Who said the eldest daughter is crazy? She's clearly a woman of high rank and influence in the

Qingdai stood under the corridor, staring at her in disbelief. Her young lady used to not even fight back when the second young lady pushed her down the steps, but now the second young lady ran faster than a rabbit—how come the world has turned upside down?

Xi Yueli sat back in the room, carefully wrapped the black iron token again, and stuffed it into her sleeve.

She needed to go out, and the three characters "west, Chen, Tie" engraved on the diary must have a reason. The fact that the token appeared at the same time indicates that the location is most likely where this token can be used.

But as an unmarried legitimate daughter, she couldn't even step out of the Xi family mansion without her father's approval.

She thought for a moment, then took out a box of unused silver ingots from her makeup box, wrapped them in a handkerchief, picked out a moon-white cloak that had never been worn from the cabinet, folded it, and put them all into a lacquered wooden box.

Qingdai, watching from the side, asked softly, "What is the young lady going to do—"

"I'll go to Prince Chen's residence." Xi Yueli closed the lid of the box, clapped her hands, and said, "His Highness Prince Chen helped me out of a predicament last night, so it's only right that I pay him a visit to express my gratitude."

Qingdai opened her mouth, wanting to say, "When did you become so familiar with Prince Chen, Miss?", but swallowed the words back.

There wasn't a single thing her daughter had done these past few days that she could understand, so it was best for her to ask as few questions as possible.

Xi Yueli carried the lacquered wooden box to the front hall. Xi Mingyuan was having breakfast when he saw her walk in. His eyelids twitched.

The image of her sharp and stern demeanor in the ancestral hall last night was still etched in his mind. Seeing her now, dressed in simple clothes and standing quietly at the entrance of the hall, he felt even more uneasy.

"Father," Xi Yueli placed the box on the table, opened the lid to reveal silver ingots and a moon-white cloak inside, "His Highness Prince Chen twice helped me out of trouble last night, and I would like to go to the Prince's residence to thank him in person."

The steamed dumpling on Xi Mingyuan's chopsticks fell back into the dish with a "thud".

He swallowed hard, looking at the lacquered wooden box, then at Xi Yueli's pale, calm face, his mind racing.

Prince Chen did indeed help her out twice, and expressing gratitude is only polite. But what if she uses the excuse of thanking him to go out and do something else...?

But then he thought that if she really did something, staying in the mansion would make him even more uneasy.

After last night's farce, Fang was confined to her quarters, and undercurrents were swirling within the mansion. Letting his already unpredictable daughter out for half a day allowed him to catch his breath.

"You…" He hesitated, his gaze sweeping over the box. "Bringing this is too meager. What doesn't the Prince Chen's residence have? You'd be better off going empty-handed."

"What I'm bringing isn't a gift, but my heartfelt sentiment," Xi Yueli replied neither humbly nor arrogantly. "If Father feels it's inappropriate for me to go out alone, he can simply send two servants to accompany me, waiting at the gate of the Prince's residence."

Xi Mingyuan was silent for a moment, then finally waved his hand, "Go. Be back before 5 PM."

Xi Yueli smiled slightly, her first smile of the day. She picked up the box, turned and left the front hall. Qingdai had already prepared a carriage and was waiting outside the second gate.

As the carriage drove through the streets of the capital, Xi Yueli lifted a corner of the curtain to look outside.

This was her first time leaving the mansion in months, and the bustling streets came into view.

The shouts of candied hawthorn vendors, the signs of silk shops, the storytelling in teahouses, and the rising steam from wonton stalls—these things became a living map in her eyes.

Xi Yueli's gaze swept over every signboard on the street corner and the entrance to every side alley, silently memorizing the layout of the road along the way.

She saw a faded wooden sign hanging at the entrance of a narrow alley, which read "Xihuai Alley". Deep inside the alley, the roofs of gray-walled, blue-tiled houses were crowded together in layers.

As she pondered those three words, the carriage stopped in front of the vermilion gates of the Prince Chen's residence.

