Zhao Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, his expression obscured by the fireworks that suddenly rose and fell. He took a step closer to Yuan Xi with his hands on his back, a probing look in his eyes.

The surroundings suddenly seemed to quiet down. Yuan Xi felt her heart in her throat and her palms were full of sweat. Just when she almost wanted to flee, Zhao Yan exhaled lightly, put on a calm smile on his face, and said, "Why do you ask this, cousin? What other purpose do you think I could have?"

Yuan Xi rubbed her sweaty palms and smiled uncomfortably, "I am just an ignorant woman. I was upset just now and talked nonsense. Please don't blame me, Your Majesty."

After she finished speaking, she hurriedly walked past Zhao Yan, but she heard him behind her in a voice that she could just hear, saying, "I didn't expect you to be so thoughtful. No wonder I heard that Chongjiang has been doting on his new wife since they got married. Well, this is a pleasant surprise."

Yuan Xi frowned, not understanding what he meant by the unexpected surprise, but she had already gotten the answer she wanted. Fortunately, she did not anger the monarch, so it would be better to leave early before he changed his mind.

She lifted her skirt and walked back quickly. The sound of music continued to be heard along the way. Yuan Xi walked for a long time accompanied by the noise and firecrackers in the distance before she finally slowed down and breathed a sigh of relief.

In the past few days, she has always had a guess in her heart: Did His Majesty keep her and the princess just because of the Queen Mother's illness? So she took a gamble and wanted to test the real intention of the emperor. Although the emperor did not respond directly, she had seen the answer from his expression. Sure enough, there was something behind her and the princess being under house arrest, but what was their reason? Did they want to use them to threaten A'Du?

The crackling sound of firecrackers in the distance made her heart confused and restless. After hesitating for a long time, she finally made a decision in secret: at this point, she must find a way to save herself. If she just sits there and waits for death, she is afraid that A'du will fall into a greater crisis.

When she returned to Fuye Pavilion, the princess had finished her meal and was sipping a cup of tea. Seeing her finally return to her room, she glanced at her and said sarcastically, "I feel like I'm sitting on pins and needles every day. I wish I could fly back to the Marquis' Mansion. I didn't expect you to be in such a good mood and even know how to find a good place to watch the fireworks."

Yuan Xi looked indifferent, as if a huge rock was pressing down on her heart, making it hard for her to breathe. She was too lazy to defend herself at this moment, and was about to go back to her room to rest, when she suddenly remembered something and turned to the princess and said, "Mother-in-law, do you want to go home?"

The princess thought this question was ridiculous, so she glanced at her and asked, "Don't you want to go home?"

Yuan Xi walked slowly to her side, stared at her seriously and said: "Then please give me all the valuable things on you, and I will find a way to get us out."

The princess's hand holding the teacup trembled, and for a moment she didn't understand what she was saying, but her eyes were so firm that people couldn't help but want to trust her wholeheartedly.

On the second day, Aunt Qingyao from the Yikun Palace came to the door of Fuye Pavilion carrying a food box and said to the guards at the door with a smile: "His Majesty gave it specially. He said it was for the two people in the room to replenish their bodies." The guard opened the food box and tested for poison. After confirming that there was no problem, he let her in.

Seeing that no one was around, Aunt Qingyao quietly closed the door and walked straight to Yuanxi's side. She put down the food box, took out a few books from her bosom and stuffed them into Yuanxi's hands. She lowered her voice and said, "These are the books that Madam wanted. Please keep them carefully and don't bring trouble to me."

Yuan Xi looked up and smiled at her, saying, "Don't worry, aunt. Even if the emperor finds out and asks about it, I will say that I brought it with me and will never mention you at all." This smile looked very trustworthy. Qing Yao raised the corners of her lips, calmed herself down, and walked out quickly as if nothing had happened.

As soon as she left, the princess came over, glanced at the book covers on the table, and snorted, "I exchanged all my jewelry for these tattered books?"

Yuan Xi was in a very good mood, and raised her head and smiled, "Mother-in-law, don't underestimate these books. If used properly, they can not only save the Queen Mother, but also save us."

The princess curled her lips but said no more. She only told her to find a solution as soon as possible, then went out and called two palace maids to accompany her and strolled around the garden.

Yuan Xi closed the door and carefully checked the book in her hand. If the doctor said that the empress dowager would be poisoned if she touched orchids, such a disease was extremely rare, but she remembered that she had seen a case in a collection of case-solving. In the book, there was a peasant woman who suddenly fainted in her yard and her whole body was covered with rashes. Many doctors were invited to treat her, but it was useless. She died suddenly after lying down for several days. Later, when the autopsy was performed, the coroner only treated it as a sudden death caused by a strange disease, but the county magistrate who was solving the case did not believe that there was no reason. He visited the peasant woman's family and found out that the peasant woman could not touch ginger flowers since she was a child. If she touched them, she would get rashes and even faint. However, the peasant woman's husband deliberately mixed ginger pollen into her tea, causing her to fall into a coma. He then secretly stuffed ginger flowers into her pillow, causing her to become increasingly poisoned and eventually die.

