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

Wen Yuening remained calm, her eyes filled with a gentle smile. "The sun is high in the sky, Your Highness, aren't you going back to the government office?"

Shen Sangwan pursed her lips, her leg-lifting movement slightly stiff.

He grabbed the reins and mounted the horse.

My arms felt full again.

Wen Yuening's back was pressed against Shen Sangwan's front, and she could clearly feel the tension in the person behind her.

"If Your Highness is tired, Yue Ning can take over the horse riding."

Before Shen Sangwan could speak, he snatched the reins away.

"Your Highness, you must hold on tight!"

Still bewildered, Shen Sangwan had not yet figured out what these words meant.

The moment the horse galloped away, I leaned back and almost fell off.

Startled, she quickly grabbed Wen Yuening's waist.

Upon sensing the hands encircling her waist, Wen Yuening's lips curled up, a hint of sly schadenfreude in her eyes.

After realizing he had succeeded, he slowed down the horse.

"Little Yan Yan, beautiful women are indeed all venomous scorpions! She's trying to steal my money and kill me!"

"Waaah, but that waist is really flexible."

To make up for my emotional distress, I'll have to hug her for a while longer.

Thinking this to himself, he instinctively pressed his body against Wen Yuening's back.

"Little Yan Yan, this Empress's waist is even more delicate than yours; it's irresistible."

Why is it that, even though we both practice martial arts, I'm as tough as an impenetrable wall?

"Little Yan Yan?"

"Is that the woman named Shuyan from your household?"

"Have they gotten that close already?"

Wen Yuening felt increasingly depressed after hearing Shen Sangwan compare her to the person called "Xiao Yan Yan".

"Uu——!"

Fortunately, the horse wasn't running very fast, so Shen Sangwan didn't do anything else because of the sudden stop.

"Why did you stop?"

"Yuening hasn't ridden a horse in a long time and is not quite used to it. The sun is too strong, so we should hand it back to Your Highness and hurry back to the government office."

Wen Yuening's voice was calm, yet it carried a hint of barely perceptible anger.

I didn't see you seem uncomfortable at all when you were playing pranks on me, and now you're coming up with this lame excuse.

Shen Sangwan reluctantly loosened her grip on Wen Yuening's waist, stretched forward, grabbed the reins, and squeezed the horse's belly with her legs to continue moving forward.

The two remained silent until they reached the government office.

The important matters that had been discussed in the desolate garden, as well as the three questions that had been left unresolved, were all forgotten.

Wen Yuening felt depressed and went straight back to her room after dismounting.

"Xiaotong, I...I feel like...I might have angered the Empress?"

"Was I hugging you a little too much?"

But she was the one who teased me first, so I was scared!

Xiao Tong closed her eyes tightly and slapped her forehead hard.

How could his master be so slow-witted!

He couldn't help but wonder if the sixth brother in the main system had done something to make his master prefer to obsess over not letting her realize that the Empress could hear her thoughts.

[Shouldn't... right? Should Master go and try to appease her?]

"Oh, all I know how to do is comfort Xiaoyan! Nothing else!"

[Hehehe! I wonder who was it that had the Empress Dowager and the young emperor so easily fooled.]

How can these be compared?

"Well... weren't you quite adept at handling things when you were flirting around?"

Well—everything has its counter, and I'm 100% sure she's my nemesis.

"They really are a bad match for you!"

Xiaotong nodded very seriously.

Shen Sangwan narrowed her eyes, crossed her arms, and stared at the door, lost in thought.

Wait, why am I trying to comfort her?

If you don't comfort your wife, who will?

Wait...wait a minute, has our relationship really gotten to this point?

As he walked towards Wen Yuening's room, he tilted his head in confusion.

It seems—no, right?

【Master, then just tell me, do you want a wife or not?】

〖Is it... absolutely necessary?〗

"hiss--!"

Shen Sangwan waved her hand as she was about to knock on the door, but her knees felt as if they had been shattered by a hammer.

The pain made her fall straight forward.

The door creaked open from the inside.

A large shadow loomed over Wen Yuening's eyes as a slightly stiff body fell into her arms.

Shen Sangwan desperately wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

The princess has probably lost all face in the galaxy!

Not only does the Empress counter her, but the system counters her as well.

"Your Highness?"

Shen Sangwan was momentarily at a loss for how to react, her expression somewhat stiff. She couldn't help but suspect that the main system had timed this perfectly.

"No... Perhaps the sun was too strong today, and I was outside for too long, which made me unsteady and fall."

When she pulled away from Wen Yuening's embrace, she realized that her face had just been buried in the other person's soft spot.

Her face flushed red instantly, like a shy young lady.

[It's all over, the Princess's image has completely crumbled in front of the Empress; she's probably ashes by now!]

"Stay calm, stay calm, don't be so pathetic!"

Quickly find something to fix it, yes, fix it!

"Hmm...why didn't you rest a little longer?"

"I had already lain down, but then I suddenly remembered that Your Highness said in the deserted garden that you had something important to discuss, so I wanted to ask you what it was?"

Wen Yuening stepped aside slightly to make way, "It's hot outside, Your Highness, why don't you come in and talk in detail?"

She had no important business to attend to; it was just an excuse to complete her mission.

Now, neither going in nor not going in is an option.

Qingque and Shuyi are now in the soup kitchen and the deserted garden respectively, with no one to serve them.

This didn't stop Shen Sangwan from pouring herself a cup of cold tea from the table.

While drinking tea, my brain was working at lightning speed.

She suddenly remembered the note Ruoli had given her yesterday.

"Shuyun sent a message saying that the bodies of Consort Yu and the maid have been found, but the Yu family only handed them over at the last minute before the deadline."

"His Majesty is furious and intends to punish everyone involved, but this matter is too suspicious. The person behind this may be colluding with the Northern Witch Kingdom. I want to let this matter rest for the time being and investigate secretly, but this matter has ultimately implicated you and almost cost you your life. I still want to ask for your opinion."

Wen Yuening reached out and snatched the teacup from Shen Sangwan's hand. "Cold tea is not good for your health, Your Highness. Please do not drink any more."

"Your Highness has a plan in mind. Since this matter involves an enemy country, it should not be underestimated. Yue Ning will follow Your Highness's arrangements."

The teacup was snatched from my hand, and I felt a sudden emptiness. I put it down somewhat awkwardly and kept rubbing the corner of my sleeve.

"Then, Prime Minister... I'll have to trouble you to take care of things there."

If the royal family were to treat the Yu family's assassination attempt on the Empress Dowager and injury to the Empress lightly, it would inevitably provoke Wen Yunhe's dissatisfaction.

It would be more prudent to let Wen Yuening, our own daughter, handle this.

Shen Sangwan was actually quite conflicted.

After all, aristocratic families have always shared a common destiny, and it is highly unlikely that the empress would help the royal family to deal with her own maternal family.