The person standing opposite is none other than Xie Jinghang.

  Under the dim lamp of the firefly, his eyebrows and eyes were as handsome as a painting, but they were tightly furrowed, with a chill that was vastly different from the daytime, as if he had become a different person.

  Jing Xian and Yu Yu had met Xie Jingxuan several times, so they naturally knew who he was. Astonished, they involuntarily stood in front of Shen Miao to protect her.

  Mo Ke, however, had never met Xie Jinghang before. He didn't know what kind of person Xie was, but from Shen Miao's words, he knew that the two were acquainted. Xie Jinghang stared at Shen Miao, pondered for a moment, then smiled and loosened his grip. In the blink of an eye, he tossed the sword back to Mo Ke.

  He lazily backed away to the door, hugging his shoulders and said: "Shen family's little girl, meeting you here, should I say we have fate or not?"

  Shen Miao didn't bother with him and instead instructed Mo Jing and the two maids: "Hurry up and leave."

  Jing Xing and Gu Yu looked at Xie Jinghang, nodded in agreement, and were about to leave when Shen Miao said to them, "You two go ahead, I'll follow later."

  In the darkness, only the firefly could be seen moving slightly, and Yu Yu anxiously called out: "Miss..."

  "Go!" Shen Miao ordered. Her command was brief and firm, Gu Yu trembled slightly, Mo Jing shook his head, grabbed a servant girl with one hand, jumped out of the window, and flew away.

  Xie Jinghang was still watching her movements with interest, Shen Miao fumbled to the table and finally found the incense burner that had just been placed there, lit the incense on the table with a fire stick and inserted it, only then did she want to leave the room.

  Just as the action was about to start, Xie Jing suddenly furrowed his brow and snapped his fingers, extinguishing the flame of the lighter. In the darkness, a figure suddenly appeared in front of Shen Miao, lightly wrapping her waist with his arms. Before she could react, she felt herself being pulled into a warm embrace. The person holding her rolled onto the floor, barely making it under the bed.

  "You..." Shen Miao was shocked and furious.

  A soft "psst" sound, and Xie Jinghang's voice appeared beside his ear: "Someone has entered."

  The sound of footsteps echoed in the room, and Shen Miao's body stiffened.

  She never expected those people's movements to be so fast.

  Fortunately, the people in the house did not light up the lights, but this was also what she had expected. Given that person's fondness for excitement, they would certainly not have lit up the lights.

  Someone outside said: "Your Majesty, everything has been arranged."

  "Get out, guard outside, don't disturb the king's interest." Another slightly hoarse voice said, Shen Miao's eyes moved slightly, and it was indeed Yu Qinwang.

  "Shen Xin, Shen Xin..." The voice of Yu Qin Wang was full of complacency, with a hint of perverted excitement: "I'd like to try, what's the difference between your daughter and those women?"

  The footsteps went towards the bed.

  Shen Miao's fist gradually clenched.

  Xie Jinghang slightly lowered his head, and due to the posture, his chin rested on Shen Miao's head. He could smell the refreshing fragrance of the girl's hair. In the darkness, he couldn't see Shen Miao's expression, but her tense body also made him feel that she was not entirely unaffected by this.

  The sound of clothes tearing had already started on the bed, Yu Qinwang's voice was ferocious, with filthy language pouring out endlessly. Shen Qing seemed to have regained some consciousness and let out a faint resistance. However, that soft and fluffy voice didn't seem like resistance at all, but rather an invitation.

  A thrilling scent wafted through the air, gradually spreading out and carrying a hint of orchid fragrance, which was unsuspectingly inhaled into one's abdomen.

  Shen Miao gradually felt a sense of unease, her heart skipping a beat. Earlier, she had lit the incense containing aphrodisiacs before leaving, and now she was suffering the consequences herself. She had never encountered such a situation before, and couldn't help but feel angry at Xie Jingxuan, who had suddenly appeared and caused this unexpected turn of events. If it weren't for him, she would have left long ago and wouldn't be in this predicament. Thinking about it, she glared fiercely at the culprit.

  Unfortunately, there was no light, and nothing could be seen. Shen Miao hesitated for a moment, not daring to move in case she startled the person on the bed, so she had to cover her mouth and nose with Xie Jingxuan's clothes.

