Back when Shen Changyu was abducted, Shen Tingyu sent people searching far and wide.
However, not only did he fail to find his son, but he also drew suspicion upon himself, as people believed he was hiding the abandoned Crown Prince’s orphan.
As a result, he was suspended from his post pending investigation.
He was placed under house arrest, and officials from the Ministry of Justice were ordered to investigate. Naturally, they did not overlook his suddenly “ill” second son.
But when the curtain was lifted and the eunuchs approached, the child burning feverishly in the bed was not the person they sought.
Only then was Shen Tingyu cleared of suspicion.
The child in the bed was indeed the abandoned Crown Prince’s orphan—not Shen’s son.
It was Pei Yuanzhou who had the foresight to exchange his own child for that boy and quickly take him out of the capital, eventually settling in Quanzhou years later.
Shen Tingyu could not bear the separation of father and son. After the situation stabilized, under the pretext of “treatment,” he sent the real Pei Huai’an to Quanzhou. Though Pei Yuanzhou had yet to formally recognize his son, for years he cared for him as “Uncle.”
He preserved the only bloodline of the former Crown Prince. The real Pei Huai’an received the care of his biological father, yet Shen Tingyu lost his own son.
“Now it makes sense…” Before their father returned, Shen Youran and her sister speculated on why their mother insisted on divorcing their father back then.
They figured their mother could not harshly blame their father for preserving the former Crown Prince’s bloodline, but she also could not forgive him for harming their own son.
So she chose to leave the father who caused her pain.
“Then that story about Father cutting ties with Grandfather back then—was that fake too?” Shen Yunshu asked.
“Of course it was fake…”
For years, Shen Tingyu and Pei Yuanzhou only appeared estranged on the surface; in reality, they maintained secret contact.
Shen Tingyu’s rise from a mere junior officer in the Ministry of Revenue to Minister of Revenue was not solely due to ability.
The money privately used to smooth relations and manage affairs across regions all came from Pei Yuanzhou.
Only with sufficient power in hand could he have the capacity to seek justice for the former Crown Prince.
Indeed, he succeeded.
Over the past few years, several princes fought brutally over the succession. With Shen Tingyu secretly stirring the waters, the truth of the former Crown Prince’s wrongful downfall gradually emerged.
Two years ago, the Emperor began occasionally recalling the former Crown Prince.
His mentions of the Crown Prince’s virtues became more frequent.
Learning that the Crown Prince’s orphan might still be alive, he secretly dispatched people to search, eventually tracing the killers from that year…
Among the assassins who abducted Shen Changyu were those two leaders.
Shen Changyu always said he was taken in by “Big Uncle and Second Uncle.”
Looking back now, it must have been those two who could not bear to harm a child, sparing his life.
Afterward, they took him as they roamed various places as bandits.
In Xunzhou, he met Lu Yi, and after many twists and turns, he returned to the capital, committing the crimes of kidnapping a bride and holding a hostage.
The Ministry of Justice treated these two cases with utmost importance, one goal being to locate the so-called “Crown Prince’s orphan.”
By coincidence, Pei Yuanzhou received a letter from home, learning his son and daughter-in-law had been abducted.
When the ransom was sufficient, he hurriedly gathered a large sum—bills of exchange, silver, and gold bars.
Unable to rush straight to the capital, he abandoned his official career and took a shortcut, just running into that bandit group.
The bandits saw he carried vast wealth and naturally harbored ill intentions.
Though Pei Yuanzhou traveled hastily, he had skilled guards with him and intended to confront them head-on.
But unexpectedly, he found a young man who looked remarkably like Shen Tingyu.
Only then did he feign weakness to get captured, seeking a chance to speak with the youth and guess his identity…
Afterward, he coordinated with his men inside and outside to rescue the boy.
The youth ran off twice on the way back to the capital, causing some delay.
“Tingyu brother, what are your plans now?” Pei Yuanzhou asked.
Shen Tingyu glanced at his son: “A few days ago, the Ministry of Justice’s artist drew his likeness.
I was already planning to present it to His Majesty, but this matter also concerns you and the Pei family.
I cannot decide on my own.”
“In my opinion, the sooner the truth is presented, the better. Then merits and faults can offset each other.
