253: Confess to the women! Next step: Overseas!

As night deepened, the annex in Hangzhou where Li Shengyuan resided was brightly lit, exuding warmth.

Li Shengyuan reclined casually on a soft couch.

Princess Pingyang was peeling mandarins for him, while Yue Xiyan quietly brewed fragrant tea, and her disciple Yue Qingmeng assisted.

Shen Xinrong sat to the side, holding an embroidery hoop, but her gaze occasionally drifted towards the window, carrying a hint of imperceptible worry.

The playful laughter of the day had faded, and the atmosphere was now more tranquil and cozy.

As for his parents, they had long since gone off to enjoy a romantic evening… Li Shengyuan took an orange segment from Princess Pingyang and put it into his mouth, its sweet juice bursting on his taste buds.

His gaze swept over the slightly silent Shen Xinrong, and he smiled faintly, breaking the quiet: "Aunt Rong seems preoccupied these days. Are you still troubled by old family matters?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Xinrong put down her embroidery hoop and sighed softly, her eyes unable to hide her sorrow and indignation:

"The blood feud of my family, as long as it remains unavenged, Xinrong finds it truly difficult to rest easy. But the enemy is powerful, and clues are scarce. Whenever I think of it, I feel the path ahead is long and an overwhelming sense of powerlessness arises."

Yue Xiyan handed a cup of hot tea to Shen Xinrong and gently comforted her:

"Xinrong, you mustn't grieve too much. Shengyuan will surely see justice done for you."

Princess Pingyang also nodded in agreement: "That's right, Sister Rong, since Brother Shengyuan promised you, he will never break his word."

Li Shengyuan sat up straight, the lazy smile on his face receding slightly, and his gaze grew profound:

"Aunt Rong's revenge, I have never for a moment forgotten. The recent disturbances in Hangzhou, I presume you all have heard about them."

The eyes of the four women immediately focused on him.

Princess Pingyang, Yue Xiyan, and Yue Qingmeng only vaguely knew that the city seemed restless recently, and that it was somehow related to Prince Weis Residence, but information was too tightly sealed for them to know the specifics.

Shen Xinrong, however, had a premonition, and her heart involuntarily quickened a few beats.

Li Shengyuan spoke in a calm tone, as if talking about a trivial matter: "Those warehouses and gambling dens under Prince Weis Residence that had incidents, the missing accountants, the crippled guards, and that key informant who disappeared under strict guard... all were done at my command."

"What?!"

At these words, the entire room was stunned.

Princess Pingyang's beautiful eyes widened, and the mandarin in her hand almost dropped.

Yue Xiyan's tea-pouring motion paused slightly, and the tea almost spilled from the cup.

Although they knew that her husband was by no means as simple as he appeared, they never expected that the series of strange incidents that had stirred up undercurrents in Hangzhou and left Prince Wei in a panic were all his doing!

And during the day, he was clearly accompanying them on lake tours, enjoying the scenery, and composing poetry!

Shen Xinrong, even more so, suddenly looked up, staring at Li Shengyuan in disbelief, her red lips slightly parted, her voice trembling:

"Shengyuan... are you saying... those people who had incidents..."

"Exactly," Li Shengyuan met her shocked gaze and nodded affirmatively.

"These people, more or less, were all involved in the Shen Family's massacre case back then. Some provided intelligence, some were responsible for the aftermath, and some handled the assets plundered from the Shen Family. That missing informant was directly involved in contacting overseas forces."

He paused, then continued: "Through these past few days of cleanup, most of the lower and middle-level personnel involved in the Shen Family's affairs back then have been eliminated by me. A good deal of relevant evidence has also been obtained."

A profound silence fell over the warm room, broken only by the slightly hurried breathing of a few people.

Shen Xinrong stared blankly at Li Shengyuan, her eyes rapidly reddening, misting over with tears.

She had originally thought that avenging the blood feud was a distant dream. Her last trip to Jiangnan only involved reviewing old files and inquiring about news, but she found little useful information. This matter would require years of patience and waiting, perhaps even be impossible... Yet, she never expected that Li Shengyuan, without a sound, had already, with thunderous force, eliminated so many of her enemies for her!

This kindness, this thoughtfulness... filled her heart with a myriad of emotions—gratitude, shock, and appreciation—all intertwined, finally transforming into two silent streams of tears that fell down her cheeks.

