So what if she's my sister-in-law? You seduced me first.

The arm around her waist loosened, and Xie Xun looked down to see that her peach-blossom face was still somewhat pale, and her unusually clear eyes were red.

The blood beneath her skin was scalding hot. He lowered his head and forcefully pried open her teeth, probing inside to kiss her passionately.

Ning Yu was momentarily dazed by his sudden kiss, and breaths escaped her throat as their lips rubbed together. She bit his lips and said, "I'm still injured."

The intermittent sounds entered her ears, but Xie Xun seemed not to hear them. He kissed her for a while before releasing her heavy breathing from her neck.

Ning Yu's lips were glistening and red from the kiss. She opened her mouth slightly and looked at him. Their eyes met, and she remembered the horse that had suddenly been startled. She tentatively wanted to ask him what to do.

Just then, a gentle breeze came from outside, reporting from outside the tent, "Your Majesty, the person has been brought."

A cold glint flashed in Xie Xun's eyes. He placed her on a soft couch covered with a plush carpet, straightened her slightly wrinkled robes, and then walked out of the tent, saying, "Rest now."

Ning Yu watched him lift the curtain and leave, then leaned against the soft pillows, frowning as she touched her stomach.

The charcoal fire inside the tent was burning brightly. A palace maid who came in to serve glanced at the master reclining on the couch and used special fine tongs to stir the burning charcoal fire, making it burn even brighter.

Just as they were about to bow and retreat, they heard a cold voice from above, "Where is Qinghe?"

"Does Madam mean the maid who came to the horse farm with you?"

"Um."

A hint of fear flashed in the palace servant's eyes as he respectfully said, "The lady fell off the cliff, and all the servants who failed to supervise her properly have been taken away to be punished."

Ning Yu was taken aback and quickly sat up. "Where will I be tortured?"

The soldiers guarding inside the tent saw a woman emerge wearing clothes and quickly approached her. "It's getting dark, where is the lady going?"

"Where is Qinghe? Bring her here."

The soldier didn't understand who they were talking about at first, but after being reminded by the palace maid, he immediately realized, "Madam, please go back and rest. I'll go find someone."

Ning Yu's voice betrayed her worry and impatience. "Hurry up."

The soldier hurried off, but before he had taken two steps, he heard someone say, "Release everyone and find a doctor to treat their wounds."

The soldier paused for a moment, but quickly nodded and left.

They were all lowly servants, but this lady, though seemingly cold-hearted, was actually kind-hearted.

Perhaps because of the incident of falling off the cliff, there were more and more people patrolling back and forth in Nanyuan. Ning Yu waited outside the tent for a while before she saw Qing He being brought back.

He was covered in blood, probably from being whipped, and had already fainted, covered in cold sweat, and his face was deathly pale.

Ning Yu took a step back abruptly, her lips moving slightly, "Summon the imperial physician, summon the imperial physician quickly."

The palace servants were frightened by her expression and quickly left respectfully. The person who brought Qinghe placed her in the tent next to them and made way for the lady when he came in as well.

Ning Yu barely dared to touch Qing He's body. With trembling hands, she lifted Qing He's clothes and saw her swollen legs and feet.

"Was this His Majesty's order?"

The soldiers remained silent. They had failed in their duty to protect their master, and sparing their lives was already an extraordinary act of mercy. In this palace, the lives of servants were the least important thing.

Ning Yu took a deep breath and immediately ordered someone to fetch scissors, a basin of water, gauze, and bandages. Before the doctor arrived, she began to carefully clean the wound.

Blood splattered on Ning Yu's clothes. She was angry and felt a dull pain in her stomach. Tears streamed down her beautiful face, but she forced them back.

The imperial physician arrived quickly. He had initially thought the physician was there to examine the lady, but it turned out to be a maidservant. He paused for a moment when he entered, but upon seeing the lady's gaze, he immediately beckoned his apprentice to come forward.

After the female official bowed, she took over Ning Yu's position. A perceptive palace maid immediately brought over a basin of water, and she washed her hands and then took the handkerchief to wipe them.

The meeting log.

Soldiers carried the blood-soaked corpses out as they came in and out. Master Wei stood outside the door, looking at the brightly lit tent, feeling as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

He had already notified the head of the Wei family before being summoned, but no news came. He had been waiting for more than half an hour, but there was no indication that they wanted to see him. What had happened?

Thinking of Prince An rushing into the palace, and the rumors that the lady in the palace and Princess Huayang had fallen off a cliff, the unease in her heart was magnified. Surely her daughter wouldn't be that stupid.

Logically speaking, once a daughter enters the palace, whatever happens is a matter of palace intrigue and has nothing to do with the court. Why was he summoned to the palace? Before coming, he even saw several of the Xie family's masters enter the palace as well.

A look of unease flashed across Wei Sanye's eyes as he stared at the flickering lights inside. Just then, he suddenly heard a woman's scream coming from within.

That voice—it sounds so much like my daughter's!

Wei Qingxue was surprised that they were able to find out the assassin's background from the black market.

She had paid a high price to hire an assassin, not from the Wei family, precisely because she was afraid of being discovered if anything went wrong. But they still managed to find out.

She knelt on the ground, looking at the man sitting upright in the high chair, looking down at her. His eyes, which seemed to be smiling but were filled with tears, were full of tears. However, she dared not make any disrespectful movements, and her body, which was prostrate on the ground, trembled terribly.

"Is this the woman you chose?"

The cold, sinister words reached their ears, and the Xie family members standing in the tent lowered their heads, feeling a chill run through their entire bodies.

A eunuch just said that he saw Miss Wei come out of the West Forest, which is a forest not far from where Madam and Princess Huayang fell off the cliff. What an idiot! Doesn't he have anyone to appoint? Why does he have to come in person?

Wei Qingxue naturally didn't want to come in person, but she didn't trust anyone and was afraid of making a mistake, so she came to see for herself.

Even to prevent the assassin from going down the cliff to hunt her down, it would be acceptable to ruin the woman's chastity; His Majesty would certainly not want a woman who has lost her chastity.

Who would have thought things would develop this way? What exactly did she do wrong?

"To commit murder in the palace and instruct servants to frighten people and horses, Your Majesty, this old minister believes that the Wei family, by allowing their daughter to commit murder, cannot escape their guilt."

The speaker was Prince An, who was clearly trying to intimidate the Wei family. His eyes were filled with icy killing intent as he looked at Wei Qingxue.

The tent was eerily silent. Xie Xun sat in a chair, his stern and imposing gaze sweeping over Prince An and the Xie family members before finally settling on the woman on the ground, who was crying her eyes out, too afraid to utter a sound.

"How greedy!"

The emotionless voice made Wei Qingxue's face turn even paler. Her lips trembled as she tried to defend herself, but she didn't know where to begin.

"Take him away."

Qingfeng immediately stepped forward and lifted the person up. His Majesty was furious about the lady's injury. So many people had died, and this Miss Wei was probably the one who died the most tragically.