A strong smell of powder passed by her nostrils. Ruyi turned around and looked at her back, feeling heavy-hearted.

"Father, you must be extremely careful with our father's diet, daily life, and daily necessities."

Ruyi lowered her figure and spoke to Eunuch Yuan beside her.

Eunuch Yuan's expression changed slightly, "That's what the young lady reminded me of!"

That’s right, the former dynasty and the harem are one.

The former dynasty is desperate, can the harem be at peace?

As one of the four concubines, Concubine Duan still has many minions outside even if she is locked up in a Buddhist temple to pray for blessings, so she must not be careless.

Ruyi turned around and walked out of the palace.

The sky cleared up this morning.

There was a large expanse of azure blue sky overhead, but the cold wind was blowing through, chilling to the bone.

Eunuch Yuan said something auspicious at the palace gate, "Today is your family recognition banquet. The weather is good, and you will definitely have a smooth road ahead."

"Thank you, father-in-law."

Ruyi said goodbye to him and got on the carriage.

"Girl, what took you so long?"

After watching Eunuch Yuan go back, Jing San looked at Ruyi with a worried look in his eyes, "Your Highness sent someone to ask twice."

"I was so sleepy that I took a nap in the palace."

Ruyi answered truthfully, "I met my senior brother today, I'll tell him."

Jing San nodded.

The carriage went to the inn.

Jing San talked about what happened last night, "The Third Prince is in confinement, but he is not idle. According to our observation, he seems to have a substitute."

"Going south?"

Ruyi raised her eyes and asked.

Jing San: “…”

After a moment, he looked at Ruyi in astonishment, "How did you know?"

Ruyi glanced in the direction of the Third Prince's Mansion and said, "I guess. Since he is in solitary confinement, he cannot appear in the capital. What's the point of having a substitute?"

"The only explanation is that he had something to do in the south, so he left his substitute at home and went south himself."

"One is to conceal it from others, two is to escape, and three is to secretly accomplish what I want to do."

Ruyi sighed, "I'm afraid this New Year will be difficult."

Changing the subject, Ruyi asked, "By the way, what's going on with the Cao family? Since the Third Prince is leaving, he must have met someone from the Cao family before he left."

Jing San looked at her with an expression as if he had seen a ghost. "Last night, he met the second son of the Cao family, and then he disguised himself as a scholar and left the South City Gate."

Ruyi listened to these words and pondered: "In other words, from now on, all matters related to the Third Prince's Mansion will be handed over to the Cao family to handle. Students taking the palace examination who have any connection with the Cao family will be kept under close watch."

“…”

Jing San finally couldn't help himself and looked at Ruyi and said, "Are you the worm in His Highness' stomach?"

Ruyi was stunned and looked at him in surprise.

Jing San said: "These words are exactly the same as what His Highness ordered last night."

“…”

Ruyi was stunned, then came back to her senses and laughed, "Maybe I have thought of something."

Jing San was speechless and gave her a thumbs up.

Originally, he thought that His Highness was a man of natural talent and there was no need for him to stare at the eldest daughter of the Shen family, which would only expose himself.

But now he feels that Ruyi is the only one in the world who is the right match for his prince, and anyone else would be lacking in quality.

The city remains under martial law.

When Ruyi returned to the inn, Xiao Pingxin was already waiting there. "Let's pack up and go home. I asked the maid to sort out the miscellaneous things. There are also some bottles and jars that I didn't dare to touch, for fear that there might be something extraordinary inside."

He had a smile on his face and looked very happy.

Ruyi blushed, "It is indeed a bit poisonous, I will do it myself."

"But, are we going there so early?"

Ruyi has been very busy lately and feels that time is too tight.

Xiao Pingxin sighed, looked around and said, "Look, there's no bed or table here, it doesn't look like a place that people can live in!"

"Mother said to pick you up early so that you can get familiar with the environment at home, so as not to panic at the family reunion banquet."

Xiao Pingxin smiled and said, "I will compensate you for the damage to the inn."

Ruyi was embarrassed, "Then I'll owe it to you first, and I'll pay you back when I have money."

Xiao Pingxin smiled, "Just consider it as your gift in return for matchmaking for me. You don't have to return it."

Ruyi raised her eyes to look at him, only to find that his smile was very... unique.

"So, mother has agreed to your marriage with Lord Mingyang? That's pretty quick. When are you going to propose?"

Ruyi was truly happy for both of them.

Xiao Pingxin nodded, "I will propose marriage when you get married."

"It's a pity that the prince was assassinated. If we want to get married, we will probably have to wait until next year. It will take at least a hundred days."

Ruyi laughed when she heard what he said, "Brother sounds quite anxious."

Xiao Pingxin smiled but said nothing.

Ruyi was actually a little envious of him.

Her brother grew up in a family with a positive and peaceful family tradition. He has never encountered any difficulties along the way and everything has gone smoothly.

When you reach the age of marriage, you still have a crush on someone for many years.

And he also likes those who have a crush on him.

My parents didn't object, and we decided on the candidate within two days.

Then, there were three matchmakers and six betrothals, a grand wedding, and the birth of children...

I don’t know how many lifetimes it took to accumulate such a blessing.

Ruyi thought about this and suddenly felt that this was a good thing for her as well. At least it allowed her to see what a healthy family looked like and how people got along with each other.

"When I return home, I will need your guidance on many things," Ruyi packed up her things and looked at Xiao Pingxin with a smile, "You know, I grew up in a family like that, so it's inevitable that I have some problems that I can't find myself."

People always have to move forward.

Ruyi is willing and wants to become a better person.

"You're fine now," Xiao Pingxin sighed and raised his hand to rub her head. "Let's go. We'll be at home when we get back. Relax a little and don't be so nervous."

Ruyi nodded and followed him into the carriage.

Several maids followed behind and got on another carriage.

Fangfei even cried.

"My girl has been through so much, now she finally has a home, wuwuwu..."

Mainly, she was touched when she saw how nice Xiao Pingxin was to Ruyi.

Thinking back to the faces of the five young masters of the Shen family, I felt really sad and wronged.

The carriage passed by the Shen family’s gate.

Unlike the hustle and bustle of the past, the Shen family is now deserted. There is not even a guard guarding the gate. The door is open and there is no one inside.

"Why did it become like this?"

When Fangfei saw it, she exclaimed in surprise.

Ruyi lifted the car curtain to take a look, and was also slightly stunned——

It's a very strange feeling.

Before, she thought that only Xifengyuan was dilapidated, while the rest of the place was still prosperous.

Especially Shen Jiaojiao’s Jiaoyang Pavilion, which is extremely luxurious.

But now, there is always a feeling that the entire Shen family has become dilapidated and has become Xifengyuan.

Seeing her surprise, Xiao Pingxin smiled slightly and said, "I heard that Shen Cangyun has gone crazy, talking nonsense everywhere and exposing his past."

"Shen Yu had no choice but to knock him out and lock him up in the woodshed. It was a matter of course."

Ruyi was also a little sad when she heard this, "Shen Yu locked his father in the woodshed?"

It’s true, no one can escape from heaven’s mercy?

Just as Xiao Pingxin was about to speak, he saw Shen Yu coming out from the corner carrying two packets of medicine, looking dazed, with wounds on his face. He was stunned for a moment.

Shen Yu also saw their carriage.

At a glance, I saw that the girl had beautiful features and her smile was as bright as the sun.

All of a sudden, he felt a piercing pain in his heart, which made his eyes turn red and tears well up.

"As one wishes!"