They were in charge of being beautiful, and she was in charge of taking the hits.

"You're very smart, smarter than you used to be."

“Mother, I have never changed. It’s just that the situation has changed. I heard some news from Mo Baiyun. Now the border is in turmoil. I just don’t want the enemy to take advantage of the situation because of the royal family’s infighting.”

"Yes, you are indeed sensible, but you know that on this path, it's not just outsiders who will kill you."

"Your subject understands." She then bowed her head respectfully.

"Alright, get down. I'll make sure you clean up this farce properly!"

"Yes, I am resigning!"

Suddenly, the procession carrying the coffin outside the city shouted, "Fire!"

The two coffins emitted black smoke, followed by a raging fire, and then rumors spread like wildfire.

It was said that the Fourth Princess and her entourage were still alive, and that the current prime minister was secretly plotting to kill them. She originally intended to use this to stop Sima Zongcheng.

Who knew that Sima Zongcheng would pull off such a reversal? The rumors suddenly shifted to the fact that everyone involved was the Prime Minister's enemy, and that they were trying to frame him for this, while the Prime Minister was just a scapegoat.

Wu Ziyan watched from afar, thinking that this was a clever diversionary tactic. However, the people had not seen Wu Ziyan's true face until the day they had seen him, and they were still in their imaginations. Wu Ziyan also did not have enough evidence to prove that he had a direct relationship with Sima Zongcheng.

On what should have been the day of the funeral, Wu Ziyan appeared in the court, and the officials who had heard the rumors were quite frightened by his appearance.

"Wasn't he dead? But why is he still standing here, perfectly fine?"

"Then you don't know, do you? I've heard about it; it's a power struggle between their princesses."

They were all whispering amongst themselves.

Wu Ziyan confronted Sima Zongcheng face-to-face in the imperial court. Both sides spoke eloquently, but Sima Zongcheng did not expect that Wu Ziyan would actually return alive.

There was no other way but to find a trusted confidant to take the blame, since that was the rumor circulating outside. However, the Empress watched their performance from the stage, finding it utterly clumsy.

Wu Ziyan also sneered: "Prime Minister, do you think you can absolve yourself of responsibility by finding someone to take the blame?"

"Ridiculous, Fourth Princess, what reason would I have to kill you?" Sima Zongcheng sneered, after all, he hadn't left any evidence.

“I have evidence, right, Second Sister?” Wu Ziyan looked at Wu Chengye.

Just as Wu Chengye was about to speak, the Empress spoke up: "Enough. It is already a great blessing that the Fourth Princess was able to return safely this time. Prime Minister Sima has failed in his duty and will be confined to his quarters for half a month."

No one objected, and Wu Ziyan didn't seem unwilling. After all, she knew that the Sima family had deep roots and couldn't be easily overthrown.

This debate in the court only gave those on both the left and right sides the illusion that she was still the same naive and reckless fourth princess.

After the court session, Sima Zongcheng's expression was clearly unpleasant, and he did not meet with Wu Chengye. It was best to avoid suspicion at this time.

"Prime Minister, why are you in such a bad mood? It's just a half-month confinement." Wu Ziyan gave an official smile, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

"The Fourth Princess has wronged this old minister so unjustly, and I have no way to defend myself."

Wu Ziyan smiled, and Sima Zongcheng also smiled insincerely. At this moment, Wu Chengji patted Wu Ziyan's shoulder from behind: "Fourth sister! When I heard the news, I was terrified. I told you they were all talking nonsense! Come to my mansion for a drink later to calm your nerves."

"Okay," she replied, then said to Sima Zongcheng, "By the way, Prime Minister, you can finally get some rest during this time."

Sima Zongcheng did not answer and walked ahead first. Wu Ziyan also left alone, looking at the azure sky, she sighed.

Now that he's back at the manor, he still doesn't know how to face Sima Lingchuan openly. After all, with his wife and mother going against each other, he's the one who suffers the most.

Moreover, she hadn't seen him for so long, and perhaps he only found out today that she was still alive.

Xiao Yun'er had been waiting for Wu Ziyan. She drove back to the manor at high speed, but she didn't see Sima Lingchuan. Wu Ziyan entered and asked, "Xiao Yun'er, where is Lingchuan?"

"Ah... When my husband heard that you were still alive, he fainted. Now the young master of the Han family is taking care of him."

Wu Ziyan's heart tightened. It was her fault. She went to Sima Lingchuan's room, just as Han Yuxiu came out. His gaze towards Wu Ziyan was extremely complicated, with a hint of jealousy, but more so pity and a trace of indifference.

"Yu Xiu, how is Ling Chuan?"

"It's like the string had been stretched for too long and now it's suddenly snapped."

With just that one sentence, he brushed past her and then went to give instructions to others about medicinal herbs, as if he and she were not familiar with each other.

It turned out that Sima Lingchuan kept calling out Wu Ziyan's name while he was unconscious. Han Yuxiu felt heartbroken when he heard this, and thinking about everything that had happened between him and Wu Ziyan, he also felt sad.

Wu Ziyan entered the room, while Xiao Yun'er stood guard outside the door. Sima Lingchuan kept calling out, "Ziyan, Ziyan."

Wu Ziyan took Sima Lingchuan's hand and placed it on her cheek, gently kissing his palm: "Lingchuan, I'm back. You don't need to worry. Thank you for always trusting me. And... I'm sorry."

The soft whisper was so quiet that it was unclear whether Sima Lingchuan heard it. His tightly furrowed brows relaxed a little, and he stopped muttering in his sleep.

Mo Baiyun leaned against the doorframe, watching the clouds drift lazily away, thinking to herself, "Don't I worry about you? I worry about you just as much!"

Until evening, Wu Ziyan personally took care of Sima Lingchuan, and did not let Mo Baiyun stay with him, letting them go to rest.

The candlelight in the room flickered slightly. Wu Ziyan was dozing off, her face propped up by her hand. She had no idea what time it was, but the moon in the sky was still bright, and its light streamed into the room through the window.

Sima Lingchuan's eyelashes trembled slightly, and after his eyes rolled around, he opened them. Looking at Wu Ziyan's face, he was overwhelmed with emotions, and tears slowly flowed from his eyes.

Wu Ziyan woke up at this moment. Their eyes met, and just as Wu Ziyan was about to speak, Sima Lingchuan grabbed her hand.

Her legs went numb and she stumbled, crawling onto the bed. She had never seen Sima Lingchuan look at her like that before. Then their warm lips met. Her clothes were thrown haphazardly, the candlelight was extinguished, and the moon hid behind the dark clouds.

All that could be heard was their breathing and the splashing of their bodies, which was especially noticeable in the quiet night. It was Sima Lingchuan who took the initiative first. He vented his emotions unwillingly, biting every inch of her skin until he finally had no strength left.