Leaving the Prince's Palace.

Shen Jinshu paced back and forth at the door of the study, almost tearing her handkerchief in her hands, but still couldn't make up her mind.

His Highness seems to be in a bad mood lately. If she brings up her father's matter with him today, she might incur his wrath.

But she couldn't ignore her father either. Her family was her support, and if her father and brother fell from grace, she wouldn't get any benefit either.

Thinking of this, Shen Jinshu calmed herself down and was about to knock on the door when a loud shout and the sound of jade shattering came from inside.

She immediately withdrew her hand and left without stopping.

Let's wait until His Highness has calmed down before bringing up that matter again.

*

In the study.

For the first time, the usually gentle and mild-mannered Prince Li's face darkened, his anger evident. "How could Father Emperor know about the mine?"

"Your Highness, please calm down. I don't know either." The confidant knelt on both knees, his shoulders trembling slightly, and a few beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

His Majesty's knowledge of the mines means that they can no longer touch any of those ores.

Given the loss of such a large sum of money, it was to be expected that Li Wang would be furious.

Li Wang calmed down, closed his eyes, and his anger seemed to have subsided. "Have you cleaned up all the mess?"

Upon hearing this, the confidant breathed a long sigh of relief and hurriedly pledged his loyalty, "Your Highness, rest assured, I have not left any flaws."

"Withdraw everyone back. Don't let Su Jinyang find any leverage against us." Prince Li slowly opened his eyes, already having other plans in mind.

"Yes." The confidant also knew that Su Jinyang was not easy to deal with. His Majesty entrusted the mining affairs to Su Jinyang, which was obviously because he valued Su Jinyang's abilities.

This is a tough opponent; it's best for them to avoid a direct confrontation.

"Deliver this letter to Wenren Xue without fail." Prince Li rubbed his temples, feeling a splitting headache.

He was just a hair's breadth away from mining more ore and forging even more exquisite and powerful weapons, but then his father found out about the mine, forcing him to stop.

Who exactly leaked this news?

King Li narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint flashing in them. Fortunately, no problems with the weapons had been discovered in the Northern Kingdom, so there was still room for cooperation.

"Your Highness, you have a headache again. Should I ask someone to invite Madam Su over to massage it for you?" The confidant couldn't help but worry when he saw that Prince Li's brows were furrowed into a deep frown.

The thought of Su Ying eased the headache somewhat, and just as Prince Li was about to agree, the guard at the gate reported, "Your Highness, Lady Su requests an audience."

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear; Lady Su's arrival was perfectly timed.

"Then I'll take my leave." The confidant, being very perceptive, found an excuse to leave first.

Only Prince Li and Su Ying remained in the large study.

"Your Highness, you have a headache again. Let me massage it for you." With that, Su Ying put down the lotus seed soup in her hand and gently stroked Prince Li's head with her fair and soft hands, kneading it skillfully.

Before long, the king's tense expression relaxed a little. "Ying'er is truly a wonderful person. I am very happy to have you by my side."

"It is my honor to be able to stay by Your Highness's side. Your Highness usually loves my lotus seed soup the most."

"Here I am, bringing this again for Your Highness. I hope Your Highness will do me the honor." Su Ying pushed the lotus seed soup on the table in front of Prince Li, smiling sweetly as she urged him to drink it.

Li Wang, no longer suspecting anything, softened his tone considerably, "Ying'er is very thoughtful."

He was really craving this, so he took the spoon and started drinking.

Seeing the bowl of lotus seed soup slowly empty, Su Ying smiled slightly and reached out to massage Li Wang's head.

*

The Imperial Palace, Taiji Hall.

"Damn it! How dare he actually do this!" Emperor Yun was furious, sweeping the memorials off the table and his chest heaving.

Pei Qingyan stepped forward and got straight to the point, "Your Majesty, please calm down. The most important thing right now is to find conclusive evidence that Prince Li is manufacturing weapons without authorization."

"Lord Pei is absolutely right. As the saying goes, to catch a thief red-handed, one must know that Prince Li alone could not have forged those exquisite weapons. He must have had the help of others."

"If we want to find evidence, we must first know who this person is." Zhou Xingzhi was calm and composed, quite different from Emperor Yun's rage. He was more concerned with how to expose Prince Li's true colors.

Emperor Yun let out a long sigh, his tone heavy, "In that case, I'll leave this matter to you. I'm willing to give him a chance; let's see if he can seize it."

"Your Majesty, I understand." Pei Qingyan accepted the decree, his face revealing neither joy nor anger, but he would not give Prince Li any chance.

Li Wang had targeted Yu'er three times, trying to kill her. He still remembered this debt.

*

Shenfu.

After searching for many days, Shen Feng finally found a place to stay.

But looking at the dilapidated house in front of him, he still felt a pang of sadness. He, the dignified Marquis of Chengen, had actually fallen to such a state.

"My lord, how can anyone live in this place? It's so dilapidated and run-down. I can endure the hardship, but the old lady can't." Ye Rou looked disgusted, but she knew how to use the old lady Shen as a pretext.

Upon hearing the address "Lord Marquis," Shen Feng's tense expression eased considerably. "This is the only option left. We can only ask you and Mother to suffer for now. Once Shu'er goes to Prince Li to ask for a favor, we won't have to suffer anymore."

He was still counting on Shen Jinshu's help, so for a time he gritted his teeth and persevered.

"That's true, thank goodness we have Shu'er. She's the most promising one. What would we do without her?" Ye Rou deliberately raised her voice, clearly saying this to Chen's mother and the others.

See? In the end, she'll have to rely on her daughter for help.

And Song Zhiyu, who brought them to this point, is Shen's mother's own daughter. It's truly a cruel twist of fate.

Ye Rou felt she had the upper hand over Mother Chen, and was no longer the gentle and respectful woman she used to be.

Mother Shen remained silent and continued packing her things.

Shen Yanxi couldn't hold back any longer and said sarcastically, "Isn't it all thanks to her? If it weren't for her, how could Zhiyu have been living in the countryside for so many years? If it weren't for her, how could we have been kicked out of the Marquis's mansion?"

Ye Rou was no pushover either, and immediately retorted, "Fourth Young Master, have you thought this through? The person who caused the downfall of the Marquis's Mansion is your own sister, Song Zhiyu. She is cold-hearted and doesn't care about blood ties at all."

She's recovered, become the Princess of Mingyang, personally bestowed by His Majesty, and has her own residence, yet she's caused us to suffer here. Such an unfilial and disrespectful person should be struck by lightning!

"Shut up!" Shen Yanxi said with a gloomy face, slamming the bundle in his hand hard onto Ye Rou's face, the bloodshot in his eyes seeming to tear her apart.

Immediately afterwards, a crisp slap rang out, accompanied by Shen Feng's angry shout, "You scoundrel, she is your elder, quickly apologize to your aunt!"