In the years of famine, I led a comfortable life with my husband

It's not that she didn't want to tell Su Peizhi everything, and she didn't want to see Su Peizhi sad because of her, but now is not the right time. Su Zhizhi could only hold back all her emotions and then comforted him.

"Mr. Su, there's no need to be too sad. Death is predestined, and things in the world are unpredictable. It's better to look forward. You can put the school matters aside for now. However, the housekeeper received a letter today that seems to be from Madam Meng."

"Mrs. Meng?" Su Peizhi stopped crying and a puzzled look appeared on his face when he heard this unfamiliar name.

"It's your mother. I heard from the housekeeper that your mother seems to be coming to the capital during this period. You see..." Su Zhizhi paid close attention to Su Peizhi's condition.

But what Su Zhizhi didn't expect was that when Su Peizhi heard what Su Zhizhi said, he cried even harder, almost to the point of bursting into tears.

Su Zhizhi was suddenly at a loss. She quickly took out a handkerchief from her sleeve and handed it to Su Peizhi, "Why is Mr. Su crying so hard? Could it be that he doesn't want Madam Meng to come to the capital?"

Upon hearing this, Su Peizhi glared at Su Zhizhi fiercely, wiping the tears from his face as he spoke in a muffled voice, "I haven't seen mother for a long time, so of course I'm happy. But mother probably doesn't know about my sister's death yet. If mother came to the capital at this time, I'm afraid my sister's affairs would be exposed. I can't imagine how heartbroken mother would be if she knew the news..."

Su Zhizhi stretched out her hand tremblingly, wanting to touch the top of Su Peizhi's head, but in the end, Su Zhizhi's hand only stayed on Su Peizhi's head for a while, and then Su Zhizhi restrained her emotions and withdrew her hand.

Su Peizhi was right. Meng's mother still didn't know about Su Zhizhi's situation. This was a difficult problem for Su Zhizhi to solve. Fortunately, there was still some time before Meng's mother came to the capital, and Su Zhizhi had enough time to think of appropriate words to deal with Meng's mother.

Looking at Xie Chengjin, he has been busy outside during this period. While clearing out the remnants of the Sixth Prince, he also eliminated many potential threats from the Fifth Prince. For a while, the forces in the capital city actually leaned towards the Fifth Prince.

After the matter was settled, Xie Chengjin finally breathed a sigh of relief and returned to his mansion in a rare state of relaxation.

The emperor had naturally also received the news from his spies that Xie Chengjin had returned home. After hearing the report, the emperor fell into deep thought, but he did not think for long. Instead, he ordered: "Continue to keep a close eye on Xie Chengjin. He has been away for such a long time, it is best not to let anything go wrong. If Xie Chengjin shows any abnormality, report it to me immediately."

The spy agreed, bowed and retreated, then returned to Xie's mansion.

The first thing Xie Chengjin did when he returned home was to look for Su Zhizhi. When Su Zhizhi saw Xie Chengjin coming back, her face was full of joy, but considering her status, Su Zhizhi still did not greet him in front of everyone. Until Xie Chengjin brought Su Zhizhi back to the yard, Xie Chengjin could not wait to hug Su Zhizhi in his arms.

Su Zhizhi sniffed the familiar scent in Xie Chengjin's arms, and her nose couldn't help but feel a little sour, but Su Zhizhi still endured it, only her eyes were red.

However, he didn't expect that all this was seen by the emperor's spy who was staring at Xie Chengjin. The spy was some distance away from the house, so he didn't hear clearly what Xie Chengjin and Su Zhizhi said, but what he could see was that Xie Chengjin, a man, was behaving quite intimately with another man. In an instant, the spy was struck by lightning, and he felt dizzy and didn't know what he was thinking.

As for what happened between Su Zhizhi and Xie Chengjin later, the spies had no time to pay attention.

The spy thought this was a strange move after all. After thinking about it, he couldn't help but pass the news to the emperor. When the emperor heard it, he felt bad.

"...What did you just say?" The emperor couldn't believe his ears and stared at the spy kneeling in front of him.

The spy swallowed and repeated, "I was stalking last night and spotted Xie Chengjin hanging out with a young man. They were a bit far away, so I couldn't see the man in Xie Chengjin's arms. But the two of them were hugging, and I saw it with my own eyes. I absolutely wouldn't dare lie to Your Majesty."

The emperor's expression grew increasingly grim. "What a jerk! I never could have guessed that Xie Chengjin had such an affair with someone else? Wasn't he even wearing mourning for the daughter of that traitor?"

"This... I don't know..." The spy's forehead was covered with cold sweat. He knelt on the spot, not daring to move.

The emperor took a few deep breaths, finally suppressing his anger. He waved his hand, signaling the spy to go back. Before the spy left, the emperor specifically instructed him, "Be careful to hide your form and keep a close eye on those two people."

When the spy left, the emperor's face turned completely gloomy. Now, whenever he thought that Xie Chengjin might have a homosexual relationship, he felt uncomfortable all over and nauseous.

The emperor got goose bumps all over his body when he recalled that he had had close contact with Xie Chengjin before.

On the second day, Xie Chengjin attended the morning court as usual, but during the court session, Xie Chengjin noticed that the emperor was deliberately keeping a distance from him, a real physical distance. The emperor now wished that Xie Chengjin would be eight feet away from him, for fear that his innocence would be lost.

Xie Chengjin was a little confused and didn't understand what was going on. He thought that the emperor no longer valued him, but the emperor's words didn't seem to indicate that.

Unable to figure it out, Xie Chengjin simply put the matter aside. Seeing that the emperor no longer called him to the palace every now and then, Xie Chengjin naturally felt happy and at ease. When he had nothing to do every day, he would stay in the mansion with Su Zhizhi, feeling very comfortable.

However, in the palace, the emperor was secretly arranging to choose a second wife for Xie Chengjin without Xie Chengjin's knowledge.

The first person to know the news was the fifth prince, who found out by chance. On this day, the fifth prince came to pay his respects to the emperor as usual, but saw the emperor selecting a portrait of a woman. Out of curiosity, the fifth prince asked a question and only then did he know that the emperor wanted to choose a wife for Xie Chengpu.

The Fifth Prince's expression suddenly became intriguing. He trembled his lips, but still said nothing.

The emperor's gaze fell on the fifth prince, and he couldn't help but ask, "Little Fifth, I've calculated that you are old enough to choose a wife. Why don't you come and take a look and see if there is anyone you like?"