I only wished to take up my fiefdom, but my elder brother forced me to rebel.

Shen Hanqiu's eyes immediately reddened.

She bit her lip and didn't say anything for a while.

At this moment, the sound of people walking around outside the courtyard grew faster and faster.

When the maidservant ran in, she was already out of breath.

"Miss, His Highness the Ninth Prince has sent someone to invite Miss Shen to his residence."

Su Yuling frowned. "Why would he go to see Fifth Sister-in-law at this time?"

The maid shook her head.

"This servant does not know. That person only said that His Highness the Ninth Prince has something to discuss with Miss Shen, so Miss Shen must go there."

Shen Hanqiu looked somewhat uneasy after standing up.

"Yu Ling, I..."

"I'll go with you."

Su Yuling stood up. "If I'm looking for you at this hour, there must be something you need."

The two left the backyard and walked towards the front yard.

There was a carriage at the front gate, and a middle-aged man in his forties, dressed in the clothes of the Ninth Prince's residence, was sitting in the carriage waiting for someone.

Upon seeing Su Yuling and Shen Hanqiu emerge, the coachman immediately stepped forward and bowed.

"Greetings, Miss Su and Miss Shen."

Su Yuling glanced at him.

"What business does your Highness have with Fifth Sister-in-law?"

The driver was bent over.

"This humble servant does not know. His Highness only said that he wanted to invite Miss Shen to his residence to discuss something."

Su Yuling glanced at Shen Hanqiu, who bit her lip and nodded.

"Let's go then."

The two boarded the carriage.

The carriage swayed and wobbled forward, the lights inside casting a dim, yellowish glow.

Shen Hanqiu sat in the car, twisting a handkerchief between her fingers, without saying a word.

Su Yuling looked at her.

"Don't be nervous. If he really wanted to do something to you, he would have done it already. Why would he wait until now?"

Shen Hanqiu raised her head, the blush on her face still lingering.

"I'm not nervous."

"You were so nervous, you almost tore the handkerchief to shreds with your fingers."

Shen Hanqiu immediately put down what she was holding because it was too dirty.

The carriage stopped after traveling for about half an hour.

The driver's voice came from outside.

"Ladies, we've arrived."

After Su Yuling pulled up the curtain, she jumped down from the carriage.

Shen Hanqiu followed behind and froze as soon as she arrived at the platform.

This is not the Ninth Prince's residence.

Before me stood a house with red lanterns hanging at the entrance, bearing the words "Han Mansion".

Shen Hanqiu's face immediately turned very ugly.

"This is the Han family residence, not the Ninth Prince's residence."

After the driver turned his head away, the expression on his face changed.

There was a chilling quality in his eyes, and a strange smile played on his lips.

"Miss Shen, Young Master Han has been waiting for you for a long time."

No sooner had he finished speaking than seven or eight servants rushed out of the house, wielding sticks and surrounding the two men.

Su Yuling's hand was already on the hilt of the knife.

"What do you want to do?"

The head servant also smiled.

"Miss Su, our young master only wants Miss Shen. If you know what's good for you, leave now. If you don't, don't blame us for being impolite."

Su Yuling said with a cold laugh, "What if I don't leave?"

Upon hearing this, the servant immediately stopped laughing.

"Then let's get started."

As soon as he finished speaking, several servants rushed over.

Su Yuling drew a knife.

She swung her blade at the leader of the servants, but he blocked her attack with a stick, the blade piercing the stick with a dull thud.

Su Yuling turned her foot and kicked another servant in the chest, sending him staggering back several steps.

However, the other side had a large number of people and quickly surrounded them.

After Shen Hanqiu stopped, his expression turned extremely ugly.

When she saw Su Yuling being surrounded and attacked, she gritted her teeth and then went out.

But he had only taken two steps when he was stopped by two servants.

"Miss Shen, where are you running to?"

Shen Hanqiu's hands were trembling.

"Let me go."

The servant sneered, "Young master has been waiting for you for a long time. You're not leaving today."

As she said this, two servants reached out to grab her.

……

Simultaneously.

Lu Yuan rode his horse out of the palace gate.

A scroll of imperial edict, bound with a bright yellow silk ribbon, lay on the saddle.

He was in a good mood, humming a little tune and patting the horse's neck.

"Giddy up, hurry up, I'm off to deliver good news!"

