“Prince Rui, if we’re talking about who’s closer to Zhizhi, I’m afraid our bond is much stronger than yours.”

Cui Shenghe spoke softly, his tone revealing a calm and confident demeanor.

As he slowly straightened the hem of his clothes, which had been ruffled by the force of the punch, he stared directly at Shen Hanshan with his deep eyes.

Shen Hanshan was slightly taken aback by Cui Shenghe's words. Then he frowned and subconsciously felt that the relationship between Cui Shenghe and Zhao Zhi might not be as simple as he had guessed.

Cui Shenghe continued, "If you truly care about Zhizhi, why not do something truly useful for her?"

Shen Hanshan's expression changed. "You mean, the real purpose of the person who kidnapped Zhizhi is actually that box?"

Cui Shenghe nodded slightly, a hint of appreciation flashing in his eyes, "Not too stupid."

He continued, "They already know you have the box. You'd better be careful; they're not so easy to deal with."

As he spoke, he turned his head slightly and glanced meaningfully to the side.

Shen Hanshan immediately understood.

On the way to Zhan Garden, Shen Hanshan wondered why Cui Shenghe had Cui Jiu deliver a message saying that if he was worried about Zhao Zhi's safety, he could go back to Zhan Garden with Cui Jiu.

At this moment, he suddenly realized that Cui Shenghe had already seen through everything. He had the ability to rescue Zhao Zhi from those kidnappers, but he could not stop them from continuing to harass Zhao Zhi in the future.

Thinking of this, Shen Hanshan took a deep breath, straightened his back, and said loudly, "The box is right here with me. If they have the guts, they can come and take it! I will let them know that this palace is not a place where they can run wild!"

Cui Shenghe glanced into the room subconsciously. He thought to himself, "That shout probably woke everyone up."

Sure enough, a moment later, Zhao Zhi rubbed her sleepy eyes and slowly opened the door. She saw Shen Hanshan and Cui Shenghe standing face to face, the atmosphere somewhat tense.

It seems that Cui Shenghe was also injured.

She was instantly enraged and shouted, "Shen Hanshan, you broke into someone's house in the middle of the night and even attacked them! Do you have no respect for the law?"

Shen Hanshan's face turned red with anger at Zhao Zhi's words. He thought to himself, "If I wasn't worried about your safety, would I have broken into someone else's house at night? If I wasn't worried about your safety, would you have pointed your finger at me and cursed me in front of another man?"

Shen Hanshan felt increasingly aggrieved the more he thought about it.

He pointed at Zhao Zhi, stammering "You...you..." for a long time before finally storming off in a huff.

As he walked back to the Prince's Mansion, Shen Hanshan's anger burned ever brighter.

He and Zhao Zhi were nominally engaged, and although he broke off the engagement, he was still considered Zhao Zhi's former fiancé!

Aside from that insignificant title, the two of them had already done things that only married couples do.

However, Zhao Zhi openly protected outsiders and even stayed overnight at Zhan Garden.

This made him feel incredibly frustrated and angry.

"No! I can't just let this go!" Shen Hanshan stopped and turned to walk towards Zhan Garden.

He planned to bring Zhao Zhi back to the Prince Rui's residence for a proper talk.

Zhao Yi is right; you have to pursue your own wife yourself.

Face doesn't matter, my wife is the most important!

When Shen Hanshan arrived at the gate of Zhan Garden, he found that the gate was already tightly closed.

He hesitated for a moment, then decided to climb over the wall.

Just as he jumped into the garden, Cui Shenghe's voice drifted over: "Prince Rui, a gentleman never disturbs people's peaceful dreams at night. You'd better go back quickly!"

Enraged by Cui Shenghe's words, Shen Hanshan retorted loudly, "Stop your sarcastic remarks! I'm going to take my queen away today!"

At that moment, the gate creaked open, and Cui Jiu stood in the doorway, saying expressionlessly, "Prince Rui, please!"

Shen Hanshan looked at Cui Jiu, a nameless rage rising in his heart.

He felt he had never been so frustrated. His wife was staying overnight at someone else's house, and he was being mocked and ridiculed by the other party.

Du Heng was waiting outside when he saw Shen Hanshan come out looking disheveled. He couldn't help but ask curiously, "Your Highness, isn't the Princess going back with you?"

Shen Hanshan glared at Du Heng and said irritably, "Stop asking! Let's go back to the manor!"

Back at Prince Rui's residence, Shen Hanshan sat in his study, unable to calm down for a long time.

He couldn't understand why Zhao Zhi would protect Cui Shenghe so much, even at the cost of turning against him.

That's not the right way to think either.

Zhao Zhi never gave him a kind look.

A strong sense of unease and crisis welled up in Shen Hanshan's heart.

The following day, a somber atmosphere permeated the Imperial Study.

Zhao Yi sat on the dragon throne, his gaze complex as he looked at Zhao Shouzhen, who was kneeling on the ground, heartbroken and devastated.

"Lord Zhao, you don't need to be so grief-stricken."

Zhao Yi's voice revealed a hint of helplessness, "Even I, the emperor, have been cuckolded, haven't I? And the number of cuckolds is countless!"

He looked at his hands, sighed deeply, and continued, "We, ruler and subject, are truly in the same boat."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shouzhen's sobs gradually subsided.

He knew that the scandals in the harem must never be spread. The concubines' affairs with monks were undoubtedly a great trampling on the dignity of the royal family.

His voice trembled as he whispered, "Your Majesty, this old minister has devoted most of his life to the Great Xuan Kingdom. To uphold Your Majesty's reputation, this old minister is willing to atone with his death. However... however, this old minister still has three unmarried daughters at home, and this old minister is truly worried about them. May this old minister be allowed to live for another month, to arrange their marriages properly, before dying in peace?"

"Three daughters?" Zhao Yi thought to himself, it seems this old man is still in the dark!

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