Prince Chen, Helian Jing, was not of royal blood. When the emperor was still a prince, he had a close friendship with a man surnamed Helian. Later, his friend passed away, leaving behind his only son, who was taken into the emperor's residence and raised by him.

The imperial family gave him a surname and a title, as well as the power of the Tian Shu Si (Heavenly Pivot Office). He was in charge of the secret guards, inspected all officials, and carried out all the shady tasks that could not be brought to light. He was a knife placed in the shadows by the emperor, sharp, invisible, and merciless in its path.

As soon as Xi Yueli stepped out of the carriage, before she could even have Qingdai announce her arrival, a gray-clad steward hurried out from inside the gate, bowing respectfully: "Miss Xi, His Highness is inside the manor. Please follow me."

Xi Yueli paused for a moment while holding the gift box. She had intended to put down the gift and leave, but she didn't expect Helian Jingren to be in the mansion, with the steward waiting at the door—he had predicted that she would come today.

She had no time to think it through and could only follow the steward through two courtyards, past a rockery screen, and into a side hall.

Helian Jing sat on a low couch by the window, holding a book in his hand. He raised his eyes when he heard footsteps.

Today he was wearing a dark blue brocade robe, with narrow black wrist guards tied at the cuffs. His hair was still tied up with that plain silver hairpin. Sunlight slanted in from the window and fell on his profile, making him look both lazy and sharp.

"Here I am," he said casually, as if he had been waiting for a long time.

Xi Yueli placed the gift box on the table and bowed respectfully: "Thank you, Your Highness, for rescuing me twice. I have nothing to repay you with, so I have prepared some small gifts to express my gratitude. I hope Your Highness will accept them."

Helian Jing put down his book, glanced at the lacquered wooden box, then looked at her. "A small gift? What kind of gift?"

Xi Yueli: "...silver ingots and a cloak."

Helian Jing leaned back on the couch, tilted his head, and smiled slightly: "This prince has no shortage of silver ingots, nor does he lack cloaks."

Xi Yueli remained expressionless: "What does Your Highness lack?"

"We need someone to tell the truth." Helian Jing stood up, walked over from the window, and stopped in front of her. He looked down at her, the laziness in his eyes lessening, revealing a hint of inquiry.

"When you said those words in the ancestral hall last night, were you faking it, or were you telling the truth?"

Xi Yueli met his gaze and blinked. She had already prepared her words, and her face showed complete innocence.

"Your Highness, I don't remember what happened last night."

"Can't remember?"

"Dissociative identity disorder." She pointed to her temple. "Your Highness knows that you can forget yesterday's events today."

"The things I said and did in the ancestral hall last night, when I woke up today, are now just a faint... blurry shadow."

Helian Jing looked at her, his gaze darkening. Every word she spoke was impeccable, and the expression on her face was just right, a mix of bewilderment and slight guilt, like a patient feeling helpless and powerless about her illness.

But looking at the barely suppressed light in her eyes, he knew perfectly well that she was lying.

He didn't call him out, but gently changed the subject: "So you came today just to bring this little 'small gift'?"

Xi Yueli clenched her hand in her sleeve, her expression still gentle and harmless: "Actually... there's one more small matter."

"Speak." Helian Jing raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Is Your Highness busy?" She looked up at him, the sunlight falling on her face from the side, making her almond-shaped eyes slightly bright.

"I rarely go out, and I'd like to stroll through the market. If Your Highness has nothing else to do, would you mind accompanying me?"

She herself felt it was a bit outrageous when she said that. She was Prince Chen, and she was an unfavored legitimate daughter of the Xi family. They had only met twice, and she was asking a dignified prince to accompany her shopping.

But she had no other choice. She was completely unfamiliar with the streets and alleys of the capital. If she only relied on the few glances she made through the corner of the carriage curtain, she could not piece together the complete layout of the neighborhood.

She needed a legitimate reason to make the trip, and the most logical person to use at this moment was His Highness Prince Chen, to whom she owed two favors.