Regent, please maintain your aloof image.

Yanxi Palace

Mu Jinchen escorted Su Qianrou back and was walking towards the house.

The palace maid who was sweeping the floor nearby saw Mu Jinchen and her eyes lit up instantly. Seeing him walking towards her, she pretended to lose her balance and fell on him.

Mu Jinchen instinctively stepped back, while pulling Su Qianrou along with him, and then watched helplessly as the palace maid collapsed in front of him.

The palace maid was surprised that he would step back. She looked up at him and called out in a wronged tone, "Your Highness."

Mu Jinchen ignored her and looked at Su Qianrou. "Let's go inside," he said, and then pulled her away.

Su Qianrou gestured for him to wait a moment, then looked at the palace maid and asked, "What's your name?"

"Your Highness, my name is Yun Cui."

"Yuncui, what are you doing here so late?"

"This servant...this servant is sweeping the floor, yes, this servant is sweeping the floor," she said, picking up a broom from the side.

"If I remember correctly, the yard is swept every morning at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM). Why are you sweeping here so late at night?"

"This servant...this servant...this servant saw that the courtyard was dirty, so I thought I'd sweep it up," she said, pretending to sweep up the fallen leaves on the ground.

"You're quite diligent."

Even if Mu Jinchen was stupid, he could see what the palace maid was thinking. Besides, he wasn't stupid. He was about to say something when he was pulled away.

"Let's go," Su Qianrou said, pulling him towards the house.

"Since you know she has impure intentions, why don't you deal with her?"

"She was sent by the Empress Dowager, so there must be a suitable reason, otherwise it will be difficult to explain to the Empress Dowager."

"You disagreed when I suggested sending them to Chunfeng Tower, but now look, are you still soft-hearted?"

"You're generalizing and condemning everyone, but what about the innocent people?"

As they spoke, the two went into the room and sat down on the tatami mat.

"You always have so many grand principles."

"What, you don't want to listen?"

"Of course not, I love to hear whatever you say."

"Sweet talk," she said, then added, "It's getting late, you should go back to Fuyun Palace soon, I'm going to take a bath first." Before he could react, she got up and left.

Mu Jinchen looked at her, smiled, then stood up and said, "Let's go," before walking out.

Shadow Wind followed closely behind.

The next day, Mu Xinchen was walking aimlessly down the street when he suddenly saw two familiar figures. It was Yang Shanshan and Bai Qinming. Seeing them chatting and laughing, he felt a surge of jealousy and secretly followed them.

"Young master, this hairpin is quite nice. It would be perfect as a gift for your beloved. Would you like one?"

Mu Xinchen then realized that he was standing in front of a jewelry stall, and he was holding a hairpin in his hand. "No need, thank you," he said, and then followed.

Until someone called out to him, "Xinchen, what are you doing here?" As he spoke, he put his hand on his shoulder and said, "Come on, let's go have a drink." This person was Mu Zichuan, the heir of the Luo Prince's Mansion. He was about the same age as Mu Xinchen, so the two had played together since childhood and were very good brothers.

"What has Crown Prince Ying been busy with lately? I haven't seen you in so long."

"That's right, you have to have a couple of drinks with us today, no matter what."

"You underestimate our Prince Ying. Two cups aren't enough; it should be at least two jars, shouldn't it?"

"Yes, yes, yes."

"Let's go," Mu Zichuan said, pulling Mu Xinchen along as they headed away.

"I'm not going, I have things to do," he said, looking around for Yang Shanshan, but he couldn't find her anywhere. She must have already left, and he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

"What could you possibly want? Come on, it's on me today."

In the end, Mu Xinchen was still dragged away by them to drink.

Regent's House

In the study, Mu Jinchen was handling official business.

Yingfeng entered and said, "Your Highness, a maid from Yanxi Palace requests an audience."

"What's the matter?"

"They said the princess sent her to deliver pastries to you."

"Let her in."

"Yes".

A moment later, Biyue walked in and said, "This servant greets Your Highness."

Upon hearing this, Mu Jinchen felt that her voice was somewhat unfamiliar, so he looked up at her and, seeing that it was not Chunzhu and the others, asked, "You said you are a maid of Yanxi Palace, why have I never seen you before?"

"Your Highness, we have met you. Aunt Fanghua brought us here that day, and Your Highness happened to be in Yanxi Palace as well."

"You were sent by the Empress Dowager."

"Yes".

"What brings you here?"

"Your Highness, the Princess Consort has sent me to bring you some pastries."

"Are you sure the princess sent you to deliver this?"

Biyue felt a little guilty, but still replied, "Yes."

"Leave the pastries, you can go now," Mu Jinchen said, then lowered his head to continue his official duties without looking at her again.

Yingfeng stepped forward and took the food box from her hand.

But Biyue did not leave.

"Is there anything else, young lady?" Yingfeng asked.

“This servant…”

Just then, the ink ran out. Mu Jinchen was about to ask Yingfeng to grind some ink, but before he could speak, Biyue said, "This servant will help Your Highness," and walked over.

Mu Jinchen glanced at her but did not stop her.

Yingfeng was somewhat surprised, but didn't say anything.

Yanxi Palace

In the courtyard, Su Qianrou casually leaned against a square pillow, propping her head up with one hand and reading a storybook with great interest in the other.

Yingyue quietly stayed by her side.

Before long, Juxia came over and said worriedly, "Your Highness, Biyue has been in Fuyun Palace for half an hour and has not come out yet."

"You scoundrel! You've already forgotten what you said so quickly. Sure enough, a man's words are deceitful." Su Qianrou angrily threw the book onto the couch.

Just then, Chunzhu ran over excitedly and said, "Your Highness, I have something to tell you. Biyue has been expelled from the manor by the Prince."

Why?

“I heard from Yingfeng that Biyue used your name to deliver pastries to the prince, and then offered to help the prince grind the ingredients. So the prince made her grind the ingredients in the study for half an hour. But she was still not giving up. She pretended to lose her balance and tried to fall into the prince's arms, but the prince dodged her. At the same time, she also soiled many of the prince's documents. The prince was so angry that he ordered her to be expelled from the mansion.”

"Expelling her from the palace was too lenient. Three years ago, some palace maids took advantage of the opportunity to grind ink to get close to the prince, hoping to climb into his bed. Some pretended to bump into him by chance, some accidentally fell down, and some even danced in the snow. In the end, the prince couldn't stand it anymore, so he ordered them to be flogged thirty times and expelled from the palace. Only then did those palace maids settle down," Yingyue said.

“Really?” Chunzhu asked.

"Ok".

"It seems that the prince has become merciful and has not punished the child with a cane."

Su Qianrou thought to herself, "It's good that he's sensible and didn't get seduced. Otherwise, I would definitely teach him a lesson."

"By the way, Master, according to my observation, that palace maid named Huixiang seems to know martial arts."

"Are you sure?"

"That should be right."

"Here's what you do, find an opportunity to test her out."

"Yes".

Then, Su Qianrou continued reading the storybook.