Su Xiaoqi turned to leave, just as Li Shushao, having finished his work, drove the carriage over.
Su Xiaoqi leaned on the carriage shaft and climbed aboard.
Shen Yun quickly followed, but Su Xiaoqi raised a hand to stop him. She smiled faintly:
“My husband, the scenery ahead is exceptionally beautiful, you should take a walk and look around.”
Shen Yun’s face darkened, she found a good excuse.
If they continued to stroll along Zhuque Avenue as before, then there would indeed be many unique delicacies and sights ahead.
But now that the carriage had arrived, they had to pass through the alleyways to reach Sihui Street, which was suitable for carriages.
Ahead, there was nothing but blue brick courtyard walls and bluestone pavement.
Shen Yun stood by the carriage and pondered for a moment, knowing that coaxing his wife was not something he could manage at the moment.
He turned to look, and Madam Quan, whom he had blocked earlier, took advantage of the dispersing crowd and quietly slipped away again.
This time, she did not choose to slip away alone, but instead grabbed Taohua.
She intended to slip away with Taohua, unaware that Shen Yun had already been watching them.
After being rebuffed by Su Xiaoqi, he did not immediately give chase. Instead, he waited until they had also turned into a small alley and beckoned to those behind him.
Soon, two young men in short tunics quietly followed them.
Only then did Shen Yun chase after Su Xiaoqi’s carriage.
Fortunately, Su Xiaoqi was only deliberately teasing him and had no intention of abandoning him.
Therefore, she did not move quickly. He called out to Li Shushao, gave him a look, and Li Shushao hesitated, slowed the carriage down further, and then leaned his head towards the carriage to say in a low voice, “Mistress, Master is back.”
Su Xiaoqi lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked at Shen Yun with a smiling face.
Shen Yun was slightly taken aback, only to see Su Xiaoqi extending her hand towards him.
Shen Yun thought to himself, is she not angry anymore?
Shen Yun’s heart rejoiced. He gently took Su Xiaoqi’s hand and leaped onto the carriage.
Su Xiaoqi immediately instructed Li Shushao, who was driving, to return to the manor.
After what had happened, she naturally had no mood to stay and shop anymore.
But she was not truly angry; she was just putting on a show for others to see.
Therefore, after getting into the carriage, Su Xiaoqi poured Shen Yun a cup of tea: “It must have been hard work for my husband following the carriage from below.”
Shen Yun was also well-behaved. Seeing that Su Xiaoqi was not truly angry, he immediately leaned in and said, “My dear, I’m sweating from running. Could you wipe it for me?”
Su Xiaoqi lowered her head to examine Shen Yun’s smooth forehead. Where was the sweat?
But thinking of something, she took a handkerchief and pretended to gently wipe his forehead.
Shen Yun, however, grabbed her hand and said with lingering fear, “My dear, it’s fortunate I had you just now.”
Although he had plenty of ways to deal with Taohua and Madam Quan, he believed that no matter what method he used, he could not achieve what Su Xiaoqi did in turning the situation around and protecting his reputation.
And they had come with the sole intention of damaging his reputation.
Of course, their objective was singular: to use Taohua to ruin his reputation, thereby affecting his imperial examinations.
“I don’t understand, even if you were truly involved with Taohua, at most you could have taken her as a concubine. Why would the people behind the scenes go to such lengths for such a small scheme?”
Su Xiaoqi frowned. She knew Shen Yun very well. If he had taken a liking to someone else, it would be understandable.
But Taohua seemed too far-fetched.
Before, at the Eastern Manor in Yizhou Prefecture, Taohua had been publicly slapped by him and sent straight home.
If he had truly been interested in her, why would he do such a thing? Why not take her as a concubine then?
Therefore, Su Xiaoqi knew from the beginning that this was a conspiracy targeting him.
Coupled with her observation of Taohua’s frightened and uncertain eyes, and Madam Quan’s instigation from behind, she was even more convinced that Shen Yun’s involvement with Taohua was pure fabrication.
This was another conspiracy specifically aimed at him.
Those people hiding in the shadows were truly infuriating.
“Who are they?” Su Xiaoqi pondered how to find the person who was secretly scheming against him to ensure Shen Yun’s safety in the future.
Shen Yun said, “It’s likely more than one. If I’m not mistaken, the people who tried to harm us last time are the same group.”
Su Xiaoqi was puzzled: “Then why is the intensity different?”
Last time in the woods, they had genuinely intended to kill them.
But this time, it was just this. It was unusual!
“There’s no fundamental difference; they are all aimed at destroying me.” Shen Yun had long seen through the surface to the core of the issue.
Whether it was assassination or staging such a scene, the purpose was to destroy him.
It was just that before, outside the city, they could do whatever they pleased.
But this was the capital, with many taboos and constraints. They dared not resort to brute force.
So they could only use such methods to ruin his reputation.
“But this is certainly not the last time,” Shen Yun asserted.
Su Xiaoqi pouted: “This is very annoying. We don’t even know who the enemy is, yet we are being led by the nose.”
Shen Yun saw that Su Xiaoqi was not only not angry with him but was also helping him analyze the situation, and his mood instantly improved. He lowered his head and gave her a light peck on the corner of her mouth, saying that it was nothing. As long as they didn’t use force, he would accept all the soft tactics.
“The assassins from the last assassination attempt all died, but the two from this time are alive. Why don’t we try to unravel this?”
Su Xiaoqi saw that he seemed to have a plan, and she felt slightly relieved.
However, she then remembered that Taohua and Madam Quan had left. How would they continue their investigation here?
Thinking of this, Su Xiaoqi asked if he knew where they had gone and if they should find them now.
Shen Yun chuckled and tapped her nose, telling her to relax.
“Don’t worry, everything has been arranged.”
Su Xiaoqi looked at his confident demeanor and nodded. She thought that she had just been concerned, but after all, who was he? He was Shen Yun!
Given his past behavior, no one who tried to scheme against him could ever leave unscathed.
Thinking this, Su Xiaoqi did not expect the answer to come so quickly.
When they returned to the manor, she understood the meaning of Shen Yun’s words. This was because Taohua and Madam Quan were already at the manor.
However, the two of them were securely bound and thrown in the courtyard.
Each occupied a corner, but their mouths were tightly gagged, only able to emit “mmm mmm mmm” sounds.
Su Xiaoqi looked at Shen Yun in astonishment: “You, how did you get them here?” She remembered that Shen Yun had been with her the entire time.
Shen Yun rubbed her hair and asked, “Does my dear want to interrogate them?”
Su Xiaoqi intentionally wanted to see him, so she said she would just watch from the side.
Shen Yun then raised his hand, and two men in black close-fitting clothes suddenly flashed down, one for each, dragging them into two separate rooms.
Upon seeing this, Su Xiaoqi knew that he intended to interrogate them separately.
She hesitated for a moment and followed Shen Yun into Madam Quan’s room.
She felt that the old woman knew far more than Taohua did.