Chapter 57 This humble subject actually harbored such thoughts towards Your Highness.

Shen Chu shouldn't have brought a pot of spring wine today.

However, Hongxiu got a stomachache from overeating and was unable to leave the outhouse.

Unfortunately, the person she had bribed sent word that she had no choice but to retrieve her purse herself.

She entered the second private room without any trouble. She moved the tray on the table and saw the purse underneath. Her eyes lit up.

Her expression changed the moment she picked up the purse.

No, this isn't her purse.

Although they looked the same, she noticed something was wrong as soon as she held them in her hands.

They fell for the trap.

Just then, the door was pushed open from the outside.

Pei Yuan walked in with his hands behind his back, "Young Master Shen."

A smile appeared on Shen Chu's face, but her hand holding the purse tightened slightly.

"What a coincidence, Your Highness is here for tea as well?"

Pei Yuan stretched out his leg and pulled up a chair to sit down, a half-smile on his face. "This prince isn't here for tea, but to catch a thief."

"Catch a thief?" Shen Chu feigned ignorance. "Has Your Highness's residence been broken into again?"

"This time it was an inside traitor, colluding with outsiders. This prince lost a purse, oh, the one that Lord Shen has."

Pei Yuan's gaze fell on Shen Chu's hand, and he raised an eyebrow with a light laugh, "Young Master Shen, could you explain?"

He clapped his hands.

Sun Yan strode in, carrying Xia, who was pale and trembling all over.

Chen Chu...

Plan Two is doomed; Hongxiu's guarantee of absolute certainty is pure nonsense.

She feigned surprise, "So this is Your Highness's purse. I just came in for tea and accidentally disturbed Your Highness's plans."

"I'm truly sorry, I must take my leave."

She quickly put down her purse, turned around, and left.

"stop."

Pei Yuan stretched out his long legs, blocking her way.

"Does Your Highness have any further instructions?"

"Since we've run into Lord Shen, let this prince interrogate the traitor."

Pei Yuan pulled a chair in front of Shen Chu, his posture leaving no room for refusal.

Shen Chu calmly sat down, poured herself a cup of tea, and slowly sipped it.

Pei Yuan glanced at him, a slight smile playing on his lips, and looked at Sun Yan.

Sun Yan kicked Xia to the ground. "Tell me, who instructed you to steal His Highness's things?"

Xia was kicked to the ground, curled up in pain, and let out a painful groan.

Shen Chu unconsciously tightened her grip on the teacup.

Pei Yuan's gaze swept over Xia's hand, and he snorted coldly at Xia, "I heard you have a mother and a younger brother who are seriously ill."

If you don't confess honestly, why don't I, the prince, invite them here for questioning?"

Xia was so frightened that she trembled all over and kept kowtowing and begging for mercy.

"Your Highness, spare my life! Please, Your Highness, do not harm my mother and younger brother! I will tell you everything."

Two days ago, someone came to me and gave me a lot of medicine, saying that the medicine could cure my mother and brother's illness.

That person asked me to steal a purse from His Highness's room, the one...the one on the table.

She instructed her maid to steal the purse and deliver it to private room number two at Yihuchun Restaurant. She even had the maid come here beforehand to familiarize herself with the place.

"Who is that person? What does he look like?"

Xia shook her head, "This servant doesn't know. This servant has only seen her once, and it was at night. She was wearing a black veil, so I couldn't see her face clearly. I only know that she was a woman."

"I'm telling the truth, Your Highness. Please spare my life! I didn't mean to betray you; I just thought it was just an empty purse, nothing serious, so...that's why I agreed."

Shen Chu listened calmly to the whole thing, then downed the tea in her cup before looking up with a smile. "Tsk, it seems the trail has gone cold, Your Highness."

Hongxiu had never let anyone see her face, so she wasn't worried at all about Xia revealing anything.

Pei Yuan waved for Sun Yan to take Xia away, then looked at Shen Chu, who was smiling slyly, and gritted his teeth.

Little fox!

