My stepsister tried to steal the prince's hand in marriage, but little did she know I had been

Magpie trotted to the pavilion by Taiye Pond. She had seen the whole farce that had just unfolded in Wanchun Palace. Suppressing her excitement, she whispered, "Miss! You were right!"

"Just now, as soon as the Duchess of Su went to Wanchun Palace, she beat the lady severely, and the lady's face was swollen from the beating!"

The magpie danced and talked excitedly, while Wen Shuyao, fanning herself with a round fan, couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"I really want to go back and see what she looks like now."

"Master has already left with Madam," Magpie whispered. "Judging from Master's appearance, it seems he doesn't care about this matter."

“That’s because you don’t understand him.” Wen Shuyao scoffed. “He values ​​his reputation above all else, so naturally he wouldn’t admit to being cuckolded in front of outsiders.”

“But if we go back…” Wen Shuyao said with a smile, “that’s hard to say.”

As the master and servant chatted, Xie Jinghan's gaze remained fixed on Wen Shuyao on the opposite shore of the lake.

Si Qing's eyes darted around. As Xie Jinghan's confidant, he naturally wanted to figure out Xie Jinghan's thoughts at this moment.

Just now in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Xie Jinghan's attitude towards Wen Shuyao was already unusual.

Now he stands on the other side of the river, gazing longingly at Wen Shuyao.

Isn't this just a young man's first stirrings of love?

Moreover, Miss Wen also possesses an unparalleled beauty that can make people fall in love at first sight.

As he pondered this, an idea came to him.

Unexpectedly, Xie Jinghan strode forward, seemingly heading to find Wen Shuyao.

He exclaimed inwardly and hurriedly followed.

"Jing Han."

A soft female voice abruptly interrupted Xie Jinghan's steps.

Si Qing's amused expression hadn't yet faded when she hurriedly bowed to the newcomer: "Greetings, Your Majesty the Empress."

"No need for formalities." The Empress waved her hand, and seeing Xie Jinghan's cold and handsome face, she sighed inwardly.

"Royal sister-in-law." Xie Jinghan bowed to her.

The Empress's gaze fell upon him: "I heard you went to the Hall of Supreme Harmony?"

"Have you found anything?"

"The tattoo has been found on the Duke of Su."

Xie Jinghan's brief reply was enough to cause the Empress's expression to change drastically: "Is it really related to him?"

"It's pretty close," Xie Jinghan replied calmly, "but the specific details still need further investigation."

The Empress nodded and couldn't help but bring up the farce of the day: "When the Duchess of Su returned from the Hall of Supreme Harmony today, did she notice anything amiss?"

“No.” Xie Jinghan shook his head. “We had already left before she arrived.”

The Empress breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good...that's good."

This matter is related to the assassination attempt on the emperor three days ago.

The assassin appeared suddenly, without any warning.

No one knows their origins; only their tattoos offer clues.

The Duke of Su was known for his womanizing ways and had many lovers. Someone once said that when the Duke of Su had a fever, a flower-shaped tattoo would appear on his body.

Xie Jinghan, who was in charge of the Dali Temple, had countless intelligence networks at his disposal. When the two joined forces, they set their sights on the Duke of Su.

The palace was heavily guarded, but it contained secret passages left over from the previous dynasty, many of which had yet to be discovered.

Therefore, Xie Jinghan focused his attention on the Duke of Su.

Duke Su was the most valued person by the last emperor of the previous dynasty. The construction of the entire palace was also done by him and the last emperor. In terms of familiarity, no one was more familiar with it than him.

Today, he successfully obtained the information he wanted from the Duke of Su.

The Empress frowned: "His Majesty has treated him well, so what is he trying to gain by doing this?"

Xie Jinghan was silent for a moment, then said, "Once we find conclusive evidence, we should be able to get him to tell the truth."

The Empress has always trusted Xie Jinghan to handle matters.

Her furrowed brows relaxed, and she began to talk about what had been on her mind these past few days.

“This matter is of great importance, and you should certainly take it to heart, but you can’t let these cases ruin your life’s most important thing.”

The Empress kept talking on and on, but Xie Jinghan's expression remained unchanged, as if he hadn't heard a thing.

Si Qing, who was standing to the side watching, suddenly had a flash of inspiration and quickly replied, "Just now, His Highness was about to go to see Miss Wen."

As soon as Xie Jinghan shot him a glare, Si Qing immediately fell silent.

The Empress, however, keenly noticed this. A smile played on her lips as she looked at Xie Jinghan: "What? You saw her? She…"

As they were talking, she suddenly realized something was wrong and her expression changed: "Miss Wen? The one you're betrothed to is clearly Miss Wen the Second."

Si Qing, who was trying to minimize his presence, widened his eyes upon hearing this: "But I heard someone call her Miss Wen..."

Although the empress lived deep within the palace, she was well-informed about the affairs of her ministers' families.

At this moment, she frowned and quickly thought of something: "Miss Wen is the daughter of Duke Wen and his first wife, while Miss Wen is the daughter of Duke Wen and his second wife, Zhang."

“The imperial edict back then only said it was the eldest daughter of the Wen family. I forgot that there were two eldest daughters of the Wen family.” Her eyes flashed, her gaze extremely dangerous. “But over the years, Madam Wen has always brought the second young lady of the Wen family into the palace, so I have tacitly agreed that your wife would be the second young lady of the Wen family.”

"With the wedding day fast approaching, why have they changed the bride?" the Empress sneered. "Could it be that they look down on you?"

In the Empress's heart, Xie Jinghan was perfect in every way. However, rumors about Xie Jinghan's impotence were widespread in the capital, so much so that even she, living deep in the palace, had heard about them.

Now that the Wen family has suddenly changed their spouse to marry Xie Jinghan, she naturally has more to think about.

At this point, she began to suspect that the Wen family had become disgusted with Xie Jinghan.

The Wen family is of high social standing, but compared to Xie Jinghan, they are simply climbing the social ladder.

If they're climbing the social ladder, they should behave themselves. But look at what the Wen family has done! They actually tried to switch the two sisters without anyone noticing.

The Empress's face was grim, and she said in a deep voice, "Don't worry, I will never let you suffer any injustice. I will make the Wen family give me an explanation for this matter."

She was in a fit of anger, but after a moment of silence, she realized something was wrong.

Xie Jinghan remained indifferent, but the Empress knew that Xie Jinghan was not angry.

He wasn't angry at all?

The Empress recalled Si Qing's words and smiled knowingly: "So you've taken a liking to him?"

Xie Jinghan remained silent.

Ignoring him, the Empress looked at Si Qing and said, "Tell me about the matter between the Prince and Miss Wen."

Si Qing lowered his head and struggled for a long time, but couldn't utter a single word.

It wasn't until Xie Jinghan spoke up: "Please don't pressure him."

"I'm just concerned about you. You're already this old, and you still don't have anyone who cares about you. What are your brother and I supposed to do?" The Empress sighed. "Now that you've finally shown some interest in marriage, I naturally want to ask you about it."

"I've never seen this Miss Wen before, but from afar today, she does appear quite beautiful." The Empress pondered for a moment, "So you're also someone who judges by appearance?"

Xie Jinghan, his handsome face cold, said indifferently, "It doesn't matter who I marry. I'll leave everything to my elder brother and sister-in-law."