Chapter 182

November, the north wind blew, all the flowers in the courtyard had withered, making the Prince Yan's manor courtyard even more desolate.

Xiao Jingyuan's departure to Quanzhou to suppress the pirates has been two full months; along the way he sent three letters, all reporting good news and no worries.

But the news coming from Quanzhou has generally been smooth.

The Quanzhou navy and the pirates fought three hard battles in succession; the first was a night raid on the pirates' lair, with Xiao Jingyuan personally leading the elite forces to break through the pirates' ship formation;

The second confrontation at Black Stone Mountain saw heavy casualties on both sides; the shadow guard mentioned in the letter only that "the Heir's left arm was wounded and bandaged," then said nothing more;

The third was a pursuit of the remnants, driving the pirates into successive defeats until they fled in disarray to Langya Island in the South Sea, relying on the island's strategic terrain to make a last stand, which for a time turned into a stalemate.

That band of pirates was not as easy to deal with as imagined.

"Heiress, the shadow guard just returned with news: Langya Island has recently shown unusual activity, as if other forces have intervened." Qingyun entered holding the secret letter, his nose tip frozen red.

He wasn't qualified to read this letter; he heard that from Su Chen.

Shen Shuangning opened the secret letter, glanced over it, and curled the corner of her mouth in a cold smile.

The letter wrote that Prince Rui had secretly sent people to deliver grain and gunpowder to the pirates.

Xiao Jingyuan fought bloody on the front lines, while Prince Rui stabbed him in the back; he had long suspected that the pirates' invasion was fishy, and indeed it turned out to be collusion with Prince Rui.

Since the secret letter has arrived, it shows Xiao Jingyuan already knows; given his temperament, he will not sit and wait for death.

Shen Shuangning again recalled that recent nightmare, she lifted her hand to press her slightly twitching eye corner, and asked: "Heir, what do you plan to do next? Gather evidence of Prince Rui's collusion with the pirates and report it to the emperor?"

Prince Rui is guilty of treason; if we can get the evidence to the emperor, it will be enough to ruin him.

Qingyun said: "I, your subordinate, do not know."

Shen Shuangning then stopped asking further, casually threw on a white-fur-trimmed cloak, and went out.

The servants in the courtyard had long grown accustomed to the Heiress's constant coming and going, though they didn't know what she was busy with, merely seeing that she resembled the Heir more and more.

Now married to Xiao Jingyuan, she is actually far freer than before; she can go anywhere without anyone questioning her, unlike in the Duke's mansion where she was constantly watched by her mother and elder brother.

Even the Duchess never interfered in Xiao Jingyuan's courtyard affairs; Shen Shuangning could go wherever she wished.

When she returned, it was already noon; she had just sat down to rest a moment when a servant outside announced that a visitor had arrived requesting to see the Heiress.

"Is it my older cousin?" Shen Shuangning's face lit up; "Please invite her in quickly."

Liu Yu did not come alone; behind her followed a well-dressed young gentleman.

Shen Shuangning felt this person's brows and eyes looked familiar; upon asking, she learned that he was actually Shitou!

Shitou's change was too great; in my impression he always wore coarse cloth shorts and merely followed behind Chen Jia as a callow youth, but now he had changed into a fitted brocade outfit, his hair neatly combed, his features revealed as regular and distinct, shedding his former immaturity and rashness, actually gaining a touch of refinement.

He stood beside Liu Yu, one gentle and one pretty, actually making quite a matched pair.

As Shen Shuangning sized him up, Shitou performed a respectful bow, a little shy, yet his bearing was neither humble nor arrogant.

When Shitou followed Chen Jia, he was coarse and uncouth; now following Liu Yu in his work, his words and deeds are different.

Shen Shuangning could see that; it was Liu Yu's good training.

"Older sister... no, I should call you Boss Liu." Shen Shuangning teased.

Everyone thought that after experiencing such a familial massacre, Liu Yu would surely be crushed, spending the rest of her life unable to recover from fear and sorrow.

But she slapped everyone in the face.

After Liu Yu took over the manor, she settled the innocent tenants implicated, did not cling to the land left by her parents, but rented it all out to farmers; she herself, with her meager savings, went south, rented contiguous paddies in the Suzhou-Hangzhou area, and shuttled between the docks and markets.

