Help! The cunning and treacherous minister and I were reborn together!

The sound of snow falling outside the window was soft and gentle, like shattered jade or the murmur of a spring.

Xiao Zong took off his blood-stained undergarment, and Yuan Zhi handed him a clean set.

The two remained silent, as if avoiding each other's words, or perhaps waiting for the other to break the silence.

Xiao Zong changed his clothes, and with the candlelight behind him, he approached Yuan Zhi step by step. His brows and eyes were shrouded in shadow, and his gaze, hidden in darkness, was unfathomable, yet it subtly revealed a dangerous aura.

With nowhere left to retreat, Yuan Zhi was tripped by a foot and fell into the soft bedding.

She propped herself up on the edge of the bed, a hint of panic in her expression. "Xiao Zong, don't go crazy!"

The other party gave a strange laugh, "What madness could I possibly have? I just want to go to Wushan with my wife."

He pushed her away with his large hand, and as she fell, he pressed down on her. His lips and tongue roamed over her cheeks and neck, tasting a bitter flavor. He suddenly stopped and pulled a porcelain bottle from under his pillow.

"Almost forgot about this."

Xiao Zong opened the lid with one hand, poured out all the pills in the bottle, and swallowed one.

"enough?"

Yuan Zhi trembled all over, hugged herself with both hands, and refused to look at him or answer.

“It seems that’s not enough,” Xiao Zong said to himself.

He picked up another one and swallowed it without hesitation. Seeing that she had no reaction, he continued to repeat the same action.

After eating five pills in a row, Yuan Zhi finally grabbed his hand, her voice trembling slightly: "That's enough, Xiao Congyun!"

Xiao Zong's expression was devoid of joy or sorrow, like a soulless shell, as he numbly kissed the crimson lips. Yuan Zhi pounded on his wounds, struggling violently, but was easily subdued, his wrists grabbed and held above his head.

Yuan Zhi was in tears. Even though they were doing the most intimate things, her heart felt as desolate as snow falling on a barren wasteland.

As dawn breaks, the affair temporarily comes to a halt.

Xiao Zong, with his belt fastened, stood with his back to the figure on the bed, his tone distant.

"I'll move to the main house tonight. Madam prefers the west wing, so she can stay there."

Yuan Zhi pulled the quilt up to cover the marks on her body and said coldly, "Just what I wanted. Thank you for granting my wish, my husband."

Xiao Zong, his face dark, strode away.

After Luo Mei finished helping Yuan Zhi with her washing and dressing, Dou Zhao brought people in to move things. She glanced at her mistress but didn't ask why.

After breakfast, the two went to a restaurant.

The censors returned to court today, and Chu Lanyin led Miss Sun to Weiyan Tower early to await news from Miss Qin.

Yuan Zhi sat down opposite the two, sipping her tea with a restless expression.

It wasn't until noon that Miss Qin sent someone to deliver the news. The messenger said that the Prince of Wu had colluded with his cronies and resold military supplies, and that His Majesty had stripped him of his title and demoted him to a commoner.

Chu Lanyin and Miss Sun both breathed a sigh of relief, but Yuan Zhi looked solemn.

If Your Majesty does not punish Consort Dun, there is no guarantee that Prince Wu will not make a comeback in the future. It is imperative to eliminate him completely!

The servant took a sip of tea and continued, "It wasn't just the Prince of Wu who was punished this time; even the *** was not spared. His Majesty fined him a thousand taels of silver and confined him to his residence."

Yuan Zhi asked in confusion, "***'s fiefdom, Shuozhou, is my mother's hometown. Apart from the flood in the first year of the reign, nothing major seems to have happened there. What crime did *** commit that warrants such a severe punishment?"

The servant said, "It's about the flood! Inspector Feng of Shuozhou brought back a crazy man, and that man actually has evidence of embezzlement of disaster relief funds. Isn't that amazing!"

The three women stared in shock.

Yuan Zhi asked curiously, "The first year of the reign was nearly twenty years ago. The custodian was mentally unstable, so how come the evidence is still intact?"

"I heard it was placed in a water- and fire-resistant mechanism box, so it's fine."

