Suspicion arises from the clouds

Just then, news came from outside that Princess Pingyang had arrived.

Xiao Zhian immediately left Lin Huaiyin to greet him.

Princess Pingyang stepped over the threshold and walked up to Xiao Zhian, looking somewhat tired. She said, "Let's go."

"Hmm."

Xiao Zhian took her outstretched hand, not caring that she hadn't even called him "Royal Brother," and carefully steadied him, his gaze falling on Shen Congyun who was following closely behind.

Shen Congyun immediately bowed and replied, "Your Highness, the Prince Consort is drunk and is resting in his room."

The implication is that the prince consort Yuan Jie'e was drunk, and Princess Pingyang went to take care of him.

Or perhaps, because the prince consort was drunk and behaved improperly, Princess Pingyang lost face and left the banquet to seek peace and quiet.

In conclusion.

Pingyang's haggard appearance immediately became apparent.

Pingyang's grievances silenced Xiao Zhian.

Xiao Zhian had never met Yuan Jie'e, nor did he intend to bring him up for punishment.

Whether he was drunk today or not, he would still help Pingyang divorce her husband and let her choose another husband. As long as she liked him, anyone would be fine with her.

The time was not yet ripe, so Xiao Zhian held back, only ordering that Yuan Jie'e's father, Yuan Butian, be summoned to the Eastern Palace for instruction. He then took Princess Pingyang's arm and led her away.

Xuan Ge accepted the order and led a group of Eastern Palace guards to surround him.

Shen Congyun glanced at the unconscious Lin Huaiyin, then turned and led Shen Zaiyuan and the rest of the staff to see her off.

The overwhelming pressure of the Crown Prince, like wind and rain, swept over the Shen family residence.

The family dinner has finally come to a complete end.

——

As Shen Congyun watched Princess Pingyang's carriage disappear, he turned around and his eyes sharpened, resembling a jade-faced demon.

Seeing this, everyone lowered their heads in fear and hurriedly separated into two groups.

Although Madam Shen had given a gag order to keep quiet about what happened in the main hall, and the details were unknown to outsiders, the officials were running around in such a hurry, and then His Highness the Crown Prince arrived. The Eastern Palace guards were on high alert, and the bloodied body of Chu Jiu was carried out, which was truly terrifying.

Shen Congyun remained silent, Shen Zaiyuan dared not utter a sound, the servants from the outer courtyard led by Lao Mo dared not leave, and the servants from the inner courtyard behind Aunt Huang dared not retreat either. In short, a family punishment was to be administered, and no one could escape it today.

The secret guard who had previously reported the news to Chu Jiu appeared in a ghostly manner.

The guard whispered to Shen Congyun, "Master, Su Jinggui was stopped and taken away by the Imperial Guards not long after he entered Changshun Ward."

Upon hearing this, Shen Congyun's gaze darkened, and he slowly turned the ring on his finger as he walked towards the main hall.

The Imperial Guards stopped him; it was Lin Cuiyue who ruined his plans.

Shen Congyun thought to himself: Su Jinggui and that vile Lin Huaiyin were once engaged, and their identities are sensitive. Lin Cuiyue certainly has a reason to prevent him from attending the banquet.

One wrong move, and the Lin family was overlooked.

Shen Congyun acknowledged his oversight, but then thought: Lin Cuiyue dared to keep an eye on the movements of his Shen residence and intercept his guests; his reach was far too far.

He then thought of Lin Huaiyin, who was unconscious in the main hall.

Su Jinggui was stopped, and Lin Huaiyin escaped a disaster. Was it because she was lucky, or did she join forces with Lin Cuiyue to carry out a secret operation?

Shen Congyun pondered carefully: Recently, things have been complicated and the situation has deteriorated rapidly. The Erwang Temple case and the Ministry of War case have occurred one after another. Today, at the family banquet, his mother actually invited Pingyang to the mansion without his knowledge. Pingyang had just come to tell him that his mother and Lanyan intended to seize the position of Crown Princess, which was even more absurd and bizarre.

Although things were chaotic, at their core, it all started on the day Lin Huaiyin returned to the Lin family and announced her pregnancy.

Shen Congyun's words, like parting the clouds to reveal the moon, hit the nail on the head. Considering Chu Jiu's rudeness towards Shen Lanyan and his subsequent execution by the Crown Prince, he became even more certain.

For some reason, that bitch Lin Huaiyin seems to have seen through the fact that he orchestrated last year's White Lotus Sect incident, so she followed suit and retaliated against Lan Yan. She was seeking revenge, she was taking revenge, she wanted to bring down the Shen family and him.

Shen Congyun was almost certain that Lin Huaiyin was behind everything.

