When An Jin was called away by his mother-in-law, I pulled Que’er aside and interrogated her. She maintained that she had found An Jin at the Ministry of Personnel’s office and accompanied him home, insisting there was no romantic involvement with another woman.
I examined her closely, and she expressed great anger at my doubts. According to her, An Jin had rushed back early upon hearing I had been away for a long time, and I was being unfairly suspicious of his sincere intentions.
The atmosphere in the house that day was strange. His mother and An Jin had been talking in the room and hadn’t eaten dinner. It wasn’t until the lamps were lit that An Jin returned, looking slightly tired.
He sensed my hesitation and took the initiative to explain. It was related to the Eastern Palace. An Jin had previously fallen out with them over a romantic entanglement. Concerned they might harm me, and having recently offended the Seventh Princess, he had Que’er monitor my movements closely. Today, when the Eastern Palace was at the Spring Wind Tea House, Que’er ran to notify him, and they rushed towards the tea house but encountered some obstruction. Regarding the lipstick marks on his collar, he merely mentioned a woman among those obstructing them, implying a beauty trap was involved.
When they arrived at the tea house, both I and the Eastern Palace had already left. They returned home and fortunately found that I had safely returned.
With this explanation, I felt enlightened.
No wonder An Jin had suddenly appeared when I was dining with Miss Song San—it was likely because the Eastern Palace was also in that restaurant.
An Jin asked about my meeting with the Eastern Palace, and I simply said we chatted briefly. He didn’t believe me but didn’t press further, instructing me to be extra careful in the future. However, I couldn’t understand how the future emperor could engage in transferring hatred and using his enemy’s wife for revenge.
An Jin scoffed, “Knowing someone’s face doesn’t mean knowing their heart. Just because he’s the future emperor doesn’t mean he can’t be unscrupulous.”
