Everything seemed to change overnight. What was originally envisioned as a spring breeze bringing unlimited glory became countless troubles in an instant.

Wang Bi and Shen Dongling never imagined that Prince Huangfu Hao would be killed by the Crown Prince. They didn’t understand what had happened. Although the Crown Prince’s guards continually emphasized that the Crown Prince had not laid a hand on Huangfu Hao, and that when the Crown Prince arrived at Yifeng Pavilion, Huangfu Hao was already dead, Huangfu Hao’s guards seemed deeply convinced otherwise.

The misunderstanding had been created, and it was a bloody one. What followed was an earth-shattering accusation.

Shen Dongling maintained outward composure while comforting Wang Bi: “There must be some misunderstanding. We just need to clear it up.” But in her heart, she was sinking into an abyss.

In others’ eyes, it was Wang Bi who had found the good incense and given it to the Crown Prince, who then used it to invite Huangfu Hao to appreciate it together, resulting in this bloody incident. Wang Bi was the source of the trouble. Even if the matter had nothing to do with Wang Bi, the imperial family’s thunderous anger had wide-reaching consequences. Wang Bi couldn’t leave unscathed.

Furthermore, even if the Crown Prince managed to prove his innocence, the incense appreciation event was suggested by Wang Bi. Because of this suggestion, Huangfu Hao was dead, and Qin would certainly not let the matter rest. The Crown Prince’s ally had died, so how could he not direct his anger at Wang Bi?

So no matter how you looked at it, Wang Bi’s role as the scapegoat was inevitable.

Wang Bi realized this and looked extremely grim. He was calmer than Shen Dongling and said: “Let’s return to the mansion first, then visit the Crown Prince’s residence to find out exactly what happened.”

How could Huangfu Hao have died so suddenly? Who killed him? And why did Huangfu Hao call out the Crown Prince’s name? The complex situation was truly puzzling. Regardless, they needed to understand what had happened before finding a solution.

The driver turned the horses toward the city. Shen Dongling suddenly seemed to remember something and asked, “How come we haven’t seen Fifth Sister?”

Wang Bi was stunned.

The Crown Prince had adopted this strategy because of Shen Miao. Shen Dongling had calculated the timing so that she and Shen Miao would arrive at Yifeng Pavilion at the same time, allowing her to demonstrate “sisterly affection” during casual conversation. They had waited a while longer, so Shen Miao should have arrived by now. But the mountain path was visible, and there were no other carriages in either direction.

How could Shen Miao not have come?

Wang Bi only knew that Shen Miao was Shen Dongling’s cousin from the Third Branch, respected because Shen Xin wielded great power, but he knew nothing about Shen Miao’s personality. Shen Dongling, however, had witnessed Shen Miao’s methods in dealing with the Second and Third Branches, and her heart sank.

If Shen Miao hadn’t come, how could it be such a coincidence? Could Shen Miao have known something would happen today? No one could predict the future. Could this matter be related to Shen Miao?

Even with her extraordinary abilities, how could she easily kill the Qin Crown Prince?

Hearing Shen Dongling’s words, Wang Bi misunderstood her meaning. He said, “Yes, if Fifth Miss Shen were here, things might be smoother.”

Wang Bi thought that with more people present, the blame could be shared. If Shen Miao were there, considering Shen Xin’s position, Emperor Wenhui would not be too harsh on him. But if he alone were punished, it would seem unfair. To demonstrate justice, Shen Miao’s presence would save Wang Bi a lot of trouble.

He said, “Let’s return home first. Maybe Fifth Miss Shen has already gone back. Let’s see what the Crown Prince has to say.”

Shen Dongling nodded, but inwardly she laughed bitterly. For some reason, she felt that Shen Miao definitely would not have “already gone back”—most likely, Shen Miao had never intended to go to Yifeng Pavilion at all.

This opponent, Shen Miao, was more frightening than she had imagined.

