Regent, please maintain your aloof image.

Yanxi Palace

In the study, Su Qianrou was reviewing the daily expenses of Shengming Academy and the orphanage, and then writing down the areas that needed improvement.

At this moment, Juxia came in and said, "Your Highness, Princess Anning has gone."

Su Qianrou looked up and asked incredulously, "Who did you say went?"

Princess Anning.

"How could this be? She was perfectly fine when she came to our house. It's only been a month, how could she... be gone?"

"I heard that Princess Anning's health has been poor for the past two years. She caught a cold some time ago and has been bedridden ever since."

After thinking for a moment, Su Qianrou said, "Take out the three thousand taels that Princess Anning gave me last time and send it to my cousin at the Lin residence. Tell him to go to Dingzhou and establish an academy and an orphanage there, named Anning, in memory of Princess Anning."

"Yes," Kikuka replied, and then walked out.

Chunzhu then asked, "Did the Princess choose Dingzhou as the location because Princess Anning once fought a battle there?"

"Yes, she went to the battlefield to protect the people of Dingzhou. Now that she's gone, even fewer people will remember this in the future."

"So, the princess intends to use this method to make everyone remember Princess Anning."

"It doesn't matter whether other people remember or not, but the people of Dingzhou should not forget."

Chunzhu nodded in agreement.

imperial study room

As always, Mu Jinchen sat at his desk reviewing memorials.

Suddenly, a soldier came in and said, "Report! Urgent report from the Northwest."

Upon hearing this, Yingfeng quickly handed the letter to Mu Jinchen.

After reading it, Mu Jinchen's expression turned solemn.

Seeing this, Yingfeng asked, "Your Highness, has something happened in the Northwest?"

Mu Jinchen stood up and said, "Return to the manor," and then strode towards the door.

Yingfeng realized that something was amiss and quickly followed.

Upon returning to the Prince's residence, Mu Jinchen went straight to Yanxi Palace and learned that Su Qianrou was in the study, so he went there.

Su Qianrou was quite surprised to see him, so she asked, "Why are you back so early today?"

"I have something to tell you."

Su Qianrou then noticed his solemn expression, and her heart skipped a beat. She asked, "Has something happened to Xiaoyu?"

"It wasn't him."

"Who is that?"

"Miss Liu".

"Xinyue".

"Ok".

"What's wrong with her?"

"Captured by the enemy and now his whereabouts are unknown."

"What did you say?" Su Qianrou couldn't accept it. "This is impossible, it can't be. How could Xinyue be..."

Mu Jinchen walked to her side, wanting to comfort her, but didn't know how to start.

Su Qianrou grabbed his hand and asked, unwilling to give up, "Jinchen, tell me, this isn't true, is it?"

Mu Jinchen didn't want to lie to her, so he could only tell the truth, "This is a message reported by General Yang."

Su Qianrou slumped into her chair, feeling a pang of regret.

"Don't worry too much. General Yang has already sent people to rescue her. She'll be fine."

"Do you think I made a mistake? If I hadn't helped her back then, would things be different today?"

"This is none of your business. Nobody expected it to turn out this way."

"No, we can all think of it, we just don't want to think about it."

"Rou'er, this is her own choice, so whatever the consequences may be, she should bear them herself."

Su Qianrou was currently consumed by self-blame and couldn't hear a word he said, so she ignored him completely.

*******

Liangzhou

In a room, Liu Xinyue was locked up, her hands and feet were tied, and a rag was stuffed in her mouth.

In front of her stood several tall and imposing men from the Western Regions, all with lewd expressions on their faces.

"Why did you, a woman, get involved in this mess and come to the battlefield? Now, aren't you just making things easier for us?"

"And she's quite good-looking, a beauty."

"I wonder what the women of Yunyue taste like; I can't wait to try them."

"I'll go first, none of you can take it from me."

"Why should I go first? I have more achievements than you."

"I am older than you, so I'll go first."

"No, I'll go first."

"Alright, stop arguing, let's work together."

"Okay," the group agreed.

Then one of them removed the rag from Liu Xinyue's mouth.

Liu Xinyue then said, "You bastards, let me go right now, or Yunyue will not let you off the hook."

"Scream, scream louder, or you won't be able to scream anymore."

Ignoring her wishes, the men began to grope her and gradually undress her.

Liu Xinyue was powerless to resist and could only accept it. No matter how much she begged, those people would not let her go. In the end, unable to bear the humiliation, she bit her tongue and committed suicide.

******

"No!" Su Qianrou woke up with a start.

Upon hearing this, Mu Jinchen immediately woke up and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Xinyue, I dreamt that Xinyue was raped."

"Dreams are always the opposite of reality."

"I also dreamed that she committed suicide."

"No, maybe General Yang has already rescued her and she's fine now. Don't scare yourself."

"Really".

"Okay, go to sleep. Maybe there will be good news tomorrow."

Su Qianrou lay down again, but her mind was filled with images of Liu Xinyue's various tragic situations, making it impossible for her to fall asleep.

I can't sleep.

"Ok".

So Mu Jinchen pulled her into his arms and said, "You're making me a little envious of her."

Why?

“Because she is in your heart,” he said, then asked, “If something were to happen to me one day, would you be as worried as you are today, unable to sleep?”

“You won’t be in any trouble,” Su Qianrou looked up at him earnestly, then added, “You said you would live a good life and wouldn’t leave me a widow. You can’t go back on your word.”

"Hmm... Go to sleep, don't think too much, everything will be alright."

Su Qianrou then closed her eyes and went to sleep.

After she fell asleep, Mu Jinchen went to sleep again.

The next day, Yang Shanshan hurriedly arrived at the Prince's Mansion and went straight to Yanxi Palace.

Su Qianrou was sitting on the couch in a daze when she quickly walked in. "Cousin, I heard that Xinyue had an accident."

"Ok".

"So, she really was captured by the enemy."

"Ok".

"How could this happen?" Yang Shanshan walked to the side and sat down in frustration.

Soon after, Li Nanyi arrived, saying, "You all know now."

"How could I not know? It's all over the capital now, and I heard that the ministers were arguing about it at the morning court session today."

“They never agreed to let Xinyue go to the battlefield in the first place, and now that things have turned out this way, they certainly won’t let her go,” he said, then looked at Su Qianrou and asked, “What are your plans?”

"No, all I hope for now is that Xinyue can come back safely. As for the rest, I don't care and it's not important."

“My father has already sent people to look for her, and they should be able to rescue Xinyue soon.”

"I hope so," Su Qianrou said, her mood clearly not good.

Seeing this, Yang Shanshan and Li Nanyi exchanged a glance, and neither of them spoke again.