Chapter 70

"It can't get through, it won't get through."

He murmured to himself, tears streaming down his face, soaking Chen Yao's shoulder.

A man doesn't easily shed tears, unless he's truly heartbroken.

He was on the verge of emotional collapse and needed to cry to release his emotions.

"Cry, it'll make you feel better."

Shen Yao gently stroked his back.

Xu Xuan cried even harder, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

The woman's tenderness and compassion gave Xu Xuan warmth and strength. At this moment, the grievances and suppressed pain he had suffered for many years were released in her arms. This was also the first time he had shown his vulnerable side in front of a woman.

Even this vulnerability was something Liu Ru had never witnessed.

When facing Liu Ru, he was always a towering figure; but in front of Shen Yao—

He thought, perhaps this is his wife.

Wife, also known as Qi, means sharing joys and sorrows, and going through thick and thin together.

With his arms wrapped around the woman's waist, Xu Xuan slowly closed his eyes.

...

Xu's father had also recovered by then, and kept coughing on the bed.

The two then stood up.

Shen Yao was very curious and naturally wanted to find out what had happened between the father and son, but seeing Xu Xuan's unpleasant expression, she thought it best not to pry into other people's private affairs.

I just didn't expect that she wouldn't ask, but Xu Xuan herself went straight to the point.

"This person is not my father."

Xu Xuan said calmly, "It's laughable. Before today, I never doubted my own background, but I never expected things to happen so suddenly, and I didn't even have time to prepare."

"Prepare what?" Shen Yao looked at him in surprise, her heart pounding with shock.

Good heavens, what's going on? For a moment, she didn't seem to be mentally prepared.

Xu Xuan smiled, took a few steps forward and sat on the bed, fixing her gaze on the man's face, and said wistfully, "I don't know where he came from, nor where he's going."

He turned to look at Shen Yao and said his last words.

His voice was like smoke and mist, and his gaze was deep and intense like water.

Shen Yao was slightly taken aback, blinked, and finally lowered her eyes without saying a word.

Xu Xuan sighed, withdrew his gaze from her face, stood up, tidied his clothes, and stepped out.

Shen Yao hurriedly followed, asking, "Where are you going?"

"Didn't you say your father-in-law was here? I'll go and pay my respects myself."

Oh, right, Dad's still waiting in the hall.

She had almost forgotten; what a sin.

But what should the father inside do?

Shen Yao stopped him, gesturing with her lips and saying, "Your father doesn't care anymore?"

"in spite of."

He grabbed her wrist, led her outside, and locked the door.

They put the keys in their pockets and walked together toward the main hall.

Inside the main hall, Xu's mother was chatting with Mr. Shen.

The two entered the room, exchanged greetings, and sat down at the lower end of the table. After the maidservant served tea, Madam Xu smiled and said, "Have you gone to Java?"

Xu Xuan glanced at Shen Yao, then quickly stood up and bowed, saying apologetically, "It's my fault for keeping you waiting, Father-in-law."

Seeing that the situation was not good, Shen Yao also stood up and lowered her head slightly.

Madam Xu served tea without saying a word, but Master Shen smiled and waved his hand, saying, "It's alright, we're all family, why be so formal?"

When asked about his father's health, Xu Xuan answered each question, only saying that his leg bone had been injured by a falling beam and that smoke had ruined his voice, leaving him bedridden and unable to walk or speak. He concealed all other details.

Master Shen exclaimed, "Oh dear!" and sighed, "Truly, the weather is unpredictable, and misfortune can strike at any moment. Everything was fine, who could have imagined such a thing would happen!"

He spoke with repeated words of sorrow, and then got up to visit Xu's father.

Xu Xuan sensed something was wrong and quickly pressed down on Master Shen, advising, "Father-in-law, Father has suffered such a calamity and looks haggard; he is truly unwell and unable to face anyone. How about we invite you over for a chat when Father is feeling a bit better?"

"……Well."

When his father-in-law had an accident, he made a special trip to visit him. However, his son-in-law refused to see him because of his poor appearance, which made Mr. Shen frown.

He then looked at Xu's mother, who also sighed, "What you say is true, it's not too late to see each other again later."

Xu's mother also deeply despised her husband.

"Alright," Mr. Shen muttered, pursing his lips.

He had done his duty as a relative by marriage, and there was nothing else he could do. In the end, he only instructed Shen Yao to take good care of the elders before taking his leave.

Exhausted, Xu's mother was helped to rest by her maids and servants, and Xu Xuan then saw Master Shen out.

Last night's fire destroyed several houses on the west side of the Xu residence. Only the house on the east side of the main hall is still habitable. Although the Xu family has a small number of members, it is actually quite crowded when servants and maids are included.

Master Shen then said, "It's really troublesome to ask someone to repair the house as the year draws to a close. If it's inconvenient to stay here, then come and rest at the Shen family's house for a while."

Xu Xuan replied, "Okay."

After seeing Mr. Shen off, Shen Yao saw that it was getting late and wanted to take her leave, but Xu Xuan stopped her. The two walked to a dark place, where Xu Xuan instructed her, "You must keep my father's affairs a secret and not let any outsiders know anything about them."

Xu Xuan looked serious, and Shen Yao quickly nodded in agreement, "Don't worry, I'm very tight-lipped. No one else will know about this."

Fearing he wouldn't believe her, Shen Yao even made a vow to the heavens, but Xu Xuan stopped her as soon as she reached out her hand, saying, "As long as you don't say it, you don't have to be struck by lightning."

"I promise I won't tell."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

Xu Xuan, who always had a serious expression and exuded an aura of icy coldness, smiled like a red plum blossom blooming in the freezing cold of winter, shining brightly.