If we keep hiding it, a charge of treason against the Emperor will doom both our families…”
Treason against the Emperor?
Shen Changyu didn’t quite understand the gravity of treason, but the two sisters did.
They couldn’t help but show some fear at those words.
Seeing the three children, Shen Tingyu worried about frightening them and did not continue discussing the matter in front of them.
“Shu’er, take your brother to settle down. Don’t let the servants know his identity for now.”
“Yes, Father.”
Shen Yunshu motioned for her brother to follow her and then took her sister’s hand: “Let’s go.”
“Sister, I feel like I’m dreaming,” Shen Youran said as they left the Flower Hall.
She held her dizzy head in disbelief: “This is just too shocking—my second brother is actually a bandit, and your husband is the Crown Prince’s orphan? Heaven help me, I’ve never read a story this extraordinary even in novels…”
Shen Yunshu was somewhat dazed too.
The man who had been at her side suddenly turned out to have royal blood.
And just now, from what her father and grandfather said, they wanted to send him back to the palace as soon as possible.
If that happened, as his wife, would she have to go to the palace with him?
After she left, could their youngest sister alone handle all the people and matters in the Pei residence?
All these thoughts weighed on her like a stone falling into her heart.
Shen Yunshu had to muster her strength.
She arranged for him to stay in the courtyard where she once lived and instructed the servants to prepare hot water.
As the second son was younger than anyone else in the household, he had to wear their father’s clothes for now.
“Second brother, the things in my courtyard are mostly intact.
Tonight you’ll have to make do, but tomorrow at dawn I’ll send people out to get you all new belongings and make some new clothes for you…”
The boy looked around curiously and chuckled dryly: “Sister, you don’t have to trouble yourself.
I used to sleep in straw nests just fine.”
The young man before her wore a coarse cloth short jacket and a wolf fur half-cloak.
Though his features were handsome, his dark, rough skin concealed it.
If not for that accident, he would have grown into a refined, elegant gentleman.
The more Shen Yunshu looked at him, the more her heart ached.
“Changyu little brother, Youran and I didn’t know that over the years you were drifting about.
You suffered…”
“Actually, not much,” the boy said calmly compared to their father’s emotional reaction.
“He treated me pretty well.”
“Sister, Youran, I want to rest now.
You two go ahead.”
“All right.”
Shen Yunshu asked her maid Tinglan to stay and assigned two steady, quiet guards to watch over him before leaving with her sister.
“Sister, it’s still early.
Are you going back now?”
“My mind is a little muddled,” Shen Yunshu said.
“Do you know how to face Pei Huai’an now?”
He surely was Pei Huai’an.
“If he is truly recognized back into the palace, his status will naturally rise.
You are his wife. Isn’t that a good thing?”
“Think about it. Father and Grandfather have always known Pei Huai’an’s true identity.
Though I matched you with him without knowing the full truth, the result is that a Shen daughter married the Crown Prince’s orphan.
If His Majesty suspects that the Shen family knowingly married their daughter to the royal grandson, what do you think he will think of the Shens?
And how will he treat you?”
Since learning Pei Huai’an’s true identity, Shen Youran had been both shocked and somewhat pleased, thinking it fortunate that her talented sister married him.
When she eventually went to the palace with him, with her wit and character, she would surely win the favor of the royal family.
But hearing her sister analyze the situation in depth just now, her heart skipped a beat.
If the Emperor truly suspected the Shen family of knowingly marrying their daughter to the Crown Prince’s orphan, how would he view the family?
How would he treat her sister?
In that sense, it might not be a good thing if her sister followed Pei Huai’an to the palace after all.
“Sister…”
Shen Youran couldn’t feel happy for a moment, anxiously watching her.
Shen Yunshu saw her sister droop and comforted her: “It’s all right.
Father and Grandfather should be able to handle this.
If they truly manage it well, then…”
“Then what?”
“Nothing.”
Shen Yunshu ruffled her hair and smiled: “Anyway, when the soldiers come, we’ll block them; when the water comes, we’ll dam it. We’ll find a way.”
Pei Yuanzhou stayed at the Shen residence until late before leaving.
When he wanted to take Shen Yunshu back to the Pei residence, she declined, saying her second brother had just returned and she wanted to spend more time with him.
