After being reborn, I hugged the villainous boss tightly.

At such close range, Ye Zhuxi looked up and saw Fu Jingyuan's long eyelashes drooping slightly, his own reflection in his narrow phoenix eyes.

What comes into view is his profile: red lips, white teeth, a high and straight nose, and a beautiful and sharp jawline.

The carriage was silent. The two were so close that their breaths mingled.

Looking at Fu Jingyuan's handsome face with its sharp features, Ye Zhuxi was momentarily stunned.

Fu Jingyuan frowned, his dark eyes revealing displeasure.

"Second sister, you can take your hand away now!"

"..."

After he said that, Ye Zhuxi suddenly realized that her hand was on the other person's waist.

In the heat of the moment, she didn't know how she ended up hugging Fu Jingyuan. Startled, she immediately pulled her hand back and quickly sat back down in her original seat.

"I'm so sorry, miss. A little child suddenly darted past, so I had to pull on the reins. Are you alright, miss?"

After the carriage started moving normally, the driver's apologetic voice came through the carriage.

Ye Zhuxi glanced awkwardly at Fu Jingyuan before saying, "It's nothing!"

Privately, she secretly rubbed the hand she had just touched Fu Jingyuan's, secretly amused: I didn't expect it to be so sturdy!

Fu Jingyuan, on the other hand, remained indifferent, his gaze lingering outside the car window, lost in thought.

Half an hour later, the two arrived at the palace. This was not Ye Zhuxi’s first time in the palace. When she was young, her father would bring her to the palace when he went to meet the emperor.

Thinking of the general who was dignified and domineering in front of outsiders but gentle and kind in front of his daughter, Ye Zhuxi couldn't help but feel sad again.

In my past life, my father never returned to the capital. Who knew that when he finally did return, they would be separated by death before they could even see each other once...

Upon entering the palace, before the banquet even began, the noble ladies and gentlemen flocked to the Imperial Garden to admire the legendary orchids and chrysanthemums.

These two flowers are not only beautiful when they bloom, but they also add a touch of color to the snow-white landscape of winter. I heard that these flowers are extremely difficult to grow and have very demanding living conditions. It takes a lot of care and time to keep them alive, let alone get them to bloom.

I heard that the Emperor planted these flowers himself so that his Consort could see a sea of ​​flowers in winter.

At that time, rumors circulated in the court that the Imperial Concubine was a fox spirit in disguise, who wanted to bewitch the Emperor and make him neglect state affairs so that she could take the opportunity to bring disaster to the Zhao Kingdom.

Immediately, ministers submitted memorials requesting the emperor to punish the imperial concubine, but they ultimately underestimated the imperial concubine's position in the emperor's heart.

Ministers who submitted memorials impeaching officials were almost dismissed from their posts. After that, everyone realized the severity of the situation and dared not say anything more.

Ye Zhuxi did not know who this Imperial Concubine was; she only heard that she had risen from a lowly concubine to an Imperial Concubine in just three short years.

However, to make the emperor take such a step, she must be an exceptionally beautiful woman, otherwise she wouldn't have captivated the emperor so much.

She looked at the vast sea of ​​flowers before her; it was beautiful, but she felt extremely uncomfortable looking at it.

She looked up and around. The noble ladies were smiling and whispering to each other as they looked at the sea of ​​flowers, their innocent and carefree demeanor detached from worldly affairs.

Ye Zhuxi was previously spoiled and devoted herself entirely to Mu Zichen, so she didn't have many friends.

Standing alone by the sea of ​​flowers, she seemed rather lonely.

After arriving at the Imperial Garden, Fu Jingyuan stood far away under the pavilion, showing no desire to approach the sea of ​​flowers.

His deep eyes narrowed slightly, a dark light flickering within them. As he looked at the orchid, his brows furrowed, his gaze heavy. In an instant, a storm seemed to surge from all sides, only to return to calm in a moment.

He looked away after a moment, then looked up at Ye Zhuxi. She looked at the flowers carefully for a while, then looked up at the people around her. She was small and inconspicuous in the crowd.

But her beautiful and delicate face makes her stand out at a glance.

Ye Zhuxi was unaware that Fu Jingyuan was watching her. Finding the situation boring, she lifted her skirt, turned around, and left the Imperial Garden, heading towards Qinghu Lake.

