Once this story spreads and Xue Shen has built up enough momentum, it will be difficult to maintain a superficial peace between him and Emperor Cheng'an.

Xue Shen has long been a thorn in the side of Emperor Cheng'an. At that time, Emperor Cheng'an will probably spare no effort and use any means to deal with him, and Shen Youying, who is closest to him, will most likely also be affected.

The Northern Rong people are still staying in the capital, and various forces are mixed together, which presents both opportunities and dangers.

Shen Youying clearly understood this as well. She touched her lower abdomen and said softly, "If it were just me alone, I wouldn't be afraid. But once you break ties with the government, with more people watching, it might be impossible to keep my pregnancy a secret."

Xue Shen placed his palm on her hand, which was pressed against her abdomen, and comforted her, "Judging by the time, it's almost been three months. Rather than passively hiding it, it's better to wait until this pregnancy is stable, and then I'll find an opportunity to release the news. However, if we do that, Zhao Zhao's situation will probably be even more dangerous."

Shen Youying smiled and said, "If you can overcome difficulties with your parents even before you are born, you will definitely be a sensible and smart child when you grow up."

Xue Shen pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead tenderly.

*

The storybooks sent to the bookstore unexpectedly sold out.

Xue Shen and Shen Youying both knew Chen Yaoniang's skill in writing storybooks, but they only guessed that they would sell well. They never expected that the first batch of storybooks would sell out in just three or four days.

Upon hearing the news, all the bookstores quickly followed suit and printed second and third batches.

There were also storytellers who knew how to seize the opportunity, and before the rest of the story was told, they would even start writing their own sequels. Many people, upon hearing the news, would rush over to listen for entertainment during their leisure time.

Upon receiving the news, Xue Shen found a teahouse and went there with Shen Youying to see the results.

The two went to the largest teahouse in Tokyo. Xue Shen specially requested a private room with curtains hanging around the room to block the view, so he was not worried about being spied on.

When they arrived, the teahouse was already packed.

Seeing that the time had come, the storyteller struck a pose, tapped his folding fan heavily, and began to tell the story with dramatic intonation—

The storybook written by Chen Yaoniang is called "Return of the Soul".

When Xue Shen told her this story, he didn't reveal the identities of the characters. Chen Yaoniang had no choice but to make up her own identity and fit the story's characters into it.

In "The Return of the Soul," Xue is replaced by Zhao, and the late Emperor and Emperor Cheng'an remain brothers. The elder brother, Zhao Yi, is a scholar who, for various reasons, has never had his chance to shine. Finally, at the age of forty-four, he passes the imperial examination with top honors and is appreciated by high-ranking officials in the capital, receiving a good official position with a promising future ahead. The younger brother, Zhao Jia, is merely a peasant, mediocre in learning, idle, and has always been supported by his elder brother and sister-in-law's family.

Just as the elder brother Zhao Yi had achieved the highest rank in the imperial examination and was preparing to travel to the capital with his family to take up his new post, the younger brother Zhao Jia, out of jealousy for his brother's glory, harbored malicious intentions. He already looked very much like his brother, and when guests mistook the two brothers for each other, he conceived the idea of ​​taking his brother's place.

The younger brother painstakingly plotted and secretly colluded with bandits to brutally murder his elder brother and sister-in-law's family on their way to their new post in Beijing. They even killed his seventeen-year-old nephew.

The first act of the storybook that Xue Shen sent out ends here. The story that follows is about the younger brother taking the place of his older brother and going to the capital to take up his post.

When the storyteller on stage recounted how the younger brother bribed bandits to murder his elder brother and sister-in-law's family, the audience erupted in curses.

Seeing this, the storyteller changed the subject, and with a "whoosh," unfolded his folding fan: "The story in the book ends here, but please take a look, esteemed readers." He held up the book, pointed to the words "Resurrection," and said, "This book is called 'Resurrection.' You might wonder, who is being resurrected?"

Some people in the audience guessed it was the older brother, some guessed it was the sister-in-law, and some guessed it was the nephew who died young.

The storyteller shook his head and said, "Do you all remember that when my nephew Zhao Zhen first appeared, there was a passage that said, 'This child was born at midnight, and strange phenomena appeared in the sky. A wandering monk saw this and said that this child was a celestial being descended to earth to undergo tribulation. If his life is smooth and without any setbacks, he can become a true immortal to save the world. But if his lifespan is short and he fails to overcome the tribulation, he will become a vengeful ghost to bring disaster to the world.'"

The listeners suddenly realized and discussed among themselves, "Then it must be Zhao Zhen who has been brought back to life."

The storyteller continued to weave the story based on everyone's guesses. Shen Youying listened and said, "Zhao Yi, Zhao Jia, Zhao Zhen. And the ages of the three of them all match up one by one."

The late emperor's name was Xue Yi, and the Cheng'an emperor's name was Xue Jia; both names are homophones. As for Zhao Zhen, this name takes half of the character "慎" (shèn, meaning cautious).

When the late emperor passed away, he was forty-four years old. Xue Shen was only seventeen that year.

Xue Shen nodded: "It's deliberate to leave clues so that when the truth is revealed in the future, these listeners will have something to follow."

After listening for a while, the two realized that the rest of the story was just the storyteller making up his own plot, so they didn't stay any longer and quietly got up and left.

As soon as they left the teahouse, they bumped into Cui Zichen and Xie Qinglan.

Xie Qinglan and Cui Zichen were talking when they turned around and saw Shen Youying and Xue Shen coming out hand in hand. Xie Qinglan quickly waved and ran towards her like a happy bird: "Zhaozhao!"

Shen Youying caught her, her gaze shifting back and forth between her and Cui Zichen, and asked in a low voice, "Why did you two come out together? Is this a done deal?"

Xie Qinglan coaxed Shen Youying by pinching her waist, only to find that her waist was not only more supple than before, but also seemed to have more flesh. She was stunned for a moment, looked Shen Youying over for a while, and asked in a low voice, "Have you gained weight? There's more flesh on your waist."

Shen Youying naturally couldn't say that she had raised this child after becoming pregnant, so she could only change the subject, saying, "Then what's going on? Vice Envoy Cui doesn't have time to wander around like this, does he?"

Xie Qinglan's attention was indeed diverted. She turned to look at Cui Zichen and said in a normal voice, "I don't know why Vice Envoy Cui didn't go to his duty and insisted on stopping me from going to the bookstore."

Cui Zichen chuckled upon hearing this and said slowly, "A little girl who crosses the river and then destroys the bridge."

Xie Qinglan immediately glared at him: "Who are you calling a little girl?"

Cui Zichen looked helpless, but didn't answer.

Upon hearing the word "bookstore," Shen Youying frowned and asked, "What are you going to the bookstore for?"

Xie Qinglan said, "Didn't you introduce Chen Yaoniang before? I thought she wrote good storybooks, and since the bookstore owner was going back to his hometown, I let her take over as the bookstore owner and manage all the affairs of the bookstore. But she hasn't finished the work she took over before, and she has to manage the bookstore, so naturally she doesn't have time to write new storybooks. I originally thought it wouldn't be a rush, but these past few days a storybook called 'Resurrection' has suddenly become very popular and hard to find. I was thinking that since Yaoniang's storybook isn't ready yet, why don't we go to the bookstore that prints 'Resurrection' and ask them to spare some for me to sell in the bookstore? I'm not looking to make a lot of money, I'm just joining in the fun."

Shen Youying and Xue Shen exchanged a glance, and Shen pulled her toward the carriage: "Let's go, this isn't the place to talk, let's go to Fanlou to talk."