Liushuang moved her lips, but fearing to offend her, she dared not say anything more and quickly climbed into the car.

As soon as she entered the car and saw the Grand Princess sitting inside, her pretty face turned pale and she regretted what she had just said.

"You said that your third prince's wife was kidnapped by thieves. Is that true?" The eldest princess asked with a serious expression, staring at her closely.

"Yes, it's true." Liushuang was afraid of her majesty and answered stutteringly.

"Where are the guards in your house? Is it possible that a princess like the emperor doesn't even have anyone to protect her when she goes out?" The eldest princess frowned.

"Yes, there were. But the bandits were so powerful that the guards couldn't stop them, so they succeeded."

"Where are the guards now? Are they all seriously injured? Why are you the only one left?" the Grand Princess asked again.

"They were all injured, so I went back to get help. I think they are still at the foot of the mountain over there."

The eldest princess frowned even more tightly: "I think you, the princess, haven't made adequate arrangements. Now is a time of trouble. If you want to go out, it's better to have more escorts than less."

"The princess has come several times in the past few days, and everything was fine every time. Only today did an accident happen." Liu Shuang explained on behalf of her master.

"The Third Prince is now trapped in the clan house, and Concubine Li is worried about the Third Prince's affairs. Why don't you stay in the house to take care of household affairs, or go to the palace to comfort the Concubine, but come here every now and then?" The eldest princess' face darkened, and she looked very unhappy.

"The Prince's Consort is here to pray for His Majesty the Third Prince..." Liushuang shrank her neck and defended her master in a low voice.

Shen Xinyan frowned as she listened, but felt a little strange in her heart.

How many times have you been here?

Didn't Zhou Wanning dream about her past life earlier? If so, she should know that in her previous life, she was abducted by Murong Tao in a similar situation.

I should have been careful in my life and not dared to go out easily. Why would I go out with just my guards and maids during such an emergency and go to the same place several times in a row?

Didn't she dream about it?

As soon as this thought came to her mind, she dismissed it.

Logically speaking, she knew that she was sent to the family temple by her eldest son in her previous life, so she should also know the reason why she was sent there.

The more she thought about it, the more confused she became. The more she thought about it, the more strange it seemed to her. In the end, she even had the absurd thought that Zhou Wanning seemed to be waiting for her to be abducted.

The next moment she felt it was impossible.

For a woman in today's world, being kidnapped by thieves is no less than taking her life.

Even if she returned safely and innocently, who would believe it? How many people would believe that a young and beautiful woman could remain innocent after falling into the hands of a thief? Moreover, Zhou Wanning was still so infatuated, which made it even harder to convince her.

No matter how stupid Zhou Wanning was, she wouldn't joke with her reputation or her life, right? If the Third Prince didn't love her as deeply as her eldest son did in her previous life, she would be doomed!

"Madam, why don't you report to the police and have the thief arrested first?" Liu Shuang didn't dare to face the Grand Princess anymore and turned to ask Shen Xinyan.

Shen Xinyan glanced at her and said, "If you want to report to the authorities, I have no objection. I just don't know if Mr. Zhou and Mrs. Zhou would agree that you can report the kidnapping of their daughter to the authorities!"

"How stupid!" The Grand Princess glared at Liushuang unhappily.

If something like this happened, everyone would cover it up tightly. If it was revealed, even if the person was rescued safely, the spit of others would drown her. But this idiot actually wanted to report it to the police!

Liu Shuang's pretty face turned red and white at the scolding, and she finally realized that she had indeed done something stupid. She immediately curled up into a ball and dared not say another word.

"Clean yourself up. Are you afraid that others won't know what happened to you?" the eldest princess said with a sullen face.

Upon hearing this, Liu Shuang hurriedly began to tidy up her appearance. Shen Xinyan frowned, took out a peach wood comb and a handheld bronze mirror from the secret compartment in the carriage and threw them to her, watching her tidy herself up quite neatly.

In less than half an hour, the carriage arrived in the capital. Shen Xinyan ordered people to send Liushuang directly to Zhou Mansion. Without stopping, he ordered the carriage to return home.

"Fortunately, Junhang came back in time that day, so we didn't have to marry Zhou Mao's daughter for Lin'er." After returning to the mansion, the eldest princess said with a little relief.

Shen Xinyan was helping her wash her hands and face. When she heard what she said, she smiled and nodded in agreement: "Mother, you are absolutely right!"

"This girl is beautiful, but she is not the right candidate for a virtuous wife. As the saying goes, a virtuous wife brings few troubles to her husband. I just hope that after this experience, Brother Lin will be able to think clearly and gradually give up his feelings for the girl from the Zhou family." The eldest princess sighed.

