Zhao Changhe, who usually prided himself on being quite clever, could even pretend to have four eyebrows when solving a case, but now his brain felt a bit sluggish.

Why did Tang Wanzhuang have a public dispute with the noble consort? Others didn't seem surprised. The Huangfu family, no matter what, was loyal, so shouldn't they be on the same side? What's going on with this dispute?

Right, the Huangfu family is loyal, so why is the legitimate daughter a rebel, the Winged Fire Snake?

And how can you, a noble consort, leave the palace for so long? Is everyone in the palace blind? Doesn't the emperor go looking for you?

No, if you are the noble consort, then when I pursued you before, wasn't I pursuing my stepmother? No, that's the stepmother of the stepmother... You're leading me on, hugging my waist, almost touching noses.

What the hell am I doing?

No, why are you still a virgin?

And since we have a noble consort at home, why does the Four Elephant Sect still want to form an alliance with the Wang family? Isn't that a conflict? It feels like the alliance is just to deliberately divert suspicion of killing the crown prince?

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And then, I've seen the face of the Winged Fire Snake in secret, but she doesn't know. Now she's acting all high and mighty as the noble consort. What attitude should I have towards her that's more reasonable?

Zhao Changhe's CPU couldn't process so many thoughts in an instant. In the brief moment of sluggishness, Tang Wanzhuang's expression became ugly. "Are you just going to sit here and not move?"

The noble consort smiled, "Oh... Tang Chancellor, if I remember correctly, this person is called Tang Wanzhuang. Is he all cleaned up, Chancellor?"

Tang Wanzhuang's expression was indifferent, and Rosefinch raised her eyebrows.

"I didn't react at first, but then I looked at his broadsword and the scar on his face, and I remembered. There aren't many people with those features," the noble consort said curiously. "Chancellor Tang personally issued the wanted order back then. Are you going to personally bring him back now?"

Tang Wanzhuang gritted her teeth. She couldn't argue with anyone about this matter. It was widely known that Zhao Changhe was the one who started the dirty jokes. Now that someone else was using it against her, theoretically, she should be the one to beat up Zhao Changhe. If she didn't beat him up, did that mean she agreed?

She glared fiercely at Zhao Changhe. The dirty jokes were started by you, and this time, you're trying to distance yourself. I was the one who was called to meet, and now I'm being embarrassed by someone else. You're just sitting there without saying a word!

Zhao Changhe was startled by her glare and finally jumped up. He faced the noble consort and said, "This... Your Ladyship, I'm here to discuss military affairs. I don't understand military matters, so I should talk to the Demon Suppression Bureau about what I can do personally. I'll take my leave."

Tang Wanzhuang's expression calmed down, and Rosefinch's eyebrows returned to normal.

"I found Helei's whereabouts!"

You brought it to please Tang Wanzhuang, and now you're using it as a bargaining chip to reject me?

Zhao Changhe looked at her with a scalp tingling, thinking, This is bad. How did this turn into this...

But no matter how unhappy Rosefinch was, she couldn't really publicly invite Zhao Changhe to stay the night. What kind of talk would that be? She could only watch Zhao Changhe leave with Tang Wanzhuang, feeling furious.

Until Zhao Changhe left, Huangfu Shaozong didn't know what had happened. He smiled and asked his sister, "Sister, are you doing well recently?"

Rosefinch specifically came out of the palace to wander around, especially to see her brother, to avoid family questioning and worry. She didn't actually know that Zhao Changhe had come to her house, and she was actually very surprised to meet him unexpectedly. As a result, Tang Wanzhuang also came, and she felt brainless just thinking about it.

After asking about her brother, she quickly calmed down and said, "I spend most of my time in seclusion. You don't need to visit me for no reason. Although the emperor doesn't care much, there's no rule for foreign ministers to run into the palace."

Huangfu Shaozong waved to let the servants leave and lowered his voice. "We both know the nature of this noble consort. Sister, are you willing to be a hostage? Can we not worry? Our family is loyal, and he..."

"Be careful what you say!" Rosefinch lazily said. "You'd better get rid of that concept from your mind completely, so you don't slip up in the future."

Huangfu Shaozong sighed and didn't say much.

Rosefinch said, "The palace has all the resources, which makes it convenient for me to cultivate. It's not without benefits. This is just a nominal trade. I have no relationship with him. What's wrong with each of us getting what we need? Don't always think I'm getting the short end of the stick."

Huangfu Shaozong stammered, "Actually... if it's true, it's not a bad thing... if we could have a child..."

Rosefinch glared at him. "What, now you think I can be a good tool?"