Meanwhile, on the street, Luo Tan sat in a carriage, wiping sweat from his brow, and said, “What should we do? We’ve been delayed so long that it’s probably too late to go to Yifeng Pavilion now.”

Earlier, when their Shen family carriage was passing through a bustling market area, they accidentally hit an elderly woman. The woman immediately lost consciousness. The Shen family was not a small household in Dingjing City, and Shen Xin was a respected hero, so they naturally had to maintain their reputation. Shen Miao and Luo Tan couldn’t possibly abandon the elderly woman. They had the guards take her to the nearest medical clinic and only left after seeing the doctor confirm she was unharmed and watching her regain consciousness.

Their actions won the admiration of many common people, who felt that the young lady from the General’s manor was not arrogant but rather considerate of the common folk—a rare quality.

They had indeed gained praise, but they had also lost considerable time. If they went to Yifeng Pavilion now, it would likely be noon by the time they arrived.

Shen Miao thought for a moment and said, “Let’s not go.”

“What?” Luo Tan was still thinking about how to solve this problem when he heard Shen Miao’s words and exclaimed in surprise, “How can we not go? Doesn’t my little cousin despise those who break their promises?”

Shen Miao smiled and said, “Incense appreciation requires the right time and place. Yifeng Pavilion is best in the morning when the air is freshest, making the incense experience pure. Appreciating incense at noon or in the afternoon, when the world is muddled, makes it difficult to discern the true essence of the incense. We can’t expect people to wait for us. That would be impolite.” She called over Mo Qing and asked him to send a messenger pigeon to Yifeng Pavilion, explaining that she and Luo Tan couldn’t attend due to an unexpected delay.

Although Luo Tan was a bit disappointed, he hadn’t been very interested in incense appreciation anyway. Seeing a rare opportunity to go out, he immediately wanted to take Shen Miao shopping.

Shen Miao, seeing that they still had plenty of time and had guards like A Zhi with them, thought there would be no harm in going out, so she agreed.

However, Luo Tan was enthusiastic, and by the time they returned to the Shen residence, it was nearly evening.

As their carriage arrived at the gate, the servant at the door smiled and said, “Young Miss has returned at the perfect time. Madam and Master have just returned as well.”

“Just in time for dinner?” Luo Tan smiled cheerfully, holding Shen Miao’s hand as he stepped through the gate.

But when they entered the main hall, Luo Xuean was speaking with Shen Xin. Seeing Shen Miao and Luo Tan return, she was startled, then let out a huge sigh of relief, saying, “Jiaojiao, Tan’er, where have you been?”

“Today, Gentleman Wang’s wife invited us to appreciate incense at Yifeng Pavilion. On the way, our carriage hit an elderly woman, and my cousin and I were busy taking care of her. We were delayed, so we simply sent our apologies and didn’t go. My cousin and I just wandered around. Father, Mother, has something happened?”

Shen Miao referred to Shen Dongling as “Gentleman Wang’s wife,” clearly distancing herself and not wanting any association with Shen Dongling.

Luo Xuean didn’t notice this detail and just took a deep breath, saying, “I was so frightened! The Qin Crown Prince was assassinated at Yifeng Pavilion today, and all related persons have been arrested for questioning. That Wang Bi claimed you were present, though no one saw you. Your father and I rushed back, and when we didn’t find you, we feared something had happened.”

Luo Tan was stunned. “Assassinated?” he said. “Who would be so bold as to assassinate the Qin Crown Prince in broad daylight? Are the Qin Crown Prince’s guards so weak that they couldn’t protect their master?”

Unlike Luo Tan’s shock, Shen Miao remained calm. She said, “Don’t worry, my cousin and I didn’t go to Yifeng Pavilion. When we hit that elderly woman earlier today, many people on the street saw it. To avoid trouble, we gave our names. Those people can testify that we were busy taking care of the elderly woman and had no time to go to Yifeng Pavilion.”

It couldn’t be falsified with so many witnesses. Shen Miao couldn’t be in two places at once—how could she appear at Yifeng Pavilion while being seen in the marketplace?

