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

If Zhu Qingyu had doubts last time, this time, even though she wasn't a psychiatrist, she could make a diagnosis:

Shen Xu is a ruthless, emotionally unstable psychopath who kills without blinking an eye.

Who would kill someone on the first meeting and then propose on the second?

Surely it's not like he suddenly felt intense hatred for her the moment he saw her, and then fell for her again today and suddenly became affectionate towards her?

Is this something a normal human being would do?

Aside from mental disorders causing brain dysfunction, Zhu Qingyu couldn't think of any other possible cause.

But he said he could save Zhang Shen.

If Shen Xu can save Zhang Shen, then she can ignore his instability and abnormality and talk to him.

Zhu Qingyu automatically skipped Shen Xu's second sentence and only asked the question she wanted to ask:

"Can you help me save Jingyan? How can you help me?"

Shen Xu raised an eyebrow:

"So, you agree to marry me? Good, I'll arrange for a matchmaker to come and propose. Do you have any elders in the capital?"

What's so great about it?! Which word did she say she agreed to? How did it suddenly jump to proposing marriage?

Zhu Qingyu is now starting to suspect that Shen Xu has some kind of system installed in his head, giving him tasks and he is following the plot according to the tasks.

I felt powerless, even more powerless than when I was talking to Gu Zhao.

At least Zhu Qingyu has figured out Gu Zhao's temperament a bit now and can coax him most of the time, but this Lord Shen is really too unfamiliar to her. He talks to himself and doesn't seem easy to coax.

Unable to avoid the issue, Zhu Qingyu had no choice but to return to the topic of his request for her to marry him:

"Lord Shen, as you know, I have a husband."

Shen Xu's expression remained unchanged:

"Divorcing him and remarrying after the divorce is not illegal."

It really doesn't make sense.

Zhu Qingyu's tone was one of helplessness:

"Lord Shen, I also served Lord Gu, you understand? I mean, you know, a romantic relationship. Aren't you friends? You don't mind?"

Shen Xu's expression remained calm:

"Break off with him. Isn't it better to be with me than with him? Don't be foolish. What can he offer you? With his family background, he won't marry you. He can't even decide his own marriage. But I can. I'll be in charge of the Shen family. Besides, I can help you rescue Zhang Jingyan. If you marry me and become my wife, Shouming won't bother you anymore. So, how about I send a matchmaker to your door on the eighth day of next month? I think that's a good date."

What kind of awful day is the eighth day of next month? Everything seems to happen on the eighth day of next month.

Zhu Qingyu was so angry she wanted to curse him out. He was a lunatic, and she wanted to beat him out with a big stick.

But Zhang Shen just happened to be in his hands.

I'm so angry!

But you can't swear; you have to be elegant.

Hold on, hold on, hold on.

It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter.

Whether it's one monkey or two, she can manage it.

Zhu Qingyu poured Shen Xu a pot of tea, pretending to seriously consider his suggestion, to ease his fierce offensive and prevent him from continuing the conversation at his pace, which would force him to set a wedding date.

After he finished his tea, the tense atmosphere finally eased, and Zhu Qingyu changed the subject:

"What will you get out of this? What good will it do you if you marry me? You clearly don't like me."

Shen Xu's expression softened, as if a sharp weapon had been sheathed, its sharpness concealed, and even his eyes held longing and a smile.

"I don't dislike you, Zhu Qingyu. You're wonderful, and I like you very much. What would I get in return for marrying you? I want a happy and fulfilling family. I want a loving and devoted wife who will bear my children. I want two children, a son and a daughter. Is that alright?"

The attempt to change the topic failed; not only did the pace not slow down, it suddenly accelerated, and now even the child has come up in the picture.

Then let's try another one. It seems that speaking softly to Lord Shen is not working.

If being gentle doesn't work, try being firm; if coaxing doesn't work, try confronting him.

Zhu Qingyu pointed to her neck:

"I don't understand, Lord Shen. Is your way of expressing affection murder? I can't sense any affection from you at all; on the contrary, I feel you hate me intensely. I don't know what I did to make you hate me so much, but you tried to kill me the very first time we met. I was injured here; look, I was bleeding. If Xie Ze hadn't happened to be passing by, if I hadn't bowed my head, you would definitely have killed me. I could feel it. So how could I dare to marry you? What if you remember me one day and try to kill me again?"

Faced with such a well-reasoned and evidence-based accusation on the spot, Shen Xu knew he was in the wrong, and that's when he started to panic.

"I made a mistake back then, I won't do it again."

Oh, so this guy really enjoys being criticized. What's wrong with these young masters from noble families?

Zhu Qingyu continued to retort, her tone becoming even harsher:

"I can't believe you, Lord Shen. I'm traumatized; I wake up in the middle of the night terrified. Now, sitting so close to you, I'm trembling with fear. I'm afraid that if I say something wrong, you'll kill me again. You say you can save Jingyan, but can I believe you? How exactly will you save him? Are you just teasing me?"

Hearing her say she was scared, Shen Xu felt a pang of regret. Yes, she was just a weak woman; she would definitely be scared when he pointed a knife at her.

Shen Xu stood up and moved a little further away from her:

"Don't be afraid. I'll stand further away. I was wrong that day; I acted impulsively. But I'm not like this usually, not even at home. You'll understand in the future. Once you understand me better, you won't be afraid of me anymore. As for Zhang Jingyan, the Emperor hasn't seen him yet, so we can't do anything. Once the Emperor has seen him and issued an edict, he won't be called Zhang Jingyan anymore. Zhang Jingyan will die in the imperial prison, while he'll change his name and live a good life in the vast world."

Zhu Qingyu was somewhat disappointed. Shen Xu meant that Zhang Shen should live in hiding, constantly on the run, always in fear of being discovered and captured.

She still hoped that Zhang Shen could clear his name and live openly and honestly as himself.

However, if things really get to the point of no return, and she can't save him by any other means, this might be the last resort.

She couldn't make a definitive statement, so she couldn't immediately reject Shen Xu; she had to leave Zhang Shen a way out.

Seeing that he had gone far away, Zhu Qingyu didn't ask him to come back, letting him stand there as punishment, and then replied:

"Isn't there any other way? Can't you talk to the Emperor and persuade him to change his mind? After all, although Jingyan wrote the false account book, it was Zhao Shiyuan who did the bad thing, wasn't it?"

Having made up his mind to marry her and give himself a lively and normal family, Shen Xu now really wanted to do something to improve his relationship with Zhu Qingyu and salvage that terrible first impression.

But what Zhu Qingyu wanted was something he simply couldn't do.

He wasn't a good person, but he wasn't a swindler either.

Shen Xu spoke frankly:

"Madam Zhu, the Embroidered Uniform Guard is the Emperor's sword. A sword cannot distinguish right from wrong, and a sword cannot speak. If a sword distinguishes right from wrong, its master will replace it with another sword. So, I'm sorry to ask you to persuade the Emperor to change his mind; I cannot do that."