With everything prepared, Shen Yuewei, accompanied by her personal maid Chun Tao, embarked on her journey to Jiangnan.

The Shen family escorted Shen Yuewei to the ship. Shen's mother tearfully told Shen Yuewei to take good care of herself, saying, "Mother, I will come to see you when I have time."

“Mother, no, don’t leave the capital. Don’t let anyone find out,” Shen Yuewei said with a smile.

Shen Yuewei stood at the swaying bow of the boat, gazing at the gradually blurring outline of the capital city. The damp, chilly river wind billowed at her slightly oversized clothes, attempting to conceal the secret that, though not yet fully revealed, had already changed her life.

Her father's aged and reluctant gaze, her younger brother's innocent weeping, her elder brother's calm yet worried admonitions, and especially her second brother's letter that meticulously arranged everything—from the silk shops and money houses in the most prosperous areas of Jiangnan to the most discreet and reliable old midwife—all weighed heavily on her heart.

Meanwhile, the guards secretly monitoring the Shen residence noticed something was amiss.

The Shen residence suddenly fell silent. The masters rarely ventured out, the gates were tightly shut, and an oppressive atmosphere hung in the air, as if a storm was brewing. The men sent by Crown Prince Xiao Chengjing to monitor Shen Yuewei had not seen her for several days, and even the inner courtyard of the Shen residence was rarely visited by the masters. Sensing something was amiss, they hurriedly reported back.

The air in the East Palace study was stagnant and icy.

"Not in the manor? The entire Shen manor is locked up and no one is coming out?" Xiao Chengjing's voice was low and emotionless, but the knuckles that were clenched white on the table betrayed his boundless rage. The net he had carefully laid had been broken by a sparrow he thought was trapped in a cage?

How dare she! Taking his... his flesh and blood, just vanished like that? Without a single sound.

He abruptly stood up, without disturbing too many people, and rode straight to the Shen residence with only his personal guards. The gates of the Shen residence were tightly closed, and the gatekeeper nervously announced his arrival. Only then did Shen's father hurriedly come out to greet him, his face displaying just the right amount of fear and exhaustion.

"Your subject pays respects to Your Highness the Crown Prince."

“Lord Shen,” Xiao Chengjing’s gaze swept across the empty and silent front courtyard, “Where is Yuewei?” He addressed her by name directly, skipping all formalities, wanting to know where Shen Yuewei had gone.

Father Shen bowed, his voice slightly hoarse: "Your Highness, my daughter... my daughter is unwell. The day before yesterday, her second brother arranged for her to go to the old house in Jiangnan to recuperate. The mild climate of Jiangnan is more suitable for her to recuperate."

"Quiet recuperation? What a fine quiet recuperation." Xiao Chengjing's lips curled into a cold smile, his eyes so sharp they almost pierced through Shen's father. "Lord Shen, I need to know the exact location of her 'quiet recuperation'."

Cold sweat beaded on Shen's father's forehead, yet he maintained a facade of composure: "Your Highness, please forgive me. My daughter is frail and needs to be kept away from the wind and allowed to rest. The exact location of our old residence is remote, and the servants are not entirely clear on the details, only knowing that it is in the Suzhou area. I have strictly ordered my family not to disturb her. Once she has recovered, we will certainly..."

"Enough!" Xiao Chengjing interrupted sharply, his anger surging within him.

He could tell that the Shen family was hiding something, or even using "weak health" as an excuse to protect her! That old fox! He suppressed the urge to explode on the spot, knowing that pressing for answers now would be pointless and would only alert them.

He gave Shen's father a cold glance, the warning and chill in his eyes sending a shiver down Shen's spine.

"Lord Shen, you should take care of yourself." With these ambiguous words, Xiao Chengjing turned and left.

The sound of horses' hooves quickly disappeared at the end of the long street, leaving the Shen family in a deathly silence and Shen's father's long sigh.