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

The Xie Family Council Room.

This morning, the elders submitted a memorial to the court concerning the border war, and proposed other strategic decrees in response to the Emperor's edict from the previous two days, which called for all the princes to go to their fiefdoms.

The Xiao family stated that with the border in turmoil and the Emperor seriously ill, Shangliang's blatant attack on Shuzhou at this critical juncture shows they don't take our Great Xia seriously.

The Great Xia was conquered on horseback, and the sage himself led his troops on campaigns when he was young.

The Seventh Prince has repeatedly distinguished himself in the Battle of Nanguan. He went to the battlefield to demonstrate the might of our Great Xia. He is qualified to be the commander-in-chief of this army. His personal presence on the battlefield can also boost the morale of our troops.

This proposal was approved by all factions in the Elders' Council. As soon as the court session ended, Xie Xun was summoned to the council hall by his clan members. Two hours had passed.

When Qingfeng entered, he heard the commotion inside. He avoided the lively scene and went to his master's side.

"What is it?" Xie Xun sat in the armchair, too lazy to listen to the old men's noisy cursing.

Qingfeng whispered in her ear, "The guards from the villa came to report that the madam is ill, and they don't know what's wrong. She's in so much pain that she can't get out of bed."

Xie Xun paused, his hand holding the teacup lid still. "Have you had a doctor examine you?"

"No, they said the lady wouldn't allow a doctor to be called."

With a bang, he put down the teacup, a flash of malice crossing his handsome face, and got up to leave.

The second master saw him about to leave and immediately called out to stop him, "The matter isn't finished yet, where are you going, Erlang?"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone's eyes turned to him. Xie Xun said, "There's still a lot of official business to be done at the public office."

"Why haven't you been going home or staying at the Governor's Mansion lately? Why are you always running to the villa?"

The Duke of Dingguo looked at him and said, "I heard from your mother that you are keeping a woman there. If it's because of this woman, bring her back and take her as your concubine. Don't let lust interfere with your important business."

Xie Xun gave a perfunctory reply and turned to leave.

Xie Yan watched his departing figure in silence for a long while, lost in thought.

"Big brother, what are you thinking about?"

"Have you seen the woman your second brother is keeping on the side?"

Xie Liu laughed and said, "I've never seen him before. I heard that my father encountered him when he went to the East Garden Water Pavilion, but I've never seen him. I don't know who he is or how he managed to keep my second brother for so long."

"She's just a plaything, not even a concubine. I guess Second Brother just wanted to play around with her, otherwise he would have taken her into the household long ago."

Xie Yan asked, "When did your second brother start having a woman?"

"It wasn't long before, it was when my uncle ran into me at the waterside pavilion. He chatted with my grandmother privately for a bit, and we only found out about my second brother's marriage when we were having dinner."

"It could be a beautiful woman who climbed into his bed, or a gift from some official, or even a beauty from Ximisha. After all, ordinary women wouldn't catch Second Brother's eye."

"Hehe, now that you mention it, I'm curious. How stunningly beautiful must this woman be to have managed to seduce Second Brother?"

The incessant chatter in his ears suddenly made Xie Yan's long-stagnant mind start working again, and he became somewhat absent-minded as he spoke.

He received a secret letter on his way out of the government office at noon.

A child on the street bumped into him. As soon as he helped the child up, he found a note slipped into his hand with three words written on it.

"She's not dead."

The words above struck him like a bolt from the blue, leaving him completely stunned. He ordered his men to find the child, but the child was just a beggar who said that someone had given him money to deliver a message, and he hadn't seen what the child looked like.

Are you talking about Ning Yu? How could that be? He saw her body with his own eyes and buried her himself. Could the body be fake?

If she is really still alive, where is she now? Who went through all this trouble to fake her death, and what was their purpose?

A mix of intense emotions surged through his heart. He desperately hoped the news was true and even considered exhuming the body for an autopsy.

No, if his guess is wrong, opening the coffin is a major taboo. He can't let her die in peace.

All the previous details crashed through his mind, and he vaguely felt that the news was true. If she was still alive, what exactly happened before she went to Qingzhou? Did she really fall off a cliff?

"You haven't come back even a single day since the sixth day of the lunar new year."

The sixth day of the month was also the day he returned with his coffin.

---

A separate courtyard.

Ning Yu finally managed to sleep for a while due to the pain, when she heard hurried sounds coming from outside. The servants in the courtyard were all kneeling respectfully on both sides.

Aunt Tao lifted the curtains on both sides, and Ning Yu opened her eyes to see the man who had entered. Her gaze shifted, and she noticed that a royal physician carrying a medicine box was following behind him.

She immediately tensed up, barely paying attention to the pain in her stomach.

Xie Xun stood tall and imposing in front of Ning Yu, his expressionless face revealing neither joy nor anger.

"Why didn't you call a doctor if you weren't feeling well? Your face is so pale, are you trying to die from the pain?"

Ning Yu was very unhappy about being scolded. She forced a smile, moved her butt forward, and rubbed her face against him. "I don't want to drink those bitter medicines."

Her obedient demeanor seemed to instantly quell Xie Xun's anger, as if a thin thread had been pulled into her hands to control her mind.

He was unhappy with his own changes and reached out to push her away, but his body moved faster than his mind, bending down and sitting on the edge of the bed so that she could lean against him more easily.

"If you can't swallow bitter medicine, I'll send you to the army camp to fight for a few days and you'll know what bitterness really means."

"I just want to stay with the Governor." Her voice was soft and aggrieved. Xie Xun reached out and pulled her close, resting his chin on the top of her head. "If I find out you lied to me, I'll kill you."

How to kill him? Ning Yu really wanted to ask him, whether to chop off his hands or gouge out his eyes, but she leaned against him and closed her eyes, deciding to talk about it later.

The imperial physician outside the screen heard the commotion inside finally stop and then carefully took the pulse.

"But this pulse is a bit off," the old doctor said, sitting on a stool and touching his goatee.

There was still no movement at one end of the red thread. Xie Xun's dark, cold eyes swept over it. "What's wrong with her?"

"Madam's health is not seriously affected, but it seems she has ingested a large amount of cooling medicine. Her pulse is erratic and floating. It would be best to take this medicine sparingly."

Ning Yu felt a heavy gaze suddenly pressing down on her head, and her heart tightened immediately, daring not to speak.

The imperial physician packed up his medicine chest and stood outside the screen. "I have noticed that Madam's pulse is slow, hesitant, and wiry, indicating that the pathogenic heat is trapped. If Madam has any worries lately, she should go out for walks to ease her mind."

Before he could finish speaking, a cold, deep voice came from inside, "Get out."

The imperial physician was taken aback, then realized something and hurriedly carried the box out. All the servants in the room, afraid of being a step too late, quickly followed him out.

The door was slammed shut. Ning Yu instinctively tried to defend herself, but he used one hand to hold her face up.

"You secretly took cold medicine behind my back?"