  She thought that the smell wasn't something good, and also thought that she mustn't inhale it, even thinking of using Xie Jingxuan's sleeve to cover her mouth and nose, but forgot that Xie Jingxuan was a man.

  When Xie Jinghang realized that the incense was problematic, he had already inhaled too much of it, and to make matters worse, he still had a little girl in his arms. At this moment, Shen Miao's milk fragrance had not yet dissipated, although she said she had a plain figure, but after all, she was still warm and delicate, so her body was somewhat tense. At this critical juncture, Shen Miao rubbed against him again, half of her head buried in his chest.

  Xie Jingxing took a deep breath, and since his birth, he had never been so embarrassed as he was today. He glanced at the top of his head, where the big bed creaked and swayed non-stop, with the voices of men and women intertwined, making people's faces flush and hearts beat faster. The noise made one wonder if the bed could withstand such movements, or would it collapse directly.

  She gritted her teeth and listened for a short while, the movements on the bed gradually subsiding, as if they had dozed off midway. Shen Miao's body was also stiff and unable to move, but at this moment, she felt Xie Jingyi roll over with her in his arms, and then took advantage of the un closed window to fly out quietly, it was dark and he couldn't see anything, fortunately not startling Yu Qianwang.

  Not far from going out, they saw the three people of Gu Yu with a look of anxiety all over their faces. Seeing them coming out, they were so excited that they almost jumped up, and for fear of being heard by others outside, they said in a low voice: "Miss, I'm worried to death, just now someone went in, wasn't it discovered...". Her words stopped abruptly, because at this time she had just seen Shen Miao's posture clearly.

  Shen Miao was still being held by Xie Jingxuan, who was extremely tall and didn't exert any effort in holding her. Jing Rong shouted angrily: "Put down my sister quickly!"

  Xie Jinghang raised an eyebrow and let go, with a "slap" sound, Shen Miao directly fell to the ground.

  "You!" Yu Yu was both angry and furious, not expecting Xie Jinghang to let go in such a rough manner. Hurriedly helping Shen Miao up, he comforted her, "Miss, are you alright?"

  Mo Cheng stared at Xie Jinghang, his mind also filled with surprise and doubt. This high-born young master, who seemed to have an extraordinary background, had impressive martial arts skills, and he himself was powerless in his hands. Such skillfulness made him take a second glance, but appearing here in the middle of the night was indeed suspicious. Just now, after Xie Jinghang took Gu Yu and Jing Zhen out, someone entered Shen Miao's room, followed by a group of skilled guards. If Mo Cheng hadn't hidden quickly, he would have been in trouble. Mo Cheng couldn't help but look at Shen Miao again, wondering if she had known about this group of people coming tonight, then what was the meaning of her switching Shen Qing earlier?

  Shen Miao stood up, dusting off her clothes, and calmly looked at Xie Jingxing: "It's getting late and the dew is heavy, so I won't disturb Young Master Hou's business. We'll take our leave first." Her attitude was very distant.

  At this time, the light rain in the sky had not stopped, and the dense raindrops hit her body, also wetting her clothes. Under the dim light of the lantern outside, Xie Jing's sharp eyes scanned her face, and he suddenly laughed as if enjoying a show, saying: "To leave from here, you need to go through the outer courtyard, where there are many guards on duty. If you want to go send yourself to death, this Marquis has never stopped anyone from sending themselves to death, please go ahead."

  His words were really annoying, and a mischievous smile still hung on his handsome face. Shen Miao looked at Mo Jing, who shook his head, somewhat embarrassed: "I'm not sure about this either."

  Although Yuqin Wang himself is incompetent, his subordinates are not pushovers.

  "It seems like Young Master has everything under control." She said quietly.

  Xie Jing smiled slightly and stood up, seemingly intending to leave without bothering with these people.

  "Can you lend a hand?" she asked.

  Xie Jinghang turned his head back, pondered for a moment, nodded and said: "It's not that it can't be done, however... you asked me, I'll take you guys out."

  Jingyu and Xingzhen's faces changed, this Xie Jingxuan was indeed a stubborn and unruly person, his tone was so light and frivolous, and he was facing that handsome face, any woman would blush and palpitate. If not for their loyalty to their master, they might not have been able to ignite the fire today.

