Xiao Hezhen and Wu Xufan returned to the carriage at the entrance of the palace.
The carriage headed towards Marquis Wu’s Mansion.
Along the way, it was relatively quiet.
Wu Xufan, pretending as if nothing had happened, carelessly admired the scenery outside the carriage, not saying a word.
The carriage arrived at Marquis Wu’s Mansion.
When Wu Xufan got off the carriage, he turned his head and just looked at Xiao Hezhen.
Xiao Hezhen felt Wu Xufan’s gaze but did not return it; she got up, ready to disembark from the carriage.
But Wu Xufan suddenly seized her.
Xiao Hezhen glared fiercely at Wu Xufan.
At this moment, she truly did not want to entangle with Wu Xufan.
From yesterday to today, she was exhausted.
Rundown, both mentally and physically, she needed rest now.
She did not want to speak a single word to Wu Xufan.
"Does it hurt a lot?" Wu Xufan asked her coldly.
Xiao Hezhen’s eyes tightened.
An unexpected tear just fell.
And at that moment, Xiao Hezhen realized she was unknowingly covered in tears.
She turned her head away, not wanting to let Wu Xufan see her current state.
She did not want him to see her, vulnerable side.
"Beg me!" Wu Xufan said coldly.
Looking at Xiao Hezhen’s indifferent facade, he coldly threatened.
It was always lackluster.
He wouldn’t even get an extra glance from her.
What about Yuan Wenkang then?!
An eternity in a single glance, right?!
Grinding his teeth, he said, "Beg me, and I’ll let you go back to the Imperial Palace, to see your lover..."
"I don’t have a lover," Xiao Hezhen stated coldly.
She didn’t know when Wu Xufan discovered her feelings for Yuan Wenkang.
She had always thought that no one knew about her and Yuan Wenkang.
It was their secret, just between the two of them.
If she knew, then Wu Xufan might as well.
Of course, she would not blame anyone.
But she could choose not to admit it.
She must not admit it.
If she admitted it, Yuan Wenkang would die.
No matter if Yuan Wenkang harbored inappropriate thoughts towards her or not.
If a Princess harbors feelings for him, it is a capital offense.
"Heh." Wu Xufan scoffed.
How painful was that smile?
Xiao Hezhen was protecting Yuan Wenkang, wasn’t she?!
Afraid that once discovered, Yuan Wenkang would lose his head.
Xiao Hezhen didn’t want to entangle with Wu Xufan.
Even less did she want him to truly know about her relationship with Yuan Wenkang.
She moved her arm, trying to make Wu Xufan let go.
But Wu Xufan clutched even tighter.
The pain made Xiao Hezhen frown.
But she just turned her head and glared fiercely at Wu Xufan, without saying another word.
Wu Xufan just looked at Xiao Hezhen like that, watching her disgust and tolerance for him.
So, to Xiao Hezhen, she would rather die of pain than demean herself by begging him, right?!
She just had to say "It hurts."
She just had to say one sentence to him.
He would have let her go.
She just endured it like that, completely ignoring and despising him.
Wu Xufan voluntarily let go of Xiao Hezhen’s arm.
Because he saw the tears in her eyes, continuously welling up, yet forcibly swallowed back.
Xiao Hezhen, now free, immediately turned and stepped out of the carriage.
Even looking at him one more time felt annoying, right?!
"Does it hurt?" Wu Xufan asked her back.
Xiao Hezhen paused momentarily.
Still, she gave no response.
Just leaving him there, she walked away.
Wu Xufan just sat in the carriage, suddenly not wanting to get down.
His vision started to blur.
He wanted to tell Xiao Hezhen.
"Young Master." Outside the carriage, the servants were calling him.
Because it had been a long time, and the Young Master had not gotten off the carriage, they were wondering if he had fallen asleep inside.
"To the Imperial Palace." Wu Xufan turned and coldly commanded.
"..." The servant was puzzled.
Wu Xufan did not feel the need to explain.
If Xiao Hezhen cared so much about Yuan Wenkang, didn’t she?!
He would help her, to meet this man!
Wu Xufan returned to the Imperial Palace.
Because of Xiao Jinxing being favored by the Emperor, everyone in Daxuan Kingdom knew that Xiao Jinxing and he were very close, so as Xiao Jinxing’s closest person, entering and leaving the Imperial Palace was naturally not that difficult, even, finding some connections to see the imprisoned Yuan Wenkang was also easy.
Yuan Wenkang was detained in a temporary jail within the palace.
This place was mostly for taking punishments, usually not for sentencing.
Once the punishment was over, they would be released.
In other words, if someone came to plead, he could be directly taken away.