Sang Yao clenched her chopsticks, her lips slightly parted.

She stuttered, “Fake… fake?”

Sang Yao had casually mentioned before that when an emperor died without an heir, his concubines needed to be buried alive.

But saying it was one thing, deceiving the emperor was another.

If she were careless, it could lead to the extermination of her entire family.

She hadn’t expected her sister to make such a big move after being silent for so long.

She sat up straight and looked at Xie Yun. “How did you know?”

If Xie Yun knew, would anyone else know? If so, if someone caught hold of this, it could be troublesome.

Even if she got married and left, what would happen to her sister and father?

Xie Yun said, “Guess.”

He paused, then reassured her, “Don’t worry, others probably won’t guess.”

Lu Li had been in contact with Sang Zhu long ago, so he had some involvement in this fake pregnancy incident.

Xie Yun hadn’t deliberately hidden it from her, so it wasn’t difficult for him to guess. But it might not be as easy for others.

Sang Yao, however, couldn’t eat anymore.

She lowered her voice and asked, “But there are so many imperial physicians in the palace. If the child in her belly is not the emperor’s, it might be plausible, but for this fake pregnancy… didn’t any of the physicians find out?”

Xie Yun nodded and said, “It seems to be a type of medicinal herb. Taking it would cause false pregnancy symptoms.”

Sang Yao couldn’t help but think of the herbal soup her sister had been drinking not long ago when she entered the palace.

At that time, she had vaguely felt that something was wrong with the medicine, thinking that her sister might be deceiving her.

But she thought it was her sister’s own business, and the more she knew as a sister, the worse it would be for her sister. So even if she sensed it, she didn’t question it.

She had thought the queen’s illness was a bit suspicious at first, especially after seeing her sister.

This made her feel even more uneasy. Now, it seemed that her sister might have had a hand in it.

Sang Yao was stunned and didn’t speak for a long time.

Perhaps while she and her father were at home struggling over what to eat for lunch, her sister was secretly planning how to get rid of the queen.

Her sister… was really something.

No wonder her sister didn’t let her enter the palace back then.

With her personality, she wouldn’t have survived three days in the palace.

The maid came in to remove the dishes, and Sang Yao ran to Xie Yun’s side, suddenly remembering something. “By the way, Xie Yun.”

Xie Yun casually let Sang Yao sit on his lap, leaning back in his chair, playing with the light gauze that hung down from the girl.

He was very satisfied with the state of being undisturbed, finally having some leisure time to stay in the room and accompany Sang Yao.

He responded with a “Hmm,” asking, “What’s wrong?”

Sang Yao frowned and said, “Last time I went to the Fragrant Pavilion was because I received a letter from Sang Yinyue. Today, I asked about it and found out that the letter should have been handed over to Ming Rong by my uncle’s family.”

This matter had actually been clarified yesterday.

Xie Yun knew the origin of this letter, but so far, he had no intention of investigating the Sang family’s main household.

Sang Yao looked at Xie Yun and said, “You don’t have to worry about me…”

“Do whatever needs to be done.”

It wasn’t that she was indifferent, but she didn’t have much affection for them.

Her uncle’s family had already tried to gain benefits from her several times. When she was young, they looked down on her father, often speaking coldly.

Harmony only came to the household after her father’s promotion, but this harmony was not from affection, but because.

Her father was a minister in the Ministry of Justice.

Later, when she got married, her aunt wanted Xie Yun to take a concubine, and also wanted to take advantage of her relationship with Xie Yun.

These were just some superficial, greedy actions for personal gain, and she could just ignore them as mere relatives taking advantage of the situation.

But this time, it crossed Sang Yao’s bottom line.

If it weren’t for Xie Yun, she might have already died today.

Although she didn’t have many ambitions, she cherished her life the most.

With this first time, it’s hard to say there won’t be a second time.

Xie Yun raised the corner of his lips and said, “How does Yao Yao want to handle this?”

Sang Yao fell silent, not wanting to answer this question. She just said, “How did you handle such problems before? Just handle it the same way this time.”

