The cousin is beautiful but ruthless.

“Xu Ying, now you only need to keep an eye on Yu’er and Yan’er. Although it’s not possible to get through to the Third Prince, there are other ways. Xue’er is still a girl from our Marquis’s mansion, so she’s essentially the same.”

How could it be almost the same? Xu Ying lowered her head and gave a bitter smile. She had been scheming for so long, but in the end, she had only benefited Liang Ruoxue.

Previously, I only knew that Liang Ruoxue and Chen Rui were close, but I hadn't paid much attention to her.

Chen Rui, Xu Ying suddenly remembered this name, and her eyes sparkled.

The old lady wasn't sure if Xu Ying had listened, and was about to say something more when Xu Ying obediently replied, "Mother-in-law, your daughter-in-law knows."

It was already so late, and the old lady didn't want to scold Xu Ying anymore, so she let her go home first.

The next day, Pei Du delivered a message that Ding Wenxi had been delivered to a safe place, and that Jin Chui had returned from Suzhou.

Shen Hanyu didn't expect it to be so fast. Miao Cui had just told her that she had received news of Jin Chui, and the person had already arrived in Chang'an the next day.

However, Shen Hanyu had to go to the girls' school today and didn't have time to go there yet, so she could only go after school.

Pei Du will also stay at Fuyou Academy, and their dismissal times are the same.

The location was still set at the mansion where Pei Du currently resided.

Now Shen Hanyu doesn't need to hide anything. She and Pei Du are already engaged, and she can freely enter and leave Pei Du's residence without anyone saying anything.

Jin Chui looked up and saw Shen Hanyu enter. He thought to himself that his young master had finally achieved his wish.

"Tell me about the situation in Suzhou."

Pei Du sat down and asked Jin Chui to tell Shen Hanyu about his experiences in his hometown of Suzhou.

Shen Hanyu looked at Jin Chui, who scratched his head.

“I went to the prefect’s residence. Since the young lady left, it has been cleaned up and a new prefect has moved in. Fortunately, the prefect is approachable and let me in to take a look, but unfortunately I didn’t find anything useful.”

Jin Chui sighed. Suzhou was too big, and the scope given by Shen Hanyu and Pei Du was too broad, so the things he could investigate were limited.

Shen Hanyu knew this. When Yu Qi mentioned it, he was very mysterious. Later, when she asked him again, Yu Qi didn't say a word. He just told her to go back to Suzhou and she would understand.

"I couldn't get any information out of Shen's relatives either. I was useless on this trip; I didn't bring back any useful information."

Shen Hanyu waved her hand: "At worst, I'll go there myself when I have time. It's fine."

Since Shen Yanzhi's death, Shen's relatives have been eager to tear a piece of flesh from her and Liang Fangrong's side, and even wanted to seize Liang Fangrong's dowry.

Find them; Jin Chui alone definitely can't handle it.

"You've done a great job."

Pei Du told Jin Chui to go back and rest, as he must be very tired after running around for so many days.

After everyone had left, Pei Du said, "Should I go over and take a look?"

Shen Hanyu shook her head: "You should have your own things to do. I can find time to take care of things in Suzhou. But what about you? What are you going to do next?"

This imperial edict has revealed a far more complex matter than it seems. The Duke's family will not sit idly by and wait to be killed. Having already killed Pei Du twice, there is no doubt that they will do it a third time.

Pei Du then became serious: "Fuyao Academy is too slow to take off. The border is not peaceful. I plan to go to the border in a while."

Shen Hanyu's expression revealed a hint of worry.

"Don't worry, nothing will happen to me. I'm not here. If you need anything, you can go to Xu Zhun. Although Xu Zhun seems unreliable, he's actually a good person."

Pei Du didn't understand; Shen Hanyu was recalling that Pei Du had died on the frontier in his previous life.

Having met Pei Du in this life and even become entangled with him, Shen Hanyu didn't want him to die such a tragic death.

However, after trying to dissuade her for a while, Shen Hanyu still didn't know how to say it.

"The border is dangerous; caution is paramount."

Pei Du smiled, feeling comforted.

He could more or less guess what would happen on the frontier.

"The frontier is better for me than the Duke's mansion, and I do need some status and position in Chang'an."

Because of the girls' school incident, Li Jiangui can no longer bear so much pressure to send a letter of divorce to the Duke's mansion. When he returns, with his merits, this matter will become easier.

Moreover, they are too far away to reach the frontier, so Pei Du is relatively safer.

Shen Hanyu also thought of this.

"Alright, but we still need to be careful," Shen Hanyu reminded her again.

Pei Du laughed even more heartily.

Shen Hanyu didn't know why Pei Du was laughing so hard.

"When are you leaving Chang'an?" Shen Hanyu asked.

"After the Dragon Boat Festival banquet, there isn't much time left."

At the Dragon Boat Festival banquet, Shen Hanyu rubbed her temples; Pei Du had left much earlier than expected.

With the timeline changed so much, I wonder if the ending will also change accordingly.

Moreover, the most important event after the Dragon Boat Festival palace banquet was the women's academic examination.

The preliminary examinations are divided into county examinations and prefectural examinations. Shen Hanyu will have to go to the examination hall to take the exams, which will take up a lot of her time.

After finishing their business, Shen Hanyu left.

“Miss, Lu Lingyue has already entered the Guangning Marquis’s residence, and there’s no news coming out from inside.”

In the carriage, Miao Cui told Shen Hanyu about the recent events.

Shen Hanyu fiddled with the jade pendant at her waist: "The Guangning Marquis's mansion has been keeping a close eye on things to prevent the Guangning Marquis from causing any trouble that might involve me. In a couple of days, when the girls' school is closed, come with me to the shop and the estate in the suburbs."

These things were all betrothal gifts sent by Pei Du, and she is currently managing them.

Managing her family's assets didn't feel tiring at all; she could only feel at ease when she had the money in her hands.

"it is good."

Miao Cui also learned some management skills from Shen Hanyu, and she could handle the simple tasks.

Miao Cui understood that Shen Hanyu had intentionally taught her this, and she was very grateful to Shen Hanyu.

At that time, the old lady had no access to such things.

After finishing up the matters concerning the girls' school, Shen Hanyu and Miaocui went together to the shop and estate that Pei Du had given her.

Shen Hanyu checked the nearby shops and found no major problems. She also checked the accounts and found that the inflows and outflows matched.

Now it's just Zhuangzi's side left.

Zhuangzi was far away, and it would take a whole day to travel there and back. Shen Hanyu was riding in a carriage when she met Liang Ruoxue, who was out shopping.

Liang Ruoxue hadn't spoken to Shen Hanyu for a long time, and seeing him now made her feel a little annoyed.

Seeing that Shen Hanyu was fully armed, she inquired about her.

Where are you going?

Shen Hanyu put down what she was holding, lifted the carriage curtain, and looked at her.

"It's a rare day off, so I'm going out for a walk."

She didn't say she was going to the manor, but Liang Ruoxue knew it wouldn't be that simple.

"My cousin is really riding high right now, so I'll congratulate her in advance," Liang Ruoxue said with a forced smile.

"My cousin's matter will also go smoothly."

Shen Hanyu lowered the carriage curtain, and her smile vanished.