The First Auxiliary Road from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 1109 Entering the Palace

"Sister Yuan, why are you back?!"

Sheng Yuan followed the palace servant out of the second gate. Just as he stepped onto the bluestone road, he heard a familiar cry. He turned around and saw that it was his sister-in-law Shu.

But Shu seemed to be overly shocked, as if it was incredible that she was standing there at this moment.

"Sister-in-law." Although Sheng Yuan felt puzzled, he still performed the polite greetings between peers.

Shu hurriedly returned the greeting, and with difficulty hid the doubt in her eyes, and asked with a smile: "Didn't you send a letter home before returning to Beijing? This, this... we can also host a welcome party for you!"

"Oh, I was too busy with official duties and forgot about it." Sheng Yuan has always been honest and always speaks the truth.

Little did she know that her straightforward "forgot" almost choked Shu.

"So what are you doing..." Shu Shi held her breath, her eyes darting between Sheng Yuan and the unfamiliar palace maid next to her, "Are you going to the palace? Will you be back in the afternoon? Sister-in-law will have someone prepare a welcoming banquet!"

Sheng Yuan looked up at the sky and saw that it was still early in the morning, so why were they talking about the dinner?

Even if her sister invited someone to treat her to a meal, it would have been a lunch banquet. She wouldn't have eaten two meals in the palace right after returning to Beijing, right?

"No need to be so serious, let's just have a simple meal with our parents in the courtyard this afternoon." Sheng Yuan thanked Shu for her kindness, "Sister-in-law, I won't say any more to you, I have to follow this young eunuch into the palace!"

"Oh, go, go quickly, don't keep the Queen waiting for too long." Shu waved her hand quickly and moved half a step to the side.

Sheng Yuan nodded slightly, turned around and followed the palace servant to continue walking out.

Sitting in the carriage, Xiaoyao, who had been following her, gently lifted the curtain and looked into the mansion.

Seeing this, Sheng Yuan couldn't help but raise his hand and tap her forehead: "What are you looking at? The door is closed, and you are still looking? Do you have a pair of X-ray eyes?!"

"Miss! Have you noticed?!" Xiaoyao covered her forehead, not bothering to protest Sheng Yuan's teasing. She approached like a thief and whispered, "There's something wrong with the prince's wife!"

"Really?" Sheng Yuan shrugged.

To her, her sister-in-law Shu always seemed like this, as if she was holding back some energy and was acting weird for some reason.

"Really? Don't take it lightly!" Xiaoyao was a little anxious when she saw Sheng Yuan didn't care. "It's not like you didn't see it just now. The wife of the prince saw you and acted like she saw it... cough cough."

  Seeing Sheng Yuan glaring at her, Xiao Yao immediately changed her words: "What I mean is that the Crown Prince's wife is too shocked, as if your return is so incredible and so inappropriate!

Listening to what she said again, I don’t know whether she is saying that you shouldn’t come back, or that you shouldn’t come back now! ”

"..." Sheng Yuan was stunned for a moment, and then he knocked Xiaoyao on the head again in annoyance, "Don't say that anymore in the future. If others hear it, they will probably accuse you of stirring up trouble!"

"Hmph, if you want to scold me just say it directly, why bother using someone else's name!" Xiaoyao puffed her cheeks and snorted, then emphasized to Sheng Yuan very seriously, "I'm really not exaggerating! I, oh! I ask you, after we separated from the Prince's wife, you didn't notice her reaction, did you?" "Well, really not." Sheng Yuan's mind was full of speculations about the situation, and he really didn't notice it.

"Hmph, in my opinion, you have been an official for too long and are just like those young men out there. You can't even look at the women in the inner court!" When Xiaoyao saw Sheng Yuan nod, she immediately shook her head proudly and snorted.

Sheng Yuan found her proud and amused, but he was not convinced by her evaluation: "I don't agree with what you said! I am a girl myself, and my colleague also has a girl. Why do you look down on the girls in the inner house?!"

"Don't be unconvinced. I have been watching you the whole time. Not to mention your eagerness to fight when you saw the ministers in the court, even when you were watching the guards at the city gate tower just now, you were also wary. You are not like when you were in the mansion, carefree and never thought too much!"

"What you said is not reasonable. Who would think twice before saying anything to their family? Don't be so outrageous!"

"But you have to think ten times what the Crown Prince's wife says!" Xiaoyao insisted on her idea, "Humph, if you don't want to think too much, then I have to think too much for you! You didn't notice it just now, but I was watching! We went around a few corners, and the Crown Prince's wife was still standing there looking at us with an unpredictable expression!"

"Unpredictable expression? How come I didn't know you had such a good eyesight!" Sheng Yuan said he was unconvinced, but actually he took Xiaoyao's words to heart.

After all, based on her understanding of her sister-in-law Shu, it would be difficult to get Shu to follow all the rules when no one else could see, let alone stand there and watch her sister-in-law walk away.

Although Sheng Yuan felt that everyone loved her and flowers bloomed for her, she was also self-aware and knew that in the Shu family's impression, she was probably not a very likable person.

"Hmph, although I don't have much experience, I have read history books and case files with you. How many people and things have gone wrong because of insignificant people!" Xiaoyao knew her young lady too well. When she saw Sheng Yuan's eyes rolling around, she knew that her words were not in vain. She couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, "But don't worry, it doesn't matter if you are busy with official duties, don't you still have me! I will definitely keep an eye on it for you!"

"There are skills to keeping an eye on someone! It's better to get twice the result with half the effort!" Sheng Yuan didn't refuse this time. Instead, she reminded Xiao Yao, "She is a woman in the inner house, so her connections won't be too complicated... I am only the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue now, and I am not in charge of criminal responsibility or impeachment. After thinking about it, if there is something wrong, I am afraid it is still related to the palace."

"Although I am stupid, I have some plans. Miss, please don't underestimate me!" Xiaoyao patted his chest, "I just thought about it. Even if you don't agree, I will keep an eye on her! The method is simple. On the one hand, I will keep an eye on her frequent contacts with others, and on the other hand, I will keep an eye on her past. Whether it is because of the prince of Zhao or some other relationship, it doesn't matter. As long as I know her whereabouts, I won't be afraid of her calculations!"

Sheng Yuan agreed to Xiaoyao's surveillance just to prepare for a rainy day, but she didn't expect Xiaoyao to be sure that there was something wrong with the Shu family: "It's not good for you to do this. It's easy to be biased when you do things with emotion."

"Young lady is an official, so she must be strict with herself. But I am just a maid, so even if I think too much, it will not affect the overall situation."

"Remember not to make it known to everyone."

"Don't worry about me doing this."

……

"Mr. Minister, you are finally here!" Zhiyu had been waiting outside Yongxiang Palace. When she saw Sheng Yuan approaching from afar, she was so excited that she hurried to greet him.

Sheng Yuan hadn't seen Zhiyu so excited for a long time. Seeing her like this at this moment, he couldn't help but be a little surprised.

"Zhiyu, how is your sister these days?" Although they were not far from Yongxiang Palace, Sheng Yuan couldn't help but ask about Sheng Ran's recent situation when he saw Zhiyu.