He walked heavily toward the main hall.

He wanted to hang Lin Huaiyin up and torture her severely to confirm whether the Lin family had fully become involved.

The Lin family and the Imperial Guards are indeed formidable forces, but with their scheming and intrigue, it remains to be seen who will emerge victorious.

Shen Congyun, thinking about the upcoming Buddha's Birthday, completely disregarded the Lin family.

As long as the Crown Prince is injured in the assassination attempt, his word is law in the entire court. He can easily punish Lin Cuiyue for dereliction of duty and dismiss him.

Now all we need to do is get rid of Lin Huaiyin, prevent any collusion from within or without, and wait for the Buddha's Birthday.

The Buddha's Birthday falls on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month. Counting the days, there are only seven days left.

Since things have already broken down, there's no point in putting on an act anymore. Let's just find the silver notes and send them to Pingyang.

Shen Congyun ordered his guards: "Search Qingyin Pavilion."

"Yes." The guard accepted the order and left.

Upon entering the main hall, servants and maids were cleaning, but Lin Huaiyin had vanished without a trace.

Shen Congyun was startled, thinking that she had escaped in the chaos. An old female servant came out and bowed, saying, "Master, the old lady just sent someone to take Madam away. The old lady invites you and Second Master to the ancestral hall to talk."

Hearing that Lin Huaiyin was still alive, Shen Congyun felt relieved, but as he turned around, another guard appeared.

Shen Congyun's secret guards all came from Princess Pingyang. They usually never appeared by his side or wandered around the Shen residence. But today, their leader Chu Jiu died suddenly, and they were like headless flies, having to ask Shen Congyun for instructions on everything.

When the servants of the Shen family saw this, they all lowered their eyes and dared not look any longer.

The crab claws secretly observed their movements, calculating their strength and the outcome of the battle.

The guard, unaware of the crab claw, presented the bamboo arrow with both hands and whispered in Chen Congyun's ear, "Master, I have found out that Ninth Master was poisoned with Five Poisons Powder and aphrodisiac. He wouldn't have survived without Xuan Ge's stab."

Upon clearly hearing the words "aphrodisiac," Shen Congyun became even more certain that it was Lin Huaiyin's revenge, and that the so-called mysterious archer was sent by the Lin family.

However, the guard changed the subject and said, "The servants saw with their own eyes that along with the arrow, there was also a piece of paper with a portrait of the second young master on it, and a mark on his throat."

"What?"

Shen Congyun frowned, quite surprised.

He glanced at Chen Zaiyuan out of the corner of his eye. He examined the bamboo arrow intently and thought to himself, if this arrow was aimed at his second brother, wouldn't all his guesses have come to nothing and he have been completely wrong?

Everything has nothing to do with Lin Huaiyin.

The mysterious archer—could he be some kind of chivalrous hero?

The initial shooting of the Minister of War was due to the theft case within the Ministry of War; now the arrow is pointed at the second brother, surely because of the embezzlement of disaster relief funds.

Chu Jiu's death was unintentional; he became the scapegoat for his second brother.

As for the aphrodisiac, it was intended to embarrass the second brother in front of the guests and ruin his reputation.

Is that really the case?

The image of Lin Huaiyin appeared before Shen Congyun's eyes. Filled with suspicion, he suppressed his thoughts and headed towards the ancestral hall.

——

Inside the ancestral hall, Old Madam Shen sat in a chair, holding the unconscious Lin Huaiyin in her arms, her face as black as the ink on the ancestral tablets on the offering table.

As soon as Shen Congyun and Shen Zaiyuan went in, she ordered the door to be closed.

The door closed, and Old Madam Shen lowered her eyelids, coldly ordering, "Kneel down."

The Shen brothers knelt down respectfully in response.

"In front of our ancestors, in front of your father!" Old Madam Shen's deep, authoritative voice slammed her hand on the low table beside her, and she roared—

“I want you two brothers to confess everything you’ve done that’s so heinous!”

A loud shout reached her ears, and Lin Huaiyin's small body trembled. She could faintly smell the scent of incense.

Shen Congyun and Shen Zaiyuan knelt on the ground without answering.

Old Madam Shen slammed her hand on the low table again and continued to scold: "Even now, you still want to hide it from me? Congyun, do you know that your daughter-in-law, pregnant with your son, was drugged and knocked unconscious in front of me at our own Shen family banquet!"

She's carrying our Shen family's grandson! Someone's trying to take your life and eradicate our Shen family's lineage!

You ran outside as soon as the banquet started, and you were pouring wine for the prince consort. Do you think I'm blind and can't see through you? Is there something going on between you and Princess Pingyang? My daughter-in-law said you consummated your marriage on the day of the princess's wedding!