Shen Xin snorted coldly, his expression showing considerable anger. “Wang Bi has some nerve, daring to throw mud on my Shen family members!”

“It seems the Wang family wants to drag us down with them,” Luo Xuean also understood now and said hatefully, “Shen Dongling is still our relative. I never thought she would harbor such malicious intentions. What kind of reasoning is it to scheme against your own family?”

Shen Miao gave a cold laugh. “When did anyone in the Second and Third Branches of the Shen family ever treat us sincerely?”

Luo Xuean and Shen Xin fell silent.

Luo Tan felt the atmosphere had grown heavy and joked to change the subject: “Come to think of it, my little cousin and I were lucky today. If we hadn’t hit that elderly woman on the way, we probably would have gone to Yifeng Pavilion to appreciate incense. Since Huangfu Hao was assassinated and even his guards couldn’t save him, the assassin must be highly skilled. If we had gone, we might have been implicated too. In a way, we should thank that elderly woman.”

Shen Miao smiled, but before she could speak, Luo Tan mumbled, “But the invitation we received didn’t mention that the Qin Crown Prince would be attending. What was the Qin Crown Prince doing at an incense appreciation event? Were there others there? If so, were there any other casualties?”

Before anyone could answer Luo Tan’s stream of questions, two people entered from outside, looking travel-worn—Shen Qiu and Luo Ling. Luo Tan looked back and caught sight of them, crying out in surprise, “Cousin Qiu, Brother Ling, what happened to you?”

Shen Qiu and Luo Ling’s clothes were disheveled, and there were bloodstains on their faces and bodies, making them look extremely battered.

Luo Xuean and Shen Xin were also startled. Luo Xuean hurried forward, anxiously examining the two: “What happened?”

Shen Qiu quickly explained, “Don’t worry, it’s not my blood. It’s someone else’s.”

Luo Xuean felt relieved, but before she could fully relax, Luo Tan asked, “Cousin Qiu, did you and Brother Ling go to catch the assassins who killed the Qin Crown Prince today? Were those assassins very formidable and difficult to deal with? You both look like you’ve been through a lot.”

Shen Xin frowned and asked, “Shen Qiu, is that true?”

Shen Qiu and Luo Ling exchanged glances, both with strange expressions. After a moment, Shen Qiu asked the servants in the main hall to leave. He looked thoughtfully at Luo Tan and Shen Miao. Shen Miao smiled and said, “My brother Tan and I won’t tell anyone. Just say what you need to say.”

Luo Tan quickly raised his hand to indicate that he absolutely wouldn’t reveal anything.

Seeing Shen Qiu’s solemn manner, Shen Xin and Luo Xuean became puzzled. Luo Ling nodded to Shen Qiu, who sighed and finally spoke: “Today, the men from the Military Department and City Guard went to stop people, but not the assassins who killed Huangfu Hao—it was Huangfu Hao’s guards.”

“Guards?” Luo Xuean frowned. “Do they want Ming Qi to explain? Has it already escalated to an unmanageable level?” Luo Xuean had no good feelings toward the people of Qin. Perhaps it was because Qin was the youngest of the three kingdoms with the shortest history. From the royal family down to the common people, everyone had an arrogant demeanor. Even though Qin’s national power was slightly stronger than Ming Qi’s, their display of arrogance toward Ming Qi was truly offensive.

“Not exactly,” Shen Qiu hesitated before continuing, “Huangfu Hao’s guards claim that the Crown Prince assassinated Huangfu Hao. Now they’re heading to the Eastern Palace to kill the Crown Prince and avenge Huangfu Hao.”

“The Crown Prince killed Huangfu Hao?” Shen Xin stood up immediately. “Impossible!”

Not to mention whether the Crown Prince’s frail body could accomplish such a feat, Ming Qi was currently trying to strengthen relations with Qin to deal with Da Liang. How could he do something that would destroy those efforts? Killing Huangfu Hao would only provoke Qin’s fury, causing the alliance to collapse and adding another enemy. It would be like adding frost to snow. The Crown Prince wasn’t a fool, so why would he do something so counterproductive?

