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

Xie Yan followed his gaze and saw the man who had come up into the corridor. He was still wearing an official robe, a dark purple court robe embroidered with dark patterns, exuding a cold aura that made people hesitate to approach.

"Last night, when I was chatting with the Third Young Master, I heard that the Second Brother has recently started keeping a woman. I don't know where the rumor came from, is it true?!"

A cryptic voice sounded in his ear. Xie Yan glanced at him sideways, "What woman?"

Xie Liudao said, "I haven't seen him. It's just that Second Brother has been staying at the villa recently. What else would a grown man be doing running around to the villa all day if he wasn't keeping a mistress? Don't you think so, Eldest Brother---"

As Xie Yan watched the figure getting closer and closer, a strange thought flashed through his mind, and he stepped forward.

As soon as Xie Xun stepped down the stairs, he saw the two figures walking towards him. All three of them were going to the council hall, so they walked together.

Xie Yan casually asked a few questions about matters at court, then brought up what Xie Liu had just mentioned, "You've taken another woman as a mistress?"

The two were brothers who had spent many years together in the north during their childhood. He had never seen him with any women before, so why was he so lecherous now?

Xie Xun's expression remained unchanged. "I found it at the temple."

Xie Yan suddenly remembered that the day after he returned, his grandmother had invited an opera troupe to watch in the garden. When his family teased him about it, he said that he had picked them up from the temple. Was it the same person?

"Wasn't this supposed to be in the East Garden? Why were you taken to the other courtyard?"

"There are many people in her family who are watching, and she is timid."

Xie Liulang chuckled and interjected, "Second Brother, what does that woman look like? She's got you hooked up with her so much you don't even come home anymore. Bring her out so we can meet her. You haven't come back a single day since the sixth day of the month."

The sixth day of the lunar month?!

Xie Yan thought of Ning Yu. It was also the sixth day of the month when he carried her coffin back. The emotions he had been suppressing in his heart could no longer be contained and poured out.

"You're quite well-informed." A pair of emotionless eyes looked at him, startling Xie Liu. He muttered, "I just heard it from gossip."

"Who is it?"

"He's the third young master of the Prime Minister's mansion. He mentioned it when we were drinking together."

Xie Xun's cold and aloof expression remained unchanged as he strode into the hall.

"Big brother, what are you thinking about? Come on in."

Xie Yan hummed in agreement and followed him inside.

Several gentlemen were present in the hall. Now that the emperor was seriously ill and the crown prince had been summoned to attend to him, the court and the country were in turmoil. Various factions within the elders' council were also secretly plotting, each wanting to support their favorite prince and gain merit in supporting the emperor.

The Xie family is the head of the council of elders and has controlled the government for many years. Naturally, the emperor they support cannot have any estrangement from the Xie family. The crown prince, like his father, has long wanted to suppress the council of elders and support a new force, which naturally displeases the council of elders.

As soon as Xie Yan entered, he heard the Duke of Dingguo's displeased voice, "Because of a woman, you've stayed in your room for days without leaving. You really have some nerve?!"

Xie Yan did not argue, but stood in the lower position and said, "It is your unfilial son."

Seeing this, the Duke of Dingguo turned his anger to Xie Xun, "Where have you been these past few days? You're getting married soon, and you don't care at all. Is that acceptable?"

Xie Xun lifted his robe and sat down. "Father, you should first think about how to deal with the rebels in Ji Province."

The Duke of Dingguo was so angry that he didn't want to say anything more, and he sat down with a flick of his robe.

The Xie family patriarch looked at everyone with a kind expression, his gaze finally settling on Xie Xun's face. "Yesterday, an urgent report came from the border that Baizhi Pass was in chaos. Xun'er, are you aware of this matter?"

Xie Xun held a cup of tea and said calmly, "I do not know what you mean, Uncle."

"As the commander-in-chief of the three armies, how could you be unaware of such important matters as the internal strife and foreign invasion that plagues our Great Xia?"

