Severing ties with family to marry the young marshal, his whole family chases me to the crematorium.

“Jingnian’s father favored his concubines over his wife. He had deep conflicts with my wife and me, and as a result, he also disliked Jingnian. Jingnian’s treatment from childhood to adulthood was not as good as that of the children born to his concubines.”

Meng Shuqin let out a long sigh, seemingly recalling the past, her expression wistful.

"He has been intentionally or unintentionally suppressing Jing Nian all along, trying to ruin him. Fortunately, Jing Nian has been sensible and intelligent since childhood. He knows that his father does not like him, so he has been enduring it."

"It wasn't until Jing Nian had grown strong enough to become the young marshal through his own efforts that he began to be wary of Jing Nian. But neither father nor son would submit to the other, and they fought fiercely in secret."

"Even though the fight was fierce, Jingnian never wanted his father's life. But... but his father actually tried to kill my son for the sake of his concubine's son. After that, Jingnian and I moved to the Marshal's Mansion."

After hearing Meng Shuqin's words, Shen Qingyao didn't know how to respond for a moment. She recalled her own experience in the Shen family and felt more empathy for Si Jingnian.

It turns out that there really are parents in this world who don't love their children, and they're not isolated cases.

No wonder the family members dared to come knocking on Si Jingnian's door so eagerly after he fell. It turns out that no one was there to stand up for him, and it's even possible that his father was behind it all.

"Mom, don't worry, it's all in the past. Si Jingnian is fine now, isn't he? Once he finds the murderer, he can announce that he has woken up, and then no one will dare to come looking for death again."

Shen Qingyao didn't know how to comfort Meng Shuqin, and could only utter a few dry words despite racking her brains.

Upon hearing Shen Qingyao's words, Meng Shuqin turned her head and looked at her with a gratified expression, her previous lost and dejected look gone.

After hearing what had happened in the front yard, Si Jingnian's dark eyes narrowed slightly, his thin lips pressed tightly together, and a chilling killing intent flashed forth.

"Young Marshal, shall we...?"

Ye Liangchen raised his hand and made a gesture of slitting his throat. Si Jingnian shook his head slightly, and the murderous intent on his face instantly disappeared.

"Lieutenant Ye, didn't you hear what Madam said? We should be reasonable people and not resort to violence at the drop of a hat. What kind of behavior is that?"

Si Jingnian appeared calm and collected, but the coldness in his eyes remained undiminished. Noticing footsteps outside the door, Si Jingnian gave Ye Liangchen a look, and the latter immediately nodded and turned to leave.

Shen Qingyao bumped into Ye Liangchen who was coming from the opposite direction. When she heard him call her name, she nodded in response.

"You actually managed to get rid of those old fogies, impressive!"

Si Jingnian's voice suddenly rang out behind her, startling Shen Qingyao, whose expression turned slightly angry.

"Don't you know that people can scare each other to death? You walk like a ghost, without making a sound."

"I'm sorry! I didn't know. I'll be more careful next time."

Shen Qingyao was surprised that Si Jingnian apologized so readily, without even a word of rebuttal. All the sharp words she had prepared to retort were now useless.

"Never mind... never mind. By the way, why haven't you gone to catch the person who put the deadly curse on you yet? If you're any later, they'll all be gone."

"When have you ever seen a young marshal personally go and arrest people?"

As Si Jingnian spoke, he poured Shen Qingyao a cup of tea, a faint smile playing on his lips. Shen Qingyao, who had been somewhat displeased, couldn't say anything more at this point.

"In all my past and present lives combined, I've only ever seen one young marshal like you, let alone a young marshal who catches bad guys—I've never seen anything like it."

"But you do have a good smile. Growing up in that kind of environment, it's really impressive that you've grown into the sunny, approachable older brother my master described, without turning to the dark side."

Shen Qingyao took the tea that Si Jingnian handed her and gulped it down in one go.

Upon hearing this, Si Jingnian paused in his actions, then quickly resumed his normal movements and continued refilling Shen Qingyao's cup.

"Really? Then do you know that appearances can be deceiving?"

"what?"

Si Jingnian's voice was low, so Shen Qingyao didn't hear what he said clearly. After Si Jingnian shook his head, she didn't pursue the matter further.

Just then, Ye Liangchen, who had just left, rushed in from outside.

"Young Marshal, the person who cast the curse on you has been caught, but..."

"died."

Before Ye Liangchen could finish speaking, Shen Qingyao blurted out, startling Ye Liangchen so much that he widened his eyes and subconsciously asked a question.

"Young Marshal's wife, how did you know?"

Si Jingnian looked surprised upon hearing this, and his gaze toward Shen Qingyao was filled with inquiry.

Are the requirements for marrying someone to bring good luck now so high? Where did my mom find such a big shot?

Meeting the questioning gazes of Si Jingnian and Ye Liangchen, Shen Qingyao calmly put down her teacup.

"When you came in, you had a faint aura of death on you, which means you had just been in contact with a dead person. Considering that you rushed to Si Jingnian to tell him that the person who cast the deadly curse on him had been caught, it's easy to deduce that, isn't it? Is that so hard to do?"

Shen Qingyao's question made Si Jingnian and Ye Liangchen awkwardly look away.

"Young Marshal's wife, you are truly amazing. It is indeed as you said. The person who cursed the Young Marshal is dead. When the men found him, he had just committed suicide by poisoning himself. He died on the way back."

Ye Liangchen looked somewhat troubled, having prepared himself for a scolding. However, to his surprise, the expected reprimand did not come after a long while.

"Why don't you come with me, Madam? Perhaps we can find some useful clues."

Si Jingnian stood up, smiled at Shen Qingyao and Xi, and gestured for them to enter.

"You guys probably do these things quite discreetly, so it wouldn't be appropriate for me to go..."

Shen Qingyao knew that powerful people like them would have some shady methods and secrets, and she wasn't sure if Si Jingnian was really willing to let her come into contact with these things about the Young Marshal's Mansion.

Besides, she and Si Jingnian were just a fake couple who each got what they wanted, and no one could be sure when he would kill her.

"This is nothing to hide, don't worry."

Seeing Shen Qingyao's hesitation and caution, Si Jingnian quickly offered an explanation.

Upon seeing this, Ye Liangchen's doubts disappeared. Realizing that he had escaped scolding entirely because of Shen Qingyao, he immediately adopted a slightly obsequious attitude.

"Yes, young marshal's wife, you are so insightful, perhaps you can see something."

Seeing that Si Jingnian was sincerely inviting her, Shen Qingyao hesitated for a moment but nodded, then got up and followed Si Jingnian.

Ye Liangchen followed behind the two, his eyes gleaming with gossip.

Finally, someone has managed to tame their young marshal. They've only been married for two days, and look at how obsequious he is! He's practically the perfect husband.

From now on, he and his brothers finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel, no longer afraid of being tormented by their young commander.