After the imperial guards came to surround the mansion, Jing Yu was frightened a lot. But nothing happened afterward, and no imperial decree was issued, either.

  She was not assured at all.

  Her Majesty must be planning something big.

  Duanmu Shu’s condition was also not very good. Both the imperial physician and common doctors didn’t find out what was wrong with him.

  As if it was really that Duanmu Shu didn’t want to live.

  Duanmu Shu woke up once. Seeing Shen Yan, he thought he was dreaming.

  Before Shen Yan could tell him it was not a dream, he fainted again.

  “Your Highness, Lady, could it be that…… His Highness, well, Lord Duanmu is poisoned?” Jing Yu made a bold guess. “I’ve heard that some poisons are colorless and odorless, even highly skilled doctors can’t do anything about it.”


  Shen Yan’s eyes lit up. “Possibly…… A-Shu will definitely not seek death himself. He must’ve been poisoned.”


  Ming Shu didn’t express her opinions. Today’s desserts were very delicious.

  But Shen Yan and Jing Yu both looked at her.

  Ming Shu: “.……”


  Ming Shu moved aside her plate. “If it’s such a powerful poison, even if you know it, it will be very hard to get its antidote.”


  Shen Yan acted like she poured a basin of cold water over her head.

  She didn’t even know what happened to Duanmu Shu……

  But this was a breakthrough, so Shen Yan called the doctors back to check him again.

  Even with the theory of being poisoned, most doctors still didn’t find out anything special.

  A few of them stuttered and described it as being poisoned, or not, no accurate conclusion was given.

  Duanmu Shu woke up again in the evening.

  He should have many words to say to Shen Yan, so Ming Shu left the room.

  “Lady, do you think lord Duanmu is really poisoned?”


  “I don’t know.” Ming Shu squatted aside. “What is Shen Pin doing?”


  Jing Yu’s mouth twitched. She wanted to remind Ming Shu to pay attention to her image, but gave up in the end. It wouldn’t work on her anyway.

  “His Highness is practising calligraphy.”


  “Okay.” Ming Shu looked at the trees in the yard, then asked again a moment later, “Is there any action from Shen Yu?”


  “We haven’t found anything unusual.” Jing Yu asked tentatively then, “Lady, do you think Her Majesty will just let it go?”


  “Have you ever seen an empress so provoked that she would let it go?”


  “Then why did you do that, Lady, do you……”

  Now there were all guesses out there, and everyone said the prime minister was going to rebel.

  But as she observed, Lady didn’t seem to want to rebel. It was like she just wanted to go against Her Majesty.

  “Rebellion? I’ll leave that to Shen Yan. I’m a prime minister with ideals; I just want to be a traitor careerist.”


  With ideals?

  Being a traitor careerist?

  Jing Yu wanted to grab Ming Shu’s shoulder and shake it violently.

  Shen Yan stayed inside for nearly two hours before she came out.

  She looked at Ming Shu who sat on the steps and was bragging about something to Jing Yu that made Jing Yu really want to turn away.

  “Your Highness.” Jing Yu acted like she’d seen a savior. “Is everything okay with Lord Duanmu?”


  Shen Yu rubbed against her own forehead. “A-Shu said his health was deteriorating day by day, because of the news of…… my death, and his being prisoned in the palace by Shen Yu, so he had been very depressed the whole time. He didn’t care about his health and just thought he’d rather die.”


  Jing Yu: “There are too many people and eyes in the palace. Yuhua Palace is not somewhere anyone could go in and out of, but the food is distributed uniformly by the imperial kitchen, so there are also many people who had a chance to poison Lord Duanmu.”


  The most important thing was, they were now outside the palace, but the person who poisoned him must be inside.

  “Since his health was gradually deteriorating, it must be a chronic poison, not a one-time dose.” Ming Shu took out a fruit from nowhere. “Search out the things or people he comes in contact with every day. There should be a clue.”


  “You talk sense, Lady.” Jing Yu began to suck up to Ming Shu. “It’s good to have a range for searching.”


  “I’ll go ask about it further……”
……

  Duanmu Shu didn’t meet many people, and barely walked out of his own palace.

  The food that was delivered every day was different, too.

  “A-Shu, can you still remember when you started feeling unwell?”


  Duanmu Shu leaned against Shen Yan with a pale face. “About a month ago.”


  By that time he was already feeling a little sick, but he didn’t want to tell Shen Yu and endured it by himself for a long time.

  If it was really a chronic poison, the time needed to be traced back further.

  Shen Yan helped Duanmu Shu recall, but he couldn’t remember anything.

  “I’m sorry, Your Highness.”


  Shen Yan loved Duanmu Shu dearly. “It’s my bad.”


  At that time, Shen Yu suddenly took action yet she was almost defenseless. If it were not for Sister Seven…… no, Brother Seven, she would probably have been dead now.

  Shen Yan comforted Duanmu Shu and then left the room, depressed.

  She found herself in the garden of the prime minister’s house unconsciously. In the middle of the garden stood a table with some rice paper on it, but there was no one there.

  Shen Yan looked around, walking forward. The rice paper on the table was an unfinished painting.

  “Sister Four.”


  A clear voice came from the side.

  Shen Yan was startled and averted her gaze away from the rice paper. “Sis…… Brother Seven.”


  Shen Pin’s sleeves were slightly rolled up, with his hand holding a clean brush. As he moved, his clothes floated.

  His exquisite and luxurious clothes set him off like a piece of exquisitely carved jade.

  She only saw him from a distance before. The scope of his movements was small, and most of the time he was with the prime minister, so she had no chance to meet him.

  “Sister Four, why are you here?” Shen Pin lifted the brush and touched it to the ink, continuing painting with his head lowered. It was like he’d just asked the question casually.

  “I was just taking a casual stroll……” Shen Yan said. “Where’s the prime minister?”


  She was outside the room just now. But when she came out, both Jing Yu and the prime minister were gone.

  “Her?” Shen Pin raised his voice a little. “She should be out.”


  Since she was not with her, nor with him, she should be out, or she was in the kitchen.

  But it seemed embarrassing to say she was in the kitchen, so Shen Pin had to say she was out.

  He still needed to maintain his lady wife’s image.

  Shen Yan’s expression became complicated. She never expected that her Sister Seven was actually a male.

  “Brother Seven.”


  Shen Yan paused for a moment. “I have to thank you for earlier.”


  “Thank me?” Shen Pin suddenly raised his head and stared at Shen Yan with his dark and deep eyes. He asked word by word, “How will you thank me, Sister Four?”


  Shen Yan was suddenly stunned. Meeting with his eyes, she actually felt uncomfortable.

  She averted her gaze. “How do you want me to thank you, Brother Seven? I don’t have anything now……”


  Shen Pin also averted his gaze and returned to finish his drawing.

  “Sister Four, if you really want to thank me, just leave quickly with Duanmu Shu.”


  Since they came, she spent less time accompanying him. They even caused trouble for her.

  Shen Yan never expected that Shen Pin would make for such a request.

  “Brother Seven, rest assured, I will leave.”

  “Sister Four, take care.”


  Shen Yan: “.……”

  For Shen Pin, he had actually already considered their close brother-sister relationship since he didn’t have a grudge against her.

  Shen Yan glanced at the rice paper. The outline had become clear. It was the prime minister.