"Uncle Zhong is well-informed about world affairs, so his information is naturally more advanced than mine."

The Xie clan patriarch looked at him for a while, then smiled and said, "The Northwest is the old stronghold of the Xie family. Now that His Highness the Third Prince is going to the Northwest, if something happens to him, the Xie family cannot shirk responsibility---"

Xie Xun interrupted him and looked at another, older man. "Father, I've heard that the Emperor intends to appoint the Seventh Prince as the Prince of Qin, with his fief in Qinghai."

Xie Xun was the most promising descendant of the Xie family, but at some point, he quietly seized control of most of the power in the elders' council, effectively sidelining the old guard.

Last year, he even sent one of his uncles to Lingnan, which was approved by the elders. They are also putting pressure on him in the ancestral temple. Now they don't even respect the Xie family patriarch anymore, openly showing no respect.

Seeing his words, the elder glanced at the clan chief, stroked his goatee, and said, "The Emperor is seriously ill, and the princes cannot remain in the capital indefinitely. Except for the Crown Prince, all must be granted titles and sent to their fiefdoms. Does Xun'er have any objections?"

Xie Xun put down his teacup. "The Emperor is seriously ill, and foreign enemies are invading. As a prince of the Great Xia, how can he just cowardly hide in his fiefdom? In my opinion, going to the battlefield and staying in the capital is their best option right now."

Upon hearing this, many members of the Xie family changed their expressions. The Duke of Dingguo, especially, was puzzled by his son's thoughts and frowned, saying, "With so many princes remaining in the capital, once the Emperor passes away, the capital will descend into chaos."

"Father, you are mistaken. Leaving a crown prince in the capital is the greatest threat to our Xie family."

The atmosphere around them changed slightly. The patriarch of the Xie family looked at his nephew in front of him and stared at him silently for a long while.

It must be admitted that they are really old. After so many years of indulging in luxury and pleasure in the Elders' Council, they have become spineless.

"What should we do according to Xun'er's suggestion?"

Xie Xun looked up and said, "That depends on what the elders think."

"Ayan, what do you think---"

The aged voice brought Xie Yan back to his senses. He looked up and met everyone's gaze. He said coldly, "I disagree."

Xie Xun showed no surprise, his raised eyes unable to conceal his intimidating gentleness. "If the elders agree, then it's settled."

The discussion in the council hall continued into the evening. When Qin's mother came out of the storeroom, she happened to run into Xie Yan, who was returning home.

"This old servant greets Your Highness."

Xie Yan ignored him and was about to leave when he noticed the storeroom door was open. He asked, "What's going on?"

"This old servant just went in and organized all of the Crown Princess's dowry."

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but wipe away her tears and said, "The Crown Princess used to be very kind to the servants, and she often used her own dowry money to help them out. It's so sad that she's gone like this."

Xie Yan had heard that she was having a hard time in the mansion, but he didn't know the specifics. They were too far apart, and the secret letters he sent didn't mention these trivial matters.

"Doesn't the household provide a monthly allowance?"

"There was a period of time, but then it seems that they offended someone, and the supply to the Mo Academy was cut off for a few days. I don't know if it was because they offended the ladies."

Xie Yan listened to these words and slowly entered the room where Ning Yu had stayed before.

The room was simply decorated and contained no valuable items. He looked at the glass comb still on the dressing table, walked over, and sat down.

"When the Crown Princess left, she was anxious and asked me to find out where the Prince was. She said he was at Chunfeng Tower, so I went to look for him. How could he have gone out to play and ended up like this?"

Xie Yan abruptly interrupted her, his eyes shooting over her. "What did you say?"

Startled by what Qin's mother was muttering, she quickly repeated herself.

Xie Yan remembered that when she found Chunfeng Tower, she said that she was strolling on the street and bumped into him by accident. Did she take the initiative to find him?

"Besides making you look for me, what else did she do that night?"