The cousin is beautiful but ruthless.

Chapter 120 Past Events

Li Huaijiang's eyes were filled with approval.

"Miss Shen is much smarter than I imagined; she's back from Suzhou so early."

Shen Hanyu remained silent. She had been hiding her true intentions all along, and now that the Crown Prince wanted to harm her, she didn't know who to trust. However, in order to find out the cause of Shen Yanzhi's death, she had no choice but to ask Li Huaijiang.

Li Huaijiang's palace maids stood guard outside, preventing anyone from approaching.

"What I wanted you to see is indeed that matter, so have you noticed anything amiss?"

At this point, Shen Hanyu hesitated, unsure whether she should reveal Qi Liansheng's story.

Li Huaijiang patted her shoulder: "Miss Shen, now that you're back, perhaps you can try to trust me."

Shen Hanyu smiled and said, "Princess, if you want to get me involved, you can't just leave me guessing without saying anything, can you?"

Li Huaijiang wasn't annoyed and replied frankly, "Let me think. You must have gained something from your stay in Suzhou, such as Lizhou."

Shen Hanyu sighed inwardly. This sickly princess knew quite a lot. What was Li Huaijiang after all?

In her previous life, Shen Hanyu was unaware of these events, let alone the suspicious circumstances surrounding Shen Yanzhi's death. She never expected such a dramatic change to occur in this life.

"Do you want to know about what happened in Lizhou?"

Shen Hanyu naturally wanted to know how Qi Liansheng died, why Shen Yanzhi wanted to investigate Qi Liansheng's cause of death, and whether there was any connection between the two.

What exactly happened in Lizhou back then?

Li Huaijiang sighed: "This is a long story. Come to the Princess's residence after school, and I will tell you slowly."

Seeing that her expression didn't seem fake, Shen Hanyu nodded in agreement.

The envelope had been placed in a safe place, so Shen Hanyu wasn't worried.

Li Huaijiang turned around and went back to his residence first, while Shen Hanyu had to wait until her class was over before she could leave.

Shen Hanyu returned to the school, and Wei Ming gave her what she had been taught in the past month or so.

"The prefectural examination is less than a month away. Are you confident?"

Shen Hanyu, holding her notebook, said, "Yes, don't worry about me. I studied on the way to Suzhou and didn't miss anything. I will also work hard for the upcoming scientific expedition."

In general, there are still more than twenty days to prepare. She returned early this time, and once she returns from the princess's residence, she will focus on the imperial examination.

After the exams are over, I'll have plenty of time to do whatever I want.

Xu Liyan walked over and glanced at Shen Hanyu.

How are you feeling?

"It's much better."

Shen Hanyu always used the excuse of recuperating from illness, and that's what Xu Liyan thought too.

"You must have fallen behind a lot while you were recovering from your illness. Take your time to catch up. You did very well in the last county exam."

By the end, Xu Liyan's expression had softened considerably.

All thirteen of them passed the county examination, a result that they were quite satisfied with.

Shen Hanyu was always obedient and studious at school, so Xu Liyan treated her very well.

Seeing that Wei Ming had already given the things to Shen Hanyu, Xu Liyan stopped worrying. As long as Shen Hanyu came every day, she should still be able to pass the prefectural examination, although her ranking would definitely drop.

After finishing her classes at the girls' school, Shen Hanyu immediately headed to Princess Li Huaijiang's residence.

Before she could even leave the girls' school, a carriage stopped her, and Liang Fangrong got off the carriage.

"Miaoyi, you haven't been back for over a month. Where have you been staying all this time?"

Liang Fangrong reached out, but Shen Hanyu dodged her hand.

“I’m living in the newly acquired house. If I go back to the Marquis’s mansion, my uncle and aunt will probably force me to leave the betrothal gifts behind again.”

Shen Hanyu gave a sarcastic laugh, recalling the faces of Liang Chengxuan and Xu Ying back then.

Watching her bring out her own betrothal gifts felt like she had stolen something from them.

Liang Fangrong looked troubled. Today, the Marquis's mansion learned that Shen Hanyu had come to the girls' school and asked her to come and find her. Moreover, she hadn't seen her daughter for a long time.

"No matter what, your blood relatives are all in the Marquis's mansion. It's not right for you to live alone outside. You should go back to the Marquis's mansion first."

Shen Hanyu didn't want to get entangled with Liang Fangrong any longer, and besides, she had something to ask Liang Fangrong later, so she agreed and got into the carriage to head to the princess's residence.

Li Huaijiang had been waiting for her to arrive, and the palace maid helped Li Huaijiang change her clothes.

“Princess, with Shen Hanyu’s arrival, she will be exposed to His Highness the Crown Prince’s sight.”

“My brother, the Crown Prince, is now also suspicious of me. We can’t keep this a secret for long. Shen Hanyu was in grave danger the last few times she was assassinated. Now that Pei Du is not here, she is on my side, so at least I can protect her.”

Li Huaijiang straightened her collar; this was such a hassle.

"Your Highness, Miss Shen has arrived."

"Invite her in."

Upon arriving at the main hall, Li Huaijiang sat down, indicating to Shen Hanyu that there was no need to be so polite.

“The incident in Lizhou happened a long time ago. Eleven years ago, 30,000 soldiers in Lizhou died tragically, and your father’s close friend Qi Liansheng was one of them.”

Shen Hanyu clenched her fists, silently waiting for Li Huaijiang to continue.

"The culprit who caused the tragic deaths of 30,000 soldiers in Lizhou was my elder brother, Li Sheng."

Li Sheng was demoted to a commoner eleven years ago. At the time, only this one imperial edict was known to the whole world, but no one knew why Li Sheng was demoted.

What was being suppressed was the tragic death of 30,000 soldiers in Lizhou due to Li Sheng.

Wait, Shen Hanyu suddenly realized something was strange about this.

Li Huaijiang smiled; she knew Shen Hanyu would find out.

Having learned so much information, Shen Hanyu's thoughts could never be the same as those people's.

The culprit was Li Sheng, and Qi Liansheng died in Lizhou. However, Shen Yanzhi discovered that something was amiss and began to investigate the matter in secret.

That is to say, Li Sheng's matter is also strange. She only just realized that her father was involved in something terrible.

It would be a lie to say I wasn't panicking.

Li Huaijiang stood up. "I'm also investigating the cause of your father's death. It's definitely not as simple as it seems on the surface. Now that even the body is missing, the investigation will only be more difficult. You still remember that the Crown Prince wanted to kill you, right?"

Shen Hanyu gave a soft "hmm". Having been assassinated several times, she naturally knew that this matter was related to the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince, Li Sheng, and Li Huaijiang have unwittingly become involved in so many things.

Shen Hanyu took a deep breath, wanting to hear what Li Huaijiang would say next.

“I don’t have many things in my hands now, and you can see my situation. But I can still protect you. The higher you climb, the more you can help me.”

Shen Hanyu understood that Li Huaijiang meant for her to do well in the imperial examinations, climb higher and gain more power so that she could help Li Huaijiang.

"What does the princess want to do?"

Li Huaijiang narrowed his eyes: "Naturally, those who deserve punishment should receive the punishment they deserve."

That's a very interesting statement.