Shen Xinyan was not quite sure about this.

After all, Zhou Wanning had been in Murong Tao's hands for many days in her previous life. But after she was rescued, the eldest son's affection for her did not diminish in the slightest, and his attitude towards her did not change.

The guards sent to inform Zhou Mao came back soon, saying that Lord Zhou seemed to have asked someone for help and led his men to rescue. Shen Xinyan didn't take it too seriously. Zhou Wanning had nothing to do with her in this life. To her, he was just an acquaintance. There was really no need for her to spend too much time paying attention to him.

Moreover, if it was Murong Tao who abducted her, then her life would definitely not be in danger. Murong Tao was busy trying to coax her, so how could he be willing to touch her even a finger?

However, the other two guards she sent to track down the thieves never returned. As time went on, Shen Xinyan became more and more worried, fearing that the two had met with an accident. Later, she even regretted sending someone to track them down.

The eldest princess seemed to understand her worries and patted the back of her hand to comfort her, "Don't worry, these guards were trained by your father himself. Even if their martial arts skills are not as good as those of the thieves, they still have the ability to protect themselves."

Shen Xinyan felt relieved after hearing her say this.

If it was Murong Tao who captured the person, he would not harm Zhou Wanning, but he might not show mercy to others. If the guards of the Duke's Mansion died because of these two people, it would be truly unworthy.

Perhaps Zhou Mao had made careful arrangements, or perhaps everyone in the court was either paying attention to the border war or the case of the second prince, and for a while no one knew that the third prince's wife had been abducted by thieves.

Even the Third Prince's biological mother, Concubine Li, did not notice that while her son was imprisoned in the clan house, her daughter-in-law had disappeared.

However, Shen Xinyan knew even more clearly that truth would come out. It could be concealed for a short period of time, but if it lasted for a long time, it would inevitably arouse suspicion. The first person to be suspected would definitely be Fang Birong, the fifth lady of the Zhou Mansion.

The dispute over legitimate and illegitimate children in the Zhou mansion had already become intense. Logically, the legitimate line of the Zhou family had been gradually losing power, and there was only one illegitimate eldest son, Zhou Mao, serving as an official in the court. Everyone in the mansion should live their lives according to the wishes of Zhou Mao and his wife.

However, the Zhou family's income was always controlled by Fang Birong from the fifth room. The Wen family could not get any advantage from her and had to be restricted by her in every way, which was quite frustrating.

Comparing the two lives, Shen Xinyan felt that the most unfortunate thing about the Wen family in this life was that they had a fifth brother and sister-in-law who were completely different from the previous life. Fang Birong's scheming and tactics were such that even if the Wen family lived a few more years, they still couldn't defeat her.

More than half a month later, the case of the second prince was finally solved. The crown prince and the third prince were both wrongly accused, and the man who schemed all this was discovered to have committed suicide by taking poison when the officials from the Dali Temple arrived.

This person was none other than a conspirator in the Second Prince's mansion. When the officials searched his mansion again, they unexpectedly found many old items from Prince Cheng's mansion. Immediately, the news that Prince Cheng had secretly returned to the capital spread in the court.

Emperor Yuanyou took the opportunity to issue an edict, strictly ordering the guards in all parts of the capital to strengthen patrols and make sure to find the whereabouts of Prince Cheng.

Suddenly, the security of the capital city became increasingly strict. Every day, many officials were stationed at the city gates, strictly checking people entering and leaving the city, for fear that Prince Cheng would be among the people.

"Ms. Shen, what do you think about this matter?" That day, after the Grand Princess had breakfast, she looked at Shen Xinyan and Ms. Yang in front of her and suddenly asked.

Shen Xinyan thought for a moment and said slowly: "Whether the real murderer is really the real murderer is debatable. If your daughter-in-law's guess is true, then strengthening the defense of the capital and searching for Prince Cheng with all your strength is your majesty's real purpose."

The eldest princess nodded in approval, looked at the suspicious Yang, smiled slightly, and changed the subject: "Zhao'er's wedding should be held on the original date. I think by that time, Junhang and his son will have returned triumphantly."

When she mentioned her son's marriage, Yang was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly: "Mother is right. My daughter-in-law has asked many people to help her. That day is really a rare good day, the most suitable for marriage."

Earlier, Yang had already set a wedding date for her son and her niece, but soon after, Wei Chenglin disappeared and his whereabouts were unknown. Then, the Rongdi invaded the city from the south and Wei Junhang went to war. She did not want to mention these things anymore, but she was extremely anxious and worried that if Wei Chenglin really lost his life, she would not know when her son's marriage would be postponed.

