After Prime Minister Qin’s confidant left, Madame Qin knocked on his study door.
In fact, Madame Qin had come to Prime Minister Qin’s study many times before, but the servants guarding outside had repeatedly stopped her from knocking.
Thus, Madame Qin could only wait with curiosity until Qin Zhihong dismissed his confidant before daring to knock.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
"My Lord, may I come in?" Madame Qin spoke directly.
As a result, she still waited for a long time before hearing a response from inside.
"Come in!"
Only then did Madame Qin push open his study door. The moment she opened her eyes, she saw the large scab on Prime Minister Qin’s forehead, which immediately startled her.
"My Lord, you're injured. Why didn't you call a doctor to treat your wound?"
"It's nothing."
Prime Minister Qin replied indifferently with just two words.
"But that won't do! Look, your face is covered in blood, and so are your collar and sleeves."
Madame Qin became anxious.
"These are trivial matters. It's good enough that I could leave the palace and saved my life."
As Prime Minister Qin said this, his heart ached.
At this moment, Madame Qin immediately inquired about Qin Xixue’s situation.
"My Lord, how is Xue'er's matter? Did the Emperor agree to let us see her?"
"I have already obtained an imperial decree from the Emperor. He has agreed to let us see Xue'er once," Prime Minister Qin said with a desolate smile.
"Then did you see Xue'er before returning to the mansion? What is Xue'er’s current condition?" Madame Qin looked at Prime Minister Qin with great anticipation.
"No!" Prime Minister Qin answered affirmatively.
"Then what are you waiting for? Let's go to the prison to see her now."
The moment Madame Qin mentioned Qin Xixue, her demeanor became very agitated.
"Madam, can you please calm down? Xue'er is safe in the prison for now. We cannot waste this opportunity just to see her. We must make the most of it."
"Then what should we do now?"
"Let me think about it first. We can talk about other matters tomorrow."
"Alright, then I'll go back to my room to rest. You think slowly."
Saying this, Madame Qin opened Qin Zhihong's study door and prepared to leave.
Unexpectedly, just as Madame Qin stepped out of the doorway, Prime Minister Qin called out to her.
"Madam, please have someone find a doctor to treat the wound on my forehead, and instruct the servants to prepare a hot bath for me."
"My Lord, I am feeling unwell today. Please have the servants make arrangements."
Madame Qin, harboring resentment, did not respond to Qin Zhihong and continued to walk out of the study, disappearing from his sight.
Madame Qin's actions immediately made Prime Minister Qin tremble with anger. This wife of his was truly a headache.
…
In the evening, as darkness gradually deepened.
After the Cold King and his consort returned to their residence, they first went to the royal couple’s small detached villa to visit Madame Wen.
As soon as they entered the villa’s moon gate, they saw Madame Wen, dressed in a plain colored long gown, sitting on a stone bench in her courtyard, holding a white steamed bun and idly feeding two koi in a small pond.
The Cold King and his consort walked towards Madame Wen with light steps.
After a few steps, Madame Wen also turned around and looked at them.
Upon seeing that the visitors were the Cold King and his consort, she immediately stood up and bowed slightly to them.
"This commoner pays her respects to the Cold King and the Cold Consort!"
"Madame Wen, there is no need for such formalities!" Leng Ruoli said with a gentle smile.
She carefully observed Madame Wen’s complexion. The color on both cheeks had returned to normal, but she still appeared listless.
"Your Highness, Consort, do you have any news of Lin Zhenfan?" Madame Wen asked casually.
"Madame Wen, Lin Zhenfan has already fled to Yingzhou," Leng Ruoli replied truthfully.
"Yingzhou? Heh! That's where he and I first met back then."
When Madame Wen mentioned the place name Yingzhou, the scene of her and Lin Zhenfan meeting years ago appeared in her mind.
"Oh, you met in Yingzhou back then too," Leng Ruoli said with some surprise.
"Yes, back then I ran away from my father to play at the border of Tianwu. While boating in the Baye Lake in Yingzhou, I accidentally fell into the lake. It was Lin Zhenfan who rescued me from the lake. However, he wasn’t called Lin Zhenfan at that time," Madame Wen explained in a calm voice.
"Oh, I see!" Leng Ruoli responded casually after hearing this.
Subsequently, Leng Ruoli changed the subject and asked, "Madame Wen, how are you finding living in this courtyard?"
"Cold Consort, thank you for your concern. This commoner prefers quiet. I am living quite well in this small detached villa," Madame Wen replied with a slight smile.
"I heard from a maid just now that you have been in low spirits these past few days, so I specifically came to check on you."
"Thank you for your concern, Cold Consort. With these two koi accompanying me every day, my mood is okay, and I haven't been thinking too much about other things."
"That's good. If you need anything, please feel free to let the maids find me and His Highness."
"Mm-hmm!" Madame Wen nodded with a smile.
"Then His Highness and I will not disturb you any further!"
With that, Leng Ruoli waved goodbye to Madame Wen.
Afterward, the Cold King and his consort went to Yin Chen’s room. Before they even entered the room, they could hear Yin Chen and Ling'er’s voices from inside.
"Ling'er, my chest still hurts a lot?" Yin Chen said with a frown.
"Brother, are you lying to me? Your injuries have been healing for a long time, and there are no scars on the wound anymore. How can it still hurt? Regardless, I must return to Hanchen Yuan today to attend to the Consort."
Hearing Yin Chen’s words, Ling'er was filled with great displeasure towards him.
"Doesn't Xing'er also attend to the Consort?" Yin Chen added.
"With only Sister Xing'er by the Consort's side, how can she manage all the work? Moreover, the Consort is accustomed to only me and Sister Xing'er serving her," Ling'er said somewhat angrily.
"Then what should I do?" Yin Chen suddenly felt a pang of jealousy.
"Once your body has recovered, you should also return to serve His Highness. Don't you see Brother Yeying working busily every day, not even having time to drink a sip of water? Don't you want to share some of his burdens?"
Ling'er was quite eloquent when lecturing.
"Alright, you are right. I should indeed go and share the worries of His Highness and Yeying."
Yin Chen also agreed with Ling'er's words.
"Cough, cough!"
At this moment, Leng Ruoli deliberately cleared her throat twice before entering Yin Chen’s room.
She saw Yin Chen lying on the bed, propped up on his elbow, looking at Xing'er with a roguish expression.
Upon seeing the Cold King and his consort enter, he quickly got up from the bed and, along with Ling'er, respectfully saluted them.
Yin Chen: "Your subordinate greets His Highness and the Consort!"
Ling'er: "This servant greets His Highness and the Consort!"
"Both of you may rise! We heard you two chatting quite happily outside the door just now. So we specifically came in to see you. How are you? Has Yin Chen's body recovered?" Leng Ruoli teased intentionally.