"No, no, it's just a thought. Sister also needs to get married. This matter has disrupted the normal family life of a woman. I'm not happy about it for my sister." Huangfu Shaozong's voice was so low that he could barely hear himself. "Is he still in seclusion? It's been so long, can he still stay in seclusion? Is he really going to die..."

"Shut up," Rosefinch said irritably. "Ask your loyal father about it first!"

Huangfu Shaozong pursed his lips and only said after a long time, "He's only loyal to the common people."

Rosefinch didn't say anything and sighed after a long time. "You can have more contact with Zhao Changhe. He can't stay at the Tang house, so you can invite him to stay here."

"His identity..."

"Which idiot told me that the knife was ambiguous?" Rosefinch suddenly became angry and grabbed her brother's collar. "You're loyal, but you deliberately misled me and didn't let me kill the last of his kind, right?"Huangfu Shaozong felt somewhat awkward as he turned his head away: "Please, don't kill..."

"I won't kill!" Rosefinch said coldly, "I've changed my mind. Now I want to use him! Are you happy now?"

Huangfu Shaozong twitched the corner of his mouth, whether it was to kill or to use, he wanted no part in it.

But since Zhao Changhe himself wanted to stay here, and his sister had said the same, Huangfu Shaozong thought for a moment and then sighed, "Alright, I'll befriend him. Tonight, I'll invite him to the Yihong..."

He didn't even finish his sentence when his sister, out of nowhere, kicked him, catching Huangfu Shaozong off guard and sending him tumbling to the ground, completely baffled.

"You're not young anymore, learn something good, and stop thinking about Yihong House all day!"

"I, I don't go there often, do I? You never said anything before..."

Rosefinch ground her teeth, knowing it wouldn't be good to appear too strange, so she snorted coldly and turned to leave: "I'm going back to the palace. The weather is clear and crisp these days, I'll often leave the palace to enjoy myself. We'll talk later."

Huangfu Shaozong saw his sister out, and as he passed the courtyard, he looked up at the sky, which was covered with thick clouds.

……………

At the Demon Suppression Division.

Zhao Changhe sat with his hands tucked in the main hall, while Tang Wanzhuang sat in front of him, her delicate hands preparing tea.

The fragrance of the tea wafted through the air, and the beauty before him was like water, the previous chaos quickly vanishing as if transported to another world.

Every time he was with Tang Wanzhuang, he felt his whole soul calm down, as if he were boating through the water towns, no matter where he was.

Especially after leaving the fiery and impetuous Miss Winged Fire Snake, the contrast was particularly stark.

How could the Winged Fire Snake be the Imperial Concubine? It didn't seem right from any angle.

Zhao Changhe still felt as if he were in a dream.

"I received your letter. Wei Zicai himself has also submitted a letter of confession and resignation. I didn't punish him, just reassigned him to another place, not letting him mix with Sha Qi anymore," Tang Wanzhuang spoke slowly, "Regarding the matter of He Lei, I've just organized elite troops to head to Mount Mang, and if necessary, I will go there myself."

Zhao Changhe said he came to the capital to discuss matters with Tang Wanzhuang in person, but in fact, he had the Demon Suppression Division in Jianhu City send the letter, fearing that the long journey would delay important matters. He had been worried that it might not be delivered, but now it seemed that the Demon Suppression Division hadn't completely deteriorated and had managed to deliver it.

"As for the rumors you mentioned in your letter, the Demon Suppression Division is currently treating it as a top priority and is investigating. These are baseless rumors, easy to resolve, so there's no need to worry too much. At most, the Maitreya Sect might spread them a bit wider, but that's not a big problem. Once the situation in the south is stabilized, these issues will naturally be resolved."

Zhao Changhe finally "hmm"ed in response. He had felt the rumors were serious, but as long as the court wanted to handle it, it wasn't a big deal. And Tang Wanzhuang would take these matters even more seriously than he would.

The Wang family didn't have time to concoct any more plausible rumors, and the hastily made-up stories were too far-fetched, making them relatively easy to deal with. Who among the older generation didn't know that the Emperor himself used to wield such broadswords?

So... the letter had been delivered, and the matter he wanted to discuss with Tang Wanzhuang had actually been settled long ago. So what was he doing in the capital?

Then he saw Tang Wanzhuang, ever the lady, take a sip of tea, but the words that came out of her mouth were anything but ladylike: "No matter how beautiful Huangfu Qing is, she's still the Imperial Concubine. Stop ogling her face with those rolling eyes! What kind of behavior is that!"

"Pfft..." Zhao Changhe spat out his tea.

Huangfu Qing... that name was quite nice.

But how come it seemed like Tang Wanzhuang had a deep grudge against her... Could it be that his trip to the capital was to delve into gossip?