When Xie Tingzhou arrived, Madam Hou was also there.

Upon seeing Xie Tingzhou, she looked sorrowful and pointed to the door, saying, "Yunzhou died so tragically, and she, as his wife, wouldn't even go to keep vigil."

I know you are upright and kind-hearted, and you think I am bullying her, but you don't know that her heart is no longer in the Marquis's mansion.

She might not even be home right now, or she could be off somewhere wild; I can't control her anymore."

Her words were full of denigration, as if Ye Zhen were truly so despicable.

Over the years, she has come to understand one principle: if you want others to believe you, you must believe it yourself, so that your words and actions will not reveal any flaws.

"It's also my fault. I always felt sorry for her being a widow and spoiled her, which led to her becoming so lawless."

Even when I, her mother-in-law, came to invite her, she wouldn't open the door.

Well then, since she's unwilling, it's up to me, her mother, to guard her. My poor Yunzhou…

She left in tears.

But when they reached a secluded spot, he called over a guard and asked, "Are you sure she didn't go out?"

Outside Ye Zhen's room, she had already sent people to keep watch in the shadows.

But the deaths of Yunzhou and Granny Feng were truly perplexing to her.

She had already agreed to let Yunzhou bring Chi Heng back to the manor, which meant she tacitly acknowledged their private relationship.

Then Chi Heng would never kill Yun Zhou to commit suicide for love.

However, the Ye family also assured that Ye Zhen had only worked on the estate since childhood and was stronger than ordinary women, so she could not kill Chi Heng and Yun Zhou.

So who exactly killed them?

This matter is truly bizarre. Ye Zhen must have some secrets she doesn't know, or perhaps an accomplice.

She must keep a close eye on it.

The guard nodded firmly, "We dared not slack off; indeed, no one left the house."

Lady Hou gritted her teeth and ordered, "Keep an eye on it."

Ye Zhen has really grown wings, daring to refuse to open the door.

That's fine. When the magistrate arrives with his men tomorrow, Ye Zhen's actions tonight will actually be to her advantage.

She then instructed, "Keep an eye on the movements outside the manor. As soon as the Marquis arrives, immediately have the county magistrate bring his men over."

Over the years, she has accomplished everything she set her mind to, and this matter will be no exception.

Meanwhile, Xie Tingzhou knocked on the door, "Taozhi, is there anything I can help you with, Second Young Madam?"

Taozhi was a maid left behind by Madam Wang.

Recognizing Xie Tingzhou's voice, she hurriedly went to open the door, but was stopped by Wanxing.

"Sister Taozhi, you just heard it too, the Lady Hou is slandering my young lady."

It's the dead of night, and the young master is a man. If we open the door, things will only get more complicated, and it might even implicate him."

He then said to the person outside the door, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. My young lady is injured and was frightened during the day. She really dares not entangle with the Lady of the Marquis any further. I hope Your Highness will forgive her."

Xie Tingzhou frowned. "Taozhi, go and see how the second young mistress is doing."

Knowing how much her grandmother valued Xie Tingzhou, Taozhi immediately obeyed and went into the inner room.

Wanxing panicked and whispered to stop her, "Sister Taozhi, you just saw it too, my young lady isn't feeling well."

She's just fallen asleep; if we wake her, she'll be terrified. Please, sister, have pity on my young lady."

Tao Zhigang indeed noticed that Ye Zhen's condition was not good, so when Ye Zhen lowered the bed curtains and said she wanted to sleep for a while, she followed Wanxing to the outer room without disturbing her.

When the Lady Hou's people came over, Wanxing refused to open the door, but as a maid of the Wang family, she naturally wouldn't interfere.

But now that the prince had given the order, she had no choice but to obey. "Don't worry, I will be careful."

But Ye Zhen had already climbed out the window and wasn't in bed at all, so how could Wanxing dare to let Taozhi in?

During the standoff, Taozhi sensed something was wrong. "Are you stopping me? Isn't the young mistress in the room?"

The old lady entrusted her with the task of keeping an eye on the second young mistress. If she lost sight of her, she wouldn't be able to explain herself to the old lady.

Even the old lady would have a hard time explaining this to the Marquis of Zhongyong.

Thinking of this, she disregarded Wanxing's objections.

But she was no match for Wanxing's strength. As the two struggled, the door was kicked open with a bang.

Tse Ting-cho was tall and had long legs, so he entered the inner room in just a few steps.

Wanxing's heart was in her throat. She quickly dropped the peach branch and ran after Xie Tingzhou.

“Your Highness, you are the young lady’s elder brother. It is really inappropriate for you to barge into her room.”

Seeing her like this, Xie Tingzhou became even more suspicious and abruptly pulled back the bed curtains.

Wanxing's legs went weak, and she almost couldn't stand up.

But then he saw his young mistress lying on the bed, staring at Xie Tingzhou with her eyes open.

She quickly and discreetly wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and rushed to the bedside.

"Miss, you're awake. Don't be afraid, I'll protect you even if it costs me my life."

Ye Zhen gave a soft "hmm," her eyes filled with sorrow.

"During the day, I thought my brother and the Lady of the Marquis were different."

Ye Zhen's presence inside the house surprised Xie Tingzhou for a moment.

But he could clearly see Wanxing's panic, and when he looked at Ye Zhen's flushed face, he smiled meaningfully.

"You seem different from when I was here. Has your injury worsened and you developed a high fever?"

Or were you in a hurry to get back because it was hot?

No one, including Ye Zhen, expected that he would suddenly throw off the covers and grab Ye Zhen's wrist.

Wanxing's legs went weak again.

Ye Zhen, however, remained calm. "Brother, you also know medicine?"

His tone was somewhat weak.

Her slender wrists were burning hot; she really did have a high fever.

But if it was just a high fever, the maid wouldn't stop them from entering.

Xie Tingzhou then took a closer look at her, his phoenix eyes beneath the mask piercingly scrutinizing Ye Zhen's expression inch by inch.

He chuckled, "I know a little bit about this; my sister-in-law's pulse is beating a bit fast."

He didn't care whether Ye Zhen kept vigil or not, but he needed to find out if Ye Zhen was the person on the mountain. If so, he had to extract all the information about the assassin from her.

Ye Zhen felt uneasy under his gaze.

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