The clingy concubine ran away, and the sickly prince lost control.

Rubbing her eyes, Luo Qingyan saw Xiaodie on the ground, her face covered in blood and tears.

It turns out, she wasn't the only one wanting to climb into someone's bed tonight.

By the time Xiaodie arrived, Pei Shiyuan's drug effects had long worn off, so a beating was inevitable.

When her neck was grabbed, she instantly thought it was going to snap, but luckily she reacted quickly and pretended to be sleepwalking, falling into a deep sleep.

Seeing that Cui Rou had abandoned her, Xiao Die lowered her raised hand, her eyes filled with deathly despair.

"Xiaodie, where did you get your sleeping potion?" Luo Qingyan asked as she stepped forward.

Cui Rou used Xiao Die as a scapegoat; how vicious!

I don't know why Pei Shiyuan would like someone like that.

She didn't care about Pei Shiyuan and Cui Rou's relationship, but she knew that if Cui Rou stayed in the Duke's mansion, she would definitely target her, and each time she would hate her more than the last.

From the initial slap to now drugging her, who knows how many more underhanded tricks they might pull in the future? We can't let Cui Rou, the mastermind behind this, get away with it today.

When someone pressed for an explanation, Xiaodie clung to it as if it were a lifeline; Cui Rou had already abandoned her.

She didn't need to consider the master-servant relationship.

"Aunt Luo, it was Sister Yinxing who gave it to me. Miss and Sister Yinxing told me to climb into the young master's bed, saying that it was to win over the young master's heart for Miss, and not let you, Aunt Luo, take it away."

Xiaodie spilled the whole truth, determined to die knowing the truth, even if it meant dying knowing.

"Xiaodie, you're about to die, and you're trying to frame your master?" Ginkgo jumped out: "How can you face your parents in Qinghe?"

"Ginkgo, don't threaten Xiaodie with our parents. Today's events should be thoroughly investigated." Luo Qingyan said, "I implore the old lady to thoroughly investigate the source of the sleeping potion. They used a sleeping potion on me. I don't know if it caused any damage to my body. Please allow the royal physician to examine me."

The old lady, having been immersed in the inner quarters of the household for decades, knew the ins and outs of today's events at a glance. She originally intended to execute Xiaodie according to family rules, but unexpectedly, Cui Rou used a sleeping potion, leaving people with a reason to thoroughly investigate.

"Someone, go and fetch the family physician to examine Consort Luo. Granny Zheng, take some men to search Cui Rou's Liuxing Residence," the old lady ordered.

Cui Rou clenched her handkerchief tightly. She didn't care that they found the sleeping pills; what she cared about was how Pei Shiyuan would see it.

Will Yuan-gege hate her?

Soon, Granny Zheng returned with her men: "Madam, this was found in Miss Cousin's room."

"Physician, please examine me."

The physician took the paper packet, opened it, and smelled it. He confirmed that it was a sleeping potion, and that it was the same kind that Luo Qingyan had been given.

"Rou'er, do you have anything else to say?" The old lady's eyes were cold.

Cui Rou kept saying she loved Yuan'er, but then she turned around and encouraged her maid to climb into Yuan'er's bed to secure his favor. She probably didn't want to win Yuan'er's affection herself!

Her supposed sincerity was just empty talk to gain a good reputation; it's a shame that people actually believed she genuinely wanted to marry Yuan'er.

Cui Rou immediately knelt before the old lady, her face showing aggrieved expression: "Aunt, the young master threw a teacup at me. I sent Xiaodie to cheer him up."

"Nonsense! When has the young master ever been someone who can be pleased by beauty? Cui Rou, you'd better think carefully before you speak." The old lady was furious; how dare he tarnish her son's reputation.

Cui Rou was startled, never having seen her aunt so angry. Without further ado, she said, "Aunt, I admit that what Xiao Die said is true, but in the end, I care about the Crown Prince, and I don't want to lose him."

Ginkgo closed her eyes. Miss is beyond saving; she admitted it so quickly.

The old lady is your aunt; you can easily get away with it by making up any excuse.

