Upon learning that Chi Jingyu had been imprisoned by the Dali Temple, Shen Tangning finally felt relieved.

This proves that Chi Yan's trip was not in vain.

Ba Liang continued to chatter on: "Young Madam, you didn't see how lively the scene was! The Old Madam completely disregarded her image and started crying and wailing at the door, while the Marquis's wife was so angry that she fainted!"

Xueqing asked excitedly, "Was it really that amazing?" She couldn't help but lament, "What a pity, I didn't get to see it with my own eyes!"

She remembered clearly how the old lady and the lady of the Marquis had made things difficult for her young lady in the past. Indeed, evil has its retribution!

Shen Tangning smiled and said, "Alright, you two. Ba Liang, did you see clearly? Only Chi Jingyu was arrested?"

Ba Liang nodded: "Only the Crown Prince!"

She frowned slightly, thinking to herself:

So it seems we still haven't caught the mastermind.

A sense of doubt inexplicably arose in her mind—

If, as she had guessed, this group of people had come with premeditation and were former subordinates of the Third Prince, then...

Who exactly is this person that would make Chi Jingyu risk so much to save him? Or did they promise some incredible benefit?

Chi Jingyu is a selfish and cold-hearted person at heart. If it weren't for his own interests, he would never have put himself in such a dangerous situation.

But now that the Third Prince is dead, even if his remaining forces were willing, they couldn't cause much trouble. Besides, Chi Jingyu had already secretly pledged allegiance to the Fourth Prince...

For him, trying to please everyone was definitely not a wise move.

Shen Tangning was completely baffled.

...

Late at night, Chi Yan returned home exhausted.

Shen Tangning had been waiting for too long and had fallen asleep. He parted the gauze curtains, walked slowly to the bedside, and looked down at her.

She lay on her side, her black hair cascading down like satin on the pillow, her cheeks glowing with a soft, gentle hue in the dim light, her sleeping face serene and peaceful.

Chi Yan subconsciously raised his hand, but just as his fingertips were about to touch her face, he restrained himself and curled them up again for fear of waking her.

After a long while, he simply bent down to tuck the blanket around her, then turned to leave.

Before he could take two steps, a faint, slightly hoarse voice came from behind him: "Where are you going?"

Shen Tangning slowly opened her eyes, looking at Chi Yan's stiff back with a strange expression.

She was a light sleeper and had already woken up when Chi Yan covered her with a blanket. He was close by, and his scent was all too familiar.

I wanted to see what he would do, but to my surprise, he turned around and left.

Chi Yan turned around, his expression showing a hint of helplessness: "I was afraid of waking you up, so I was planning to sleep in the study, but I didn't expect to wake you up anyway."

Her clear eyes gazed at him, as if trying to see into his heart: "Are you afraid of waking me, or is there another reason?"

What other reason could there be?

The most recent rift between them was undoubtedly that of Ji Kyung-ok.

Chi Yan was visibly taken aback, and couldn't help but smile mischievously, asking, "What are you thinking about?"