He did indeed quite like Qin Su. The girl was beautiful, skilled in martial arts, and most importantly, had foresight.

Such women are rare; how could a normal man not like them?

But it's unnecessary and counterproductive to make him break ties with his brother for Qin Su's sake.

Emperor Mingyang wasn't that suspicious.

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty."

As emperor, Emperor Mingyang did indeed want to balance the various forces, but he also had his own softer side. At least he didn't want to alienate everyone. If Yu Shuo really wanted to rebel after gaining the Qin family's power, then they could deal with that later.

At least Yu Shuo was not a cruel person.

Since Yu Shuo returned to the capital, Emperor Mingyang had been pondering this matter, but had not allowed Yu Shuo to come to the palace to inquire. Now, he finally made up his mind and made his choice.

"I hereby bestow a marriage upon you two," Emperor Mingyang said, gesturing to Chief Steward Deng to fetch the imperial edict.

Yu Shuo shook his head. "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty, but there's no need for that for now. She... she's not willing to marry me yet."

"Huh?" Even Emperor Mingyang was stunned when he heard this, never expecting that there was a woman in the world who could refuse his younger brother.

In terms of appearance, he was no less handsome than Yu Shuo, but he had a harem, which would indeed deter many women from entering the palace; Yu Shuo was different, his harem was clean, and he had never had any improper relationships with any woman.

"Fine, I'll write the imperial edict down. You can give it to her if you want. If you two don't end up together, then this edict will be considered as if it never existed."

It's unclear what Emperor Mingyang's motives were, but he insisted on writing this imperial edict.

The imperial edict had just been written when Qin Su was already waiting outside the warm pavilion.

It's getting late now, and it will probably only take the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before nightfall completely envelops the earth.

Qin Su felt uneasy, wondering what Emperor Mingyang would do.

"Princess, His Majesty invites you in," Chief Steward Deng said to Qin Su.

Qin Su noticed that Steward Deng's gaze was a bit strange, so she stepped forward and asked in a low voice, "Steward Deng, has something happened?"

How could Steward Deng possibly tell Qin Su everything that had just happened? He could only pretend he knew nothing.

He smiled and shook his head.

Qin Su didn't have time to ask any more questions; she went into the warm pavilion. The warm pavilion was truly a perfect place—warm in winter and cool in summer, an excellent workspace.

She wasn't surprised to find Yu Shuo there when she went inside.

"This humble woman greets Your Majesty and Your Highness Prince Chen."

"Get up, we were just talking about you." Emperor Mingyang said abruptly, placing the written imperial edict on the table as if he wanted to see Yu Shuo make a fool of himself.

Yu Shuo stared at the imperial edict, worried that Qin Su might discover something.

"Hmm? Your Majesty and His Highness Prince Chen were talking about me?"

Emperor Mingyang responded, and said sarcastically, "Speaking of how you lied to me and committed the crime of deceiving the emperor..."

Qin Su looked distressed and immediately knelt down, saying, "This subject knows her crime."

She could have easily covered it up; Kang Lin was already dead, and with such a serious crime, His Majesty certainly wouldn't have investigated it thoroughly.

But a regular month unexpectedly created a huge pitfall for her.

"Will you confess yourself, or will I tell you everything?"

As Emperor Mingyang spoke, he used his hand to block Yu Shuo's attempt to take the imperial edict.

At this point, Yu Shuo was too lazy to give Emperor Mingyang a pleasant look. He simply snatched the imperial edict, not caring whether the ink on it had dried or not, and quickly rolled it up.

Emperor Mingyang laughed when he saw him like this.

Qin Su: ? ? She thought she heard Emperor Mingyang laugh?

“This humble woman will tell you herself. Kang Lin had previously deceived a woman into bearing him a child. This woman was Wang Manzhu, the daughter of the Wang family in Yang County. The Wang family was wiped out by Kang Lin, and Wang Manzhu was filled with hatred. So she took advantage of the chaos and stabbed Kang Lin to death.”

After saying that, Qin Su hurriedly added, "Your Majesty, please spare Wang Manzhu's life, considering that there are indeed extenuating circumstances."

Emperor Mingyang glared at his younger brother, worried that the writing on it would be blurred.

"She murdered the prince consort; this crime is enough to implicate nine generations of her family."

Emperor Mingyang looked at Qin Su sternly, tapping the table absently with his hand. "Without rules, there can be no order. If I release her, what will happen if someone else commits the same offense in the future?"

"This incident has outweighed your wrongdoing, so I will not hold it against you. However, if you dare to deceive me again in the future, you will be dealt with according to the laws of Da'an."

"Yes," Qin Su replied.

She looked at Yu Shuo, hesitated for a long time but still didn't speak to him.

"Is there anything else?" Emperor Mingyang asked again.

"Hmm." Qin Su thought of the second thing she came here for today, and she told Emperor Mingyang everything that had happened in Shacheng.

"Kang Lin must be in cahoots with this man. I urge Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly."

Shacheng is the gateway to Da'an. If the city lord colludes with other countries, the consequences will be unimaginable.

Emperor Mingyang looked at Yu Shuo, "Are you aware of this matter?"

Yu Shuo shook his head. "He didn't show anything unusual."

The city lord of Shacheng has been in office for over twenty years and has managed the city well, with almost no problems to be seen.

"Alright, I will have this matter thoroughly investigated. It's getting late, you may all leave."

Yu Shuo and Qin Su bowed and were about to leave when Emperor Mingyang suddenly called Qin Su back, "By the way, I heard that Princess Wei'an has recently been having Lady Hou select men for her?"

Qin Su paused for a moment, then said, "That is indeed true."

Emperor Mingyang glanced at his unhappy younger brother, a smile spreading across his face. "Very well, you're not young anymore, it's time to start looking for a suitable wife. I think Lady Qin is quite knowledgeable in this area, so why don't she also help Prince Chen find a suitable girl?"

"Huh?" Qin Su was stunned. She really didn't expect Emperor Mingyang to say such a thing. She looked at Yu Shuo again and was about to decline when Emperor Mingyang had already instructed Steward Deng to send the two of them out.

Steward Deng jokingly said to Yu Shuo, "I'd like to trouble Miss Qin to ask Madam Qin to take a look at His Highness Prince Chen."

Qin Su: "..."

She gave a wry smile, "How could my mother possibly make this decision?"

Under Yu Shuo's cold gaze, Steward Deng dared not say too much, and simply had the palace servants escort the two away.

Night had almost completely enveloped the earth, but the palace was brightly lit.

"Why is Your Highness in the palace today?" Perhaps Qin Su just felt the atmosphere was a bit strange, so she asked.

Yu Shuo gripped the imperial edict tightly and said calmly, "His Majesty summoned me to discuss some political matters."

The two fell silent again. Yu Shuo wanted to ask several times, but he just didn't know how to start.

"Does Your Highness have something to say?"

Yu Shuo suddenly grabbed Qin Su's wrist, half of his palm through her soft inner garment, the two sides of the touch were different but both were very hot.

"Do you...do you have a suitable family in mind?"

Qin Su shook her head. "I plan to go take a look tomorrow."

"Where can I see it?" he pressed, his tone surprisingly urgent.

“Autumn comes to the waterside pavilion,” Qin Su replied, then suddenly laughed, “What? Does Your Highness really want to meet a young lady? I can speak to my mother on Your Highness’s behalf.”

Yu Shuo hesitated for a moment and said, "There is indeed a girl I made an appointment with."