Wei Shuwan frowned, carefully examining the eyes and brows beneath the mask, a hint of insecurity creeping in: "You...aren't you Wen Chan?"

"Yes or no..." Wen Chan smiled nonchalantly, then calmly took two steps closer to Wei Shuwan, and beckoned with a finger: "You don't want to negotiate with me, then come here."

Wei Shuwan felt that Wen Chan in front of her was extremely strange, as if she had become a completely different person, but after carefully examining her eyebrows and eyes, she was certain that it was Wen Chan.

Cooperating with Wen Chan was her only way out at the moment, so Wei Shuwan couldn't refuse and moved her face closer to her ear.

Instead of hearing Wen Chan's voice, she felt a cold hairpin against her neck. Realizing she had been tricked, Wei Shuwan panicked and tried to escape, but Wen Chan pressed the tip of the hairpin firmly against her vitals, threatening, "How dare you threaten me?!"

Wei Shuwan was forced to press her back tightly against the wall. Just as the other woman was exerting force to pierce her throat, something suddenly flew from behind the screen and hit Wen Chan's right shoulder, causing her to pull back the hairpin in pain. The hairpin fell to the ground, and Wei Shuwan was saved.

Regardless of who was helping her, Wei Shuwan seized the opportunity and ran outside. However, as soon as she rushed past the screen, she unexpectedly bumped into a hard yet warm embrace.

Startled, she looked up and met Li Qingchen's eyes.

The night wind blew in through the open door, causing the curtains in the bedroom to flutter incessantly.

Wei Shuwan looked at the person so close to her with a panicked expression. Just as she was about to ask him for help, she heard Wen Jieyu's hurried footsteps behind her, followed by a cry: "Master!"

Wei Shuwan frowned and turned to look at Wen Jieyu, confirming that the word "master" did indeed come from her mouth, and that her gaze was indeed directed at Li Qingchen.

Consort Wen called Li Qingchen "Master," are they in cahoots?

The thought popped into Wei Shuwan's mind instantly. At first, she was quite puzzled, but she quickly understood that it all made perfect sense.

For a man like Li Qingchen to achieve great things, his henchmen must secretly extend throughout Daye. How could the emperor's inner palace, his bedside, not have one or two spies among them?

In this way, she understood why Consort Wen was so bold as to use drugs to bewitch Emperor Pingjia.

Now, Wei Shuwan was somewhat confused about her current situation; clearly, she had stumbled upon some of Li Qingchen's secrets again. She turned to look at Li Qingchen timidly, and seeing that he remained silent, simply staring at her as if waiting for an explanation, she composed herself and began to explain the whole situation:

"I... I had no other purpose. I just overheard the Imperial Concubine complaining to the ladies-in-waiting tonight that Consort Wen was using aphrodisiac powder to secure her favor, and I happened to need it urgently, so I came... to steal some."

"Master, don't listen to her excuses! She just used this to blackmail me! If I let her go today, she'll definitely expose how I used aphrodisiacs to bewitch the Emperor!"

"Alright." Li Qingchen spoke to Feng Wan, but his gaze remained fixed on Wei Shuwan. "You don't need to concern yourself with this matter. You may leave."

Although Feng Wan was resentful, she understood who had given her everything she had today, so she had no choice but to obediently step down and give her bedchamber to the two of them.

Just as Wei Shuwan was about to say a few more words in her defense, Li Qingchen suddenly raised his hand, hooked her chin, and forced her head to tilt slightly upwards.

Wei Shuwan didn't understand why he was acting so rashly at first, but she soon noticed his gaze fixed on her neck as he asked softly, "Does it hurt?"

Wei Shuwan recalled the scene when Consort Wen held a hairpin to her. At that time, she was only afraid and did not notice the pain at all. It was only after Li Qingchen asked her that she realized the pain. She must have cut her skin.

But she still shook her head: "It doesn't hurt much."

Li Qingchen released her, turned around and went to the medicine cabinet to find a box of ointment, and personally applied the medicine for her. The slight coolness brought by the ointment suppressed the original pain, and Wei Shuwan could no longer feel uncomfortable.

"Thank you," she said somewhat awkwardly.

At this moment, Li Qingchen's gaze fell on her hand, where she was still tightly clutching the stolen aphrodisiac. Wei Shuwan thought he would definitely ask her what she intended to do with it, but Li Qingchen didn't ask. He simply warned her gently, "If you just want to make things happen, half a packet is enough. A whole packet is enough to make someone lose all their senses and cause a huge mess."

Wei Shuwan was slightly shocked by Li Qingchen's good temper. She had used him as bait to cause such trouble, yet he didn't scold her at all and was still gentle and kind to her.

This made her feel a little guilty, and she lowered her head, pursed her lips, and said, "I'm sorry..."

"Apologize for what?"

"I didn't go to get your clothes," Wei Shuwan said, her voice growing softer and softer.

Li Qingchen chuckled softly and shook his wide sleeves. "They're all dry, no need to change."

After the two left Lanxinzhai, Li Qingchen, anticipating that Wei Shuwan would have further plans, and not wanting to disturb her, said, "Do whatever you want. I'll wait for you at Jiying Hall."

Wei Shuwan hurriedly looked up and met his frosty eyes in the night: "I need to go back first too."

Li Qingchen raised his thick, sword-like eyebrows, realizing that her target for drugging him was inside the Jiying Hall. He smiled and walked ahead.

Wei Shuwan quickly followed.

Perhaps because he had drunk too much and wanted to get some fresh air, Li Qingchen did not take the route that the eunuch had taken Wei Shuwan to take, but instead walked along Lianyuan Lake.

The night was as dark as ink, and the lanterns shone like brocade. Rows of glazed palace lanterns were reflected in the lake, creating a pair of mirrors. The handsome and elegant young master and the beautiful and charming young lady walked closely together, one after the other, forming the most dazzling and spectacular scene in the Great Ye Palace.

When they returned to the Hall of Heroes, the ceremony had already ended, and the hall was filled with the sounds of drums and gongs, and a lively scene of music and dance.

The awkward atmosphere brought by Wen Jieyu earlier was swept away as she left. Now, the adults were toasting and drinking, exchanging auspicious words about a peaceful and prosperous world, as if all the unpleasantness had never happened.

After all, who would spoil the emperor's mood on such a grand festival?

The officials moved from table to table, exchanging toasts and gifts, which made Wei Shuwan's departure seem perfectly natural. She had just seen Envoy Pan toasting the other officials, so she took the opportunity to grab a pot of wine and come to Pan Wenjun's side, kneeling down.

"Sister Pan, let's have three drinks today!" Wei Shuwan said as she poured the wine.

When Pan Wenjun saw that she had only poured fruit wine, she laughed and said, "This is just to fool young girls." As she spoke, she went to get her own strong liquor.