When Fu Yanghong arrived, the Princess Consort was in full fury, berating Zhou Sichun’s younger brother until his lips trembled with rage. The young man was shouting that he would take the matter to Fu Yanghong for justice.

“Go on, then! I’m not stopping you. I’d love to see how he justifies this! A concubine’s brother strutting around under the name of the Prince of Ping’s residence, bullying men and harassing women—if he dares to side with you, I’ll take this straight to the court!”

Fu Yanghong’s chest seized with panic, nearly knocking him out cold. He stormed over, hissing, “What nonsense are you spewing?!”

The Princess Consort met his darkened face without the slightest fear—she had the upper hand. “You came just in time. He was swaggering around outside using your title to cheat and swindle, nearly caused a deadly dispute. I happened to catch him red-handed. And wasn’t it you who arranged this post for him? So tell me—what do you plan to do now?”

Zhou Sichun’s brother collapsed to his knees before Fu Yanghong. “Brother-in-law, I—I didn’t mean to. It was just a slip, truly. Please believe me, I’ll be more careful from now on!”

Blood surged to Fu Yanghong’s head. With a furious growl, he kicked the man aside, glaring at him with bitter disappointment. Then he turned to the Princess Consort, his expression softening with placation. “This… this is a family matter, after all. You know what they say—domestic shame should not be made public…”

The Princess Consort let out a cold laugh. “You consider that kind of person family? Don’t drag me into it. Even Zhou Sichun wants nothing to do with him, and yet you insist on shielding him?”

Frustration gnawed at Fu Yanghong. As if he wanted to? The man was crude and brainless—easy to control and useful. There were certain dirty deeds he couldn’t do himself, and this fool was the perfect pawn. Without him, things would get far more complicated.

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But the Princess Consort showed no intention of backing down. She truly had evidence in hand—this madwoman might very well go through with her threat and report him. Fu Yanghong had no choice but to vent his fury on the useless fool who had ruined everything.

“You made this mess. Figure it out yourself. I won’t help you anymore!”

“Brother-in-law, please, help me! Save me, brother-in-law!”

The Princess Consort stood watching the chaotic scene unfold before her, thoroughly delighted.

Yi’er truly was clever! He’d seen her grievances and handed the evidence straight to her so she could take revenge. He was right—she’d been too meek, too eager to compromise, and that had made Fu Yanghong think she was easy to bully time and again.

Now that she had Yi’er behind her, she’d make sure Fu Yanghong understood what she was truly capable of.

Unaware of the malice that flashed in Fu Yanghong’s eyes the moment her back was turned, she strutted off with pride.

Fu Yanghong had the fool dragged out like the disgrace he was, already calculating who else might be of use. He hadn’t wanted to involve his own son, but if push came to shove, he might have no choice.

Fu Xiao was too rigid, too bound by rules—that wouldn’t do. But Fu Yi… he was becoming more and more to his liking: clever, quick-witted, sharp. If only he weren’t so devoted to that foolish woman!

…

When the court’s reply finally came, the expedition to the southwest resumed.

To anyone watching, Bai Qingqing seemed unchanged—cheerful, well-rested, chatting and laughing like nothing had happened. It looked as though she had recovered from the encounter with the mountain bandits.

But only she knew the truth: she hadn’t.

At night, she burned more and more sleep incense. Afraid someone might notice, she always aired out the scent before dawn. Even so, her hours of actual sleep were growing shorter by the day.

She had become afraid of sleep.