The cannon fodder heiress trembled with fear after being recognized as a member of her family.

"The daughter of Consort Xu in the palace, the Third Prince's position in the Xu family is very stable."

After Han Zhen finished talking about Han Yueshi, he immediately brought up the Xu family, a rather dramatic shift.

Princess Mingxia was momentarily stunned, looking completely bewildered.

"lady?"

“My lord, it’s a good thing that Consort Xu has given birth to a daughter. Consort Xu has three princes, and it’s already good that the Xu family has one prince. If there are too many, the number of supporters will be divided.”

More than a decade ago, Xu's daughter entered the palace as a concubine, and later another young woman surnamed Xu was sent to the palace to help Xu Fei secure her favor.

The Third Prince has always been highly sought after, as he has a powerful backer at the Innate Realm.

Based on this alone, he is several points better than the other princes.

Even the fourth prince's maternal family, the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, had to give the Xu family some face.

There is already disagreement about who should be chosen as the crown prince.

Han Zhen is outwardly a confidant of the emperor and does not want to take sides for the time being.

In recent years, Princess Mingxia has returned to her parents' home and has not had any contact with the Xu family.

“Mingxia, I’m sorry to have wronged you all these years. It’s all my fault. I’ve only been thinking about doing the job assigned by the Emperor, and I’ve had less and less time to spend with you. In a few days, when we have a day off, we’ll go back to the Xu Prince’s Mansion together.”

As the moon climbed above the treetops, Han Zhen and Princess Mingxia stood together at the doorway admiring the moon.

The couple rarely had such quiet time.

“My lord, the day Yue Shi deliberately fell into the water to lure the Third Prince to his rescue, in fact, Consort Xu had already sent word that Yue Shi would not be allowed to enter the manor. Otherwise, do you think Yue Shi, with her personality, would not have made a fuss?”

Princess Mingxia leaned her head on Han Zhen's shoulder. "The Third Prince is probably not a good match. The relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law has always been of utmost importance. When wealthy families in the capital marry off their daughters, those who cherish their daughters will inquire about the mother-in-law's character and whether the in-laws are easy to get along with."

"Looking at it this way, you've really suffered all these years."

Han Zhen spoke with concern, but when she looked up, her expression remained completely calm.

Princess Mingxia had no suspicions. "Is my husband worried about Da Ni?"

However, after a brief moment of tenderness, she changed her mind.

"Originally, I didn't want to associate with the Xu family because I was afraid they would tie me to their boat and I wouldn't be able to get off later. I was even more afraid of affecting your impression on the Emperor and hindering your path to entering the cabinet."

"Having such a virtuous wife, I have no regrets in this life."

Princess Mingxia believed her and quickly lowered her head. "Is my husband still angry with me? The reason I brought my sister back to the capital that day was for Cuiyin's sake. I feel guilty about what happened to my sister and I must make it up to Cuiyin."

Han Zhen was taken aback. "That's all in the past. She...she's just Cuiyin's mother. After all these years, you should have brought my favorite sweet and sour fish to the table by now. It's all in the past, don't worry about it."

Aunt Zhao's actions today actually helped Princess Mingxia and her daughter.

Han Zhen was always somewhat moved.

"Xu Tianyun is at the Innate Realm. He said Da Ni has a problem, and he's probably right. Now he's forcing me to get involved in this mess!"

Princess Mingxia stepped out of his arms, and their eyes met. "Don't worry! I'll go back to the Xu Prince's residence tomorrow and have my father investigate. Perhaps it hasn't come to that."

She knew Xu Tianyun's personality; her husband was being overly suspicious.

This person has always believed that might makes right and dislikes roundabout methods.

If he were in the capital, there might be a trap if he took the Han family maid back for questioning. But since he was alone, he probably wouldn't think that far ahead.

Princess Mingxia understood the Xu family, and her guess was correct. Xu Tianyun indeed had no intention of harming the Han family. He was currently talking to Mo Changdao.

"Brother Mo, in your opinion, who is causing trouble?"

Xu Tianyun was in Mo Changdao's room, looking mournful and somewhat helpless.

This was the first time he had returned empty-handed after entering the Innate Realm.

Yesterday I was tricked again, and they took a useless maid back with them, wasting my energy without getting any useful information.

"I was badly injured by Lian Yao that day, and I even wasted the talisman my sect gave me, so I suffered an even greater loss than you. That person's technique was strange. I thought I had dispersed him, but I didn't expect him to turn into a transparent bead again. I wasn't careful and he got on me."

