In the first month of the year, two funerals in quick succession among noble families in the capital had dampened the festivity.

Wei Shengyi had lost his wife in midlife, but he was only an official, so everything was done according to protocol. However, the death of Dowager Duchess Ji caused uproar in the whole capital.

Having offered her condolences and returned from Duke Ji's mansion, Madam Su entered the main room and told her servants to leave, except for Granny Tao. As soon as the door was closed, Madam Su slapped the table hard with hatred, gnashing her teeth and saying, "This b*tch, Honored Consort Deng! She dares to bully our Shen Family!"

Granny Tao tried to comfort her, "Please calm down, Madam. Duke Ji is very filial and he was kept in the dark about it. If he had known what was going on, why would he have let Honored Consort Deng take advantage of him?"

Madam Su sneered, saying, "What do you know? Duke Ji had obeyed everything Dowager Duchess Ji had said. Two beautiful girls offered by his servant coaxed Duke Ji into neglecting Cangxiu. He even believed the words of the two unworthy concubines and suspected Cangxiu of being sinful! However, Dowager Duchess Ji talked to Duke Ji in a grave tone and with sincerity, so Duke Ji sent the two concubines away! Although I was grateful to Dowager Duchess Ji in this matter, I did warn Cangxiu later that Empress Dowager Ji had great influence over her husbandwhen she came to the capital to visit us!"

"The Dowager Duchess Ji died of an 'illness'. She happened to have died so suddenly. What else could it have been except that she was persuaded by Honored Consort Deng, so she decided to use her death to get a chance for her son to stay in the capital so as to replace the Crown Prince?" Madam Su bit her lip, saying, "Since the Dowager Duchess Ji made the decision, she was worried that Duke Ji might refuse it. So she didn't tell him while she was alive. Or why would she not have left a letter or a message for Duke Ji, telling him not to be unworthy of her intention?"

"His Majesty has many heirs. The Crown Prince's mother is the Empress, and there is his lineal sister, Princess Qingxin, who is very favored by His Majesty." Madam Su sneered, saying, "What about Duke Ji? He went to his fief with his mother when he was sixteen and has not had the chance to return even once a year! Just based on Honored Consort Deng’s promise, this mother and her son... They have been incredibly stupid!"

Granny Tao didn't know what Shen Cangfeng had previously reported to Shen Xuan. She thought Madam Su was simply worried that her son-in-law would suddenly be caught up in the fight for the throne, which might drag the second Miss, Shen Cangxiu, through the mud, not to mention the Shen Family. So she suggested, "Perhaps, Madam, you should find an opportunity to speak to the second Miss so that she can speak to Duke Ji?"

"Who wouldn't want that throne? Even if Duchess Ji had spoken to Duke Ji, Duke Ji might not have agreed." At the same time, in the study in the front yard, Shen Xuan was listening to the discussion between his assistants, squinting and stroking his beard.

The man who had spoken was only in his twenties, handsome and tall, looking cynical. He was Nian Shengyao, the assistant whom Shen Cangfeng had personally recruited. He was leisurely skimming the tea with the lid, saying, "Besides, when a man acts, how can he allow women in his rear courtyard to say anything? Especially when it comes to a big deal like this! So, I think it would be useless to tell Duchess Ji about this. She might accidentally let out the secret, so it's better to say nothing!"

"Yuemu, you are wrong." An elder assistant shook his head, disagreeing with him, "Isn't Honored Consort Deng a woman? However, this was all started by her! Yuemu, how could you underestimate a woman? I suggest we first ask Duchess Ji to try to persuade Duke Ji to get himself out of this situation. If Duke Ji refuses, we then find another plan!"

The two men disagreed, but Shen Xuan and Shen Zhou, who were listening, were silent. The rest of the assistants argued. Some of them supported Nian Shengyao while others supported the elder person. At that moment, one of those who supported the elder person came out, saying, "Duchess Ji is our Family Head's lineal daughter, and Duke Ji is our Family Head's son-in-law. Duke Ji has always been respectful to our Family Head. Even though he was deceived by Honored Consort Deng, he..."

