The sickly son died young? After the marriage exchange, I will bring prosperity to his entire clan f

Ling Silang had been observing her and noticed that she was always deep in thought, sometimes frowning, sometimes looking relieved.

What's going on here?

Ling Silang: Are you feeling unwell somewhere?

Du Mingxian: No, I've been thinking about some things that would be best discussed in person.

Ling Silang: I'll find a way to take you out openly and honestly.

Du Mingxian: Okay.

The two communicated in silence, which to outsiders would have looked like they were both too nervous, occasionally tapping the table quietly to ease the tension.

When Wen Yibin returned, he was quite surprised to see the two of them sitting there without saying a word. "You two didn't say anything?"

Ling Silang stood up. "It's getting late, so I'll head back now."

Wen Yibin subconsciously looked at Du Mingxian and found her looking pitifully down. He thought she was disappointed because she hadn't been able to speak, so he quickly said, "Stay a little longer. You haven't even spoken to Huan'er yet."

Ling Silang glanced at Du Mingxian, looking like he had something on his mind. "Let's leave it at that for today. If you want to talk about it, I'll come back another day."

Seeing that he really wanted to leave, Wen Yibin didn't try to stop him. "Alright, you can go now. I'll have a servant see you off."

"No need, my attendants are outside."

"Well."

Ling Silang left, and Wen Yibin got up and circled the table twice, his eyes fixed on Du Mingxian. Finally, he said with a hint of exasperation, "What's wrong with you? Why didn't you say anything? Didn't you want to ask him what he likes?"

"He didn't seem very willing to talk to me. I looked up and met his somewhat disdainful gaze, and I was too embarrassed to say anything." Du Mingxian also looked aggrieved and on the verge of tears. "Uncle, is he disgusted that I came back from the countryside?"

Wen Yibin shook his head, "No, he's not that kind of person."

"But he didn't speak to me."

"They're probably just embarrassed. I'll arrange it for you in a couple of days."

"Oh."

Wen Yibin couldn't bear to see Du Mingxian looking so dejected, so he waved his hand and said, "Alright, alright, you should go back now."

"Oh." Du Mingxian got up and left. She had received the news today, and it was enough for her to digest it slowly.

Chun Tao would tell her any news from outside as soon as possible, but Chun Tao couldn't possibly be unaware of such a big event as the Emperor's birthday celebration and the visits of several countries. It was probably already widely known among the people outside, yet Chun Tao didn't mention it to her.

The more they try to hide it, the more problematic it becomes.

When she returned to the courtyard, Chun Tao greeted her, "Miss, what happened?"

Du Mingxian snapped out of her daze, "Huh?"

"I can tell you're unhappy. Did Lord Qi offend you?"

"No, I just... didn't get to talk to him, and he doesn't seem to like me either."

Chun Tao leaned closer to Du Mingxian and whispered, "If Miss finishes her mission soon, we can leave the Wen family and then Miss can go out to find your husband."

"That makes sense," Du Mingxian said dismissively, then went straight back to her room.

Thinking back to his previous life, Wu Daniu went home and said how many people died, how many civilians lost their lives, how many people were displaced, and how even though the Great Shun Dynasty won the victory, those who died would never wake up again.

Thinking of this, Du Mingxian quickly came out of her room. She was about to leave the courtyard when Chuntao called out to her, "Miss, it's so late, where are you going?"

Du Mingxian turned around, a hint of disgust flashing in her eyes. It was getting dark, so Chun Tao couldn't see her expression.

"I'm going to talk to my father."

Chuntao thought she was going to work hard on the defense map, and she was very happy. "It's getting late, let me accompany you, Miss."

"I'll go by myself. There are servants around, and my father won't say anything comforting to me anyway."

Chun Tao thought about it and realized that Du Mingxian was right. "Then Miss should be careful going alone."

"It's just in the yard, nothing will happen. I'll talk to you when I get back."

"it is good."

Du Mingxian went alone, without anyone else. However, after she left, Ke'er stood in the shadows, watching the place where Chun Tao and Du Mingxian were talking, before turning her gaze away after a long time.

In Lord Wen's courtyard, the two of them were sitting in the study.

"Sir, they're already urging us for the border defense map."

Lord Wen frowned. He couldn't possibly show this to the person in front of him, but if he wanted to lure out the person behind him, he needed to think twice before acting.

"This matter is not simple. If we give them a fake one, the other party will notice. If we give them the real one, it's impossible."

Du Mingxian had been thinking about this in her room for a while. "My lord, I have no clue about this matter either, but I just wanted to come and tell you."

"Okay, I'll figure something out too." When Lord Wen saw her, he thought of what Wen Yibin had said. "Don't worry about Qi Ji's situation, I'll have your uncle handle it."

"Thank you father."

"It's getting late, let's go back soon."

"Yes."

That night, Du Mingxian, still unwilling to give up, secretly went to Ling Silang's place again, but to no avail; she couldn't even get close to the courtyard, which made her somewhat anxious.

I don't know why, but the prince behind the scenes sent people to Ling Silang's side. Could it be that something is about to happen, so he sent people to keep an eye on Ling Silang?

Ling Silang is currently just a minor seventh-rank editor in the Hanlin Academy. It seems he can't help the prince much right now, so why send a master to guard him?

She spent another night in the space, still without seeing anyone. As she quietly walked back to the manor, the streets were in a mess, and it sounded like someone had died.

Du Mingxian wanted to go and see, but after glancing at the time, she realized it was getting late and was afraid of being discovered by Chuntao, so she had to hurry back.

News of deaths in the capital city will spread; I'll hear the gossip tomorrow.

In the morning, Du Mingxian deliberately sat in her room and said boredly, "Any gossip lately, or any fresh news in Beijing? I'm so bored."

"It's best for Miss not to leave the manor; it's safer that way."

Safety my foot! This tiny space is suffocating!

"What's wrong? Is it unsafe outside?"

"Miss may not know, but a major event happened in the capital last night. The officials from the Ministry of Rites who were in charge of receiving the envoys from various countries... all of them disappeared last night."

"What do you mean? What do you mean by 'all gone'?"

"The Ministry of Rites appointed eight officials to be in charge of the reception, but all eight of them... disappeared overnight yesterday."

Du Mingxian, who had been leaning to one side, sat up straight instantly. She looked at Ke'er in shock, "How could this be?"

Chun Tao didn't answer Du Mingxian's question today; Ke'er answered it instead.

"People outside are panicking. They're saying whoever receives him will die. The Lord went to the palace early today and hasn't left yet. I guess the Fourth Prince will be spending the next few days at the yamen."

"Because the impact was so great, several government departments cooperated to investigate the case."

Du Mingxian felt a chill run down her spine. Could such a large-scale operation be orchestrated by the prince behind it all? To kill eight officials so easily, officials chosen to receive envoys must be pillars of the court.

Eight people died at once; it was a truly tragic loss.