The Grand Secretary has no heir? His concubine gives birth to triplets.

Sima Di, who was listening nearby, interjected, "What does Liu Quan look like? What's his build like?"

"It's shriveled like an old walnut, short and thin." Lu Yunzheng raised an eyebrow.

Sima Di scoffed, "Then the one impersonating the Marquis couldn't possibly be him. His physique is worlds apart from the Marquis's."

Pei Yan pondered for a moment and asked, "Have you investigated Liu Quan's family and past? Every person has weaknesses."

Lu Yunzheng shook his head: "I already checked. His parents died early, and he later married and had a son."

"Then one year there was a great flood, and his wife and children all died. Since then, he has lived alone, refusing to eat or drink, and never even going to brothels or theaters. He lives like an ascetic."

Pei Yan's expression shifted slightly: "A major flood? Which year's major flood?"

Lu Yunzheng recalled for a moment.

"In the fifteenth year of the Yonghe era, the Heihe River suddenly breached its banks."

"But no one expected the Heihe River to rise. Local officials had no experience in dealing with floods and failed to organize the evacuation of people in time, resulting in countless deaths and injuries."

The fifteenth year of Yonghe?

"At that time, Marquis Dingyuan was leading his troops to guard the vicinity of Heihe." Pei Yanhui could read local gazettes and quickly recalled this matter.

He connected all four points together: the secret letter from the Red Di, Liu Quan's hatred, the flood in the Black River, and the military and civilian transport in Baoding Prefecture.

"Liu Quan must be pinning all the blame for the violent deaths of his wife and children on the Marquis."

"He believed that the Marquis of Dingyuan refused to come to his aid, which is why he was willing to be driven by the mastermind behind the scenes."

Upon hearing this, Sima Di frowned deeply, finding it utterly absurd.

"That doesn't make sense. I went to the Heihe Camp with the army back then."

"Upon learning of the flood, the Marquis not only did not stand idly by, but also privately allocated three thousand shi of military rations for disaster relief!"

"Because of this, the imperial court found out and issued three imperial edicts reprimanding the Marquis for illegally diverting grain! On what basis can Liu Quan blame the Marquis for the deaths of his wife and children?"

Pei Yan couldn't figure it out either.

"There must be something hidden here; we must investigate."

"Check the list of victims, relief registers, and corpse collection records from the Heihe River flood of 1955, as well as their escape routes that year."

"By investigating all of these, we can find out the truth."

"Okay, I'll take care of it."

Lu Yunzheng turned to leave, but stopped abruptly at the top of the stairs.

He turned and glanced at Pei Yan, his tone unusually solemn.

"Prime Minister Pei, the situation in the capital is in such chaos, you must take good care of Shunshun."

"If anything happens to her in the slightest, I don't care if you're the Prime Minister or not, I'll draw my sword and demand an explanation!"

Pei Yan remained silent, but nodded slightly, which was taken as an agreement.

After Lu Yunzheng left, the dungeon fell silent.

Sima Di toyed with the short knife in his hand, unable to suppress his curiosity any longer.

"Who is this Shunshun that Lord Lu is talking about? Isn't your wife surnamed Xue? Could it be... that concubine from earlier?"

The relationship between these people seems strange no matter how you look at it.

Pei Yan turned around. Since he had already seen Ling Yi's fake belly and was determined to overturn the case for the Marquis of Dingyuan's mansion, he didn't intend to hide it from him.

"You've served under Marquis Dingyuan for three years, and you've never heard of his eldest daughter's name?"

Sima Di froze, and the short knife in his hand fell to the ground with a clang.

His eyes widened, his Adam's apple bobbing: "You...you mean, that...she...she was actually Murong Shunshun?!"

Half an hour later.

The main hall of the Prime Minister's residence was brightly lit.

Jiang Guo'er sat on a round-backed chair to the side, clutching a handkerchief in her hand, feeling uneasy.

Luyi had just relayed a message that the Prime Minister wanted to see her and had specifically instructed her to dress presentably.

Why did Pei Yan call her out in the middle of the night?

This has never happened before.

Moreover, it's still unknown how Pei Yan explained Xue Lingyi's fake pregnancy to her.

Terrible.

If I had known that a troublemaker would appear today, I shouldn't have gone to the back garden with Lingyi.

Now look what's happened; we've been given such a huge handle against us.

A series of steady footsteps approached.

Jiang Guo'er looked up and saw Pei Yan stepping across the threshold.

The tall, strong man following behind him was the same one who had saved Lingyi by the artificial hill during the day.

"Greetings, Prime Minister." Jiang Guo'er stood up and bowed, but her gaze fell on Sima Di.

This man's eyes were piercing, and the iron-blooded aura unique to soldiers was impossible to suppress.