"Let me tell you, from Yun, marrying a princess is something only incompetent men do. Your father died saving Princess Pingyang; she owes you, not the other way around. Stop your philandering and bringing trouble home!"

"And Zaiyuan!" Old Madam Shen picked up a teacup and smashed it against Zaiyuan's face, cursing angrily—

"You just returned from disaster relief, and the next thing you know, someone is causing trouble at your promotion banquet. Lan'er, your own sister, was publicly humiliated. They didn't leave any way out for the Shen family!"

"What exactly were you doing outside? Tell me the truth, or you two will kneel here and not go anywhere!"

Madam Shen was furious. She didn't understand what was going on outside, but she had a clear understanding of the situation—the women in the inner quarters of the house rarely left their homes and were innocently harmed despite their dutiful conduct. It could only be because the men were causing trouble outside!

The Shen family had finally achieved its current status, and it almost lost its honor. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Lin Huaiyin slowly woke up to her heavy breathing. She vaguely heard "Lan'er, humiliation." Sensing something, she asked without opening her eyes, "Lan Yan, what happened to Lan Yan?"

"Daughter-in-law, you're awake?" Old Madam Shen was heartbroken. She picked up Lin Huaiyin and felt that her two sons were both unfortunate. They didn't react at all when they heard that Lan'er had been humiliated. They were not even as good as this daughter-in-law who was not related to her.

"Lan'er called Chu Jiu, that beast, for bullying her."

Madam Shen's entire face was trembling as she hugged Lin Huaiyin, tears streaming down her face.

Upon hearing this, Lin Huaiyin's heart sank to the bottom.

She took the medicine early and fainted, but unexpectedly, after being poisoned on the ninth day, she set her sights on Shen Lanyan.

She hadn't intended to plot against Shen Lanyan, but then she realized that the moment she decided to give Chu Jiu the aphrodisiac, there was bound to be a victim—Shen Lanyan or someone else, it didn't really matter.

This is her choice, her crime, and she will seek bloody revenge, sooner or later spilling blood on innocent people.

She has to admit it.

"Is it... very serious?" Lin Huaiyin asked cautiously.

"Nothing was seriously injured." Old Madam Shen shook her head with lingering fear as she recalled the silver light before His Highness the Crown Prince appeared and the blood that splattered three feet wide on Chu Jiu. "Thanks to His Highness the Crown Prince's timely arrival, things didn't get too ugly."

"Has His Highness the Crown Prince visited?"

Lin Huaiyin was extremely shocked.

His Highness the Crown Prince has been here!

She didn't get any favors from Princess Pingyang, but she did manage to bring the Crown Prince over.

Unfortunately, she hadn't had much hope beforehand, and in order to avoid Shen Congyun's suspicion, she knocked herself out early on.

I didn't even get a chance to speak, and I missed an opportunity for nothing.

Lin Huaiyin regretted it too late.

She sighed inwardly and looked around to find herself in the ancestral hall. The most bizarre thing was that she was surprised to find that Shen Congyun and Shen Zaiyuan were kneeling before her!

Heavens above! Her face flushed crimson—what goes around comes around! Shen Congyun is kowtowing to me now?!

Look at his honest and simple appearance, he's kneeling so well!

Lin Huaiyin was extremely excited. Of course, Old Madam Shen knew what she was excited about, and whispered in her ear, "His Highness helped Lan'er out of the predicament, and things turned out quite well. You're right, His Highness likes Lan'er."

Upon hearing this, Lin Huaiyin's heart tightened, and she even lost interest in looking at Shen Congyun. She desperately wanted to ask if it was true. "I just talked nonsense, and it actually came true?"

If His Highness the Crown Prince truly likes Shen Lanyan, then he should take her into the Eastern Palace.

Lin Huaiyin thought to herself: Shen Congyun, that heartless bastard, might even take advantage of his own sister.

Then I must win over Shen Lanyan, so that she will sacrifice her own family to protect her positions as Crown Princess and Empress.

Lin Huaiyin's thoughts immediately turned to Shen Lanyan.

“Mother-in-law, I need to go and see Lanyan.”

Lin Huaiyin struggled to her feet, but as soon as she lifted her foot, everything went black and her body went limp.

Seeing this, Madam Shen exclaimed "Oh dear, oh dear!" and hurriedly tried to pick him up, but couldn't. She then called out, "Congyun, what are you standing there for? Come here quickly!"

When Shen Congyun was called by name, he reluctantly stepped forward. Seeing his discomfiture and distress, Lin Huaiyin was overjoyed and opened her arms to Shen Congyun, asking for a hug.

"My lord, my head is spinning," she pleaded sweetly, seeking his affection.