When the prince is reborn, he will only hit me if he doesn't hit the wall!

A soft and gentle response fell beside him: "Okay."

Xu Xinyue still clung to his shoulders, leaving his embrace a little, and looked up at him with her bright almond-shaped eyes:

"I've chosen the path for you. I hope you like it."

Qin Yuechuan supported her back with his palm and looked back at her, his eyes filled with incredible tenderness:

"Everything the moon gives is the best."

Xu Xinyue's eyes were slightly watery with laughter: "We'll never be separated again, okay? No matter what -"

"No matter where we go, we will never be separated again, okay, Qin Yuechuan."

Seeing her like this, Qin Yuechuan felt a little depressed and uncomfortable:

"From now on, I will follow you to the underworld."

Xu Xinyue burst into laughter:

"Well, we are close yet far away."

……

*

The next day, Xu Xinyue handed the document written by Yu Xingcao to Qin Liexing.

Qin Liexing read it word by word over and over again, and praised it sincerely: "Hongyu, you have done a good job on this matter. When the matter is accomplished in the future, the king will definitely reward you handsomely."

Xu Xianyue lowered her eyelids and responded with a frivolous smile: "As long as the prince is satisfied."

Qin Liexing accepted the document and said, "When the Heavenly Sacrifice Ceremony comes and I inherit the Mandate of Heaven, all of this, this Beixuan River and Mountain, will be completely in my hands."

There was no star in Xu Xianyue's eyes. She remained silent and quietly retreated amid Qin Liexing's arrogant and wanton laughter.

Yanfang Hall

"Xuan San, have you sent the letter I asked you to deliver to Qin Yuechuan?"

"I have sent someone to deliver it to the prince."

Xu Xinyue nodded.

The gentle breeze blows on my face, new buds appear on the willow leaves, the green mist is like smoke, and two or three new swallows fly around and chase each other, chirping happily.

It is now spring.

Xu Xinyue looked at the drooping branches above her head, raised her arm to touch the newly grown green buds, and her hope grew stronger: "When he returns, we can leave here."

For several days thereafter, even Xu Xinyue could feel that the defenses of the palace were becoming increasingly strict, visible to the naked eye.

The guards stationed at the gate of Longqi Palace are no longer the original ones, they are all unfamiliar faces.

Yanfang Hall, Qingling Hall, and even in front of the palaces of His Majesty's concubines, there are guards woven like a fishing net, which are replaced in real time and guarded in shifts throughout the day. It seems that not even a fly or insect can escape.

Not only that, in each palace, everyone from the master to the eunuchs and servants were restricted in the number of times they could enter and leave. Except for the necessary collection of meals and paying homage to the empress, it was tantamount to being under house arrest.

It does seem like there is a sense of impending storm.

Some ignorant concubines in the harem were initially dissatisfied with the restrictions and complained bitterly. They attempted to rely on the power of their maternal families outside the palace to bribe and intimidate the garrison soldiers, lift the house arrest, break free from the shackles, and establish contact with relatives outside the palace.

But for some unknown reason, all the concubines who caused trouble would soon die one by one in various bizarre ways, either by hanging themselves, jumping into the lake, or the palace accidentally caught fire...

Over time, the masters who had a clear understanding of the current situation gradually realized some clues, put aside their own thoughts, stayed obediently in the palace, obeyed orders, and lived a safe and peaceful life.

Xu Xinyue stood at the entrance of the palace, looking at the layers of guards with an expressionless face.

Xu Xinyue had observed carefully that the guards at the palace gate were led by a new face almost every day, and there was never a repeat.

In other words, the garrison team he led was naturally a brand new one every day.

"The palace has been heavily guarded for quite some time. The palace is probably under the full control of Qin Liexing."

"Don't worry, Princess. The Duke of Zhenguo will make arrangements to protect the safety of Your Majesty, the Princess, and the Crown Prince. There will be no mistakes in the Heavenly Sacrifice Ceremony."

Xu Xinyue nodded slowly and looked back at Xuan San. She didn't know if it was her illusion, but she always felt that Xuan San seemed to be... thinner in recent days, and his body shape was indescribably different from before.

Xu Xianyue said: "Xuan San... You have been following me around these days, and you have been really tired. You have lost so much weight..."

Xuan San unconsciously tensed his face and swallowed guiltily.

"Thank you...Princess for your concern."

"Princess, Hongzhu has brought the food. It's getting late today, so let's eat first."

Xu Xinyue turned and entered the palace: "Alas, it's time to eat again. The palace has been on alert recently and we can't go anywhere all day. Today is already the fourth meal..."