“I also thought it impossible,” Shen Qiu looked confused. “But those guards all say they heard Huangfu Hao shouting the Crown Prince’s name on the mountain, loudly declaring that the Crown Prince was the murderer. As Huangfu Hao’s guards, they have no reason to falsely accuse someone and let the real culprit escape.”

Luo Xuean asked, “Weren’t Huangfu Hao’s guards with him? Why do they say they ‘heard’?”

“That’s the questionable point,” Luo Ling interjected. “According to Huangfu Hao’s guards, it was the Crown Prince who invited Huangfu Hao to appreciate incense today. The Crown Prince sent the invitation. Huangfu Hao’s guards recall that in the invitation, the Crown Prince claimed to have important matters to discuss with Huangfu Hao and requested that his guards remain halfway up the mountain, allowing Huangfu Hao to proceed alone. But the Crown Prince says he never wrote such things in his invitation to Huangfu Hao. Officials were ordered to search for the Crown Prince’s invitation, but it was already discarded by Huangfu Hao somewhere. Now, with no evidence and both sides maintaining their positions, it’s very troubling.”

Luo Tan murmured, “The Crown Prince invited Huangfu Hao to appreciate incense, but why didn’t Madam Wang mention these two in the invitation she sent to my little cousin and me?”

Everyone in the room was startled.

They had all been focused on the mess between the Crown Prince and Huangfu Hao, neglecting Shen Miao’s situation. Now that Luo Tan had brought it up, they realized: yes, the Crown Prince and Huangfu Hao were appreciating incense, but why bring Shen Miao and Luo Tan along? Luo Tan aside, who had no particular connections in Dingjing City, Shen Miao was different—she was Shen Xin’s daughter.

When Shen Dongling sent the invitation, she couldn’t have been unaware that the Crown Prince and Huangfu Hao would also be attending. Yet why didn’t she mention this to Shen Miao? Did she forget, or was it deliberate? If deliberate, why? What was she planning?

Everyone couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat.

Luo Xuean said, “We must get clarity from Shen Dongling.”

“Mother,” Shen Qiu stopped her, “Shen Dongling and Wang Bi are already in prison. It wouldn’t be good to rush to see them now; otherwise, people might think we have some connection to them.”

Two Crown Princes had gone to appreciate incense; one died, and the other inexplicably became the murderer. When Emperor Wenhui learned of this, he was naturally so angry he nearly fainted. What a mess this was! On one hand, he needed to temporarily appease Qin’s anger, so he had to arrest some people to show that Ming Qi was “handling the matter justly.” On the other hand, Emperor Wenhui had nowhere to direct his rage. Since it was Wang Bi and his wife who had suggested the incense appreciation, they were essentially the instigators. Imperial rage never explains its reasons. Wang Bi was still enjoying his dream of success when it was cruelly shattered. Not only that, but whether he could keep his life was also uncertain.

Everyone’s expressions varied, except for Shen Miao, who remained calm as always. She listened to these matters as if they had nothing to do with her, which was indeed the case. She said, “This has nothing to do with us. We’ll just wait and see how it’s handled outside.”

Shen Qiu noticed Shen Miao’s calm demeanor and asked, “Sister, how can you not be surprised at all that Huangfu Hao was assassinated, nor astonished that the Crown Prince killed him?”

Shen Miao smiled slightly. “What’s there to be astonished about? As they said, if the Crown Prince wanted to discuss matters privately with Huangfu Hao, and during their discussion, they failed to reach an agreement or had a fierce disagreement that led the Crown Prince to kill in a moment of impulse, it’s entirely possible. Ming Qi has had such cases before. Why the great surprise?”

Shen Qiu was speechless. Shen Miao’s words made everyone in the room seem unable to maintain their composure. What she said wasn’t wrong, but what disagreement could be so intense it led to murder, especially when the other party was a precious Crown Prince? Even if Emperor Wenhui lost his rationality in anger, he would hardly resort to such decisive killing.

