Princess, she is the one who facilitated the extradition.

"Is this how you work for your godfather?"

A cold laugh came from behind.

Zhang Ming didn't even turn his head; he knew it was Zhang Tuo just by hearing his voice.

The two grew up together and had a very good relationship when they were young. However, after they became teenagers, Zhang Tuo began to target him in every way.

This time, as soon as he returned to Beijing, Zhang Tuo started a fight. Thinking of the white robe his wife had sewn for him, which he had smashed and stained with mud, he was determined to find Zhang Tuo and fight him again.

But not right now. Right now, he's more interested in knowing who that woman was.

Seeing that he was ignoring him, Zhang Tuo was starting to get suspicious when he saw Zhao Mingyue helping Chai Shiyue out of the alley.

The area was so densely packed with small gates and courtyards that carriages couldn't get in, so the two of them had to walk with their servants.

Zhao Mingyue was still a little worried and said to Shiyue, "Let's have a doctor check on you when we get back, so as not to startle the baby in your womb."

Shiyue did not refuse, "Thank you, Miss."

This is her first child, and she cares about it a lot, especially recently because she is grieving her mother's death and can't eat or sleep well.

The two talked as they helped each other away.

Zhang Tuo shifted his gaze from the departing group back to Zhang Ming. "What? You've already set your sights on someone else's wife as soon as you arrive in the capital?"

Although Zhang Ming wasn't staring at the pregnant woman, he knew Zhang Ming well enough to be certain that his gaze was more focused on her.

"The old woman fell down in front of me, probably on purpose. When I was leaving her house, she bumped into me again. I was worried that something was amiss."

Zhang Ming stood up, his expression displeased. "What do you want with me?"

He wanted to know more about Shiyue, but with Zhang Tuo around, he didn't want to reveal his thoughts.

Zhang Tuo had always been at odds with him, and there were some things he didn't want Zhang Tuo to discover.

Moreover, if the woman was indeed as he suspected, he couldn't let Zhang Tuo know.

As Zhang Tuo understood him, he also understood Zhang Tuo. In order to convince him, he used his light-footed skills to secretly go to the old woman's house to spy for a while.

He secretly wished he could beat Zhang Tuo to death. With Zhang Tuo's interference, how much effort would it take for him to find that woman in the capital later?

Zhang Tuo was convinced and scoffed, "You're still so suspicious."

She offered to help others, but now she's doubting them.

The adoptive father was worried that Zhang Ming would be harassed by the Crown Prince's guards when he got close to him, so he specially asked him to hide in the shadows and help Zhang Ming if necessary.

He resented his adoptive father's favoritism, but he dared not disobey orders.

Therefore, he secretly witnessed Zhang Ming helping the old woman.

He was afraid Zhang Ming would notice, so he didn't get too close and therefore didn't see Zhang Ming's contact with Chai Shiyue.

Zhang Ming sneered, "Likewise, likewise. You're just like before, always following others around, never able to stand up to anyone."

Don't think he doesn't know; this person is secretly following him again, just like when he was young, always trying to harm him behind his back.

"you……"

Zhang Tuo was mocked, and a hint of resentment appeared on his rugged face. "If you weren't so incompetent, I would be drinking and listening to music at Changxiangsi right now."

Why suffer under this sun?

From a young age, he was better than Zhang Ming in both academics and martial arts, but his adoptive father always favored Zhang Ming, and Zhang Ming, despite getting the advantage, still acted innocent.

Both of them owed their adoptive father a debt of gratitude, yet Zhang Ming was able to live freely, like a true young master of the Zhang family, while he could only risk his life to serve his adoptive father and repay his debt as his lackey.

Just like this time, when his godfather was angry that Zhang Ming had been away from home for several years, he only let him get Zhang Ming dirty, giving him a small lesson.

And every time he made a small mistake, he would be punished with whippings and beatings.

How unfair!

Thinking of this, he became stubborn and snorted coldly as he headed towards Changxiangsi.

Why should he wrong himself when he's so ungrateful? At worst, he'll just get punished by his godfather.

Zhang Ming finally managed to shake him off, but Chai Shiyue had already disappeared. He still had to keep watch over the Crown Prince, so he had no choice but to give up and head to Xuanji Tower again.

But Zhang Tuo encountered Chai Shiyue again.

He was already angry and wouldn't have paid much attention to Shiyue, but then he saw the Prince of Shu.

When the Prince of Shu arrived at the Zhao family, he learned that Zhao Mingyue had accompanied Chai Shiyue to the west of the city.

The western part of the city was a slum area with poor security, so he came to pick her up because he was worried about her. He met Zhao Mingyue's carriage on the road.

