The next morning, Xie Yu and Shen Changyin each rode separate carriages to attend court.
Today was Xie Yu's first public appearance in the capital since the assassination attempt during her engagement banquet.
Rumors had been spreading for days.
Before they even arrived outside the Hall of State Affairs, every official already knew that the two women had deliberately taken separate carriages that morning.
When Shen Changyin approached wearing deep purple official robes, and Xie Yu followed a few steps behind dressed in crimson royal attire, walking up the steps without looking at each other, the officials exchanged knowing glances.
So the rumors were true.
This pair of wives — a political marriage with no affection to begin with — had begun to resent each other after the Third Princess was dragged into the assassination attempt.
Standing among her own faction of officials, the Fifth Princess, dressed in lake-blue royal robes, narrowed her eyes slightly.
Xie Yu stepped onto the stairs alone, standing not far from her. Her expression was blank, her mood clearly bad.
So the Fifth Princess simply approached her, patted her shoulder gently, and asked with concern, "Third Sister, are you alright? I heard you were injured. Do you need any medicine?"
Xie Yu lifted her head and shook it. "No."
But her expression remained gloomy.
The Fifth Princess glanced at Shen Changyin standing among her faction in the center of the crowd. She sighed softly. "Third Sister, your engagement banquet has never gone smoothly since the beginning. Maybe you should petition Mother Empress to annul the marriage?"
"Why are you bringing this up suddenly?" Xie Yu looked at her warily.
The Fifth Princess chuckled softly, still polite and gentle as ever. "Everyone in the capital knows you and Lord Shen are not on good terms."
Xie Yu blinked.
She had only wanted to test whether this seemingly perfect younger sister knew her own secret base had been destroyed — she hadn't expected an extra bit of information.
"I'm not on good terms with her? What exactly are people saying?"
The Fifth Princess sighed as if indulging her. "Third Sister, there's no need to pretend with me. She is a rebel who only used you. Her origins are unclear, and she behaves ruthlessly. Can you really tolerate someone like her?"
"Even though the engagement was bestowed by Mother Empress, if you insist on breaking it, everyone sees the truth. They will support you."
Xie Yu nodded thoughtfully. "I see."
So she and Shen Changyin were now performing the classic political-marriage drama: two wealthy noble wives pretending to be estranged and fighting for power.
Playing along with the persona, she gritted her teeth and muttered, "I hate her."
"I truly hate her. If I had soldiers under my command, why would I let her humiliate me like this?"
"I only hate that I have no favor from Mother Empress and no full-blooded sisters to defend me."
The Fifth Princess immediately frowned and replied with disapproval, "I am your sister. If you need something, simply tell me. I will give everything for you."
Xie Yu instantly wrapped an arm around the Fifth Princess's shoulder, dragging her firmly into her embrace. "Only my own sister treats me well."
The palace bell rang. The doors of the Hall of State Affairs opened, and all officials began entering.
Xie Yu walked into court holding the Fifth Princess tightly.
Shen Changyin passed by them as if she didn't care.
But Xie Yu caught the subtle look of disapproval directed at her.
She deliberately tightened her arm around the Fifth Princess, even patting her shoulder provocatively.
She refused to cater to Shen Changyin's controlling tendencies. She was hugging her biological sister. What right did Shen Changyin have to be annoyed?
If the atmosphere before court had been subtle and even slightly friendly, everything changed the moment the court attendant announced that anyone with matters should step forward.
One official from Shen Changyin's faction immediately stepped out, presented a memorial, knelt, and announced something explosive:
"I accuse the Fifth Princess of raising assassins and orchestrating the attack on the Third Princess and the Regent, disregarding sisterly ties and endangering the stability of the court. I ask Her Majesty to judge."
The hall erupted.
Officials from the Fifth Princess's faction leapt forward in outrage:
"With no evidence and no witnesses, you slander her! You seek to sow discord between the princesses and destabilize the realm. Your intentions are vile!"
"I speak only the truth. But the Fifth Princess harmed her sisters while Her Majesty is still in good health, vying for succession. If given time, who knows who she will kill next?"
Xie Yu was stunned.
She had attended court before, but she usually got bored by the poetic political jargon.
Today, she finally understood.
When these people fought, they threw accusations like thunderbolts, slapping crimes punishable by extermination of entire clans onto each other as if tossing stones.
The Fifth Princess's mother was the Imperial Consort. Her grandmother was the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister had countless students in the court — brilliant scholars who now stepped forward to defend their princess.
Shen Changyin's faction briefly fell behind.
"I have evidence," said the accusing official. "I would not make baseless claims."
