Mr. Zhou was not a servant of the Shen family, and his relationship with Shen Zhixiu was only private. She couldn't talk about her past life, so she needed a reasonable reason to ask Shen Zhixiu to help her thoroughly investigate Mr. Zhou.

Of course, this matter could also be approached by Lin Wuchen. However, the results of Lin Wuchen's investigation and Shen Zhixiu's investigation might be very different.

Since we need to conduct a thorough investigation, it would be better to do it all at once.

Apart from the affairs in the court, Shen Zhixiu spent most of his time on Su Qingyu.

So at a glance, I could tell that Su Qingyu was worried.

He thought that she had encountered some difficulties in the palace. Thinking of this possibility, his expression unconsciously became a little gloomy.

"Did something happen when you entered the palace today? Did the Concubine give you a hard time?"

Su Qingyu didn't understand why he asked that, so she shook her head and said, "No, no one is giving me any trouble."

Shen Zhixiu was puzzled, "Then why are you so worried?"

At this moment, Su Qingyu was drinking her soup with her head down. Upon hearing this, she sighed inwardly. Sure enough, nothing escaped his notice. Just as she was thinking of what to say, he had already asked.

Su Qingyu put down the spoon, wiped the corner of her mouth and said, "Third Master, I would like to ask your people for help to thoroughly investigate everything about Mr. Zhou."

Shen Zhixiu's thoughts were still on today's palace banquet, but Su Qingyu's words had already turned to Mr. Zhou.

"Mr. Zhou? What happened to him?" Shen Zhixiu also put down his chopsticks and asked.

Su Qingyu pondered for a moment before explaining, "Today I discovered something strange. Su Xiangling is sending someone to contact Mr. Zhou. I overheard her talking to a palace maid today, and it seemed like she was trying to use Mr. Zhou to harm me. It seems to be related to something that happened when I went to Qianzhou four years ago."

"I'm completely confused right now, so I want to check what Mr. Zhou has been doing in Qianzhou over the years to see if there are any clues."

As long as it concerns Su Qingyu's safety, Shen Zhixiu will not be careless.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "Should I send someone to find out who contacted Mr. Zhou and then warn him?"

Su Qingyu quickly refused, "Let's check first. Su Xiangling's words are so serious that I won't be sure until I get to the bottom of it. If you try to pressure Mr. Zhou, it would be bad if you alert the enemy."

Shen Zhixiu nodded and said, "Madam, what you said makes sense. I will send a message to Qianzhou right away and tell you as soon as I have any news."

"I'll send someone to keep a close eye on Mr. Zhou."

After this was said, Su Qingyu breathed a sigh of relief. She had a feeling that the news sent back from Qianzhou this time would solve the confusion of her past life.

She has complicated emotions towards Mr. Zhou.

He was like a knife being used by others. She felt scared when she thought about it, but she couldn't hate him.

And beside her, there is a sharp knife ready to be unsheathed at any time. She must retract this knife and even use it for her own benefit.

The next morning, everyone in the Shen family went to Qingyuanju to pay their respects to the old lady.

As they sat together and talked, Shen Zhiheng said, "Mother, the Wuling Chen family's silver has never been recovered. Just do as we agreed before and give the second and third sons the silver according to that amount."

This was the consensus reached by everyone when Shen Zhao returned from Wuling last time. The agreed deadline was the end of the year, but Su Qingyu did not mention it at the end of the year.

Firstly, she had to remit the money at the end of the year, and secondly, she didn't want to chase Shen Zhiheng for money. She planned to wait until after the New Year to bring it up with Yang.

I didn't expect that Shen Zhiheng would bring it up today.

Shen Zhao and Li Chaoyun were both a little surprised. They thought they had reached a consensus with their father, and the account would continue to be dragged on. As for when it would be dragged on, of course, it would be until the eldest wife took full control of the family.

The old lady was very pleased to hear Shen Zhiheng say this. She hated to see the family in turmoil because of money.

The second and third wives didn't keep pursuing the matter, and the first wife took the initiative to give it, which can be considered as brotherly love and respect.

The old lady nodded and said, "In that case, let's do it this way. Qingyu, I'll leave this matter to you."

Su Qingyu bowed and replied yes, planning to get the matter done in the next two days.

As they were talking, a maid from Qingyuanju suddenly came in to report.

"Third Master, Wenzhu wants to see you."

Shen Zhixiu's expression changed slightly, "Ask him in."

If it weren't for something serious, Wenzhu wouldn't have come to Qingyuanju to ask for a meeting. The other members of the Shen family also looked at each other, wondering what had happened.

Not long after, Wenzhu walked in quickly.

"Third Master, news has come from the northern border that General Li Yunzhou was badly defeated and was besieged on Maoer Mountain three days ago."

"The Emperor summons you to the palace immediately. He also summons the cabinet ministers and the Minister of War."

Shen Zhixiu looked normal, without any obvious panic.

Su Qingyu was shocked, but remained expressionless. Shen Yue reacted the most, standing up and looking at Shen Zhixiu, "Third Uncle, is Brother Yunzhou okay?"

But Shen Yue is Li Yunzhou's fiancée, so this reaction is not surprising.

Shen Zhixiu didn't have time to elaborate, so he could only console her: "Victory and defeat are common in the military. How can anyone win battles all the time?"

He looked at Su Qingyu again and gave her a comforting look. Then he took the cloak handed to him by Aunt Hua and turned away.

Su Qingyu always felt that there was something meaningful in Shen Zhixiu's eyes before he left, and she felt a little more at ease unconsciously.

When she turned around to comfort Shen Yue, she saw the corners of Li Chaoyun's lips curled up. Although he lowered his head, he could still see the smug look on his face.

Su Qingyu thought that it was too early for Li Chaoyun to be happy, as this was just the beginning.

After that, battle reports from the northern border were transmitted to the capital every day, all of which were news of Li Yunzhou's defeat.

The battle report said that because food and fodder did not arrive in time, the soldiers suffered from hunger and cold. In addition, the Tartars' offensive was fierce, so they were defeated one after another.

The entire court was in turmoil. Censors successively impeached Li Yunzhou for his incompetence and advocated that Prince Shan Li Jingchuan be allowed to take command of the Northern Frontier Army again.

However, Li Jingchuan was suffering from a cold, and Princess Yongjia firmly disagreed with Li Jingchuan's going, so the matter came to a standstill.

On the tenth day of the Lunar New Year, Zhang Pan quietly requested permission to assist Li Yunzhou in repelling the Tartars. It's unknown how he asked, but Emperor Xuande finally granted his request. Zhang Pan rode out of the city that night, heading north.

It is said that the old lady of the Zhang family almost went to the Ganyang Palace, and she wanted to go and get her grandson back herself. But it was too late, and the man had already run away.

The third young master of the Li family, Li Yunhuai, also left Beijing on the same day as Zhang Pan.

According to Princess Yongjia's plan, Li Yunhuai would rendezvous with Chen Ping at Black Tiger Mountain. Five thousand personal guards would then escort Li Yunhuai and his provisions to the Northern Frontier camp. With this supply of provisions and his status as the third young master of the Li family, Li Yunhuai would be able to smoothly take command of the Northern Frontier army.

As for Li Yunzhou, he will be taken into custody. When Li Yunhuai returns to Beijing in triumph, Li Yunzhou will also be brought back to stand trial. Then they will try to frame him with the crime of treason, and he will be sentenced to death.

But what Princess Yongjia didn't know was that the food supply was no longer the same as before. Everything would not go as she expected.