Pei Yuanzhou did not insist and returned alone.
After sending off his friend, Shen Tingyu went to his eldest daughter’s courtyard to see the son he had lost and regained.
Father and son talked for a while.
Seeing his son yawning repeatedly, he did not linger long and urged him to rest early.
Night deepened, and the world was silent.
In the courtyard, a dry leaf occasionally fell, producing a crisp, light sound.
Shen Yunshu lay awake, her mind filled with countless thoughts, feeling as if she had forgotten something important.
The copper wind chimes in the corridor rattled softly in the night breeze.
Suddenly, Shen Yunshu recalled: the second brother who returned today seemed off.
Reunited after so long, his reaction was oddly calm.
She remembered what Grandfather said—that he ran off twice on the way back…
Could it be that he didn’t want to accept this family?
Quietly, she slipped out of bed, careful not to wake her sister, quickly dressed, and stepped outside.
The moon was bright, the ground white as water, and Shen Yunshu walked barefoot on the cold earth toward her second brother’s courtyard.
By coincidence, just as she reached the courtyard gate, he peeked out and they met.
He wasn’t wearing the clothes she had prepared.
Still clad in his wolf fur half-cloak and a hat made of fur, he looked around nervously.
Seeing her, he was startled and tried to run.
“Second brother!” Shen Yunshu grabbed his hand. “Where are you going?”
He was honest enough to answer: “Sister, I want to find Big Uncle and Second Uncle.”
As she expected: “If I’m your family, do you want to recognize me?”
“Yes. But I don’t know how Big Uncle is now.
I’m worried about him.”
“If you’re worried about him, Father can send people to inquire.
Why run off by yourself?”
Shen Yunshu pulled him back, only then noticing two guards knocked unconscious on the ground—he must have knocked them out.
“Where’s Tinglan?”
“That little girl? I knocked her out and put her in the house.
It’s cold outside.”
He followed a few steps but stopped again.
He was tall and strong; if he didn’t want to be pulled, she couldn’t drag him.
So they stood in the courtyard talking.
“Be honest with me.
Besides wanting to see your two foster fathers, is there any other reason you ran off?”
He lowered his head, then after a long pause said:
“Sister, I know my own background is enough.
My caretakers are all rough men, can’t read a single word, and are wild by nature.
I really can’t live like a refined young master.
Just let me go.”
Shen Yunshu immediately understood his feelings: “You’re afraid I’ll look down on you?”
He glanced at her briefly, then looked down again.
“No. I know you’re a good person…”
That meant he did have those fears.
No wonder since seeing their father in the Flower Hall, he had been dull and barely spoke.
He must have felt lost and overwhelmed.
“I won’t look down on you,” Shen Yunshu said gently, her tone full of certainty and care.
“It’s okay if you can’t read. I’ll teach you slowly.
Youran only began seriously learning to read and write these last couple years.
It’s never too late.
Being rough around the edges is fine, as long as your heart is kind.
I know you’re not bad at heart.
When Youran was abducted by you, if not for your kindness, she might never have come back unharmed.”
Mentioning Youran, the boy looked more ashamed: “I even told Youran back then I wanted to take her away and have her be my wife.
How could I say such terrible things to my own sister?”
“Don’t blame yourself,” Shen Yunshu saw his head drooping lower and lower.
His furry hat was so close she could almost reach out and touch him.
Like every time Pei Huai’an had tried to please her before, she restrained herself from reaching out.
“Youran didn’t blame you either.
When she returned, she told me it was thanks to your kindness that she kept her purity.
It must be fate between you siblings…”
The boy finally looked up.
Under the moonlight, his black eyes shone with a thin mist of tears.
“Sister…”
That one word “sister” was deeper and more heartfelt than before.
Shen Yunshu’s hand brushed his cheek, feeling its roughness.
Her movement paused, and her heart ached all the more.
“I’ll have someone prepare some ointment for you, to keep your skin moisturized.
Have you ever used it?”
“No. I don’t know how.”
“I’ll teach you…”
“Okay.”
Seeing a slight smile finally appear on his face, Shen Yunshu relaxed and was about to lead him indoors when suddenly a figure stormed through the courtyard gate behind him.
“Madam, who is this wild man?”