Now that she finally got the answer, she felt relieved.

This happiness made him talk more.

"I'm not exaggerating, my niece is indeed a rare good girl. Everyone who has seen her will praise her..."

Shen Xinyan listened to her endless chatter and felt like laughing.

How can a niece and a daughter-in-law be the same? When she is still a niece, she will naturally think highly of her. But once she becomes a daughter-in-law, it will be different. It will be like looking at her through a magnifying glass. No matter how good the other person is, there will always be something that she looks down upon.

She remembered clearly that in her previous life, Yang often complained to her in private about her former niece, who later became the eldest son's wife.

The eldest princess, however, was in a rare good mood as she listened to Yang's endless praises of her future daughter-in-law. When she noticed that Yang's throat seemed a little dry, she even considerately gestured to Shen Xinyan to pour her some tea.

Shen Xinyan caught her gaze, smiled, took the teapot, poured a cup of tea for Yang and brought it to her.

"...I'm telling you that when it comes to marrying a wife, character is the most important thing. Compared to that, appearance is not that important. Look at that beautiful girl in the Zhou Mansion, now the third prince's wife. It's because her appearance is too attractive that she attracted the attention of thieves!"

Shen Xinyan was startled and subconsciously looked at the Grand Princess, who happened to meet her equally surprised gaze.

"Third sister-in-law, what do you mean by this? What are you thinking about?" After a while, she asked tentatively.

"It's not surprising that you don't know, sister-in-law. I only heard about it yesterday when I went back to my parents' home. It is said that the Third Prince's wife was kidnapped by thieves, and as soon as the Third Prince came out of the clan residence, he took his men to rescue her. Oh, the Third Prince's wife is so unlucky. Now that she has been kidnapped, her second half of her life is gone." Yang clicked her tongue a few times, but her expression was as if she was enjoying a good show.

"Is there any evidence to prove that the Third Prince's wife was abducted by thieves?" Shen Xinyan asked again.

"Has it spread outside?" the Grand Princess asked immediately.

"How could it all be spread? If it had been spread, my mother and second sister-in-law would have heard about it long ago, so it wouldn't be my turn to speak out. It's just that someone who knows the truth leaked a few words in private, and everyone just listened to it." Yang said with a smile.

"If there is no evidence, don't spread such words. Reputation and innocence are so important to women. Don't just follow the crowd and ruin someone's life for no reason." The eldest princess admonished.

Yang responded hesitantly and dared not say anything more.

Shen Xinyan was in deep thought.

Who on earth spread such specious words? Although there is no definite evidence, the power of such words cannot be underestimated if they are spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred. The person who spread such words clearly wanted to punish Zhou Wanning to death.

For some reason, Fang Birong's face suddenly flashed in her mind.

Could it be her? She did not rule out this possibility. In the dispute between the legitimate and illegitimate daughters in the Zhou family, Zhou Wanning was the most beloved daughter of Zhou Mao, the eldest son of the illegitimate family. If Zhou Wanning was destroyed, it would be a heavy blow to Zhou Mao and his wife. For Fang Birong, it was not something she could not do.

A few days later, the two guards she had sent to track down the thieves came back, bringing with them the news that Zhou Wanning had been brought back home safely by the third prince.

"So, it was the Third Prince who saved the Third Prince's Consort?" she asked.

The two guards looked a little hesitant and glanced at each other. The taller one of them answered, "It's not the Third Prince's Consort that the Third Prince rescued from General Murong, but, it's the Crown Prince!"

Shen Xinyan was startled and looked stunned.

"Prince? Are you sure it was the Prince who saved him? But didn't the Prince and the Marquis lead the troops to help General Murong?"

"I am very sure that it was the Crown Prince who brought his men to rescue the Third Prince's wife, and then ordered someone to escort her to meet the Third Prince who had arrived."

Shen Xinyan was speechless for a long time.

She had never expected that it would be her eldest son who saved Zhou Wanning in this life. At this time, her eldest son should be about to meet up with General Murong and lead his troops to attack the Rongdi imperial court.

"What about the prince?" she asked.

"After the prince rescued the people, he left with his men. I think he is going to meet the marquis."

Shen Xinyan breathed a sigh of relief.

Although no one knows how he found out that Zhou Wanning was kidnapped, no matter what, he was not blinded by love this time, he did not disregard the emperor's orders, and he did not disregard his relatives in Beijing.

***

However, it is said that Wei Chenglin had quelled the banditry in Xiyan that day and originally planned to cooperate with the local government to resettle the people. Unexpectedly, Emperor Yuanyou suddenly issued an edict, ordering him and Lin Fu to lead troops to meet with General Murong to jointly pursue the Rongdi.