Seeing this, Fu Jingyuan lifted his foot to follow, but was blocked by someone.

"Fu Jingyuan, you're quite something! I heard you made Ye Yuanbao bow down and apologize to you a few days ago?"

At this moment, Ye Fan, the young master of the Marquis's mansion, walked over with his arms crossed and blocked Fu Jingyuan's way. He was followed by several burly men.

……

When Ye Zhuxi arrived at Qinghu, it was very quiet. Almost everyone had gone to the Imperial Garden, with only a few palace maids and eunuchs coming and going.

In winter, Qinghu Lake also freezes over.

Recalling her past life, Ye Zhuxi slowly walked onto the frozen lake. Looking at the layer of ice that had formed beneath her feet, she couldn't help but tremble.

She died here in her previous life. Even though she has been reborn, she still feels involuntarily afraid when she looks at everything here.

Everyone says that the palace is the most beautiful house in the world, gleaming and bright everywhere, and that you can take a few things out and never have to worry about food and clothing for the rest of your life.

But who would have known that beneath this magnificent palace lay a prison holding thousands of criminals!

Because they hadn't been given food for a long time, the prisoners began to eat each other in order to survive. There were no elderly or children in the prison, because they had all been eaten. The remaining prisoners had to fight constantly to have a chance to survive.

If Ye Zhuxi hadn't brought her to Qinghu in her previous life, she would never have imagined that there was such a cannibalistic cave beneath Qinghu Lake.

She even witnessed cannibalism.

She couldn't believe that she had once rowed a boat on this lake when she was a child!

She recalled the scene when Ye Fuyao pushed her down, and hundreds of hungry and emaciated faces lunged at her, devouring her piece by piece.

Ye Zhuxi's legs suddenly went weak, and she almost collapsed on the frozen lake.

She took a deep breath, her face, which had been red from the cold, turned slightly pale. Recalling Ye Fuyao's excitement and triumph when she pushed her down, a crimson glint appeared in Ye Zhuxi's eyes.

A surge of intense hatred welled up inside her, and she pinched her fingers hard. The stinging pain in her fingertips pulled her back to reality. Once she regained her senses, she abruptly lifted her stiff legs and quickly moved away from the terrifying icy lake.

Once she was back on the ground, her panicked heart finally calmed down, but her palms were suddenly covered in cold sweat.

Fearing that staying any longer would plunge her into the nightmares of her past life, Ye Zhuxi staggered away.

Behind the artificial hill, a woman wearing a cloak whose face was obscured bowed to a man dressed in dark black.

As she stood up, she looked up at the man, her eyes filled with love.

The man stared at her expressionlessly, unmoved by the love in her eyes.

He spoke coldly, his tone slightly reproachful: "Your current identity is too sensitive. In the future, have your servants relay whatever you want to say, so as not to be seen and ruin the plan!"

Hearing the man's reproachful tone, the joy on the woman's face gradually faded.

She bowed to the man: "I heard that General Ye will be returning to the capital in a few days. I'm worried about you..."

Just then, Ye Zhuxi, who was immersed in fear, suddenly heard a soft voice coming from behind the artificial hill.

Upon hearing the name "General Ye," Ye Zhuxi stopped in her tracks as she was about to leave.

General Ye?

She was startled: Her father hadn't sent a message saying he was coming back.

Just as she was wondering, a deep, cool male voice came: "His return doesn't affect anything, it's fine!"

The gentle voice rang out again: "But I'm worried that his return will ruin your plans!"

The man chuckled softly, his deep, charming voice tinged with amusement.

"What's there to be afraid of? Doesn't that person like you a lot? Why should we be afraid of others?"

"But……"

The woman was about to say something when the man raised his hand to interrupt her, making a shushing gesture.

Ye Zhuxi did not see the speaker's face, nor did she know who "that person" was.

But she knew that curiosity killed the cat, so after listening for a few minutes she dared not listen any longer and turned to leave quickly.

The two people behind the artificial hill noticed Ye Zhuxi's presence. The man came out and watched Ye Zhuxi's panicked escape. His dark eyes narrowed slightly.

Ye Zhuxi was in a hurry and didn't see that someone was pointing a bow and arrow at her in the distance.