Xie Yun said lightly, “Then let’s root out the problem.”

“…,” Sang Yao hesitated.

She leaned on Xie Yun, her body stiffening at his words. After a while, she finally met Xie Yun’s smiling eyes and tentatively asked, “Isn’t that a bit too much?”

But for Xie Yun, it wasn’t too much.

Although he was reluctant to admit it, this incident had made him fearful even now. As for Mingrong, the dying person, let’s not mention him.

According to his usual style, the two people from the Sang family couldn’t have escaped.

Looking at Sang Yao’s surprised face, Xie Yun hugged her tightly and said, “I’m just kidding.”

Sang Yao relaxed and said, “I knew it was too much.”

Xie Yun’s hand rubbed her back, and as Sang Yao’s voice fell, he abruptly said something unexpected:

“Yao Yao, I was wrong.”

“What?”

This time, it was because of him that Sang Yao was involved.

The matter between Mingrong and Lu Li, he had contributed to it. If it weren’t for him, Mingrong wouldn’t have targeted Sang Yao.

From the beginning, he shouldn’t have underestimated this desperate woman.

He whispered, “There won’t be a next time.”

In the blink of an eye, it was the Double Ninth Festival.

According to tradition, today Sang Yao had to return to her parents’ home and then return to the Sang family.

But Sang Yao really didn’t want to see her uncle’s family.

This time, she couldn’t guarantee that they wouldn’t try to push a concubine onto Xie Yun or think of some other advantage.

Although if she were firm enough, they wouldn’t dare to say anything, after thinking about it, Sang Yao still didn’t like that atmosphere.

If Sang Yao went back, it was just to see her father.

She wasn’t a person who particularly valued family ties or was conservative, so after hesitating for a moment, she directly asked Xie Yun to send a message to arrange a meeting with Sang Yin at a restaurant and didn’t return to the Sang family.

As the lights came on, the night in the capital was bright with lights.

Sang Yao had originally thought that with Xie Yun’s aloof personality, he probably wouldn’t get along with her father, and this meal might require her to mediate.

But Sang Yin was just too enthusiastic.

He kept talking about this and that, and surprisingly, Xie Yun could follow along without any awkwardness.

“Son-in-law, you don’t know, a few years ago when I was transferred to the northwest, although life was hard, the people there really loved and respected me!”

After drinking a bit, Sang Yin said without thinking, “When I was leaving, there was even a child who cried and clung to my leg, not letting me go. Who was the one who was transferred from there last time? It seems to be someone surnamed Yun. He made a lot of money there, but didn’t do any real work, right? Son-in-law, don’t you think that kind of official is a parasite of the court?”

He flicked his finger and said, “I’ll tell you this, there are not many officials in this court as honest as me.” He paused and added, “Of course, Son-in-law, you definitely count too.”

Listening to her father boasting loudly, Sang Yao quietly turned to Xie Yun and said, “Don’t listen to him brag.”

Xie Yun nodded and calmly said to Sang Yin, “The official who was transferred from there last time wasn’t Yun Zheng, it was my elder brother.”

The middle-aged man who had been talking non-stop suddenly stopped.

Sang Yin’s voice weakened, “Ah, is that so?”

Sang Yao felt embarrassed for Sang Yin.

She picked up her cup intending to drink some tea, but ended up tasting a mouthful of spiciness.

She had accidentally picked up Xie Yun’s cup.

After holding back for a while, Sang Yao managed to swallow the bitterness.

As soon as she swallowed, Xie Yun pushed her cup towards her.

Sang Yao took it and drank some tea to calm down.

Xie Yun said, “At that time, my father wanted to give my brother some experience, so he let him stay there for two years. If you hadn’t mentioned it, I wouldn’t have known that my brother had done such a thing for personal gain.”

Sang Yin broke out in a cold sweat, “I… I might have remembered it wrong.”

He laughed awkwardly, “I was just talking casually today. Son-in-law, you don’t need to mention this to Young Master Xie.”

