The instant his lips brushed against the corner of her mouth, his breath enveloped her, rapid, warm, and carrying a hint of alcohol.

Today he was wearing a well-fitting robe, and beneath it, the strong muscles on his arms could be vaguely seen, bulging even more as he exerted himself.

Unlike the nervous excitement she felt when interacting with Song Yue, Qingchen felt a sense of resistance and even fear when facing Xu Silin… After all, he was young and impulsive, and he was Xu Yan's son; she didn't know what he might do to her…

Qingchen shook her head and struggled violently, her shoulders aching from the effort, but she could only avoid his lips, unable to escape his hold on her. In the moonlight, her long black hair swayed incessantly, gleaming with a soft sheen.

"Xu Silin!" she finally cried out, "Let go of me, it hurts! Do you know what you're doing!"

Her shout seemed to wake Xu Silin from his stupor, and he paused for a moment.

In that brief moment, fueled by alcohol, his actions seemed completely out of his control; his body was simply following some primal and instinctive impulse, acting recklessly...

Taking advantage of his momentary hesitation, Qingchen shoved him away forcefully, then neatly tied her hair up, turned around, and pushed open the door to leave.

The moment the door was pushed open, a gust of cold wind rushed into the room and blew onto Xu Silin's burning body.

He stood there, stunned, his head spinning, the soft touch of her lips still lingering on his lips. He touched his lips, trying to recall the scene in his confused state, but his consciousness became increasingly scattered, and he couldn't concentrate at all.

After standing there for a while, he suddenly collapsed, completely drunk and unconscious.

Outside, the snow was falling heavily. Qingchen's figure had long since disappeared into the cold night. The cold wind howled, making the sliding doors creak and groan, and poured into the room through the wide-open doorway.

Xu Silin lay on the floor, the hem of his robe being lifted by the wind.

Snow blankets the capital.

The next day, Shen Qingchen got up early and opened the door, just as he was about to make some breakfast for his father, when he saw Ming Xiang waving at him from the neighboring yard.

Soon, Mingxiang brought over a pot of porridge and a few steamed buns, and said to her, "Brother Qingchen, I heard you chopping wood very late last night. Were you still awake very late?"

Qingchen nodded, "I'm sorry, Mingxiang, I forgot the time and disturbed you."

She returned home last night with mixed feelings. She wanted to boil some water to wash her face, but found that there was no firewood. So she started chopping wood in the night. While thinking about Xu Silin's actions and what she had said to him, she chopped for a long time without realizing it, almost exhausting all her strength.

She didn't sleep well that night either, barely getting any sleep.

Xu Yan's conspiracy, Xu Silin's affection, her second uncle's injuries... all these things tangled in her heart, making it hard for her to breathe. The bond between her and Xu Silin grew deeper and deeper, and their relationship became more and more complicated. She felt gratitude, apology, and guilt for having to use him... These emotions were tangled and difficult to unravel, ultimately leading to a sleepless night filled with worries.

"Brother Qingchen," Mingxiang said with a smile as she placed the porridge and steamed buns on the table, "These are the porridge and steamed buns I made for you. You must be very tired since you went to bed so late last night. I didn't have anything else to do, so I made them for you and Uncle. Please eat them while they're hot."

"Thank you, Mingxiang."

After her promotion, Shen Qingchen gave Mingxiang's parents some extra money while Mingxiang was away, as a way of paying rent for the house. They were honest and simple people and initially refused to accept it, but she insisted. Later, when Mingxiang found out, she insisted on returning the money. Shen Qingchen pretended to be angry, and Mingxiang finally accepted the money, but treated her even better afterward.

"Brother Qingchen, don't be so polite with me. It's my good fortune to know you."

Looking at her smile, as bright as a forsythia in spring, Qingchen felt a pang of pity and for a moment wanted to tell her her identity. However, it was getting late, and she had to go to work, so she probably couldn't explain it clearly in a short time. Therefore, she decided to wait until she returned in the evening to tell Mingxiang the truth.

Even if there was a risk of her identity being exposed, she didn't want to keep it from this kind girl any longer.

She, a half-male, half-female person whose head might move at any time, cannot afford to delay a pure and beautiful girl any longer.

Shen Qingchen returned to the court early in the morning and went to the Imperial Household Department first. Among the officials who passed by her along the way, many looked at her with admiration and envy.

