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

It has snowed in the city for the past two days. The cool breeze is still, and the snowflakes are falling, creating a cold and shimmering scene.

After Shen Huijun came out of the academy, he saw the notice posted on the wall. It had just been put up by the government officials and not many people had seen it yet. He immediately spotted the woman in the portrait and his heart skipped a beat.

He quickly took a few steps forward to take a closer look and found that the woman looked somewhat similar to Miss Liu.

But he wasn't sure, and Liu Qinghuan's name wasn't on it. After thinking for a moment, he quietly tore down the notice and went back to his courtyard.

As soon as they entered the alley, they saw the matchmaker under the bare tree, boasting about the young men in the city who wanted to find a high-ranking official to marry Miss Liu.

"Madam, you don't know, that man surnamed Shen is not from a wealthy family. He was able to study at the Xiao family school because his sister was a concubine of a high-ranking official. If you go with him, you won't have a good life."

"A beauty like you deserves to be surrounded by gold and jade; you are a born noblewoman."

Ning Yu was stopped by this matchmaker when she was about to go out. The matchmaker was very eloquent and talked a lot while holding her hand.

"Pure Joy".

Suddenly, a loud voice rang out. When the matchmaker saw that it was Shen Huijun, she immediately ran away like a shot.

Shen Huijun didn't bother to argue and quickly handed the notice to Ning Yu, saying, "Why does this person look a lot like you?"

The notice didn't say what the offense was, or even the name, but it offered a reward of ten thousand taels of silver and gold.

Ning Yu frowned, closed the door and went inside. She opened the door and saw the portrait above, her expression changing slightly.

She had been disguised as a man the whole way, and only after arriving in Xianyang City did she revert to her female identity. She usually wore a veil when she went out, but some people had seen her.

Ning Yu couldn't help but think of the matchmaker. "Are there any other notices?"

Shen Huijun did notice the Ning family's alleged rebellion, but he didn't look closely. "It seems someone rebelled and it was suppressed. Oh, right, I heard from the people in the city that the new emperor granted amnesty upon his ascension to the throne, and all candidates for next year's imperial examinations will have to go to the capital---"

A new emperor has ascended the throne?!

Ning Yu's eyes darkened slightly. She didn't hear what Shen Huijun said afterward and clutched the portrait tightly in her hand.

If notices have been issued in such a distant city as Xianyang, then other prefectures and counties will likely follow suit, and nowadays, anyone leaving the city will be subject to extremely strict searches.

Fortunately, not many people have seen her true face, so they dealt with the matchmaker by forcing her to drink a bottle of medicine that night.

Ning Yu was originally planning to go out to buy some groceries, but now she doesn't dare to go out at all. She was so angry that she gritted her teeth.

They actually drew her portrait and launched a manhunt for her in every prefecture and county. Those bastards aren't giving her any chance of survival. Now she finally understands what kind of person she's messed with.

"Miss, are we leaving?" Qinghe took the portrait and looked at it, then immediately went inside to pack her things. When she came out and saw Qinghe still standing in the courtyard, she asked anxiously.

Seeing the strange behavior between the master and servant, Shen Huijun felt a little suspicious.

Ning Yu definitely wanted to leave, but leaving the city now would definitely be strictly investigated. Xianyang City was so big, she would find another place to stay and wait for the storm to pass.

"Miss Liu, if you'd like to change your accommodation, why don't you come to my house?"

"At home? Aren't you alone?"

A barely perceptible sadness flashed in Shen Huijun's eyes. The house wasn't even his; it was bought for him by his so-called brother-in-law. He didn't want to live there, so he wrote books to earn money and rented a place to live.

"No one lives in my house, it's empty, and the surrounding area is quite secluded, with few people coming and going." He paused, then added, "I'm not going back to live there."

Ning Yu didn't want to go through the trouble of finding a place right now, so she said, "How much? I'll rent it."

"No---It's free."

"No way, I can't take advantage of you."

Knowing that Miss Liu wouldn't stay there for free, he hurriedly said, "Then let's pay the current rent for this courtyard."

"Alright, then I'll trouble you to go back and make preparations, Young Master Shen. We'll go tonight."

To make it easier to hide at night, she also needed to deal with the matchmaker and make her forget that she had ever met her.

Next, she would have to disguise herself and put on makeup, and couldn't show her true face. Just thinking about having to spend several hours every day disguising herself made her want to scratch Hua Xie Xun's face.

Forget it, it's best not to go out.

Shen Huijun said happily, "Then I'll head back now."

"it is good."

Once everyone left, Qinghe asked curiously, "Miss, who do you think the new emperor is?"

Ning Yu looked at the snowflakes fluttering under the eaves, gazed in the distant direction of Kyoto, and gently shook her head.

Inside the palace.

Xie Xun's temper had been very bad these past few days. His anger, which had been suppressed for so long without anyone to vent, finally erupted. After the morning court session, Sha Ying was reprimanded again.

Many members of the Dragon Scale Guards also suffered, especially those guards who had previously been stationed in the East Garden, all of whom had been replaced. As the leader of the Dragon Scale Guards, he was the one who was scolded the most.

His Majesty even personally reviewed the lists reported by various prefectures and counties, but found no trace of them. He suspected that the Crown Prince had given false information and was deliberately causing them trouble.

It was already late at night, but the lights in the palace were still on. Waves of ministers came out of the palace, and after a long time, the palace was still brightly lit.

Your Majesty has barely slept since the court's southern expedition after ascending the throne. It's almost 11 PM now, why aren't you asleep?

The thought had barely crossed his mind when a man's gloomy voice suddenly came from inside. Killer Shadow instantly felt that the heavens were against him and hunched over as he went inside.

Inside the hall, Xie Xun, dressed in a black and gold dragon robe, possessed an unapproachable, refined and elegant face. His phoenix eyes glanced down casually, exuding an innate sense of oppression and terror.

Sha Ying didn't even need him to ask before replying, "Qingfeng has already arrived in Xianyang City. All the other prefectures and counties closest to Fuzhou have been investigated. Madam has not entered the city."

The demonic aura looming over him made him instinctively lower his head even further.

That damn Qingfeng, can't he send back any useful information?

The three-day deadline had long passed, and he felt incredibly lucky that His Majesty hadn't killed him. But there was still no definite news about his wife; she seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Wei Rongxuan sat at the lower end of the table, glanced at the master and servant, stroked his chin, and said helplessly, "Maybe we should just forget about it. What good will you do with her if you bring her back?"

"Even if she dies, she must die in the palace for me."

Wei Rongxuan fell silent. He felt that if he couldn't find Xie Xun soon, Xie Xun would go crazy.

These past few days, several elders in the council have been dissatisfied with the southern expedition. He was so ruthless that he silenced them, something he wouldn't normally do so so openly. This is even more terrifying to the council than the crown prince's ascension to the throne.

"If there's no result, then keep sending messages—messages about the Ning family, messages about King Zhao."

So she can hide? He'd like to see how long she can hide. If he pushed her too far, he was capable of anything.