After they attended the recognition banquet in the palace, Prince Ping was invited by other royal relatives to have tea, while Xiao Yeyang took Daohua back to the Prince Residence.
Once back at the Prince Residence, neither of them thought about going to see Princess Consort Ma but went straight back to Pingxi Hall.
They had just had one round of family recognition at the Prince Residence and another in the palace. Though they hadn't encountered any particular difficulties, the exhaustion from simply recognizing and remembering people had taken quite a toll on Daohua, not to mention having to deal with the shrewd imperial family women like Zhou Xuan.
All throughout, Daohua's nerves had been tightly wound, fearing she might unwittingly fall into a trap laid by others. After relaxing, she felt mentally exhausted and, coupled with a lack of sleep the night before, she collapsed weakly onto the bed's pillows once she returned to her room.