure enough, did not see Xu Yuehuai. The Duke of Zhenguo's heart sank to the bottom.

However, she still saw Third Sister. After composing herself, she quickly stepped forward and asked, "Isn't A-Yue here? Why do you all look so listless?"

San Niang was lost in thought when Manager Xu went to Hua Rong Manor and hadn't returned yet. Qi Gu Ze had also risked his life to find her. What would happen if something happened to both of them?

Lost in thought, she didn't hear the Duke of Zhenguo's question at all. The Duke of Zhenguo frowned when she saw this, then patted Third Sister's shoulder forcefully. Only then did she come back to her senses. Seeing the Duke of Zhenguo looking at her anxiously, she hurriedly stood up and said, "Madam, what brings you here? Please sit down, please sit down."

“It’s alright,” the Duchess of Zhenguo waved her hand and repeated, “Where did A-Yue go?”

"Ah Yue, she..." San Niang hesitated upon hearing this, unsure whether she should tell the Duke of Zhenguo the truth.

As she was pondering this, the Duchess of Zhenguo asked anxiously, "What has happened? Tell me quickly!"

Upon hearing this, Third Sister no longer hesitated. After all, if anyone could rescue the two of them now, it would probably only be the Lady of the Duke of Zhenguo. After thinking it over, she told everyone in detail about Xu Yuehuai being detained and Qi Guze's dangerous situation, without hiding anything, hoping to see if the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion could rescue the two of them with its influence.

"What?" Upon hearing this, the Duchess of Zhenguo covered her head and almost fainted. Fortunately, the maidservant beside her caught her quickly, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable.

The Duchess of Zhenguo's chest heaved violently, showing how agitated she was. However, having seen her share of storms, she took a few deep breaths and calmed down, though her voice still trembled slightly: "Go to Hua Rong Manor now and demand our people back."

After she finished speaking, she stood up shakily, preparing to go to Hua Rong Manor to ask for the person. As soon as she turned around, she found that Qi Guze, who was in a daze, had already walked to the entrance of Tianxiang Tower. He did not look very good. He almost bumped into the pillar at the entrance. Moreover, he was alone and did not see Xu Yuehuai.

Seeing this, San Niang quickly ran outside and helped Qi Guze in. After he sat down at the table, she poured him a cup of tea and asked, "How is Your Highness? Have you seen Manager Xu?"

Tie Xiong also rushed over to find out what was going on and see if there was anything he could do to help.

After taking a sip of tea, Qi Guze felt calmer. Seeing that the Duchess of Zhenguo also looked worried, he knew that she must also know about Xu Yuehuai's matter.

At this moment, Princess Yinshan's words from earlier quickly came to mind, and he hurriedly said, "Xu Yuehuai is safe now."

When San Niang heard that it was safe now, her heart skipped a beat. She guessed that the other party must have put forward some conditions to force Qi Guze to give in. He refused, so the other party gave him time to consider. Otherwise, he would not have come back alone. Thinking of this, her heart was in her throat.

Upon hearing this, the Duchess of Zhenguo immediately became anxious, grabbing Qi Guze's arm and asking, "Why isn't A-Yue back? When will she be back?"

"The owner of Hua Rong Manor wants to cooperate with A Yue. They are discussing the relevant matters, but the project is very complicated and involves huge interests. So she has decided to stay there for a few days and come back after the discussion is completed. So everyone doesn't need to worry." Qi Guze's eyes flickered slightly. He could only lie and cover it up for now. After all, he couldn't bear the responsibility if he made the Duchess of Zhenguo sick.

After hearing the reason, the Duchess of Zhenguo sighed and said, "That's good, that's good. I was a little worried when I heard that A-Yue had been detained by the people of Hua Rong Manor. Now I know it was a misunderstanding."

“But Manager Xu, she…” Tie Xiong was a rough man and naturally couldn’t understand the intricacies of the situation. He thought to himself, “Didn’t Xu Yuehuai have an accident? How come it’s turned into discussing cooperation now?” He was straightforward and wanted to say whatever came to mind.

She had barely uttered a few words when Third Sister stepped on her foot. Then she continued, "But when will Manager Xu be back? Look, there are far fewer customers in the shop." After saying that, she winked at Tie Xiong a few times. Although Tie Xiong was a rough man, he understood the obvious hint and immediately shut his mouth.

"We'll be back after we finish talking. Let's all be patient for a few days," Qi Guze continued, trying to smooth things over.

"That's good. I'll come to see her again when A-Yue returns another day." The Duchess of Zhenguo said, then stood up and got into her sedan chair to go back.

Qi Guze finally managed to smooth things over and breathed a long sigh of relief.

The next day in the imperial court.

News has come from the Northwest: a sudden flood has struck the region, with the floodwaters rising fiercely and destroying countless crops and houses, leaving the people destitute and corpses strewn across the fields.

Upon hearing this, the Emperor frowned deeply, glanced around at the faces of his ministers, and then asked, "Which of you ministers is willing to go to the Northwest for disaster relief?"

Upon hearing this, all the civil and military officials in the court whispered among themselves, but most shook their heads, none of them willing to go to provide disaster relief.

The emperor asked twice, but no one stepped forward, which annoyed him.