**Day Eight, Morning, your door was kicked open, and a group of red-cd enforcers barged in.**

  **You feigned panic as you got out of bed.**

  **...You were taken away.**

  **...In the prison, you confessed to the crimes listed against you without hesitation.**

  **...**

  **At noon, under the fearful gaze of the Interrogator, you left the prison with Li Ping. Before departing, you took out the jade pendant gifted by Lin Manqing and fiercely decred that you would seek justice from the Seventh Madam for today's events.**

  **Your words left those who framed you in the prison ashen-faced.**

  **They couldn't fathom how, just days ago a mere stable hand, you suddenly managed to climb up to someone as influential as the Seventh Madam.**

  Seeing this, Chen Shi frowned slightly.

  Wasn't his simuted self being a bit too ostentatious?

  Wasn't he afraid of alerting the enemy?

  After confirming the truth of the frame-up in prison, he should have quietly left with Li Ping to seek Lin Manqing's support and deal with Elder Wang.

  Chen Shi suddenly found it hard to understand.

  **Under the servant's guidance, you met Lin Manqing, who had just returned to the residence, and immediately revealed the entire plot of Elder Wang framing you, though you deliberately blurred Lin Qiushui's identity in the process.**

  **After understanding the situation, Lin Manqing looked intrigued and asked why Elder Wang would frame you.**

  **Hearing this, your heart tightened.**

  **You knew this was a life-or-death question.**

  **If answered poorly, you might face suspicion in the future.**

  **You took a deep breath and solemnly requested everyone to leave. Lin Manqing, intrigued by your demeanor, complied.**

  **Once everyone had left.**

  **You astonishingly revealed that your current cultivation was all thanks to a treasure called the Heaven-Grasping Vase, which you had accidentally discovered in the stables. By pcing it under sunlight, it could absorb the essence of the sun and moon, condensing a miraculous liquid. Consuming this liquid allowed you to cultivate rapidly, advancing from an ordinary person to the Organ Refining Stage in just three months.**

  **After speaking, you removed the jade pendant and demonstrated your cultivation at the te Organ Refining Stage.**

  **Lin Manqing stood up abruptly.**

  **Utterly shocked.**

  **In fact, before meeting you, she had already learned from Li Ping about your recent situation, knowing that you hadn't been diligently cultivating and were merely idling in the Elementary Css every day.**

  **Yet, even so, you managed to break through from the early to te Organ Refining Stage within seven days!**

  **Such cultivation speed was simply terrifying.**

  **She took a deep breath, her beautiful eyes fixed on you, asking where the treasure was now.**

  **Despite Lin Manqing's efforts to steady her voice, you could still detect a hint of tremor.**

  **You understood that she believed you.**

  **You immediately gritted your teeth and stated that you had always carried the Heaven-Grasping Vase with you, but since being imprisoned, it had disappeared. Considering recent events, you suspected Elder Wang was behind it...**

  **Upon hearing this, Lin Manqing lost interest in further conversation with you and waved you off.**

  Seeing this, Chen Shi understood.

  His simuted self was also a living person with his own thoughts. Without any special abilities, he leaned more towards self-preservation rather than obsessively uncovering the Mastermind and seeking the truth.

  Thus, the motive behind funting the jade pendant before leaving the prison was clear.

  He was attempting to scare off Elder Wang in advance.

  This way, when fabricating lies, there would be no one left to contradict him.

  **After you bowed and took your leave, Lin Manqing didn't let you leave the Inner Court but arranged for you to temporarily stay in a side room at the Mountains and Rivers Courtyard, assigning an old maid to serve you.**

  **You knew you were being monitored.**

  **After moving into the Mountains and Rivers Courtyard, your nominal wife, Lin Qiushui, also arrived, which somewhat eased your mind. You understood that as long as you survived for a year, once Song Fan showcased his talent, you would have value in Lin Manqing's eyes again, and wouldn't have to worry about being subjected to a Soul Search.**

  **But before that, you needed to firmly hold onto Lin Qiushui and secure your position as Song Fan's father.**

  **Lin Qiushui was extremely uneasy upon arriving at the Inner Court.**

  **Seeing her hesitant expression, you knew what she wanted to ask, but with a third party present, it wasn't convenient to speak freely.**

