Denghuangtai

The investigation uncovered the mastermind behind the assassination of the imperial envoy. Pei Qingyan, on the verge of death after being assassinated, escaped and used the excuse of recuperating to stay in the capital, which the emperor granted. The Ice Silkworm was delivered, but Pei Qingyan didn't give it to him directly. Yun Zheng learned of this and felt she was using the Ice Silkworm to blackmail him, deepening the misunderstanding.

Pei Qingyan didn't explain, only saying she would contact him again in three days. Pei Qingyan recuperated at her residence, but due to her weakness, she couldn't remove the iron chains for the time being. Three days later, she personally delivered medicine, using her heart's blood as a medicinal ingredient. Pei Qingyan outwardly claimed that she was increasing her bargaining power with Yun Zheng, because when the Ice Silkworm was used in medicine, only the heart's blood of the same person could be used as a medicinal ingredient. Yun Zheng was furious, feeling that Pei Qingyan had ulterior motives and would stop at nothing to achieve her goals. But in reality, Pei Qingyan used her own heart's blood because she had been bitten by the Ice Silkworm and poisoned when she tried to obtain it. After being detoxified, she developed resistance to the Ice Silkworm's poison, and only her heart's blood could counteract the toxins produced when the Ice Silkworm was used in medicine.

After Pei Qingyan obtained her heart's blood, she discussed cooperation with Yun Zheng. Upon learning that it was to investigate her father's death, Yun Zheng angrily declared that if he had known it was to save Pei Qingyan's father, he would never have agreed. (This again highlights the deep-seated feud between the two families: your father rose to prominence, while my father's remains are nowhere to be found…)

Just as Pei Qingyan was about to speak, she fainted again due to weakness from blood loss. When she awoke, she found Yun Zheng's grandmother sitting by her bedside. The old lady's concern touched a soft spot in Pei Qingyan's heart, reminding her of happy times past. Just as the two were enjoying their moment together, Yun Zheng entered, breaking the silence. Yun Zheng sent his grandmother away and laid down three rules with Pei Qingyan: she must stay away from his grandmother. Yun Zheng felt Pei Qingyan had ulterior motives and didn't want his grandmother to see her once-beloved junior in this state.

As agreed, Yun Zheng lent several people to Pei Qingyan, and Pei Qingyan began her investigation. She started by checking the servants in her household. Most of the servants had left with the Princess, and those remaining, except for the wet nurse and the head steward, were all new faces. Pei Qingyan went to visit the Princess's residence but was refused entry. The Princess sent someone to tell Pei Qingyan to focus on recovering from her injuries and return to the northern border to guard the frontier, and not to cause trouble in the capital. When Pei Qingyan returned home, she found signs that her room had been ransacked, but without any evidence, she didn't know who had done it.

So she left one of the men she borrowed from Yun Zheng to secretly monitor them, hoping to catch them red-handed next time. Pei Qingyan left the capital to try and find her father's old comrades who had fought alongside her. These men had been protecting her closely since her father returned to the capital, and Pei Qingyan knew where their hometowns were. But when Pei Qingyan went to search for them, she discovered that none of them had returned to their hometowns; their families all thought they were still in the capital.

Pei Qingyan sensed that most of her former subordinates were in grave danger. Just as she was about to head home in despair, a severely injured man stopped her. This man was one of the former subordinates Pei Qingyan was looking for. Before he could say much to Pei Qingyan, he had already fainted.

Pei Qingyan then arranged for Yun Zheng's men to settle him in a villa in the suburbs. She felt that his appearance was too coincidental and suspicious. She used Yun Zheng's men again because at this moment, they were the only ones who had no connection with her family's affairs.

She returned to the capital, and it was time for Old Madam Dou to take the Ice Silkworm for the second time. Pei Qingyan once again drew blood as a medicinal ingredient. Yun Zheng secretly watched Pei Qingyan draw blood, his feelings extremely complicated. On one hand, he hated Pei Qingyan and vowed to make Pei Qingyan pay for her father's sins. On the other hand, seeing Pei Qingyan's weak appearance, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He could only brainwash himself, saying that he wasn't taking action now because Pei Qingyan's blood was still useful. After he had used Pei Qingyan and cured his grandmother's illness, he would take action.

After having her blood drawn, Pei Qingyan dragged her weakened body back to her residence. The guards she had arranged to secretly observe the situation reported that they had apprehended the person who had been searching her room. The person searching was none other than the chief steward left behind by Pei Qingyan's father, but when Pei Qingyan questioned him about the reason, he refused to say. Pei Qingyan intended to interrogate him further, but then news arrived that the Princess had invited her to her residence.

Pei Qingyan could only order the chief secretary to be locked up while she went to her appointment. Upon entering, the first thing the princess said to her was to immediately return to the north and never participate in the affairs of the capital again. Upon hearing this, Pei Qingyan immediately retorted, asking if the princess knew something. However, the princess refused to answer directly, instead saying that she didn't want to see the Pei family and told Pei Qingyan to get away immediately and stop getting in her way.

Pei Qingyan tried to extract some useful information from the Princess, but the Princess saw through his plan and immediately ordered him to be escorted out. The person who saw Pei Qingyan off was an old woman who served the Princess and had watched Pei Qingyan grow up. As they walked together, the old woman unintentionally revealed to Pei Qingyan a piece of information he had never known before.