The snow in the capital was wetter and colder than in Yuncheng. Xin Jiuwei wrapped her cloak tighter and gazed at the majestic city gate in the distance.

After three days and nights of travel, she and Xin Kui finally managed to sneak into the capital before the city gates closed. The map given to them by Lan Mingyue was extremely accurate, allowing them to avoid all the checkpoints on the official roads.

"Miss, where should we go first?" Xin Kui asked in a low voice. Days of traveling had left dark circles under her eyes.

Xin Jiuwei stroked the porcelain bottle in her sleeve. According to Lan Mingyue, they should go to Huichuntang in the West Market first.

However, the second prince threatened Xin with marriage as a pretext, saying that her elder sister had already entered the capital before her and was living in the Xin family mansion that Xin's ancestors had built many years ago.

"Let's go to the back alley of the Xin residence," she finally decided. "I need to make sure my sister is safe first."

Xin Kui hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded. The two hired an inconspicuous sedan chair and took a detour to the Xin residence.

Through the gap in the sedan curtain, Xin Jiuwei watched the familiar street scenes flash by. The last time she saw these streets in her previous life was on the way to the side courtyard sent by Qi Huaiyu.

The back alley of Xin Mansion was quiet, with only a few vendors calling out their wares.

Xin Jiuwei told the sedan bearers to stop at the corner, while she herself made her way to the side gate under the cover of dusk.

The brass lock hanging on the door relieved her—it was a secret signal she and her sister had agreed upon; the lock facing left indicated that the house was safe.

She knocked softly on the door—three long knocks, two short knocks, a pause, then two long knocks again. Light footsteps came from inside, followed by her sister's personal maid, Bitao's, exclaim: "Third Miss?!"

"Where is my sister?" Xin Jiuwei asked immediately as she entered the room.

Bitao's face was pale: "The eldest young lady is in the study and hasn't eaten properly for three days. The master's letters from Yingzhou haven't arrived yet, and several groups of matchmakers have come to the manor..."

Xin Jiuwei's heart tightened. Without saying a word, she hurried towards the inner courtyard. As she turned the corner of the corridor, she almost bumped into a maid carrying a bowl of medicine.

The medicine tasted bitter with a hint of fishiness, instantly making her tense up.

"Whose medicine is this for?"

The maid was so frightened she almost knocked over the medicine bowl: "Replying to, Third Miss, it's the eldest young lady's calming soup..."

Xin Jiuwei asked no more questions and went straight to the study. Before opening the door, she took a deep breath and tidied her messy hair. Whether in her past life or this one, she always remembered that her sister hated a sloppy appearance the most.

Inside the study, Xin Xiyao was engrossed in writing. Hearing the door open, she didn't even look up: "I said I don't need dinner."

"Why don't you even see my sister when she comes back?" Xin Jiuwei said softly.

The brush tip paused on the rice paper, spreading a large blot of ink. Xin Xiyao looked up abruptly, her face, which bore a striking resemblance to Xin Jiuwei, filled with shock. The next moment, she had circled around the desk and grabbed her sister's wrist: "Are you crazy? Going to the capital now?!"

Xin Jiuwei then saw her sister's appearance clearly—Xin Xiyao, who always paid attention to her appearance, had only casually tied her hair up, with dark circles under her eyes and her lips slightly cracked due to dryness.

The desk was piled high with account books and letters, and the top page was densely filled with the names and movements of court officials.

"What is your sister investigating?" Xin Jiuwei couldn't help but ask.

Xin Xiyao quickly flipped the paper over, her expression returning to calm: "It's nothing, just household expenses."

She looked her younger sister up and down. "How come you've lost so much weight? Didn't you eat properly in Yuncheng?"

This clumsy attempt to change the subject brought a lump to Xin Jiuwei's throat. Her older sister in her past life had been the same way, always prioritizing her own well-being despite bearing immense pressure herself. She suddenly reached out and hugged Xin Xiyao, feeling her sister's back stiffen instantly.

"I'm sorry, sister." She buried her face in Xin Xiyao's shoulder. "I shouldn't have left the capital without permission and made you worry."

Xin Xiyao's body slowly relaxed, and she finally sighed softly, hugging her sister back: "It's good that you're back." She pushed Xin Jiuwei away and asked seriously, "Do you know what the situation is like in the capital right now? Why did you come to the capital alone?"

"I know about the marriage proposal from the Marquis of Zhenbei's family." Xin Jiuwei looked directly into her sister's eyes, "But more importantly, the Sixth Prince was assassinated—"

"Shh!" Xin Xiyao quickly covered her mouth, her eyes darting warily towards the window. "Walls have ears." She pulled her sister to the innermost part of the study, lifted a landscape painting to reveal a hidden room behind it. "Let's go inside and talk."

The secret room wasn't large, but it was filled with things Xin Jiuwei hadn't expected—the walls were covered with detailed maps of the capital's defenses, the table was piled with copies of correspondence between various mansions, and there were even several unsheathed short swords.

The most eye-catching thing is the painting "Snow Plum Blossoms" hanging in the center, which is the same painting that was burned in public by my sister's husband's family in my previous life.

"Sister, these are..."

"Do you think I spend my days embroidering and playing the zither in the manor?" Xin Xiyao sneered, taking out a booklet from a hidden compartment. "Ever since you left the capital, I've been investigating the cause of my mother's death. And I discovered..." She opened the booklet, pointing to a name, "...that three months before her death, my mother had a private conversation with this imperial physician."

Xin Jiuwei stared intently, and her blood instantly froze—it was Physician Chen, a guest of honor at the Second Prince's residence, and the "witness" who accused her of plotting against Xue Yingxue in her previous life.

"How did you find out all this, sister?"

Xin Xiyao's lips curled slightly: "That fool Qi Huaihe thinks he can win me over by sending a few baskets of tangerines, little does he know that the old Qi family members he's secretly contacting are the ones I really need."

Xin Jiuwei's eyes widened. So her cousin and sister had been keeping in touch! And judging from her sister's tone...

"Doesn't my sister dislike my cousin?"

"Who has time to hate him?" Xin Xiyao's ears turned slightly red, and she quickly changed the subject, "Let's get down to business. The assassination attempt on the Sixth Prince was a ruse, a ploy to lure the enemy out. Now the Second Prince's faction can't hold back any longer, which is why they're rushing to control the Xin family through a marriage alliance."

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