Dad, open the door. I'll bring your mistress back for you.

"Fourth Uncle, do you think it is possible that those two people are by my side to protect me?" Shen Chuning said helplessly.

"Secret guard?" Shen Qingyuan frowned slightly and asked in confusion.

Shen Chuning nodded slightly in affirmation.

Shen Qingyuan shook his head repeatedly and denied it. "Our Shen family has served as officials for generations, all of us serving as civil servants in the imperial court. How could we possibly have secret guards? Besides, even if there were secret guards, your two secret guards couldn't even handle me. How could they possibly protect you?"

Facing Shen Qingyuan's questioning and scolding, Shen Chuning felt helpless and hurriedly explained, "Fourth Uncle, I told them in advance not to hurt you. Besides, they were going to look for you anyway, so it's perfectly normal for you to notice them. There's one more thing I need to explain, the secret guard was given to me by Brother Zhou Er."

"Zhou Hanzhi?"

When Shen Qingyuan mentioned Zhou Hanzhi, Shen Chuning suddenly came back to her senses and asked in a panic, "Fourth Uncle, you just said you caught two?"

Shen Qingyuan curled his lips and replied, "Yes, two women, wearing the same style of clothes."

Before he finished speaking, Shen Chuning rushed forward like a gust of wind, tightly grasped Shen Qingyuan's arm, and shouted anxiously: "Fourth Uncle, where did you take those people? Let them go quickly! I specially arranged to inform Brother Zhou Er to go to Ling Island!"

Seeing Shen Chuning so nervous and anxious, Shen Qingyuan couldn't help but ask curiously, "What is Han Zhi doing on Ling Island for no reason?"

"I went to find you. Did you go to the island to make the elixir? I saw you at the Wu family, so I quickly sent people to stop him. Who would have thought that you were so powerful and actually caught him back directly." Shen Chuning frowned, her face full of anger.

Shen Qingyuan, who was standing beside her, narrowed his eyes slightly, looked at her with a half-smile, and slowly said, "Little An Ning, there's something wrong with you."

Hearing this, Shen Chuning looked at him with a puzzled expression and asked, "Hmm?"

Shen Qingyuan's face showed a look of deep sorrow and grief. He sighed deeply and continued, "You used to love Fourth Uncle the most, but now you're talking to him like this just because of a man. It really proves the old saying that extroverted girls are not as good as they used to be! Our little An Ning has also learned to be outgoing."

Listening to Shen Qingyuan's teasing words, Shen Chuning's anger grew even stronger. She raised her hand and slapped Shen Qingyuan's shoulder without any hesitation, scolding him at the same time: "It's already this hour, and you still have the mind to talk nonsense here! Who knows what kind of monsters and demons are hiding on your island? You'd better think about how to save people!"

"Oh, don't worry." Shen Qingyuan calmly reached out his hand and grabbed Shen Chuning, who was spinning anxiously on the spot. He said softly, "I have already sent most of the martial arts masters on the island away. There are only a few left. And I brought a few more with me to Fuping this time. In my opinion, with Han Zhi's skills and abilities, he should be more than enough to deal with them."

A hint of doubt appeared on Shen Chuning's face. She stared at the person in front of her and asked in a questioning tone, "Are you sure?"

Shen Qingyuan picked up the teacup on the table as if nothing had happened. After taking a sip of water, he slowly said, "Don't worry, he won't die in a short time. I'll go back later and send him back to you in good condition."

After hearing his words, Shen Chuning's heart, which had been hanging in the air, finally felt a little relieved.

However, she didn't give up and continued to ask, "Fourth Uncle, tell me, why haven't you been home in the past few years? You haven't even contacted your family. Could it be that you have been the leader of a cult on this island?"

Facing his niece's questioning, Shen Qingyuan seemed a little guilty. His eyes flickered and he stammered, "Uh... not quite the boss, second in command, second in command."

When Shen Chuning heard this, her eyes widened. "Is this the point? Who cares if you're the boss or not! Tell the truth! How did you end up like this?"

Seeing this, Shen Qingyuan couldn't help but cough lightly, then reached out and scratched his head, seeming a little embarrassed.

After a long while, he stammered, "That year, your grandmother wanted to arrange a marriage for Fourth Uncle."

Shen Chuning rolled her eyes at him and continued unhappily, "I already knew this part a long time ago. You didn't want to do it, so you ran away."

Shen Qingyuan nodded helplessly and continued, "Actually, it's not that simple. Although your grandmother said on the surface that she wanted to find me someone, in fact, she secretly asked me to go to your grandfather and said that she wanted to marry Princess Xuanhui. But think about it, Princess Xuanhui is not a good person! She beat her previous two husbands to death for some mistakes. When I think about this, how can I dare to agree to this marriage?"

Speaking of this, Shen Qingyuan shuddered involuntarily, as if he was still frightened by the memory of that terrible experience.

Shen Chuning sighed softly and said slowly, "Four now. The mother of the third prince consort was granted the title of First Rank Imperial Consort, and the fourth prince's brother was even granted the title of Earl of Xiaoyao."

"Look, look, your grandmother just wants to use Fourth Uncle to exchange for someone else's future. Although Fourth Uncle really doesn't have much ability, he shouldn't suffer such humiliation!" Shen Qingyuan said with a righteous face.

"Back then, the people my grandmother knew were either the mistresses of the marquis's mansion or powerful figures like the prime minister's wife. But my grandfather only had the empty title of uncle of the emperor and couldn't even sit on the position of minister. Fortunately, in the past two years, my grandfather finally made up his mind and ascended to the position of prime minister. Since then, my grandmother's temper has calmed down a little." Shen Chuning said.

Shen Qingyuan couldn't help but curl his lips. "I've seen through her completely. She'll be unhappy if someone has a higher status than her. So, you have to be careful and cautious in everything you do. Don't let Grandmother interfere with your marriage. Although she says she values the other person's character, in reality, she only cares about their family background and status. Other aspects are completely unimportant. In my opinion, it would be best if your parents could help you arrange your marriage in Shandong. That way, even if your Grandmother is unhappy, she won't be able to do anything about it. If there is really no other way, when you return to the capital, go directly to Grandmother and ask him to choose a suitable candidate for you."

After saying these words, Shen Qingyuan nodded thoughtfully.

Shen Chuning retorted, "You're talking about Fourth Uncle, why are you talking about me? Did you go directly to Shandong after leaving Beijing?"

Shen Qingyuan sighed, "After leaving the capital, I traveled around for a while and made some like-minded friends. Later... later, due to some things, I thought about going out to sea to hide for a few days, but I didn't expect to end up on Ling Island."

"Hidden from people? Hiding from Bai Yu?" Shen Chuning asked