She pulled out the evidence and raised it high.
The attendant retrieved it and delivered it to the Empress.
The Empress read it quickly, straightened slightly, and spoke in a deep, authoritative voice:
"Fifth Daughter, is this true? It says here that one of your inns was used as a hideout by the assassins. This is solid evidence."
Xie Yu, who had been calmly watching the chaos, immediately lifted her head.
That tone wasn't an accusation.
It was a warning. A signal.
The Empress was protecting her daughter.
As expected, the Fifth Princess instantly knelt. "I failed to manage the properties under my name and allowed villains to take advantage of them. They nearly harmed Third Sister and Lord Shen. It was my negligence. That is my crime."
"But I would never harm my own sisters!"
Xie Yu silently mouthed curses at this mother-daughter duo and their perfect coordination.
Fortunately, she and Shen Changyin had already anticipated this and prepared more evidence.
What had just been submitted only covered the assassination attempt at the engagement banquet.
The real bombshell was still coming.
Shen Changyin stepped forward.
She was one of the most powerful figures in court and one of the victims of the assassination attempt, so every movement drew attention.
She took out another memorial and gestured. Someone entered carrying a redwood tray piled with thick documents and several weapons.
"Your Majesty, the Fifth Princess did not merely accidentally allow assassins to stay at her inn."
"Within the region of Zhangzhou, she secretly kept illegal farmland and households, and trained an entire force of assassins. They have carried out over thirty missions in the capital alone, including the attacks on me and the Third Princess."
"These are the physical proofs. I also have witnesses ready to testify."
The hall fell silent.
The Empress asked, "If these assassins were hidden in illegal land, how did you know?"
Shen Changyin answered calmly, "Because their camp has already been destroyed."
The Fifth Princess's expression collapsed.
She had no idea her secret base had been wiped out. Hearing this suddenly, she could hardly believe it.
Panic overwhelmed her, and she blurted out desperately, "Mother Empress, I didn't do this!"
She was younger than Xie Yu. Of course she panicked.
The Empress frowned slightly at her loss of composure and did not respond.
Instead, the Prime Minister stepped forward and said:
"Whether the assassin camp is real or not, even if this place does exist, who attacked it?"
"Regent, although you are a royal princess and commander of your personal guard, you do not have the authority to deploy troops without imperial decree."
"You have been in the capital these past days, and so should your guards. Where did you find soldiers to attack the assassin camp?"
"If the soldiers who attacked it are yours, who granted you the authority to defy imperial power and mobilize troops?"
"Zhangzhou is not some distant frontier. It belongs to Her Majesty, not to the Regent."
Xie Yu finally understood what the Prime Minister was doing.
Military power was always sensitive.
According to regulations, Shen Changyin, as a royal princess and commander of the Imperial Valiant Army, had the right to deploy guards for personal protection.
But she did not have the right to mobilize forces outside the capital without written orders.
Which meant:
If Shen Changyin admitted she sent troops, the Fifth Princess's faction could immediately accuse her of violating imperial authority.
But since she had now chosen to abide by the rules of the court, this set of constraints still applied to her.
The Fifth Princess, who had just been terrified, finally calmed down after hearing what the Chancellor said.
She stepped back to stand with the officials of her own faction, her expression once again gentle and composed.
The Chancellor was right—what assassin battalion?
Unless Shen Changyin wanted to drag herself down along with her, that place was clearly fabricated.
Officials from the Chancellor's faction echoed:
"The Chancellor speaks true. Lady Shen, since you did not personally send troops to attack, then this assassin battalion may not even exist. It's likely nothing but a false accusation you created!"
The atmosphere in the hall shifted instantly, and the officials aligned with the Fifth Princess suddenly became the ones under attack.
Shen Changyin's subordinates were forced back step by step.
Just at this critical moment, a clear yet slightly lazy voice suddenly sounded.
"Who said that place doesn't exist?"
Xie Yu stepped forward unhurriedly and turned to look at the assembled civil and military officials. "If that place doesn't exist, then what exactly did I lead my troops to attack?"
She looked at the Chancellor. "As a princess and a royal duchess, I naturally have the right to be accompanied by a personal guard unit."
"That day, when I was passing through Zhangzhou with my guard unit, I was suddenly ambushed."
"My guards retaliated and chased them all the way into a small town. Only then did I discover that this town had become a private stronghold for certain people. Not only was there an assassin battalion, but there was also an illegal garrison."
"As a princess, for the sake of the realm's stability—and for self-defense—I took that town. What wrong was there in that?"
