Chuzheng remained calm for a while and finally suppressed the urge to kill him.

"What’s wrong with your body?"

The first thing one does upon entering the palace is the purification process. With so many people in the palace, how did he manage to deceive everyone?

Yin Shen’s throat was slightly dry: "I was lucky..."

Yin Shen was indeed lucky. That day, he was taken into the purification room along with others.

From inside, there was occasionally a chilling scream.

Yin Shen was at the end of the line and had already been called in when a sudden scream came from outside, as if a lot of people were causing a commotion.

The commotion outside grew more intense, and the people inside became impatient and went out to see.

Yin Shen was left alone in the room. Hearing the noise from outside, he went down to the window to see what was happening.

Unfortunately, he could only see some people from there, but couldn’t make out exactly what was happening.

After a while, the outside quieted down, followed by a deathly silence.

Yin Shen heard someone coming in and immediately lay back down but accidentally got some blood on him from nearby.

"Why are you still lying here? Get up quickly; can you walk? Hey, someone, get him out of here."

The eunuch who came in impatiently instructed others to carry him out.

Yin Shen dared not speak and was thus taken away.

As he left, he saw people outside cleaning up bloodstains; it seemed someone had died just now.

The person who died was the eunuch who was supposed to perform the purification on him.

"Is this the last one?"

"Yes, it’s the last one."

"Hurry and take him inside; what a misfortune today has been..."

Yin Shen thus escaped by sheer luck, seeing how some didn’t last through the night because of this incident, he too dared not speak.

However, there was still the medicine change afterward. Yin Shen came up with some ways to evade it.

After getting through this period, as long as he didn’t expose himself, there wouldn’t be any major issues later on.

At first, Yin Shen was also scared because if this matter were discovered, he might be beheaded.

However, having come this far, Yin Shen dared not speak and could only let it go on.

"That’s how it was."

Chuzheng didn’t know whether to say Yin Shen was brave or just lucky.

This matter indeed wasn’t his fault; could he casually speak up about something that could cost him his head?

"Sleep."

"Then, are you still angry, Xiao Chu?"

"..."

Why would she be angry?

She wasn’t!

Don’t talk nonsense!

Chuzheng pressed down on Yin Shen, fiercely: "Hurry up and sleep."

-

The Emperor sent letters over every few days, asking when Yin Shen could return. He was being driven mad by the ministers; if Yin Shen didn’t return soon, the ministers might overthrow his rule.

Yin Shen had been missing for so long that the ministers did not dare act rashly at first, but with so much time passing with no news, how could they not be restless?

Although Yin Shen was not there in person, Chuzheng did not restrict him from sending orders outside. The undercurrents in the court calmed down quickly after a few letters from Yin Shen.

They originally thought Yin Shen had met with some mishap and could not appear.

Who would have thought that even their slightest moves could be detected by Yin Shen?

The ministers were both shocked and relieved to find that Yin Shen truly just had something else to attend to, and nothing had happened to him.

Meanwhile, every day, ministers beseeched the Emperor not to believe the eunuch Yin Shen any longer.

Emperor: "..."

The Emperor continued ignorantly to ignore the ministers’ pleas.

Then he went back to writing letters to complain to Yin Shen, urging him to come back to handle them.

-

Yin Shen was confined in a room, and in the later stages, Chuzheng did not lock the door, though Yin Shen did not run away either. Occasionally, he would take a stroll outside and then obediently return to the room.

Chuzheng seemed satisfied with his behavior and allowed him to return to the palace half a month later.

Yin Shen asked uncertainly, "Are you really letting me go?"

Chuzheng wore an indifferent expression: "No."

Letting you go and yet you still don’t believe it, what else could I do?

"Aren’t you afraid I’ll have people come to arrest you once I leave?" Yin Shen curiously asked Chuzheng.

"You try," Chuzheng arrogantly replied, looking at him.

Fearless.jpg

Yin Shen: "..."

Yin Shen could see that Chuzheng was truly unafraid.