  Mo En frowned, Shen Miao was the daughter of Shen Xin, and she must have been spoiled since childhood. She looked like a strong-willed person, and Xie Jingxing's provocation would probably make her extremely angry.

  Unexpectedly, Shen Miao heard this and quickly said: "Alright, I'm begging you, take us out of here."

  She spoke too quickly, and even Xie Jinghang couldn't help but choke for a moment. Taking a closer look at the girl in front of him, although she was asking for help, her gaze was distant, her posture was elegant, and there wasn't a hint of humility. The feeling was very subtle, as if it wasn't a request, but rather someone superior giving orders.

  Before Xie Jing spoke, Shen Miao immediately said: "Does Young Master Hou want to go back on his word?"

  "You really have a petty mind." Xie Jinghang smiled and said softly to his back: "Come out."

  In the blink of an eye, a group of black-clad men rushed over from all directions, roughly counting to be more than a dozen people, which was comparable to the number of people brought by Yu Qinwang.

  The sudden appearance of the people startled Jing Zhong and Gu Yu, Mo Qing was also shocked. His martial arts skills were not weak, but he had no idea when so many people were hiding here. It was clear that the opponent's skills were above his. And the fact that the young man in front of him could easily mobilize so many masters made one wonder about his identity.

  "Act swiftly and precisely, don't startle the snake in the grass."

  The men in black nodded and disappeared into the night in an instant. Their movements were surprisingly uniform, a quality that was hard to find even among the guards raised by the Shen family. Shen Miao thought deeply, listening to Xie Jingyi say: "It'll take some time, let's go from the other side."

  He turned around and went in the opposite direction, looking like he was very familiar with the layout of the temple.

  "Follow him." Shen Miao said.

  No one knew how Xie Jingxing's men were arranged, but they didn't meet anyone along the way. Even when they arrived at the South Pavilion where Shen Qing and Shen Yue lived, there wasn't a single guard outside. After delivering them safely, Shen Miao said to Mo Ye: "You can go back now."

  The guard has a place to live, tonight is Mo Ke sneaking out, if discovered, there may be changes.

  Gu Yu and Jing Zhen followed Shen Miao into the house, but Xie Jingxing did not leave. Jing Zhen took a step forward to block Xie Jingxing's path to the inner chamber, warily eyeing him: "Young Master, please stay back."

  Xie Jingxing indeed stopped in his tracks, looking at Shen Miao's back and laughing: "Shen Miao, you wasted the whole night, not even bothering to explain?"

  Shen Miao's footsteps paused, and she let out a faint sigh in her heart. Xie Jingxuan seemed to have been born with a clever and ingenious mind, his keen senses making people jealous, able to see through many things at a glance. She didn't even bother hiding it from him, glancing at Jingyi and Guyu, saying: "You two go sleep in the outer chamber first. Young Master Hou will follow me inside."

  "Miss..." Yu Yu was somewhat flustered: "This is unreasonable..."

  Spending the night in a room with a strange man would be a shocking scandal if it got out. If she were to get caught, Shen Miao would really be done for. As for that thing with Fu Xiuyi, it could still be considered a girlish infatuation since nothing actually happened, but this kind of thing is hard to explain and would ruin her reputation - even jumping into the Yellow River couldn't wash it away.

  "No one knows what's wrong." Shen Miao didn't plan on listening to the two maids' words, and looked at Xie Jing saying: "Come in."

  Xie Jinghang shrugged and followed Shen Miao into the inner room, where he saw two maidservants exchanging uneasy glances as Shen Miao calmly closed the door.

  Lit the oil lamp, closed the window, and isolated the outside rain sound, Shen Miao sat down in front of the table.

  Xie Jinghang leaned against the wall with interest, watching her pour tea calmly, and asked: "Why are you not afraid of me?"

  "Why should I be afraid of you?" Shen Miao retorted.

  "A maiden in her boudoir, alone with a strange man in the same room, aren't you afraid I'll do something to you?" He smiled even more wickedly, yet looked even more handsome under the lamplight.

  "We just heard someone else's private affairs together, now it's too late to speak of it, doesn't Young Master think so?" Shen Miao said calmly.

