When leaving East Valley Camp, Shen Lingzhen clearly noticed the defenses here were even more airtight than when she first arrived.

Every patrolling soldier had their spear tip pointed to the ground, their military bearing solemn. The entire mountain range was utterly silent—even the slightest rustle of wind through grass or the faint sound of birds passing through branches could be heard clearly.

The entire camp was permeated with an atmosphere of dark clouds bearing down on the city, a storm about to break.

Seeing her look back at the camp with some concern before boarding the carriage, Huo Liuxing didn’t ask anything but voluntarily said after the carriage left the mountains: “The Xiqiang will likely make a major move. Before long, war may break out here.”

Shen Lingzhen heard that Huo Liuxing was apologizing in his own way, being as candid as possible in telling her matters concerning the Huo family. But the more he did this, the more she felt there was some barrier between them, that the conflict between the Huo family and herself seemed irreconcilable, and that behind Huo Qi’s suspicion of her, there was perhaps some very important hidden truth.

She didn’t feel comforted by Huo Liuxing’s attempt at reconciliation. Looking at him, she said: “I’ve felt your apology, but with external threats pressing, you really needn’t expend so much energy on me. Better to focus on the overall situation.”

Huo Liuxing was left speechless. Seeing her lean against the carriage wall and close her eyes to rest, he could only move his shoulder closer, saying gently: “Then rest on me. The mountain road is bumpy—don’t knock yourself.”

“This road has been bumpy all along anyway. I’m already used to it.” Shen Lingzhen said this softly, then said nothing more.

From East Valley Camp to Qingyang, if they hurried as they had on the way there, it would take only two days and one night.

But firstly, the return journey had no urgent matters, and secondly, Huo Liuxing received a message from Kongqing midway saying that these past days, Yu Wanjiang had lured out the remaining moles bought by Zhao Xun, and now the Huo mansion in Qingyang was clean. So he had Jingmo slow their pace slightly to avoid tiring Shen Lingzhen.

But Shen Lingzhen’s heart was troubled, so physical comfort was useless. On the return journey, she barely spoke to Huo Liuxing unless necessary.

Huo Liuxing naturally wanted to cheer her up, but without being able to untie the most crucial knot in her heart, no amount of coaxing would help.

Three days later in the early morning, the two made a detour to the Shen residence in Qingyang following the original route, then returned to the Huo mansion.

Unexpectedly, at this hour, neither Yu Wanjiang nor Huo Shuyi were at the mansion. Instead, Huo Miaoling came out to greet them both, saying joyfully: “Second Brother, Second Sister-in-law, you’ve finally come home! Mother wouldn’t let me leave the mansion to find you. These days have been so boring!”

Yu Wanjiang naturally wouldn’t tell her young daughter their true destination, so Huo Miaoling still thought they had been staying at the Shen residence recently.

However unhappy Shen Lingzhen felt inside, facing this young girl who clearly knew nothing of the Huo family’s internal affairs, she couldn’t summon any resentment. She smiled and asked: “While I was away these days, did you study and practice writing properly?”

“I did, Sister-in-law! I’ve practiced a whole thick stack of copybooks, just waiting for you to come back and praise me!” She made an exaggerated gesture, then looked up at the corner of Shen Lingzhen’s forehead. “Sister-in-law, has your injury healed? Does it still hurt?”

“It stopped hurting long ago. In a little while, the scab will fall off.”

Huo Liuxing glanced at Shen Lingzhen, who finally showed a trace of a smile. Deliberately not interrupting to ruin the atmosphere, he silently wheeled himself back to his own courtyard.

Shen Lingzhen was clearly still angry with him, but seeing him return to this wheelchair that shackled and tormented him, seeing him leave so alone, her heart inexplicably felt stifled—an indescribable oppressive discomfort.

Seeing her gaze fixed on Huo Liuxing’s back, Huo Miaoling carefully tugged at her sleeve: “Sister-in-law, did you quarrel with Second Brother?”

She withdrew her gaze and shook her head.

Huo Miaoling sighed: “Sister-in-law, actually your unhappiness is justified. Big Sister was really too excessive to you. After you left in anger that day, I also had a big fight with her. Sister-in-law, don’t worry—from now on, if Big Sister bullies you again, I’ll definitely help you!” After thinking, she added, “Oh, if Second Brother bullies you, I’m not afraid either. I’ll definitely stand on your side!”

Because of that hailstorm disaster, Huo Miaoling had completely pledged her loyalty to Shen Lingzhen.

Hearing her mention the eldest sister, Shen Lingzhen was about to ask where Yu Wanjiang and Huo Shuyi had gone so early in the morning when she suddenly saw Miaoling’s smile freeze as she looked toward the mansion gate with a frightened expression.

Confused, Shen Lingzhen turned to look and saw Huo Shuyi standing there holding two empty wooden buckets, apparently having heard everything Huo Miaoling had just said.

Huo Shuyi had just returned from outside.

Due to the hail disaster, recently batches of refugees had been entering the city. These past days, she and her mother had been going out daily to distribute porridge, providing relief to common people who couldn’t get food.

