Shen Bijun was pleasantly surprised. "Someone from the Imperial City Department?" Even though Xue Yiren was a high ranking member of the Imperial City Department, she was just a young miss raised in her own home. Naturally, she didn't recognize him.
"Young Miss Shen, where is the deer-cutting knife you were escorting?" Xue Yiren's gaze quickly swept across the room. Unfortunately, there was no place to hide the knife.
Outside the window, Song Qingshu sighed inwardly. This Xue Yiren had really lost all human emotions in order to practice the sword. He ignored such a beautiful woman in front of him in the middle of the night and went to ask where the knife was. Was this any different from Sun Wukong going to eat a peach after capturing the seven fairies?
Hearing his words, Shen Bijun imperceptibly furrowed her brow. "Have you found the culprit who destroyed the Shen garden?"
Xue Yiren's attention had been focused on searching the room for the deer-cutting knife. When he heard her words, he was shocked. "How do you know something happened to the Shen garden?"
Not to mention him, even Song QingShu was shocked. Shen Bijun was imprisoned here, so how could she know what was happening a thousand li away? But on second thought, she suddenly realized that the only possibility was that Yelu Yixin told her on purpose. No wonder she agreed to pretend to be Xiao Xiama's sister and enter the palace. First, the Shen family had been destroyed, and even if she escaped, she would be alone. Second, she could use the power of Liao to avenge her parents by becoming an imperial concubine.
"You don't need to know how I know. Just tell me who the culprit is." Shen Bijun was originally a delicate and timid young miss. She had been raised as a young lady from a noble family. Her words were always gentle and calm, but now there was a trace of coldness in her voice. It seemed like hatred really could change a person the fastest.
Xue Yiren shook his head. "The culprit's methods were very clean, and it was done in the middle of the night. Even though we found a few suspects, we eliminated them one by one."
"So you haven't found anything?" Shen Bijun said coldly.
"Young Miss Shen, don't worry. The Imperial City Department has already been mobilized. We will definitely find the culprit," Xue Yiren comforted. Xue Yiren comforted her. He then changed the topic and continued, "Miss Shen, where is your deer-cutting knife?"
Song Qingshu, who was outside the window, could not help but sneer. Xue Yi had indeed become stupid from practicing the sword. He was not good at interacting with people, and his conversation was so stiff.
As expected, Shen Bijun's eyes were filled with wariness. "Are you here to save me or to find the Deer Cutter?"
Xue Yi stilled, clearly stumped by her question. In the beginning, the Imperial Court had indeed tried to find this future Crown Princess at all costs. Unfortunately, the people of the Imperial City Department could not find her no matter how hard they searched. As time dragged on, everyone lost hope of finding her.
Moreover, Shen Bijun was a famous beauty. After being missing for so long, she had probably been raped by bandits. After the Jingkang Incident, countless concubines and princesses were kidnapped and raped. It was a thorn in the hearts of the royal family and the government's bottom line. In recent years, there had been a rise in Confucianism to encourage women to keep their chastity. In other words, the public opinion of the entire country was that it was noble for women to sacrifice their lives to protect their chastity.
Men did not have the ability to protect their women and instead wanted them to sacrifice their lives to keep their chastity. This was criticized by many in later generations, but it was still the mainstream view in this world. After discovering that Shen Bijun had been missing for so long, even the most anxious Crown Prince was not as concerned. Moreover, the Shen family had been destroyed. Without the political support of the other family, she was not a suitable marriage partner.
Although the Crown Prince was young, he was born in the royal family and naturally understood the rules of the game. It was not difficult to make a choice. His only regret was that he could not enjoy the beauty of his fiancée.
Xue Yi hesitated here. In fact, all the forces in Lin 'an did not want Shen Bijun to appear again. It was just that no one came out to point it out. Xue Yi was a core member of the Xue family and naturally understood all this.
However, although he was not good with words, he was not a fool. He knew that telling the truth was not a good idea. He suddenly had an idea and said, "According to our latest findings, the case of the Shen family being destroyed is related to the whereabouts of the Deer Cutter. If Miss Shen can provide us with the whereabouts of the Deer Cutter, I believe it will help us solve the case as soon as possible."
Outside the window, Song Qingshu secretly shook his head. If Shen Bijun was still the naive and sweet young lady she used to be, she might really believe this. However, during this period of being trapped in a wolf's den, she had no choice but to mature. Song Qingshu had been with her these days and could clearly feel her growth.
As he expected, Shen Bijun shook her head and said, "Come and find me when you find the murderer of the Shen family."
Xue Yi was a person who had killed his way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Suppressing his temper for this long was already his limit. Hearing her words, he finally could not hold it in anymore and said, "Miss Shen, you must know that the only person who can help you now is me. It is very difficult for me if you do not cooperate."
He no longer concealed his murderous aura. No matter how much Shen Bijun had grown, how could she withstand such an aura? She subconsciously took a few steps back. Thanks to the stubbornness in her bones, she did not fall to the ground and said, "I said, I will only tell you the whereabouts of the Deer Cutter after we find the murderer of the Shen family."
Looking at her stubbornly raising her head, Song Qingshu somewhat admired her. It seemed that he had misunderstood her before. In the original novel, the woman who could betray her family and marriage for freedom was not a weak person who would submit to adversity.
Xue Yi looked deeply at her. "Miss Shen probably does not even know where the Deer Cutter is?"
A trace of panic flashed through Shen Bijun's eyes. Even though she quickly concealed it, it could not be hidden from an experienced person like Xue Yi.
"Miss Shen is a bird in someone's cage. The mandarin duck blade is most likely in the hands of the person who captured you. Northern Bureau Secret Envoy Yelu Yixin? I'll go find him directly, "Xue Yi said lightly and turned as if he was about to leave.
Song Qingshu was feeling a bit of schadenfreude. In reality, he had always wanted to test Yelu Yixin, but he was afraid of alerting the enemy. Adding on that the other was Yelu Nanxian's father, he had to be cautious. It was good that someone had done this for him.
Suddenly, his eyes focused because he felt a murderous aura! If it was just Xue Yi's aura before, now he really had murderous intent.
"Miss Shen, do you know that many people do not wish for you to live in this world?" Xue Yi said lightly with his back to Shen Bijun.
Shen Bijun was first shocked and then gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Of course. How could those people in the palace tolerate the existence of a Crown Princess who has brought shame to the Imperial Family?"
"Miss Shen's bearing is admirable. I have seen too many heroes of the Jianghu shout so loudly before they die," Xue Yi said emotionally. "But Miss Shen, do not worry. In the future, the world will only know that you were unyielding and committed suicide to prove your innocence. The people of Jianshan Academy will even write you into the 'Women's Biography'. At that time, your name will go down in history and bring glory to the Shen family."
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