This matter will be found out sooner or later, so he might as well be more open and tell people what happened that day, which would prevent people from suspecting him.

"I see!" Xu Tianyun looked at Mo Changdao and said, "Brother Mo couldn't subdue him, so it won't be easy to deal with him in the future."

At this point, he also gave up the idea of ​​competing with Mo Changdao, and cooperation between the two sides was the right thing to do.

"Many people left Chang Le County by boat that day. We checked almost everyone and found nothing wrong."

The two of them also inspected the Pinglian River area, and apart from some unknown black aura that had thickened, they found nothing wrong.

"Brother Mo, the black aura over Pinglian River, could it be from the day you fought?"

Mo Changdao understood his unspoken meaning: "Pinglianjiang is indeed strange. The time is not right yet, and we cannot touch it. I have a feeling that if we, as Xiantian Realm cultivators, continue to fight recklessly, we may be annihilated."

"By whom?"

Xu Tianyun didn't react immediately, which is why he asked the question.

"The Way of Heaven!" Mo Changdao pointed to the sky, his words shrouded in mystery.

“Once everyone is gathered, we can try our luck in the Pinglian River region.” Xu Tianyun’s expression also changed. “The secrets of the Pinglian River are beyond our ability to uncover. Let’s plan this further!”

These few individuals at the Innate Realm were entrusted by the Emperor to investigate the cause of the merchant ship's disappearance.

The disappearance of the merchant ship was only a minor reason; there was more to the story.

The two talked and drank as they went, and soon the conversation turned to other things.

Han Cuiyin quietly left the roof without disturbing the two people inside.

"Could this bead have been with the Gao family? I hope it's not such a coincidence."

She arranged the room where the Gao family lived so that they wouldn't attract attention.

Even if someone at the Innate Realm arrives, as long as they don't leave their room, the Innate Realm expert can't do anything to them.

Han Cuiyin returned to the inn and, as she passed by Da Ni's room, she heard her talking to Granny Wang.

"Granny, are you really not going to let me in? I was taken away by Senior Xu, but nothing happened."

Dani is still trying to salvage the relationship.

Granny Wang was a favorite of Princess Mingxia. Although she was a servant, her life was no worse than that of the second and third masters of the Han family.

Many maids in the mansion wanted to be her daughter-in-law, and she could even tolerate her son's temper.

Having secured this marriage, Da Ni was strutting around with pride, but unexpectedly, Granny Wang wanted to break off the engagement.

"Nothing happened. How did you get all these injuries? Stop talking nonsense. Once the tokens are exchanged, we have nothing to do with each other anymore."

Han Cuiyin quickly dodged, avoiding Granny Wang.

After everyone else returned to their rooms, she slipped into Da Ni's room.

When Da Ni saw her, she trembled and cried out, "Miss Yang, I will never dare to do it again!"

"Oh? It seems you know why you were captured. You're quite clever." Han Cuiyin stepped forward, while Da Ni was already trembling like a leaf.

"If you want me to let you go, you'll be my informant from now on. You're quite the fine-looking fellow; it's not surprising that the Xu family wants you."

Han Cuiyin was used to seeing the marks on Qingyun's body in the Longevity Realm, and Da Ni could hide them from Granny Wang, but she couldn't hide them from her.

Da Ni looked up abruptly, then recoiled in shock. "You...how did you know? What do you want?"

She could handle Wang Mama's suspicions, but she dared not act recklessly in front of Han Cuiyin.

"Didn't I tell you, you're my informant to the old lady. You're also my informant to Xu Tianyun. Since you're working for me, I won't treat you unfairly. Here, use this, and your skin will only become better and more attractive."

Han Cuiyin tossed her a porcelain bottle containing medicine for external injuries.

"Tsk tsk, I didn't expect Xu Tianyun to be... so interesting."

Da Ni's face turned bright red, and she lowered her head, not daring to make a sound.

Taking advantage of her inattention, Han Cuiyin tapped her forehead with her right index finger, and a beam of white light entered Da Ni's head.

"What did you do to me?" Da Ni covered her head and backed away repeatedly.

"Don't even think about betraying me, and don't insult me; the worst that can happen is I'll slap you—"

Before Han Cuiyin could finish speaking, Da Ni slapped herself twice.

"I told you not to yell at me!"

Another slap rang out, and Da Ni's right cheek quickly swelled up.

"Haha~"

Han Cuiyin strode away, and Da Ni, her eyes blazing with anger, slapped her again.