Wei Chenglin had heard a lot about his great-grandfather's glorious deeds since he was a child, and he had great respect for this great-grandfather who had never been defeated in his life. Therefore, when he learned that he could actually go to the battlefield for the first time, and with General Murong who was as famous as his grandfather, he had to say that he was still very excited.

The moment he received the imperial edict, he immediately ordered his men to pack up and set off with his troops and horses together with Ling Fu.

Less than half a month into the forced march, he suddenly received a letter from his father, ordering him to take a small team to rescue the people.

The letter did not specify who he was asked to save, and Wei Chenglin had no time to think about it. After instructing Ling Fu, he led his personal guards and headed in the direction indicated in the letter.

After riding fast for several days, he actually saw a familiar figure on a secluded mountain road.

"It's you? Why are you here if you didn't follow General Murong to pursue the Rongdi people?" He pulled the reins, unable to hide the confusion on his face.

Murong Tao subconsciously tightened his grip on the long sword at his waist, but when he heard his words, he stopped drawing the sword and his mind raced.

It seems that he didn't come here specifically to intercept me, so I don't know...

However, before he could come up with any countermeasures, Zhou Wanning's surprised and delighted voice came from the carriage behind him: "Wei, Brother Wei!"

Wei Chenglin suddenly raised his eyes and looked at the carriage behind him, and asked in a sharp voice: "Who is in the carriage?"

His heart beat rapidly and he couldn't believe the voice he just heard. The voice was too familiar and it belonged to someone who shouldn't be here.

The moment Zhou Wanning spoke, Murong Tao knew that things had become unavoidable. He had never expected that the effect of her medicine would wear off just when Wei Chenglin appeared.

"Wei, Brother Wei, it's me, I'm Awan!" Zhou Wanning was completely powerless, but still struggled to lift the car curtain.

When that beautiful face appeared in the carriage, Wei Chenglin was shocked: "Why are you here?"

As a prince's consort, how could she appear so far away from the capital...

Without waiting for Zhou Wanning to answer, he suddenly glared at Murong Tao and said, "It was you. Did you bring her here?"

Murong Tao sneered and drew out the long sword from his waist with a swish: "Stop talking nonsense, today we should have a final say!"

If he had not plotted to cause serious injuries to herself that day, how could Ah Wan have married the Third Prince? In the final analysis, it was all because of this man that he took such a desperate measure.

Wei Chenglin was also filled with hatred. He felt that this man was unreasonable. How important was a woman's reputation? How would Ah Wan cope with being abducted by him? And how would the Third Prince view her? !

He also drew out his long sword, his eyes wide open with anger, and rode his horse towards Murong Tao who was coming towards him with the sword in hand.

There was only the sound of "ping pong pong" of weapons clashing, and within a moment, the two men began to fight with fierce moves, neither giving in.

Zhou Wanning was very anxious and shouted at them to stop, but the two men were full of old and new grudges and wanted to kill each other on the spot, so they would not listen to her.

Especially Murong Tao, the hatred for the loss of his lover and the revenge for being plotted against several years ago, every time he thought of it, his murderous intent increased a little.

On the contrary, Wei Chenglin was concerned about General Murong on the front line, so he left room for maneuver in every move.

The two men's martial arts were originally comparable. If both of them were fighting with all their strength, it would be difficult to tell who would win. But now, one of them was determined to kill the other, while the other was showing mercy. After a long time, Wei Chenglin was at a disadvantage.

Zhou Wanning watched Wei Chenglin narrowly escape death from Murong Tao's sword several times. Her heart tightened and she screamed, "Stop, Murong Tao, stop it!"

But she would never have thought that the more she shouted, the stronger Murong Tao's murderous intent became.

Wei Chenglin was forced to retreat backwards, and his arm was cut by the opponent. A flash of anger flashed in his eyes, and murderous intent suddenly appeared.

In this case, he doesn't need to show mercy!

With a plan in mind, he shouted suddenly, kicked into the air, swung his sword, and when Murong Tao tried to dodge, he suddenly attacked, stabbing his sword straight into the opponent's forehead.

Murong Tao thought to himself that this was not good, and hastily pulled away, narrowly avoiding his sword. But before he could stand firm, Wei Chenglin struck him again with the next sword.

In an instant, sword lights flashed everywhere, and the air was filled with murderous aura. The guards on both sides looked at each other, undecided whether to step forward to help.