  Xie Jinghang was taken aback, and a look of incredulity rose to his face. Over the years, he had experienced many things, and at his age, he had seen everything that others should see, as well as things they shouldn't see. At least in Dingjing City, or even Mingqi, he was considered worldly-wise. But for the first time, there was a woman who, with an unchanged expression, brought up the four words "bedroom affairs" with him.

  Just now in the darkness, he couldn't see Shen Miao's expression. Now that he thinks about it, since they went out, Shen Miao's voice has been very calm and her attitude has been very composed, as if the person who listened to the secret with him was someone else. He almost suspects that this girl is a monster or something.

  "Are you a woman after all?" Xie Jinghang said with his arms crossed.

  An ordinary daughter of a family should not be so shameless and unembarrassed, never mentioning the matter again. But she didn't react before, and afterwards brought it up calmly, without any shame at all. Even if she's the daughter of a great general, this is really too unusual.

  Shen Miao remained silent.

  Xie Jinghang nodded: "Almost forgot, you're not a woman, you're just a little girl."

  Shen Miao, although acting like an old hand, had a clever appearance, especially with her white face and baby fat that hadn't faded yet. When she didn't speak, she looked much younger than her age. Xie Jing thought to himself, probably because of her young age, she might not understand what romance was, which is why she was so calm.

  The more I think about it, the more I feel that's the reason. Xie Jing walked over, looking down at Shen Miao with a superior attitude: "That incense stick from earlier still hasn't been settled with you, and almost got me to fall over too." He pinched Shen Miao's cheeks hard twice: "What do you have to say for yourself?"

  Shen Miao was stunned for a moment, not expecting Xie Jingxuan to suddenly make such a move. The other party seemed to think it was very funny and pinched her twice more, not lightly but roughly, as if she were truly treating her like an innocent little girl who didn't know the ways of the world.

  "How dare you!" she muttered under her breath.

  As soon as the words were spoken, both of them froze.

  In the candlelight, the young man's handsome face stiffened for a moment, his sharp black eyes flashing with complex emotions. He withdrew his hand, chuckled softly and said lightly, "It's the first time someone has dared to speak to me like that."

  Shen Miao felt a little annoyed at her own loss of composure. Xie Jingxuan was someone who always did things in an unconventional way, and just now she had impulsively used the mannerisms of when she was the empress in the harem. This person was clever, hopefully he wouldn't discover anything. But not knowing what to say, she could only remain silent.

  Xie Jinghang broke the silence, sitting down in the chair opposite Shen Miao and pouring himself a cup of tea. Suddenly, he thought of something and pulled out a paper package from his pocket, which turned out to be a set of exquisitely made pastries that looked even better than those from Guangfu Temple in the capital city.

  Xie Jingxing ate the pastries and drank tea in big mouthfuls, saying: "I came in a hurry and didn't even have dinner, tsk, this tea is really hard to drink." He looked like a picky young master.

  "Is Master Xie here for tea and refreshments?" Shen Miao looked at him.

  "It's not natural." Xie Jinghang suddenly smiled, pinched a sesame seed and stuffed it into Shen Miao's mouth. His movements were too fast, by the time Shen Miao reacted, her mouth was already filled with a sweet taste.

  Xie Jinghang leaned against his cheek, looked at her with a casual and comfortable posture, but his words were sharp.

  "Eat my food, now answer my question."

  The fragrance of the pastry dissolves in the mouth, with a hint of sweetness and moderate fruit flavor, leaving a lingering aftertaste on the lips and teeth. Even Shen Miao, who doesn't like sweets, can't help but find it delicious.

  "What's your relationship with Yuqin Wang?"

  Shen Miao looked at him: "You might as well ask me, why I have to do this tonight."

  "I'm all ears if you're willing to speak."

  "He who humiliates others will be humiliated, tooth for tooth and eye for eye."

  Xie Jing's eyes changed color, and he smiled, his tone somewhat inexplicable: "You're heartless, putting your sister and Yu Qin Wang together with that old dog."

  Only someone as reckless and unscrupulous as Xie Jingxing would dare to call Yuqin Wang an "old dog".

  "When they sent me away, they didn't even think that I was a sister." Shen Miao retorted.

  Her words were icy cold, without disguise for her disgust and contempt for those people. In the lamplight, her expression was indifferent, a pair of eyes seemed to have flames burning in them.

