After a while, Xie Lang found that Shen Mingzhu had actually dragged him to the main gate of the Zhou Mansion. He was instantly speechless, and even wanted to turn around and give her a hard look. What kind of surprise was this! It was clearly a shock!
[What on earth did Shen Mingzhu mean by this!]
Seeing him take a deep breath, Shen Mingzhu leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Let's go. I remember you said that from now on, you'd come with me whenever I met Zhou Chengyu."
When did he say that?
Xie Lang frowned instinctively and turned to look at Shen Mingzhu. He saw her looking at him playfully, and for a moment, he couldn't come up with an answer.
Then Shen Mingzhu smiled and said to Xie Lang, "Look, now you're the one who doesn't admit it after getting dressed."
She whispered this in Xie Lang's ear. After she finished speaking, she saw his ears turn red.
Shen Mingzhu nodded in satisfaction. She remembered that this man had once said the same thing about her. Now that she finally got to say it back to him, she felt quite pleased.
The two of them seemed to have switched roles. Now, it was Shen Mingzhu who was more composed. She suddenly understood the pleasure Xie Lang had felt when teasing her before, and a faint smile appeared in her eyes.
Xie Lang finally remembered when he had said that. His face instantly flushed red. Looking at Shen Mingzhu, he gritted his teeth and said, "You!"
"Your Highness."
The gatekeeper finally showed up late. At first, he didn't know who these people were. It wasn't until the young master heard his message and told him to lead the princess in that he realized that these two, one dressed simply and the other extremely good - looking, were those two!
Remembering the young master's instructions, he instinctively became even more respectful and led the way in front.
"Your Highness."
It had been a long time since Shen Mingzhu last saw Zhou Chengyu.
When she saw him, she was even a bit dazed for a moment. Finally, she looked at him and said, "It seems that Lord Zhou has taken care of all the affairs of the Zhou family?"
A few days ago, Prime Minister Zhou had "taken sick leave". Shen Mingzhu had guessed that Zhou Chengyu had started to take action. She didn't expect that he would be so composed when she saw him today, so she couldn't help but ask.
"Yeah."
Zhou Chengyu smiled, with a faint gentleness on his face. However, there was a hint of sharpness in his expression that she had never seen before, like a sword that had just been sharpened and tasted blood.
Shen Mingzhu didn't want to dwell on this for too long. She quickly went through what needed to be said. Finally, she said to Zhou Chengyu, "Have you settled everything here? The Zhou family has done many things. You may know all about it now, so it's impossible for them to escape unscathed."
They might even be severely damaged.
Shen Mingzhu didn't say this last sentence. She just stared at Zhou Chengyu steadily.
Zhou Chengyu smiled. There was only a trace of gentleness left on his face as he looked at Shen Mingzhu. He said, "I understand. Your Highness has shown mercy. I'm grateful."
Shen Mingzhu said nothing, silently acknowledging his words.
"Then we just need to find a good timing. What do you think?"
Shen Mingzhu threw the question to Zhou Chengyu. Finally, she saw Zhou Chengyu frown instinctively. In the end, he still said, "No need. Your Highness can decide on this matter. Just let me know when the time comes."
She didn't say much more. Finally, she bid farewell to Zhou Chengyu.
Just as they were leaving, Xie Lang instinctively looked back. He saw Zhou Chengyu provocatively curling his lips at him.
Xie Lang: "!!！？？？"
[What did Zhou Chengyu mean? Hmph, he's just a defeated opponent. Not worth bothering about.]
Shen Mingzhu was holding his hand. Hearing this, she couldn't help but let out a soft laugh. She turned to look at him but didn't look back at Zhou Chengyu.
She had indeed shown mercy.
When she investigated the matter, she found that Zhou Chengyu was innocent. Although his father wasn't very close to him, his father had indeed tried to harm the emperor.
Shen Mingzhu seemed cold - hearted, but in fact, she was soft - hearted. She admitted that she really couldn't bring herself to kill Zhou Chengyu. They had grown up together as childhood friends. There were just too many coincidences in this world. In the end, they were at least on the same path. Even if they weren't husband and wife, they were still old friends.
She found it hard to describe her feelings at this moment. Instinctively, she tightened her grip on Xie Lang's hand.
His hand was warm. Holding Shen Mingzhu's hand, it was like blocking the cold wind, transmitting all the warmth to her.
...
"Your Highness."
Qu Yunli looked at Shen Mingzhu. After a moment of silence, she finally said, "I know what I should do now."
Shen Mingzhu didn't know what Qu Yunli wanted to do. Looking at her expression, she was a bit surprised. So she said, "Huh?"
She had just returned from the Zhou Mansion when she saw Qu Yunli waiting at her door.
"Your Highness, now that I've escaped from my sister and brought the ledger with me, I'm sure they won't let me live. " As she said this, a trace of fear flashed in Qu Yunli's eyes. Finally, she still said, "Your Highness can't fully trust me, right?"
Shen Mingzhu nodded slightly.
"Then let me be the first one. This is the least likely way to alert the enemy." Qu Yunli said, her eyes fixed on Shen Mingzhu. There was a hint of determination on her usually timid face. "I'll beat the drum to complain."
"Do you know that if a commoner sues an official, they'll be beaten with ten big boards first?"
"Yes, I do."
Shen Mingzhu instinctively shook her head. She didn't understand why there was such an expression on her face. She just asked, "Do you know something?"
"Yeah." Qu Yunli smiled. There was a hint of hatred on her face. "I know everything. The son - in - law told me. It turns out that my parents didn't just... It was my sister. She wanted to marry my brother - in - law, and then..."
Qu Yunli couldn't continue.
Shen Mingzhu instinctively looked back at Xie Lang. She saw him nodding at her.
So that was it. No wonder Xie Lang had planned so early. It turned out that he wasn't just after the ledger. He wanted Qu Yunli to be the first one!
There were many questions in Shen Mingzhu's heart. In the end, she suppressed them all. She said to Qu Yunli, "Okay, then see you in three days."
Qu Yunli suddenly burst into tears. She nodded again and again. Finally, she collapsed on the ground, trembling.
Watching her being led away, Shen Mingzhu instinctively looked back. She saw Xie Lang staring at her steadily. So she couldn't help but ask, "How did you know about Qu Yunli's family affairs?"
"It's not that difficult." Xie Lang let out a soft laugh and said to Shen Mingzhu, "Call me husband, and I'll tell you."
Shen Mingzhu: "..."
It seemed that Xie Lang had been quite provoked by Zhou Chengyu.
"Husband."
She said it straightforwardly. She saw Xie Lang standing still in surprise, as if he hadn't expected her to say it so quickly. He couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.
"This..."
Xie Lang even stammered for a moment before saying, "When I first saw them, I remembered that I seemed to have seen them at a merchant's place. Bandit attacks on merchants were quite common. Moreover, these two were really..."
Xie Lang frowned instinctively as he remembered the past. "So I investigated it carefully. I didn't expect things to be like this. It was an unexpected surprise."
Shen Mingzhu let out a sigh and said, "Is this a sign that even heaven is helping me?"