Thinking back to the last incident, she had more resources in her hand than he initially imagined.

Yin Shen smiled: "I’ll come by at night, Xiao Chu, remember to leave the door open for me."

Chuzheng instructed Jin Zhi to escort Yin Shen out, and for the entire day, Jin Zhi was on tenterhooks, fearing Yin Shen would return with a large group for revenge.

However, that did not happen.

A day went by peacefully.

Although Yin Shen resolved many issues, numerous matters still piled up waiting for him to handle.

Yet no matter how busy Yin Shen was, he did as he said and went to Chuzheng’s place each night.

It was unclear how Yin Shen explained things to the Emperor, allowing him to leave the palace at night.

Chuzheng once suspected that Yin Shen and the Emperor had an unspeakable relationship, but unfortunately, she had no proof.

Ever since Yin Shen returned, the Emperor became reclusive again.

It became as hard as climbing the sky for the ministers to meet the Emperor.

Yin Shen continued to take the blame for the Emperor.

-

Spring passed, and autumn came, and in the blink of an eye, half a year had passed.

During this half a year, Chuzheng rarely left the residence unless necessary.

Yin Shen suddenly felt that his previous worries were unnecessary.

With her contentment to stay home, was there any need for him to bother?

Yin Shen was quite satisfied with the present life, the only dissatisfaction being Princess Changhuan, who came out of the palace every so often to find Chuzheng.

No matter how punished, it was of no use.

Next time, she’d dare the same.

"Don’t let her in the residence," Yin Shen advised Chuzheng: "She’s a Princess, what is it to run outside all the time?"

No issues would be fortunate, but if something happened, who would be accountable?

Chuzheng asked drily, "Is it because you care for her so much?"

Yin Shen: "!!"

Yin Shen hastily explained: "Xiao Chu, it’s something I promised Your Majesty, to teach the Princess well and ensure her safety, nothing else."

Chuzheng stared at him for a few seconds: "Oh."

Yin Shen almost raised his hand to swear: "The only one I like is Xiao Chu."

Chuzheng thought for a moment, reached out to pat his head: "Good boy."

Yin Shen: "..."

Treating him as a child to coax?

Yin Shen played around with Chuzheng for a bit but had affairs to handle, so he left first.

Jin Zhi, having been outside for some time, saw him out there and bowed slightly.

After Yin Shen left, Jin Zhi entered to speak with Chuzheng.

"Miss, is it time to wrap things up for Zhu Dongfeng?" Jin Zhi reported on recent matters and mentioned Zhu Dongfeng.

Since Zhu Dongfeng married Xu Jiaowei, they had a sweet time together.

Zhu Dongfeng often thought of little surprises to keep Xu Jiaowei happy.

But as time went by, Zhu Dongfeng lost his patience.

Plus, Xu Jiaowei’s temper was quite demanding; she would get angry if things didn’t go her way and implicated others, Zhu Dongfeng could placate her once or twice, but thrice or fourth time??

The harmony didn’t last long before Zhu Dongfeng couldn’t bear Xu Jiaowei’s temper anymore, frequently staying out all night.

Xu Jiaowei, being a Commandery Princess in the Capital City’s noblewomen circle, cherished her reputation and could not tolerate Zhu Dongfeng’s habit of not coming home at night.

Initially, she discreetly sent people to find him, and out of regard for Xu Jiaowei, Zhu Dongfeng would return.

But upon returning, Xu Jiaowei would pull his ear and scold him.

How could a man like Zhu Dongfeng stand for that?

In the vicious cycle, Zhu Dongfeng spent more nights out, while Xu Jiaowei’s methods of retrieval started discreetly but turned more public.

Upon finding him, she would not spare Zhu Dongfeng’s face.

Their conflicts intensified.

Every time, Lord Zhu urged Zhu Dongfeng to accommodate Xu Jiaowei, and Zhu Dongfeng was at his wit’s end. He was already trying his best, but who could manage this Commandery Princess?