  "What a naive and ignorant girl." Xie Jinghang stretched his waist: "Prince Yu will not let you off after this matter."

  "It depends on whether he has the ability." Shen Miao remained unmoved.

  "You said so much to me..." Xie Jinghang pondered, his body suddenly leaning forward, almost reaching Shen Miao's nose tip. He got this close, even Shen Miao couldn't help but be slightly startled. However, not wanting to be overwhelmed, she remained still and sat steadily.

  The young man's face was stunningly handsome, with a smile at the corner of his mouth that carried an air of evil, but his voice contained a deliberate lightness as he whispered in her ear: "Aren't you afraid I'll tell others?"

  "The young master can do whatever he wants, and I'm also curious to see if there's any movement in the Lin'an Marquis Manor, sending the eldest son to Wodragon Temple at midnight to clear his mind."

  Xie Jinghang's appearance here tonight is not a coincidence. He brought a group of extraordinary black-clad men, and their identities are shocking. There are no coincidences in this world, Xie Jinghang didn't come to see her, he must be plotting something, and the two just happened to run into each other.

  The young man's eyes were born very beautifully, a pair of extremely beautiful peach blossom eyes. When he smiled, he could attract people's hearts, but when he cooled down, he emitted a cold and dangerous light.

  For a moment, Shen Miao was overwhelmed by Xie Jingxuan's aura. She wasn't someone who hadn't seen people with intimidating presence before - the imperial families of Qin and Ming Qi, or even those arrogant Xiongnu warriors. But this person in front of her seemed even more perilous.

  "You're quite bold." He smiled slightly.

  "Each other."

  Xie Jinghang stood up, glanced at her and said lightly: "I have no interest in the old dog's affairs. If you dare to reveal a word about tonight's events, Shen family girl, killing people and silencing them is not just talk."

  As soon as he finished speaking, he opened the window and slipped out, disappearing into the rain-soaked night.

  The cool rainwater floated in through the window and landed on Shen Miao's cheek. The chill climbed up her face, the wind blowing her mind clear, and Shen Miao let out a breath.

  Dealing with Xie Jingxing was like walking on a tightrope. This young man was unfathomable, every sentence seemed unintentional, yet he was probing around in a roundabout way. The sense of danger made her uneasy, although she didn't consider the Lin'an Hou Mansion to be an enemy of the Shen family, but now that the two families had a clear distinction, Xie Jingxing naturally wouldn't be completely free from resentment.

  Tonight's encounter, Xie Jingxing should be here to do something. Unlike the frivolous and playful Young Master Xie in the capital, he seems like a different person on this rainy night. At first, she only knew that Xie Jingxing had some skills, but now it seems that the secrets of Lin'an Houfu are not simple either.

  Her gaze fell on the table, where Xie Jinghang's unfinished dessert still lay. If not for these, everything seemed like a dream that left no trace. But now was not the time to think about these things, and Xie Jinghang himself was not very important to her at this moment. Tomorrow... everything would have to wait until tomorrow.

  On the mountain behind, the rainwater poured down, wetting the entire mountain range. Under a tree stood a row of people.

  The young man in the lead had a slender figure, and the rain wet his clothes as well as his hair. However, he stood still like a statue, not moving at all, just staring blankly at the mountain below.

  A moment later, somewhere at the foot of the mountain, a small burst of fireworks suddenly exploded, but it would be more accurate to say that it was a small cluster of bright lights that disappeared extremely quickly, scattering in just an instant.

  The young man turned around, his tone flat and even: "It's done."

  "The young master is injured." The middle-aged man beside him frowned.

  He lowered his head and looked at the new scars on his arm. The incense in that house was actually used to target men, once inhaled, it would lead people to lose their rationality under desire and fall into madness. It didn't have much effect on women, but he had narrowly escaped disaster. Although he was extremely rational, he wasn't a saint after all, so he was afraid of unexpected events and could only use this method to stay awake.

  "We'll talk about it when we get back."

  "Master," the middle-aged man hesitated and continued: "Miss Shen saw him today..."

  "Tie Yi, a little servant girl, I don't even need to take action." The young man's beautiful peach blossom eyes flashed, his tone somewhat cold.

