The dispute between Minister of War Cen Biliang and the Imperial Guard had escalated greatly, causing panic throughout the entire capital. Noble families with slightly keener senses had long since shut their gates and locked their doors, strictly forbidding all servants from entering or leaving.

Duke Yingguo Shen Xiaohai was rarely so restless, even forgetting to maintain his dignified bearing in front of He Shi. He frowned with an expression full of unease.

Though He Shi was somewhat slow-witted, she had heard about today’s dispute between the Imperial Guard and Cen Biliang, and understood what her husband, who was always skilled at networking, was worried about. Her heart grew anxious, and even her hands and feet didn’t know where to rest. Stammering nervously, she carefully asked her husband: “Will Shi Tongzhou… will he implicate you as well?”

After all, Shen Xiaohai had leveraged Xingfu’s influence to conduct quite a bit of ‘business’ with the Tatars, especially involving war horse transactions. Any one of these matters, if exposed, would spell utter disaster for the Duke Yingguo’s manor.

It was just a pity that when Song Chuyi had visited the Duke’s manor last time, that incident had occurred, preventing them from extracting any information from her.

But then she reconsidered—this time, the news about Shi Tongzhou had been obtained by the Imperial Guard and Prince Zhennan’s manor. Perhaps the Song family truly didn’t know the inside story. She couldn’t help but blame herself for picking up sesame seeds while losing the watermelon, actually forgetting to visit Princess Zhennan more often. Otherwise, she might have been able to glean some information.

Shen Xiaohai was already extremely vexed, and upon hearing He Shi’s words, became even more irritated. He slammed his hand fiercely on the table: “He hasn’t even gone to court yet, and here you are worrying about this already. Rest assured, I won’t die so easily!”

That fellow Xing’an had followed Chen Xiang to Desheng Gate to intercept Cen Biliang’s group, yet Xingfu hadn’t made a move. Others might not understand Xingfu’s character, but he did—he was definitely not someone who would sit and wait for death, willing to accept his fate. If he had no other options, he couldn’t possibly have let Cen Biliang and the others enter the city so easily.

Moreover, the Three Judicial Offices all had Xingfu’s trusted confidants. As long as the case was handed over to the Three Judicial Offices for trial, Xingfu couldn’t possibly truly suffer. Though he was panicked, he wasn’t overly worried.

He was only worried about whether Xingfu’s bond with His Majesty was strong enough for His Majesty to let this matter pass lightly.

After being reprimanded like this by him, He Shi didn’t dare say anything more. Her two hands clenched tightly together as she anxiously glanced toward the window from time to time—Shen Xiaohai had long since sent someone out to gather intelligence. At this hour, news should be coming back any moment now.

Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait too long. Soon a maid came in to report that Tian Yuan had returned. Tian Yuan was Shen Xiaohai’s trusted aide who had followed him for nearly twenty years and had now been promoted to chief steward. He was extremely shrewd and tactful, which was precisely why Shen Xiaohai felt comfortable sending him out to gather information.

The autumn weather had already turned quite cold, yet Tian Yuan was still covered in sweat. Before he could wipe it away, he threw himself to the ground with a thud before Shen Xiaohai and He Shi.

“Don’t kneel yet, tell me what the situation outside is like!” Shen Xiaohai stood up hastily, pointing at him anxiously: “What exactly happened?!”

Tian Yuan gasped for breath as he answered: “Reporting to the heir, Minister Cen and Commander Chen were at a fierce standoff, and later it looked like they were about to come to blows. The people from the Ministry of War were naturally no match for the Imperial Guards, and a vice director from the Armory Bureau was even beaten to death…”

Someone died?! He Shi was so shocked her eyes widened, and she quickly covered her mouth to suppress her cry of alarm.

Shen Xiaohai’s expression couldn’t help but worsen further—with people dead at the Ministry of War, that old bastard Cen Biliang would definitely not let this matter rest, and this affair would only escalate further. How could Chen Xiang be so stupid as to actually let his subordinates kill someone?!

After finishing this part, Tian Yuan’s breathing had calmed considerably. He wiped his forehead and continued: “Afterward, fighting broke out. At least two or three people from the Ministry of War died, and the Imperial Guard side also suffered casualties. Then later, someone came from the palace.”

“Someone came from the palace?!” Shen Xiaohai finally couldn’t help but interrupt Tian Yuan, asking with some urgency: “Who came?! Did they take everyone away?”

“It was Eunuch An who came, conveying His Majesty’s oral decree.” Tian Yuan still seemed shaken as he took a deep breath: “Summoning Minister Cen to bring Shi Tongzhou into the palace.”

This was the end! Not only did He Shi’s face instantly turn deathly pale, even Shen Xiaohai was so shocked he could barely move. After a long moment, he collapsed back into his chair.

Xingfu hadn’t gone to stop Cen Biliang, so he must have gone to His Majesty to plead for mercy. But from the looks of it now, even if Xingfu had exhausted every means at his disposal, he still couldn’t prevent His Majesty’s decision.

“It’s getting late today. Tomorrow, go to Earl Changning’s manor early.” Shen Xiaohai quickly calmed down and instructed He Shi: “See if you can find out any information from the Song family.”

He Shi’s fingernails had almost pierced through her palms. For a moment, she didn’t catch Shen Xiaohai’s words. Only after Shen Xiaohai coughed several times did she startle awake. With a somewhat tearful voice and a hint of dissatisfaction, she rarely voiced opposition: “What’s the point of going to Earl Changning’s manor? I’ve been there several times without any use, and now it would be even more useless. It would be better to go to Prince Zhennan’s manor to gather intelligence… After all, they captured Shi Tongzhou to see Minister Cen, so they might know something…”

Shen Xiaohai truly couldn’t bear He Shi’s stupidity any longer. He reached out and slapped her, striking her so hard she staggered, then spat on the ground: “What do you know?! It’s precisely because Earl Changning’s manor hasn’t been involved in this matter from beginning to end that it’s good to ask them. The Ye family is already implicated with Ye Jingchuan and Yuan Hong—what truth do you expect them to tell you? If they were really willing to tell you, would they have concealed Shi Tongzhou’s matter from you? On the contrary, with the Song family, Old Master Song is after all an Elder of the Cabinet and has no vested interest in this matter. Perhaps he might tell you some useful information.”

He Shi was left bewildered by his words. Holding back tears, it took her a long while to grasp the meaning behind his words, and only after a long moment did she nod tremblingly.

Shen Xiaohai then turned to instruct Tian Yuan: “Go to my maternal uncle’s place and inquire whether any news can be passed out from the palace.”

Although his father was old and useless, and his mother was merely a female relative with an empty title, this also had its advantages. After all, palace news could be gleaned one way or another.

Tian Yuan knew this was a matter of life and death and didn’t dare delay. He immediately nodded in agreement and went to the storehouse to collect gifts.

Xingfu’s death knell was about to toll, but their Duke Yingguo’s manor couldn’t die alongside him. He had to think of a way out.