Regent, please maintain your aloof image.

On the street, Su Qianrou, her hair disheveled and her steps hurried, was fleeing in all directions, pursued relentlessly by two fierce-looking men.

"Stop! Don't run!"

"Help! Murder! Help!" Su Qianrou shouted as she ran.

However, the pedestrians on the road only glanced at it and did not offer any help.

Fortunately, Pinshixuan was just ahead, and Su Qianrou quickly passed through the crowd and ran towards it.

"stop".

The people behind them were still in hot pursuit.

The waiter was greeting customers at the door. Hearing the sound, he looked over out of curiosity, but because of the crowd, he couldn't see her clearly and therefore didn't recognize her immediately.

It wasn't until Su Qianrou ran up to him that he recognized her and exclaimed in surprise, "Boss!"

Su Qianrou was panting heavily and couldn't speak at all.

At this moment, the person behind them caught up, saying, "Trying to run away? Let's see where you can run now."

"If you know what's good for you, come back with us right now, or don't blame us for being rude to you."

"Boss, are you alright?"

Su Qianrou shook her head, then looked at the two men and said, "Don't you even know where you are? You want me to go back with you? If you don't leave, I'll make sure you don't leave alive."

The two glanced at the signboard of Pinshixuan, then looked at each other, and then ran away.

Su Qianrou watched them leave, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

The waiter said excitedly, "Master, we heard you went missing. The second and third masters have been looking for you these past few days. Now that you're back, I'll go and tell them right away."

"Also, tell my older brother and younger brother to come along."

"Yes," the waiter said happily and ran off.

Su Qianrou then entered the Pinshixuan restaurant.

imperial study room

Mu Jinchen was reviewing memorials, but he was absent-minded and distracted, unable to concentrate on a single word on the memorials.

A short while later, Yingfeng walked in, excitedly saying, "Your Highness, the Princess Consort has been found."

Mu Jinchen's eyes lit up. "Really? Where is it?"

"Pinshixuan".

Without saying a word, Mu Jinchen quickly got up and ran out.

Pinshixuan

Su Qianrou rested in the private room while waiting for someone.

Not long after, Lin Xiaoyang and Lin Yulin arrived in a hurry.

"Cousin, are you alright?"

"fine".

"Are you injured?" Lin Xiaoyang asked.

"no".

Lin Xiaoyang looked her over and saw that her clothes were clean and relatively tidy, so she didn't seem to be injured, which put him at ease.

"Cousin, you escaped on your own?" Lin Yulin asked curiously.

"Ok".

"It's a good thing you escaped, otherwise the whole city would have been turned upside down."

"Why do you say that?"

Just as Lin Yulin was about to explain, Su Haoyu pushed open the door and walked in, anxiously asking, "Sister, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, but you're the one who's really worried. You're all sweaty from running around."

"How could I not be worried? You've been missing for five days without a single word. Thank goodness you're alright, or I would have gone crazy with worry."

At this moment, Su Mingxuan also came in and asked with concern, "Rou'er, are you alright?"

"Big brother, I'm fine."

Su Mingxuan was relieved. "It's good that you're alright."

"Sister, let's go home. Father and Mother are still waiting at the mansion."

Su Qianrou did not respond, but looked towards the door.

The others followed her gaze and saw Mu Jinchen standing outside the door. They all bowed and said, "Greetings, Your Highness."

Mu Jinchen ignored them and just looked at Su Qianrou.

Su Qianrou stood up and said calmly, "Greetings, Regent."

Mu Jinchen stepped in and walked straight up to her. "Are you alright?"

"Very good."

The two fell silent. Mu Jinchen had a thousand words in his heart, but when it came to his lips, he couldn't utter a single one.

Su Qianrou noticed that he was looking at her, but pretended not to know.

The others clearly sensed that the atmosphere between them was a bit strange, and they looked at each other in bewilderment.

Su Mingxuan said, "Thank you very much, Your Highness. The Su family is deeply grateful and will definitely come to express our gratitude in person another day."

"Young Master Su, there's no need for thanks. I was of no help whatsoever."

"Both I and my father have seen and remembered Your Highness's actions. If Your Highness needs anything in the future, the Su family will do its utmost to repay you."

Mu Jinchen never expected anything in return from them; all he wanted was for Su Qianrou to be safe and sound. "It's good that Princess Ping Le has returned safely. His Majesty will be at ease knowing this."

"It is my fault that Your Majesty has to worry about me."

"I heard that Princess Ping Le was taken away by people from the Hundred Stars Pavilion. Now the Hundred Stars Pavilion is a wanted criminal by the imperial court. I wonder if Princess Ping Le knows where they are hiding?"

"I don't know."

Mu Jinchen knew her very well and could tell at a glance that she was not telling the truth. "I have something I want to say to Princess Ping Le alone."

Su Mingxuan and the others tactfully left.

Mu Jinchen asked, "Rou'er, is there something you're having trouble telling us? Why don't you tell us, and we'll work together to find a solution."

"The Regent should still call me Princess."

Mu Jinchen was hurt by her cold attitude, and his heart ached. "We..." Can we really not go back to the way things were? The answer to this question was obvious without even asking. He then said, "For your safety, it's best to eliminate Baixing Pavilion as soon as possible. Otherwise, something similar will happen again, and when you try to escape, it won't be so easy."

"Why does the Regent have to put on such a show? The Regent knows perfectly well why I am suffering this calamity; I am merely implicated by you."

“How can you say that, Your Highness? Do you know how worried the Prince was during the time you were missing? He searched for you day and night, fearing that something might have happened to you,” Yingfeng said, indignantly.

"Hypocritical. If he cared about me, he wouldn't have broken his vow and had relations with other women. Now he's pretending to be affectionate, which only disgusts me."

Yingfeng wanted to refute, but Mu Jinchen stopped him.

"Rou'er, what will it take for you to forgive me?"

"I can never forgive you in this lifetime."

Mu Jinchen suddenly punched his chest hard, then knelt on the ground, spitting out blood.

"Your Highness!" Yingfeng was terrified.

Mu Jinchen ignored him and looked at Su Qianrou instead, asking, "Now, can you forgive me?" He looked like he was about to break, which was truly heartbreaking.

Su Qianrou remained silent.

"Your Highness, the Prince's mistake was unintentional and not his true intention. Please forgive him."

“If you want me to forgive him, fine,” Su Qianrou took out a package, poured it into a cup, and handed it to Mu Jinchen. “Drink this, and I will forgive you.”

"really".

"When have I ever lied to you?"

Mu Jinchen accepted it.

Yingfeng stopped him, saying, "Your Highness, you cannot drink."

Ignoring his attempts to stop him, Mu Jinchen drank it all in one gulp, then collapsed to the ground, motionless.

"Your Highness, Your Highness... what did you give the Prince to drink?"

Su Qianrou said calmly, "Poison."

“You…” Yingfeng didn’t expect her to be so ruthless. “Someone, quickly call the imperial physician.”

But no one came in.

Instead, Yunyu and Luoying came out of the accounting room inside.