If you admit it, people who know the truth will think you've used despicable methods.

They just can't be taught.

"Xiao Die was resold, and Cui Rou was confined to the ancestral hall to reflect on her mistakes."

The old lady gently brushed Cui Rou aside.

Cui Pei is ultimately going to have a marriage alliance. It doesn't matter if there's no real affection involved; how many family-arranged marriages are based on genuine feelings?

If Yuan'er weren't sick, this marriage would have gone ahead regardless of who disagreed.

"Mother, I hereby annul my engagement with Cui Rou." Pei Shiyuan's cold voice pierced through the air.

A marriage alliance is a major event, and breaking off the engagement is absolutely out of the question.

"No way," the old lady said immediately.

Unlike before, Pei Shiyuan was not angry when Cui Rou refused to break off the engagement.

At this moment, he said slowly, "It is widely rumored that Cousin Cui is truly in love with me and will marry no one but me. Even if I die, she will go with me."

"But if people outside knew what you did today, would they think you were sincere towards me? Using sleeping pills and maids to secure your favor in the mansion."

In the afternoon, Cui Rou told him that she didn't want children and only wanted to stay with him. He was still thinking that he had to cut off her thoughts and not fall in love with him, lest he delay his own life.

Now it seems he wasn't wrong; her feelings were just possessiveness.

Cui Rou has been like this since she was a child. She has to keep things she doesn't want and can't give them to others or to people in need.

The rumors circulating outside were spread by Cui Rou, who simply wanted to earn herself a good reputation.

Pei Shiyuan threatened Cui Rou with her reputation, to see if she would still dare not break off the engagement.

As a relative, he hoped that Cui Rou would mature after the engagement was called off, find a better husband, and be less willful.

Upon hearing that it would damage her reputation, Cui Rou wavered. All she wanted was to keep Pei Shiyuan's heart with her. Given her illness, a marriage certificate was never on her radar. If she didn't annul the engagement, Pei Shiyuan would tell everyone what happened today, which would definitely damage her reputation. So, she might as well annul the engagement.

Even after the engagement is called off, she can still stay with Pei Shiyuan in the Duke's mansion and try to keep his heart.

Right now, Pei Shiyuan wants to annul the engagement, but even after that, she still won't leave the Duke's mansion.

She never abandoned him; if word got out, people would only praise her as a devoted and deeply affectionate girl.

"Your Highness, you may withdraw if you wish! I was indeed wrong today, so I will go to the ancestral hall and kneel down."

When Cui Rou looked up, her face had gone from rosy to deathly pale. She was weak and listless, as if she had suffered a major blow and a gust of wind could blow her over.

"No. Marriage is a serious matter and not something you two children can decide." The old lady's tone left no room for argument.

"Anyone who spreads even a single word about what happened today will be punished according to family rules."

"I will spread it." Pei Shiyuan's eyes were icy.

Luo Qingyan glanced at Pei Shiyuan. He was truly doing this for Cui Rou's sake, using every means to make her give up on him.

"Yuan'er, are you trying to drive me crazy?" the old lady said angrily.

"Aunt, please grant my cousin's wish! He's ill, and it wouldn't be good if he got angry and had an attack."

Cui Rou panicked. The old lady refused to break off the engagement. If today's events were to spread, how could she maintain her standing in the capital? Her reputation for being infatuated was known to everyone.

"That's settled for today. Don't bring up the annulment again." The old lady's eyes were sharp. As long as Cui Rou married Yuan'er, there was no problem with her reputation.

"Aunt Luo, what's wrong?" Liu Yue asked in surprise, catching Luo Qingyan as she fell towards her.

Cui Rou has completely broken ties with her.

Luo Qingyan wanted to intensify the effects of the drug and also find out Xiao Die's whereabouts.

She didn't care how much Pei Shiyuan loved Cui Rou; she had to be careful of Cui Rou and protect herself.

Having experienced the tragedy of her past life, she didn't have much sentimentality and truly looked down on Cui Rou for trying to kill herself for love every day.