Chu Yening chuckled softly, "Liang Xu is already trapped..."

Song Yang, who should have left at some point, quietly walked in. Holding a short dagger, he pressed it against Yao Zizhu's ear. Yao Zizhu felt a sharp pain, and then saw two drops of bright red blood dripping from his left shoulder.

Qin Weixi's eyelashes fluttered. If Song Yang hadn't left, she would have remembered the scene inside the house. She subconsciously turned to look at Chu Yening, and just then, he turned to look at her, a leisurely smile playing on his lips. He seemed to be in a very pleasant mood.

Yao Zizhu looked on in fear, his eyes wide as he stared at Song Yang, who was holding a dagger. The enticing aroma of chicken legs made his stomach rumble uncontrollably.

Tao Qingyun continued to laugh loudly from behind: "He uses his mouth, why did you cut off his ear? Why not find a needle and thread and sew his mouth back up?"

Yao Zizhu shouted, and began to speak like beans spilling from a bamboo tube: "I'll talk, I'll talk, that won't do... I've been secretly investigating a major matter for Liang Xu. I heard Liang Xu say that this matter concerns the survival of his Liang family." As he spoke, his voice grew softer and softer.

Chu Yening's blade flew past.

Tao Qingyun got up and walked closer, asking him, "Oh. Is that the iron certificate that can't be seen but whose sound can be heard?"

Yao Zizhu was startled upon hearing this. He had been so hungry these past few days that he was seeing stars, his eyelids were drooping and he felt weak all over. He hadn't paid much attention to the men the villain had brought in. Suddenly, someone stepped forward, and he immediately recognized the voice. He quickly raised his eyelids to look at the person.

Tao Qingyun smiled warmly and asked, "What? You recognize me?"

Yao Zizhu's eyes widened suddenly: "The Marquis of Chengyi's..." He looked at the person behind him, dressed in a moon-white brocade robe, who was standing quietly in place, and was immediately shocked: "Your Highness... Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Yao Zizhu knew he was in deep trouble and didn't dare utter a sound. His Adam's apple bobbed, and he looked at the woman standing near the door. It was the beauty from that day.

He blurted out, "Beauty..."

Tao Qingyun shouted sharply, "Shut up!"

Yao Zizhu continued, "Kind-hearted and beautiful little lady, could you please save me..."

Chu Yening suddenly said in a cold voice: "Songyang!"

Before Song Yang could even enter the house, the group saw Tao Qingyun lift one foot, take off one of her brocade boots, and pull out the white brocade socks. Just as she was about to put them back on and stuff them into Yao Zizhu's mouth, Jiang Yuanjun, contrary to her usual gentle demeanor, snatched the socks and stuffed them into Yao Zizhu's mouth.

Tao Qingyun was taken aback, and Chu Yening, who was sitting in the armchair, also raised an eyebrow and turned to look at him. Qin Weixi saw this, lowered his eyes, and smiled.

Yao Zizhu whimpered, then gagged, her once snow-white face gradually turning a liverish color. Seeing that the time was right, Chu Yening instructed Songyang to remove the object from her mouth.

Yao Zizhu felt as if he had been reborn. After a bout of dry heaving, he said bitterly, "You are... utterly immoral." Of course, he didn't dare to say the last few words when faced with the powerful figures in front of him.

Then he glanced furtively at Chu Yening sitting in front of him, and said weakly, "...It is that iron certificate, but Liang Xu is actually too cunning. Even my father, who has worked for that Grand Secretary Liang for many years, is suspected by him for no reason. So he did not tell me in detail what happened. He only ordered me to keep an eye on the Qin family's old residence and, at the appropriate time, send someone to the Luo family and the Jingning Marquis's residence to search for this item."

Qin Weixi suddenly stepped forward to look at him and said calmly, "From what year did you begin the investigation?"

Yao Zizhu raised his eyelids again to steal a glance at the group, knowing he dared not cross the line again, and suppressed the frivolous thoughts that he couldn't suppress when he saw a beautiful girl. He pondered for a moment and said, "About ten years ago? No, that's not right, it should be eleven years ago. I remember it was thirteen years ago. I remember it was around that time when the late emperor had just passed away."

