The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

Chapter 340 Mr. and Mrs. Shen arrive in Beijing

I don't know if it's just my imagination, but the moon in the sky seems brighter.

On summer nights, all sorts of insects begin to emerge.

squeak squeak.

Chirp chirp.

Woohoo woohoo woohoo.

"Father, what's going on here? Why is it so lively?"

The Emperor gave her a feigned glare, "Why are you sleeping in the side hall with your mother?"

Wanyue tugged at Shen Shuhua's arm and said coquettishly, "Today I don't want to go back to my own palace, so I begged Mother to sleep in the side hall."

"In the middle of the night, some ghostly thing suddenly started making noise. My mother was worried that I was scared, so she came to see me."

"I then pulled my mother to sleep with me in the side hall."

"You," the Emperor said, glancing at her with affection before turning to look coldly at the Empress.

The Empress was kneeling on the stone slab because of the Emperor's words.

She lowered her head and apologized, glancing at Shen Shuhua out of the corner of her eye. She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but she felt that she saw a hint of mockery on Shen Shuhua's face.

She then realized what had been wrong with her earlier.

Logically speaking, given the Emperor's fondness for Shen Shuhua, he should have been extremely anxious if she disappeared late at night.

However, from the moment he arrived at Yuehua Palace until now, the Emperor has seemed unusually calm.

Even when she came out of her bedchamber and told the Emperor that Shen Shuhua was not there, the Emperor did not show any panic.

Moreover, that Granny Cao only got anxious when they entered the room; later, even when she wanted to search the palace, she calmed down.

Her hands were clenched tightly under her sleeves, her nails digging into her flesh, but she felt no pain at all.

Once again, that bitch Shen Shuhua escaped.

She's so cunning, like a slippery eel.

She was somewhat unwilling to accept it.

His face darkened, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.

Next time, we must not let her escape so easily.

She just couldn't understand why Shen Shuhua was able to enter her palace so easily, even though she had sent people to guard the palace gates.

In the end, the Empress was confined to her quarters by the Emperor, who then handed over the management of the harem to Consort Chun.

The Emperor personally invited a former court etiquette instructor to teach Zhao Ruhui.

She was not allowed to step out of her own palace gates for even a day if she did not learn it.

After the Empress and Zhao Ruhui left, the Emperor ordered the imperial physician to take Shen Shuhua's pulse.

"The Imperial Concubine's health is fine, and her previous depression has shown signs of improvement."

"As long as you keep a cheerful mood, I believe your frustration will soon dissipate."

The emperor, who had been sullen all night, finally smiled because of the imperial physician's words.

After everyone was seen off, even Wanyue was driven away by the Emperor.

Shen Shuhua knew that the Emperor had something to ask him.

What happened today can be kept secret from others, but not from the Emperor.

Shen Shuhua briefly explained to the Emperor that she had left the palace, and even mentioned her suspicions about Zhao Ruhui.

However, she did not tell the emperor that she already knew that Shen Cao was her biological daughter.

As for the reason for leaving the palace tonight, she only said that she suddenly missed Wanyue very much, so she left the palace to secretly bring her back.

Who knew that as soon as they arrived at the Shen residence, they heard news from the palace.

As for why they appeared in the palace so quickly...

Shen Shuhua led the Emperor to a side hall.

She opened the bed in the side hall, revealing a secret passage.

The emperor's face showed shock.

Following Shen Shuhua into the secret passage, which seemed bottomless, they found candles were prepared.

"I have only heard that there was a princess in the previous dynasty who dug a secret passage in the palace and secretly escaped."

"I always thought it was just something our predecessors said, but I never imagined it was true."

"Does this secret passage lead outside the palace?"

Shen Shuhua nodded.

"Wanyue discovered this secret passage by chance. Otherwise, do you think she managed to sneak out of the palace and escape to Xin'an County without the help of so many guards?"

"We were able to get back in time thanks to her."

"This girl is actually somewhat useful."

……

The following evening, in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the Emperor ordered Li Defu to stand guard at the entrance.

About half an hour later, two shadowy figures flew out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

One flew towards the border, while the other headed towards Xin'an County.

Seven days later, a carriage appeared at the city gate.

Shen Cao was waiting at the city gate early in the morning. According to her parents' letter, they should arrive in the next few days.

Shen Cao was sitting on the second floor of a teahouse.

Wanyue was sitting opposite her, eating the snacks from the shop.

"Sister, this doesn't taste as good as yours."

"Sister, we can also make and sell some snacks in our restaurant in the future."

Shen Cao smiled and chatted with her casually, his eyes always fixed on the city gate.

"By the way, weren't you confined to your quarters by your father? How come you're out again?"

Wanyue chuckled, "Isn't that your father, the Emperor?"

"Escaped secretly?"

"Hehe, I told my mother that I came to find you, and she agreed to cover for me."

In the past, when she secretly ran away, she not only had to hide it from her father, the emperor, but also from her mother.

Now that's good, as long as she tells her mother that she left the palace to find her older sister, her mother will not only not blame her, but will also help her cover it up.

Suddenly, she saw Shen Cao across from her stand up with a look of delight on her face.

"coming."

Wanyue followed her gaze and saw a carriage slowly driving into the city gate.

How did Sister know that Uncle Shen and the others had arrived just by looking at the carriage?

Shen Cao pulled Wan Yue along happily and ran quickly toward the carriage.

"Father, Mother!"

Shen Zhenye and Lin Yuniang were sitting in the carriage when they heard Shen Cao's voice coming from outside.

They excitedly looked out of the carriage and, sure enough, saw Shen Cao holding Wan Yue's hand as they stood outside.

Shen Wan jumped out of the carriage in a hurry as soon as Shen Cao spoke.

"Sister, I miss you so much." After saying that, she threw herself into Shen Cao's arms.

"Wanyue, you're here too. I've missed you so much."

She let go of Shen Cao and happily skipped and jumped with Wan Yue in her hand.

Wanyue mimicked how she had just done to Shen Cao, and pulled her into a hug.

Shen Wan was taken aback. Actually, she had originally wanted to hug Wanyue, but then she suddenly remembered what her father and mother had told her in the carriage.

Wan Yue's identity seemed unusual, so she didn't dare to do that.

Seeing Wanyue hug her, she immediately responded happily.

My girlfriends and I haven't seen each other in a long time. We have so much to talk about.

Their chatter attracted many passersby to look in their direction.

"Let's talk about it when we get home."

After saying that, the group climbed into the carriage.

The carriage quickly drove into the gate of the house that Shen Cao had prepared in advance.

This place is just one street away from the Grand Tutor's Mansion.

Wei Siyu helped find this house.

The owner of the house moved to a bigger house and sold this one.

Shen Caoyuan originally wanted to buy it, but she didn't expect the price of a house in the capital to be so high.

This three-courtyard house costs ten thousand taels of silver.

She gritted her teeth, but still couldn't afford it.

Wei Siyu bought it first.

She will pay him rent monthly first, and then buy it herself when she earns money in the future.

Above the gate of the house was a large plaque that read "Shen Residence".

Mr. and Mrs. Shen looked at the house in front of them, their eyes reddening.

They finally returned to the capital.

That night, a group of people also entered the capital under cover of darkness. They were all covered in dust and clearly in a hurry to return.