He came specifically to pick up his fiancée, and Chai Shiyue naturally didn't want Zhao Mingyue to accompany him any longer, so she lifted the carriage curtain and let Zhao Mingyue go to the Prince of Shu's carriage to ride with him.

As soon as he lifted the curtain, Zhang Tuo saw Chai Shiyue again. He wondered to himself, "How did a woman related to the Prince of Shu end up in a place like the west of the city?"

Knowing that the Prince of Shu was a staunch supporter of the emperor, and that the Duke of Zhenguo would inevitably turn against the emperor and become his enemy as well, he realized that the Prince of Shu was a sworn enemy.

Furthermore, he was ordered to secretly protect Zhang Ming, and now that he is angry and has neglected his duties, he is afraid that the Duke of Zhenguo will really blame him.

Thinking that if he could find out something about the Prince of Shu, he might be able to fool the Duke of Zhenguo, so he quietly followed behind the two carriages.

Zhao Mingyue was a woman of deep affection and loyalty. After her wet nurse died, she followed local customs and consulted a Taoist priest to determine an auspicious time for the burial, keeping the body in state for seven days before finally burying her.

The mourning hall was set up at the Zhao residence.

"Why is it blank again?"

Zhang Tu muttered something to himself with suspicion.

He knew Zhao Mingyue's identity as the future Princess Consort of Shu County when he saw her getting into the Prince of Shu's carriage.

Although this was his first time meeting Zhao Mingyue, he had heard about her before.

Now, only she and Feng Youcheng remain in the Zhao family. Zhao Mingyue is perfectly fine right in front of her. Could it be that something happened to Feng Youcheng?

Feng Youcheng was a royal prince; it's impossible for him to die without any word. Besides, Zhao Mingyue and the Prince of Shu don't seem to be the case.

How could he have imagined that Zhao Mingyue would set up a mourning hall for her wet nurse? This was something that had never happened before among the powerful and wealthy families in the capital.

Suspicious, he sneaked into the Zhao family's mourning hall. When he saw the old woman in the coffin, he frowned deeply.

He had seen this old woman before.

That day, he was ordered to play a trick on Zhang Ming. When the two of them were bathing in the river, the old woman also went to the riverbank and stared at Zhang Ming as he bathed.

The old woman, whom he had scolded, left.

After taking a bath, he saw the old woman again on his way back to the city. The old woman seemed frightened by him and was absent-minded on the way back to the capital.

But judging from his brisk gait, he didn't seem destined to die young. How could he have died so suddenly?

He looked more closely and found a bruise on the old woman's neck. Taking advantage of a moment when no one was looking, he jumped off the roof, pulled open the old woman's collar, and saw a ring of strangulation marks.

"Hanged?"

She couldn't have been driven to suicide by just one harsh remark from him, could she?

He recalled carefully that the woman's face had indeed turned pale and she looked frightened, but before she left, she seemed to have glanced at the river.

That way, they wouldn't be so scared that they would try to kill themselves.

Zhang Tuo felt he was really wasting his time; what was there to study about the death of a woman?

But as he looked at her, he noticed that the old woman looked very much like the pregnant woman.

He also seemed to resemble Zhang Ming somewhat; he turned the old woman's face to the side, and she looked even more like him from the side.

However, the old woman was quite old and a bit overweight, with loose skin and flesh, so he didn't notice it when he only glanced at her that day.

An old woman who resembled Zhang Ming died after seeing him, and today Zhang Ming encountered a pregnant woman in the west of the city who resembled the old woman.

He realized, "I've been fooled by him again."

Why would he suspect the old woman of having something going on? Zhang Ming was clearly waiting for the pregnant woman.

The old woman wasn't spying on them bathing in the river that day; she was watching Zhang Ming.

What exactly is their relationship?

Why did the old woman happen to meet Zhang Ming as soon as he returned to the capital? And why did he feel that his godfather's punishment of making him dirty Zhang Ming was a bit strange?

Now he understood that his godfather wanted Zhang Ming to go swimming in the river.

At the time, Zhang Ming had his back to the woman. He only turned around after hearing her scold him. Without looking at the woman closely, he hurriedly covered his chest, appearing to be a staunch adherent of male virtues...

Suddenly, he flew away, summoned his confidant, and asked if anyone from his household had gone to work near the mass grave that day. He learned that the Duke of Zhenguo's entourage had gone to the mass grave that day.

Zhang Ming realized that the woman had also been dirty at the time, and immediately understood.

"That old woman was also deliberately smudged by my godfather's men, who lured her to the riverbank so she would see Zhang Ming..."

No, he remembered that Zhang Ming had a birthmark on the back of his neck, and that's what the old woman saw at the time.

All of this was planned by the godfather. Why would he do this? Did the godfather also cause the old woman's death?

Or was her death also a move in her adoptive father's game?