The Second Prince sat quietly in his wheelchair, without making the slightest movement.

But when Helian Ci's dark eyes were fixed on her, Granny Cai felt a chill run down her spine for no apparent reason.

It was as if the one staring at him was not the Second Prince, whose legs were crippled and who could only sit in a wheelchair all day, but Yama, the King of Hell, who came from the dark and gloomy land to take away his soul.

"Granny, Granny, is something the matter?" Consort Lian's voice was filled with caution and fear.

Every time Cai Mama, who was by the side of the Imperial Concubine, came, she and her son, Ci'er, would be beaten.

Over time, Consort Lian became like a frightened bird whenever she saw Granny Cai.

It was Consort Lian's voice that pulled Granny Cai back from the fear in Helian Ci's dark eyes.

Granny Cai took two steps back, and when she looked again, Helian Ci had already looked away, as if what she had just seen was nothing but an illusion.

Only the lingering fear coming from her chest reminded Granny Cai that everything that had just happened was real.

"Granny?" Granny Cai's behavior today was really unusual, so Consort Lian couldn't help but call out again.

"Come here, someone come here!" Because Helian Ci's glance just now was so chilling, Granny Cai felt inexplicably panicked.

Without realizing it, she called out to the palace maids and eunuchs following behind her. Several of them quickly stepped forward and stood behind Granny Cai.

With someone supporting her, Granny Cai's inexplicable anxiety subsided considerably, and she felt more confident.

Instead of looking at Helian Ci, she turned her gaze to Consort Lian. Seeing the weak and fearful expression on Consort Lian's face...

He felt completely confident now; this was the proper reaction to see her—a concubine who had fallen out of favor and could only rely on the Empress.

What is she afraid of about a second prince who is crippled in both legs and will never be able to stand up again, and will quietly die in a few years? They are the ones who should be afraid.

Thinking it over, the last bit of panic in Granny Cai's heart subsided, and her wrinkled face took on a disdainful expression as she raised her chin.

She spoke sarcastically to Consort Lian, who was still filled with anxiety, "Consort Lian, our Imperial Concubine invites you, please."

However, those sharp old eyes remained fixed on Consort Lian, never glancing at Helian Ci, who was sitting in a wheelchair.

It wasn't because she was disdainful, but because Helian Ci's glance just now still left Granny Cai with lingering fear.

Granny Cai's supposedly well-concealed guilty conscience, in Helian Ci's eyes, was as dark as an abyss.

A barely perceptible hint of mockery flashed across his face. Beneath the slightly oversized sleeves, a pair of long, sickly-white fingers toyed with a dagger that gleamed with a chilling light.

Consort Lian's already slightly clenched fingers tightened even more at the mention of "Imperial Consort" in Granny Cai's words.

Thinking of all the beatings she had suffered in the past, Consort Lian's fingers trembled even more, but she dared not disobey Wen Changle's words, much less resist.

Outside, her maternal family was dependent on the General's Mansion; inside the palace, she and her son had to rely on the Noble Consort.

But thinking of Helian Ci's increasingly thin and frail body, Consort Lian couldn't bear it in the end. She looked at Granny Cai and pleaded with all her might,

"Granny, Ci'er's health has been getting worse lately. He just drank some medicine. Could, could Ci'er stay and rest while I go see my sister?"

She knew in her heart that this trip would inevitably result in a severe beating, but Ci'er's health was getting weaker and weaker, how could she withstand it?