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

"What, you want to kill them all?" Shen Run slammed the paper down on the table, his tone anything but relaxed. "If we kill one in this teahouse today, tomorrow there will be a hundred more in ten taverns. There's nothing else to worry about in the capital, but there are plenty of people willing to take money to spread rumors."

"Then let's kill them all together."

"Xiao Yunzhao." Shen Nannan reached out and grasped his wrist. The moment her fingertips touched his wrist, the barely suppressed ferocity in the man's eyes paused for a moment.

I don't care what others say.

"I do care." Xiao Yunzhao gripped her hand in return, his voice icy cold.

He didn't care what people said to him.

Madman, bastard, traitor.

He had heard it since he was a child and was already used to it.

But they shouldn't have dragged Shen Nannan into this, and they certainly shouldn't have blamed her for his reluctance to leave the capital.

"If you kill someone because of these rumors, they'll say even worse things tomorrow." Shen Nannan gently scratched his palm. "Since you brought the news back, brother, it wasn't just to make you angry."

Xiao Yunzhao looked up at Shen Run.

Shen Run stared at him for a moment, then suddenly had the illusion that he was being stared at by a mad dog. "I've had someone check."

He flipped over a few of the papers. "These words look messy, but they all originated from a few teahouses in the east of the city. The people behind those teahouses may not be related to the Crown Prince, but these past few days, there have been a few people with accents from other places going in to give away money."

"They don't just want people to feel like you're reluctant to leave."

"They want everyone to be watching to see exactly when you leave Beijing."

That's the real purpose behind those rumors.

When the whole capital knew that Prince Zhao was about to head north, he could no longer stay behind quietly.

Countless eyes will be watching from the city gates as that army departs.

The Crown Prince needs to confirm.

The emperor needs to confirm.

The Jade Consort, who is hiding in the shadows, also needs to be confirmed.

"Those who spread rumors don't care who the people are criticizing."

Shen Nannan looked at the words on the paper and slowly said, "They just want to put A-Chao in front of everyone and force him to leave the capital on time."

Shen Run nodded. "In the past few days, some people have placed bets at several gambling dens, betting on the date when Prince Zhao will set off."

Shen Ce laughed, "National affairs have become a gambling game on these people's table."

"Where there's a scheme, there are bound to be bets." Shen Run folded the papers back up and looked up at Xiao Yunzhao. "I don't understand your arrangements in the military camp, and I don't want to ask. But I can keep an eye on the gossips in the capital for you."

"They can spend money to insult you today, but tomorrow we can make them say something else. But let me make this clear, I'm not helping you."

He paused, his gaze falling on Shen Nannan's protruding belly. "I don't want Nannan to get scolded by you."

Xiao Yunzhao remained silent for a moment, but finally refrained from retorting, "Thank you."

Shen Run froze, as if he had heard something extremely strange. "What did you just say?"

"If you didn't hear it, then forget it." Xiao Yunzhao had already looked away.

Shen Run opened his mouth, then suddenly turned to look at Shen Nannan, "Was he switched at birth in the military camp? Why is he thanking me?"

"If my brother asks again, he'll change his mind." Shen Nannan finally smiled.

The oppressive atmosphere that had been weighing on the room dissipated slightly with this joke.

She got up too early today and sat for a long time, and soon her waist started to ache.

Before she could even speak, Xiao Yunzhao had already noticed.

The man's hand supported her waist, pulling her closer into his arms. "Tired?"

"It's just a little backache." Shen Nannan wanted to say that she could sit for a while longer, but Xiao Yunzhao had already bent down and picked her up.

Shen Ce and Shen Run were also inside the room.

Her face flushed, and she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck. "Put me down first, I can walk by myself."

"I changed my posture three times while I was sitting."

Xiao Yunzhao held her very firmly, showing no intention of letting go. "If we walk back, it will hurt again at night."

Shen Run watched as his younger sister was carried away, his expression indescribable.

He had already accepted that Xiao Yunzhao had become his brother-in-law, but accepting it was one thing, and watching this mad dog drag his sister around every day was another.

Shen Ce remained calm. He picked up the letter again and said without looking up, "What are you looking at? If you're envious, then hurry up and go to the Qiu family to marry Tong."

Shen Run immediately looked away. "I'm going to check out those teahouses."

Before he finished speaking, he had already walked out of the main hall.

Back in the room, Xiao Yunzhao placed Shen Nannan on the soft couch, then knelt in front of her and massaged her sore calves.

Shen Nannan leaned against the soft pillows, her fingers gently running through his long hair. "Are you still angry?"

They shouldn't have mentioned you.

"The more they mention me, the more it shows how anxious they are." Shen Nannan slowly stroked his brow with her fingertips, trying to smooth out the cold line. "Achao, Niannian is in the palace, and there are so many people watching you outside. No matter what you hear next, you are not allowed to do anything rash just because you are angry."

Xiao Yunzhao lowered his head and pressed his face against her protruding belly.

The baby in my womb is unusually quiet today.

Xiao Yunzhao waited for a while, but there was no movement, so he reached out and gently touched her twice. "Your mother is scolding me again."

Shen Nannan couldn't help but laugh, "He's still so young, he can't understand."

"I understand." Xiao Yunzhao looked up at her. "He's been helping you every time lately."

As if to prove this point, the baby in her womb suddenly moved slightly.

The blow landed squarely in Xiao Yunzhao's palm, and the man's expression immediately softened.

Shen Nannan looked at him, and her heart softened.

Countless people outside were waiting to see when he would leave. Cining Palace was still holding Shen Nian's hand, while the court and the Eastern Palace were secretly watching.

But at least for this moment, he was still by her side.

Their child grew safely in her womb.

Shen Nannan placed her hand on the back of his hand.

"The Empress Dowager believed that family members were ropes binding us."

"She wanted to hold onto Niannian, and then use Niannian to hold onto the Shen family and the Sixth Prince."

"But she forgot one thing."

Xiao Yunzhao raised his head.

Shen Nannan leaned closer and gently kissed the corner of his lips.

"A rope can be used to restrain a person, or it can be used to pull a person who has wandered off back."

Xiao Yunzhao's eyes darkened slightly, and he cupped the back of her neck with his hand, pressing the light kiss back down.

He only released her when Shen Nannan's breathing became erratic. "She also miscalculated one thing."

"What?"

"You are not my weakness."

Xiao Yunzhao's fingertips slowly caressed her slightly red lips.

"That's why I'm still willing to be a human being."

If it weren't for Shen Nannan, this child, and the Shen family who had just learned to accept him, he wouldn't care how many people died in the capital, much less whether the Xiao family's empire would be burned to ashes.

But it was because of them that he could no longer let others put knives in his hands, just like in his previous life.

Shen Nannan looked into his eyes, which were so close to hers, and was about to say something more when Mo Bai's voice suddenly came from outside the door.

"Your Highness. The Crown Prince sent people to keep an eye on the western camp on the outskirts of the capital again today, and the palace is also inquiring about when the army will set off."

Mo Bai paused for a moment,

"We just received news that guards have been set up outside several city gates in the capital."

Those people do nothing.

They are just waiting.

Xiao Yunzhao put on his armor and left the city.

Wait until that army leaves the capital.

And so this seemingly peaceful capital city will completely lose the last person who could stop them.