Shen Xin and Luo Xuean both frowned deeply. Shen Miao didn’t need to think too much about these matters, but they were court officials. Every subtle move in court could affect their future lives. Moreover, Huangfu Hao had died in Ming Qi, and the blame had fallen on the Ming Qi Crown Prince. Those guards had probably already sent someone back to report, and when the Qin Emperor learned that both his children had perished in Ming Qi, who would bear the brunt of his thunderous rage?

The alliance between Ming Qi and Qin would be very difficult to restore. What would Da Liang do at this time? Everything was uncertain.

That night, due to this sudden incident, even the atmosphere in the Shen residence became somber. This wasn’t out of sympathy for Huangfu Hao or the Crown Prince but concern for the possible changes in the future.

When Xie Jingxing came to find Shen Miao, she was standing by the window, lost in thought.

Huangfu Hao was dead just like that. In her previous life, Huangfu Hao and Princess Ming’an had been an inescapable nightmare during her five years as a hostage in Qin. Princess Ming’an was arrogant and domineering, while Huangfu Hao liked to get everyone to torment him. He was the Crown Prince of Qin, and once Huangfu Hao tormented someone, others would follow suit. Shen Miao had no real grudge against Huangfu Hao and Princess Ming’an, but such malicious humiliation had accumulated bitterness over time.

Unlike others, Shen Miao never thought of making Huangfu Hao and Princess Ming’an pay with their lives, because they weren’t the ones who harmed the Shen family the most in her previous life. These people had merely kicked her when she was down for a while.

Had they not schemed against her in this life, Shen Miao probably wouldn’t have bothered with them at all.

Now that the person was gone, Shen Miao felt somewhat lost.

Since her rebirth, she had always adhered to the path of revenge, protecting the Shen family to avoid repeating the tragedy of her previous life. But as long as the Fu family remained in this world, they would never let the Shen family go. Her enemies were extremely powerful from the beginning. Having a desperate heart wasn’t enough. Sometimes Shen Miao doubted whether she could make it to the end.

A figure swooped down from the tree and waved in front of Shen Miao. She came back to her senses to see Xie Jingxing’s playful smile. He said, “Thinking about me so intently?”

Shen Miao responded with a “bang” as she tried to close the window. Xie Jingxing quickly caught it, leapt into the room, forcefully held Shen Miao’s shoulders to prevent her from moving, and closed the window with his other hand, saying, “Be careful not to freeze yourself silly.”

Cong Yang, standing in the corner outside: “…”

Shen Miao pushed Xie Jingxing’s hand away, sat down at the table in the room, and asked, “How did it go?”

“No problem,” Xie Jingxing sat down as well, indicating for Shen Miao to pour him tea.

Shen Miao grudgingly poured him tea, reluctantly pushed the cup over, and asked, “Are you sure the people from Qin won’t find out?”

“They won’t discover it,” Xie Jingxing smiled. “Not everyone is as clever as you and me.”

Complimenting others while not forgetting to include himself—Shen Miao rolled her eyes. Looking at the purple-robed young man leisurely drinking tea across from her, she felt a slight ripple in her heart.

Today’s events had been planned entirely by her and Xie Jingxing. Xie Jingxing had many talented people under him: those skilled in disguise, those with excellent voice impersonation skills, and even those who could perfectly replicate handwriting after a single glance. Between Huangfu Hao and Fu Xiuyan, they had simply altered the invitation sent to Huangfu Hao, including the timing. They arranged for Huangfu Hao and Fu Xiuyan to ascend the mountain one after the other. On the mountain, Xie Jingxing’s people disguised themselves as the “Crown Prince,” and the “guard” who kept his head lowered beside the Crown Prince spoke in the Crown Prince’s tone.