Thirteen years ago, after the death of the founding emperor, the Qin family had already been targeted by those villains. At that time, the Qin family must have been like a piece of juicy meat, being watched by a group of hungry and wicked people who were ready to push the Qin family into the abyss at any moment, into a place of no return.

Qin Weixi sneered, "So this Liang traitor's charade of framing loyalty has been going on for thirteen years?" As she spoke, she reached into the purse hanging from her waist.

Seeing this, Jiang Yuanjun was about to step forward to protect him when Chu Yening, who was sitting in the chair, suddenly reached out and blocked him. Jiang Yuanjun was puzzled, then saw Chu Yening shake his head at him.

She looked at Yao Zizhu and then walked closer step by step: "But do you know that the Liang family is just an empty shell now?"

Yao Zizhu was momentarily bewildered, and opened his mouth, "What do you mean?" Before he could finish speaking, he saw a flash of light pass by, and then he felt something being fed to him by the beautiful and charming girl in front of him. Before he knew it, he had swallowed it.

"What? What is that?" He was about to reach down to his throat to force it out when he realized that his hands were tied to the wooden stake, one on each side, and he couldn't move at all.

Qin Weixi looked at him with a half-smile: "Poison."

"It is both sweet and poison."

"You will feel your scalp tingling in the next few days, and soon you will explode and die, your brains shattered all over the ground."

Yao Zizhu's eyes widened in terror: "A viper, it really is a viper! Quick, give me the antidote!"

Qin Weixi looked at him calmly: "It's not impossible to get the antidote. Go back to the Liang family and, under the pretext that you haven't seen your father for many months, demand ten thousand taels of silver from that Liang scoundrel or you'll reveal all his secrets. Make him a little wary of you. Then you can investigate the imperial edict and find out who that Liang scoundrel is working for."

"As for how you will extricate yourself from this and obtain your antidote, that depends entirely on your abilities."

Yao Zizhu slumped weakly onto the rack again: "A femme fatale! This isn't how you use strategy..."

The three behind her watched as Qin Weixi methodically disguised the Tongling crisp candy in her purse as poison. Chu Yening watched her, a slight smile playing on her lips. Tao Qingyun, on the other hand, suppressed a laugh. Jiang Yuanjun, meanwhile, stared intently at the slender, snow-white figure before her.

Chu Yening stood up at the opportune moment: "If you don't agree, that's fine too. If this gets back to the Liang family's ears, I can say that it's not impossible for you to be tortured into confessing. The Liang family will no longer value you, and then what will become of your father?"

Yao Zizhu roared repeatedly.

Although it was the birthday of the Jiang siblings, none of them had eaten in the palace and were now quite hungry. Chu Yening left Songyang to handle the aftermath, and the group left the woodshed. They smelled the aroma of vegetables and meat, knowing that Old Man Zhang was cooking. Tao Qingyun suddenly rolled up his sleeves and said with a smile, "I'm in a good mood today, so I'll show you guys what I can do." He then gestured with his chin, "Just you wait and see."

Before long, the food was brought out by Old Zhang one by one. Qin Weixi helped out and discovered a dish of mutton crystal dumplings on the stove. She then brought out a teapot and poured a few cups of tea for the three of them. Tao Qingyun personally made a dish of dandelion scrambled eggs and said with great pride, "Let me tell you, I, Tao, have lived here for over twenty years and have never cooked before. You must eat all of this scrambled eggs today."

"But after today, please don't tell anyone that I cooked myself, or it will tarnish my reputation." He beckoned to Qin Weixi: "As an older brother, I should let my younger sister have her way, right? Little Seventh Sister, you eat first."

Qin Weixi smiled at him and quickly picked up a piece of scrambled eggs with her chopsticks: "Then thank you very much, Third Brother."

The moment she took a bite, she abruptly stopped chewing. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that all three people at the table were looking at her. She lowered her eyes and said, "Very good."

Tao Qingyun looked smug: "Of course."

Chu Yening also picked up a piece of scrambled eggs with her chopsticks, then suddenly raised an eyebrow: "It's really good."

