Consort Rong just glanced at Yun Jiao and walked away.

Yun Jiao left the palace gate and boarded the carriage, quickly returning to Renxin Hall.

Gu Yuheng saw her return, first scrutinizing her from top to bottom.

Yang Ying laughed nearby, "Uncle Gu, I see Jiao Jiao didn’t lose a single strand of hair, you can rest assured now."

Gu Yuheng smiled and walked away.

Yun Jiao continued with the consultations.

In the evening, when Jiang Youzhi came over, a few of them had dinner and returned home together.

On the carriage, Yun Jiao recounted the events, sighing afterward, "I was impulsive."

"Today I realized that His Majesty truly favors Consort Rong."

"Although this matter is resolved and Consort Rong suffered a loss, I just thought, in the future, Consort Rong will inevitably speak ill of us in front of His Majesty."

"Perhaps initially, His Majesty might not care, but over time, there’s no guarantee he won’t take it to heart."

"I just worry about how His Majesty will treat you—"

Jiang Youzhi pulled her over, letting her lean on his shoulder, gently stroking her head, and spoke slowly, "When I was young, I thought, someday I must be second to none."

"I want to stand high in the court, wielding power and authority."

"But when I finally sat in this position, I realized the court is darker and dirtier than you can imagine."

"High office and riches actually don’t mean much; it doesn’t matter whether I hold this position or not."

"My only purpose as Grand Secretary now is to recover Dingjing."

He said indifferently, "As for whether Consort Rong will say things against me to His Majesty, it’s not important."

"His Majesty is determined to reclaim the northern territories. Before then, no matter how many doubts and fears he has about me and my father, he won’t move against us because he still needs us."

"When sly rabbits die, hunting dogs are cooked; the sly rabbit hasn’t died, so the hunting dog is safe." Yun Jiao sighed softly.

Jiang Youzhi pondered her words, nodding slightly, "When we’ve accomplished what we want, my father will retire, and I will resign and live in seclusion."

Yun Jiao, "That’s good, just like Fan Li, sailing on rivers and seas is nice. I’ll accompany you then."

Jiang Youzhi was gently stroking Yun Jiao’s head, suddenly stopped his hand, "Who is Fan Li?" 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Yun Jiao: "······"

She spoke her mind directly.

She murmured vaguely, "Someone."

Jiang Youzhi was quite dissatisfied with her perfunctory answer, lowered his head, kissed her once, "Who is it?"

Yun Jiao had no choice but to recount the story of enduring hardship to accomplish great things.

Jiang Youzhi listened with deep thought.

He had read quite a few books and was familiar with historical texts, but he never knew there were two states named Wu and Yue in history.

Thinking about how Yun Jiao sometimes comes up with words he’s never heard before, as well as poker and mahjong, Jiang Youzhi fell into contemplation.

As the carriage stopped at the second gate of the Duke Mansion, Jiang Youzhi came back to his senses.

He took Yun Jiao’s hand and exited the carriage to return indoors.

Yun Jiao went inside, removed her hairpins and ornaments, took out two knitting needles and a ball of yarn, and began weaving.

Jiang Youzhi picked a book and sat a short distance away.

A maid brought in a card, and Yun Jiao didn’t stop, just glanced over.

It was an invitation from Princess Huaiqing, inviting Yun Jiao to the Princess Mansion to listen to the zither and admire flowers three days later.

Yun Jiao thought for a moment, and decided she must attend Princess Huaiqing’s invitation; she had to show face to Princess Huaiqing.