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

Inside the hall.

Xie Xun had just emerged from the inner palace, wearing a sable fur coat, and sat imposingly on the dragon throne, his eyes closed, seemingly lost in thought.

The palace maid serving nearby glanced at His Majesty's majestic appearance, then boldly stepped forward and said gently, "Your Majesty must be tired. Have a cup of tea."

The palace maid was as beautiful as a flower, and she had dressed up specially, exuding a fragrance.

This was her first time meeting His Majesty. The head maid had told her that His Majesty had been in a bad mood these past few days and asked her to be careful in serving him.

She didn't dare to say anything, but the chance to meet His Majesty was rare, and this might be her only chance in her life to rise to the top. She wanted to give it a try.

Xie Xun heard the voice but ignored it.

The palace maid thought he hadn't heard her, so she gently placed the teacup in front of the man, revealing her fair neck as she bent over.

The cloying fragrance was nothing like the scent emanating from Ning Yu. Xie Xun opened his eyes and tilted his head to look over.

Their eyes met, and the palace maid was startled by the man's gaze. Her body went limp and she almost fell over. Remembering her father's instructions before sending her to the palace, she quickly stood up straight and said respectfully, "This servant has disturbed Your Majesty."

"Where did you come from?"

The palace maid lowered her eyes and said, "The head maid has gone to the washroom and asked me to come and serve you for a while."

She dared not say that she was from an official family. Her father told her that the Xie family wanted His Majesty to marry the daughter of the Xiao family as soon as possible, but His Majesty had been in a bad mood lately, so he first chose a beautiful woman from a respectable family to enter the palace to test the waters.

When her father asked her if she wanted to enter the palace, she answered. She had heard of His Majesty and knew that he came from the Xie family and was a man of integrity and upright character.

Moreover, now that His Majesty has ascended the throne, her entire family will rise to prominence if she enters the palace. She will become the most honored woman, even if she is not as high as an empress or imperial concubine, she will still be a noble mistress.

No matter how well she hid her thoughts, they were completely transparent to Xie Xun.

He looked at the face before him, but the image of that damned woman flashed through his mind again, along with his desire to kill. "Get down."

The palace maid hesitated for a moment, but seeing that his face was indifferent and he seemed not to be angry, she steeled herself, slowly knelt down, and tentatively tried to serve him. Her sweet voice had just escaped when she said, "Your Majesty---"

His neck was suddenly grabbed, and he was lifted up in an instant.

Pain, I felt like I was suffocating. The man in front of me seemed like a completely different person, his emotionless face carrying a frighteningly sinister look.

Her eyes rolled back, too pained to speak.

As Sha Ying entered, he heard a bang, and a woman dressed as a palace maid was thrown down.

He wasn't surprised at all. He gave a wink to the people behind him, and soon, guards came in and took the man away.

When Xie Xun saw it was him, he picked up a handkerchief and wiped his hands, saying in a cold voice, "If you still don't have any news, you don't need to say any more nonsense."

"Qingfeng just sent word that he has found traces of the Madam in Xianyang City."

Xianyang City?!

Sure enough, they wouldn't go to some godforsaken place.

"Finally." Xie Xun's previously arrogant and fierce heart immediately improved, and a barely perceptible joy appeared in the corners of his lowered eyes. He tapped the table, seemingly considering whether to go to Xianyang in person.

The two clicking sounds made Sha Ying uneasy, so he had no choice but to continue, "Xianyang City is heavily guarded inside and outside. Within three days, they will definitely find out where the lady is hiding."

Xie Xun didn't speak. Looking at the portrait in the folded book, he gave a soft smile. "All the land under heaven belongs to the king. Where can you escape to?"

Xianyang City.

Qingfeng had already sent more people to search every inch of Xianyang City, but they still couldn't find Ning Yu's whereabouts. He couldn't help but wonder if Ning Yu had already escaped from Xianyang.

That's impossible. After he arrived in Xianyang City, the city gates were patrolled by soldiers from the capital. He couldn't have slipped out.

He had also questioned the owner of the courtyard and thoroughly investigated the house and shop, confirming that the lady had stayed there. So where would she be staying now?

Could it be that he went to Fuzhou after hearing the news of King Zhao's death, but no news came from Fuzhou?

They released so many fake smokescreens, but the lady acted as if she didn't see them.

"Sir, the scholar next door has returned from school."

According to Rongyuan, this scholar surnamed Shen had met the lady before.

He investigated the scholar and found that he was the younger brother of the concubine by the Third Master's side. He was studying at the Xiao family academy and spent his days either at the academy or at home.

He went to ask, and they said they hadn't seen the lady for several days and didn't know where she had gone.

When Shen Huijun passed by the courtyard, he saw that these people had not left yet, and he felt uneasy. He did not know who these people were, and they did not look like good people based on their clothes.

Just two days ago, I asked him about Miss Liu's whereabouts, but of course he wouldn't tell me. Miss Liu clearly didn't want to see these people.

But he didn't dare go home to tell Miss Liu the news, fearing that these people would follow the clues and find her.

"Young Master Shen."

Suddenly, a voice stopped him in his tracks.

Shen Huijun turned around and saw Qingfeng coming out of the courtyard gate. He cupped his hands and said, "My lord."

Qingfeng said, "I would like to ask you some questions, young master. When did you discover that Miss Liu was not here?"

"I don't know about that. I haven't seen that young lady for the past two days."

Who exactly is Miss Liu? Are these people from her late husband's family? What an imposing presence! Even Lord Rong is extremely respectful in front of them.

But why are they going to all this trouble to find her? Wasn't her late husband already dead?

"Oh right, I heard her say before that she was coming here to stay for a while, and that she was going to Leshan before the Chinese New Year. I overheard her chatting with her friends when I passed by her door."

Leshan?!

Qingfeng gave an instruction to the person behind him and thanked Shen Huijun.

Shen Huijun waved his hand and went inside.

"Continue to send more men to search, and also take the hunting dogs to search the mountains."

"Yes."

It snowed a couple of days ago, and whenever she passed through the yard, the snow that had accumulated on the trees would fall down in a flurry, chilling her to the bone.

Looking at the meager food in the kitchen, Ning Yu had already cursed Xie Xun countless times.

After Shen Huijun hadn't come for several days, she realized that her previous place of residence might have been found.

After all, the first person the imperial court officials contacted upon arriving in Xianyang City was the governor of Xianyang City, so it's possible that Rong Yuan leaked her information.

If she hadn't been too busy to go to the brothels to catch that lecherous man and drug him, that scoundrel would probably have left Xianyang long ago.

What a terrible thing to do.

"Miss, what would you like to eat today?"

"Never mind, I'm not eating." Ning Yu left the kitchen with little appetite. "Make yourself something you want to eat."