Chapter 89: Returning to the Capital Soon

No wonder the second prince had taken a fancy to her before, and then Jun Ci came over, claiming he regretted his actions—the main storyline had already collapsed, so it was hardly surprising that these side plots would unravel as well. Qingrui, noticing that her call had elicited no response, raised her voice slightly.

“Miss?”

Shen Nanyuan snapped back to herself, pinching her brow as she answered, her thoughts a tangled mess. “What is it?”

“I just can’t figure out what you’re looking at,” Qingrui said. “And… are we going to keep crouching here?”

Sometimes, maidservants and young attendants would pass by the gate of Shaohua Courtyard, giving them odd looks upon seeing the two of them crouching there. Qingrui felt rather embarrassed.

“Wait, let me think for a moment,” Shen Nanyuan muttered, feeling as though her mind might explode.

The fact that the male and female leads hadn’t followed the main plot was almost more than she could bear, but now that she reconsidered...

Their business didn’t really have much to do with her.

All she had ever wanted was for the Duke of Zhen’s manor to escape the ending prescribed in the original story. Judging by the current situation, that seemed to have been accomplished, so her efforts had been relatively successful.

Though the main leads had encountered some trouble, it hadn’t affected the Duke’s manor in the slightest...

Looking back now, that was perhaps the only fortunate thing.

Still, she was puzzled—why had the protagonists faltered? Was the attraction between them all just a lie?

Would Xiao Yan and Meng Chuyue truly have nothing to do with each other from now on?

They were the protagonists, after all!

As she pondered, a cool voice sounded beside her, calm and detached: “Miss, why are you crouching here? Weren’t you supposed to go to Madam’s quarters?”

Shen Nanyuan was startled, her body tense.

She quickly regained her composure and stood, meeting Xiao Yan’s clear, dark gaze. She cleared her throat and replied, “I did go, but now I’ve come back.”

Although she had been startled, an excuse came readily to her lips. She spoke without the slightest blush or nervousness.

“I just happened to twist my ankle as I walked here, so I crouched down to check it,” she said, giving Qingrui a subtle look. “Isn’t that right, Qingrui?”

Qingrui nodded with perfect understanding. “Yes, fortunately Miss is unharmed.”

Xiao Yan responded indifferently, his gaze lingering on Shen Nanyuan as if he could see through her lie, making her drop her eyes in nervousness and slip past him into Shaohua Courtyard.

Meng Chuyue had already composed herself after Xiao Yan’s earlier words, her expression calm as she smiled and said, “You’re back so soon, Yuan Yuan.”

“Yes,” Shen Nanyuan replied awkwardly, “I told you I’d be right back.”

She really had come back immediately.

Just crouched at the door for a moment and returned.

Her feelings toward Xiao Yan and Meng Chuyue had changed. Before, she’d had the mindset of a matchmaker; now, it was hard to describe.

She pinched her brow, weariness overwhelming her, and silently drank down the hot tea, feeling a slight warmth in her chest that made her feel better.

She had lunch with Meng Chuyue. Perhaps because of her mood, she ate very little. Meng Chuyue said regretfully, “Spring is the best season for flying kites, but you’ve been recuperating all this time. When autumn comes, let’s go out together.”

Shen Nanyuan nodded. “All right.”

She was not quite in the mood.

She propped her arm on the table, resting her chin in her hand and gazing off in a daze, her odd behavior even causing Xiao Yan to worry.

After some time, Shen Sinian returned from the palace.

Meng Chuyue’s eyes flashed, and she greeted him courteously. “Brother Shen.”

“Miss Meng,” Shen Sinian collected himself upon seeing a guest, sat down, and drained his tea in one gulp. Shen Nanyuan immediately noticed the heaviness in his expression.

Her own mood tightened accordingly.

Could anything worse have happened today?

Since he didn’t speak, Shen Nanyuan didn’t ask.

When dusk fell and Meng Chuyue returned to the Prime Minister’s residence, Shen Sinian finally let out a slow, heavy sigh and pinched his brow. “The palace maid from the portrait has been found.”

Shen Nanyuan looked up sharply, urgently asking, “Did you learn anything? Whose maid was she?”

“No chance to ask,” Shen Sinian met her eyes. “She’s dead—strangled and thrown into a dry well in the palace.”

A chill swept over Shen Nanyuan, making her shudder and cry out in shock, “Dead?”

“Yes,” Shen Sinian nodded. “I questioned many palace maids, but none claimed to know her. Tomorrow, I’ll have to continue investigating.”

The palace truly was a place that devoured people.

Shen Nanyuan’s skin prickled with goosebumps. She poured a cup of hot tea and wrapped her hands around it, letting the warmth settle her uneasy heart.

Shen Sinian didn’t wish to dwell further on the subject. He tapped lightly on the table. “Father may return sooner than expected.”

Shen Nanyuan: “?”

“The campaign is going well—several cities have been reclaimed, far more smoothly than predicted. If nothing unforeseen occurs, he should return to the capital soon.”

With the main plot in ruins, these developments seemed less remarkable, less shocking.

However...

After Shen Yi’s return, the emperor’s health deteriorated in the story. She wondered whether events would follow the book’s plot. With Shen Yi’s early return, what would become of the emperor’s health?

Her mind was a jumble today. She sighed softly. “It’s good that Father is coming back.”

He should handle the second prince’s affairs first.

Days passed in peaceful monotony.

Shen Nanyuan was eating breakfast when she learned from Qingrui that Shen Sinian had entered the palace in the middle of the night.

Apparently, something had happened in the palace.

For Shen Sinian to rush there overnight, it was likely connected to his ongoing investigation.

She had intended to wait for him to return and ask what had happened, but he did not return until very late.

He did not come home until the following evening.

His first words were: “I’ve found out who pushed you into the water.”

Shen Nanyuan finally learned why he had entered the palace overnight.

The palace guards on patrol had discovered offerings of yellow paper burning near the dry well where the dead maid had been found. The embers were still glowing, indicating someone had just been there. With strict palace regulations, it wasn’t difficult to track down the person who had carefully avoided the guards—a palace maid.

She had been questioned before and claimed not to know the dead maid, but her actions now proved she had lied.

She was detained by the palace guards, and upon hearing of this, the second prince quickly sent someone to inform Shen Sinian, prompting his immediate visit to the palace—only returning now.