  Dahan was somewhat afraid of him, but after thinking for a moment, he still summoned up the courage to say: "But perhaps the Shen family knows..."

  "The Shen family doesn't know." The young man said coldly: "The people of the Shen family are all foolish, it's easy to produce a clever one," he seemed to have thought of something and smiled slightly: "What a pity."

  The middle-aged man moved his lips, but finally didn't say anything.

  "Let's go."

  Northern Court at the same time.

  In the room next to the innermost house, Ren Yuanyun sat at a table, she had only lit a small oil lamp, the flame flickered on and off, just like her heart.

  "Madam, it's already the third watch of the night, let's rest for a while."

  Ren Yuanyun shook her head, a hint of annoyance on her face: "Can't sleep." She didn't know why, but there was always some unease in her heart, and she didn't know where this unease came from. And Gu Yatou also said that everything had gone very smoothly.

  And she herself went out of the yard, and also heard the movement coming from the innermost room. On a rainy night, it was vaguely heard that it wasn't very clear, but the sound of a woman crying and struggling could be heard. Although it wasn't heard clearly, the sorrow and misery in it made people hear it clearly. Ren Yuanyun's face turned red with a racing heart, but she couldn't help being frightened. From the rumors in the capital city, Prince Yu was known to have many ways of playing with women. Now it seemed that this was indeed the case. Shen Miaoding was going to suffer a bit. Although there was some fear in her heart, after the fear, a sense of relief arose.

  In the Shen family's three houses, Shen Miao relied on Shen Xin being in the background. No matter what happened, the first person to see it was always Shen Miao. Shen Yue was a talented woman famous in the capital, only Shen Qing seemed slightly mediocre. But she also had a son, Shen Qiu, who is now following Shen Xin and will inevitably compete with Shen Yuanbai for family property in the future. But for now, isn't Shen Miao still being manipulated by others? Then her elder sister-in-law, who looked down on everyone, would find out that her daughter did such an ugly thing, would she protect Shen Miao or give Shen Miao a white silk (to hang herself)?

  Thinking of this, Ren Yuanyun's panic in her heart eased a bit. She glanced at the sky: "I'll take a break for now."

  Xianglan and Caiju saw that she had finally agreed to rest, and they couldn't help but show a happy expression. They quickly helped Ren Yuanyun lie down on the bed and said: "Madam, you should rest now, tomorrow you'll still need to be in high spirits."

  "Yes." Ren Yuanyun murmured, "Tomorrow still needs to be spirited." After all, tomorrow's wonderful play was waiting for her to personally conclude.

  The rain lasted all night long.

  In the quiet mountain forest, after the rain has stopped, all things are withered and yellow, and the autumn rain makes it even more desolate. The air is filled with a moist fragrance, and early in the morning, the temple's bell-ringer begins to strike the bell.

  The muffled bell sound awakened the person who was in a deep sleep, Ren Yuanyun opened her eyes, this night she slept extremely restlessly, always having nightmares, and only fell asleep near dawn. As soon as she woke up, her forehead was covered with sweat.

  "Madam is awake." Xianglan stepped forward and said: "Wipe your face."

  After washing and dressing, Ren Yuanyun looked out the window. Outside, the rain had stopped and everything was quiet again, with birds chirping happily to themselves.

  "She smiled: 'Change into a bright-colored dress. And that ruby and emerald flower too.'"

  She is already middle-aged this year, and has long been accustomed to wearing dark-colored clothes. It's rare for her to personally choose bright clothes to wear. Cai Ju smiled and said: "Madam seems to be in a good mood, wearing such bright colors makes you look more spirited."

  Ren Yuanyun looked in the mirror and smiled with satisfaction. She was naturally in a good mood, it could be said that she was overjoyed.

  After everything was ready, she said: "Let's go, it's time for me to call that 'tired' niece of mine to eat."

  The innermost courtyard of the Northern Pavilion was quiet, with not even a single maid in sight. Ren Yuanyun saw this and her eyes were quite satisfied, thinking that Prince Yu's handling of matters was also very proper, having even dismissed the maids.

  If she wasn't afraid of stirring up trouble, she would have liked to immediately expose the scandalous affairs of those inside to the whole world, but for her future plans, she suppressed it for now.

  "Go knock on the door," she said to Xianglan, a hint of disgust flashing in her eyes.

