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

"Brother Zhou Er, didn't His Majesty allow Uncle Zhou and Brother Zhou Lie to go north after the first month of the lunar year? Why did they leave just after the fifteenth?" Shen Chuning trotted to catch up with Zhou Lin in front of her and asked breathlessly.

Zhou Lin had no choice but to stop and turn to Shen Chuning.

"This winter is cold. The Tartars don't have enough food to survive the winter, and many cattle and sheep have frozen to death. The Tartars have invaded repeatedly, and the north is not peaceful, so my father and others went back early. My grandfather will not return to the north this year, so he asked me to see him off." Zhou Lin explained.

"Then you sent them to the North before returning?"

"It's impossible for someone to return so quickly after sending them to the north. They only returned after sending them to Shangjingjiu."

In fact, Zhou Lin went out because he heard that people from the Divine Doctor Valley appeared in Shangjing, so Zhou Lie hurried with Zhou Lin.

But when they arrived in Shangjing, they found that they were not from the Valley of Miracle Doctors at all. They were clearly people who were defrauding people under the banner of the Valley of Miracle Doctors.

Zhou Lin returned to Beijing disappointed, while Zhou Lie continued to head north.

"Brother Zhou Er, when did you come back? Why didn't you go to the Shen Family School after you came back?"

He quietly clenched his injured right hand, but suddenly caught a glimpse of a figure in the corner of the wall out of the corner of his eye.

Zhou Lin said calmly, "I've been back for a few days now. I didn't go to the clan school because I didn't want to. Do I have to report everything to you?"

Shen Chuning was startled by his sudden indifference and froze in her tracks. It took her a while to come back to her senses. She blinked aggrievedly and explained softly, "I just didn't see you when I went to the clan school to look for my brothers. I was a little worried, so I just asked..."

Zhou Lin interrupted her impatiently: "Oh, so that's the case. Now you know, you can go." After that, he turned around and prepared to leave.

"Thank you for bringing the Fifth Prince out to see the lanterns during the Ghost Festival."

Zhou Lin gritted his teeth, his Adam's apple rolling up and down, "You really are nosy. The Fifth Prince has already thanked me. Who are you to the Fifth Prince? You should thank him on his behalf."

Zhou Lin turned and walked away, but Shen Chuning suddenly reached out and grabbed his sleeve, and asked softly: "Will you still come to the Shen family to study?"

Zhou Lin frowned, raised his hand and shook off Shen Chuning's hand that was holding his sleeve.

Because his wrist was wrapped in thick bandages under his sleeve, he was worried that Shen Chuning would find out.

Shen Chuning pinched a button she had torn from his sleeve, her eyes revealing disappointment and confusion. She continued to ask, "Why didn't you come? The teacher clearly said that you study hard, master book knowledge quickly and well, and even have the ability to take the imperial examination."

When Zhou Lin heard the word "imperial examination", his face changed slightly. He could hardly control his expression, and a hint of self-mockery flashed in his eyes.

He gritted his teeth and whispered, "I originally just wanted to give it a try, but then I realized I didn't like studying, so I stopped going."

Shen Chuning looked at Zhou Lin suspiciously and asked, "So what does Zhou Erge plan to do next? Is he going to start practicing martial arts again?"

If that was the case, then she would be happy for him.

However, Zhou Lin shook his head and replied with a hint of disdain: "Practicing martial arts? Who told you I was going to practice martial arts? Practicing martial arts is so hard, how can it be as relaxing and enjoyable as eating, drinking and having fun!"

"Brother Zhou Er, why are you..."

Zhou Lin once saved Shen Chuning's life, so she didn't want to see Zhou Lin repeat the mistakes of his previous life and become a playboy.

When Zhou Lin said that he was unable to learn martial arts, she suggested without hesitation that he go to the Shen family to learn.

However, Zhou Lin responded nonchalantly: "What about me? Are you trying to say that a piece of rotten mud cannot be helped? Yes, that's how I am. Do you have anything else to say?"

Hearing this, Shen Chuning felt helpless, but still replied: "No... no more."

After saying that, she saluted Zhou Lin again and then walked towards the Juxian Tower.

At this moment, Zhou Lin glanced at the corner of the wall again, then quickly stepped forward and walked side by side with Shen Chuning.

As he passed by Shen Chuning, he whispered, "Be careful of Ziyuan next to your mother."

After saying that, he quickly passed Shen Chuning and strode away.

When Zhou Lin was investigating Ji Anbang, he discovered that there was indeed someone who used virgin blood as a medicine to refine pills, and that this person seemed to be connected to the Lingshan Witch Clan.

Zhou Lin didn't know how many people in the capital had members of the Lingshan Witch Clan hiding in their homes, nor did he know who was behind the Lingshan Witch Clan.

In order to avoid alerting the other party, he could only conduct the investigation cautiously.

But he vaguely remembered that the third wife of the Shen family was followed by a woman named Ziyuan, who claimed to be a witch from the Lingshan Witch Clan.

Regardless of whether it was true or not, he still wanted to remind Shen Chuning to be careful.

Shen Chuning stood there, not knowing why Zhou Lin's attitude towards her changed so drastically in just a moment. She didn't know whether she should chase him and tell him that she had been adopted into the second branch of the Shen family and Ziyuan had been sent to the Duke of Qing's Mansion.

Shen Chuning held the button that she had torn off Zhou Lin's sleeve. It felt warm to the touch, and when she looked closely, she found that it was actually a warm jade.

It is said that military generals accumulate wealth through military exploits. The Zhou family has had many military exploits for generations. Unexpectedly, they are so wealthy that the priceless warm jade can be made into buttons. The key point is that the buttons are not sewn well and they fall off when she pulls them lightly.

Shen Chuning was angry and wanted to throw the button away, but then she remembered that she had three other buttons at home, so she wanted to go home and find them and return them to Zhou Lin.

……

The first day of February is the day when the princess returns to school.

Shen Chuning and Shen Jingwan boarded the carriages to the palace early in the morning.

It was Shen Jingwan's request to sit separately. She always felt that there was an indescribable smell on her.

Even though she had asked Fuzi to burn all the clothes she had worn at the Duke of Qing's Mansion after returning that day, and she had taken seven or eight baths, with some parts of her body rubbed to the point of being broken, she still couldn't hide the strange smell.

Shen Jingwan locked herself in her room these past two days and didn't dare go out, for fear that others would smell the strange odor on her body and look at her strangely.

Originally, Shen Jingwan didn't want to enter the palace today, but then she thought about how hard it was to get this opportunity to be the Sixth Princess's study companion.

She had endured so much injustice and inhuman treatment last year that the Sixth Princess finally showed a little kindness to her. She couldn't bear to give up like this.

So early in the morning, I put ointment and powder on my body, trying to cover up the smell.

In fact, the smell on Shen Jingwan's body was almost unnoticeable, but she herself couldn't get over the hurdle in her heart and always felt that there was still a smell.

Shen Jingwan was afraid of hearing something unpleasant from Shen Chuning, so she asked to ride in a carriage.

Shen Chuning was too lazy to flatter her and was happy to be alone.

But when she walked into Yuewei Hall, Shen Jingwan couldn't hold back the dignity she had tried so hard to maintain.