Report to the Empress and the Eldest Princess: They're using the system to poach your men.

"Can you two be quiet for a bit?"

Wen Yuening, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up, which brought the two of them back to their senses.

"It's all because Xiaotong talks too much, not me."

Xiao Tong was almost speechless at Shen Sangwan's immediate apology and the speed with which she shifted the blame.

No—Master, what you're doing—

Before Xiaotong could retort, Shen Sangwan swiftly muted her.

"A huge pot fell from the sky. I wonder if you saw it, Master?"

"It was big and round, and it came straight at me."

Xiao Tong, with her mouth agape and making incoherent noises, was silently protesting, but Shen Sangwan ignored her.

He took Wen Yuening's hand and walked straight into the bedroom.

When Qingque, who was waiting at the palace gate, saw Shen Sangwan, she first bowed respectfully, and then began to consider the matter in her mind.

"Has our Ladyship already won over His Highness?"

"Wait a minute, why did Your Highness sneak into Phoenix Palace? Why didn't you just come through the main gate openly?"

"Could it be... that they're going to do something..."

"Qingque, guard this place well. Do not let anyone in except His Majesty."

"I've made note of this."

Wen Yuening felt that having mind-reading abilities was a headache, as she could hear all sorts of nonsense.

She wandered around the Phoenix Palace all morning, listening to nothing but trivial matters, without hearing a single useful word.

The blue sparrow that followed me was supposed to be a calm and collected person, and I never saw her talk much, but her mind was always chattering away.

"Your Highness, please be seated."

Seeing the impatience in Wen Yuening's eyes, Shen Sangwan simply wandered around and began to tour the bedroom.

"Your Highness—?"

Wen Yuening thought the other person hadn't heard her clearly, so she called out again.

"I've been wandering around. I sat with the Empress Dowager for a while."

Hearing Shen Sangwan say that, she didn't insist.

On the table were the fruits and candied fruits that Shen Sangwan usually liked to eat, which she had Qingque prepare for her.

Since the other person wouldn't sit down, she had no choice but to eat by herself.

"The person in your painting looks exactly like me?"

Shen Sangwan stopped in front of the desk, bent down and looked at it carefully, then spoke thoughtfully.

That was a sketch of Shen Sangwan that Wen Yuening had drawn a long time ago when she was bored and just imagined it. It was only a half-finished product, and it was left unfinished because of some things that happened later.

"The painting Yue Ning depicts His Highness."

"But I didn't model for you—well... I mean, I didn't copy anything. How did you draw it?"

Because the eyes of the figures in the painting were so lifelike, Shen Sangwan had to bend down to take a closer look, unaware that Wen Yuening had already walked up to her.

"If you are always thinking of His Highness, then you will naturally see His Highness's image in your mind. Even without the real person, you can draw him with a pen."

After all, she and Shen Sangwan had been together for at least twenty years across their two lifetimes.

Having spent at least ten years together, she knew Shen Sangwan very well.

Shen Sangwan raised her head, Wen Yuening lowered her head, their eyes met, and they had the illusion of a lifetime in a single glance.

Something flashed through my mind, then vanished in an instant.

Shen Sangwan missed her chance again and failed to catch it.

"Ahem, let's get down to business."

Shen Sangwan really wanted to slap herself. Why did she always stutter like a stutterer whenever she was alone with Wen Yuening?

I never fail to stutter, how can I be so hopeless!

What is the story behind the Ming Prince's Mansion?

"Actually, I only have suspicions, but I can be sure that the person who assassinated the princess was from the Ming Prince's mansion."

After discovering that the other side of the secret passage led to the Phoenix Palace, Shen Sangwan had actually suspected that the Wen family was behind it.

If Wen Yunhe wanted to prevent me from going to Wuzhou, and then used Wen Yuening to send assassins in from Fengluan Palace, it wouldn't be unreasonable.

Now that she's been told it was someone sent by the Ming King, she immediately began to suspect Yuexin, who was sent to her residence by Shen Yujing.

"How did the King of Ming's men get to the Princess's residence through the secret passage in your palace?"

Wen Yuening turned around with some shame, returned to her chair, picked up a piece of candied fruit, and took a small bite.

"It's all because I misjudged people; one traitor after another has appeared among my entourage."

Hearing Wen Yuening's self-reproachful words, Shen Sangwan was not much better off, and said with self-deprecation, "If you say that you have an internal traitor, then my household has been in league with outsiders."

Ruoli and Ruoying were protecting Shuyan in Weiyang Palace, with only Ruoxin by their side.

Shen Sangwan walked quickly to the window next to her, summoned Ruoxin, and told her to quickly send a message so that Yuexin could be detained before the other party noticed.

Having received the order, Ruoxin vanished from Shen Sangwan's sight.

"I don't know where Shuyun gets these talented youngsters from; they're all experts, and they're really good at using them."

"If Your Highness prefers skilled fighters, Yue Ning can have the top assassins and several secret agents from the Soul Hook Pavilion follow you."

"No...no need. I'm afraid I'm not good enough to enjoy your people."

When the topic of the Soul-Hooking Pavilion came up, Wen Yuening asked the same question she had asked before.

"The first assassins sent by Feng Shao to kill Your Highness were secret agents and top-notch killers from the Soul Hook Pavilion. How exactly did Your Highness escape? Why were there only a few corpses in that dense forest? Where are the bodies of the others? Your Highness refused to say last time, but surely you can now?"

Shen Sangwan pouted, took out a bottle of bone-dissolving water, and placed it on the table in front of Wen Yuening.

"Because of Xiaotong, I was able to escape death. And with this thing, I can destroy the evidence. It was also with this thing that I was able to kill that androgynous purple-clad person."

Wen Yuening picked up the porcelain bottle, uncorked it, and brought it close to her nose. There was an indescribable, pungent smell.

He only took a slight sniff before quickly putting the stopper back on the bottle and handing it back to Shen Sangwan.

"This assassination attempt in the palace was most likely carried out by Prince Ming, but I suspect my father was also involved."

“Your idea coincides with mine. Yesterday in Xuyang Palace, Qi Su kept pressing Cen Xiang, while Wen Xiang, who was on the same side, remained silent.”

This has indeed aroused my suspicion. However, it seems that Prime Minister Wen and Prince Ming have never been on the same side, so how did they end up together? This is something I find very puzzling.

Seeing Shen Sangwan sit down, Wen Yuening picked up a piece of candied fruit and fed it to her.

So engrossed in talking that he unconsciously opened his mouth and ate the candied fruit.

I usually find candied fruit too sweet, but the ones from Wen Yue Ning's place today are quite refreshing. I wonder what kind of fruit they're made of. I took a piece and put it in my mouth to savor it.

Wen Yue Ning, who thought it was being fed to her, had already opened her mouth.

Seeing the candied fruit in the other person's hand go into her mouth, she didn't know whether to close her open mouth or quickly pick up a piece and eat it herself.

Shen Sangwan also noticed Wen Yuening's actions and hurriedly reached for the candied fruit on the plate, preparing to feed her.

The two reached out almost simultaneously, and happened to touch the same piece.

They glanced at each other, then simultaneously withdrew.