Luo Yang paced around the courtyard for quite a while. Seeing that there was no movement from Ji Yunshu’s room for a long time, his heart remained uneasy. Finally, he stepped forward and knocked on the door, asking in a small voice, “Miss… Ji, are you alright?”

There was no response from inside the room.

“That… I…” He immediately felt his mouth go dry, thousands of words all stuck in his throat, not knowing what to say next. A pair of guilty eyes peered through the crack in the door, and his heart pounded accordingly.

He stood at the door for a while longer. Unable to obtain forgiveness, but also unable to barge in again, yet with no other options at hand—the door wouldn’t open, so he couldn’t explain face to face. He truly had no way to justify himself!

Just as he turned to leave, the door opened.

Ji Yunshu was already fully dressed, standing coldly inside the doorway. The look she gave Luo Yang was as sharp as needles, and laced with poison.

Luo Yang trembled involuntarily all over.

“Miss Ji, I didn’t mean to. I just…”

“Just what?”

“Just…” Luo Yang opened his mouth, his cheeks twitching a few times before he said, “I got a rabbit and wanted to bring it to give to you.”

Ji Yunshu looked behind him, “A rabbit? Where’s this rabbit?”

“It ran away just now!”

“You don’t need to make excuses.”

“I’m not making excuses. Am I the kind of person who makes excuses?” Luo Yang felt himself utterly wronged.

But now the rabbit had scurried off somewhere unknown.

Ji Yunshu’s expression was grave as she warned him, “Listen here, you’re not allowed to tell anyone about what happened today. If you let a third person know, I’ll make you swallow a poison pill and poison you mute!” Luo Yang’s lips formed a strained smile with difficulty. He raised his hand and swore, “I promise not to tell. I absolutely won’t tell anyone, won’t tell Xiao Ba either. I’ll definitely keep it secret. I’ll just pretend… I didn’t see anything. Besides, I didn’t really see anything either, just saw your back…” Upon finishing, he immediately covered his mouth, realizing he’d said the wrong thing.

Ji Yunshu’s hand gripping the doorframe tightened several degrees, using so much force that her fingertips turned white. Her eyes glared at him with cold fury. If she had a bottle of poison in her hands right now, she would definitely pour it all mercilessly down Luo Yang’s throat.

“No… that’s not what I meant. I didn’t see anything, didn’t see anything at all!”

Ji Yunshu immediately slammed the door shut with a “bang.”

Luo Yang was shut out, his nose nearly bumping into the door, choking on a noseful of dust.

At this moment, how could embarrassment even describe it?

He not only wanted to find a hole to crawl into, but wished he could just slap himself to death.

Ji Yunshu returned to her room. Seeing that the figure outside the door stood for a long time before leaving, though the fire in her heart was strong, at least she hadn’t been completely exposed. Otherwise, wouldn’t she have to hang herself!

Just as she was about to rest, her foot suddenly bumped into something.

Soft and fluffy.

Looking down, she actually saw a snow-white rabbit.

The rabbit nuzzled against her foot, extremely adorable.

She crouched down and picked it up, glancing toward the door. At this time, Luo Yang had already left.

“There really was a rabbit?”

This rabbit had snow-white fur, very beautiful.

The fire in her heart seemed to gradually dissipate at this moment…

The Wen Residence.

The court officials had already placed Prince Jing’an’s body in Liangcheng Temple in the city. Afterward, the Wen family members also returned to the residence.

Father and two sons gathered in the main hall to deliberate.

“Father, we encountered trouble on the road, which caused the delay. I didn’t expect this matter to become so serious this time,” Wen Yu said.

Old General Wen, Wen Lianggong, sat upright in the main seat with a stern expression. Hearing his son’s words, his brows furrowed as he asked, “What exactly happened? Explain everything clearly.” Wen Yu said, “A few months ago after leaving the capital, your son felt that someone was following us the entire way, but we couldn’t find any trace of them. Because we had to hurry to the Southern Frontier to receive Prince Jing’an, we didn’t dare delay. Who knew that just as we entered deep into the Southern Frontier border territory, a group of black-clothed assassins appeared to pursue and kill us. Along this entire journey, we took many detours. Your son nearly couldn’t return. Fortunately, someone helped us and we escaped this calamity!”

“Black-clothed men? Do you know whose people they were?”

“Your son isn’t certain. Although we exchanged blows with them, we couldn’t discern their fighting style. Later on the return journey, we encountered their attacks again, but fortunately there was no real danger.”

Old General Wen pondered for a moment, then asked, “What about Yi Weian? Why did he return to the capital together with you?” Wen Che at the side took over the conversation, saying, “Because A’Yu was delayed, Yi Weian took it upon himself to transport Prince Jing’an’s body from Lingtang Prefecture. Otherwise, making another round trip would likely have delayed things by another month. So in this regard, Yi Weian actually helped greatly. It’s just that this person’s intentions don’t lie here—he’s merely using this matter to claim credit and prepare for himself to remain in the capital.”

“Mm, your observation is quite clear,” Old General Wen said. “This Yi Weian is talented, also a military general. If he wants to stay, let him stay. But you must be attentive and firmly grasp this person in your own hands.”

“Father, rest assured. Your son understands.”

Wen Yu said, “Father, in your son’s view, the person who made a move against me this time is very likely from the Wen family…” Before he could finish speaking, he saw Old General Wen raise his hand and slam it heavily on the armrest of his chair, angrily rebuking, “Without any evidence, you cannot speak recklessly! Everyone in the capital knows the relationship between our Wen and Su families. If these words of yours spread, they’ll likely give people something to use against us. When the time comes and someone impeaches us before the Emperor, it will be quite troublesome.”

Wen Yu’s gaze lowered. He had always obeyed his father’s words and held some awe of him. Hearing these words, he immediately said, “Yes, your son won’t speak carelessly again.” Seeing this, the usually steady Wen Che quickly spoke up, “Father, don’t blame A’Yu. Although there’s no evidence for this matter, if we talk about who in all of Qujiang has the deepest grudge with our Wen family, it’s only the Su family. This time when A’Yu led people to the Southern Frontier, it was an excellent opportunity for the Su family to strike. In your son’s heart, there’s also this speculation, but without evidence, it’s indeed difficult to draw conclusions.”

The grudge between the Wen and Su families was not formed in just a day or two. The enmity formed ten years ago caused the two families, who were once on good terms, to now avoid each other until death. Whether in court politics or military affairs, they opposed each other at every turn. Although the Su family only had Su Ziluo left, and he was a cripple sitting in a wheelchair, he was learned and scholarly, and had unique insights into military campaigns. Over the years, he had helped Qujiang win countless battles and seized many cities. At such a young age, his military achievements were illustrious, comparable even to veteran generals like Old General Wen. Therefore, the Emperor of Qujiang valued such a person greatly. Many civil and military officials in the court also respected him tremendously. When meeting him publicly, they would call him General Su, while privately they would address him as Master Su to show their respect. So without any substantive evidence, false accusation would be a grave crime. Old General Wen had deep concerns about this.