The main bedroom in the main courtyard was brightly lit. I followed the wall and reached underneath the window, pressing my ear tightly against the wall.

"Xiao Lang, today I punished Luan Cui for your sake. You must compensate me well," Princess Zhaoping's slightly reproachful words entered my ears, and my heart skipped a beat.

"I have mistreated the princess today. I didn't expect this girl to be so sensitive. I will think of another way to send her away and make sure she doesn't bother the princess in this mansion," Xiao Run's voice came faintly through the window. I could vaguely see his hand reaching towards Princess Zhaoping's waist.

I felt disgusted by the teasing sounds of the two people. I suppressed my nausea and quickly left.

When I returned, Cuihua was still asleep. I reached out my finger and checked her breathing, it was steady.

I breathed a sigh of relief and took out the medicine packet from my sleeve, burying it in the flower pot on the windowsill.

Then, I took off my clothes, put everything back in its place, climbed onto the bed, closed my eyes, and lay down.

The conversation between Xiao Run and Princess Zhaoping kept replaying in my mind, causing my fingers to slowly tighten.

Given Cuihua's blind trust in Xiao Run, even if I told her, she might not believe it.

It's better not to tell her for now, so as not to alert the enemy.

After tossing and turning for half the night, I finally fell into a deep sleep.

When Cuihua woke me up, I learned that someone had come to the palace and said that Consort Li wanted to see me.

I sat in front of the bronze mirror with a puzzled expression. After a simple wash, I followed the person to the main hall.

When I saw the person standing in the center of the hall, I obediently followed behind him and got into the sedan chair, heading towards the palace gate.

It wasn't until we entered the Kunning Palace that I came to my senses. "I have seen Consort Li," I said with a perplexed expression.

Consort Li smiled and asked me to rise. I felt nervous and became fully alert.

However, she seemed to simply want to see me.

I couldn't help but wonder, racking my brains to recall if I had seen Consort Li somewhere before.

Before I could figure it out, there was a sudden sound of a teacup falling to the ground in the hall.

I snapped back to attention and saw that Consort Li's sleeve had been splashed with tea, making the serving maid nervous.

Consort Li frowned slightly, but instead of reprimanding as I had expected, she turned to me with an apologetic smile and asked me to wait while she changed her clothes.

I didn't expect the ladies of the palace to be this kind. I couldn't help but relax.

Upon hearing movement, I instinctively turned my head and saw a man walking towards me.

"Xiao Ping'an,"

He spoke my name, and I immediately became tense. I looked around and realized that all the palace servants had disappeared.

I suddenly realized that I had fallen into someone's trap.

"Who are you? What do you want?" I tried my best to stay calm, stood up, and stared at the man with a taut body.

The man smiled gently, "Miss Xiao, don't be nervous. I have come here to propose a partnership with you."

"But since we are of different genders, it's not appropriate for us to meet privately. That's why I asked the mother consort to invite you to the palace for a meeting."

I stared at him, my heart pounding like a drum. I licked my lips and fixed my gaze on him.

Qi Yu, the fifth prince, who was currently favored by the emperor, Li Guifei, was the only son of Li Guifei.

"I wonder what His Highness wants to talk to me about?" My heart raced, and I lowered my head and asked.

Qi Yu seemed to be surprised by my courage. He smiled pleasantly and said, "Miss Xiao, I heard that you have been wandering outside for many years and have suffered a lot. Do you know who caused you to end up like this?"

After returning to the mansion, Xiao Run only said that I had gotten lost when I was young and had recently been found.

But obviously, this didn't fool Qi Yu. From his tone, it seemed that he had found out something.

I lowered my head and said, "Please enlighten me, Your Highness."