Mistakenly recognized as a cousin, thousands of pampered

Tao Jiuxi calmed down, looked directly at Xie Ningqiu and asked, "Madam Xie, I know Ayi's journey has been difficult. What do you want me to do when you come here this time?"

Xie Ningqiu wiped away her tears and quickly responded, "Can you please, for my sake, go and persuade Ayi to stop being so deadlocked with His Majesty? If it goes on like this, the consequences will be disastrous."

"Your Majesty, will you allow me to go out?"

Xie Ningqiu nodded slightly, his expression solemn: "His Majesty has graciously allowed you to go out for two days, but there is a stipulation beforehand: if you do not return after two days, the entire Tao family will be executed..."

Tao Jiuxi sneered: "Please let him rest assured, there is no such concern."

After saying this, Tao Jiuxi slowly turned around and walked lightly to the bedside.

"Sister, Yunxi, in this situation, I'm afraid there's little hope..."

They have been trapped in this prison for these days, and as time goes by, they have made plans for the worst.

But when it really came to this moment, when there was definite news to confirm those horrific speculations, fear still surged and resentment spread.

"Kuki, go ahead."

Tao Qingwan was the first to reach out and hold Tao Jiuxi's hand tightly. She forced a faint smile, her eyes revealing a heartbreaking tenderness and determination: "If there is a chance to escape, don't look back, go as far as you can."

Seeing this, Zhong Yunxi quickly reached out her hand and placed it on the two people's clasped hands. Her eyes were sincere. "I will definitely stay with Qingwan. Jiuxi, just go as far as possible. The farther the better. Don't worry about us. Find a way to survive."

As Tao Jiuxi listened, his eyes instantly turned red and tears rolled down like beads that had broken off the string, and he couldn't hold them back.

Xie Ningqiu stood quietly not far away, watching the three of them hugging each other and crying, without moving for a long time until the crying gradually subsided.

Tao Jiuxi raised her hand and gently wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve. She took a deep breath and walked towards Xie Ningqiu: "Madam Shen, we can set off now. But before that, could you please find a place where I can wash up and tidy up my appearance?"

-------

After Tao Jiuxi washed and tidied himself, he was taken to the mansion given to him by Shen Zhiyi in a carriage.

The carriage stopped, and Xie Ningqiu's voice rang out faintly from within the carriage: "Yier is at home right now, Jiuxi. I know I'm sorry for acting this way, but as a mother, I have no other choice."

After she finished speaking, she moved her body and bent her knees to kneel.

Tao Jiuxi was quick to reach out and support her: "Mrs. Shen, you don't have to do this. I understand your difficulties. Please don't frustrate me like this."

"I am unlucky and cannot become your mother-in-law."

Tao Jiuxi didn't respond and got off the carriage slowly.

The servant on duty outside the door saw Tao Jiuxi appear and was filled with disbelief. Just as he was about to bow, Tao Jiuxi made a soft hissing sound and said, "Shh, close the door first."

At this time, the night was deep, and only the cold moonlight was shining on the ground.

Tao Jiuxi walked quickly towards Shen Zhiyi's bedroom. When passing by the study, he saw that the lights in the room were on.

She subconsciously paused and stood still, muttering to herself: These are the only two days we will be together.

She carefully smoothed the wrinkles on her dress and stroked her hair before slowly moving forward with dignity.

There was no one guarding the study door, and Jiang Shun, who usually stayed by her side, was nowhere to be seen.

Tao Jiuxi raised his hand and slowly pushed open the door. In an instant, the scene of his first meeting with Shen Zhiyi in the study in the past emerged in his mind. At that time, he was like a flower on a high mountain, isolated from the world, exuding a noble and cold aura. People couldn't help but take a few more glances at him, but he seemed so far away, as if separated by thousands of mountains and rivers.

But at this moment, the door slowly opened, and what came into view was a completely different scene - a man was seen slumped on the ground in a mess, his hair loose and messy, hanging down wantonly, and the ground was littered with densely packed letters, books and memorials, making it a complete mess.

The sound of the door opening did not make Shen Zhiyi look up. He seemed to be immersed in his own world, oblivious to everything around him.

Tao Jiuxi's eyes suddenly felt sore, and the tip of his nose turned red. He fought back his tears, slowly approached, and called softly, "Ayi."

Shen Zhiyi's movement of flipping through the memorial in his hand suddenly stopped, and he slowly raised his head. In an instant, the person he had been thinking about day and night appeared before him vividly.

"A Xi."

His eyes instantly turned red as if they were about to bleed.

Tao Jiuxi looked at him and saw that his eyes were red and his expression was tired. His face was full of exhaustion. It seemed as if he had not closed his eyes to rest for a long time. His feet seemed to be nailed down and he could not move at all.

Shen Zhiyi staggered to his feet, took a few big strides to Tao Jiuxi, and suddenly hugged her tightly in his arms, muttering: "Axi, it really is you, Axi!"

His arms tightened more and more, as if he wanted to rub her into his bones and blood, fearing that this was just a dream and would disappear without a trace if he let go.

"How did you get yourself into this state?"

Tao Jiuxi felt extremely distressed and hugged Shen Zhiyi tightly with his arms.

"I can't find any flaws, I can't find any at all..."

Shen Zhiyi's voice was filled with collapse and despair, his emotions were almost out of control. At this moment, he seemed unable to distinguish between dreams and reality.

He had previously sent dozens of people to carefully compare the handwriting of the two people, but the result was like a bolt from the blue. It was indeed Tao Hongyuan's handwriting.

He asked Ji Qingyi and Xue Yunmeng to go to Shuzhou to see if they could find any other clues, and sent Jiang Shun to investigate the informer, but there was no progress.

In a fit of anger, he drove those people away.

Then, he took out the letters between Prince Shou and Tao Hongyuan and compared them word by word, not missing any details. However, no matter how hard he racked his brains, he could not find any flaws.

The many conversations in the letter all pointed to Tao Hongyuan's treason, and the evidence was as solid as iron. In this situation, the Tao family was unlikely to escape the fate of being executed.

Unable to find any problems with the handwriting, he quickly sent people to find a hidden master to Xiyan to investigate, but the time was short and no news came back.

For this matter, he begged the emperor, the eldest princess, and the prince who loved him. He tried every possible method and every person he could find, just hoping that if he really reached a desperate situation, he could protect Tao Jiuxi and her sister.

"Ayi, calm down first. I'm here." Tao Jiuxi comforted anxiously.

However, as soon as he finished speaking, Tao Jiuxi felt a heavy force pressing down on him, and Shen Zhiyi fainted and fell on him.

Tao Jiuxi couldn't support such a weight, so he could only support him slowly and laboriously, sitting on the cold floor tiles, letting him lean on his legs. He watched him fall into a deep sleep, his brows still tightly furrowed, as if he couldn't rest in his sleep.

Tao Jiuxi gently stroked Shen Zhiyi's bearded face. The hard stubble pricked his hand, and he felt mixed emotions.

She had never seen Shen Zhiyi look so haggard and miserable. The vigorous and handsome man of the past seemed to have disappeared with this incident.

"Ayi, I know you have tried your best..."

Tao Jiuxi murmured, tears in her eyes, but she was afraid that the tears would fall on his face and wake him up, so she hurriedly held them back.

"Your mother has told me that His Majesty forbids you to visit me. If you insist on going, my family will be executed on the spot. If His Majesty shields my family because of you, the consequences will be disastrous. I know all this."

"You must have missed me a lot these days, actually... I missed you a lot too."

She choked up slightly and continued, "There's still the 17th, which was supposed to be our wedding day, but now it seems... I can't marry you..."