An Ruoyan looked flustered and quickly denied, “No one is directing me…”

Shen Yanzhi still had a gentle smile on his face, but it felt as cold as winter sunlight through ice, with no warmth at all.

He leaned back and pressed his forehead, clearly out of patience, “I prefer dealing with smart people.”

An Ruoyan fell silent for a moment before whispering, “My mother indeed has a deal she wants to make with you.”

As she spoke, she finally looked directly at Shen Yanzhi, “If you protect my family, we will protect Lady Shen.”

Shen Yanzhi’s eyes darkened, but his expression remained unchanged, “Miss An, you must be joking.”

The next moment, his calm facade cracked when An Ruoyan handed him a wooden hairpin wrapped in a handkerchief, “This is a token from Lady Shen, you can verify it.”

There was no need to verify; Shen Yanzhi immediately recognized it as Shen Chan’s hairpin.

He had carved that wooden hairpin for Shen Chan as a coming-of-age gift.

Seeing it in An’s family hands meant Shen Chan was also with them.

Shen Chan must have fled the capital because something had happened there.

Shen Yanzhi’s face turned extremely grim.

Seeing this, An Ruoyan seemed to confirm her bargaining chip and finally smiled for the first time since getting into the carriage.

Her smile was sweet but had a hint of cunning, completely different from her earlier timid demeanor, “Rest assured, as long as you secretly help my family leave Wucheng, Lady Shen will be safe…”

She couldn’t finish her sentence because her throat was suddenly grabbed.

Shen Yanzhi was thin but surprisingly strong.

His eyes were filled with hatred, and it seemed like he would break her neck if she told a lie, “Where is my sister now?”

An Ruoyan didn’t expect this seemingly gentle young man to be so fierce.

She looked panicked but managed to smile and said with difficulty, “Lady Shen is very safe… My uncle, a businessman, encountered a pregnant woman being chased by soldiers on the road. He saved her out of kindness and then found out she was Lady Shen…”

Hearing that An’s family had saved Shen Chan, Shen Yanzhi still didn’t let go.

An Ruoyan’s expression changed several times before she finally smiled sweetly at Shen Yanzhi, “You are hurting me…”

Shen Yanzhi finally released her.

He restrained his violent nature and returned to the elegant gentleman An Ruoyan first saw, ignoring her earlier threats.

He said, “Speaking of which, my family had connections with the Chen family in the past. I should visit your mother sometime.”

General An Yuanqing, one of the five generals, held significant power and was courted by various families.

His wife came from the Chen family of Lijun.

For years, the An and Chen families remained silent.

Until now, Shen Yanzhi hadn’t noticed their tactics.

When An Ruoyan mentioned that her businessman uncle accidentally saved Shen Chan, he still harbored murderous intent, fearing the An and Chen families had discovered that he had suggested using the An family as leverage to make General An fake surrender to the Chu camp.

On closer thought, it didn’t make sense.

If the An family didn’t want to marry off their daughter, they could have shown him Shen Chan’s hairpin earlier.

To ensure his sister’s safety, he would have stopped the Crown Prince’s ridiculous forced marriage.

But the An family waited until the day of the wedding to stop his carriage.

The only reason Shen Yanzhi could think of was that Mrs. An only learned today that Shen Chan was rescued by the Chen family, leaving her no time to plan.

Secondly, if the An and Chen families knew their current predicament was caused by him, Mrs. An would never send An Ruoyan personally to stop his carriage with the token.

It would be like giving him a hostage for free.

He could easily capture An Ruoyan and use her to negotiate with Mrs. An for Shen Chan’s return.

An Ruoyan had specifically mentioned that Shen Chan was pregnant.

After a brief consideration, Shen Yanzhi understood Mrs. An’s intention.

Both the Chen and An families now knew about Shen Chan’s pregnancy.

After Li Xin came to power, his true nature was revealed, and the Crown Prince had pushed the An family to this point.

The An and Chen families guessed Shen Yanzhi’s plans and wanted to join his side.

It was an unintended success.

His original plan to suggest using the An family as leverage to the Crown Prince inadvertently created a rift between the An family and the court, successfully bringing two major families to his side.

Shen Yanzhi was pleased with this outcome.

An Ruoyan, seeing the plan had worked, bowed her head slightly and said, “If the Crown Prince discovers this, I hope you can handle it.”

“Of course. Miss An, please return home and wait for good news.”

As soon as Shen Yanzhi finished speaking, the carriage stopped.

An Ruoyan felt nervous and lifted the curtain to see they had arrived at the An family’s temporary residence.

Despite her best efforts to appear calm, fear was evident in her eyes, “My family’s lives are in your hands, Shen Yanzhi.”

Shen Yanzhi raised his eyes slightly, “I won’t let any harm come to my sister.”

The An family would be safe, and Shen Chan would remain secure with Mrs. An’s relatives.

Understanding his meaning, An Ruoyan finally felt at ease and got off the carriage.

Chen Qin turned the carriage around, and as they drove back, Shen Yanzhi idly turned the white jade ring on his finger.

The night wind lifted the carriage curtain, reflecting the cold light in his eyes, “Notify our top agents, we move on the prince’s residence tonight.”

He had been lying in wait for a long time, planting his informants everywhere.

The secret agent he placed near Li Xin had been discovered after they framed the second prince.

Li Xin then replaced all his personal attendants, which is why Shen Yanzhi hadn’t heard any news about the recent troubles in the capital affecting his family.

Chen Qin hesitated, “Young Master, in a few days, the court officials will arrive to question the Crown Prince.”

Shen Yanzhi sneered, “I’m only placing the Crown Prince under house arrest, not killing him. We’ll keep this useless person alive and use him to demand troops and supplies from Li Xin.”

