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

[If you don't want to unlock the hidden quests, you don't have to do them, but please don't complain about not being able to view certain special information.]

Hearing Xiaotong's extremely irritating tone, Shen Sangwan felt that if her head were a kettle, it would probably be boiling over by now.

"I'll swipe, I'll swipe!"

[By the way, Your Majesty, your task of recruiting talented individuals for the young emperor is stuck at 98%. Should you attend court or go to the palace tomorrow to check on the situation?]

Upon hearing this, Shen Sangwan opened the panel and found that the progress bar for the main quest had not moved at all.

Are Wen Yunhe and Cen Zhouyuan up to something again?

After court that day, she sent Ruoxin and Ruoli to follow the two old foxes, wanting to see what they were secretly plotting.

Unfortunately, they ultimately failed, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them two old foxes.

After arranging to meet at the teahouse, they didn't exchange a single word, instead communicating directly through writing. When Ruoli reported this, it completely changed her understanding of Wen Yunhe and Cen Zhouyuan, the two sixth brothers.

Even with their excellent eyesight, Ruoli and her companion couldn't see what was written, and their attempts to eavesdrop were ineffective, so they had no choice but to withdraw their efforts.

It seems that her younger brother, who was taken advantage of, didn't gain any advantage in the court these past two days.

Re-establishing the imperial examination system and reforming the court's institutions is no easy task! Xiaotong, let this world be destroyed!

[Look at Master, he's not taking a nap and he's starting to talk nonsense. Why don't you lie down and take a nap too?]

After Shen Sangwan sat listlessly for half an hour, Shuyun and the Empress returned to the secluded pavilion at the same time.

Seeing Wen Yuening bound tightly by Shuyun, Shen Sangwan's expression darkened even further.

How could I have such a stupid subordinate?!

"Wouldn't she just pull off the empress's veil to see who it is?"

[Besides, this is Prince Sheng's residence, not the Princess's. If the main family sees this, will things end up amicably?]

"Your Highness, I have apprehended the thief who broke into the manor that day. This man is truly audacious, daring not only to break into the Princess's manor but also to steal from Prince Sheng's manor. What is Your Highness's plan? Should I hand him over to Princess Sheng?"

Shen Sangwan sighed, wanting to give this silly girl a good beating. She was usually quite clever, so why was she being so stupid today?

"Shuyun, why don't you pull off her mask and see who it is?"

Shuyun was somewhat confused.

At the time, he was only thinking about how to capture the other party. After the successful ambush, he was in a hurry to bring the thief to see his own prince, and forgot to see the true face of the thief.

After hesitating for a moment, he untied the tightly bound face towel from Wen Yuening.

Upon seeing the other person's face clearly, Shuyun was so frightened that she immediately knelt on the ground, her words filled with disbelief, "Your Majesty...Empress!"

"Hurry up and untie it!"

Shen Sangwan was genuinely worried about Shuyun; what kind of messy things were happening every day?

Shuyun, a beat behind, was in a daze, her hands and feet moving haphazardly as she tried to untie the rope.

"Ahem... Uh! That... misunderstanding, misunderstanding, Your Majesty, please don't take it to heart. It's broad daylight, Your Majesty, why don't you leave first?"

Wen Yuening's eyes remained calm throughout, as if she wasn't the one who had been tied up from beginning to end.

"Your Highness's subordinates are indeed skilled. Yue Ning admires them. I just hope they won't use those despicable tricks again next time. Farewell."

After glancing at Shuyun, he picked up the face mask from the ground, covered it with his handkerchief, and nimbly jumped over the courtyard wall.

Shuyun looked extremely embarrassed, burying her head in the sand, not daring to look at Shen Sangwan.

Today was truly a day of utter humiliation. The thought that the thief she had used such despicable means to capture was actually the Empress made her want to die.

"Get up. The Empress didn't blame you, so don't worry about it. Have you found the item?"

Shuyun got up and took out a sheepskin scroll from his bosom. Judging from its color, it was quite old.

"Your Highness, it seems the Empress is also looking for this."

"I know."

Shen Sangwan unfolded the parchment scroll, revealing layout diagrams drawn on both sides, with densely packed small characters written beside them.

"Any other discoveries?"

"When I came out of the hidden door, I discovered that there was another hidden door under the desk in the study. However, because the Empress suddenly barged in, I did not have the opportunity to go in and investigate."

After carefully examining the parchment scroll, Shen Sangwan rolled it up and handed it to Shuyun.

"You may leave now. We will find another opportunity to investigate the Prince Sheng's residence in a few days."

"Subordinates retire."

Shuyan was fast asleep beside her. If Shen Sangwan hadn't nudged her awake, she probably would have slept for another half an hour.

"Little Yan Yan, did you go cheating on someone last night? You're sleeping so soundly."

She was met with a slap, a heavy blow to her back.

"Are you awake yet? We can go back now."

Shuyan rubbed her sleepy eyes, got up and stretched, feeling sore all over after her nap.

"I'm awake, but I'm still a little dizzy. Let's go."

The two slowly walked back the way they came. In the front yard, they were judging who had written the best poem in the previous poetry contest from the poems transcribed by the accountant.

In the end, everyone agreed that Wen Yuexi's line, "A golden osmanthus tree faces the west window, casting sparse shadows and floating fragrance," was the best.

Shen Sangwan was somewhat surprised by this result.

The information Xiaotong gave her stated that Wen Yuexi didn't like poetry, but loved swordsmanship, and even took the Eldest Princess as her role model, wanting to become that kind of woman.

"Wen Yunhe has such powerful genes! His eldest daughter is skilled in medicine and martial arts, and his younger daughter is also a talented individual in both literature and martial arts. With two such outstanding daughters, what merit does that old scoundrel possess?"

Shen Sangwan felt indignant. What a waste of such a good daughter, who had to be stuck with such a scoundrel of a father.

As the banquet drew to a close, Shen Sangwan went to the main hall to bid farewell to Princess Sheng. Before leaving, she took a pot of chrysanthemums with her and Shuyan and boarded the carriage back to the mansion.

Phoenix Palace

"Your Highness, your wound has almost healed, so why is there blood seeping out again?"

Wen Yuening, who had climbed in through the window, collapsed to the ground, leaning against the wall and breathing heavily.

"I had a minor mishap at Prince Sheng's residence. I accidentally pricked myself with a hairpin I was carrying, but it's nothing serious."

Wen Yuening carefully took out half of a jade hairpin, which could hardly be called a hairpin, and it was still stained with the blood from her heart.

"This servant will go get the medicine."

Qingque carefully helped the person to a chair and then turned to look for hemostatic powder in the box.

"Why doesn't Your Highness just send Qingli to do things? You always do everything yourself and always come back injured. Your Highness has done so much for His Highness, but His Highness has never known it. This servant feels sorry for Your Highness."

While carefully applying medicine to Wen Yuening, he couldn't help but feel sorry for his mistress.

"Qingque, there is no question of worthiness between me and Your Highness. Do not say such things again in the future."

Qingque sighed softly and said nothing more.