After the delicate and soft-spoken wife gave up, the aloof and powerful minister embraced her and sh

After leaving the palace gates, the three of them boarded a carriage.

Wen Jiayue sat alone on one side, while Shen Fuhan and Shen Fuyou sat opposite her.

After a moment of silence in the car, Shen Fuyou decided to make one last desperate attempt.

"Brother, why don't you just say it now? There are no outsiders here."

Shen Fuhan remained silent, leaning against the car wall and closing his eyes to rest.

Shen Fu sighed, and could only watch helplessly as the carriage stopped outside the Marquis of Jing'an's residence.

He jumped off the carriage dejectedly.

Shen Fuhan also got down and turned to help Wen Jiayue.

Wen Jiayue didn't dare place her hand on his, afraid that he would discover the scars on her palm, so she gently placed her hand on his sleeve.

"Thank you, Lord Marquis."

Touching the auspicious cloud embroidery on the cuff made her palms hurt even more, and she couldn't help but frown.

Shen Fuhan caught a fleeting look of pain on her face and asked in a low voice, "Are you still feeling unwell?"

Wen Jiayue shook her head and quickly withdrew her hand.

"Brother, shall we go straight to the study?"

Shen Fuyou had already climbed halfway up the steps when he saw them still at the bottom, so he asked them a question.

Shen Fuhan glanced at him: "You go first."

“Okay.” He strode upstairs.

Watching him walk away without hesitation, a hint of hesitation flashed in Shen Fuhan's eyes.

If he liked Wen Jiayue, he should have gone with them.

But recalling his recent behavior, Shen Fuhan's face tightened. He shouldn't make excuses for Shen Fuyou anymore.

He looked away and asked, "Should we have the royal physician take a look first?"

"No need, let's go back to the manor."

Wen Jiayue also wanted to resolve this matter as soon as possible, otherwise the old lady would definitely scold her when she returned to the mansion and found out about it.

Even if she did nothing wrong, she would still be called a vixen and accused of sowing discord between the two brothers.

Wen Jiayue could already picture the old lady's face, so she quickened her pace.

She entered the study, where Shen Fuyou was already waiting with his legs crossed.

"Where's my older brother?" Shen Fuyou looked towards the door.

Wen Jiayue turned around in confusion. Wasn't it just here a moment ago?

After a short while, Shen Fuhan finally arrived.

He closed the door himself and sat in the main seat without saying a word.

Wen Jiayue was about to sit down at the lower seat when Shen Fuhan said, "Sit next to me."

Shen Fuyou was taken aback for a moment, then muttered, "So this is to interrogate me?"

He looked at Wen Jiayue with suspicion, wondering if his older brother had found out about Yan'er's affair.

Wen Jiayue shook her head, telling him to relax.

Shen Fuyou, however, could not find peace of mind. He couldn't help but start to reflect on whether he had been visiting Yan'er too frequently lately, which was why his elder brother had noticed.

The Shen family has always had a rule that one cannot take a concubine before marrying a wife, but he broke the rule. It is unknown what kind of family punishment awaits him.

Shen Fuhan took in their subtle actions and slowly sipped his hot tea.

"Brother, please tell me quickly," Shen Fuyou said, fidgeting with anxiety. "You've been keeping silent just to scare me to death."

"If you haven't done anything wrong, why are you afraid?"

“I…” Shen Fuyou sighed, and said in a desperate move, “Fine, just give me a quick death.”

He wasn't afraid of being beaten or whipped, as long as he could be with Yan'er.

Shen Fuhan lowered his eyes and stared at the white jade teacup, stroking the cup as he slowly spoke.

"I have already dismissed all the servants outside the study. No one will know about our conversation tonight."

Shen Fuyou's heart skipped a beat; it was actually that serious.

Shen Fuhan said calmly, "You can speak now."

"Say what?"

Shen Fuyou decided to play dumb; as long as his elder brother didn't say it out loud, he would pretend he didn't know.

“Since you don’t want to talk about it, then I’ll ask,” Shen Fuhan said, “Do you have someone you like?”

Shen Fuyou was taken aback: "I...no."

Why hesitate?

“That’s a strange question,” Shen Fuyou replied fluently. “I’m only sixteen years old. I’ve never thought about that.”

Shen Fuhan raised his eyes, his gaze sharp as a hawk's, and stared intently at him.

"Is it that you haven't considered it, or that you're afraid to consider it?"

"I don't understand," Shen Fuyou said, looking confused. "Big brother, what are you talking about?"

What do you mean by not considering it, and what do you mean by not daring to consider it? From beginning to end, wasn't he only thinking about Yan'er?

But judging from his elder brother's expression, it seemed that he wasn't talking about that.

Shen Fuhan asked coldly, "It's come to this point, aren't you going to take the initiative to confess?"

“You have to tell me what happened first,” Shen Fuyou scratched his head, “otherwise how can I be honest with you?”

Shen Fuhan looked at him with disappointment: "Fourth brother, I've given you countless chances."

"What opportunity?" Shen Fuyou was even more puzzled. "Give me a hint, or at least let me die knowing why."

The two kept talking at cross purposes, and Wen Jiayue, who was watching from the sidelines, suddenly felt like laughing.

She immediately pursed her lips, trying her best to hold it in.

Lord Shen, who is a brilliant judge of cases, is incapable of managing his family affairs. Who would believe that?

She suddenly became curious about how Shen Fuhan would react when he learned the truth.

Embarrassed and flustered? Helpless? Face turning a deep shade of purple?

Either way, it seems quite exciting.

She wasn't in a hurry anymore. Anyway, Shen Fuhan would definitely smooth things over, and even if the old lady tried to find fault, she wouldn't be able to find fault with her.

"You are really stubborn."

Shen Fuhan's expression grew even colder, and he finally spoke out the words he had kept hidden in his heart, one word at a time.

"You covet your sister-in-law and deliberately try to get close to her. You know exactly what you're up to."

A bolt from the blue, a bolt of thunder!

Shen Fuyou was so frightened that he jumped up and didn't utter a word for a long time.

Seeing that he remained silent, Shen Fuhan slowly exhaled.

"Fourth brother, since Fufei died young, I poured all my feelings for him into you. I agreed to whatever you wanted to do. Now I realize that I was wrong."

"Considering that you haven't committed any serious mistakes or caused any irreparable consequences, I will keep your secret. But starting tomorrow, you must go to the Buddhist temple to cultivate in seclusion and stay away from your sister-in-law."

Shen Fuhan said, enunciating each word clearly, "She will always be your sister-in-law."

“But brother,” Shen Fuyou finally spoke, “I only have respect for sister-in-law, no other feelings for her.”

This is a tremendous injustice; he is even more wronged than Dou E!

No wonder my older brother has been giving him the cold shoulder lately; it turns out he misunderstood that he liked my sister-in-law!

He was so anxious he was pacing back and forth: "What exactly did I do that made you misunderstand?"

Seeing that he was still struggling in his death throes, Shen Fuhan's expression grew even colder.

"It seems that the quiet meditation in the Buddhist hall is not enough to calm you down. Give me ten more strokes of the cane, and I will do it myself."

Shen Fuyou grew increasingly desperate as she listened; how could things have gotten even worse?

He caught a glimpse of Wen Jiayue sitting in the main seat out of the corner of his eye, and immediately found his pillar of support, so he quickly went forward.

Shen Fuhan immediately blocked his way, staring at him with an unfriendly expression.

"Big brother, I'm not trying to take her away from you..."

Shen Fuyou felt that he couldn't clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River, and cried out in despair.

"Sister-in-law, you'd better explain this to my brother right away, or I'll get a real beating!"