The cannon fodder heiress trembled with fear after being recognized as a member of her family.

Changxing County, city.

A man dressed in black with silver hair suddenly appeared on the city gate.

"The Prince Consort?" Granny Chu exclaimed in disbelief, "The Prince Consort has emerged from seclusion?"

Immediately, Granny Chu knelt down.

Some people from the Grand Princess's residence also knelt down.

The prefect, realizing what had happened, was about to bow when Geng Rui stopped him, asking, "What has occurred?"

The people below the city gate were stunned into silence.

They watched as the man in black with silver hair suddenly appeared, and saw his hair turn from silver to black; for a moment, they didn't know how to react.

"immortal!"

A call rang out, and then a whole area was filled with it.

One person knelt down, and then everyone else knelt down in worship.

Upon seeing this, the prefect, without explaining the situation to Geng Rui, quickly dispatched men to control the scene.

Those who instigated the disturbance were apprehended from the crowd and interrogated.

Finally, several unruly families in the county town were identified.

Geng Rui returned to the princess's residence. "Where did the princess go?"

"The princess went to the Pinglian Mountains three days ago, and there's been no news from the marquis. She's quite worried. This old servant couldn't dissuade her, so the brothers Qingshan and Qinghe led a group to accompany her..."

After speaking respectfully, Granny Chu dared not say anything more.

When Geng Rui learned that Qingshan and Qinghe had followed him into the mountains, he relaxed a little and casually instructed, "If Luo Yuan comes in a couple of days, find an excuse to let him handle things here temporarily, and don't let him chase us to the Pinglian Mountains."

"He's not in a coma, Your Highness. He has a soldier named Ke Cheng under his command who, a few years ago—"

"No need to say anything, I know all of this. You just need to keep him occupied with matters in the city. I'll make a decision after I've discussed some things with Sirou."

Geng Rui had a stern face, and his body exuded an icy aura.

Granny Chu trembled and dared not say anything more.

It's best for her not to get involved in her masters' affairs.

The prefect sent someone to deliver a stack of confessions, which were given by those who had been arrested.

"Is this Han Yueshi Han Miss's half-sister? With such abilities, I really need to figure out her methods when I meet her in the future."

Geng Rui had heard about it before and looked down on the Han family.

However, this Han Yueshi is unpredictable. If we don't figure out her methods soon, she might become a troublemaker in the future.

"It's that young lady! Could it be... that the gathering of people is related to her? This woman only stayed for one night, yet she caused such a big commotion?"

Granny Chu was somewhat surprised.

After the Third Prince and the Han family were refused an audience, they found a place to settle down.

How could Han Yueshi cause so much trouble!

Granny Chu became wary and decided to give her young lady a proper reminder.

We'll be living under the same roof starting next June. With such scheming sisters around, things won't be peaceful from now on.

"Those aristocratic families involved, hand over 80% of your wealth and relocate your entire clan, and that will be the end of it. If they don't comply, send a letter to the princess, and these families will be exiled thousands of miles away. If the emperor asks, just say that's what I said."

With Geng Rui's words, Granny Chu was relieved.

She knew perfectly well what kind of status her husband held in front of the Emperor.

"Today's events—it's bad, something's happened to Sirou! You look after things here for now, I'm going to the Pinglian Mountains, don't forget the things I told you!"

As soon as Geng Rui finished speaking, the seat was empty, leaving only a chilling atmosphere.

For a moment, Granny Chu was stunned, and her respect for her grew even stronger.

Their prince consort is no ordinary man after all! The master made the right choice back then.

Emperor Chu Yuan had already learned of Geng Rui's emergence from seclusion, and Consort Wang was kicked off the bed and fainted.

After tidying his clothes, he hurriedly went to the front hall.

Since being reprimanded by Emperor Chuyuan, Consort Xu has become even thinner.

Every time Emperor Chuyuan came to Fangruo Palace, she acted as if she hadn't heard him and never came out to pay her respects, only making excuses about recuperating from illness.

These past few days, the two of them have sometimes been together in Fangruo Palace, but one in the front hall and the other in the back hall.

Consort Wang in the rear palace served Emperor Chu Yuan well, so Consort Xu simply claimed to be ill and did not go out.

Because of those harsh words, she and the Third Prince became the laughingstock of the palace.

With her past love gone, Consort Xu now clearly understands what she truly desires and will not be blinded by romantic feelings.

However, since they were spending their time together half an hour earlier than usual today, Consort Xu felt somewhat uneasy.

Consort Xu wore no makeup, her hair was simply tied up in a bun, and she did not wear any jewelry.

She put on a light blue padded jacket. "Your Majesty, has Consort Wang not been served well? Should we call a few of her sisters over to keep her company?"

After not seeing each other for several days, Emperor Chu Yuan's eyes showed even more amazement.

The Xu family is a family of cultivators, and all the young masters in the mansion are outstanding in appearance. It has been several generations since then that they have produced a girl like Consort Xu, who is extremely doted on by the Xu family.

Consort Xu was exceptionally beautiful and ethereal from a young age. She cultivated under Xu Tianyun's guidance, and when she finally entered the palace, she dispersed all her martial arts skills.

Since then, she has looked sickly, but she is much stronger than the other women inside.

This time when the two met, Emperor Chu Yuan clearly felt something was different.

Consort Xu looked like an ordinary, frail woman, both inside and out, and had lost her former vitality.

"I was just saying that in anger that day, you don't need to take it to heart. I'll send someone to bring you some tonic herbs later. Don't worry too much about the third prince's matter either; so many people have been sent over, and the fourth prince has brought some men too, he'll be fine..."

As Emperor Chu Yuan continued rambling on, Consort Xu fell asleep in her chair, even snoring softly.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me! Her Majesty has only slept for two hours a night for several days in a row. I didn't expect that she would be able to sleep so soundly as soon as you arrived!"

Xu Mama, who was serving nearby, hurriedly knelt down to beg for forgiveness upon seeing this.

Emperor Chu Yuan was about to get angry, but then his anger subsided. "Let the Consort rest well!"

Geng Rui never revealed the truth about leaving the pass.

Consort Xu opened her eyes, not sleepy at all. "Have someone take a good look at Consort Wang. Our Emperor is so capricious; we mustn't let him develop any health problems."

"Your Highness, if you didn't want to see the Emperor, you could at least have held out for half an hour! You scared this old servant to death!" Granny Xu patted her chest. "What if the Emperor punishes you? Sigh!"

"No way! The prince consort has come out of the pass and he needs the Xu family's help. He won't do anything to me. Right now, he's lost his composure, and I'm afraid he'll have to mend his relationship with the Empress Dowager."

Consort Xu lay down on the couch. "I'm not worried about Cun'er because Uncle Zeng is there. What I'm afraid of is that he might put Uncle Zeng against the Prince Consort."

The two were vastly different in strength; this was something my great-uncle said himself back then.

She's not some married-out woman who abandons her own family after marrying into her husband's family; she's dreaming if she expects the Xu family to do anything for her.

"Your Majesty, the Prince Consort has come out safely!" Emperor Chu Yuan hurriedly came to Cining Palace and stayed there for the afternoon.

No one knows what the mother and son said.

When Geng Rui arrived at the Pinglian Mountains, he saw that the jade pendant on Princess Changyun's body had shattered.

In the distance, Han Cuiyin and Luo Jingqian were swept away by red vines.