My Prince said he'd break my legs.

Since she was placed under house arrest, Pei Yue had not set foot in Feiyu Palace for three months.

Liang Zhiyi didn't really want to see Pei Yue; the main problem was that she was stuck here and couldn't take a step out. After a while, she felt like she was going crazy from being cooped up like this.

Whether Pei Yue gave the order or not, in the months since she fell out of favor in everyone's eyes, no one dared to mistreat her in terms of food, clothing, and shelter.

She had almost lost all contact with the outside world. She had no idea what was happening outside. Without Pei Yue's permission, none of the servants in Feiyu Palace dared to pass on any messages to her.

Everyone in Feiyu Palace was Pei Yue's spy. Although Pei Yue didn't come, he knew her situation perfectly well.

The only consolation was that Qinglan told her Chunmei had recovered.

For some reason, she became increasingly sleepy and wanted to stay in bed all day.

While she was half asleep, she felt something warm on her wrist.

She woke up, but didn't open her eyes, letting the people next to her fuss over her.

Anyway, she's a caged bird now, and she has no say in anything she does.

After being imprisoned for three months, she finally understood that imperial power is imperial power. Pei Yue allowed her to occasionally break the rules in a playful manner, but he would never allow her to overstep the bounds.

At first, she thought she was special to Pei Yue, but now she realized that she wasn't.

Like many other women in the Eastern Palace, she was merely a plaything to please Pei Yue.

Finally, that warmth left her wrist.

"Imperial Physician Li, how is Consort Liang?" Qinglan put her hand under the covers, tucked her in, and asked.

Physician Li glanced at Liang Zhiyi and sighed softly, saying, "Consort Liang's physical condition is fine; it's mainly a matter of her heart. I'll prescribe some medicine for her to take first. As for the rest, I'll report to His Highness first, and then His Highness can make the decision."

"Yes, Physician Li, this way please." Qinglan lowered the bed curtains and led Physician Li out.

As the footsteps faded into the distance, Liang Zhiyi slightly lifted her eyelids to look to the side. Sure enough, there were still two maids standing outside the bed curtains.

Liang Zhiyi scoffed inwardly, too lazy to get up, turned over and went back to sleep.

She didn't know how long she had slept before Qinglan woke her up again.

"Liangyuan, it's time to get up and have dinner."

Liang Zhiyi was momentarily confused; had she actually slept until evening?

"Um."

She was hungry after sleeping for so long, but she didn't have much of an appetite and could only eat a little before she couldn't eat anymore.

Seeing that she couldn't persuade her to eat more, Qinglan had no choice but to have a maid bring over the medicine.

Liang Zhiyi naturally knew what kind of medicine it was, but she didn't ask and obediently drank it, being ridiculously well-behaved.

After taking her medicine, Liang Zhiyi would go for a walk in the yard, something she did every night.

Qinglan chased after her with a fox fur coat and draped it over her shoulders, then handed her a hot water bottle: "Liangyuan, be careful not to catch a cold?"

Liang Zhiyi gazed at the dark night sky, reached out to catch the falling snowflakes, and only withdrew her hand into her fox fur coat after the snowflakes melted in her hand.

"Qinglan, isn't it almost the end of the year?"

She lived each day in a daze, unaware of the actual days, only guessing that the New Year should be approaching.

Qinglan nodded: "Tomorrow is New Year's Eve."

Liang Zhiyi chuckled softly; these days that felt like an eternity had finally brought her to the end of the year.

If this were in modern times, what would she be doing at this moment?

She probably went home to have a reunion dinner with her parents after the company holiday, celebrated the New Year together, and then met up with some friends on the first day of the Lunar New Year to play mahjong, have a barbecue, and sing karaoke...

She closed her eyes to soothe her sore eyes, took a deep breath, and then asked,

"Have you received a reply from the Gao family?"

After pondering for a moment, Qinglan finally answered truthfully: "...No."

Liang Zhiyi laughed. She was even more certain that Pei Yue had intercepted all the letters she had sent.

These past few months of being idle haven't been entirely fruitless; at least she's now almost certain that Pei Yue had people watching her every move a long time ago.

The gold, silver, and valuables she hid were most likely taken by Pei Yue's men.

Liang Zhiyi closed her eyes, letting the cold, snowy wind sting her cheeks.

She thought her life was over. That bastard Pei Yue was watching her so closely. How was she supposed to break out of this mess?

Seeing that the wind and snow were getting heavier, Qinglan advised, "Liangyuan, the wind is getting strong, let's go back inside."

Liang Zhiyi stood motionless as if she hadn't heard anything. After a long while, she took out a thin piece of paper from her bosom and handed it to Qinglan along with the silver note that Chunmei had given her as jewelry.

"This is Chunmei's indenture. Take it to her tomorrow and tell her to go to the government office to get rid of her slave status and leave. Don't come back."

Qinglan took the indenture and the silver notes: "Yes, this servant will take care of it tomorrow morning... but Miss Chunmei may not be willing to leave. She has always wanted to come back to serve Consort Liang."

Liang Zhiyi did not respond to Qinglan's words, but turned around and went back into the house.

Chunmei wants to come back, but that's not up to her. The only thing she can do now is let her go.

She's just a maid; Pei Yue won't make things difficult for her.

Whether it was because of the medicine or because she slept too much during the day, she couldn't sleep at night.

While she was counting sheep in bed, she heard the maid on night watch greet her softly, followed by the rustling sound of fabric, which meant the maid was changing her clothes.

Liang Zhiyi sat up and, through the barely visible bed curtains, could see Pei Yue stretching out his hand to warm himself over the brazier.

It took him a while to walk over to her.

When Pei Yue lifted the bed curtains, he saw that she was still awake. He didn't say anything, but simply asked the maid to light a lamp and stood silently by the bed watching her.

Liang Zhiyi snorted inwardly. She had locked her up for three months, did she expect her to beg for forgiveness?

Since things have come to this, she doesn't mind being locked up by him a little longer.

He turned his head to the side and shrank back into the fur quilt. In the dead of winter, he wasn't cold, but she was.

After a long while, she seemed to hear Pei Yue chuckle softly. Then Pei Yue also slipped into the fur quilt and reached out to pull her into his arms.

Instantly, a chill from Pei Yue swept over her body, causing her to flinch and instinctively try to push him away, but Pei Yue held her even tighter.

Soon, the coolness was replaced by the heat emanating from Pei Yue's body.

Pei Yue buried his head in the crook of her neck, greedily inhaling her scent.

Liang Zhiyi had a bad feeling and was about to break free when Pei Yue pressed her down.

"Don't move."

Liang Zhiyi felt the touch on her abdomen and froze, afraid to move.

"You... came to see me just for this?" Liang Zhiyi was somewhat annoyed.

Pei Yue stroked her rounded breasts, his throat bobbing.

Liang Zhiyi pressed her hands against his chest, about to say something, when Pei Yue lifted her up and kissed her lips. After a few moments, he devoured her like a storm.

It was almost dawn when Pei Yue finally stopped, but he still wrapped his long arms and legs around her.

She was so exhausted that she was too tired to move, and she fell asleep very quickly after closing her eyes.

In her dazed state, she seemed to hear Pei Yue's voice: "Wait a little longer, I'll let you out soon."