He should have realized that someone as cautious as Shen Chu would never be able to get any useful clues from Xia Xia.

Shen Chu stood up and cupped his hands in greeting: "Your Highness, this humble subject will not disturb you any longer."

Pei Yuan slowly took something out of his pocket and played with it, smiling faintly: "Goodbye, Lord Shen."

But Master Shen couldn't walk anymore.

Pei Yuan was holding her purse in his hand.

Damn it, he used a fake purse and failed to catch her, now he's using the real one to seduce her.

But she couldn't bring herself to ignore the purse.

Because there is a very hidden compartment in the purse.

The hidden compartment contained her father's last letter, written in prison before he was beheaded.

That's right, her father.

She was not the true eldest son of the Marquis's family, but Shen Chuchu, the daughter of Shen Zhixing, the former prefect of Liangzhou.

Ten years ago, the Northern Rong invaded the border, and Liangzhou was massacred overnight. Afterwards, the court announced that her father had colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country by selling the Liangzhou defense map to the Northern Rong, which led to the Northern Rong's massacre of Liangzhou overnight.

She used Shen Chu's identity to enter the court as an official in order to investigate the truth behind her father's treasonous act.

Shen Chu was torn between her inner thoughts and her inner demons. She knew that this was Pei Yuan testing her.

If she turns around and leaves now, Pei Yuan will still have no grounds for suspicion.

She silently repeated "stay calm" three times to herself before resolutely walking towards the door.

Pei Yuan chuckled softly from behind, "Such an old purse is really useless, just burn it."

Shen Chu's initial resolve crumbled instantly.

She turned around and said with a smile, "Since Your Highness finds the purse too worn, why not bestow it upon this humble subject?"

"How can that be? If this purse belongs to a woman, what kind of nonsense is it to give it to a man?"

Pei Yuan disagreed, opened the tinderbox and blew on it, the dark blue flame igniting the purse.

Shen Chu instinctively lunged forward, "No!"

Pei Yuan turned to the side, avoiding her hand, and the red string on the purse was lit.

Chen Chu was so anxious that tears were about to fall, and she blurted out, "Don't burn it, this purse is mine."

Pei Yuan moved the tinderbox aside, blew out the flame on the red string, and asked with a half-smile, "Your purse?"

Chen Chu breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down dejectedly. "Your Highness, please ask whatever you want."

"That day you sneaked into my room to find this purse?"

"yes."

"You were the one who broke into the mansion in the middle of the night, was stabbed by me, and even had the roof smashed through, weren't you?"

Shen Huan pursed her lips and said, "Yes."

"Did you deliberately change the shape of the wound yourself?"

"Yes, Your Highness's jade bone fan is a special weapon. The shape of the wound is too unusual. If it is not treated, I am afraid that it will give us away."

Pei Yuan scoffed, "I didn't realize that Lord Shen was such a ruthless person, capable of being so cruel to himself."

Shen Chu twitched the corner of her mouth.

Pei Yuan said, "One last question: how did your purse end up in my robe?"

Shen Chu's hands, which were resting on her knees, tightened slightly.

"Chen Chu, you'd better not make up lies to deceive me."

He looked up and stared intently at Chen Chu, his peach blossom eyes filled with a cold solemnity.

Shen Chu clenched his fist, a hint of embarrassment in his smile. "Your Highness, I said you mustn't be angry."

"You tell me first."

"Your Highness, I did indeed deceive you before."

"snort."

"Your Highness, I actually broke into your room in the middle of the night. At that time, I was being chased by my stepmother's men and had nowhere to escape. In my panic, I ran in."

When I entered, I found Your Highness already inside. Your Highness knew that I had been drugged and was not in my right mind, so I...

I just couldn't resist...I wanted to...play with Your Highness...um."

Shen Chu knelt down with a thud, her face full of shame, and said, "This humble subject had such filthy thoughts about Your Highness at the time, and almost..."

"Chen Chu!" Pei Yuan's roar almost lifted the roof off.