Huo Miaoling awkwardly called out: “Big Sister…”

Huo Shuyi set down the two porridge buckets heavily, strode forward, and pulled her away: “Come with me!”

Shen Lingzhen stood awkwardly in place, thinking that this time Huo Shuyi’s anger was understandable.

After all, that previous discord was just a performance she had staged to help Huo Liuxing leave smoothly. She had grievances she couldn’t voice and couldn’t explain to her sister.

Shen Lingzhen no longer held much hope for life at the Huo mansion anyway. Accustomed to such things, she prepared to return to the inner courtyard, but her foot suddenly stopped mid-step.

Huo Shuyi’s aversion to her had always been more direct than anyone else’s. Thinking back now, Huo Liuxing’s original explanation of this matter had actually been very ambiguous.

After this journey, the doubts in her heart about the Huo family had grown larger and larger. She could almost be certain there must be some secret behind it all.

Since everyone was hiding things from her, she might as well try to find out from Huo Shuyi, who couldn’t hide things.

Shen Lingzhen made up her mind and sent Jianjia away: “Go get some new copybooks from my room. I’ll give them to Miaoling.”

Seeing her leave without suspicion, Shen Lingzhen turned and followed toward Huo Shuyi and Huo Miaoling’s courtyard.

Following to the wall outside, she heard the low arguing voices of the two sisters and immediately stopped, quietly holding her breath.

“Big Sister, Sister-in-law saved me. Treating her well is right. You can’t force me not to like her just because you don’t like her!”

“What do you know? I won’t stop you from befriending unimportant people, but not her! She’s the Huo family’s enemy!”

Shen Lingzhen’s breath caught, her spirits instantly deflating.

“Who’s there!” Huo Shuyi sensed something and called out sharply toward the wall. She strode out in pursuit, but seeing the ashen-faced Shen Lingzhen, she was taken aback and lost some confidence. “You… what did you hear?”

Shen Lingzhen’s whole body tensed. She forced a smile: “Shuyi, what did you mean by those words just now?”

She knew the Huo family had been loyal to the previous dynasty’s last emperor in earlier years and had many conflicts with her imperial uncle. But she wasn’t a descendant of the Zhao family after all—making her bear the label of “enemy” seemed rather excessive.

Moreover, times had changed. There were many families in the court who had served two dynasties. Those who could smoothly serve two masters one after another usually held gratitude in their hearts. If everyone had to calculate things this way, wouldn’t she, the emperor’s niece, become the “enemy” of half of Bianjing?

The word “enemy” shouldn’t be calculated this way. There should be some other hidden truth here.

Huo Shuyi was stumped by Shen Lingzhen’s question. After a long silence, she shook her head: “Nothing. I was just joking with Miaoling.”

“Did your second brother tell you not to tell me?”

Huo Shuyi frowned, her gaze evasive: “No. I don’t want Miaoling getting close to you, so I lied to her!” She turned away somewhat guiltily and left in haste.

Shen Lingzhen stood in place for a while, her expression gradually darkening. She hurried back to the inner courtyard and asked Jianjia, who came out carrying copybooks: “Where is Nanny Ji?”

“She’s inside tidying things. This servant will call her for you.”

She waved her hand to indicate it wasn’t necessary and entered the room herself. Seeing Nanny Ji hunched over organizing the curio cabinet, she stopped: “Nanny, I have something to tell you.”

Nanny Ji quickly came forward to pay respects: “Young madam, you’ve returned.”

Shen Lingzhen took a deep breath: “Nanny, don’t deceive me anymore.”

“This old servant doesn’t understand the young madam’s meaning.”

“I just heard the eldest young miss speak of past events. Nanny, stop treating me like a fool.”

Nanny Ji hurriedly prostrated herself: “Young madam, calm your anger. This old servant absolutely has no such intention! It’s just that before departure, the Grand Princess specifically instructed this old servant to conceal this matter from you. This old servant had no choice but to obey.”

Shen Lingzhen’s heart, at this moment, plummeted completely to the bottom.

She had come to use deception as a last hope, and indeed deceived out the truth.

She took unsteady steps to a chair, gripped the armrest, and sat down: “Nanny, get up and speak. What exactly is this matter? Tell me word for word.”

Nanny Ji knelt without moving, her expression grave: “The eldest young miss didn’t tell you…”

Shen Lingzhen nodded: “No one is willing to tell me. Now that Nanny has already admitted it, don’t hide it from me.”

At this point, further concealment truly had no meaning. Nanny Ji closed her eyes and let out a long sigh, having no choice but to lay out everything that happened twenty-seven years ago.

Although she had mentally prepared herself along this journey, Shen Lingzhen still froze in her chair.