"However, Dowager Duchess Ji is dead." Nian Shengyao said in a mocking tone, "If Dowager Duchess Ji hadn't had faith in Honored Consort Deng, why would she have given up being a dowager duchess and died here in the lively capital, in the first month of the year during all the festivities?"

The man who had spoken earlier was not convinced, retorting, "Duke Ji is not favored by His Majesty. Even if the Honored Consort has made great promises, when Duke Ji calms down, he will surely hate her! At that time, when he wants to avenge his mother, he will hate the Honored Consort for deceiving the Dowager Duchess Ji."

Nian Shengyao sneered, "Since ancient times, has every emperor's favorite son inherited the throne? Now there is no way for him to back down. Probably, Duke Ji thought Dowager Duchess Ji has sacrificed her life to pave his future path! If you were a son and your biological mother sacrificed herself for you like this, how could you fail her? Would you listen to your in-laws at this moment?"

The man fell silent. His companion came out, asking, "Yuemu, from what you are saying, you mean we shouldn't speak of this to Duke Ji and Duchess Ji? Then what should we do?"

"Our Family Head should immediately say he has fallen ill." Nian Shengyao said calmly.

These words made everyone pause. Shen Xuan also stopped stroking his beard, asking, "May I ask what you mean by this, Mr. Nian?"

"Honored Consort Deng couldn't possibly convince Duke Ji or Dowager Duchess Ji by herself." Nian Shengyao said with a faint smile, "She must have said it in the name of our Family Head. Our Family Head, if you don't feign illness now, when Duke Ji comes to the door, asking for help... After all, Duke Ji is the husband of your beloved daughter. If you agree, you will be betraying the Emperor. If you refuse, it will hurt the feelings between your son-in-law and you, which will put Duchess Ji in a difficult position between her husband's family and her parents' family. So, it would be better to feign illness before Duke Ji comes!"

Many of the assistants looked at each other, looking frustrated.

Seeing them acting like that, Shen Xuan and his brother were unsurprised. Nian Shengyao had been recruited by Shen Cangfeng and had been treated with respect at Shen Cangfeng's mansion. This time, because the planning of this big event was initiated by Shen Cangfeng and Shen Cangfeng had left the capital, Shen Cangfeng had especially chosen to leave him with his father as a helper.

At first, none of Shen Xuan, Shen Zhou, or their assistants had thought much of the young Nian Shengyao. But over the past few days, Nian Shengyao had come out with many smart ideas, which had not only made his colleagues not dare to underestimate him but also had made Shen Xuan and Shen Zhou become more respectful towards him.

Actually, as for the matter under discussion today, though the two assistants had proposed that Shen Cangxiu should try to persuade Duke Ji, they were not really in favor of doing so. They had made the suggestion mainly because they had heard that Shen Xuan loved his daughter, trying to please him.

However, Nian Shengyao insisted that they shouldn't. Everybody thought he was not afraid of offending Shen Cangxiu, nor was he worried that later Shen Xuan would regret the fate of his daughter and vent his anger on him. Surprisingly, as he had explained his thought, people could see that he was not only thoughtful, but he was also thinking for Shen Cangxiu.

He had stood out from Shen Xuan's and Shen Zhou's assistants several times, making them embarrassed in front of their leaders. Although Shen Xuan and Shen Zhou were pleased that Shen Cangfeng had recruited a talented person, Nian Shengyao couldn't take all the credit for things other assistants had done. After all, he was Shen Cangfeng's assistant. Therefore, having praised him, they had to comfort the rest of their assistants.

Of course, Shen Xuan would also write every detail of how brilliant Nian Shengyao was in a letter and order someone to deliver it to Western Liang to report it to Shen Cangfeng.

