Chapter 35: A Disrupted Heartbeat

Were it not for remembering that Liu Fuying was a woman, Shen Xiunian might have grabbed her by the collar.

“I’ll ask you.”

Shen Xiunian stared at her intently, changing the subject.

“Where did you go last night?”

Liu Fuying shifted slightly, moving a bit farther away from him with a hint of disdain, and replied with a smile, “Why don’t you tell me where you went looking for me?”

Just thinking about how Shen Xiunian had gone to Xiangshan yesterday to investigate for Pei Zhouwu, helping him clear his name, made Liu Fuying want to laugh.

“Let me guess,” Liu Fuying said with a smile, her expression revealing a bold, unguarded shrewdness she never showed when she was with Pei Zhouwu. “Your mother must have been seriously ill, and you were so anxious you must have searched the entire city for me. When you couldn’t find me in the city, you probably searched outside the city as well. Changmingguan would have been the most important place. Did you think I must have gone there to secretly meet my lover?”

Shen Xiunian’s face darkened, thinking Liu Fuying truly had no shame.

She could speak so confidently about secretly meeting a lover, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

As if she and that outsider were the proper couple, while he, restrained and cautious, seemed like some insignificant, shameful gigolo.

“Shen Xiunian, are you really that foolish?”

Liu Fuying stopped smiling and sat up a little straighter.

“You’ve already guessed where I might be meeting my lover outside. Would I be foolish enough to keep waiting at Changmingguan for you to catch me in the act? What happened yesterday wasn’t my responsibility. You were the one who acted recklessly and caused trouble. I’ve already been generous by not making you apologize and beg me for forgiveness. Instead, you come here to accuse me. What do you take me for? Some servant you bought, to be summoned and dismissed at will, and to endure your scolding and beatings?”

Shen Xiunian’s face paled, and his imposing demeanor weakened.

It was true—he was the one who should take responsibility for what happened yesterday.

Thinking carefully, he had already understood this last night. Why had he lost his temper again today?

Shen Xiunian slowly sat up straight, unable to figure it out.

He had gone out of the city to search for her because he was worried about his mother’s condition, not to catch Liu Fuying or hold her accountable. So why had he suddenly felt angry when he saw Jin Li returning with Liu Fuying in the carriage?

“You’re clever with words. No matter what, you’re always right.”

In the end, he only uttered this feeble, powerless sentence.

Liu Fuying didn’t respond further. For someone as stubborn as Shen Xiunian, saying something like this was already an admission of defeat and an apology. If she continued to press him and poke at his sore spots, neither of them would save face.

And it was unnecessary.

What was their relationship? Did she expect him to bow his head, admit his mistakes, and live peacefully with her?

“Back to the city.”

Liu Fuying called out to the driver, and the carriage began moving again.

She didn’t kick Shen Xiunian out of the carriage, not to spare his pride, but because she had something she wanted to find out.

Shen Xiunian felt the same way.

“How is Mother-in-law?” Liu Fuying asked patiently.

Shen Xiunian’s temper had softened considerably by now. When asked about his mother, his concern outweighed everything else. He replied, “The imperial physician came to see her yesterday. He said she’s tormented by inner demons, and the medicine can only help her sleep more peacefully.”

“She is, after all, your birth mother. No matter what, you are the one closest to her. But I see you’re not very attentive to her either. Do you really plan to leave her care entirely to me for the rest of her life?”

Her words carried no tone of blame, but rather a sense of deep concern.

Otherwise, Shen Xiunian might have flared up again.

Shen Xiunian glanced at her, pondering the meaning behind her words. He recalled how his subordinates had also advised him not to be too reckless on the battlefield—that death was not the ultimate purpose of war, and that if he died, what would become of the Shen Family? What would become of his mother?

Liu Fuying probably wanted to urge him to show more care for his mother as well.

“She is my mother. How could I not be concerned?”

It was precisely for his mother that he had broken the vow he once made—to marry no one but Jiang Susu—and instead married Liu Fuying.

“But earlier, when you asked me where I went last night, was it only after nightfall that you remembered to come looking for me for your mother’s sake?”

“That wasn’t the case.”

At the time, his mother had fallen ill, and it took him a great deal of effort to stabilize her condition. Afterward, he immediately went to the Liu Family to look for her, only…

At this point, Shen Xiunian began his own probing.

“Yesterday, I was dispatched to Xiangshan by an imperial decree.”

He looked at Liu Fuying, appearing as though he was earnestly explaining to her, but in reality, he was carefully observing any unusual changes in her expression upon hearing about Xiangshan and Pei Zhouwu.

“The Empress’s younger brother, Marquis Pei, killed a guard and is suspected of defecting. His Majesty ordered me to investigate.”

But how could he possibly detect any abnormality in Liu Fuying’s expression?

Her acting skills had been honed under Pei Zhouwu’s influence and were now flawless—she could say anything without a change in expression.

“That traitor? How could he be so bold?”

As she said this, her face showed interest, surprise, and even a hint of fear.

But there was none of the guilt Shen Xiunian had hoped to see.

So, had he simply been overthinking everything?

Perhaps he truly was delusional or unwell, repeatedly linking Liu Fuying and Pei Zhouwu together.

“He is not a traitor,” Shen Xiunian turned away, feeling somewhat reassured, and his tone softened considerably. “It was the dead guard who acted despicably, severely injuring Marquis Pei and causing his own death. When the guard’s body was brought back to the city, someone saw a stick of incense fall from it. After the news spread, His Majesty dispatched me to investigate in order to quell the rumors.”

“Incense? A guard using incense on a prisoner? That’s truly horrifying. Who spread the news?”

Shen Xiunian shook his head.

“Yesterday, news of Marquis Pei’s incident spread throughout almost all of Shangjing City. It’s impossible to trace who started it. In any case, a used stick of incense was indeed found in the place where Marquis Pei was imprisoned, and that is already sufficient evidence.”

Hearing this, Liu Fuying finally felt relieved.

She was the one who had spread the news, and as long as she wasn’t discovered, all was well.

Spreading rumors was something she was quite experienced in. She knew how to avoid using her own name and instead pass the information through multiple intermediaries. The larger the rumor grew, the harder it was to trace its source.

“So, that traitor is indeed innocent.”

“Not only innocent, but also pitiable.”

Shen Xiunian, who was usually reluctant to say more than necessary, found himself speaking more in front of Liu Fuying today.

“Think about it—General Pei was once so majestic and accomplished, having rendered so many meritorious services. Now, he has been reduced to a prisoner. Moreover… he is a pitiable man, trapped by love.”

Listen to him—now he even sympathizes with Pei Zhouwu.

Wait.

Pei Zhouwu, trapped by love?

“General, you investigate cases and even delve into such private matters?”

Shen Xiunian let out a heavy sigh and said, “What private matter? I saw that even in his unconscious state, he couldn’t forget the wooden hairpin that fell on the ground. It must have been a gift from someone dear to him.”

A wooden hairpin.

The Glowworm Wooden Hairpin.

In that instant, Liu Fuying felt as if something had struck her heart.