  **By evening, you informed the old maid that you and Lin Qiushui were going to rest.**

  **The old maid reluctantly left.**

  **On the bed, you recounted the events to Lin Qiushui, and to deepen your bond, you even shared the fabricated story about the Heaven-Grasping Vase.**

  **Lin Qiushui was greatly shocked, not expecting you to have such a secret. However, she soon expressed guilt, saying that if it weren't for her, you wouldn't have ended up in prison trying to bring down Elder Wang, nor would you have lost the treasure. She felt she had implicated you...**

  **You comforted her gently.**

  **That night, under the pretense of putting on a full act, you used the excuse that the old maid might be eavesdropping outside to further increase physical intimacy with Lin Qiushui.**

  **Your retionship progressed.**

  **Day Nine, Lin Manqing returned to the Mountains and Rivers Residence looking exhausted and asked you many questions about the Heaven-Grasping Vase. Upon learning that you had also told Lin Qiushui about it, she became quite angry and sternly warned you not to mention it to a third person.**

  **You nodded repeatedly in agreement.**

  **Afterward, you inquired about Elder Wang, and Lin Manqing sighed, saying he had disappeared without a trace. Hearing this, the weight in your heart finally lifted.**

  **Day Ten, you remained under house arrest, with no visitors allowed. In the afternoon, Lin Manqing sent you many resources, including Body Tempering Pills, and instructed the old maid to guide your cultivation. You knew Lin Manqing was testing your talent, still harboring doubts about the Heaven-Grasping Vase. You didn't mind at all, fully aware of your own ck of talent.**

  **Day Eleven, you diligently cultivated and managed to send five mid-grade yellow-level treasures to Song Fan through connections. Meanwhile, you discovered a benefit of being monitored by the old maid: you could use it as an excuse to py the role of a couple and develop an ambiguous retionship with Lin Qiushui.**

  **Day Twenty, your cultivation broke through to the peak of the te Organ Refining Stage. Surprisingly, Lin Qiushui's identity as the daughter of a criminal official wasn't exposed following Elder Wang's escape.**

  **Two months ter, after consuming a vast amount of resources and several Body Tempering Pills, you broke through to the Early Bone Refining Stage. At the same time, you received good news: Song Fan had entered the Martial Path and stepped into the Skin Refining Stage. You were thrilled and immediately intensified your pursuit of Lin Qiushui.**

  **After three months of ambiguous advances, your retionship with Lin Qiushui remained at the stage of emotional connection without crossing any boundaries.**

  **Upon careful analysis, you realized she was particurly concerned about your age.**

  **It was always difficult for her to fully accept you.**

  **So, you began growing a beard and dressing in a more mature style.**

  **Four months ter, the effect was significant, and your retionship progressed to the point where you could naturally hug and hold each other. Simultaneously, your cultivation broke through to the Mid Bone Refining Stage.**

  **Five months ter, your resources began to dwindle significantly, and your cultivation progress slowed to a crawl. You understood that Lin Manqing had realized your ck of talent. A few days ter, you received news that Song Fan had entered the Beta Battalion for training.**

  **Six months ter, you temporarily set aside cultivation and unched a strong pursuit of Lin Qiushui.**

  **The results were somewhat disappointing.**

  **You discovered that as the surrounding environment became more comfortable, Lin Qiushui's dependency on you decreased significantly. Coupled with her slow-to-warm-up nature, no matter how you pursued her, it was difficult to make substantial progress in a short time.**

  **This troubled you greatly.**

  **Once Song Fan showcased his talent, he would surely request to take his mother back, and then you might forever lose the chance to be a father.**

  **After much contemption.**

  **You suddenly recalled a famous theory from your previous life called the "Suspension Bridge Effect."**

  **This theory suggests that when a person crosses a high suspension bridge in fear, their heart rate increases due to the fear, and in such a dangerous situation, men and women might mistake the stress response for a signal of attraction, developing feelings for each other.**

  **You began consciously creating a dangerous environment.**

  **Every night, you would instill some crisis rhetoric in Lin Qiushui, such as specuting that the Seventh Madam had reduced your cultivation resources because she had given up on you and might want to search your soul or even silence you...**

  **Seven months ter, your retionship with Lin Qiushui progressed rapidly, and one night.**

  **...You embraced each other as you slept.**

  **...You shared a passionate kiss.**

  **...You engaged in an indescribable retionship.**

  .........