The Prince of Qi was still resting in the study. When he heard the servant report that the maidservant beside the eldest lady wanted to see her, he was surprised and ordered someone to come in without saying a word.

"I pay my respects to the prince."

Seeing the maid's panicked expression, the King of Qi frowned slightly and asked, "Is there something wrong, young lady?"

The maid trembled and said, "My Lord, the eldest girl went to the princess' place—"

The princess was in a state of mental disorder and was recuperating. The prince was obviously unwilling to let the eldest daughter get close to a mother who was mentally ill. They would be scolded for not taking good care of the eldest daughter today.

The maidservant became more and more panicked as she thought about it, and she lowered her head and did not dare to look at King Qi's reaction.

After hearing this, the King of Qi's expression suddenly turned cold.

Whether it is to those inside or outside the palace, the explanation given is that Li lost his mind due to frightened horses and needed to recuperate, but in fact Li was certainly not crazy.

It would be strange if Prince Qi was happy to have Sister Yuan in contact with Princess Qi.

But he was able to pretend after all. Even in front of his daughter's maid, he could patiently ask: "It's so late, didn't the eldest lady take you with her when she went to the princess's place?"

The maidservant's heart sank, and she hurriedly said, "The eldest lady said she wanted to read for a while after dinner, and she didn't allow us to disturb her. Later, when the maidservant went in to deliver water, she found that the eldest lady was missing... The maidservants went to look for her separately, and found that the eldest lady had gone to the princess's place..."

The King of Qi's eyes turned even colder: "You didn't even know that the eldest girl was missing! She must have gone to the princess' place. What if something else happened?"

The maidservant knelt down and apologized repeatedly.

"You didn't send the eldest girl back?"

The maid became more and more panicked, and said with her head down and trembling: "The eldest girl said she wanted to sleep with the princess tonight--"

The King of Qi grabbed the armrest of the chair, unconsciously increasing his strength, and let go after a long time: "It is natural for the young lady to miss her mother. In this case, you should stay there and accompany her. Send her back early tomorrow morning."

The maidservant had not thought that the truth could be revealed so easily, and she kowtowed to the King of Qi repeatedly: "Thank you, Your Majesty, thank you, Your Majesty..."

The King of Qi warned calmly: "Serve the young lady well in the future, and don't make this an example for others."

"Yes." The maidservant hurried out as if she had been pardoned.

The door of the study closed, blocking the bright moon outside, and the study became even more empty.

King Qi's expression turned gloomy.

He chose this night to make his move, but Yuan Jie'er ran to Li's place. Was this a coincidence, or -

Whatever the case, we can't do it tonight.

Prince Qi glanced at the book in annoyance, threw the scroll on the table, and decided to question Sister Yuan in the morning.

As for Princess Qi, the mother and daughter ignored the anxious maids and servants and went into the house, talking to themselves.

"Mother, are you feeling better?"

Under the light, Princess Qi could clearly see the worry on her daughter's face, as well as her pale complexion.

Princess Qi felt a pang in her heart and almost burst into tears.

Her little sister Yuan was not even nine years old, but she was already beginning to feel troubled, and it was all her fault, and that heartless man's fault.

Princess Qi didn't want to think about it anymore.

At this point, she knew that it would be foolish to instill in her daughter the faults of her father, as this would only ruin her daughter's future.

She could only hold on until her daughter married into a reliable family, and then she would be considered successful.

Don't be like her. She worked so hard for that man for so many years, but when something went wrong, she immediately threw him away like a piece of trash, with no love at all as a couple.

Thinking of this, Princess Qi sneered in her heart.

It wasn't just the man who treated her like a discarded piece of trash, but also her vicious mother-in-law and her own family.

But to be honest, she couldn't blame her parents.

When she got married, she was dressed in red makeup and had a generous dowry. Her family treated her well.

But her plot to murder Princess Yan was secretly reported to her parents' home, who were unable to help her.

Everyone thought that she had to rest because she was scared crazy, but in the eyes of her family, she was a sinner who brought shame to the Li family.

"Mother——" Yuan Jieer looked at her mother and called out again.

Princess Qi came back to her senses, stroked her daughter's cheek and forced a smile, "Mother is fine."

Yuan Jie'er's face lit up with joy, and even her eyes lit up: "Mother, if you get better, can you be the same as before?"

Princess Qi was afraid that her daughter would have extravagant hopes, so she sighed, "Yuanjie, look at your mother's face. Even though she is better now, her face is ruined. It is inconvenient for her to manage the household as the mistress of the palace... You are a grown-up girl now, you should understand your father's difficulties and help him share his worries in the future..."

Yuan Jie'er asked in confusion: "Just because my mother's face has been damaged, she can't manage the household?"

Princess Qi hugged her daughter, tears welling up in her eyes: "Yes, does Sister Yuan know about the imperial examination?"

"I know. Scholars who pass the imperial examination can become officials."

"Yes, but Sister Yuan, do you know that if a scholar has a disability, he is not qualified to take the imperial examination and become an official even if he is extremely talented..." Princess Qi patiently explained to Sister Yuan the reasons for recuperation, feeling extremely sad in her heart.

Yuan Jie'er was her only flesh and blood, and she didn't want to leave a crazy impression on her daughter, so she was willing to explain it with another ridiculous reason.

Yuan Jie'er was young after all, so she nodded, not quite understanding what was said.

"Yuan Jie'er, why did you come here so suddenly so late?"

When Princess Qi asked this, Yuan Jie'er shuddered and fear flashed across her eyes.

She came here suddenly because she dozed off while reading a book. In her dream, she heard a voice urging her to come and see her mother, saying that if she didn't come, her mother would die.

She woke up in shock and saw no one in front of her.

But the more she thought about it, the more scared and panicked she became, so she ran over.

She can't live without her mother!

Fortunately it was just a dream.

Nestled in the arms of Princess Qi, feeling her mother's body temperature, Yuan Jie'er gradually felt at ease. She found an excuse and said, "I dreamed of you, and suddenly I missed you so much..."

Of course I couldn't tell my mother about such a ridiculous dream.

Princess Qi hugged Yuan Jie'er tightly and burst into tears.

Today she suddenly felt uneasy and had a bad premonition, so she wanted to see her daughter. Unexpectedly, her daughter dreamed of her and came to find her.

This is what a mother-daughter bond is like.

At this moment, Princess Qi's desire to live became stronger: no matter how difficult her life became, she could not die. If she died, it would be too pitiful for Yuan Jie'er who had lost her mother.

It was rare for the mother and daughter to sleep in each other's arms. It was not until the next day that Yuan Jie'er left under Princess Qi's reluctant gaze.

The first thing Yuan Jie'er did after leaving Princess Qi was to go to King Qi to apologize.

This is what her mother told her.

Currently, Princess Consort Qi is recuperating due to illness. Prince Qi did not want people in the palace to think that he was cold to his eldest daughter, so he wanted to wait until Sister Yuan went to girls' school and then call her over to ask her, but he did not expect Sister Yuan to arrive early.

After asking about what happened last night, the King of Qi dispelled his suspicions, gave his daughter a few words of advice and let her go, and his desire to get rid of the Princess of Qi became more and more urgent.

Yuan Jie'er knows now that she has to go find Li. When she gets older, won't it be even more troublesome?

No, we have to get rid of Li as soon as possible, so let's do it in broad daylight, while Yuanjie goes to school.