Her brilliant remarks at yesterday's morning court session have spread throughout the court and the public overnight. The words "May the Ming Dynasty last forever, and prosper for ten thousand generations" have become the talk of the town. Not to mention her previous deeds.

After Qingchen had been busy in the Imperial Household Department for a while, other officials arrived one after another.

Along with them came a piece of bad news.

The Gu family, the Marquis of Ningyuan, had their property confiscated last night!

"I've heard that Gu Ru's son, Gu Shaoheng, was Lord Shen's classmate and close friend. Please accept my condolences, my lord..."

Upon hearing this news, Qingchen was still somewhat stunned. It was clearly yesterday morning at the court... how could such a sudden change have occurred! After grabbing the two people who were talking and asking them, she learned what had happened.

Last night, while she was entangled with Xu Silin, the Gu family steward in the imperial prison died.

His death was extremely gruesome; he was disemboweled and left with no complete corpse.

The Imperial Guard reported the cause of death to the Cabinet as suicide. The prison doors were locked, and no one entered or left, so there was no possibility of murder. The seventy-year-old steward used a dagger from who-knows-where to cut open his abdomen, exposing his internal organs to everyone, his gray hair completely stained blood red.

Beside his body were a few lines written in blood: "This humble subject dares not betray the Emperor's grace, therefore I punish myself to atone for my sins to Heaven, though I harbor rebellious intentions."

Death is an extreme form of self-affirmation and expression, let alone cutting open one's abdomen to reveal one's heart.

At the time of the incident, Lu Shenyun was not in the Zhenfu Division. Xu Yan, acting on behalf of the Emperor, had sent him to the outskirts of the capital to investigate the rioting bandits. The origins of these bandits were unknown, but the Grand Secretary had given them a name that commanded respect—the White Lotus Sect. He also told Lu Shenyun that spies had reported that the leader of the White Lotus Sect was among them.

Since the founding of the dynasty, Emperor Taizu had repeatedly attacked the White Lotus Sect, saying that it had caused "the ignorant people to be misled by sorcery and not understand the absurdities of the verses... Once the sorcery was spread, the evil schemes were carried out, cities were burned, scholars were killed, and the lives of the people were poisoned in countless ways." He also used harsh laws and severe punishments to govern the White Lotus Sect, but he was never able to completely eradicate it.

During the reign of Emperor Zhu Rui, the White Lotus Rebellion was frequent, spreading dissenting opinions and openly challenging imperial authority. Some members even colluded with the enemy on the border, acting as traitors and spies. Zhu Rui deeply resented them.

Therefore, after leaving the Cabinet Office, Lu Shenyun led a team of people out of the capital to investigate the leader of the White Lotus Sect.

The Grand Secretary Xu Yan was on duty in the cabinet last night. After receiving the message from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he did not delay at all and immediately summoned Zhu Rui. The two spoke privately for half an hour, and then an imperial edict was issued from the Qianqing Palace.

Huang Heng, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, immediately took the imperial edict to the Zhenfu Division and, without notifying Lu Shenyun and Huang Yu, sent a commander with his men to ransack Gu Shaoheng's home.

At the same time, Gu Ru's title was stripped, and he was imprisoned in a death row to await execution in the autumn. All the male members of the Gu family were dismissed from their posts and exiled to the army, while the women were demoted to commoners…

Qingchen remembered that it snowed last night, and it snowed all night. It was also very cold at night, and she couldn't sleep. She could clearly feel the cold wind sneaking into the room through the cracks in the door, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't warm up the quilt.

Her best friend, Gu Shaoheng, however, endured an incredibly agonizing night.

How the blazing torches illuminated his home, how the screams and struggles were so tragic and desolate, how panicked and angry that face, which had been full of laughter and curses, was now filled with the barely clinging to life of the entire Gu family...

Just over a month ago, the Gu family had held a coming-of-age ceremony for Gu Shaoheng, and the mansion was still a picture of wealth and prosperity. In the blink of an eye, the century-old family was destroyed and vanished without a trace.

Xu Yan, that bastard!

At this moment, the steward came to inform Qingchen, "Grand Secretary Song has come in person, saying he wants to see Lord Shen."

Qingchen walked out quickly and saw Song Yue waiting under the eaves. His profile looked tired, as if he hadn't slept well all night.

Upon seeing her arrive, Song Yue cut to the chase: "Come with me."

Where to?

"The Gu residence. I've told them to leave later. If you go now, you can still see Gu Shaoheng."