Xu Xinyue had also heard Hong Zhu complain that many of the concubines' personal maids quarreled with the imperial chef because the dietary regulations were far less than the previous ones. Even He Yunyin was not spared.

On the contrary, her Yanfang Palace not only did not decrease, but actually had a lot more secretly.

Xuan San explained stiffly: "The princess is usually kind to others and never makes things difficult for others. These must be a token of the royal chefs' kindness."

Xu Xinyue did not comment. The current situation was special and such a situation was rare. It was already much better than others.

In addition to Xu Xianyue from Yanfang Palace, Qin Yuling from Lingxi Palace also enjoyed the special treatment.

Unlike other palaces, the daily meals in Lingxi Palace are specially delivered by Qin Liexing's personal eunuch Fugen.

Every time they bowed, lowered their brows and smiled. Even when Qin Yuling treated them ruthlessly, they never showed any anger. Instead, they were more respectful out of fear and trepidation.

Qin Yuling had never dealt with "Qin Zhaolie" openly on weekdays, so naturally she had no good feelings towards his eunuch.

Qin Yuling had been under "house arrest" for many days and was in a irritable mood. He didn't like Fugen at all and shouted angrily, "I've told you so many times, I don't have an appetite today, everyone withdraw!"

Fugen dared not speak but was angry. He said, "Princess, you haven't eaten for the whole day. You are so precious. How can you bear this for a long time?"

Qin Yuling felt confused. She had never even seen Fugen before, but in recent days she was always receiving special care from Fugen, or to be more precise, "Qin Zhaolie" for no reason.

Even considering that other concubines had to fight for even their meals, it was strange that she could still be guaranteed to have fine clothes and food, and have no shortage of pearls and jade.

In the past, she could barely explain it as relying on the Queen's face, but now Fugen's deliberate "flattery" made her a little puzzled.

For no reason, why did "Qin Zhaolie" treat her like this?

If there is no reason for flattery, there must be something fishy going on.

Qin Yuling said unhappily, "I have no ties with your master, why do you have to do this? If he has any intentions, tell Qin Zhaolie as soon as possible. I will not associate with him. He will definitely not get any benefit from me. Let him give up as soon as possible!"

Fugen was embarrassed and didn't know how to respond.

Although he also didn't understand why his master attached so much importance to this nominal imperial sister with whom he rarely interacted on weekdays.

No matter how prominent Fugen was, he was just a servant and did everything he was told.

The master only said that if he could not get the princess to eat, he would be beheaded.

It was a matter of life and death, so no matter how coldly she was treated, she still had to put on a smile: "Princess, you..."

Seeing his rigid and inflexible "wooden face", Qin Yuling became furious and pushed the food box in his hand, causing the exquisite dishes inside to spill onto the ground.

Qin Yuling had no intention of getting entangled with him any more. Her pretty face changed and she shouted mercilessly, "Get lost!"

Fugen had a bitter face, and the smile on his face was about to fall off. Suddenly, he heard a gentle voice behind him: "Go down."

Fugen felt as if he had been pardoned and quickly retreated out of Lingxi Palace.

Qin Yuling looked at him coldly. Seeing that the person was "Qin Zhaolie", she did not look happy either. She said indifferently, "What a rare guest. How could His Royal Highness Prince Qi come to my Lingxi Palace?"

Although she is in the deep palace, Qin Yuling is not completely ignorant of others' views.

She was not completely unaware of the secret conspiracy between "Qin Zhaolie" and the Queen in recent days.

Qin Yuling roughly guessed that the Queen and he must be plotting something big, but he had no idea what it was specifically about.

"If Your Highness Prince Qi wants to lure me into joining you, I'm afraid you've chosen the wrong person."

Qin Yuling turned away from looking at him and walked directly to the inner hall. Her attitude towards him was not much different from that towards Fugen:

"I don't know how you bewitched my mother. I don't care what you are planning. This matter involves my mother. I have not reported your plan. This is the greatest kindness and concession I have made."

"Don't challenge my bottom line."

Qin Yuling thought that the person behind him would leave tactfully, but unexpectedly, she heard him call out, "Yu'er."

Qin Yuling looked back in surprise, with the strange and rejecting look in her eyes not concealed at all.

She knew that she was not close enough to "Qin Zhaolie" to call him by his nickname.

From childhood to adulthood, there are very few close people who call her "Yu'er". Apart from her former best friend Xu Mingxi, there are only her father the emperor, her mother the queen, and her recently deceased brother, the emperor Qin Liexing.