The sudden invitation surprised Yu Qi, and Xie Jin Yan's face showed suspicion.

The two looked at each other, and after a moment of eye contact, they tacitly moved towards the outside of the pavilion.

Along the way, Xie Jin Yan was worried, and Yu Qi was even more conflicted.

He hoped that his younger sister would recognize him, and at the same time, he hoped that his younger sister would not recognize him.

As an older brother, he naturally wanted to recognize his younger sister. But as an older brother, he was also afraid of his sister seeing him in such a terrible state, seeing the once high-spirited Eldest Young Master Yu reduced to a eunuch, constantly prostrating on the ground doing lowly, servile work.

Xie Jin Yan's mood was even heavier. He was afraid that what he was worried about would eventually come to light, and that Yu Qingwu would realize something and misunderstand him…

The two men, in a hurry and with suppressed expressions, stepped into the main courtyard.

Yu Qingwu, who should have been lying in bed, was now sitting on a chair with soft cushions in the front hall, dressed in a moon-white plain dress, with a simple Suiyun bun hairstyle, and a snow-white jade hairpin pinned on the side, which made her already pale face even more pitiful.

Seeing Xie Jin Yan enter the door, she immediately got up with the help of a maid and saluted him, "This concubine greets His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"Why did you get up for no reason?" Xie Jin Yan was a little angry.

He reached out to help Yu Qingwu up, and ordered a maid beside him to bring another coat to put on her, then leaned down and sat beside her, gently holding her hand, and asked softly, "If there's anything you want to say, why couldn't you say it inside? You're still injured, and there's wind blowing outside. What if it gets worse?"

Hearing this, Yu Qingwu smiled, enduring the pain, and gently replied, "There is wind blowing outside, but this room is tightly sealed, where is there any wind? Besides, I'm just injured, not paralyzed in bed, so why can't I get up?"

As she spoke, Yu Qingwu winked at the maid, who immediately retreated and closed the door. Feng Yuan and Granny Xun also retreated, standing guard outside the door with great tacit understanding.

For a moment, only Yu Qingwu, Xie Jin Yan, and Yu Qi were left in the hall.

Xie Jin Yan and Yu Qingwu were fine, but Yu Qi was a little embarrassed for some reason.

Although he secretly protected Yu Qingwu, he had not recognized her after all, and he didn't know what Yu Qingwu wanted to do by calling him here as well.

As usual, Yu Qi still wore a respectful and serious expression in front of Yu Qingwu, stood upright to the side, coughed lightly, and asked Yu Qingwu in a gentle voice, "I wonder what instructions the Crown Princess has for this servant?"

"It's nothing, I just want to give Internal Attendant Yu something." Yu Qingwu smiled, her expression gentle and kind, and said, "When I was in the palace, Internal Attendant Yu took care of me a lot, and also said some encouraging words to me when I was in trouble. At that time, those words were like sending charcoal in the snow to me. A few days ago, Internal Attendant Yu went to Shu to clear my name and save my life. In my heart, I have already regarded Internal Attendant Yu as a friend."

Yu Qingwu carefully took out a brocade box from her bosom and handed it to him, "I don't have anything valuable to give you, so I'll give you this longevity lock, hoping it can protect Internal Attendant Yu."

As she spoke, Yu Qingwu had already taken out the silver longevity lock and handed it to Yu Qi with a smile.

The moment he saw the longevity lock, Yu Qi's body shook violently.

But soon, he regained his composure and quickly declined, "Crown Princess is too polite, this servant didn't say anything, I can't accept such a generous gift."

A generous gift?

It was just a silver longevity lock, how could it be considered a generous gift?

Yu Qingwu's eyes smiled, and her suspicion deepened.

Remembering what Ling'er and her cousin Yu Zhen said when they came to see her, and thinking of Yu Qi's care for her when he was in the palace, and then thinking of what the emperor said... that the two of them looked alike.

Although she had seen her brother's body with her own eyes at that time, the body had been burned beyond recognition after all...

Even if she felt that her idea was too absurd at this moment, she still wanted to verify it.

Staring at Yu Qi, Yu Qingwu frowned, with a slightly reproachful tone, and said, "This is just a longevity lock, it's not worth any money. I also know that Internal Attendant Yu doesn't lack gold and silver jewelry, so I thought that giving this would express my feelings. This was personally requested from the temple by my mother and elder brother when I was young. Although it is not valuable, it can ensure safety."

"Internal Attendant Yu refuses so much, could it be that... you look down on this thing?"

She frowned, her expression somewhat aggrieved, making her already weak face appear even more pitiful.

Yu Qi felt a sting in his heart and felt a little distressed.

He wanted to reach out to take it, but he retracted his hand, forcibly suppressed his emotions, and explained in a gentle voice, "Crown Princess, please don't misunderstand, this servant is afraid of causing misunderstandings among others. If it implicates the Crown Princess and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and brings the stigma of private dealings and bribing eunuchs, then it will be this servant's fault."

Private dealings?

Bribing eunuchs?

How could this longevity lock be considered a bribe?

If he had accepted it, Yu Qingwu would not have suspected so much. But Yu Qi's repeated refusals made Yu Qingwu even more convinced that perhaps... this person in front of her really had something to do with her brother.

However, Yu Qi refused to accept it no matter what, so she didn't make things difficult for him anymore.

She slowly put the longevity lock with the character 'Nian' engraved on it back into the brocade box, smiled and nodded to Yu Qi, "That's right, I didn't think carefully enough, and almost implicated His Highness and Internal Attendant Yu."

Seeing Yu Qingwu take it back, Yu Qi breathed a sigh of relief, but when he met her eyes, he was inexplicably flustered, and quickly saluted her and replied, "Well... if the Crown Princess and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince have nothing else, this servant will return to the palace to report back."

"That... Internal Attendant Yu, I really have something I want to ask for your help." Just as Yu Qi was about to turn around, Yu Qingwu spoke again.

Yu Qi paused and looked at the fragile woman in the seat with a puzzled expression.

Xie Jin Yan also looked at her, and through those black eyes, he saw the probing in her eyes, and his brow furrowed even more.

Yu Qingwu took in the expressions of the two people, but turned a blind eye, only coughed, and with a weak breath, looked at Yu Qi and said softly, "Internal Attendant Yu, I just... heard you conveying Father Emperor's imperial decree in the room. I know Father Emperor wants to vent his anger for me, but A Yue is also my junior sister after all. She has committed such a big mistake, and it is also because I, the senior sister, did not supervise her strictly."

"Therefore, I would like to ask Internal Attendant Yu to intercede with Father Emperor for A Yue on my behalf. I wonder if Internal Attendant Yu can grant my request?"