With legs weak, the sickly stable boy became a mad regent.

Upon seeing Shen Run, General Qiu grabbed his ear without saying a word.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch... Uncle Qiu! It hurts, it hurts!" Shen Run was pulled so hard he had to stand on tiptoe, his face contorted in pain.

"Pain? You can still feel pain?"

General Qiu had a very strong grip; Shen Run's ear was twisted until it turned bright red.

"Where's my daughter? What did you do to her?"

"Uncle Qiu, please let go, I can explain..."

"What explanation are you talking about!" General Qiu released his ear, grabbed his collar, and lifted him up.

"My daughter is perfectly fine. She went out yesterday and was perfectly fine, but when she came back, someone knocked her unconscious! And she was sleeping in your room! Tell me, did you do it?"

"No! How could I hit her! It was her own doing... she's the Crown Prince's person..."

"The Crown Prince?" General Qiu frowned. "What does this have to do with the Crown Prince?"

Shen Run recounted what had happened the previous night. General Shen's brows furrowed more and more, and his grip tightened.

The Crown Prince? Although he was a reckless man, having risen to such a high position, how could he not be aware of the intrigue and treacherous nature of the system?

"Are you telling the truth?"

"Absolutely true! If you don't believe me, ask Qiu Tong!" Shen Run's face was already flushed red from being strangled.

Qiu Tong arrived at this moment, stood at the door, looked at her father, and rolled her eyes.

"Father, can you put him down? You're strangling him to death."

General Qiu snorted and released his grip.

Shen Run fell to the ground, coughed twice while covering his neck, his face and eyes were still red.

Qiu Tong walked over, looked down at him, and smiled slightly: "Get up, the ground is cold."

Shen Run looked up at her, then suddenly reached out, grabbed her wrist, and used it to stand up. He leaned close to her ear and whispered, "You did this on purpose? Just to watch the show?"

Qiu Tong blinked: "What? I don't understand."

Shen Run gritted his teeth, not daring to ask any more questions, and quickly hid behind her.

"Father, what happened last night really had nothing to do with Shen Run. It was the Crown Prince's men who knocked me unconscious, and Shen Run took care of me all night. He didn't do anything, he just sat by my bedside and watched over me all night."

"Sat all night?"

"I sat there all night."

General Qiu stared at her: "Really?"

"real."

"He didn't touch you?"

"Does he dare?" Qiu Tong turned to look at Shen Run, who quickly shook his head, shaking it like a rattle.

Shen Run muttered softly, "Uncle Qiu, we're really innocent..."

"Innocent my foot!" Qiu Lie kicked him in the butt. "You've always been thick-skinned and cowardly, always eyeing my daughter. Did you really think I couldn't see that?"

Shen Run covered his buttocks, daring not to speak out in anger, no, he didn't even dare to be angry.

Shen Nannan rolled her eyes at her brother's cowardly appearance, then turned to General Qiu.

"Uncle Qiu, although my brother is a reckless fellow, you know how much he respects Sister Qiu. If you're really so angry, why don't we wait for my father to return, and then we can have a drink and talk things over?"

Upon hearing that General Zhenbei was about to return, General Qiu's expression immediately softened.

He and Shen's father were brothers who had risked their lives for each other, and he respected them the most.

"When will your father arrive?" he asked.

"Soon," Shen Nannan said with a smile. "He'll apologize to you personally then."

General Qiu snorted, looked his daughter up and down to make sure she was alright, then turned and glared at Shen Run:

"You, kneel down."

Without saying a word, Shen Run knelt down with a thud.

General Qiu paced back and forth in front of him twice, pointing his finger at him and cursing:

"My daughter was beaten and knocked unconscious, how did you protect her? Huh? Aren't you usually so capable? You're good at fighting and brawling, but you chickened out when it really matters?"

Shen Run lowered his head, not daring to utter a sound.

"And another thing," General Qiu squatted down, staring into his eyes, "how could my daughter have slept in your room all night?"

"Uncle, I... I was worried because she was injured..."

"Don't you trust me? If you don't trust me, why don't you have a maid keep watch over her? You, a grown man, staying by my daughter's bedside all night, what kind of talk will that make? Don't you care about my daughter's reputation?"

Shen Run's face turned bright red.

Qiu Tong stood aside, watching Shen Run kneeling on the ground being scolded by his father. A slight smile appeared on her lips as she walked over and tugged at General Qiu's sleeve.

"Father, I'm the one who told him to guard it."

General Qiu was taken aback: "What?"

"I said, I told him to keep watch over me," Qiu Tong said matter-of-factly. "I had a headache and didn't want the maid to touch me, so I had him keep watch over me. What's wrong with that?"

General Qiu opened his mouth, looked at his daughter, then at Shen Run kneeling on the ground, snorted, and stood up.

"Fine, you protect him." He pointed at Shen Run, "Kid, let me tell you, if you dare to treat my daughter badly, I'll break your legs."

Shen Run nodded repeatedly: "Uncle, don't worry, I will definitely treat Qiu Tong well! I will treat her well for the rest of my life!"

General Qiu finally gave a forced smile and slapped Shen Run on the shoulder, making him sink down.

"Kid...you let my daughter stay in your room overnight. If word gets out, what will become of her reputation?"

Shen Run opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

"Father!" Qiu Tong cried out anxiously.

"Shut up." General Qiu glared at her, then looked at Shen Run. "When will the betrothal gifts be sent?"

Shen Run was stunned for a moment, then his eyes lit up, and he knelt down with a thud: "Uncle Qiu, I... my father will be back soon! When he comes back, I... I'll go and propose marriage right away!"

Qiu Tong's face flushed red: "Who wants to marry you!"

"Your dad said so!"

"My dad's word doesn't count!"

"Why not? He's your father!"

"That's my dad, not your dad!"

"He'll be my dad from now on too!"

"you--!"

The two started arguing again.

General Qiu stood to the side, watching them, and shook his head with a smile.

Shen Nannan stood aside, watching this scene, and a feeling she couldn't quite describe welled up inside her.

In his previous life, General Qiu died in the Western Regions, and his body was never recovered. Qiu Tong went to the battlefield and never returned.

In this lifetime, she wants everyone to live.

Just as she was thinking this, Luo Fei rushed over again.

"Young Miss, Young Master, news has arrived from the palace."

"explain."

"Last night, the Crown Prince, drunk, broke into Consort Shu's palace and attempted to commit an act of indecent assault. His Majesty was furious and confined the Crown Prince to the Eastern Palace, forbidding anyone from visiting him."

Misbehavior while intoxicated?

Shen Nannan narrowed her eyes.

Even if the crown prince is stupid, he wouldn't be stupid enough to touch the emperor's concubine. Unless... someone set a trap.

"When something like this happens in the royal family, shouldn't the concubines be secretly executed?" Shen Nannan asked in a low voice.

"That's the strange thing. I heard that Consort Shu not only escaped unscathed, but was also completely unharmed. What's even stranger is that His Majesty was in Consort Shu's palace last night."

Shen Nannan's breath hitched.

Was the emperor present?

The crown prince still dares to break in?

This is clearly a dead end for Achaobu.

Killing three birds with one stone: deposing the crown prince, protecting Yunniang, and making the emperor completely despise the crown prince.