The day her husband welcomed the time-traveling girl into the house, she woke up

East Palace.

After Yin Hengyou finished discussing important matters with his staff, he finally found some time to meet Li Yan. Li Yan had been waiting outside the East Palace for more than an hour.

It was almost noon.

When Li Yan was led into Yin Hengyou's study, Yin Hengyou was tidying up the things on the desk. Without even glancing at Li Yan, he said, "I have to rush to Ali's residence to have lunch with them. Please keep your words short."

Li Yan bowed and thought for a moment before asking in a low voice, "How much does Your Highness know about the secret guard beside Xiaoshu?"

Only then did Yin Hengyou stop what he was doing and look at him.

She signaled him to continue with her eyes.

Li Yan continued, "According to Xie Yu, Your Highness, not only do you know what our father has been doing privately lately, but you also know far more about her affairs, and even our mother's affairs, than we do. Originally, we were just like our father. Regardless of how much Xiaoshu would be hurt, we also wanted our mother to come back, fantasizing that everything would return to the way it was before when she returned. But we weren't as obsessed as our father was. After learning that our mother might have already been reincarnated as a human and had a husband and children, we brothers gradually gave up the fantasy that our father had aroused.

A few days ago… on the night our third and fourth brothers left Beijing, my father called my eldest brother and me to his study and showed us a portrait. The person in the painting looked almost identical to the secret guard named Lin Yuan who served as Xiaoshu’s attendant. And on the back of the painting, there was an extremely complex pattern…”

Having said that, Li Yan took out a piece of paper from his waistband, unfolded it and placed it on Yin Hengyou's desk.

As Yin Hengyou stared at the pattern, he continued, "Father pointed at this pattern and told us that if anyone comes to us with a letter printed with this pattern, no matter how outrageous the request, we will do our utmost to help. But when we asked who or what the pattern represented, he refused to say anything. He didn't even tell us who the person in the painting was. He only said that from now on, we should not get involved in anything he did.

I originally wanted to investigate secretly, but my eldest brother said that the matter might be very serious. If I investigated rashly, I might not only get into trouble, but also ruin something else. Then, after pondering it for a few days, he suddenly asked me to come to see His Royal Highness to inquire about Lin Yuan's background, saying that Your Highness must know the details.

"Oh? Why doesn't he come to the East Palace himself?"

"To be honest, my eldest brother has been busy following our father these past few days."

"..."

Yin Hengyou raised an eyebrow, but didn't ask any more questions. He just said, "I do know Lin Yuan's background, and so does A-Li. As for this pattern, this is the first time I've seen it, but I roughly know its purpose..."

Hearing this, Li Yan opened his mouth and wanted to ask in detail.

But before he could even ask a single word, Yin Hengyou's tone changed. "For A-Li's sake, I'd like to remind you not to delve into Lin Yuan's background, let alone this pattern."

Li Yan had no choice but to suppress the question he wanted to ask.

After sending Li Yan away, Yin Hengyou took the paper with the pattern drawn on it and went to Li Shu's house.

After having lunch at Li Shu's house, Yin Hengyou showed the pattern to Li Shu.

He also repeated to Li Shu word for word what Li Yan said in his East Palace.

Li Shu frowned and muttered softly, "So Li Yan went to spy on Xie Yu because he was just trying to figure out what to say when he's about to die? And Xie Yu actually told him something he wanted to know? Could it be that he's feeling a little guilty about them..."

Hearing this, Yin Feier interrupted her, "How could someone like Xie Yu feel guilty towards others? She might have thought that the four Li Yan brothers had gone astray like Li Yunzhi, so she told Li Yan some things that she could use to make trouble for you! I'm sure that in addition to what Li Yan mentioned to her brother, she also told Li Yan many things that would be detrimental to you, Sister Ali!"

"Yeah... you're right..."

Li Shu nodded thoughtfully, but didn't take it to heart.

Xie Yu and Lin Qi, who have the system, can't do anything to her, so what can Li Yan and the others do to her?

So no matter what Xie Yu said to Li Yan, it posed no threat to her.

What's more, Li Yan and the others seem to have come to their senses...

Thinking of this, Li Shu unconsciously curled up the corners of her mouth.

Although she would never forgive Li Yan and the others, her mother would definitely be happy if they could come to their senses.

After all, the palms and backs of your hands are all made of flesh.

About half an hour later, Yin Hengyou took Murong Yunchu and Yin Feier away. Yin Wanyu then asked Li Shu softly, "Is Jiang Zhiyi still at your house?"

"Well, if you hadn't mentioned it, Grandma, I would have almost forgotten about him!"

"..."

Yin Wanyu smiled and asked, "Have you thought about how to deal with him?"

Li Shu thought for a moment and said, "Let him stay in my house for now. When the emperor can no longer hunt him down or harm his family, I will release him."

"That's fine. After all, he's innocent. There's no need to commit unnecessary murder."

"Ah."

"Those portraits the Queen gave you didn't just tell you she was back, did they?"

"..."

Li Shu was a little surprised and her eyes widened slightly.

Yin Wanyu then smiled and said, "The Queen is very smart, and she has mentioned to me more than once that you are not only smart, but also understand her better than her own children. That's why I think since she gave you a hint, it wouldn't just be a single one."

"Well, it's just as Grandmother said. The Queen also left a message in those portraits that only I can understand. It's in..."

Yin Wanyu reached out and covered Li Shu's mouth, interrupting her words. "You don't need to elaborate. The emperor has been getting desperate lately and is keeping a close eye on me more than ever. I can't help you much, so be careful and don't let your guard down."

Li Shu nodded, and after Yin Wanyu stood up, she also stood up and sent Yin Wanyu to the door of the mansion.

After watching Yin Wanyu's carriage fade out of her sight, she said to Jingzhe beside her, "Take my token and go into the palace. Tell them that I will go to the palace to pay my respects to the Empress tomorrow and will also pay my respects to the Consort Xian."

Jingzhe responded and left.

The next morning, Li Shu brought the portraits and the things she had asked Lin Yuan to prepare into the palace.

When she followed Lan Ruo into Murong Hui's bedroom, she heard Yin Su's voice before she even saw Murong Hui.

"There are only a few portraits. You've been looking at them for several days, and you even asked Fei'er and the Crown Princess to help you judge them. Please bring them to me. I don't even know who the Queen has chosen for you to choose."