Murong Tao made a false move, and when Wei Chenglin raised his sword to meet him, he suddenly pulled his hand back and stabbed the sword towards his chest. Just as the tip of the sword was about to pierce his chest, suddenly, with a "clang", a long knife came in and knocked his sword away.

"Second uncle?!" Murong Tao was furious and was about to scold Cheng Yaojin for killing him, but his face changed drastically when he saw the other person's face clearly.

The person who came was none other than his uncle, Murong Jue, the younger brother of the general who defended the country.

"Beast!" Murong Jue slapped him so hard that blood oozed from the corner of his mouth, which was enough to show how much force he used.

"You are unworthy of being a member of the Murong family. You are simply bringing shame to the Murong clan!" Murong Jue was extremely angry. He kicked him several feet away and then threw him heavily to the ground.

"Tie up this rebellious son!!"

Soldiers immediately stepped forward and tied up Murong Tao, who was struggling to get up.

"Uncle, uncle..." Murong Tao was very anxious and wanted to say something, but Murong Jue directly covered his mouth with a towel and refused to listen to him at all.

"I'm sorry for the offense, I hope you won't take it as an offense, Prince Wei." After dealing with his nephew, he took a few deep breaths to calm down his anger and bowed to Wei Chenglin.

Wei Chenglin avoided the question: "I don't deserve it."

Murong Jue's eyes were somewhat complicated.

The relationship between the Wei family and the Murong family has always been one of both cooperation and competition. The ancestor was brave and good at fighting, but because of the suppression of the Wei family, he could never reach the top.

Among the younger generation of the two mansions, Wei Chenglin has gradually become prominent, while the greatest hope of the Murong family is still obsessed with women and does not repent.

That day, when Wei Junhang mentioned to him that his nephew had abducted the Third Prince's wife, he still didn't believe it and blamed him for intentionally throwing dirty water on Murong. After all, in the current war against Rongdi, if rewards were given based on merit, Wei would definitely be suppressed by Murong.

But he never expected that what Wei Junhang said was actually true!

His good nephew actually pretended to be injured and withdrew from the front line, under the pretext of escorting food and fodder, but in fact he secretly went to Beijing to capture people!

He then slowly looked at Zhou Wanning, who was climbing out of the carriage in a wolfish manner and struggling to walk over, and murderous intent suddenly appeared in his eyes.

"General!" Wei Chenglin noticed that he had murderous intentions towards Zhou Wanning, so he stepped forward and blocked his sight.

Murong Jue sneered: "Could it be that Prince Wei has also been deceived by this evil water?"

Wei Chenglin reminded calmly: "General, she is not an ordinary woman, but the consort of the third prince of the dynasty. If anything happens to her, I'm afraid you won't be able to explain to the third prince."

Murong Jue was just impulsive just now. After calming down, he realized that this woman could not be killed. Hearing this, he sneered again: "In this case, this woman will be handed over to Prince Wei!"

After saying this, he left without waiting for Wei Chenglin's reaction, taking the struggling Murong Tao with him.

Wei Chenglin was silent for a moment, then slowly walked away from Zhou Wanning, who was looking at him excitedly with tears in her eyes.

"Ah... Third Prince's wife, I will order someone to escort you back to the capital."

"Prince's Consort? You actually call me Prince's Consort? If you hadn't left without saying a word back then, how could I have become the Prince's Consort!" Zhou Wanning widened her eyes in disbelief.

"I am sorry for what happened back then." Wei Chenglin was silent for a while, unable to hide the shame on his face.

Whatever the reason, it was his fault that he left her without a word.

"Do you know? In order to see you, I even tried to let myself fall into Murong Tao's hands, because I knew that you would come to save me. You see, didn't I guess right? When I was in the most dangerous time, you really came!" Zhou Wanning said with tears in her eyes.

"Did you fall into Murong Tao's hands on purpose?" Wei Chenglin frowned.

"How did you know Murong Tao's plan?"

"Do you believe it? We were husband and wife in our previous life, and Murong Tao kidnapped me like this in our previous life. It was you who rushed back and saved me!" Zhou Wanning grabbed his sleeve, a tender look on her face.

"You've been frightened. I'd better have someone send you back to Beijing!" Wei Chenglin said worriedly when he saw her start talking nonsense and even saying such things about her past life.

"I'm not talking nonsense. It's true. We were a loving couple in our last life. It was because of my mother, Madam Wei, who pushed me off the carriage and caused me to be captured by Murong Tao. And you, you even sent her to the family temple." Zhou Wanning became anxious when he saw that he didn't believe her.

"Nonsense!" Wei Chenglin shouted at her.

"Sending your biological mother to a family temple to live out her days is no different from treating her like an animal!"