In her past life, Tao Rong had never betrayed Xue Huai'an. She couldn't possibly betray them now either.

Even if we take a step back and say that she really betrayed them, the worst that can happen is that she can start over.

Qin Su really intends to focus on recovering from her injuries, but she will keep a close eye on the outside developments.

In contrast to their leisurely demeanor, Xue Huai'an was much more anxious. There were people watching the horse farm, and he was very worried that the casino would be exposed.

But who exactly dislikes him? Who wants to harm him?

At first, Xue Huai'an thought that it was normal for the officials in the court who wanted to take action against him to make things difficult for him, since he was the Censor-in-Chief and it was inevitable that he would offend some people. However, Xue Huai'an later felt that something was wrong.

Those people didn't have Huo Wu's skills, nor could they possibly take Huo Wu away.

Are they still keeping an eye on the racecourse for the accounting books? Or have they already discovered the casino?

Xue Huai'an had been very worried. That day, he went to the study at the horse farm and opened the hidden compartment. The account book was still lying inside. He breathed a huge sigh of relief when he saw the account book; it was still there.

He closed the hidden compartment again, walked to the landscape painting, lifted it, and pressed down on a spot behind it. A section of the wall collapsed, revealing the entrance to the tunnel directly below the hidden compartment.

He had barely stepped inside when Xie Yang sneaked in, mimicking Xue Huai'an's actions as he fumbled for the mechanism. Estimating the time was about right, he pressed the button, and sure enough, there was a tunnel inside.

The setting sun immediately disappeared, and the entrance closed after he left.

Xue Huai'an was unaware of all this. His martial arts skills were limited to those of aristocratic scions; how could they possibly be as advanced as Xie Yang's?

The setting sun was like a shadow in the night, hidden in darkness, unseen by light. He roamed the underground, exploring almost every corner.

...

"The weather is nice today." Qin Su was moved by Lian Tao to the window, where she could see Luo Zhi outside fiddling with her herbs. The little prince Tuoba Yan was not wandering around outside, but was helping out.

The maidservant attending to her wasn't Lian Tao, but a maid from the manor who helped her with her grooming. As for Lian Tao, she was kept watch in the courtyard. Initially, Qin Su was worried that some poisonous insects from Luo Zhi might escape, or that she might act recklessly, so it was always good for Lian Tao to keep an eye on her. However, Qin Su didn't expect that these people would actually get along so well.

She also noticed that Luo Zhi seemed to have great hostility towards men, but was exceptionally patient with girls.

Lian Tao wasn't particularly popular among the girls, for no other reason than that her immense strength alone made many women avoid her. To be precise, it wasn't just women; many men avoided her like the plague.

It was fine when we were at White Tiger Village. Everyone knew some martial arts, so we didn't think Lian Tao was any different. But when we got to Kyoto, we found that everything was different.

"Would the Princess like to go to the courtyard to bask in the sun?" The maid was quite young and spoke to Qin Su with a smile.

There weren't many maids in the mansion, especially before Qin Su married into it.

After she arrived, she added quite a few maids, all of whom were transferred from the palace. Therefore, these maids did not need Qin Su to train them at all; they were capable of everything and knew their limits, clearly understanding what they could and could not do.

"Alright."

The weather is indeed nice today; the warm winter sun is not scorching, but rather dispels the biting cold of the snow wind.

The maid was about to help her up when Qin Su shook her head.

The maid thought Qin Su was too proud and unwilling to show weakness in front of them, so she stepped aside, but her attention was always on Qin Su, afraid that something might go wrong with her.

When the palace sent maids, they all thought Qin Su would be a difficult mistress to serve, after all, her reputation in the capital was really bad.

But upon closer service, they discovered that this master was not at all pretentious and could even get along well with them.

Of course, this is when they have nothing to do.

Qin Su walked out slowly, her movements were very quiet, so as not to disturb Luo Zhi and the others.

However, Lian Tao noticed it and quickly moved a table over, placing it in front of the swing.

It's said that this swing was made by Prince Chen himself, and it existed before Qin Su and her husband got married. However, Qin Su has so many things to do every day, where would she find the time for it?

Now that I'm injured, I'm able to calm down.

Lian Tao brought over fruit and pastries, as well as some stir-fried kidney beans.

Qin Su smiled and said to her, "Eating too many stir-fried green beans can cause internal heat, so you should eat less of them."

Now, not only does Lian Tao like to eat stir-fried green beans, but even some of the men in the Gongwei Army eat them. Some of them were brought back by Qin Su, but the vast majority were purchased from Huang County by the Gongwei Army.

That should be enough to feed them for a while.

"Okay," Lian Tao said softly before returning to Luo Zhi's side.

Qin Su, who was quietly basking in the sun, suddenly tilted her head back, revealing her beautiful jawline.

The maid noticed and looked over as well. She saw a person jump down from the wall of their palace. The person was wearing a black robe, holding a knife, and looked menacing.

"Who...who are you?" Clearly, the maid did not recognize Xieyang.

The setting sun was a secret guard in the mansion, and originally it did not walk in the sunlight.

“You’re one of us, you can step back now.” Qin Su spoke, and the maid finally breathed a sigh of relief. Just as she turned around, she noticed a dark blue tassel hanging from the waist of her “one of us,” and then remembered that Chongyang also had a similar tassel at his waist, and instantly understood.

"Any news?"

Before the setting sun could even speak, Qin Su asked impatiently.

The setting sun relayed all the information it had gathered to Qin Su.

"What happened below the horse farm... is truly unexpected. But it is indeed something Xue Huai'an would do."

"What does the Princess intend to do?" Xieyang is now considered half of Qin Su's subordinate. He does whatever she says without asking why, just doing his job well.

Qin Su gently touched her leg with her slender white fingers. She dared not move too much, as the injury on her shoulder had not yet healed and it would hurt if she moved it.

"Isn't gambling prohibited in Da'an? Let's report this to the authorities."

The setting sun's usually expressionless face showed a look of confusion.

Report to the authorities?

Aren't they officials?

And now, does the Prefect of the Capital dare to intervene in this matter?

Suddenly, Xieyang remembered the information he had gathered before: the Prefect of the Capital had dealt with the Princess Consort and indeed did not want to get involved in these matters. However, His Highness had also intervened, which changed the situation.

"Yes, I will take care of it immediately."

Qin Su responded, then added, "The fact that the Censor-in-Chief has opened a casino is such a big deal; of course, we should mention it to the Censor-in-Chief. I think Censor Li will be very pleased with this."

The setting sun quickly disappeared into the backyard. Qin Su gazed at the azure sky, feeling that perhaps today's sun could have been even brighter. She hoped for similar weather tomorrow.

Imperial Censor Li was an upright and incorruptible man, Qin Su knew very well. In his previous life, Imperial Censor Li had actually killed himself by crashing his head into a pillar in the Hall of Diligent Governance in order to impeach Xue Huai'an, which showed that he was a man who would rather break than bend.