Dongfang Shi never expected that he would be burdened with such a huge accusation.

As he was being tied up, all he could think about was whether he had been exposed and whether Princess Yongle was going to arrest him and send him to Emperor Chen to earn merit.

"Speak! Who are you? Why are you in the river? What is your purpose in approaching our princess?"

Upon hearing this question, Dongfang Yi breathed a sigh of relief. He had heard the news of Yongle's assassination in Jiangzhou, and his strange appearance naturally made him the prime suspect.

Dongfang Shi steadied himself and began to fabricate a story. Since they were currently on the river, even if they wanted to verify his identity, they would have to do so after landing. Even after landing, they would still need to go to the place he mentioned to verify it, which would take time both ways.

The young eunuch angrily took back the pear syrup that had been given to him, thinking what an ingrate! The princess had saved him, but he wanted to kill her!

Dongfang Shi remained completely calm and said, "I... my family is poor. Because there was nothing to eat in winter, I thought I'd go to the river to catch some fish to eat. But unexpectedly, the boat capsized, and I almost died on the river. If you hadn't found me, I might already be meeting the King of Hell. I am truly grateful to you, Princess. Your kindness is immeasurable... Waaah—"

The Imperial Guards were dumbfounded. Why did she start crying after only saying a few words?

Then they asked him about his life, hometown, and family situation. Seeing that he answered fluently and did not seem to be faking it, and noticing that he was coughing badly and was panting heavily after walking a few words, they decided to leave it at that for now.

The commander took the notes to Yongle. "This man answered fluently and didn't seem to be lying, but he seemed very strange. If he really is a spy, then he has concealed it very well."

Yongle glanced at the record and asked, "How was this man's Mandarin?"

The commander, not understanding, said, "That's very well said."

Yongle threw the transcript on the table. "How can someone who's so poor he can't even afford to eat speak official jargon?"

The commander was pointed out and immediately understood.

"Understood! I'll have someone throw him into the river to feed the fish right away!"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Yongle called out to him, "There's no need to be so impulsive. Have someone keep an eye on him and see what he does."

Yongle rubbed her hands together, determined to find out who was behind this and shock Shen Qingque!

"Isn't this a bit like asking a tiger for its skin?"

"What, Commander, do you think that with so many skilled warriors under your command, you can't handle a wounded assassin?"

"Of course not! I just feel that for the safety of the princess, we shouldn't take such a risk."

"Why don't you find a skilled doctor to keep an eye on him? If all else fails, have the imperial physician give him some muscle-relaxing powder or something."

Commander: "..."

He saw in the princess's eyes the determination to catch the person behind it all!

"Go quickly, I need to write a letter and send it to the capital." Yongle planned to tell Song Yaozhu about this and see if she had any underhanded tricks to help her achieve her wish!

She was determined to catch the people who had bullied her and Shen Qingque, and show them what it meant to have kicked a hornet's nest!

Shen Qingque arrived in the capital just one day before Shen Qingyu's wedding. Upon hearing that her younger brother had returned, she naturally left the courtyard immediately.

"Brother!" Shen Qingyu was a little incredulous when she saw Shen Qingque for the first time. Shen Qingque had become even more robust since he left the capital.

That face, so similar to his own, had also become rough. Although he was still beautiful, his aura was no longer the same.

"Sister." Shen Qingque smiled and held her hand. He was truly happy to see his sister get married.

After glancing at his elder sister, Shen Qingque looked up at the house again; his father was still at the yamen and had not yet returned.

"Has Yongle returned to the Prince Xuan's residence?"

Shen Qingyu paused for a moment before recounting her "imperial order to patrol the river."

"She was so eager to find you, she never expected you to come back."

Shen Qingque frowned slightly. "I'm worried about what will happen if she encounters danger on the road."

"Don't worry, the Emperor has given her many guards, and the Prince of Yan will also make arrangements for her."

The guards that the Prince of Yan arranged for Shen Qingque were all very skilled, so Shen Qingque was not worried about that.

"Father and the others will be so happy to know you're back. I'll have the kitchen prepare something delicious; we'll have a family reunion dinner tonight!"

Shen Qingque smiled and nodded, "I'll go pay my respects to my father-in-law first."

Since breaking his leg, King Xuan had stayed at home and hadn't left the house. When he heard that his son-in-law had returned, he was first taken aback, then quickly had someone invite his son-in-law in.

"Oh dear! What bad timing! Yongle has gone south to find you!"

Shen Qingque already knew about this, and felt both regret and sweetness. He was regretful that his long-awaited meeting had fallen through, but sweet that Yongle cared for him and was eagerly heading south to find him.

"Your son-in-law has come to visit Father and Mother. It's getting chilly today, how are you both? I heard that Father has difficulty walking, so I found a medicinal herb in the south that I hope can help him."

King Xuan waved his hand, thinking to himself that there was nothing he couldn't obtain, and that he didn't need a junior to worry about it.

When Shen Qingque took out the tiger bone, King Xuan's eyes lit up.

This is great stuff!

"He's truly my good son-in-law!"

King Xuan originally wanted to keep the man for a meal, but considering that he had not yet seen his father, he let him go home.

Shen Qingque returned to the Shen residence, where Song Yaozhu and Xie Liwei had already made a low profile.

Shen Qingque quickly led them to the study and told them about what he had encountered in the south.

"I have some bad news," Xie Liwei said to Shen Qingque. "You should be prepared."

Shen Qingque hesitated for a moment, then said, "Your Highness, please speak."

"The Southern Kingdom has been destroyed."

Shen Qingque gasped, "When did this happen?"

"Half a month ago, the King of Yan led his troops to conquer the Southern Kingdom."

Xie Liwei and Song Yaozhu were both shocked when they received Yu Gong's letter. The fact that the Prince of Yan hadn't reported this matter indicated that he wanted to keep it a secret.

Although the Southern Kingdom is small, it is still a country. If he keeps this a secret, he might be planning to occupy the territory and establish himself as king.

If that's the case, he might want to head north.

"The envoy from Donglin is almost at the capital. We still don't know how to explain the matter of Dongfang Shi. We are denying his death now, but if Donglin insists that we killed him and disposed of the body, we might have to go to war if we can't reach an agreement."

Shen Qingque understood what Song Yaozhu meant. If war broke out, what he was doing in the south would be crucial. The fields had to be redistributed quickly so that the court could collect taxes and make up for the shortfall in the national treasury.

Shen Qingque took a deep breath. "I'll go back after my sister's wedding tomorrow."

They had originally wanted to find out who was trading weapons with the Eastern Kingdom, but now it seems that's impossible.

He needs to get back and quickly implement the policy to prepare for war.