Empress Zhou's expression twisted as she recalled Xue Zhan's death.

Although there is no evidence to date, she deduced from the testimonies of those around Xue Zhan and Shen Muyu, who was with Xue Zhan until the end, that Xue Zhan's accident was most likely due to falling into the trap of the King of Qin.

However, without evidence, and given that Xue Zhan was involved in treason before his death, even if Empress Zhou had some suspicions, she could not openly investigate and verify them.

Empress Zhou remained silent for a long time before instructing the guards, "Just in case, have my elder brother send someone to the Northwest. If I'm wrong, so be it; but if I'm right, we absolutely cannot let Shen Mingjiang and his son return to the capital alive!"

*

Because of the incident at the border, Shen Youying has been staying at home and hasn't gone out these days, just as Xue Shen instructed.

Having been cooped up in the mansion for several days, she was inevitably feeling stifled. So she invited Xie Qinglan over to chat. The weather was fine that day, and the flowers in the courtyard were gradually blooming. Shen Youying then directed the maids to decorate the octagonal pavilion in the garden so that the two of them could relax there when Xie Qinglan arrived.

As she was making the arrangements, she heard hushed voices coming from across the wall, mostly from lazy maids gossiping. Shen Youying didn't want to eavesdrop and was about to walk away when suddenly the other person mentioned the Fang family and the Shen family.

"Madam Shen has come again today. Could something really have happened to the Shen family?"

"Who knows? But with the Prince protecting her, our Princess Consort will surely be safe. However, keeping this a secret forever isn't a good thing; the Princess Consort will find out sooner or later."

Shen Youying was completely confused, but the tone of the speaker made her heart skip a beat.

Something happened to the Shen family? What happened?

Shen Youying put down the peony she had just picked, walked around to the other side of the wall, and looked at the two maids who were talking: "What do I need to know?"

Her tone was gentle, but the two maids were so frightened by her sudden appearance and overhearing their conversation that they knelt down on the ground, not daring to utter a single word, only repeatedly begging for forgiveness and pleading for the princess's mercy.

Seeing this, Shen Youying guessed that Xue Shen had probably given some instructions.

She ignored the two trembling maids who were begging for mercy and turned to find Xue Shen.

Xue Shen was off duty today and did not go to the Ministry of Works. However, he had become much busier since the two returned from Yue Tong Manor. He used to have plenty of time to spend with Shen Youying, but since then, he has spent most of his time in the study.

Every day, all sorts of letters were exchanged within the household.

When Shen Youying arrived, Xue Shen was indeed in his study dealing with letters. Seeing her approach, he subconsciously put the letters in his hand into the drawer of his desk and smiled at her: "Zhao Zhao, didn't you invite Miss Xie today? Why do you have time to deal with me?"

Seeing his expression, which revealed no flaw, Shen Youying pursed her lips and asked directly, "Did something happen to Father?"

Xue Shen paused, his smile vanished, and his brows furrowed: "Where did you hear these rumors?"

Shen Youying stared at him, her eyes reddening slightly: "Don't worry about where I heard it from. If something happens to Father, don't hide it from me. I can handle it."

Despite looking like she was about to collapse, she insisted that she could handle it.

Xue Shen felt both sorry for her and helpless. Afraid that her wild thoughts would frighten her, he could only take out the letter he had just put in the drawer, get up and put the letter in her hand, and then help her to sit down on the soft couch in the study.

"Something did happen, but your father-in-law is fine. Don't overthink it."

Shen Youying blinked and looked down at the letter in her hand: "Then why did you keep it from me?"

Xue Shen said, "The situation was unclear at the time, and I was afraid you would worry if you knew."

Shen Youying quickly read the letter, which contained information about Shen Mingjiang's whereabouts and current situation as discovered by the secret agents.

She read every single word carefully, only feeling slightly relieved after confirming that her father was unharmed. She returned the letter to Xue Shen: "What exactly happened? Father just wrote to say he had returned to the capital in triumph, how could this suddenly..."

"Do you remember when I told you about the remnants of the Northern Rong army slaughtering the people? My father-in-law couldn't stand the actions of the Northern Rong soldiers, so he led his troops to wipe them out. That's how it all began."

Xue Shen slowly said, "But this is just a prelude. The real reason why the Emperor is determined to kill you is because you married me. The Shen family is now on the same boat as me."

Shen Youying understood. She opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.

Xue Shen gently stroked her cheek: "Will Zhao Zhao resent me?"

Shen Youying shook her head: "Even before I married you, something happened to the Shen family."

As long as Father remains in that position, and as long as the Shen family's prestige in the military persists, the Emperor will likely continue to be wary of Father and the Shen family.

Shen Youying took a light breath and then asked about Shen Mingjiang's whereabouts: "Why did Father go to the Northwest? Even if the Northern Rong people are dissatisfied, Father's military expedition is justified and based on evidence. Even if he returns to the capital, his life should not be in danger."

Xue Shen hesitated for a moment before deciding whether to tell her that Shen Xiuyi might still be alive. But in an instant, he made his decision: "My father-in-law did not say what his purpose was, but I guess he went to find your older brother."

"Big brother?!"

Shen Youying's expression changed, and she suddenly stood up, overjoyed, and said, "There's news about Big Brother?"

Although everyone assumed Shen Xiuyi was dead, Shen Youying still held a sliver of hope. She wanted to see him alive or dead; even though Shen Xiuyi had fallen off a cliff, his body hadn't been found yet. Perhaps her brother was lucky and had been rescued?

Seeing her emotions fluctuating wildly, Xue Shen quickly pulled her to sit down and tried to calm her down: "It's just my guess. Otherwise, given your father's caution, he wouldn't have risked everything to lead his personal guards to the Northwest."

Shen Youying kept telling herself to calm down, but she couldn't suppress her excitement. Tears welled up in her eyes as she said, "Big brother has always been smarter and more cautious than others. Maybe he will escape this calamity."

Seeing that she was too excited, Xue Shen was afraid that her emotional fluctuations would harm her pregnancy, so he could only change the subject and say, "Is Miss Xie arriving soon? Zhao Zhao, why don't you go and prepare? If there is any more news, I will definitely not hide it from you."

To everyone's surprise, Shen Youying shook her head. She stood up and paced around a few times, then said, "I'll go and ask Danzhu to send a message to Qinglan to arrange a reunion another day. Has Mother come by these past two days?"

Seeing her cheeks flushed with excitement, Xue Shen knew she would have difficulty calming down for a while, so he could only say helplessly, "She has come twice. I have explained the pros and cons to her and told her to just wait patiently. But she doesn't seem to believe me, which is why she keeps coming to see you."

Thinking about Fang's temperament, Shen Youying said, "Now that my eldest sister is gone, it's just her and my second brother at home. My second brother can't handle much of the family business, so she's bound to be flustered. I'd better go back to the Shen family first."