My elder sister forced me to become a concubine; I was reborn and remarried into the emperor's

Hearing the commotion, Wei Nanxun quickly followed and saw several guards outside the courtyard gate. They were all strong and unfamiliar, none of them being servants of the West Garden.

"Who are you? Why are you here?"

“The capital has been in turmoil lately. We are here on the orders of the madam to protect the safety of Seventh Lady.”

"I don't need any protection. Move aside, I need to see your aunt."

Wei Nanxun walked straight out, but was blocked by two arms: "Please go back, Seventh Lady. No one is allowed to leave without Madam's order."

This is utterly ridiculous! She can't even leave, let alone be seen; how can they possibly change any so-called orders? This isn't protecting her; it's clearly imprisoning her.

"Are you even being reasonable? This is our daughter, get out of our way right now..."

Zhixia wanted to argue with them, but the leader detained her: "Those who disobey orders and cause trouble will be punished with twenty strokes of the cane."

They actually went and dragged Zhixia away to be beaten with a cane. Even a young boy would be half dead after being beaten with twenty canes, let alone a thin little girl like her.

This wasn't a beating at all; it was threatening Zhixia's life to persuade her to know her place.

Even though Wei Nanxun knew it was their scheme, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and compromise.

"Wait, if you release Zhixia, I won't really want to go out anymore."

Sure enough, once she said she couldn't go out, those people stopped making things difficult for them and released her directly. The two women, master and servant, had no choice but to retreat back into the house.

"Miss, it's all my fault for dragging you down. Why don't you escape on your own and leave me alone?"

When Wei Nanxun saw the numerous scratches on her body, her face turned pale with fright, but her eyes reddened with self-reproach. She quickly pulled her down to sit, feeling sorry for her: "Silly girl, what good is it for me to go out alone? Without you by my side, I can't even take a step."

Zhixia sniffed and said, "Then, what should we do? We can't get the message out to the Second Master and the Young Master, and the people in the courtyard are useless. How about I climb over the wall? Or is there a dog hole in the backyard that we can crawl through to the next courtyard?"

She just shook her head with a wry smile: "Even if we manage to get out, we won't be able to leave the Wei family's gate."

If she had doubts before, she was now certain that this was Pei Yuyan's doing.

Zhixia refused to believe it. After applying the medicine and resting for a while, she tried to send a message out. But not only did she fail to get out, people blocked her as soon as she got near the courtyard gate. There were even more unfamiliar maids in the courtyard who would knock on the door every one or two hours to check if she was still in the room.

For three consecutive days, Wei Nanxun couldn't see any outsiders. Even when Steward Qiu wanted to see her, he was detained by the guards outside. She was so restless that she couldn't eat or sleep, and she visibly became haggard.

Has Pei Yuyan gone mad? His obsession has completely exceeded her imagination.

She dared not think about what Pei Yuyan would do to her if she really entered the palace. If it really came to that, she would rather die.

Could it be that after all her efforts and scheming, she still couldn't escape this dead end?

The thought of this possibility plunged her into an icy abyss, leaving her utterly despondent.

No, she refused to accept her fate. Given a second chance at life, she would never give up so easily.

Wei Nanxun stared at the food in front of her without moving, her fingers twisting incessantly, her mind working faster than ever before: "Zhixia, tell me in detail what happened on the day the engagement was made, who was present. Also, not limited to that day, you can tell me about any interesting things that happened in the manor before that."

She's been so complacent for the past month, only focused on making money and completely oblivious to the potential for crisis. Now she's resorting to make do with what she can.

“That day at the front, I remember that the old lady, the madam, and the wives of the three families were all there. Apart from you and our young master, all the other girls were there... Oh no, the eldest girl wasn’t there.”

“Wei Mingzhao? Why isn’t she here?”

"This servant doesn't know either. Perhaps the master is really angry and hasn't lifted the young lady's confinement."

Wei Nanxun was somewhat surprised. Given Wei Mingzhao and Wang Shi's personalities, how could they possibly let her miss such a chance to shine because of confinement?

"Oh, by the way, speaking of the eldest young lady, I ran into Xiao Cui from the front courtyard when I went to the kitchen to fetch her meal once. She said the eldest young lady seemed to be sick, unable to eat anything, and vomiting after eating..."