She kept looking up the case in those books, and was so engrossed in reading them that after lunch, a palace maid suddenly came to report, "Madam, there is a Hanlin Luo outside who wants to see you. He said he has a message from your father."

Yuan Xi was shocked and closed the book abruptly. For a moment, doubts arose in her mind: Why did the young master come? And why did he bring a message from his father?

She quickly put the book under her pillow. She also felt that meeting the young master in the inner room might displease the princess and give her more ground for gossip, so she said loudly, "Let him wait a moment. I'll leave right away."

She stood up, tidied her appearance, opened the door and walked out. In the snow-covered courtyard, Luo Yuan was standing with his hands behind his back, bending over to look at a winter plum blossom blooming in the corner of the wall. Hearing the sound behind him, he quickly turned around and bowed, smiling, "Mrs. Xiao, long time no see."

Yuan Xi looked at Luo Yuan's familiar handsome smile, and suddenly felt her eyes warm. Whenever she encountered difficulties, the first thing she thought of was to ask Xiao Fuzi for help. In her heart, Xiao Fuzi was the most powerful person in the world. No matter what happened, as long as he was there, there would always be a way to solve it. Now, even if she was in danger, she had already learned not to rely on anyone. When she saw Xiao Fuzi again, she suddenly realized that life is unpredictable. God gives you something, but it will definitely take away something else.

Seeing her standing there in a daze, Luo Yuan called out in surprise, "Mrs. Xiao?"

Yuan Xi finally came to his senses and said quickly, "Just now, Mr. Luo said that he brought a message from my father. What is the message?"

Luo Yuan said, "Prime Minister Xia has been very concerned about my wife since he heard about her. However, it is inconvenient for him to come and visit her in person, so he sent me as a messenger to ask if Xi'er is doing well in the palace. It just so happens that I am going to the palace to see the emperor today, so I took the opportunity to report to His Majesty. His Majesty is very understanding and is willing to let me in to convey Prime Minister Xia's feelings."

Yuan Xi was a little excited. Daddy asked the little teacher to pass on a message. Did he not blame her? Or was he still worried about her? But when she calmed down, she felt that what the little teacher said was a little strange. Daddy would never express his emotions so directly in front of outsiders, not even to his favorite eldest sister. Moreover, it was just a casual greeting, so why bother Luo Yuan to go to the palace to pass it on?

She bit her lip, unsure of how to respond. She looked up and found Luo Yuan was still waiting for her reply, but his eyes were flashing with another meaning. Yuan Xi's heart skipped a beat, and she stared at his lips. Sure enough, he opened his lips slightly, but no sound came out. His mouth shape was clearly saying, "Come here."

Yuan Xi understood immediately and said quickly, "I do have something I want to tell my father, but I can't say it in public." She then walked to within an arm's length of Luo Yuan and whispered very quickly, "What happened?" Then she moved away and stared at his lips, but Luo Yuan just shook his head very slightly and said, "Luo understands. I will definitely bring it to you, madam." After saying that, he turned around and left, as frankly as if he really just came to pass on a message.

Yuan Xi stood there in a daze, trying to hide her astonishment. She really didn't understand what Luo Yuan's intention was this time, and why he would pass on a message for Daddy. Could it be that he had already surrendered to Daddy? Many doubts lingered in her mind. In order to avoid the palace servants in the yard seeing the clues, she had to pretend that nothing had happened and walked back to her room. She thought quietly for a long time, but she really couldn't figure it out, so she had to give up and continued to look at the book and read it.

Luo Yuan walked out of the Yikun Palace, got on a green official carriage, went out of the Qianqing Gate, turned onto the long street, and finally entered a theater in the East Quarter. Luo Yuan got off the carriage, lifted his robe and went to the private room. In the private room, the aroma of tea lingered, and a man in a crimson purple dragon robe was concentrating on the performance of "Dingjun Mountain" on the stage.

Luo Yuan closed the door, sat down respectfully next to the man, and called out, "Prime Minister."

Xia Mingyuan turned around and asked, "Did you see it?"

Luo Yuan nodded and said, "I asked His Majesty as you said, and he really let me see the young lady."

Xia Mingyuan's eyes were a little complicated, and he asked again: "Then, what did she say to you?"

Luo Yuan respectfully took out a piece of paper from his bosom and said, "We met in the courtyard. There were many palace servants around us, so it was inconvenient to say more. But when she came to my side, she secretly handed me a piece of paper and whispered to me to give it to Xiao Du."

Xia Mingyuan's face changed, and he quickly took the paper from him. He saw that it was indeed Yuan Xi's handwriting, with a few words scribbled on it: "Good luck, don't worry."