In ancient times, the powerful and wealthy seized power step by step.

Seeing that Zhu Qingyu was only looking at him without speaking, Shen Xu pushed the tip of his knife forward a little further and raised an eyebrow to ask:

"Madam Zhang, you're more assertive than I expected. Why aren't you saying anything? Kneel down and beg me, let me see your skill in using your sweet talk and bewitching magic. Maybe I'll be in a good mood today and grant you another day of life."

He referred to himself as Madam Zhang, not Madam Zhu, which shows that he knew he was Zhang Shen's wife.

So, where did Lord Shen's murderous intent and malice towards him, whom he was a complete stranger, come from?

What is the relationship between these two?

With clever words and flattering looks, and with seductive spells and bewitching magic, where does this all begin?

The old woman behind Zhu Qingyu slowly woke up. Upon waking and seeing the scene of weapons pointing at each other, she was so frightened that she hid in a corner and screamed "Ahhhhh!"

Shen Xu looked over expressionlessly.

Although Lord Shen did not look fierce or menacing, and was even quite handsome, the old woman felt her soul shattered after just one look from him. Her head lolled to the side, and she fainted again.

Shen Xu looked at Zhu Qingyu again:

"Kneel down and beg me. Let me see how you turn people into lust-blinded fools."

Zhu Qingyu reached out and pressed the back of the knife against her throat, leaning back slightly to distance herself from the weapon before asking:

"Is Lord Shen going to kill someone in the street?"

Shen Xu smiled coldly, the chill in her smile almost penetrating the back of the knife between her fingers:

"You think I wouldn't dare?"

Just then, a series of braying sounds came from afar, along with Xie Ze's panicked shouts:

"Aaaaaah! Help! Cousin! Cousin! Help!"

The knife at his throat was withdrawn, and so did the lean and sharp Lord Shen, who was like a scathing dagger.

As the donkey's incoherent braying approached, Zhu Qingyu climbed out of the overturned carriage and saw Shen Xu controlling the runaway donkey, while Xie Ze tumbled haphazardly off the donkey.

A group of Imperial Guards surrounded the carriage, and several of them were locked in combat with Xiong Kun.

Amidst the chaotic scene, Xie Ze, wearing a bamboo hat and carrying a string of fish, seemed oblivious to everyone around him. He glanced up and spotted Zhu Qingyu, exclaiming with delight:

"Miss Zhu! Miss Zhu, when did you come to the capital? Did you come to see me?!"

Before Zhu Qingyu could speak, Shen Xu let out a cold laugh:

"Miss Zhu? You've hooked up with another one, Madam Zhang. You're really something."

As Shen Xu spoke, he mounted his horse and rode away.

The swarming Imperial Guards mounted their horses and chased after Lord Shen as he departed.

Xie Ze shouted to Shen Xu from afar:

"Cousin Shen, thank you so much for earlier. Why are you leaving so suddenly? Take a fish home with you! I caught it myself, do you want it? Oh, the fattest one is yours, want it?!"

Xiong Kun had just been tied up by the Imperial Guards and couldn't get through, but when he saw Zhu Qingyu come out, he quickly ran over:

"Madam Zhu, are you alright? Madam Zhu, your neck is bleeding!"

A sharp pain shot through the spot where the knife had just touched her. Zhu Qingyu reached out and touched it; sure enough, it was blood. Since it was a minor wound, there wasn't much blood.

The smell of blood reminded her of Lord Shen, who had inexplicably arrived with murderous intent, and his sword that had killed countless people.

Zhu Qingyu looked in the direction Shen Xu had left, thinking to herself that even if Shen Xu had murderous intent towards her, she would definitely go to find Shen Xu in the end, since Zhang Shen was in Shen Xu's hands.

So why did Shen Xu want to kill her?

Given the possible interactions between her and Shen Xu now, could the idiot he described as blinded by lust be Gu Zhaoyao?

What exactly did Gu Zhao do to make Shen Xu think she was stupid, so stupid that Shen Xu even wanted to kill her?

......

Shen Xu returned to the palace without stopping. He had originally left the capital to handle another matter, but on his way back, he was blocked outside the city gate by the Grand Princess's carriage. He happened to see the Gu family's carriage and saw a stunningly beautiful young woman inside, personally escorted by Xiong Kun. Calculating the time when Gu Zhao would return to the capital, he knew who this person was.

