A voice suddenly rang in her ears, startling Zhen Wanwan so much that she jumped up.

"Ah! Who is it!"

Seeing the terrified expression on the person in front of him, Zhu Yuan awkwardly touched his nose.

"It's me!"

Zhen Wanwan stiffened and turned around to look. The handsome face and indifferent temperament—wasn't that Zhu Yuan?

She quickly suppressed her surprise and asked with a puzzled look, "Strategist? What brings you here?"

With such a commotion outside, Zhuyuan must be fighting the enemy on the front lines!

How come you have time to come here?

Zhu Yuan explained calmly, "Didn't you have Feng He deliver a letter to me?"

"Yes! I just delivered it yesterday!"

How come he arrived so quickly?

Zhu Yuan's eyes flashed, but in the end, he did not reveal his true feelings.

“I… the general attaches great importance to this iron mine, so he ordered me to come overnight.”

Zhen Wanwan nodded knowingly. Seeing that there were still a few guards in plain clothes in the courtyard, she believed him.

"Oh, I see! Don't worry, I'll have my dad and older brother take you there to see them later!"

"Only we know about this right now, but I suggest you go there secretly! The villagers of Dahe Village are just ordinary farmers, but they can't resist money."

"You'd better not startle them!"

The most important thing is not to expose them.

Zhu Yuan waited quietly for her to finish speaking before saying softly, "I have already gone to see it with my uncle and the others."

Zhen Wanwan was taken aback and looked around in confusion, but unfortunately there wasn't a single familiar figure in the courtyard.

"You've been there?"

When did this happen?

It's only a few o'clock, where are her parents, older brother, and sister-in-law?

Perhaps sensing Zhen Wanwan's confusion, Zhu Yuan kindly explained, "Your uncle and the others are still in Dahe Village, as for your aunt and the others... they said they went out to buy groceries!"

Zhu Yuan said the second half of the sentence in a somewhat strange tone, because he was really puzzled by what Old Lady Li had said at the time.

"No wonder! I was wondering where everyone went! And where did those little devils go? Where are my darlings and sweethearts?"

Rou'er boiled water and was about to come out to call Zhen Wanwan to come in and wash up when she happened to hear her question.

He then came to the rescue, saying, "Madam Zhen! Brother Hu and the others have a day off today. They went to the street to buy candy with Second Master Zhen!"

Why is everything so strange today? Everyone's running outside!

"Sweetie and Baby went out with Auntie and the others..."

"All right!"

Zhen Wanwan no longer cared about where everyone had gone; now only Zhu Yuan and the people he brought remained in the courtyard.

Meanwhile, all she had was Rou'er hiding in the kitchen.

With a guest present, Zhen Wanwan couldn't just abandon him and leave abruptly, so she had no choice but to bite the bullet and invite him to sit down in the living room.

He personally brewed a pot of tea to serve the guests.

The two looked at each other in silence. To avoid an awkward silence, Zhen Wanwan started a few conversations.

"My esteemed strategist! I have some doubts in my mind, but I'm unsure whether I should speak of them..."

Zhu Yuan raised an eyebrow, glanced at her silently, and said calmly, "Go ahead."

"Hmm... well... I heard a rumor before that the Third Prince has already ascended the throne, and then the Fifth Prince said that the Third Prince rebelled and murdered his own father, so he raised an army to purge the court of corrupt officials... Is this true?"

Zhen Wanwan looked at him somewhat nervously. Although the matter was most likely true, she still wanted to hear Zhu Yuan's opinion.

After all, rumors can be harmful...

Zhu Yuan remained silent for a few seconds, seemingly considering whether or not to tell Zhen Wanwan the truth.

Seeing the awkward look on the other person's face, Zhen Wanwan smiled apologetically: "If it's inconvenient, then there's no need to say it."

"No!" Zhu Yuan looked at her seriously and asked, "Do you really want to know these things?"

He was worried that she would be frightened, and he didn't want to cause her any more worry because of these things.

I just want her to live a peaceful and stable life under my protection.

Seeing his calm expression, Zhen Wanwan felt even more flustered. She nodded firmly: "I really want to know, and it would be even better if you could be more specific!"

Zhu Yuan sighed and slowly recounted the whole story to her.

"The rumors are only half true. The late emperor did indeed die of illness... but the third prince wasn't entirely innocent either. Of course, the fifth prince wasn't trying to purge the court of corrupt officials; they were all just after the throne!"

"The late emperor has passed away, and the crown prince should have succeeded to the throne, but the crown prince..."

Zhen Wanwan had also heard about the Crown Prince's situation, and she had felt sorry for him at the time!

However, seeing Zhu Yuan's hesitant expression, Zhen Wanwan suddenly had a bold idea.

"Could it be that the Crown Prince was murdered?"

Zhen Wanwan spoke very softly and was very close to Zhu Yuan, so close that they could see each other's pores.

Looking at him up close, he seems even more handsome!

In the vast space, the only sound could be Zhen Wanwan swallowing, until she saw Zhu Yuan's surprised expression.

Zhen Wanwan blushed and quickly retreated.

I wish I could crawl into a hole and bury myself so I wouldn't have to embarrass myself here.

Zhu Yuan tried his best to calm his restless heart so that Zhen Wanwan wouldn't notice anything unusual.

He shifted his gaze and began to explain her earlier question: "You guessed right! The Crown Prince did indeed die in an accident, and even the Crown Prince's concubine... died in the inner quarters."

Zhen Wanwan was stunned when she heard this. She didn't expect that the novel reflected reality. Places like the palace really do eat people!

"What a pity..."

She had heard Feng He and Qu Huaiyuan mention that this short-lived crown prince was a good heir apparent who cared deeply about the country and its people.

He treated court officials with respect and courtesy. Even when the previous emperor was alive, in order to recruit truly talented people into the court, he proposed to establish academies in various counties to provide quality education for students from poor families.

Because of this, the crown prince was deeply loved by the people of the whole country, and everyone was very satisfied with such a wise ruler.

It's a pity that such a talented person died so young; it's truly a shame!

What impressed Zhen Wanwan the most was the love story between the Crown Prince and his concubine.

It is said that the concubine was the daughter of a disgraced official, and because of her childhood sweetheart relationship with the crown prince, the two finally came together after going through many hardships.

She also gave birth to a very cute boy, whom the Crown Prince adored after his birth. The Crown Prince even asked the late Emperor to let him inherit his position as Crown Prince.

The late emperor could not refuse the crown prince's request, so he acquiesced.

Such a love story is the envy of women all over the world.

Zhu Yuan lowered his head, seemingly lost in thought. Zhen Wanwan snapped out of her reverie and continued, "If that's the case, why was the Third Prince able to ascend the throne?"

"Didn't they say the Crown Prince and his concubine had a son?"

Seeing Zhen Wanwan's insistence on getting to the bottom of things, Zhu Yuan's gaze became somewhat complicated, unsure of how to explain.

Could it be that we're going to say outright that Zhou'er is the child of the Crown Prince and his concubine?