She lied without stuttering, staring at the Chancellor until he reluctantly muttered that there was no wrongdoing, then she continued:
"As for this town's connection to my Fifth Sister, that was only discovered after it was taken. I hadn't even wanted to find out."
The Fifth Princess stood among her supporters, glancing at the calm Shen Changyin, then at Xie Yu. Her gaze drifted between them, the purple official robes and red skirts overlapping in her sight.
Suddenly, terror seized her. She pointed at them and shouted, "You two were never at odds!"
"You planned this together to trap me?!"
"You're working together!"
Listen to her.
Xie Yu touched her nose, thinking that this made her and Shen Changyin sound like a pair of villainous lovers plotting murder and mischief.
Then again, since this world only had women, calling them a villainous couple was accurate enough.
Being insulted aside, she had to admit—this persona had a certain charm.
Her mind drifted with pointless thoughts.
Shen Changyin, however, was far more pragmatic.
"The assassin battalion is proven beyond doubt. The Fifth Princess not only raised assassins but also illegally assembled troops. I request that Your Majesty investigate thoroughly."
The Chancellor, now standing beside his granddaughter without anyone noticing, immediately kicked the girl's knee upon hearing this.
The Fifth Princess collapsed onto the floor. After her initial shock, she began sobbing loudly. "Mother, Mother, it was my fault. I was too afraid."
"I feared someone wanted to harm me, Mother—!"
"Your love shines on me like the sun and moon. I remember it day and night, but this love also drew the envy of petty people. I was scared. I just didn't want to die and lose my chance to stay by your side."
Xie Yu stared, stunned.
People could say something that nauseating off the top of their heads?
The Chancellor immediately led her faction in praising imperial virtue, insisting that although the Fifth Princess had erred, she was still young and should be forgiven.
With the empress's natural favoritism toward the Fifth Princess, it seemed clear to everyone present that she would escape with no more than a light punishment.
Shen Changyin stepped forward again.
"I still have matters to report."
The Fifth Princess, still kneeling, felt a sudden wave of dread.
To be precise, she didn't want to see Shen Changyin or Xie Yu right now, nor hear their voices. The moment she did, she felt breathless—doom approaching.
Shen Changyin was usually gentle and disliked speaking loudly, yet now her voice was firm and resonant, echoing through the entire hall:
"I report the Fifth Princess for abducting young citizens, draining their blood, refining it into blood pills, selling them on the black market, practicing forbidden arts, and profiting from evil. She has violated both morality and nature."
At the words "blood pill," the hall fell silent.
Although superstition was rampant thanks to the empress's trust in mystics, refining blood pills from humans was undeniably forbidden sorcery.
Xie Yu's gaze swept over the high officials and the empress, watching their reactions carefully.
The empress's words were short, tightly restrained. "Is there evidence?"
"Yes." Shen Changyin had the evidence brought forward.
The empress read it, then exploded with fury, hurling the documents to the floor and snapping at the Chancellor, "This is your wonderful granddaughter!"
Xie Yu thought, She's also your wonderful daughter. Why don't you scold yourself first?
The Chancellor picked up the evidence, glanced over it, and immediately knelt. "This is my failure in guidance."
"I beg Your Majesty to punish the Fifth Princess severely, for the sake of justice."
This stunned not only the kneeling Fifth Princess but also Xie Yu and Shen Changyin.
Why had things escalated so quickly? Where were the disbelief, the excuses, the questions?
"Grandmother…" the Fifth Princess whispered, dazed. "Grandmother, what are you saying? Mother, what are you both saying?"
The empress didn't give her young daughter a chance to cause chaos. She cut her off instantly:
"My Fifth Daughter, Xie Jia, is cruel of heart and lacking in humanity. From this moment forth, she is stripped of her title, reduced to a commoner, and imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice's prison. The Regent will oversee the investigation."
"Court dismissed."
She rose immediately and left for the inner palace.
The officials were left bewildered.
What just happened? How did everything turn upside down so quickly?
Even Shen Changyin and Xie Yu hadn't foreseen this turn.
They had considered the possibility of the empress and chancellor shielding the Fifth Princess, but not abandoning her this swiftly and decisively.
The Fifth Princess collapsed completely, unable even to kneel upright, her limbs like broken sticks.
Officials from the Ministry of Justice took her away.
The other officials, shaken by the dramatic shift in power, gradually dispersed. Even those loyal to the Fifth Princess hurried to the Ministry, unwilling to give up entirely.
Soon, only Xie Yu and Shen Changyin remained.
They stood several meters apart, looking at each other, each seeing the same confusion in the other's eyes.