Seeing this, Jiang Yuanjun also picked up a chopstick and slowly put it into her mouth, smiling gently, "When did you learn to cook, cousin?" He paused for a moment, then said, "Indeed, it's quite good."

Tao Qingyun looked up and laughed heartily. Seeing that the others were quite satisfied, he picked up the dish with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth: "I'll make one for A-Ling another day..." Before he could finish speaking, the others saw his face contort. He then got up, searched the room for a spittoon, spat everything in his mouth into it, and then gulped down a cup of tea on the table.

He gritted his teeth, "You lot, can't you hide the taste of salt?" He made a move to roll up his sleeves and "beat" Qin Weixi.

Qin Weixi smiled, her eyes full of tenderness, and quickly got up and dodged around: "Third Brother, did you fall into the salt bag?"

Tao Qingyun slammed her hand on the table: "Fine! You dare to make fun of your third brother, don't you?"

Jiang Yuanjun pursed her lips, her eyes full of smiles as she watched this familiar scene that she had often witnessed since her youth. Chu Yening also smiled, then filled the untouched teacup in front of her with tea and pushed it towards Jiang Yuanjun.

Jiang Yuanjun looked up for a moment, suddenly recalling the snow-covered palace walls of that day, and his severing of ties. But then she heard the thirteen-year-old before her resolutely depart for the desolate border. Now the young man was gone, and only the twenty-three-year-old, yet still dashing young man, had returned to the capital, saying, "I suppose Brother Luo hasn't told you yet, Brother Ashuo's orphan—well, not really an orphan, is there still Zhu Ruo alive? He's still alive."

"Wh...what?" Jiang Yuanjun suddenly stood up, for a moment wondering if he was hallucinating. Because the memories of his youth were so beautiful, he had dreamt of the eight of them in his youth many times, and he never wanted to return to that cruel reality.

Chu Yening then looked up at him: "Zhu Ruo and her brother Ashuo had a son back then, who is now in Chengxin Nunnery."

At this moment, Tao Qingyun and Qin Weixi also stopped their playful chase. Qin Weixi hadn't expected that her brother Luo Ling would only mention this matter to Jiang Yuanjun, but she had just understood Luo Ling's intention: it would be better if the two of them discussed it personally.

Tao Qingyun sighed softly, but a smile played on her lips as she patted Jiang Yuanjun's shoulder: "It's that little nun, Juechen. You know what, I was quite shocked when I found out about it a while ago. That little Jiu Bao is actually a boy, and he's been safely hidden in a nunnery all these years. Don't you think he's incredibly brave?" As she spoke, she glanced at Chu Yening.

“Chengxin Nunnery…” Jiang Yuanjun slowly sat down again.

So over the years, he has used that nunnery not only to protect Ah Shuo's wife, but also their children.

He looked up at Chu Yening: "Yening...you..." He smiled faintly. Then his pupils suddenly contracted, recalling the past, and he quickly asked: "There's no one else here today, I only want to know about those secret letters sent to the Crown Prince back then..."

Tao Qingyun was taken aback upon hearing this, and then he also looked at Chu Yening. The others saw Chu Yening calmly take a sip of tea.

Qin Weixi looked up at him. He hadn't revealed a single thing to him that day; it seemed so insignificant to him. He recalled how Qin Weixi had ridden to his rescue after the incident at the Star Gazing Tower—it was such a coincidence.

A flash of shock crossed Jiang Yuanjun's eyes, then his eyes reddened: "So it really was you." After a moment he continued: "So it was you who returned to the capital a few days earlier back then, and kept an eye on the movements of those involved in the Dingguo case, and that's why you used your scheme to get Li Sheng to go up the tower. And that fire that happened to alert the people, was it you who started it?"

Chu Yening said casually, "You probably know that the restaurant was originally run by Li Mou's father-in-law. Before leaving the capital, I took it over so that I could better observe the situation in the capital."

Tao Qingyun exclaimed in surprise: "So Li Mou's father-in-law willingly let you take that restaurant? That location is quite profitable!"

Chu Yening chuckled lightly: "Liang Xu is already trapped, and as for him, he is already my prisoner."