Although Huangfu Hao and the Crown Prince were familiar with each other, they were far from being close confidants who had grown up together. Huangfu Hao could not detect that the person opposite him had been substituted. Then came a series of misunderstandings.

To outsiders, the Crown Prince had killed Huangfu Hao. Regardless of the reason or misunderstanding, this was an unchangeable fact. Qin would not let the matter rest. Forget about an alliance; they would likely become enemies with Ming Qi. Not only would the alliance collapse, but Emperor Wenhui, to appease the Qin Emperor’s anger, would ultimately sacrifice others, including the Crown Prince.

“Why are you so certain the Emperor will sacrifice the Crown Prince?” Xie Jingxing raised an eyebrow and asked. “That’s his son.”

Shen Miao smiled slightly. “Do you remember my Second Uncle?”

“I do.”

“Back then, Shen Yuan was also his son. When Shen Yuan got into trouble, he was busy distancing himself. The Emperor is just an ordinary person, and the royal family’s affection is even more diluted. For the sake of greater righteousness, what does it matter to sacrifice one’s kin? Even if he knows the Crown Prince is wrongfully accused, the Emperor will still swallow this bitter fruit.”

Shen Miao spoke mockingly, but a faint murderous intent flashed in the corner of her eye.

Xie Jingxing stared at her thoughtfully.

Shen Miao always had a bone-deep hatred for the Fu family, even though she tried her best to conceal it. There were moments when she couldn’t hide it completely. These moments were captured by Xie Jingxing, who became suspicious but didn’t press for answers. He joked, “You seem to understand the royal family very well, as if you’ve experienced it personally.”

Shen Miao lowered her eyes. Hadn’t she experienced it personally?

After marrying Fu Xiuyi, he fought for succession and killed off many brothers. Nine princes died or were maimed, some disappeared, and those who barely managed to keep their lives were eliminated on trumped-up charges after Fu Xiuyi ascended the throne.

Leaving no loose ends was the nature of the Fu family.

Even between Fu Xiuyi and Emperor Wenhui, wasn’t there intrigue and scheming? Emperor Wenhui guarded against his son usurping the throne, while Fu Xiuyi wished for his father’s early death. And with Imperial Noble Consort Xu, Consort Dong, and the Empress in the deep palace, who spoke of family affection? Whoever did was a fool!

In her previous life, she pitifully didn’t understand, always thinking people had hearts. But she forgot that if Fu Xiuyi could harm his brothers and father, he could naturally harm his children!

In the deep palace, all the love and hate of Shen Miao’s girlhood had been ground down until they nearly disappeared. Her remaining feelings for Fu Xiuyi were built entirely on the fact that he was the father of Wanyu and Fu Ming. Shen Miao thought no father could help but love his children.

Yet in the end, Fu Xiuyi sent his daughter to marry the Huns and drove his son to his death!

This debt, she would personally collect!

Seeing the changing expressions in Shen Miao’s eyes, revealing hints of pain, Xie Jingxing frowned, wondering what had triggered Shen Miao’s sad memories. He hesitated, then softened his voice, saying, “If you have any difficulties, you can tell me. I’ll solve them for you.”

Shen Miao looked up at him. “You speak as if you can do it.” But in her heart, she knew clearly that Xie Jingxing indeed could. Killing two Crown Princes—he said it and did it. The Crown Prince and Emperor Wenhui knew they had been schemed against but had no chance to refute. Such choking, helpless methods could only be employed by Xie Jingxing. He was bold, supremely capable, and still cunning enough to leave no evidence, as if nothing in this world was beyond his reach.

If only she had met him in her previous life—this thought suddenly crossed Shen Miao’s mind.

But she only said, “What if I asked you to change the empire completely? Could you do that?”

The purple-robed young man holding the jade teacup smiled mockingly upon hearing this. He was handsome and beautiful, like a begonia branch in spring, with elegance and dignity emanating from his bones. Although his gaze was sharp as a knife, his tone carried a slight teasing quality.

“Overthrowing an imperial power is nothing. If you want it, it’s all yours.”