They walked toward each other.
Xie Yu shook her head. "For them to sell her out this quickly, and even put her fate in your hands—why?"
"To silence me," Shen Changyin said quietly. "The empress and the chancellor don't want me to continue investigating the blood pills."
"Are they involved too? No… they shouldn't be. If they had long known that the blood-pill site and the assassin battalion were in the same place, their expressions would have changed already when they heard we captured that town."
Xie Yu had been observing them closely and was certain neither woman reacted until the words "blood pill" appeared.
They discussed for a while, but couldn't reach a conclusion.
Still, the Fifth Princess was in their custody now.
Their investigation would continue, but for now, this was a form of victory.
Xie Yu exhaled deeply. She wasn't someone who worried too far ahead. "Whatever. Getting her locked up is already a major win."
"We've practically acted in the name of justice. Want to celebrate? Do you have work today? Dinner at Tianxiang House?"
Without realizing it, they had walked all the way outside the palace, where two carriages waited.
Shen Changyin said calmly, "I have no official duties today, but I do have other plans."
"Oh, then I'll go eat alone." Xie Yu moved to get into her carriage.
But Shen Changyin grabbed her by the collar and pulled her back.
"Ow ow ow ow ow!"
Her neck was caught by the collar, making her nearly see stars. She bent forward toward Shen Changyin. "Let go! Let go! Attempted murder of your beloved wife!"
"Beloved wife?" Shen Changyin repeated in an unreadable tone.
Xie Yu answered boldly, "I'm beautiful, kindhearted, and adored by all. Don't I deserve the title of beloved wife?"
"Then why did you pull me back?"
Shen Changyin turned to her, her dark eyes serious. "This matter is settled, so naturally I must do the next thing."
"What thing?" Xie Yu asked casually, not truly curious.
"I'm going to learn to swim."
"You want to learn how to swim?" Xie Yu blinked. "Why all of a sudden?"
"That day I was attacked—I couldn't swim."
"So?"
"So that was my incompetence. I must learn."
Shen Changyin spoke as calmly as if this were the most natural decision in the world.
Xie Yu found it unbelievable.
She knew exactly how busy Shen Changyin was—every morning when she woke, countless matters awaited her. Countless people tried to scheme against her, and she had to counter-scheme against just as many.
During just these past two days, Xie Yu had watched Shen Changyin soothe the officials of her faction; reorganize the entire system of military agriculture; purge the traitors within her own ranks; take command of the investigation into the Fifth Princess; and even handle the aftermath of the battle Xie Yu had only just finished fighting.
Any one of those tasks alone would be enough to fry Xie Yu's brain like an overheated machine.
The fact that Shen Changyin could finish all of them was already impressive enough.
Yet Xie Yu never expected that, in the midst of such heavy and dangerous responsibilities, Shen Changyin still insisted on carving out time to learn a skill she might never need again.
A skill she was clearly afraid of. When they had jumped off the cliff that day and drifted in the water, Shen Changyin had clutched her hand so tightly it almost hurt.
Shen Changyin was genuinely afraid of water—even if she never said a word about it and acted as calm as a breeze.
"You do realize that day was just an accident, right? You haven't needed to swim in over twenty years, and you probably won't need it in the next twenty. You're busy every single day—do you really need to make time to learn how to swim?"
Shen Changyin nodded.
Xie Yu stared at her and shook her head, thinking that compared to a person like this, she herself might as well be considered low-energy.
She pressed a hand to her chest and offered a sincere blessing. "I wish you success."
"I'm going to resume my life of uselessness." She turned to leave.
Shen Changyin reached out again to grab her collar.
But Xie Yu, as if she had eyes in the back of her head, slapped the hand away—only for her sleeve to be caught instead.
Delicate fingers pinched the fabric of her sleeve, looking even paler against the red cloth.
The strength in those few fingers wasn't much, and Xie Yu could have easily pulled away.
But—
Xie Yu lifted her hand slightly—and those fingers gently tugged back.
The force was tiny, nothing for Shen Changyin, yet it made Xie Yu feel as if a soft flower's tail were brushing across her bare palm—an itch that went straight to her heart.
She was doing it on purpose.
Xie Yu was even a little annoyed. How could someone act like this?
What was this—temptation-by-gentle-tugging?
But her heart still felt warm and itchy.
In the end, she turned around with a bad attitude, sounding impatient. "What do you want now?"
"Little Xie." Shen Changyin looked at her, eyelashes curved like little hooks, her voice soft and light, like a dandelion falling on Xie Yu's nose.
"Teach me to swim?"
—
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