That was Madam Zhang, the woman Gu Zhao defied the imperial decree to protect.

A heartless, ungrateful, and cowardly woman who could escape by clinging to another man the moment her husband was imprisoned.

Kill!

Shen Xu entered the Qianqing Palace and saw the Grand Eunuch Qiu guarding the entrance. He stepped forward and asked:

"Eunuch Qiu, I've come to report. Is the Emperor here?"

Eunuch Qiu waved his hand at him and said softly:

"Lord Gu is inside."

After saying that, he added:

"Lord Gu is kneeling inside."

Inside the Qianqing Palace, the Emperor sipped his tea and asked expressionlessly:

"Why is Minister Gu kneeling down?"

The Emperor and Gu Zhao grew up together, and they also spent a difficult time together in the palace when they were young. At that time, the Empress Dowager was under house arrest, and Gu Zhao was almost the only blood relative he could trust. Their relationship was even deeper than that with Shen Xu, an official from outside the capital.

The Emperor and Gu Zhao were not only related by blood, but also shared a bond of friendship through thick and thin. Therefore, even after ascending the throne and becoming the most powerful man, the Emperor always addressed Gu Zhao as his cousin in private, instead of calling him "Minister Gu" as he does now, and he would never make him kneel.

But now Gu Zhao not only knelt down, but also kowtowed and begged for forgiveness:

"Your Majesty, I have disobeyed Your Majesty's command and disrespected Your Majesty's grace. I beg Your Majesty to punish me."

The emperor let him kneel, and still asked in a nonchalant tone:

"How exactly you disobey the imperial decree? I don't understand. Minister Gu, please explain in detail."

Gu Zhao kowtowed again and said:

"His Majesty ordered me to transfer the criminal Zhang Jingyan and his family to the Embroidered Uniform Guard for escort to the capital. I disobeyed His Majesty's order and only transferred Zhang Jingyan, while detaining his family members without authorization. I have failed His Majesty's grace and deserve to die. Therefore, I have come to plead guilty and ask His Majesty to punish me."

The emperor continued drinking his tea, but his tone grew colder with each passing moment:

"Oh, about that? Shen Xu mentioned it to me. So, does Minister Gu feel that my decree was too harsh and not considerate enough of the people's plight, and that Zhang Jingyan's crimes shouldn't extend to his relatives, thus you've taken pity on him?"

Gu Zhao bowed and knelt in response:

"The evidence against Zhang Jingyan is conclusive, and his relatives should naturally not be exempted from punishment either. Your Majesty's judgment is reasonable. However, Madam Zhang is truly beautiful, and I couldn't help myself..."

The emperor, who was drinking tea, was truly taken aback by the answer and spat out the entire mouthful of tea.

"ha?"

Fortunately, because Gu Zhao was to be interrogated, all the servants in the palace were asked to leave, so no one saw the emperor's unseemly behavior.

The Emperor casually wiped his face with a handkerchief and beckoned to Gu Zhao:

"No, cousin, come forward and tell me what you just said!"

Gu Zhao rose, walked to the Emperor's desk, his face full of shame, and bowed, saying:

"The eldest daughter of the Zhang family is truly beautiful. I was momentarily blinded by lust and forced her to stay."

The Emperor couldn't believe it. He heard it twice, and still couldn't believe it. Was this really his self-disciplined, virtuous, and abstinent cousin? Could he have been possessed while on official business?

The Emperor was so astonished he could hardly close his mouth:

"Huh? Where are they now?"

Gu Zhao lowered his head and said:

"At my private residence, I beg Your Majesty to have mercy and allow her to come with me."

He's even taken a mistress! The Emperor has truly seen something amazing today. He couldn't help but exclaim:

"No, cousin, if you really like her, once she's escorted to the capital and becomes a registered government slave, I'll give her to you as a servant. It'll be perfectly legitimate, and no one can say anything wrong. Why rush things and give others something to talk about?"

Seeing Gu Zhao standing before the desk with a look of shame on her face, and thinking that she was just a woman, and that her cousin had taken a liking to her, and that the Emperor couldn't bear to see her suffer, he finally said:

"Fine, it's rare for you to come to me asking for something. It's just a woman; you can take her if you want. However, it's true that you disobeyed my decree, so I still have to punish you to prevent others from causing trouble in the future. I'll deduct half a year's salary and have you go and receive ten strokes of the cane. That's it for now."