Princess Pingyang and the others also thought that Li Shengyuan was waiting for an opportunity to act, never realizing he had already done so much in secret!

"Shengyuan..." Shen Xinrong choked, almost unable to speak a complete sentence.

Li Shengyuan smiled gently: "No need for this. Since I promised you, this is simply my duty."

"However, what has been cleared out so far are merely pawns. The true core figures have yet to surface. Moreover, regarding why the Shen Family suffered such a great calamity, I have uncovered a clue."

He changed the subject and asked: "Aunt Rong, do you know if the Shen Family ancestors, or the family itself, ever passed down anything special? Not ordinary gold or silver, but something that might contain strange powers, or an item with some ancient heritage?"

Shen Xinrong was taken aback by the question, stopped her tears, and frowned as she carefully recalled, but ultimately shook her head in confusion:

"There were no such rumors in the family... My father never mentioned any family heirloom either. It's also possible that my father met his demise before he could inform me... Shengyuan, do you mean that the Shen Family's annihilation was for a treasure?"

When the Shen Family was tragically massacred, she was only a teenager, and she was fortunate enough to escape by being sent by her parents to the Li Family in the capital to play.

Could it be that her father and mother had already sensed something back then?

"Highly likely," Li Shengyuan nodded, his eyes sharp.

"From the intercepted information and fragments pieced together from interrogations, it appears that the other party went to such great lengths, even colluding with overseas forces to annihilate an entire family, not for ordinary wealth or grievances. It's more likely they were searching for a specific item."

This conjecture made Shen Xinrong even more distraught.

Her family's destruction, could it possibly stem from a treasure she had never even known about?

This added a sense of absurdity and sorrow to her hatred.

"Then... the mastermind..." she asked tremblingly, already having an answer in her heart, but still needing confirmation.

"Prince Wei Mu Weiran, is certainly involved, but he is not the ultimate target, nor is he necessarily the only culprit. The overseas faction is the key," Li Shengyuan's voice grew cold.

"The one who personally led the team to infiltrate Hangzhou and destroy the Shen Family back then was 'Lord Nu Tao,' who fled from the Central Plains to here, and after acting, then escaped overseas to build up his forces."

A third-rank expert! Lord Nu Tao!

These names struck Shen Xinrong's heart like heavy hammers, and also made Princess Pingyang and Yue Xiyan's expressions turn solemn.

They deeply understood what a third-rank expert meant—that was an existence standing at the pinnacle of the current world.

Li Shengyuan looked at Shen Xinrong's instantly pale face, his tone still calm and firm, carrying a reassuring and powerful confidence:

"Aunt Rong, you need not fear. A third-rank, that's all. Next, I will personally go overseas and bring his head to honor your parents and the entire Shen Family!"

He paused, then, word by word, his tone cold and clear, he said:

"I will capture Lord Nu Tao alive."

"From his mouth, I will extract everything. Who the mastermind is, what they sought, who else was involved back then... Then I will make them all kneel and beg for mercy, offering their heads to honor the spirits of the Shen Family in heaven!"

Capture a third-rank expert alive?

If these words came from anyone else, it would be utterly fantastical, extremely arrogant.

But spoken from Li Shengyuan's mouth, they carried an undeniable power.

Recalling the terrifying strength he displayed in the Northern Frontier, where even the second-rank Six Demon Lords of the Demonic Cult was killed, let alone a mere third-rank!

Princess Pingyang, Yue Xiyan, Yue Qingmeng, and Shen Xinrong, after the initial extreme shock, all firmly believed, "He can really do it!"

Shen Xinrong looked at Li Shengyuan's handsome profile under the candlelight, filled with determination and confidence, and tears welled up again. But this time, it was no longer pure sorrow and emotion, but rather an intense flame of hope.

She rose and, with great solemnity, deeply bowed to Li Shengyuan:

"Shengyuan... please be careful! Nothing else matters, you must return safely!"

"Don't worry!" Li Shengyuan smiled slightly and held Shen Xinrong's hand.

Princess Pingyang, Yue Xiyan, and the disciple Yue Qingmeng also recovered, looking at their husband with complex expressions, a mixture of worry and pride, which ultimately transformed into silent support.

They knew that the man before them was not merely a leisurely noble indulging in romance, but also a towering figure who could stir up storms and whose word was law.

Yue Xiyan did not say she wanted to go with Li Shengyuan.

She knew that her second-rank cultivation was very important for monitoring Prince Wei's movements in Hangzhou!