What kind of illness causes you to vomit after eating?

Wei Nanxun's previously dull eyes lit up instantly, and she tightly grasped Zhixia's hand: "My dear Zhixia, you really saved me!"

Zhixia looked completely bewildered. Had she said something incredible?

-

Pei Yuyan, his face grim, continued walking until he reached the main courtyard. The lively sounds of firecrackers and noise around him only made his already restless mind more agitated.

What he hated most was having his plans disrupted. This time, he fell into Consort Xian's trap, not only having that kind of thing with Wei Mingzhao, but also being punished by his father, the Emperor.

He constantly remembered the memorial his father had thrown at his face: "Ayan, you are my son, the Crown Prince of Great Yan! How could you do something so disgraceful? Are you trying to anger me to death?!"

"If it weren't for this incident, I wouldn't have known you actually wanted to annul the engagement. Did you think that just because you slept with her, she wouldn't become your Crown Princess, and you could marry someone else?"

"I'm telling you, there's no room for discussion on this matter. You must arrange the marriage for me as soon as possible. The engagement should be done next month, and the wedding date can be the month after next at the latest."

In public, he appeared to be a glamorous crown prince, but in reality, he held no real power. During political discussions, he stood in the imperial study like a mere civil official responsible for copying texts; his father would only ask him, "Have you memorized it? Have you learned it?" and praise his beautiful handwriting.

They never asked him what his opinion was on the matter, and they never allowed him to associate with important officials.

Unfortunately, he had to arrive at the Imperial Study before dawn every day, or he would be punished if he was late.

In the past, his father would consider his feelings and only scold him in private, but this time he scolded him in front of several ministers.

This crown prince's life is truly interesting.

"Where is Man Xinghe? He's not Xun Gu..."

Before he could finish speaking, a bright green leaf fell into his hair, and a rustling sound came from the tree. Then, a nimble figure leaped down from the tree.

"Cousin, I'm here."

As soon as he landed, he put his arm around Pei Yuyan's shoulder, holding a peach that appeared out of nowhere in his hand, which he was eating with great relish.

The Crown Prince is twenty years old this year. This person looks a little younger than him. He is wearing a red robe, with his hair tied up and a crown on. His eyebrows are like swords and he looks energetic and unrestrained. He is none other than Man Xinghe, the heir of the Northwest King.

Pei Yuyan glanced at the hand resting on his shoulder, his brows furrowed, and said, "You have no manners. This is how your aunt usually disciplines you."

"Tsk, cousin, you're even more long-winded than my father. I came here to play with you, who's talking to you about rules and regulations?"

"Besides, didn't you sneak off to see my future cousin's wife yourself? I even covered for you. How can you be so ungrateful? By the way, what does my cousin's wife look like? I heard she's incredibly beautiful. Is she as pretty as the girls from Northwest China?"

Pei Yuyan recalled Wei Nanxun's disordered breathing and out-of-control expression when she heard him, and then he thought of this brat in front of him who had tainted her innocence.

He's still spouting nonsense. Hasn't he already seen whether it's good or bad? Just thinking about this makes his throat tighten, and an unventable anger swells and rages in his chest.

He stared coldly at Man Xinghe, his gaze sending chills down Man Xinghe's spine. Man Xinghe abruptly abandoned his nonchalant demeanor, dropped the peach in his hand, and stood up straight.

"Okay, okay, I admit I misspoke. It was my fault. I know you and your cousin have a good relationship, I won't make jokes like that again."

"It's good that you know. It's one thing for us brothers to be unruly, but you mustn't be disrespectful in front of your sister-in-law in the future."

Man Xinghe exaggeratedly winked and said, "Oh, did I hear that right? Cousin is feeling sorry for his wife. I thought you were a Buddhist reincarnation with a pure heart, but I never expected you to have such a caring side."

No one had ever dared to tease Pei Yuyan like this before, yet he was powerless against this little tyrant of the Northwest.

"Why did you send someone to search for me?"

"This Wei family is so boring. Everyone has a fake smile on their face. It's annoying to look at. Cousin, shall I go out and have some fun?"

"Just for this?"

"Why not?"

Pei Yuyan glanced at Man Xinghe with an expression as if he were looking at an idiot, and a thought suddenly flashed through his mind: "If you're bored, I do have something fun to do..."