In a moment of impulse, I forcibly kissed my brother's best friend.

Meanwhile, Baoyu, who was outside, was being taken to the Pear Garden by Zhixia, who had come to fetch him.

He was preoccupied with his thoughts the whole way. When he arrived at the entrance of Pear Garden, he paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and composed his expression before stepping inside.

Zhi Xia followed behind him, her brows furrowing slightly.

"Baoyu? Why did you come here by yourself? Where is he?" Xie Yige, dressed in her finest attire and dazzling in her own way, greeted him with a beaming smile and eyes full of anticipation.

Bao Yu replied respectfully, "Thank you, Miss. My master has some urgent business today and specially sent me to tell you."

Xie Yige's smile immediately faded. He had never acted like this before. Something was wrong.

"What's the urgent matter?"

Bao Yu hesitated for a moment.

"Tell me the truth," Zhi Xia said coldly from the side, "or you won't be able to leave this room today." His expression outside just now must mean he's hiding something important.

Bao Yu gritted her teeth and finally spoke: "Early this morning, just as Your Highness was about to go out to pick you up, you were summoned to the palace by Consort Zheng."

Consort Zheng? Xie Yige had a bad feeling.

She had previously heard Yu Xiaoshan mention that Consort Zheng was the birth mother of the Second Prince, and that she also had a Ninth Princess who had just come of age. Her face immediately darkened.

"Zhixia, go find Yu Xiaoshan quickly and ask him to find out what the situation is in the palace."

"Yes, Miss." Zhixia immediately accepted the order and left.

"Baoyu, does his family know where he went?"

"Except for the Prime Minister, who cannot be contacted during court, Steward Cui was asked to find an opportunity to inform him; everyone else is already aware of the situation."

"Hmm." Xie Yige paused for a moment. "I'll still go to the villa to wait for him as planned. I can go by myself; you can just wait for news outside the palace gates."

"Your subordinate obeys."

Xie Yige was helped into the carriage by Bichun.

The sounds of horses' hooves and wheels echoed through the empty streets, stretching her anxiety into an endless abyss.

Cui Yutang had been kneeling in the hall for almost two hours.

The gold brick beneath his knees was cold and hard, its chill seeping into his bones through his clothes. His back remained straight, but a fine layer of sweat had already formed on his forehead.

Just then, a maid came over with a bowl of water and said softly, "Young Master Cui, are you thirsty? Please have some water."

"No need," Cui Yutang replied coldly.

"Have some drinks," the maid said gently, with a hint of urgency.

Cui Yutang glanced at her, his gaze icy: "I advise Your Highness not to resort to such underhanded tricks."

Consort Zheng emerged from behind the screen, sneering, "Guards, force-feed him. Today, I'll make you marry my Ninth Princess."

Two eunuchs immediately stepped forward. But they clearly did not know that Cui Yutang, who looked like a refined and cultured young nobleman, was actually a very skilled martial artist.

Before the two eunuchs could even get close, they were thrown out and crashed to the ground, groaning in pain. The bowl in the maid's hand was also knocked over, splashing water all over the floor.

Cui Yutang stood up, his gaze turning icy as he looked at Consort Zheng: "Your Highness, before I arrived today, my father and the elders of my Cui clan knew my whereabouts. If anything were to happen to me today, have you thought it through—can you bear the wrath of the entire Qinghe Cui clan?"

"you--"

"Her Majesty the Empress has arrived!" A eunuch's shrill voice suddenly rang out from outside.

Consort Zheng's expression changed, and she wanted to have Cui Yutang suppressed, but it was too late.

A voluptuous, elegant, and imposing woman strode in, her skirt swaying in the wind with a rustling sound, exuding majesty.

It was Empress Wu.

Her gaze swept across the scene inside the hall, and a meaningful smile appeared on her lips.

"Consort Zheng, what are you doing in such a hurry and panic?"

Her gaze fell on Cui Yutang, who looked slightly disheveled but stood ramrod straight: "Isn't this our newly appointed top scholar? What are you doing here?"

"Your subject Cui Yutang greets Your Majesty the Empress." Cui Yutang bowed deeply and performed the full kneeling ceremony.

No need for formalities.

Empress Wu walked directly to the center of the hall and sat down. She raised her phoenix eyes and looked down at Consort Zheng, who was kneeling and bowing.

"I heard a joke outside, saying that Consort Zheng wanted to forcibly take Cui Zhuangyuan, the eldest son of the Cui family of Qinghe, as the consort of the Ninth Princess, so I came to watch."

"Your Majesty, it's all just palace servants spreading rumors." Consort Zheng's hands were clenched tightly in her sleeves, but she managed to force a polite smile onto her face.

"Oh?" Empress Wu turned her gaze to Cui Yutang. "Scholar Cui, what do you have to say?"

"Your Majesty, everything you said is true." Cui Yutang spoke calmly, as if he were talking about something insignificant.

Suddenly, there was a loud "bang".

A teacup was smashed in front of Consort Zheng.

"Consort Zheng has quite the audacity!" Empress Wu's voice suddenly rose.

"You dare to seize even the top scholar personally selected by His Majesty to be your son-in-law? The imperial examination is for our Great Tang to select future pillars of the nation and its people, not for you to choose your sons-in-law! You'll be facing impeachment from all the officials!"

Consort Zheng turned pale, knelt on the ground, and desperately cried out for justice.

Empress Wu was too lazy to watch her pleading for justice any longer. She got up and left Guanju Palace with Cui Yutang.

Empress Wu had long held considerable power in the palace, and along the way, palace servants trembled and prostrated themselves at the mere sight of her.

Cui Yutang followed behind her, secretly letting out a sigh of relief.

Wu suddenly stopped and turned to look at his groin: "How are your knees?"

"I am fine."

"Go." Wu's gaze fell upon him, carrying a mixture of scrutiny and admiration. "Your appointment order will be issued soon. Do a good job; I'm waiting to see the capabilities of the Cui clan's eldest son."

"Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress." Cui Yutang bowed respectfully, his tone sincere.

When Cui Yutang arrived at Yanxi Gate, Prime Minister Cui Zhinuan had already been anxiously waiting for a long time.

Seeing Cui Yutang come out, he quickly stepped forward, looked him up and down, his eyes bloodshot: "Yu'er, are you alright?"

"Father, I'm fine. I'm sorry to have worried you."

"It's good that you're alright. Let's go back."

At this moment, Bao Yu stepped forward and whispered something in his ear. After listening, Cui Yutang looked at Cui Zhinuan again.

"Father, I have something to attend to at the villa. Please go back first and tell Grandmother and the elders for me."

"Okay, go ahead." Cui Zhinuan waved to him without asking why.

Cui Yutang did not choose to ride a horse, but instead got into the carriage.

He leaned against the car wall, his eyes lightly closed, his long eyelashes trembling slightly, his brows and eyes showing exhaustion and a deep, anxious longing to return home.

The carriage sped along, finally arriving at Chaoyi Villa as the sky turned a warm yellow.

The light of the setting sun bathed the earth, gilding the entire villa with a gentle golden hue.

As soon as he got out of the car, he saw a petite figure running towards him from a distance.

She threw herself into his arms.

He held her tightly.

"Cui Yutang, why did you take so long? I was so worried!"

She burst into tears, large tears falling onto his shirt.

He lowered his head, buried his face in her hair, and held her arm very tightly.

"It's alright, I'm alright." His voice was hoarse, filled with exhaustion and relief.

"Yige, let me give you a good hug."