Perhaps Xie Ming'an's warning had worked.
A month passed, and King Shu and Princess Consort Qi made no further moves.
Every time Shen Ningning went to the palace to play with Mo Lingwei, she would hear that Princess Consort Qi had been heartbroken ever since the Ninth Prince left.
She spent all day in her chambers, refusing visitors and devoting herself to chanting Buddhist scriptures.
Even when the Emperor inquired about her well-being several times, she only answered from behind her door.
If Shen Ningning hadn't known what she was really like, she might have actually believed the woman had turned over a new leaf.
「Early autumn arrived.」
Shen Ningning went to her shop to check the accounts one day.
Unexpectedly, just as she arrived, Wuer came running over. "Miss, there was a beggar lying by the door last night. His face was disfigured beyond recognition and he was on the brink of death, but he kept insisting on seeing you."
