So what if she's my sister-in-law? You seduced me first.

Ning Yu met King Zhao five years ago in Fuzhou. The two had a heated argument at the dock over a boat trip.

She had chartered the boat, but it was raining coldly and there were very few boatmen available. Xie Yun, for some reason, insisted on taking her boat and even offered ten times the price she charged.

The boatman, greedy for money, tried to persuade her to let others board the boat as well. However, she was anxious to return to the capital, so she had no choice but to take him with her.

Unexpectedly, halfway through the journey, a group of river bandits appeared out of nowhere, killed the boatman, cleaved open the cabin, and stormed in.

In an attempt to escape, she quickly dived underwater. Xie Yun shamelessly followed, causing her to be killed by the thieves along with him.

She could only protect him as they fled, climbing ashore and running into the woods. By the time his men came to rescue them, it was already night.

Xie Yun's health was even worse than hers. He developed a high fever and fell into a coma. She took him out of the forest and handed him over to his subordinates. She then rode back to the capital with his entourage.

Xie Yun woke up on the way and said that she had a good physical foundation, but her martial arts style was strange. She didn't have profound internal strength and lightness skills, so she would be finished if she encountered a master. He said he would find her a master to teach her lightness skills.

She was short of money at the time, so she didn't hire a teacher and tricked him out of a large sum of money to keep her safe. "Why don't you go and learn instead of being chased and forced to jump into the water in such a sorry state?"

He ate his flatbread with a nonchalant attitude, saying, "I can't take hardship."

She later learned that Xie Yun had been poisoned since childhood and was unable to learn martial arts.

Xie Yun gave her money and hired a master for her. For a long time, she secretly studied martial arts in Fuzhou without telling her family.

However, lightness skill is not easy to learn, and she is still only a half-baked one.

"What a rare guest! What brings you to invite me out?" Xie Yun coughed a few times after every few words.

Looking at his weak face, Ning Yu hesitated for a moment, thinking of his situation in the court, before changing the subject, "How have you been lately?"

"The usual." Xie Yun poured her a cup of tea and gestured for her to sit down.

"Your health seems much worse than last winter."

She and Xie Yun rarely met. The last time they met was at Xueshantai in Fuzhou. Her master took her up the mountain to practice her lightness skills. It was the dead of winter, and it had snowed. Xie Yun coughed every two steps as he went up the mountain to bring them food.

It had been more than half a year since I last saw him, and his health seemed even worse than it was last winter.

"It can't get any worse than this. Alright, stop beating around the bush, just say what you want to say."

Ning Yu cleared her throat. "Nothing, just checking to see if you're dead."

"You brat, all you ever think about is me dying so you can have a big house, huh?" Xie Yun sneered.

"Who wants your run-down house?"

"Don't try to fool me." He looked at me seriously. "What happened?"

Ning Yu took a sip of tea. "What else could someone who marries into a high-ranking family like the Xie family possibly have to do? They must be so bored."

The Xie family---

Ning Yu watched as he lightly tapped his fingers on the tea table, muttering something under his breath, unable to utter the words that lingered in his heart.

"Hahaha---" Suddenly, he burst into laughter, "Young Master Xie, who grew up in a golden nest and a silver nest, what a pity, he will never be able to enjoy the life of a wife, children and a warm bed. Just like me, he has no good fortune."

Ning Yu, "---"

"I'm not going to banter with you anymore. The Xie Yan sacrificial ceremony hasn't been held yet, I have to go back."

"Wait a minute, let's go together."

As soon as Ning Yu stepped out the door, he grabbed her wrist. She blurted out, "Is someone seriously ill with that much strength?"

"I'm strong with women."

The scene of the two bickering was witnessed by a group of people not far away, and everyone's eyes subconsciously turned to the man in front.

Xie Xun watched the two leave the building and said, "Please return, gentlemen."

"Yes, yes, yes, Governor, please take care."

Xie Xun never expected that he would see this woman flirting with Xie Yun, that sickly man, in the morning, and then see her watching opera with the young master of the Wei family in the afternoon.

He sat in the private room on the second floor, watching Wei Chizhou downstairs fawn over her by handing her a handkerchief, his elegant face cold and aloof.

"It's just that the young master died in the borderlands. If you ask me, such a beauty should be kept hidden. Look at that figure, and look at those eyes. She's about to steal the soul of Young Master Wei."

"Hahaha, if I could marry such a beauty, I'd be willing to be beaten to death by my mother. How come I never knew there was such a person in the capital? The Ning family has been hiding this well."

"Pah, who gave you a chance? The young master Xie is gone, but don't forget Grand Commander Xie. With this little lady always hanging around him, I don't believe he can resist her charms."

"Stop talking nonsense, or the Xie family will hear you and lock you up in the imperial prison."

The window of the private room was open, and one could vaguely hear several burly men who had been drinking jokingly and boasting in the corridor. Xie Xun glanced at them casually and then gestured to the people behind him.

Qingfeng immediately understood and went outside.

Those burly men, drunk, wanted to go to the brothel to find young women to sleep with, but as soon as they left the opera house, they were blindfolded, tied up, and beaten in a secluded alley. By the time they were found, they were already in the river outside the city.

Ning Yu never expected to run into Xie Xun here. She had finally managed to get in touch with this man surnamed Wei and had come to the Pear Garden under the pretext of returning the handkerchief, only to be bumped into by Xie Xun.

The thought that he might go back and talk to the Grand Princess made him feel incredibly anxious.

She really had no choice. To put it bluntly, her situation was just a matter of a word from the person in power. This Wei Chizhou was dull-witted but kind-hearted, and easy to fool.

"Princess Consort, His Majesty requests your presence."

The voice came from beside her again. Ning Yu looked at the figure in the private room on the second floor, and then got up to meet him.

Wei Chizhou watched the beauty leave, not daring to stop her, and could only watch helplessly as she went.

There was someone guarding the door to the private room, and after a short while, an adult respectfully withdrew from inside.

Ning Yu and the others came out before pushing the door open and going in. The man was sitting by the window listening to the opera, and there was a gyrfalcon on the table. He was feeding the black eagle beans.

Hearing the noise, he looked up at her and, seeing her bewildered expression, let out a seemingly wicked laugh.

She felt a surge of displeasure, but didn't dare show it on her face.

"Instead of keeping vigil for my brother at the funeral hall, my sister-in-law is here seducing men?"

"Didn't the governor also neglect his own brother's mourning period, instead spending his time here having fun with eagles?"

After finishing her tirade, Ning Yu immediately added, "I went to release a prayer lantern for my husband. I lost my handkerchief, but Young Master Wei found it. Commander, please don't joke around."

Xie Xun said gently, "So it turns out that you and King Zhao are old acquaintances."

Ning Yu's heart sank. "The governor really is a very idle person."

Xie Xun smirked and looked her up and down. Ning Yu felt as if his gaze had grown a hand, as if he wanted to strip her naked and tear her apart.

Knowing she couldn't argue with him, she stepped forward, clutching her handkerchief, and asked, "May I ask what business the Governor has with me?"

"The Xie family can't afford to lose face by openly flirting with Young Master Wei in the main hall."

"---"

Ning Yu's plan fell through, and she was already annoyed. His words only made her angrier.

She didn't even touch the hem of his clothes; she didn't even flinch at all. But in his mouth, it became a physical altercation.

The thought that her death would follow Xie Yan's funeral sparked a crazy idea in her mind as she looked at Xie Xun's seemingly aloof and composed demeanor.