In the blink of an eye, it was dusk.

Ruyi learned from Mu Yuandao the news that the third prince was imprisoned.

Mu Yuandao looked at her, "Ruyi, I want to hear your opinion, why did the emperor lock up the third prince?"

His eyes were scorching, as if he wanted to see through Ruyi.

Ruyi pondered over the events before and after, "The palace examination will be held in ten days. This year, the Prime Minister's Mansion collapsed, and many people will be implicated. Although the reckoning has not yet begun, it will definitely begin after the palace examination."

"Then why do we have to wait until after the palace examination?"

"It's because the court is short of people after the purge, and new people are needed to take over."

"If that's the case, then these people must be clean and cannot be anyone's accomplice."

"Right now, the Crown Prince has been assassinated, the Second Prince has been implicated, the Fourth Prince and others have yet to achieve their goals, and only the Third Prince is the dominant one."

"If we add a group of people who follow the Third Prince at this time, it will definitely be equivalent to cultivating another Shen Cangyun."

"The Emperor will not let this happen."

If it were Ruyi herself, she would make the same choice.

Mu Yuandao looked at her and nodded repeatedly.

Then, he sighed, "Ziwei Fuxing, it really lives up to its reputation."

Then he looked at Ruyi and said, "You go ahead. If there is any danger in the palace, find Rushuang and I will help you."

When headwinds arise, it will naturally harm the interests of many people.

When Ruyi entered the palace, in addition to wealth and glory, there were greater dangers and deeper whirlpools waiting for her.

But the Mu family will not sit idly by.

After sitting for a while, Ruyi went to say goodbye to Mu Rushuang and returned to the inn.

The city is still under martial law.

She met Cao Ru on the road.

The man was covered in dust and was coming from the direction of the Jingzhao Yin Yamen on his way to the Cao family. He was walking very quickly.

After meeting Ruyi, he was slightly stunned, and then asked tentatively, "Princess Zhaoyang just came out of the Mu family?"

Ruyi looked at him and nodded, "What is this, Third Master Cao?"

Cao Ru is Cao Zhizhang's youngest son, the one who held the wedding banquet four years ago as mentioned by Mu Yuandao.

Ruyi observed his expression and saw that he was worried and anxious. When his gaze fell on the Mu family, a hint of obscurity flashed in his eyes.

He did not answer Ruyi's words, but said: "I heard that you have a good relationship with Miss Mu. Now it seems to be true. Today, martial law is in effect, and you actually went to the Mu family to play."

Then he changed the subject and said, "By the way, the old uncle of the Mu family has been ill for a long time. Did you go to see him today?"

"Is he better?"

As Cao Ru spoke, his eyes were fixed on Ruyi's face.

Under normal circumstances, he would not even give the youngest daughter of the Shen family a glance, but things are different now.

Soon, this little girl will become the closest person to the emperor. She will either become his own person or a stumbling block. In the end, she will be implicated.

Ruyi also knew that from now on, she would be like Eunuch Yuan, and would have more or less some connection with these people in the court, whether actively or passively.

She laughed coldly in her heart, and said calmly, "Still the same as before, lying in bed and unable to get up."

"I spoke to him, and after he had said a few words he gasped so hard that he could hardly breathe."

As he said that, he changed the subject and said, "If it weren't for Sister Mu's day off and I hadn't seen her for a long time, I wouldn't have set out today."

After that, he smiled at Cao Ru and said, "Third Master Cao should have heard of her. She helped me in the Gu family."

“…Yes, yes, yes.”

Cao Ru came back to his senses and smiled dryly, "Then you go ahead, I also have some things to deal with."

Ruyi curled her lips, "Please."

Cao Ru took two steps and turned back, "By the way, if you need any help after entering the palace, you can go to Concubine Duan. She likes you the most."

He said with a smile that looked genuine.

"If necessary."

Ruyi sneered in his heart.

Do you like her the most?

Concubine Duan didn't help her when her life was in danger. Instead, the last time at Gu's house, the Third Prince helped Shen Jiaojiao and found a despicable beggar to take advantage of her misfortune.

As if she was stupid?

"Let's go."

Ruyi didn't look at Cao Ru again and asked Lingdang to drive the car away.

As soon as I arrived at the inn, Xiao Pingxin came.

"Tomorrow is the family recognition banquet, but now that the crown prince has been assassinated, we may need to keep a low profile. It may be difficult to host a large banquet, but all the important people in the court will still come."

He looked at Ruyi, somewhat apologetically.

But in the end he laughed again, "But the Emperor is coming too."

"It's my compensation to you."

As he spoke, he asked someone to bring in the food box, "I bought some wine and food on the way, I'll eat some with you."

"Thank you, brother."

Ruyi smiled and asked about the taste of the food. She also felt her stomach growling, "Did you just come back from the palace?"

"Well, the emperor summoned me to the palace for tomorrow's family recognition banquet."

Xiao Pingxin looked at Ruyi, "The emperor will come tomorrow to support you and to tell others that you are someone close to him, so they should not have any bad ideas about you."

"But after all, the prince is dead, and some things may become tricky tomorrow. You have to be mentally prepared."

"That means someone might embarrass me at the family reunion banquet tomorrow?"

Ruyi hesitated, thought for a while and said, "The eldest princess?"

He felt it was incredible, "But isn't the emperor coming? Would the princess have the courage to do that?"

"It's the Queen Mother."

Xiao Pingxin sighed, "I just entered the palace, and Eunuch Deyuan told me that the Queen Mother was furious about the death of the Crown Prince, and she said she hated you, saying that you are not a lucky star, but a jinx."

Ruyi suddenly realized.

"I see."

The prince did not die because of her, but he has been most closely involved with her recently. Originally, the emperor had granted them a marriage and they would soon become husband and wife.

But now, the prince is dead, and she wants to be someone close to the emperor.

The rise and fall will inevitably arouse people's indignation.

Ruyi sneered in her heart, "If the Queen Mother thinks this way, someone must have whispered something in her ear, right?"

Xiao Pingxin nodded, "After entering the palace, you will inevitably become the target of public criticism."

He sighed, "Women in the harem are in high positions but cannot participate in politics. They can only spend most of their time revolving around the emperor."

"Don't even mention a beautiful young lady like you. Even if a female mosquito appeared beside the emperor, they would kill it."

Xiao Pingxin said, looking at her, "There are also people who hope that the emperor and the ninth prince will fight for you, causing civil unrest, so that they can reap the benefits from it."

“…”

Ruyi felt the danger in the harem before she even entered it.

Xiao Pingxin said as he took out a stack of portraits from his bag. "These are portraits and introductions of the more important people in the palace. The relationships are complicated. Some are on the surface, and some are hidden and we don't know about them."

"Take a look tonight."

"These people will all appear at the banquet tomorrow."

Ruyi took it and said, "Thank you, brother. It will be much easier with these. Otherwise, I will be in the dark tomorrow."

"Um."

Xiao Pingxin nodded, but still smiled, "We have made sufficient preparations, don't worry too much about the rest, we are here for you."

Ruyi's eyes turned red.

This is the love of family.

But she never experienced this in the Shen family in both of her lives.

Seeing her like this, Xiao Pingxin knew that she was thinking about something sad. "Today, I got news that the Fourth Prince has arrived in Qinghe County. The matter of the Shen family..."