His smile is absolutely gorgeous.

Shen Yao kept staring at him.

Xu Xuan was also looking at her. Unlike Shen Yao, who admired handsome men, Xu Xuan looked at her more like he was scrutinizing an ally. He tentatively asked, "Aren't you curious about my background?"

Shen Yao was suddenly taken aback. Under his gaze, she first shook her head, then nodded.

Well, she was still curious, so she asked him, "Are you going to tell me?"

My heart was beating slightly faster.

Xu Xuan shook her head and sighed softly, "Actually, I don't know my own background either."

"Don't you want to find out?"

Shen Yao then asked the question.

This time, Xu Xuan didn't answer her; she simply turned her head and looked into the distance...

*

After leaving the Xu residence, Shen Yao went straight to the palace.

I stood him up last night; he's probably furious!

She needs to comfort her.

When they arrived at Cining Palace, Wei Luo was lying in a mahogany rocking chair reading a book.

Liu Henghou was serving tea when he saw Shen Yao arrive. He was about to remind Wei Luo when Shen Yao quickly put her finger to her lips and made a "shh" gesture.

Liu Heng understood, lowered his head and left, leaving the room to the two of them.

With light footsteps, Shen Yao slipped behind Wei Luo and, taking advantage of his attention being on his book, covered the man's eyes, chuckling, "Guess who I am?"

The man's eyelashes trembled in his palm.

After waiting for a while, Wei Luo did not play with her as she wished. Instead, he kept quiet. Shen Yao felt she had made a fool of herself, so she quickly let go of his hand and stood aside.

Wei Luo then looked at her, sizing her up and down, raising an eyebrow slightly. "Miss Chen, what brings you here at this hour?"

Hmph, he's still sulking, just as I thought.

Shen Yao sighed and said, "Something terrible happened last night. The Xu family's house caught fire. Did you know?"

"Of course I know, this matter has been known throughout the capital for a long time, who doesn't know it?"

Wei Luo closed the book, stared intently at Shen Yao, and asked her, "Did you go to the Xu family today?"

"Um."

"What about Xu Xuan's father?"

"Lying in bed, unable to speak or walk, he is practically a useless person."

"Is it that serious?"

Wei Luo lowered his eyes, deep in thought. Seeing this, Shen Yao asked curiously, "Is Your Highness very concerned about Xu Xuan's father?"

"No, it's not that. It's just that Commander Xiao came over today and said the fire started strangely, and he's afraid it might be because someone was offended."

In an instant, Shen Yao's mind went completely white. She could only see Wei Luo's lips moving, but she didn't hear a single word.

The fire was started by Xu Xuan, which Shen Yao could deduce from his actions today. However, if someone with ulterior motives were to discover this, her life would truly be over.

For a moment, Shen Yao was shocked.

When Wei Luo saw this, he thought she was frightened by the fire, so he took her hand and patted it gently, saying, "Don't be afraid. Whether it's a natural disaster or a man-made one, I won't let you get hurt."

Both of them had curved eyebrows and eyes.

Shen Yao was deeply moved and was about to say something heartfelt to express her sincerity, but in an instant, Wei Luo's face darkened and he said coldly, "However, none of these are excuses for you to break your promise."

The live performance showed him changing his expression as easily as turning the pages of a book.

Shen Yao was stunned. Wei Luo then asked, "Where were you last night, and who were you with?"

It was already in the tone of interrogating a prisoner.

Shen Yao was immediately displeased and said, "I stayed at the Shen family's residence and didn't see anyone."

"Then why not go to the palace? Didn't I tell you to come?"

Shen Yao sighed, rubbed her temples, and explained, "Yes, I was supposed to come yesterday, but something came up in the afternoon and I was delayed."

"Oh, what is it? I'd like to hear it."

He threw the book on the table, crossed his arms, stared at her face, and his eyes flashed with anger.

It's more like interrogating a criminal.

Shen Yao glared back, and instead of answering, asked, "Why should I tell you?"

Wei Luo instantly became furious. He stood up abruptly and shouted to the outside, "Liu Heng, come in."

The door opened, and Liu Heng walked in, asking, "Your Highness?"

"Tie her up."

Not only was Shen Yao stunned, but Liu Heng was also completely bewildered. His gaze kept shifting between the two of them, and he remained motionless for a long time, not knowing what was going on.

Wei Luo then urged again, "What, even you are going to disobey orders?"

The voice was somber.

"Miss Chen, I'm so sorry."

Shen Yao was tied directly to the chair, the same one Wei Luo was lying on.

The room fell silent again. Shen Yao was incredulous and couldn't believe it. She stared at the person in front of her and demanded, "Are you crazy?"

Wei Luo didn't answer, but just quietly watched her, then sat down in the chair she was sitting in, and the two of them switched places.

He laughed and said, "If you don't want to say anything, you can just stay here. Anyway, there are plenty of rooms in the East Palace, any one of them will be enough for you."

"...Then why did you tie me up?"

Moving her arms and legs, Shen Yao frowned and said, "Your Highness, please let me go first, let's talk this out."

Wei Luo raised his voice and said "Oh," raising an eyebrow. "So you know you should speak properly, huh? Why wouldn't you answer when I asked you earlier?"

Shen Yao suddenly felt annoyed and begged for forgiveness, "Okay, okay, I was wrong, I accept the punishment. Now, can you let me go?"

Being tied to the chair was really uncomfortable. She slightly tucked her chin in and looked at Wei Luo with a pitiful and helpless expression.

An ordinary person would have softened at this point, but Wei Luo was no ordinary person. He stood up, kicked the chair away, and looked down at her with a chuckle, "Too late."