The horse ran very fast, traveling along Zhuque Avenue towards the city to the south.

After he came out, he went straight back to the Ninth Prince's residence, intending to tell Su Yuling about the arranged marriage.

As a result, Su Yuling returned to the Earl's mansion, and he had no choice but to go there in person to deliver the good news.

At the entrance of the Yongning Marquis's residence, Su Fu was bending over and sweeping the steps.

Seeing Lu Yuan dismount, Su Fu quickly threw the broom into the corner and came forward to greet him.

"Your Highness, you've arrived."

Where is Su Yuling?

As Lu Yuan walked inside, he asked questions while waving the scroll of imperial edict in his hand.

Su Fu was taken aback. "Miss and Miss Shen went out together. Didn't you send someone to pick them up?"

Lu Yuan stopped in his tracks.

He turned around and looked at Su Fu. "I sent someone to pick you up? What nonsense are you spouting?"

"I just came from the manor; how come I didn't know about this?"

Su Fu looked puzzled. "A carriage arrived half an hour ago. The driver said he was from the Ninth Prince's residence and invited Miss Shen to come over for a chat. The eldest young lady also went with him."

Lu Yuan's expression immediately turned cold.

He didn't send anyone at all.

"not good."

"Something's happened!"

Lu Yuan mounted his horse, the horse's hooves making a series of sounds on the bluestone slabs.

His mind raced.

Shen Hanqiu was tricked away in the name of the Ninth Prince's residence, and this was definitely not a coincidence.

Yesterday he beat up Han Gou in the street, and this morning at court he ordered the Imperial Clan Court to investigate Lu Cheng. These two are definitely desperate.

Lu Yuan's eyes turned cold.

Su Yuling went along with them.

If something goes wrong, how will Lu Yuan ever have the face to live again?

The horse galloped swiftly, and pedestrians on the long street hurriedly made way for it. Some people were covered in mud splashed up by the horse's hooves and were about to curse when they saw the person's attire and shut their mouths.

At the entrance of the Yongning Marquis's Mansion.

Su Fu stumbled and ran inside, nearly tripping and falling on the steps.

When I rushed into the front hall, Su Tan was sitting and drinking tea.

"My lord! Something has happened!"

Su Fu's voice cracked.

Su Tan put down his teacup: "What's the rush?"

"The young lady and Miss Shen have been tricked!"

Su Fu knelt down with a thud. "His Highness the Ninth Prince just arrived and said he didn't send a carriage to pick anyone up at all. That carriage was fake!"

The cane slipped from Su Tan's hand and fell onto the bricks.

The old man's face turned pale instantly.

"What did you say?"

"The young lady and Miss Shen have been tricked and abducted; His Highness the Ninth Prince has already gone after them!"

Su Tan's chest heaved, and he gasped for breath several times before he managed to stand up, supporting himself on the edge of the table.

"Go report to the authorities! Go right now!"

He turned and walked out, shouting as he went.

"Summon all the able-bodied men in the manor, and find him even if you have to dig three feet into the ground!"

Su Fu got up and ran outside.

Su Tan stood in the courtyard, leaning on his cane, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.

Yu Ling is the last remaining bloodline of the Su family.

If something really happens, how will he have the face to face the ancestors of the Su family in the afterlife?

"Prepare the horses!"

Su Tan shouted again at the door, "I'm going to the palace to see His Majesty!"

……

The Imperial Guard Camp in the western part of the capital.

Lu Yuan jumped off his horse and strode towards the camp gate.

The imperial guards at the gate held their long spears horizontally.

"Who goes there?"

"Ninth Prince Lu Yuan!"

Lu Yuan pulled out his waist token and slapped it into the man's hand. "Tell your commander to come out!"

The Imperial Guards, after recognizing the badges on their waists, quickly put away their guns and saluted.

"Your Highness, please wait a moment!"

He turned and ran back to the camp.

A short while later, a middle-aged man wearing black armor came out from inside.

He Shen, the commander of the Imperial Guards, was a third-rank military officer who commanded three thousand Imperial Guards in the capital.

He walked up to Lu Yuan and clasped his hands in greeting.

"Greetings, Ninth Prince."

Lu Yuan didn't stand on ceremony and got straight to the point.

"Uncle, take men and surround the Second Prince's residence and the residence of Minister of War Han Zheng."

"Anyone who dares to resist will be killed on sight."