She mistakenly got into the bridal sedan chair and married a sickly but powerful minister, becoming

Shen Qingtan quickly calmed down and watched the man emerge from the carriage.

He was dressed in a gold-embroidered robe with cloud-patterned shoulder and knee-length hem, and he held a soft-furred red fox in his arms, which made him look like a dragon and a phoenix, noble and extraordinary.

Shen Qingtan's gaze lingered on the red fox for a moment. It lay obediently and docilely in the man's arms, its eyelids half-closed.

She subtly withdrew her gaze and calmly bowed, saying, "Greetings, Your Highness."

Jiang Chao and Liu Yue bowed together.

"No need for formalities." Prince Yu slowly descended the wooden steps, standing a few steps away from Shen Qingtan, and said with a slight smile, "Are you going out to meet some friends?"

Shen Qingtan was stunned. She looked up at Prince Yu. His smile was warm, elegant and approachable. He held the red fox gently and carefully, without any airs of a prince.

But she knew that beneath this outward appearance lay a twisted and cruel face.

What surprised her at this moment was Prince Yu's attitude towards her. He didn't exude that condescending air from his very bones; instead, he had a subtle sense of politeness.

Because Zhao Jue had taken her on a spring outing and autumn excursion before, she had met Prince Yu. He seemed approachable, but she could feel his arrogance even more.

Shen Qingtan realized that the reason why Prince Yu was so polite to her was because of Zhao Yi.

The Emperor's favor towards Zhao Yi made Prince Yu wary.

She replied gracefully, "Exactly."

“I thought you were worried about Lord Zhao and wanted to go to the palace to visit him.” Prince Yu gently pinched the back of the red fox’s neck and casually said, “As soon as he entered the palace today, Father Emperor summoned Imperial Physician Chen to treat him, which alarmed almost half of the Imperial Hospital.”

Shen Qingtan's heart sank, but she said without changing her expression, "All the famous doctors of the Great Zhou Dynasty are gathered in the Imperial Hospital. With the imperial doctors treating the patients and the Emperor taking care of them, I am naturally at ease."

She pursed her lips, her brows furrowed with worry: "I am but a woman; going there would only cause trouble."

"I see." Prince Yu waved his hand and said casually, "Go and meet your friends. I won't keep you any longer."

Shen Qingtan curtsied and stepped back, then boarded the carriage beside her.

She lifted the carriage curtain slightly and saw Prince Yu rubbing his cheek against the red fox's head, his smile growing even gentler and brighter.

Shen Qingtan felt no fear, only a strong nausea churning in her stomach.

Last autumn, Prince Yu also went on the outing. The young masters and ladies of various mansions instructed their servants to prepare ingredients and roast meat together.

Prince Yu took out a piece of tender meat, ordered it to be sliced, and then skewered on bamboo sticks. Two thin slices of meat were skewered on each bamboo stick, and each person was given a small skewer to try.

The others ate first, but the meat was sour and fishy, ​​and they all vomited it up.

Seeing this, she didn't touch the skewer of meat, but couldn't help looking at Prince Yu.

He held a bamboo skewer with his long, slender fingers, eating the meat skewers with relish, a look of pleasure on his face, as if he were savoring the most delicious food in the world.

She overheard people talking about what kind of meat Prince Yu had given her.

Some people speculated that it was horse meat, because horse meat is sour and fishy, ​​and particularly unpalatable.

She didn't have many guesses, because she had lost an earring and was delayed in going down the mountain with her maid to look for it. When she finally found the earring and was about to go down the mountain, she bumped into a guard handing a red fox to Prince Yu.

She noticed that the red fox was injured in the abdomen. It lay listlessly in Prince Yu's arms, making sounds like a baby crying, as if it were trying to be affectionate with its master.

Her heart softened; she found the red fox adorable.

It is said that this red fox was the first prey that Prince Yu hunted during his first winter hunt, so it had a very special meaning for him. In addition, the red fox was beautiful, so he kept it by his side.

He never entrusted the task to others, personally taking care of the red fox. They even ate at the same table, slept in the same bed, and he would carry it wherever he went, which shows the extent of his affection for it.

Now that the Red Fox is injured, Prince Yu must be heartbroken.

As she thought this, she saw Prince Yu carefully apply medicine to the red fox and then meticulously bandage it up.

Perhaps because the scene of the collision was so vivid, when she met Prince Yu again, her attention was always on the red fox. Gradually, she noticed something was wrong; its wounds seemed to never have healed.

Sometimes he would lie in Prince Yu's arms, and when Prince Yu was bored, he would touch his wounds, and he would cry out in pain. Prince Yu's expression did not show any pity, but rather a strange excitement.

She found it strange, but couldn't figure it out.

Until one day, Boss Qin said that the flesh and blood of the silver fox could be used as medicine and was more valuable than gold.

She suddenly realized that the red fox's wound never healed because Prince Yu would cut off the flesh and eat it after the wound had healed and new flesh had grown. Then he would apply medicine to the fox to carefully heal its wound, and then cut off the flesh again, and so on in an endless cycle.

The thought sent chills down her spine; she felt he was far too twisted and cruel.

Shen Qingtan pulled herself out of her memories, lowered the carriage curtain, and realized that after she guessed the truth in her previous life, she was preparing for her wedding at the Marquis's mansion and never saw him again.

That's why she was momentarily flustered when she first saw him today.

She knew that Prince Yu was that kind of person, so she wasn't afraid of him; she just needed to be careful.

What she fears is not being able to see through the people around her, whether they are human or ghosts.

"Second Madam, what are you thinking about?" Liu Yue asked, somewhat puzzled. "Why would Prince Yu come to the Duke's mansion out of the blue?"

He even said some inexplicable things to his master. Could it be that he was testing his master's attitude towards the second master?

"No one visits the Three Treasures Hall without a reason." Shen Qingtan said thoughtfully, "Back then, during the struggle for the throne, Empress Yuanrong was in danger, and Consort Ling saved her life. The Duke's Mansion remembers Consort Ling's kindness, but Consort Ling does not easily take advantage of this kindness. She rarely interacts with the Duke's Mansion, let alone Prince Yu. Unless it is a matter in the court that requires her to see the Duke, she will not come to visit."

Recently, there has been no trouble in the court, and there has been no news of the crown prince being appointed. However, the second branch of the Duke's mansion has been causing unrest in their household over the title.

Shen Qingtan's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that they came for the Duke's title?

The master and servant exchanged a glance, seeing a deeper meaning in each other's eyes.

The carriage slowly came to a stop at the Qin residence. The servants recognized Shen Qingtan and, having received instructions from Boss Qin, did not need to announce her arrival. They directly invited her to sit down in the front hall, while instructing someone to announce their master's arrival and serving Shen Qingtan hot tea.

Liu Yuehou was to Shen Qingtan's left.

Jiang Chao stood on the right, his mind elsewhere, preoccupied with his master's illness.

"You, surnamed Qin, stop right there!"

A roar sounded.

The three, master and servant, looked up at the doorway and saw Boss Qin suddenly appear out of nowhere, covering his face with one hand and pointing at a noblewoman with the other, angrily saying, "Liu Yuci, have some sense. Do you think I'm going to stand here and let you beat me if I don't run away?"

"Reason?" Madam Qin sneered as if she had heard a joke. "I've beaten you into submission, so what I'm saying is the truth."

Mr. Qin choked with anger, glaring at her and saying, "You...you shrew!"

Madam Qin strode over, stood on tiptoe, and twisted Mr. Qin's ear.

Mr. Qin tilted his head in pain, then met three pairs of wide-open eyes.