Chen Qin nodded.

Shen Yanzhi added, “Investigate what exactly happened in the capital.”

To be safe, when Shen Chan was brought back to the Shen family, Shen Yanzhi had ordered his men to secretly dig an escape tunnel under the temple.

Only his trusted aides and Shen Chan knew about it, not even his father, Prince Rong.

Shen Chan must have escaped through that tunnel.

Did Li Xin finally dare to harm his sister?

Shen Yanzhi clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles cracked.

With the support of the An and Chen families, his revenge would come even faster!

The Crown Prince got thoroughly drunk at the banquet.

Staggering back to the bridal chamber, he saw the bride’s face was tear-streaked, making him extremely annoyed.

He grabbed her by the hair and tried to drag her to the bed, but she cried out that she wasn’t the An family daughter, just her maid.

Enraged, the Crown Prince drew his sword and stormed out, demanding his horse to go confront the An family.

However, no one in the mansion obeyed him.

Some soldiers even seized his weapon and forced him back into the house, tying him to a chair.

He called out loudly for his guards, but no one responded.

The ones tying him up were unfamiliar faces.

He finally realized that the soldiers in his mansion had been replaced!

The Crown Prince cursed loudly.

Soon, a few of his close associates, who had also been at the banquet, were brought in, bound hand and foot.

Shen Yanzhi, dressed in a dark blue robe, appeared at the door.

His usual gentle smile remained, but there was a new madness in his eyes, “I congratulate you on your wedding, Your Highness.”

The Crown Prince shouted in fury, “Shen! How dare you!”

Shen Yanzhi simply smiled, his eyes glinting with cold determination.

Shen Yanzhi’s cold smile deepened. “Every word out of your mouth is unpleasant. How about I cut out your tongue?”

The Crown Prince’s eyes widened in shock. “You dare!”

Shen Yanzhi’s lips curled up. “Watch and see if I dare.”

Two strong soldiers restrained the Crown Prince and forced his tongue out.

Shen Yanzhi lightly tapped the Crown Prince’s face with a dagger. “No matter how much I deserve to die, it’s not your family who gets to mock my sister.”

A scream echoed from the room.

When Shen Yanzhi walked out, his robe was splattered with blood, contrasting sharply with his pale face, making him look eerily beautiful.

Qingzhou.

Since the Chen army ( Imperial Army by Li Xin ) was defeated by the “ghost soldiers,” they had been inactive for half a month.

Chu Chengji adjusted the defenses along the river, keeping an eye on the Chen army while preparing for their first major offensive.

The last battle had been fruitful.

They had captured over ten thousand weapons and seized more than ten official ships from the Chen army.

With these ships, they were now ready to engage in a direct naval battle.

However, during the previous night raid, Chu Chengji noticed flaws in the Chen army’s navy.

Their sailors were no different from their land soldiers, with many unable to swim.

When their ships were hit by artillery, the soldiers panicked, unable to organize a proper counterattack.

Moreover, they only had large official ships.

These big targets were easily hit by shore-based catapults and explosive projectiles.

The Chen army’s makeshift navy was flawed, reflecting their overall problems.

To launch an offensive, the soldiers on the official ships needed proper training.

In a battle, they needed strategic maneuvering, not just cramming soldiers onto big ships.

Otherwise, when the Chen army used artillery to prevent their ships from approaching, they would just be sitting ducks.

Luckily, Qingzhou was by the river, and many soldiers were skilled swimmers.

Chu Chengji ordered these soldiers to be picked out and formed into a specialized navy, receiving systematic training.

He also summoned craftsmen to build dozens of small warships like net shuttle boats and eagle boats.

These ships, though carrying fewer soldiers, were highly maneuverable.

Net shuttle boats were known for their speed and could slip through small gaps, avoiding arrows and cannonballs, while protecting the larger fu boats.

Eagle boats could move forward or backward without turning, making them versatile and light.

Everything was being prepared intensively when Lu Ze brought a secret message from the Lu family in Yingzhou:

The Prince of Huaiyang’s heir was heading north, apparently to negotiate with the Chen army across the Jianghuai River.

The Prince of Huaiyang negotiating with Li Xin could only mean they were discussing terms for Huaiyang to join forces against Chu Chengji.

This news immediately heightened tension in Qingzhou, which had just won a battle.

The neighboring Xuzhou, close to Huaiyang’s territory, tightened its defenses.

Chu Chengji wrote a letter to Beiting that same day.

Qin Zheng thought he wanted Marquis Lianqin to send troops to hold off Li Xin so they could focus on the Prince of Huaiyang.

She furrowed her brow. “Will Marquis Lianqin send troops?”

Chu Chengji replied, “Li Xin aims to take Beiting. He can’t stay out of this.”

Qin Zheng looked puzzled, not fully understanding.

Chu Chengji pointed to the map. “With the troops Li Xin has, he doesn’t need Huaiyang’s help to deal with us.

Clearly, after losing the last battle, the Crown Prince demanded more troops from Li Xin.

But Li Xin needs his forces to attack Beiting and can’t spare any for the Crown Prince.

Fearing the Crown Prince can’t hold out, he sought help from Huaiyang.”

If his letter arrived a day earlier, Marquis Lianqin could prepare a day earlier.

With the Jianghuai region almost under his control, Li Xin still hadn’t given up on attacking Beiting, suggesting a long-planned strategy.

The 100,000 iron cavalry of Marquis Lianqin could repel northern barbarians and would be unstoppable if they moved south.

Facing such a force, Li Xin’s willingness to engage Marquis Lianqin hinted at a deeper plot, especially given the strange loss of the four counties in Hexi earlier.