Yun Xi swallowed back the words that were about to come out.
She gulped and peeked at Yi Yuan with a sheepish look. Then, she helplessly poked his solid chest and said,
"Fine, I'll tell you. I'll tell you everything."
The two of them started walking back. Yun Xi organized her thoughts and told Yi Yuan what she and Hun Yuan had found out.
However, Yun Xi downplayed the role of the old prince Yi Fu in the story and concealed the fact that the old prince had secretly gone to the palace before the late emperor's death and had angered him to death.
She only said that because Yi Fu had had a bit more contact with Concubine Qing than others, she suspected that the old prince had been used by someone. She was afraid that Yi Yuan would get angry if he knew, so she had kept it from him first.
Yi Yuan didn't say a word for a long time.
Yun Xi had been very subtle, but Yi Yuan was so smart that he could easily read between the lines of her words about the "a bit more contact".
In his impression, his father and mother had always been deeply in love. Otherwise, his father wouldn't have remained single all his life without taking any concubines.
He didn't believe that his father could have done such a thing.
Moreover, the person involved in the alleged affair was a concubine in the palace, the wife of his father's own elder brother!
Yi Yuan frowned so tightly that his eyebrows almost knitted into a knot.
He didn't want to believe it, but...
When he was a child, his father had often used him as an excuse to enter the palace. And more often than not, he had seen Concubine Qing there.
It couldn't... all be a coincidence.
Yi Yuan remained silent all the way.
Yun Xi was a bit worried and comforted him,
"You don't have to think too much. These are all unconfirmed things. The truth may not be as we've guessed."
Yi Yuan turned his head and met Yun Xi's worried eyes. Although his heart was still filled with a complex mixture of emotions, he didn't want her to worry. So he forced a smile and softly replied, "Okay."
Yun Xi knew exactly what he was thinking. She wanted to say something more, but she didn't know what to say.
Just then, they suddenly heard someone outside the carriage trying to stop it.
Shen Zhou's voice came through the curtain,
"Prince Yu'an, please get off the carriage and have a talk with me."
Looking for Yi Yuan?
The two of them exchanged a look, wondering what Shen Zhou was up to.
But Yi Yuan didn't intend to pay any attention to him. He was already in a bad mood and didn't have the time to deal with whatever Shen Zhou was planning.
Since Lin Anmianxiao didn't receive any instructions from Yi Yuan, he naturally didn't stop the carriage.
The wheels of the carriage creaked and were about to pass by Shen Zhou.
Shen Zhou seemed to have expected this. Instead of rushing to stop the carriage, he calmly raised his voice and said,
"Don't you want the Good Harvest Rice Seeds?"
The carriage suddenly came to a halt.
A moment later, they were all sitting in the elegant private room on the top floor of the Qunying Tower.
"Speak,"
Yi Yuan stared coldly at Shen Zhou,
"Where are the Good Harvest Rice Seeds? How do you know about them?"
Shen Zhou didn't answer him immediately. He picked up a teacup, carefully skimmed off the foam, and placed it in front of Yun Xi. Then he said,
"Although spring is approaching, the cold snap is still very severe. Yingying, drink some hot tea first. Don't catch a cold."
Knowing that Shen Zhou was deliberately trying to provoke Yi Yuan, Yun Xi gave him a dirty look. But she didn't touch the tea. Instead, she patted Yi Yuan's hand on his leg to signal him not to get angry, and asked,
"The Good Harvest Rice Seeds are of great importance. A Zhou, please tell us in detail."
Shen Zhou gave Yun Xi a sad look and snorted discontentedly. He glanced at Yi Yuan, whose face was as black as thunder, and finally said,
"Actually, I'm not entirely sure."
"Just recently, my subordinates accidentally noticed that before Zongzheng Fengyi's group entered the capital, they split into two groups. One group entered the capital with him, while the other group disguised themselves as the people of Dayin and went to an ownerless manor on the outskirts of the capital."
"An ownerless manor?"
Yun Xi couldn't help but interrupt,
"What kind of ownerless manor? What were they going there for? And how did they know about that place?"
Shen Zhou gave Yun Xi a gentle smile and pushed the teacup a bit closer to her. Then he said,
"I don't know anything else."
"But it seems that they were going there to look for something, something related to seeds.
"My subordinates didn't take it seriously. They only heard a rough idea. They only knew that they seemed to be in a hurry and were going to conduct some kind of experiment with the Good Harvest Rice Seeds in that mansion. At that time, Zongzheng Fengyi was still on his way to the capital, and they didn't know the importance of the Good Harvest Rice Seeds. They left after hearing this, and they don't know what happened next."
An experiment?
Yun Xi had a vague guess. Just as she was about to ask, Yi Yuan beat her to it and said,
"Where is that manor?"
Shen Zhou rolled his eyes at Yi Yuan. His smile instantly faded, and he said irritably,
"On the outskirts of the capital, Qiri Manor."
"Zongzheng Fengyi dared to use the Good Harvest Rice Seeds to force Yingying to marry him. Don't blame me for playing dirty."
Yi Yuan stared back at him coldly. He reached out and held Yun Xi's fair hand, as if to claim ownership, and said,
"My Xiaoxi has nothing to do with you."
Then he added,
"Come to think of it, why don't you do it yourself?"
Shen Zhou's peach blossom eyes darkened. He pursed his lips and stared at the teacup in front of him, saying,
"That's none of your business."
"Anyway, I've already told you the information. If you're too slow, I'll step in myself."
"Yingying,"
Shen Zhou looked up at Yun Xi, his eyes filled with deep affection,
"If he can't protect you, I will."
"Shen, Zhou."
Yi Yuan gritted his teeth,
"You're overestimating yourself."
"Hehe—"
Shen Zhou sneered, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. But his peach blossom eyes were full of disbelief and mockery of what Yi Yuan had said.
Yun Xi felt a headache coming on.
As the saying goes, one mountain can't accommodate two tigers. These two really couldn't be in the same room.
They had to leave quickly.
Thinking this, Yun Xi tugged at Yi Yuan to get up. They bid farewell to Shen Zhou and headed home.
However, just as they were going downstairs, a person suddenly appeared in the private room they had just left.
A person wearing a golden mask.
Shen Zhou didn't even bat an eyelid, as if he hadn't seen him. He simply said,
"I've said everything I needed to say. Brother, you need to be prepared."
The man with calloused hands picked up the last inverted teacup and poured himself a cup of tea. Hearing this, he let out a muffled laugh and said,
"You don't need to worry about this, third brother. Your brother has his own plans."
"But what about the matter in Shuozhou? How's it going?"
Shen Zhou pursed his lips indifferently and said,
"How dare I be negligent with what brother has ordered?"
"Prince Yu'an has seen the things, and I've reported the information to the person above. We're just waiting for Zongzheng Fengyi to leave before we take action. I think..."
Shen Zhou glanced at his mysterious brother out of the corner of his eye and said,
"The time to close the net is near."
"Hahaha..."
The man let out a long string of laughter. Muffled under the mask, it sent shivers down one's spine.
"Good! On the day we close the net, it will be the day your mother is entered into the family genealogy."
"When the great cause is accomplished, you, third brother, will have made great contributions. By then, all your wishes, the person you want, your brother will give them to you one by one."
Shen Zhou laughed along. He picked up his teacup and said sincerely,
"Brother, you're overpraising me. Everything has gone smoothly thanks to your excellent intelligence. If it weren't for your strategic planning and foresight, knowing every move of Prince Yu'an so clearly and accurately as if he had told you himself, none of this... would have gone so smoothly."
"Third brother is truly convinced. I'll use tea instead of wine and toast you, brother."