After being rejected, he emptied the mansion and went into exile

Xia Zhu lifted the carriage curtain and glanced at the carriage behind her.

I glared at it with displeasure.

Realizing that this wouldn't help, he could only sigh in the end.

During a birthday banquet, the three of them, mistress and servants, went to the banquet in good spirits, but unexpectedly returned with several other people.

The event happened so suddenly that the emperor, empress, and kings of several countries all agreed, and in the end, the general and his wife had no choice but to agree as well.

She sighed and glanced at the indifferent-looking lady.

Lan Xing glared at Xia Zhu.

Why are you so restless and agitated today?

Xia Zhu: "A princess and prince from the Southern Barbarian Kingdom, a female merchant from the Western Regions Kingdom, and of course, a Qiang prince."

"If we add the Northern Xiongnu people, our Xiang family will have people from every country."

It's almost as big as the palace.

As Xia Zhu finished speaking, she whispered to Lan Xing.

"And do you remember? That woman from the Western Regions Kingdom didn't have any good intentions."

Lan Xing naturally recalled what that woman had said to the Crown Princess and the First Prince.

"Could it be that she's thinking of taking a liking to our general, just like that woman from the Western Regions?"

Of course, the woman in the palace was given to the emperor by the Western Regions, but the emperor refused to give her back to their general.

This woman named Song Yingxue wanted to find a man in the Nine Provinces so that she could stay there.

Upon reflection, Lan Xing realized that it was indeed possible that it was their general.

Shen Jinyao looked at the two maids and, in front of them, recounted the story of the people following behind them, even including a few swear words she had learned in Quzhou.

She couldn't help but chuckle softly.

Xia Zhu looked over with strong disapproval.

"Madam, how could you possibly be thinking of watching Lanxing and me make a scene..."

Shen Jinyao comforted Xia Zhu, who was usually calm but had become somewhat agitated due to the sudden change in events.

"It's alright, aren't there me and the general?"

She even thought the arrangement was good.

The Western Regions Kingdom wanted to plant a spy by the emperor's side, and the emperor readily agreed and placed the spy in the Xiang residence.

One reason was to clear a landmine for himself, and the other was to cause trouble for Xiang Hongxuan.

This person was handed over to the Xiang family by the Emperor in full view of everyone; they could not take his life.

However, they cannot allow such risky people to be in the Xiang government.

Now things are much better. There are those two nosy siblings from the Southern Barbarian Kingdom, and Murong Wenyi from the Qiang tribe. Although everyone has their own agenda, isn't this a kind of check and balance?

No one should try to take advantage of this to frame the Xiang family.

Xiang Hongxuan, who was originally standing around the carriage, couldn't help but relax his brows when he heard Shen Jinyao's words.

She even curved the corners of her mouth into a slight smile.

He was right; Shen Jinyao would definitely know how to break the deadlock. Their thoughts were aligned once again.

He also knew that Shen Jinyao would not hold a grudge against her because of the woman she had given him.

He was both happy and somewhat disappointed.

Xia Zhu jokingly said, "That's right, I was just worrying unnecessarily. I forgot about the General and his wife."

Lan Xing covered her mouth and laughed, "The general was worried about his wife, so he specially took leave to send us back."

Shen Jinyao couldn't help but notice their teasing and ignored them. Instead, she began to plan how to arrange these people in the Xiang residence.

The carriage stopped in front of the Xiang residence.

Standing at the door, Granny Zhao stared in astonishment at the three large carriages and the general and the Qiang prince riding beside them.

Could it be the Shen family?

Shen Jinyao got off the first carriage with two maids.

Shen Leyao got off the second carriage with Xiao Jiu and Xiao Shi.

The last carriage arrived, and the servants of the Xiang family were taken aback.

Three beautiful women from foreign lands, with a man of another ethnicity riding a large horse beside them.

Xia Zhu stepped forward and quickly told Granny Zhao and Quan Fu what had happened.