In just a few months, traveling south and north without relying on the Duke's mansion for convenience, she also managed to conclude several big deals, truly remarkable.

Shen Shuangning admired her from the heart.

"Don't give me that." Liu Yu laughed and patted her hand,

Shen Shuangning asked: "Older sister, what brings you to see me?"

Liu Yu turned serious: "You also know that I went south to expand my territory, and I happened to be stationed in the Jinling area; there I heard about a strange matter, and since I came to the capital to discuss business, I wanted to let you know......"

Upon saying this, Liu Yu lowered her voice and even glanced back twice: "This matter concerns your husband."

Upon hearing this, Shen Shuangning involuntarily turned serious, said nothing, waved for the people inside to withdraw, and shut the door.

Including Shitou also went out.

After everyone had withdrawn, only Shen Shuangning and Liu Yu remained in the room.

Liu Yu took a sip of tea, then lifted her eyes to look at the woman before her, as if mindful of her feelings, gently grasped her hand, and then spoke: "In Jinling, someone has appeared out of nowhere, claiming to be the son of Prince Yan, saying that your husband is a false Heir, usurping his Heir's position, and clamoring to acknowledge his ancestors and return to his clan."

"Who doesn't know that the Heir is currently in Quanzhou suppressing pirates, a great hero defending home and country? No one took his words seriously; the authorities even thought he was stirring up trouble and threw him into prison. I originally thought this matter would end there......"

Liu Yu paused, a flicker of worry crossing her eyes: "But I heard before leaving Jinling that in the official residence he was eating and drinking well, suffering no setback, and later an important figure even took him away!"

Shen Shuangning's face changed abruptly upon hearing this; she hurriedly asked: "What is that person's name?"

Liu Yu said: "Xiao Ze."

Shen Shuangning blurted out: "How is that possible?"

Xiao Ze supposedly died before age three on the road back to the capital—that's what the Duchess always said!

Seeing Shen Shuangning's reaction, Liu Yu was startled: "Could it really be that this person exists?"

Shen Shuangning lowered her gaze and gave a slight nod.

Outsiders only know that Prince Yan has only one son, Xiao Jingyuan; where would Xiao Ze come from—isn't that a swindler?

But looking at the situation now, it seems very likely not a fraud.

Liu Yu began to worry about Shen Shuangning's predicament. If that Xiao Ze were genuine and had been retrieved, wouldn't he be competing with Xiao Jingyuan for the Heir's position?

What the hell is this?

Shen Shuangning remained relatively calm, saying: "It's fine; this Xiao Ze is probably fake eighty percent."

After Liu Yu left, Shen Shuangning immediately sent Qingyun to inquire, hoping to find out who had taken him away.

Xiao Jingyuan is fighting on the front lines, yet such a figure suddenly appears in the rear; surely someone is pulling the strings behind the scenes. Regardless of whether that Xiao Ze is real or false, we must find him, lest people take advantage to cause trouble.

But Shen Shuangning at this moment would never have imagined that Xiao Ze was taken away and hidden by people of the Prince Yan's consort.

"Go to the residence and inform Miss Su, tell her to pack her things today, and tomorrow morning arrange for her to leave the capital." Shen Shuangning ordered.

Su Wan was still living in that mansion; she had originally planned to leave a month ago, but a major event occurred in the palace—Emperor Xuanwen was assassinated, and his injuries were not light.

Consequently, the Imperial Guard, following orders that same day, sealed off several city gates, strictly screening passersby; it was said they detained several people with ambiguous identities, showing no leniency, and the checkpoints along the way were tightly guarded.

Therefore Su Wan could only take refuge under Shen Shuangning's protection, after all, her identity was extremely sensitive.

And just today, the Imperial Guard finally withdrew, presumably having captured the assassin.

Shen Shuangning didn't know anything about this; she only knew that Su Wan ought to leave.

To be safe, it would be better to set out the day after tomorrow.

For some reason, Shen Shuangning inexplicably had a bad premonition, feeling that the skies over Jingcheng were about to change.

Early the next morning, just as Shen Shuangning was preparing to go out to see Su Wan off, she actually received disastrous news.

Spring Prefecture emergency report—Xiao Jingyuan died in battle!