It was snowing heavily in the capital at this time, not to mention Western Liang. The snow in Western Liang had already been one meter deep.

Shen Cangfeng, clad in a big fur coat, holding the reins with his left hand and pressing on his sword with his right hand, led his mount through the knee-deep snow. His long spear was on the back of his mount. Although no one was riding it, there was sweat on the tips of its hairs. When the cold wind blew, the sweat froze, adding to the burden of the horse.

So every once in a while, Shen Cangfeng had to let go of the reins and go over to his mount to brush off the frost. Although his thick hat almost hid his whole face, his eagle eyes were constantly warily scanning the things around him.

As far as the eye could see, on the white snow, apart from some withered plants and a few starving small animals that had to venture out of the snow to find food, there were only themselves, a couple of dozen riders. In their harnesses and with their hooves wrapped in cloth, the horses were walking in silence.

"How long until we reach East River Town?" Shen Cangfeng noticed that he and his men had lost a lot of their energy. He could hear the constant panting coming from his men while he was walking at the front. They were already at the border between the Great Vi and the western tribes. Even though it was a day when the snow could easily cover their weapons while they were out for a short time, this was a place where people from the Great Vi and from the western tribes would still often roam around, so it was not safe here. Having pondered for a moment, Shen Cangfeng raised his hand to stop his troop. He gave an order to separate his men into two groups, one to rest on the ground and the other to stand guard.

Shen Die came running from the middle of the troop, panting. And he laid a thick piece of old felt on the snow for Shen Cangfeng to sit on and rest. However, instead of sitting on it, Shen Cangfeng took the map from his baggage, spread it on the felt, and called the guide who was not far away over to ask him questions.

Having taken a look at all the towns, villages, counties, and cities circled out with vermilion ink on the map, the guide looked away quickly, saying respectfully, "Your Excellency, I think it's not far. Having seen how fast we can go, I believe we will arrive there before it gets dark!"

Shen Cangfeng seemed relieved. While putting away the map, he was saying with satisfaction, "Military orders must be obeyed! The Lieutenant ordered me to arrive at East River Town by tomorrow to join him, but unexpectedly, the heavy snowfall these days has delayed our journey. Thankfully, you know of this shortcut. Now I am relieved!"

The guide smiled meaningfully, saying, "Your Excellency, why should you worry about such a trivial thing? With me here, even if the Lieutenant General wants you to arrive at East River Town right now, I can make it happen for him!"

"..." Shen Cangfeng was surprised that this guide, a common person, suddenly said something disrespectful, glancing at him in shock. He turned his head to Shen Die who had been his manservant and now was his guard. As he was about to speak, he heard the guide shouting with hideous laughter, "Warriors of Muxiuer Chanyu, I have lured the most favored son of the Shen Family in Western Liang here for you. Are you ready?"

Before his laugher had disappeared, not far away from them, the snow suddenly trembled, drifting in the wind!

A group of soldiers from the western tribes, who wore white hats, white fur coats, and white boots and were covered with snow, laughed and shook the snow off themselves. They drew their long-prepared bows and shot arrows at Shen Cangfeng's troop, which was less than twenty steps away from them. The moment the arrows had left the strings, they threw away their bows, and each of them drew the broadswords on their waists or on their backs, shouting and running towards them.

Everything had happened in a blink of an eye. The guide thought having trekked in snow for a long time, Shen Cangfeng and his men must be exhausted. Even if Shen Cangfeng had high status and the riders around him were the best of the elite, they couldn't have much strength left to resist. What was more, having taken the advantage of the snow and the snowstorm, the soldiers from the western tribes could hide so close that Shen Cangfeng and his men wouldn't have time to react. No matter how it transpired, the ambush would be successful.

Seeing the arrows rain down, the guide, who had dodged early, could almost see that the battle would end soon. Then he would follow those soldiers to Muxiuer Chanyu's yurt to receive the reward. He would own endless wealth and a promising future!