Pei Yan walked to the main seat and sat down. He pointed to Sima Di and extended his hand to Jiang Guo'er: "Shunshun, come here, let me formally introduce you."

Jiang Guo'er's heart pounded wildly.

Pei Yan actually revealed her true identity to outsiders?

"This is General Xuande, Sima Di."

Jiang Guo'er's mind went blank.

The Sima Di who won the great victory at Hulu Valley?

The Sima Di whom the Tan family wanted to marry?

Pei Yan took her hand and briefly recounted the results of the interrogation in the dungeon, as well as how Sima Di risked his life to secretly escort the Chi Di prince back to the capital.

Jiang Guo'er's eyes instantly reddened upon hearing this.

She never expected that among her father's former subordinates, there would still be someone who believed in him.

She walked a few steps to Sima Di, clasped her hands together, and wanted to perform a deep bow.

"General Sima, you are truly righteous. On behalf of my father and the 108 innocent souls of the Marquis of Dingyuan's family, I thank you for your great kindness!"

Upon seeing this, Sima Di hurriedly went to help, but Pei Yan grabbed Jiang Guo'er's waist first.

"This person did it voluntarily, you don't need to thank me." Pei Yan was afraid that her emotions would affect the fetus, so he immediately helped her sit down.

Sima Di's eyes stung, and even this dignified seven-foot-tall man had tears in his eyes.

"Miss, please get up! When I first joined the army, I was looked down upon by those old hands. It was the Marquis who personally taught me military strategy and how to fight."

"My lord, you are loyal to the emperor and love your country, yet you have been framed. I, Sima Di, will risk my life to find the person behind this!"

He looked at Jiang Guo'er with deep emotion.

"I never imagined that the Marquis's bloodline is still alive; it's truly a blessing from heaven!"

After venting all my frustrations.

Sima Di's gaze shifted back and forth between Pei Yan and Jiang Guo'er.

I suddenly remembered that scene by the artificial hill during the day.

"Strange, since Miss Murong is here, what about your wife?"

"Why would she have a fake belly? What's going on here?"

Pei Yan held Jiang Guo'er's fingertips in his palm and played with them.

He only briefly described the important causes and consequences.

"Lingyi lied and pretended to be pregnant just to shield Shunshun from any potential attacks."

Upon hearing this, Sima Di's face was filled with admiration.

"The eldest daughter of the Xue family is truly a heroine! She's incredibly loyal!"

"My childhood best friend is so protective of me, she doesn't even compete with Miss Murong for my affections. She's truly a rare and wonderful woman!"

Sima Di gave a thumbs up and then patted Pei Yan on the shoulder.

"You're so lucky! You've got two such wonderful women all to yourself!"

Jiang Guo'er almost burst out laughing at his ridiculous words.

This General Sima looks big and burly, and he's quite good at teasing people.

Pei Yan's expression darkened slightly.

The arm around Jiang Guo'er's waist tightened even more, asserting its dominance without room for argument.

"I have always treated Lingyi with courtesy. She is only my legal wife in name only. There is no real marriage between us."

He paused for a moment, thinking that since he was going to explain things clearly, he might as well explain them all at once.

"Lingyi experienced some misfortunes in her early years, and was almost dishonored by her cousin."

"From that time on, she viewed men's touch as something like snakes and scorpions, and would feel nauseous if she were near them."

After Zhao Yuanzhe died, Xue Lingyi told Pei Yan this secret.

She hoped that Pei Yan would dote on Shun Shun wholeheartedly, and that she would only accept the empty title of a wife.

Jiang Guo'er silently made a mental note of Pei Yan's actions.

He really has a loose tongue; he just told Lingyi's private matters to a man outside the family.

Although she believed that Sima Di would not tell anyone, she should at least get Lingyi's permission!

Sima Di was stunned for a moment after hearing this, then became indignant.

"Who is that beast? Where is he now?! Why didn't you just cut him down?!"

Helpless, Pei Yan looked to Jiang Guo'er for help.

Seeing Sima Di's strong sense of justice, Jiang Guo'er no longer held back.

She spoke softly and gently, recounting how she and Lingyi had set a trap and how they had punished Zhao Yuanzhe to the point of wishing he were dead.

Sima Di slapped his thigh upon hearing this and repeatedly exclaimed, "Quick!"

"That's satisfying! Such a beast should be eliminated as soon as possible!"

He stroked his chin, becoming even more interested in Xue Lingyi.

The scene of the artificial hill during the day involuntarily came to mind.

That soft body crashed into her arms, and her face gradually flushed red with fear.

A smile appeared in Sima Di's eyes.

"You just said that she can't stand being touched by a man in the slightest?"

"But during the day, in order to save her, I held her in my arms and rolled her around several times on the grassy slope."

"How come she doesn't seem disgusted at all?"