Xie Jin Yan was going to marry Shen Rou as his primary wife?

Yu Qing Wu's heart jolted, but she quickly understood.

No wonder Xie Jin Yan had so quickly retrieved her Yu family's assets; it turned out he had reached a deal with the Shen family.

Yu Qing Wu's expression rapidly turned gloomy.

Seeing her dark face and silence, Shen Rou assumed she was devastated. Raising her voice, she said with disdain, "Cousin, if you kneel down and lick my shoes clean, I might consider letting you be the most lowly servant girl for my beloved Crown Prince."

The word "servant girl" made Yu Qing Wu uncomfortable.

But she could make Shen Rou even more uncomfortable.

She chuckled and didn't reply.

Shen Rou was momentarily bewildered by her laughter, then angrily snapped, "Bitch, what are you laughing at?"

"I'm laughing at you for thinking too highly of yourself." Yu Qing Wu curled her lips, pointed to the jade pendant on her ear, and chuckled. "Shen Rou, look at this. Doesn't it look like your dowry?"

"Well, to be precise, it's the eldest cousin's betrothal gift." She raised her eyebrows, her peach blossom eyes smiling as she looked at Qin Yi Liu beside her.

As expected, Qin Yi Liu's expression changed instantly, and Shen Rou was even more shocked, her almond eyes filled with raging fire.

Along with her anger, doubt arose. She questioned Qin Yi Liu with an indignant tone, "Eldest Sister-in-law, how did your earrings end up with her?"

"Perhaps Mother accidentally took them when she was preparing your dowry."

Qin Yi Liu's expression suddenly became very unnatural. She bit her lip tightly, seeming somewhat annoyed and embarrassed.

Casting a resentful glance at Yu Qing Wu, she changed the subject, saying, "Alright, A Rou, don't pay attention to her. You're the future Crown Princess, don't lose your composure."

With that, she hurriedly pulled Shen Rou away, disappearing from Yu Qing Wu's sight.

Yu Qing Wu had a feeling that Qin Yi Liu seemed to want to snatch everything that belonged to her, including… men.

She didn't understand why Qin Yi Liu wanted to do this, but it seemed to be a good starting point to deal with the Shen family.

Raising her eyes to glance at the winter sun hiding behind the clouds, she smiled and stepped into Shen Ke's Red Fragrance Courtyard.

Shen Ke's residence was just like him: simple and grand on the outside, but filled with women inside.

When Yu Qing Wu entered, Shen Ke was putting a flower hairpin on a red-clothed maid. The maid's face was flushed as she sat on his lap, shy and happy.

"Cough…" Yu Qing Wu coughed lightly.

The maid was startled and hurriedly got off Shen Ke's lap, saying awkwardly, "Cousin Yu."

"Leave." Yu Qing Wu waved her hand and walked straight to Shen Ke.

Shen Ke was also a little embarrassed, his face turning red and white, but he forced a serious expression and looked Yu Qing Wu up and down, saying with a sneer, "Didn't you enter the Crown Prince's manor? Why are you back again? Did he get tired of you?"

Yu Qing Wu ignored him, simply placed a box of mung bean cakes on the stone table, and chuckled as she replied, "I don't know if the Crown Prince is tired of me, but… Qin is definitely tired of Second Cousin."

Hearing this, Shen Ke's expression changed drastically, and he retorted in a panic, "You… what nonsense are you talking about!"

How could she know about his affair with Qin?

Shen Ke was both flustered and puzzled.

Yu Qing Wu smiled faintly, leaned over and sat beside him, casually picked up the tea bowl on the stone table stained with the maid's lipstick, and continued, "Has Qin not been paying much attention to you recently?"

"Do you know why?"

Shen Ke looked at her angrily, not saying a word.

Yu Qing Wu wiped off the bright red rouge from the rim of the bowl and looked at him sympathetically. "Because she's hooked up with the Crown Prince. She persuaded the Crown Prince to marry Shen Rou, just to make it easier for the two of them to commit adultery."

