With her delicate face and slender waist, the royal uncle lost control.

"Prime Minister, Eldest Young Master. Someone from the Prince of Ningxiang's residence just came to deliver a message."

Yun Chengming frowned. "What did you say?"

Yang Ping said, "The people from the Prince's Mansion said that the eldest young lady was frightened at the Princess's banquet, and her old injuries had not yet healed, which caused her to develop a high fever and her condition is serious."

"The young master takes pity on her, and the old lady is considerate, so she has been granted permission to stay at the Prince's residence temporarily to recuperate. The Prince's residence has already invited imperial physicians to treat her daily. The messenger also said that this matter should not be publicized, lest it damage the reputation of both families, and that she will be sent back once the young lady has recovered."

After he finished speaking, the study fell silent.

Yun Duantao was taken aback at first, then his expression changed drastically, and he angrily said, "Outrageous! Qin Jiuchen is going too far! It's one thing to suppress us in the court, but now he's even interfering in this marriage!"

"How can a bride-to-be move into her husband's house before the wedding? If word gets out, where will the Yun family's reputation be?"

Yun Chengming's shrewd eyes narrowed slightly, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table, as if he were weighing something.

A moment later, he raised his hand to stop Yun Duantao, who was still indignant: "Tao'er, calm down."

Yun Duantao looked at his father with a puzzled expression.

"Didn't you say you wanted to get Qin Jiuchen's list?" Yun Chengming looked at his son and sneered, "Isn't Yun Nian currently in the Ningxiang Prince's residence?"

Yun Duantao instantly understood, his eyes lighting up: "Father means..."

"Go to the Prince Ningxiang's residence tomorrow."

Yun Chengming instructed, "Take good care of your younger sister."

-

The next day, at the Ningxiang Prince's Mansion, in the Tingyu Pavilion.

After careful treatment by the imperial physicians, Yun Nian's high fever subsided considerably.

She was leaning against the soft couch by the window, sipping her medicine.

"Miss, the Prince ordered that only the finest medicinal herbs be used."

As Qiluo gently stirred the medicine bowl with a silver spoon to cool it down, she murmured with a sigh, "The servants in this Prince's mansion are so polite to us, unlike in the Prime Minister's mansion..."

Yun Nian smiled faintly and said nothing.

Qin Jiuchen's "preferential treatment" was by no means out of pity, and she was well aware of this.

She put down the medicine bowl and wiped the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief.

Seeing her calm expression, Qiluo couldn't help but ask curiously, "Miss, what should we do next?"

Just as Yun Nian was about to speak, a maid's voice came from outside the courtyard: "Miss Yun, Young Master Yun has come to visit you."

Yun Nian frowned slightly.

Yun Duan Tao?

Her brother, who was always arrogant, never had any genuine feelings for his adopted sister, only using and despising her.

When they were in the Prime Minister's residence, he was Yunwei's strongest support.

In his previous life, in order to exonerate Yunwei, he did not hesitate to push her out to take the blame.

Such a doting brother is now eagerly coming to the Prince Ningxiang's residence to visit her.

Nothing good is coming from here.

"Please let him in."

Yun Nian said calmly, her expression having returned to its sickly yet docile state.

The door was pushed open, and Yun Duantao walked in.

She was carrying several exquisite gift boxes in her hand, and her face was full of seemingly concerned smiles.

"Sister Nian'er,"

Yun Duantao walked over and placed the gift on a small table beside him. He said sincerely, "I was really worried when I heard you were sick. I brought some of the best tonics to see you. I hope you get better soon."

Supported by Qi Luo, Yun Nian rose slightly and curtsied. "Thank you for your concern, brother. I am grateful for the young master's kindness in allowing me to stay here to recuperate. Why did you come in person, brother?"

"We're siblings, why be so formal?"

Yun Duantao smiled gently, his gaze seemingly unintentionally sweeping over the room's furnishings and the standing ladies-in-waiting.

The door was closed from the outside by the accompanying maids of the Prince's mansion, separating the inside from the outside.

Yun Duantao's smile vanished abruptly, replaced by a cold scrutiny and a hint of impatience.

He took two steps forward, approaching the soft couch, and said sarcastically, "Sister Nian'er is truly quite capable. Even in a den of dragons and tigers like the Ningxiang Prince's mansion, you managed to make yourself sick just right and stay here to recuperate."

Yun Nian lowered her eyelashes, concealing the coldness in her eyes, her voice still soft: "Brother is joking. It's just that the young master is considerate, afraid that if I return to the Prime Minister's residence, there will be no one to take care of me, and my condition will worsen."

"Consideration?"

Yun Duantao snorted coldly, his words carrying a hidden meaning, "The Prime Minister's Mansion has raised you for so many years, providing you with fine clothes and food, and teaching you manners. Do you think they have mistreated you? You should be grateful and think about how to repay the Prime Minister's Mansion for raising you."

He paused, then his tone suddenly turned icy: "Now is the time for you to repay your debt of gratitude."

As he spoke, he quickly took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Yun Nian.

Yun Nian was wary, but her face showed doubt as she took the paper and slowly unfolded it.

Her gaze swept over the words on the paper, and her fingers tightened their grip on the paper, her knuckles turning white.

"You want me to steal the Prince's list of promotions from the Ministry of Personnel?"

Yun Nian suddenly raised her head, her eyes filled with just the right amount of fear.

"steal?"

Yun Duantao scoffed, snatching the paper back from her hand roughly. "Don't put it so harshly. Now that you're in the Prince's mansion, you have the advantage of proximity. Isn't it your duty to gather information and share your father's burdens?"

As he spoke, he walked to the candlestick on the table and held the paper close to the flame.

The flames quickly licked the paper, turning into a wisp of smoke and a few specks of ash.

"This matter concerns my father's career, and even the rise and fall of the entire Yun family."

Yun Duantao turned around, looked at Yun Nian, and threatened, "If the Prime Minister's mansion prospers, you will naturally benefit. Although you are not your father's biological daughter, the Prime Minister's mansion has not mistreated you over the years, and you will be given a decent dowry when you get married. But if you forget your place..."

He didn't finish speaking, but the coldness in his eyes said it all.

Yun Nian lowered her head, as if intimidated by his imposing aura, her long eyelashes trembling, concealing all her emotions.

After a long pause, she replied in a voice barely audible, "I... understand."

Seeing that she complied, Yun Duantao's expression softened slightly. He then feigned concern by saying a few words like "Take good care of yourself" and "Don't upset the prince and the young master," before taking his leave without lingering.

The door closed again, and the room returned to silence.

Qi Luo, who had been suppressing her anger and fear, rushed to Yun Nian's side as soon as the people left, pacing anxiously. "Miss! What should we do? They actually sent you to steal! This is Ning Xiang Wang's Achilles' heel! If we're discovered, you..."

She simply couldn't bear to think about it anymore.

However, Yun Nian did not panic at all; instead, she slowly smiled.

She remembered that in her previous life, the theft of the list happened after she married Qin Senyao.

At that time, she was torn between two options. For Qin Senyao and for the Qin family, she rebelled against her father and refused to become his mole.

This incident also aroused her father's resentment.

It seems that in this life, because of her early intervention, the events that were to happen later were brought forward.

That being the case...

"Qiluo,"

Yun Nian spoke softly, "Didn't you just ask me what to do next?"