  The woman who had an abortion was also looked down upon, but she forgot that it was Shen Miao who became the scapegoat for what happened today.

  "Miss Wu," Xianglan walked to the door and knocked: "The madam has arrived."

  There was no sound or movement inside the door, as if there were no one at all.

  "Miss Wu, Madame has arrived." Xianglan continued.

  But no matter how long he knocked on the door, he didn't hear anyone respond.

  Ren Yuanyun sighed, smiling: "This fifth sister is really a child at heart, the sky is already bright and she's still lazy, if we delay any longer, we won't make it in time for the incense offering. I'll do it instead."

  She walked to the door, knocked gently and said softly: "Wu Jie, it's time to get up and have breakfast. After breakfast, we still need to go to the temple, don't be lazy."

  No one in the house responded to her words.

  Ren Yuanyun turned around, somewhat helplessly, and said in a soft voice: "Forget it, let's just push the door open and go in. Those few maidservants of Fifth Sister don't know what they're doing, leaving like this without permission; when we get back, I'll have to punish them severely." With that, she was about to push the door open.

  "Second Aunt." The soft voice rose in the stillness. Ren Yuanyun was taken aback at first, thinking that the voice came from inside the house, but then heard Xianglan and Caiju say in unison: "Fifth Miss, Second Miss."

  She turned back in surprise and saw Shen Yue and Shen Miao standing together.

  Today, Shen Miao wore a snow-white plain silk dress with a moon-white embroidered peony cloak on top. At first glance, it seemed like she was in mourning. To think that this set of mourning attire is elegant, having been accustomed to seeing Shen Miao's usual bold and flashy outfits which had some rustic charm, this outfit was surprisingly ethereal and refined. Paired with her slightly cold expression, it unexpectedly gave off a moving feeling.

  Shen Yue's eyes flashed with a hint of jealousy, unaware that this silly younger sister had become no less beautiful than herself. However, she hadn't expected that Shen Miao, who was originally not bad-looking, had been deliberately dressed in a common style, but now her temperament was stunning, and her looks were gradually improving, making it impossible to compare the two.

  Ren Yuanyun was also dressed up by Shen Miao, and she frowned: "Why is Fifth Sister dressed so inauspiciously? All this white and plainness, it's as if our family is holding a funeral."

  "Second Aunt is wearing something bright and beautiful today." Shen Miao said with a light smile.

  Ren Yuanyun looked at her own clothes, suddenly thought of something, and carefully examined Shen Miao. She didn't know how Shen Miao could come back from outside, looking still calm and composed. However, last night's events might have fooled others, but they couldn't fool her. With a mind to confirm something, she walked forward herself, went to Shen Miao's front, smiled brightly, pulled Shen Miao's arm, and asked with concern: "Did fifth sister sleep well yesterday?"

  "Thanks for your concern, Auntie Er. I slept quite well." Shen Miao smiled.

  Ren Yuanyun carefully observed Shen Miao's expression, seeing that her emotions didn't seem fake, and felt a bit surprised. When did this Shen Miao develop such an ability to remain calm? Normally, when a young woman encounters something like this, shouldn't she be crying and making a scene? How could she be so calm? Was it all just an act? The pitiful cry from last night, she had heard it clearly.

  Looking at Shen Miao's clear eyes, Ren Yuanyun suddenly felt a sense of unease in her heart, which made her feel a little flustered. She smiled and leaned close to Shen Miao, saying: "Fifth sister slept well, I'm relieved."

  At first glance, however, it was discovered that Shen Miao's neck was as white as jade. She had originally been born with a fair complexion, and at this moment, she looked like jade, without even a hint of impurity or scars.

  It's impossible! Yu Qinwang has always been ruthless in his dealings with women, how could Shen Miao not have any scars on her body?

  Shen Yue looked at Shen Miao and then glanced at Ren Yuanyun. She felt that something had happened, but she didn't know what it was.

  Ren Yuanyun's unease grew, she grasped Shen Miao's hand and smiled as if chatting with family: "This weather is really cold, isn't Fifth Sister feeling chilly wearing such thin clothes?" As she spoke, Ren Yuanyun suddenly yanked Shen Miao's sleeve, the white sleeve was pulled up high, revealing a section of pale