Granny Zhao stood at the front, leading the servants of the Xiang family to bow to the foreign dignitaries behind them.

In the end, Shen Jinyao arranged for the prince of the Southern Barbarian Kingdom, Murong Wenyi, and Xiao Jiu and Xiao Shi to stay in the front yard.

The remaining Song Yingxue and Alsa were arranged in the room next to Shen Leyao.

When the emperor sent the woman, neither Shen Jinyao, Xiang Hongxuan, nor even the servants of the Xiang household asked her a single question.

No one even asked her what her name was.

The woman was quite tactful, saying nothing, keeping her head down obediently, revealing a section of her fair neck, low-key and docile yet somewhat alluring.

Granny Zhao had someone arrange for the woman to stay in her own courtyard.

That place was almost entirely inhabited by servants who had some standing.

She sent someone to deliver clothes to the woman.

After that, I ignored her.

Shen Leyao and the princess of the Southern Barbarian Kingdom got along very well, which made Song Yingxue, who was laughing along from time to time, seem much quieter.

"looking at what?"

Xiang Hongxuan had somehow gotten up and was now standing behind Shen Jinyao.

He noticed she was staring blankly at the three girls outside the window.

After thinking for a moment, Shen Jinyao decided to tell Xiang Hongxuan what she had heard today.

Xiang Hongxuan didn't take it to heart. As long as there was no malice towards the Xiang family, he wouldn't pay any more attention to it.

but……

He hesitated.

Seeing Xiang Hongxuan's expression, Shen Jinyao thought of what Xia Zhu had said and couldn't help but ask, "What? Is what Xia Zhu said true? Is Miss Yingxue doing this for the General?"

Xiang Hongxuan looked surprised. He wanted to explain but couldn't help but laugh.

"why are you laughing?"

"Are you eating something wrong, madam?"

Xiang Hongxuan was standing very close to Shen Jinyao, so close that when they spoke sideways, it looked as if Shen Jinyao was nestled in Xiang Hongxuan's arms.

Shen Jinyao laughed when she heard that someone was jealous.

"General, have you perhaps forgotten our relationship?"

Seeing that Shen Jinyao was getting agitated, Xiang Hongxuan stopped teasing her, fearing that she might say something he didn't want to hear.

He patted her on the shoulder and said, "This woman must have taken a liking to Big Brother."

big brother?

Xiang Hongxuan's older brother?

For a moment, Shen Jinyao couldn't figure out who Xiang Hongxuan's older brother was.

Xiang Hongxuan looked at the person in front of him with a confused expression and couldn't help but smile indulgently.

"Hehe, I mean Shen Zhizheng, Lord Shen, your elder brother."

Shen Jinyao was initially embarrassed, then surprised, and finally a little worried.

"Lord Shen, you've arrived. Have you eaten? You're off duty today, let's go for a walk."

Song Yingxue's voice came from outside.

Shen Zhizheng was standing at the entrance of the courtyard when Song Yingxue blocked his way.

Seeing that her elder brother looked embarrassed but not disgusted, Shen Jinyao put her worries aside.

She only cared about Song Yingxue's identity.

She was about to ask Xiang Hongxuan a question when she noticed that he was standing too close to her.

She subtly shifted her body backward.

"How do you know?"

Xiang Hongxuan could easily see through Shen Jinyao's actions. He lowered his head and then relayed what the First Prince had told him.

He bumped into her a few more times later, and since Song Yingxue was always around Shen Zhizheng, he connected the dots.

Even after the two finished discussing this topic, the noise outside continued.

The room was awkwardly quiet.

Shen Jinyao coughed lightly.

"Is the general returning to the palace?"

"I'm not going back today."

Seeing that Shen Jinyao was about to say something, Xiang Hongxuan quickly dropped a bombshell to divert her attention.

"What did you say? The Crown Prince is going to make a move after the four kingdoms leave?"