She stared blankly at Nanny Ji, saying word by word: “You’re saying that my husband’s elder brother was killed by Mother…” She stopped halfway, gasping for breath for an instant as if choking, her vision going completely black without a trace of light. Only by breathing heavily did she recover. “Mother, she…”

Nanny Ji knelt prostrate on the ground, her face showing reluctance: “Young madam, you grew up at the Grand Princess’s knee. You should know the Grand Princess is absolutely not someone who kills innocents indiscriminately. Back then, she had already strongly advocated peaceful surrender, suggesting His Majesty use bloodless methods to make all sides submit. At that time, Commissioner Huo led seventy percent of the Huo family army to the front lines due to foreign invasion. The eighteen-year-old Grand Princess naturally both admired and felt pity for this family of generals who cared for the realm. How could she possibly take advantage of their crisis to completely exterminate the remaining thirty percent of the Huo family army?”

“Even if you don’t believe the Grand Princess, you can carefully analyze the situation then. Commissioner Huo was leading troops to resist foreign enemies. What benefit would there be for His Majesty in killing his son and army left in the capital at that critical juncture? If Commissioner Huo abandoned defending the pass due to the pain of losing his son and turned back to kill his way to the capital, facing both the Xiqiang people and the Huo family army arriving simultaneously, how could His Majesty still sit on the throne? Even His Majesty at that time wholeheartedly hoped to stabilize the Huo family.”

“The Grand Princess only brought a thousand-some soldiers, sincerely going to persuade surrender. But before the two sides could even negotiate, Huo family’s eldest son led the Huo family army to attack. The Grand Princess was caught completely off guard and could only lead troops to resist. To achieve communication, she risked herself charging to the front lines, but received only Huo family’s eldest son fighting desperately in return. In that situation, it was either you die or I die. What could the Grand Princess do?”

“So Mother truly did it with her own hands…”

Nanny Ji shook her head: “The Grand Princess deeply understood the importance of Huo family’s eldest son to the war situation. Until the very last moment, she never truly struck a killing blow. But blades and spears have no eyes. The Grand Princess herself was also seriously wounded. Purely defending would only lead to death. During combat, she inevitably injured Huo family’s eldest son to some degree. Finally, the Grand Princess was protected and withdrew to the rear. When the battle ended and she went to count the troops, she discovered Huo family’s eldest son had already breathed his last in that pile of corpses…”

Shen Lingzhen closed her eyes, then opened them again—her eyes bloodshot: “What about my husband’s birth mother then?”

“Young madam, you may feel this old servant’s words are too cold, but the truth is exactly this—the death of Huo family’s eldest son was perhaps the last straw that broke Madam Huo, but what about all those straws before? Do they all not count? Madam Huo’s death was not entirely because of the Grand Princess…”

Commissioner Huo’s sister was a consort of the previous dynasty’s last emperor. During the war chaos, she gave birth to the previous dynasty’s last little prince. The Huo family anticipated the little prince would face disaster and had already planned to switch him with Huo Liuxing, who was born the same night.

Madam Huo’s heart turned ashen because her newborn youngest son was going to substitute for someone else and face disaster, and then she saw her eldest son die.

Truly calculating it, the Huo family and the previous dynasty’s imperial family couldn’t completely shirk responsibility for her death either.

“I know Nanny is saying this to make me feel better, but…” Shen Lingzhen shook her head with a bitter smile.

But no matter how much helplessness there was, it couldn’t change the bloody facts.

So that’s how it was, so that’s how it was… So many puzzles finally had answers today: why exactly had her imperial uncle insisted on choosing to have her marry into the Huo mansion, and why had the Huo family always harbored misgivings toward her.

So her imperial uncle had simply treated her as an object the imperial family used to compensate the Huo family and show sincerity—best if the Huo family trampled her, abused her, vented their anger on her, so from then on they could be even more loyal to the court.

But the Huo family never had from beginning to end. Even Huo Shuyi, who treated her most harshly, had never truly harmed her.

Her own family treated her as a sacrificial victim, yet the Huo family still upheld their own sense of right and wrong. Even Huo Liuxing had repeatedly protected her instead, struggling to find balance in the dilemma between filial duty and her.

When she straightened her back and lost her temper at him, how much had he suffered?

How unfair this was, how unfair!

Shen Lingzhen gripped her hands tightly, her nails embedding into her palm flesh without any awareness, until she heard a voice grinding through clenched teeth: “Let go.”

Her fists suddenly loosened. She looked up to see Huo Liuxing had somehow already pushed open the door and entered.

Nanny Ji received a meaningful look and immediately bowed and withdrew.

Huo Liuxing closed the door, stood up from the wheelchair, and quickly walked before her, taking her hand.

Crescent-shaped bloody red marks covered her tender palm. The sight made the veins at his temples throb. But when he lowered his head, his movements were gentle. He crouched down and gently blew on her palm breath by breath.

He didn’t even care about what had just happened, only asking: “Does it hurt?”

Shen Lingzhen pulled her hand back and turned her head away.

Huo Liuxing raised his hand to turn her chin back: “What are you hiding from? Look at me.”

“I have no face to look at you.” She forced herself to say coldly, “Don’t be so good to me anymore. I’m not worthy of you…”

“You are.” Huo Liuxing bit down hard on his back teeth, cutting her off. “I’ll be good to whomever I want. I say you’re worthy, then you’re worthy.”

Shen Lingzhen looked down at him, tears streaming down like rain.