Miss Sun said, "I heard my father say that during the floods of the first year of the reign of Emperor Taizong, the court sent many officials to provide disaster relief, but very few returned. Some drowned, some died of the plague, and some went missing after falling into the water. Could the officials that Lord Feng brought back be the ones who went missing in Shuozhou?"

Yuan Zhi thought to himself, "Very likely."

After all, a mechanism box that is impervious to water and fire is not something an ordinary person can possess.

Chu Lan was saddened as she thought of her family. "My eldest uncle drowned during the disaster relief efforts in Shuozhou. If only he could have come back alive like this gentleman!"

When Yuan Zhi heard the cause of death of the eldest son of the Marquis of Changping for the first time, he was stunned for a moment before grasping Chu Lanyin's hand.

"It's in the past."

"Ah."

Chu Lan responded with a sound of agreement.

A moment later, the door was suddenly pushed open from the outside, and a servant dressed in gray short clothes appeared in the doorway. The maid stood behind him, grabbing his arm, seemingly trying to stop him but failing.

Upon seeing that it was someone from her own household, Chu Lanyin scolded, "How can you be so ill-mannered?"

Tears streamed down the servant's face as he wiped them with his sleeve, then grinned.

"Miss, the master has come back to life!"

"what?!"

Chu Lan's mind went blank. "Uncle is alive?"

"Yes! You should go back and take a look!"

Overjoyed, Chu Lan wept and forgot to say goodbye to Yuan Zhi before staggering out the door.

The three people in the room were so surprised that they couldn't recover for a long time. The servant swallowed hard and asked, "Could the madman that Lord Feng brought back be the eldest master of the Chu family?"

Miss Sun said, "It seems so."

"Then... whose corpse is buried in the Chu family ancestral grave?"

Miss Sun said with a serious expression, "If it's not a case of mistaken identity, then someone did it on purpose, using a fake corpse to impersonate the eldest son of the Marquis of Changping."

Yuan Zhi took a sip of her cool tea, gazed at the jade-like trees and blossoms outside the window, and thought:

The situation in Shengjing is likely about to change.

In the afternoon, Wei came to the restaurant, took out 20,000 taels of silver notes, and placed them in front of Yuanzhi.

Yuan Zhi glanced at it but didn't move.

She had previously demanded all of her stepmother's assets, and guessed that the other party would hide something. Now that she saw it, her guess was confirmed.

"Your niece is an imperial concubine now. If you need anything, just ask her for help."

Wei said in a flat voice, "Xueyao has just been conferred the title of Consort, and it is not appropriate for her to ask His Majesty for a reward at this time. I can only come to you."

Yuan Zhi understood her stepmother's intentions, but she was powerless to help and had no intention of doing so.

"With the King of Wu deposed, the title of his concubine is no longer valid. The Imperial Clan Court should release Yuan Ying. You might as well wait a little longer."

"I asked around, and the Imperial Clan Court has no intention of releasing them!"

Yuan Zhi closed her eyes slightly. "It's no use getting angry with me. I can't help you."

"You can do it!" Madam Wei said urgently, "As long as you plead with Lord Xiao, he will definitely agree!"

Yuan Zhi lifted her eyelids slightly, her eyes languid. "Yesterday, my uncle's aunt miscarried because of me, and Xiao Zong and I had a huge fight. He's planning to divorce her! Now you want me to beg him? Do you think Yuan Ying has too much time on her hands?"

Wei stammered, "How could that be?"

"Go to the Xiao residence and ask around, and you'll see I wasn't lying to you."

Madam Wei slowly turned around and walked out, looking lost and dejected. "What will happen to my Ying'er?"

Yuan Zhi glanced at the silver notes left by his stepmother and gestured for the maid to return them to her.

The maid picked up the silver note, walked a few steps quickly, and stuffed it into Wei's hand.

"Madam Yuan, you've forgotten something!"

Yuan Zhi stared at his stepmother's forlorn figure and said, "It might not be a bad thing for Yuan Ying to stay in the Imperial Clan Court. At least, she can save her life."

The fewer enemies there are, the less danger there is. She needs to deal with the King of Wu, and she absolutely cannot let Yuan Ying ruin her plans.

Her dear fourth sister, may she spend the rest of her life peacefully in the Imperial Clan Court!