Xie Xianyu jumped on his horse, carried Wanruo up, and rode straight back home.

Zhu Jia watched them go away, and suddenly heard someone behind her calling her: "Sister!"

Zhu Jia turned around and saw Meng Huaichuan riding a horse towards him.

"Why are you back?" Meng Huaichuan rushed to her, pulled the reins, and raised the horse's hooves high.

"Your Majesty's birthday is coming soon, and my adoptive father asked me to come back and present a gift to His Majesty."

"Why doesn't my father come back?"

"My godfather said that the border has been uneasy lately and he is worried, so he has to guard it personally. What? Are you looking forward to my godfather's return?" Zhu Jia asked with a smile.

Meng Huaichuan's expression changed immediately: "I'm not looking forward to it! He scolds me as soon as he comes back. I wish he never comes back!"

"If you were more obedient, your adoptive father wouldn't have to scold you every day."

Zhu Jia's father was a deputy general who had served with the Marquis of Ding'an for many years. Seven years ago, the Marquis of Ding'an was ambushed by the enemy at the border and was in danger, nearly losing his life. It was the deputy general who risked his life to block an arrow for him.

Afterwards, Marquis Ding'an adopted his only daughter and recognized her as his adopted daughter. Zhu Jia grew up in the border area and learned martial arts from her father since childhood. Marquis Ding'an ignored the opposition and let her inherit her father's mantle and become the only female general in the army.

A few years ago, Zhu Jia returned to Beijing with Marquis Ding'an and went to the Marquis's mansion to recognize her relatives. Meng Huaichuan naturally recognized her.

Meng Huaichuan gritted his teeth and said, "Don't mention it. My father arranged a marriage for me so casually! He hadn't even met Xie Xiuzhu. He actually wanted me to marry such a shrewd girl! My father simply didn't treat me as his own son!"

"Foster father is also considering the overall situation. Marrying into the Xie family is the safest. Besides, the Xie family is a clean family, and the girl from the Xie family is Master Xie's biological sister. How bad can she be? You are too willful."

"Since you think so highly of the Xie family, why don't you marry into their family? That way I won't have to suffer." Meng Huaichuan immediately said.

Zhu Jia was stunned for a moment, then refuted with a sullen face: "What nonsense are you talking about? Master Xiao Xie is already married."

"The Xie family has more than one son."

Zhu Jia was speechless for a moment.

Meng Huaichuan said, touching his chin: "But it seems that the other sons of the Xie family don't have much presence. Hey, it would have been great if you had come back half a year earlier."

He shook his head again and said, "I don't think it would have been possible even half a year earlier. I heard that Mr. Xie had a huge quarrel with his family in order to marry his wife, and even broke off the engagement with the Jiang family."

Meng Huaichuan couldn't help but sigh: "It takes a capable person to make decisions for his own people, otherwise I'll just run away from home."

Zhu Jia vaguely remembered that he seemed to have heard Marquis Ding'an mention that Young Master Xie had caused great trouble with his family in order to marry a merchant girl, but he finally got what he wanted.

She raised her eyebrows. "Master Xie is such a gifted man, he must be very picky. How could he possibly look down upon these ladies in the capital who are kept in seclusion and ignorant of the world? It's rare for me to see someone a little more unique, so I'm quite surprised."

"You have a point. If you had returned to Beijing earlier, maybe he would have taken a liking to you."

When it comes to being outstanding and unique, Zhu Jia has been one of them since he was a child.

Zhu Jia's eyes froze slightly, a trace of disappointment flashed through his heart, and he glared at him: "If you dare to talk nonsense again, I will teach you a lesson."

"Alright! Let's go back and have a fight. I'm telling you, my martial arts skills have improved a lot in the past few years. I'm sure I'll beat you this time!"

-

Xie Xianyu brought Wanruo back to the mansion and waited for about half an hour before Fu Xian came back.

"I led my men to catch up with them, but they were well-trained assassins. They simply gnawed the poison pills in their teeth and committed suicide. We only brought back the bodies, no one was alive."

Xie Xianyu's eyes were filled with a hint of hostility. "With such tactics, I know who he is without even having to interrogate him. The Prince of Zhennan can no longer sit still."

"Could it be related to what happened last night?" Wanruo asked.

"He's very ambitious, and it's only a matter of time before he takes action."

Xie Xianyu opened the letter from Marquis Ding'an, glanced at it, and his eyes narrowed slightly: "Beiliang is also ready to make a move."

Wan Ruo was stunned. "Beiliang? The Beiliang prince is still here. How dare they do this?"

"So they're just ready to make a move. What they're planning is still unknown, but with Marquis Ding'an guarding the border, Beiliang can't cause any major disturbances. We're just worried about the situation in the capital."

Wan Ruo frowned: "So that's why the Xie family and the Ding'an Marquisate want to form a marriage alliance? But Xiuzhu seems to dislike that young marquis very much."

"It's just an engagement, and the marriage will have to wait two years. If she really doesn't like it, she can cancel the engagement after her baby is well."

Marquis Ding'an is a man of integrity, and a marriage alliance is just icing on the cake. Even if there is no such marriage, he knows what to choose.

Wanruo nodded: "That's fine."

As he was speaking, Qing'an came over and said, "Sir, Lord Su is here."

"Tell him to wait for me in the study."

"yes."

Xie Xianyu ruffled Wanruo's hair and said, "Sleep a little longer. You didn't sleep well last night."

"Um."

Only then did he turn around and leave.

When they arrived at the study, Su Yan was already sitting there waiting. He was unusually not smiling, but staring blankly at the bamboo forest outside the window. He turned around only when he heard footsteps coming in.

"I heard you were assassinated."

Xie Xianyu walked over to him, lifted his robe, and sat down. “Most likely the work of the Prince of Zhennan.”

Su Yan pursed his lips: "I'm afraid it's because of what happened last night. He thought it was you who did it, so he's taking revenge."

"It was me who asked you to go."

Su Yan paused, a rare hint of sincerity in his eyes: "Thank you very much."

Xie Xianyu asked calmly, "How do you plan to solve this problem?"

"There's nothing to fix. I just threw her into the river yesterday to neutralize the drug. Nothing happened."

Xie Xianyu raised his eyebrows slightly, seeming a little surprised: "I didn't realize you were such a gentleman."