"If Second Cousin doesn't believe it, you can ask His Royal Highness the Crown Prince yourself." She sighed, her red lips with a flirtatious breath approaching Shen Ke's ear.

Shen Ke trembled, his ears instantly becoming hot.

Yu Qing Wu sneered inwardly, pushed him away fiercely, and changed the subject, saying, "Alright, Second Cousin, I came to you today to ask you to return all the letters I wrote to you before. I don't want the Prince to misunderstand."

When she mentioned Xie Jin Yan, her tone became gentle unconsciously, with a bit of a young girl's coquettishness.

As expected, Shen Ke's eyes burst out with raging jealousy…

His Adam's apple bobbed slightly, his gaze swept across Yu Qing Wu's lips, and he said dryly, "I don't know where the letters you wrote went long ago. I'll send someone to deliver them to you when I find them."

Send someone to deliver them to her? To Xie Jin Yan, right?

"Okay."

Yu Qing Wu smiled ambiguously, patted him on the shoulder, and pointed to the mung bean cakes on the table, saying, "Mung bean cakes, your favorite."

After saying that, she turned around and stepped out of the Red Fragrance Courtyard.

Shen Ke sat there, a trace of unclear emotion rising in his eyes.

After Yu Qing Wu returned to the carriage, she wiped her hands again and again.

By the time she returned to the Crown Prince's manor, her palms were already red.

But she didn't apply medicine immediately. Instead, she ordered Granny Xun to fetch water, bathed carefully, and applied Xie Jin Yan's favorite gardenia-scented ointment to her body.

As night fell, Xie Jin Yan was preparing to rest when Granny Xun suddenly came to report that Yu Qing Wu was ill.

When Xie Jin Yan entered the room, she was lying on the bed, her beautiful face with tears in her eyes due to pain.

Xie Jin Yan frowned, sat down on the edge of the bed, and asked, "Where do you feel uncomfortable?"

Yu Qing Wu didn't answer, but looked at Granny Xun, signaling her to leave.

Xie Jin Yan frowned even deeper, and seemed to recall something, embarrassedly asking again, "Is it… did I get too rough last night and hurt you?"

Yu Qing Wu still didn't answer. She got up tremblingly, her eyes filled with mist, and asked him with resentment and grievance, "Are you going to marry Shen Rou?"

Hearing this, Xie Jin Yan was shocked, and his expression immediately became unsightly. He asked with a cold face, "You went to the Shen family?"

"You're not allowed to marry her." Yu Qing Wu interrupted him, her eyes filled with charming anger.

Xie Jin Yan was slightly stunned, and instantly realized, looking at her with a smile. "So, Senior Sister, you pretended to be sick today and called me here just to say this?"

"I know you have a grudge against the Shen family, but my affairs are not for you to interfere with." Xie Jin Yan warned coldly, shook off her hand, and got up to walk out the door.

Yu Qing Wu naturally knew that she wasn't qualified to interfere.

Xie Jin Yan was seemingly frivolous on the surface, but in his bones he was the most rigid and skilled at wielding power.

He was marrying Shen Rou; Yu Qing Wu wasn't surprised at all.

But she absolutely couldn't let the Shen family and Xie Jin Yan form an alliance, no matter the cost…

Taking a deep breath, Yu Qing Wu got up and chased after Xie Jin Yan barefoot, scattering her clothes all over the ground as she walked.

When she reached Xie Jin Yan's back, Yu Qing Wu was only left with a small undergarment. She hugged his waist from behind and sobbed softly, "Xie Jin Yan, I'm so scared. I'm afraid that after the Shen family gains power, they will take my life, just like they harmed my mother, harmed my father, harmed my brother…"

Xie Jin Yan frowned, wanting to move her hands away, but Yu Qing Wu hugged him even tighter, her soft little hands sliding down, one hand untying his belt, and she whined in his ear with a sob, "Jin Yan, stay with me tonight, okay? Just like when we were little, hold me tightly…"