Shen Youying and Xue Shen stayed in Qinzhou for two days before setting off back to Xizhou.

Before their departure, Shen Xiuyi and Shen Mingjiang saw them off. Shen Youying looked at her father and brother through the car window, her expression full of worry. She instructed Shen Mingjiang, "Even if my brother can't remember, Father, don't be too anxious."

Shen Mingjiang spoke gently to his daughter, "Zhaozhao, go back without worry. Don't worry about me and your older brother."

Shen Xiuyi also said, "My father and I are doing well in Qinzhou, so you don't need to worry. Take good care of yourself."

Shen Youying nodded, waved to the father and son, and reluctantly lowered the carriage curtain.

After they finished speaking, Xue Shen bowed to the father and son from his horse, signaling the driver to set off: "Father-in-law and elder brother, don't worry about Zhaozhao. I will take good care of him. We're leaving now."

Then, remembering something, he added, "If it becomes inconvenient for my father-in-law and elder brother to stay in Qin Prefecture in the future, they are welcome to come to Xi Prefecture."

His words were cryptic, but Shen Mingjiang and Shen Xiuyi understood them perfectly.

Previously, Shen Ming had defied the imperial order and led his personal guards all the way north to the northwest, where he then infiltrated Tibet.

Although Emperor Cheng'an did not pursue the matter for the time being due to pressure from the court, it was because Shen Mingjiang's whereabouts were unknown, and even if he wanted to punish him, he could not find him.

Now that Shen Mingjiang and Shen Xiuyi have returned together, if Emperor Cheng'an learns of this, he will surely settle all old and new scores, making an example of the Shen family to deter Xue Shen's faction.

This is why Shen Xiuyi and Shen Mingjiang are still staying in Qinzhou and do not intend to return to the capital.

Xue Shen understood this, which is why he said those words before leaving. He was simply promising the father and son that if Emperor Cheng'an wanted to take action against the Shen family, he would not stand idly by.

After seeing Shen Youying and Xue Shen off, Shen Mingjiang and Shen Xiuyi returned together.

On the way, Shen Mingjiang looked at Shen Xiuyi, his expression turning serious: "Is there something you have to wait until your sister leaves to tell me?"

Shen Xiuyi remained calm and slowly said, "I have spoken with my former subordinates and subordinates these past two days and learned that they were investigating something before I disappeared."

His gaze gradually darkened: "Others don't know the details, they only vaguely know that it's related to the military pay and provisions of the past two years."

Shen Mingjiang's expression hardened as he unexpectedly mentioned military pay and provisions: "You mean..."

Shen Xiuyi nodded: "I guess my sudden assassination attempt was not carried out by the Tibetans, but by someone behind the scenes who discovered that I was secretly investigating the Qinzhou army's pay, so they took action."

Throughout history, there have been many intricacies involved in managing military pay and provisions.

Large sums of silver were allocated from the Ministry of Revenue and passed through countless intermediaries before being converted into pay and military supplies and delivered to the border troops.

If anyone who handles this stuff takes even a lick, it's enough to feed countless parasites.

However, the border troops were far from the capital and had little say. In addition, the military generals had always been suppressed, so even he could not easily shake the long-standing problems. As long as the pay and military supplies sent to the border were not too meager, most of the garrison commanders turned a blind eye.

Just how large a deficit must there be for Shen Xiuyi to go to such lengths to secretly investigate this murky and stagnant pool?

Neither Shen Mingjiang nor Shen Xiuyi, who has now lost his memory, knows the truth.

Shen Mingjiang's expression was serious: "You've lost all your memories, why bring this up?"

Shen Xiuyi's expression revealed a hint of gloom: "In order to cover up the truth, the person behind the scenes not only sent assassins, but also wanted to accuse the Shen family of treason. If it weren't for that, Zhaozhao wouldn't have suffered so much humiliation and been betrothed to the Prince of Qin by the Emperor."

Although he now approves of the King of Qin as his brother-in-law, he has also learned about the King of Qin's previous reputation.

What if the King of Qin was not biding his time, but was truly a cruel, cold-blooded, and ruthless person?

Will Zhao Zhao survive?

The answer is obviously no.

The person behind the scenes not only wanted to kill him, but also wanted to overthrow the entire Shen family.

Shen Xiuyi has always been a vengeful person, and once he realized this, he was determined not to let the person behind the scenes get away with it.

"So, Father, I want to regain my memory as soon as possible."

Shen Mingjiang frowned: "But Master Huodong said that you have injured your head and that it will take time to recover your memories."

Shen Xiuyi shook his head: "Using the gentlest method, we can only wait. But later I asked Master Huodong in private, and it turns out there are other methods."

Shen Mingjiang was startled: "You deliberately made Master Huodong stay in Qinzhou for two more days, just for this moment?" His expression became more serious: "Tell me what method it is first."

Shen Xiuyi said, "Master Huodong said that if you want to remove the blood clot in your brain as soon as possible, you can use golden needles to prick your brain and drain the blood clot. However, this method is extremely dangerous. In all these years, he has only used this method to save one person. That person was on the verge of death and had no choice but to resort to this method. If I were to use this method and succeed, I could remove the blood clot and restore my memory."

"What if we fail?" Shen Mingjiang pressed.

"If we fail, the worst-case scenario is that I will go insane and become mentally impaired; at the best-case scenario, I might lose all my memories again."

Shen Mingjiang frowned, his expression showing disapproval: "This method is too risky."

Shen Xiuyi refused to back down: "Victory can only be achieved in danger. I don't remember anything now, and I don't know who was behind it all. If I wait passively like this, I might end up facing a joint attack from the government and the person behind it. Rather than that, I should recover my memory as soon as possible and strike first."

Shen Mingjiang remained frowning and silent.

Shen Xiuyi said, "Is Father getting old, and even his courage has diminished?"

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