She refused to marry.

"Ah? Tell me about it." Su Wanwan stepped forward excitedly.

"Shen Linfeng contracted an illness, was imprisoned with no medicine to cure him, and suffered unbearable itching, so he castrated himself," Lu Huai'an said.

Su Wanwan frowned. "The prison is heavily guarded. Who gave him the knife?"

"Perhaps someone accidentally fell in," Lu Huai'an chuckled softly.

"It's you?" Su Wanwan raised her eyebrows.

"Shh..." Lu Huai'an whispered.

Seeing this, the jailer announced, "Time's up!"

After Lu Huai'an left.

Su Wanwan handed another meat pie to Feng Chenjun, saying, "Your Majesty, please rise and have your meal."

Xiao Xuanjing sat up, leaning against the wall, his gaze falling on Su Wanwan's face. "When did Miss Su meet such a friend?"

"A few months ago." Su Wanwan chewed on the beef jerky that Lu Huai'an had brought.

"Do you know him?" Xiao Xuanjing tore open the pancake.

"All I know is that he was a salt merchant." Su Wanwan looked down at the remaining beef.

"You consider him a friend based on this alone?" Xiao Xuanjing's gaze was fixed on him.

Su Wanwan turned her head, "Why do you need to know so much? We're just friends. It's enough that we'd go to great lengths for each other. Do you really need to know how many people are in his family, whether he's married, how many concubines he has, how many children he has, whether his parents are alive, or how much fertile land and shops he owns?"

Xiao Xuanjing twitched his lips.

"We're all locked up, yet Lu Huai'an risked being implicated to come and visit us. People who usually fawn over the emperor practically wear out the door. Why is no one coming to visit the emperor?" Su Wanwan said angrily.

The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

It felt as if most of the air had been sucked away.

Su Wanwan handed over the remaining beef: "I can't chew it."

She didn't want to be held accountable by Feng Chenjun after she left.

Xiao Xuanjing took it and took a bite.

"Miss Su is right."

Su Wanwan looked at Feng Chenjun in surprise, almost dropping the beef in her hand.

She thought he would respond with a cold face as usual, or simply ignore her.

I didn't expect him to admit it.

Xiao Xuanjing lowered his eyes and slowly chewed the piece of beef jerky.

She's absolutely right.

Since entering the imperial court, he has been like a lone minister, a pawn.

He was used to being alone, used to walking in the shadows, used to suppressing all his emotions deep inside, to the point that he could hardly find himself anymore.

Indifference can deter all surrounding crises and also isolate warmth.

Su Wanwan chewed on beef jerky. "Sigh, let's go out first. If we can't get out, it's no use having many friends. Besides, I don't have many friends in the capital, just Lu Huai'an."

Xiao Xuanjing frowned when he heard the name Lu Huai'an.

Seeing Su Wanwan's expression, he suppressed the words in his heart.

The next day, Su Wanwan was still startled awake by the sound of the door opening, her hands tightly gripping her sleeves.

Fortunately, it wasn't a jailer who came in this time, but a pale-faced old eunuch.

He held the imperial edict in his hand.

Su Wanwan quickly knelt down.

The old man unfolded the imperial edict and read it aloud in a shrill voice:

"By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Although Fengchen Jun Xiao Xuanjing has no signs of rebellion, his actions are disorderly and have affected the court."

Considering that Xuanjing has always been diligent and meritorious to the country, and has already been severely punished as a warning, his merits and demerits are now balanced. He is spared the death penalty, but is removed from his position as a cabinet member and his salary is reduced for three years, in order to observe his future conduct.

After recovering from his injuries, he was ordered to enter the Imperial Study to teach the princes and princesses classics and history. So be it.

Xiao Xuanjing prostrated himself on the ground, his voice hoarse: "Your subject accepts the imperial decree and expresses his gratitude."

The old eunuch handed over the imperial edict and added in a low voice, "Your Majesty, His Majesty said that you should go to the Imperial Study after your injuries have healed; there's no rush. However, you need not worry about matters of state from now on."

Xiao Xuanjing accepted the imperial edict with a blank expression.

After the eunuch left, Su Wanwan jumped up in front of Feng Chenjun and said, "Your Majesty, you have survived a great calamity, and you are sure to have good fortune in the future."

Xiao Xuanjing threw the imperial edict into her arms.

Su Wanwan was speechless.

Although I was met with a cold shoulder, I was still very curious about the imperial edict, as it was the first time I had ever handled one.

"Aren't you leaving yet?" Xiao Xuanjing looked down at the woman.

Su Wanwan hurriedly put away the imperial edict and helped Feng Chenjun walk out.

As they stepped out of the gate, the Princess's carriage was already waiting. Upon seeing this, the servants rushed forward to help Feng Chenjun into the carriage, and it sped away.

Su Wanwan turned around and walked towards home.

A carriage stopped in front of her, and Lu Huai'an got off. "Wanwan, get in the carriage."

Considering her reputation, Lu Huai'an took her to a mansion.

He only appeared at the doorstep after he had finished washing up and showering.

When Wang saw her, she asked worriedly, "Where have you been these past few days? Why didn't you tell your mother?"

Looking at Lu Huai'an, who had brought her back, Zhao said, "Oh, Second Sister-in-law, this is a big deal! How can a woman associate with a lowly merchant? How will she ever get married if word gets out?"

Su Wanwan bowed and said, "Third Aunt, you're overthinking it. Something happened at the estate, and I left in a hurry, which is why I didn't have time to tell you."

"What happened that you didn't even have a chance to pass on the message? If it's just a fling, that's one thing... but don't let it implicate the sisters in the family..." Zhao said.

Wang's face immediately turned ugly.