Xie Yun cooperated and said, “Of course not.”

Xie Yun’s glass had been nearly half full before, but Sang Yao had finished it all in one gulp.

Now her mouth felt bitter and spicy, as if her stomach was burning.

Fortunately, they had been at the meal for over half an hour, so it was time to leave.

As they were leaving, Sang Yin pulled Sang Yao’s sleeve, wanting to say a few words to her alone.

Before Sang Yao could react, Xie Yun took the lead and said to her, “I’ll wait for you downstairs.”

Once Xie Yun left, Sang Yao looked at the man in front of her, who was obviously drunk, and said helplessly, “Dad, you keep repeating the same things. Xie Yun is tired of hearing them.”

Sang Yin raised his eyebrows and said, “You, child, didn’t I just say it once?”

“Now that you’re married, you’re siding with your husband instead of your father.”

“Turning against your own family.”

Sang Yao: “…”

The dishes and wine in front of them were taken away.

Sang Yin sat on a chair by the window.

The night wind blew away the smell of alcohol from him.

Downstairs was naturally noisy, with people jostling each other.

He had been smiling all evening, but now the smile faded from his face.

Sang Yao sat in front of him and went straight to the point, “Dad, do you know what Uncle has been up to?”

Sang Yin murmured, “I know.”

Although the incident involving Xie Yun’s injury wasn’t publicized, he knew some of the reasons behind it.

Last night, he had even argued with Sang Ji, so angry that he didn’t want to see the old man’s face.

Sang Yao said, “Dad, Uncle doesn’t see you as his brother at all.”

“You’ve helped him a lot over the years, but he has never responded to you. You really don’t need to help him anymore in the future.”

Sang Yin was silent for a moment before saying, “I also wanted him to do well, so that our family could have more influence in the court.”

“Your younger uncle is still okay, but if your eldest uncle becomes successful one day, he will care about you.”

Sang Yao often felt that her father was not valued enough.

The more she talked, the more angry she felt. She even felt her mouth was sharp,

Sang Yao continued, “Even when I took my sister to eat at the mansion, he criticized me. Do you still expect him to help you when he’s doing well?”

Sang Yin rubbed his head, “After all, we’re brothers, we’re family. How could he only think of himself?”

Sang Yao thought she was already easy to bully, but she didn’t expect her father to be even more so.

She said with frustration, “What about before?”

Sang Yin actually understood.

But perhaps it was the bond of kinship, coupled with years of being praised, that made him feel like he had regained the long-lost brotherly love.

Moreover, the Sang family was small and insignificant.

If Sang Ji did well, it would be a good thing for him too.

Which siblings don’t argue a few times?

Sang Zhu was alone in the palace.

Others had their parents to rely on, but she didn’t. At first, she didn’t even have any money to take care of the palace maids.

But after so many years, he hadn’t helped his eldest daughter much, and instead, she had helped him a lot.

But he had no choice.

He didn’t have the talent to benefit the world like Elder Xie, or even like Xie Yun. Being able to become a minister was already fortunate.

He sighed and said, “Alright, I understand.”

“How he treated me in the past, I will treat him the same way.”

“After accepting so many benefits from me, he actually dares to hurt my daughter and son-in-law.”

Sang Yao said, “You are not allowed to help him anymore.”

Sang Yin waved his hand, “I won’t help him.”

He didn’t ask how Xie Yun treated Sang Yao, but instead said, “Next time you go out, bring more bodyguards. This time it was fortunate that the injury was on Xie Yun.”

“Your little arms and legs are no match for a knife.”

…

By the time Sang Yao and Sang Yin finished talking, fifteen minutes had passed.

Sang Yao walked down the stairs, the noise outside the restaurant was deafening, with vendors’ cries and invitations endless.

Stopping at the door, Sang Yao saw Xie Yun standing at the corner of the street in a black robe.

Behind him, the lights were bright, and the moonlight fell on his clear face.

His expression was somewhat relaxed, and he waved to her as if smiling, saying, “Come over here.”