When the Marquis manorâs servants found the Shen family, they learned that Yu Xiangâs legs injury had sustained another relapse and had been at the Zhen Guo Temple for over a month. They immediately set out for the mountain, only to be turned away by the monks of the Temple.
When they could not bring Yu Xiang back, the Old Madam became increasingly restless. She forced her ill ridden body to go find her. However, just as she stepped out of her room, she spat out blood and fainted. Subconsciously, she still had a glimmer of hope, hoping that her grandson had only fallen into the Wu River and was not dead. As long as Yu Xiang returned, he would be safe and sound.
Because of this fixation, even when she was unconscious, she kept muttering, âGo and get Xiangâer back. Quickly go and find XiangâerâŠâ
Ma Momo was afraid that her condition would decline further, so she sent a physician while she feigned a response. The others carried her to the couch and wiped her cold body with hot water.
The Marquis manor was in an upheaval. Yu Si Yu rushed to the main courtyard, but she ran into Yu Miao Qi â who was sitting by the lotus pond, and enjoying the flowers and fishes â halfway there. She couldnât help brimming red, âIt is unknown whether Big Brother is still alive or died, and Grandmother is gravely ill, yet you have the mood to play around?â
âWhy wouldnât I have the mood to play around? They donât treat me like a member of the Yu family, so why should I care about them? If they are alive or dead, so be it. You have to stop to look at the flowers, fishes, grass as much as you can. But I am afraid you wonât be able to do so in the future.â She covered her mouth and laughed softly, her eyes scintillated with frightening malice.
âWhat exactly do you mean by that? What are you implying?â Yu Si Yu was not as brainless as before. This was especially the case when it came to Yu Miao Qi and she was using the most sinister conjectures to guess her intentions.
âIâm not implying anything. You donât have to overthink. Go and see Grandmother, she may not be able to make it.â Yu Miao Qi chuckled and smiled.
âWhat nonsense are you spouting? Grandmother is perfectly fine! If your mouth is not clean, I donât mind washing it for you with my own hands!â Yu Si Yu had spent most of her time in the countryside and had not learnt anything else, but she had learnt the village womanâs ability to fight. She quickly stepped forward, held onto Yu Miao Qiâs neck with one hand, and pushed her head down into the lotus pool.
The master had taken Bao Sheng out. Bao Sheng was administered mute medicine and sold. This matter had completely chilled the hearts of the maidservants. Thus, Yu Miao Qi was often left unattended. At this moment, she was all alone and had no one to ask for help. On the other hand, Yu Si Yu had two higher rank maidservants by her side and two lower rank maidservants, who swarmed to hold her hands and feet down, immobilizing her.
âTell me, who is dying now? What did you mean by that, and what do you mean I wonât be blessed with that in the future? What have you done?â Every time when Yu Miao Qi was about to be choked to death, Yu Si Yu would pull her out and ask softly in her ear. And if she didnât answer, Yu Si Yu would dunk her again and again; tormenting her repeatedly.
Sure enough, it was true that Yu Si Yu was Yu Pin Yanâs biological sister, and her methods of torture to coerce confessions were no less than those of her elder brother.
Yu Miao Qi had swallowed a lot of muddy water and felt that her lungs were about to explode. She deeply regretted provoking Yu Si Yu. She should have thought of this before, the Yu family were all executioners regardless of gender, and it would be impossible to get into a head-on confrontation with them. That person hadnât made a move, so she definitely couldnât say anything. Otherwise, she would lose everything.
Yu Si Yu couldnât really drown Yu Miao Qi. After torturing a bit more and seeing that she had passed out, she let go of her bruised neck and waved her hands, âLetâs go and see Grandmother.â She left the barely breathing Yu Miao Qi by the side of the road like that.
When they arrived at the main courtyard, the Old Madam had already woken up. A square scarf wrapped around her forehead and tears welled up in her eyes. Yu Si Yu comforted her and told her the truth about what Yu Miao Qi had said. She asked, âGrandmother, what do you think she means of ânot blessedâ? Is it possible that we can no longer live in the Marquis manor? Does she know something?â
The Old Madam was horrified, followed by another mouthful spat of bloodâŠ
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[Imperial Palace, Hall of Nourishment] â The Dragon Robe was on Emperor Cheng Kangâs desk.
The day was sunny and the already brilliant sunlight was shining so brightly on the Dragon Robe, and seemed to light it on fire. That bright yellow flame made Emperor Cheng Kangâs face look even more frosty and frightening.
âA Dragon Robe has been made and sent to the Crown Prince manor undetected. Such a master.â The words were full of praise, but his gaze was filled with murderous intent. Regardless of who was behind this person, the power he secretly controlled had already touched his bottom line and could not be tolerated.
The Crown Prince remained silent. He understood that it was the right choice for him not to say anything at this time. For if he did not say anything, his father would naturally fill in all that he could think of, or perhaps he could fill in the blanks. In this way, it became all the more obvious that the man had committed a heinous crime, and even ten-thousand deaths would still be letting him off easy. ăă
âThey have also placed something in Yi Fengâs study? What is it?â Emperor Cheng Kangâs tone was icy.
âErchen[1] doesnât know. Erchen has only asked him a few questions before he bit his tongue and killed himself. Erchen is incompetent and seek punishment from Father Emperor.â The Crown Prince hung his head with shame on his face. It was not difficult to get a corpse that had bitten its tongue, everything was prepared before the Crown Prince entered the palace and had not alerted the man lurking in the shadows.
âNo harm.â Emperor Cheng Kang waved his hand. âSomeone will naturally report this matter to the imperial court. Take this Dragon Robe and go back, and put it in its original place. In the next few months, both of us, father and son, will have to act out a grand play.â
The Crown Prince understood and left the palace discreetly with the Dragon Robe. No sooner had he left, Ao Ping entered the palace with a scars riddled Dragon Scale Guard. Emperor Cheng Kang summoned him to the imperial court and saw that he was Fu Fan Xing, a fellow attendant of Yu Pin Yan and was considered a trusted aide of Yu Pin Yan.
Fu Fan Xing knelt down with a thud and opened his mouth to say, âReporting to Your Majesty, Commander Yu has collaborated with the rival country and is planning to commit treasonâŠâ He detailed how he had inadvertently discovered the clue and how he had evaded pursuit to arrive at the imperial court to inform the Emperor, and that the journey here was really dangerous.
Emperor Cheng Kang sat upright on the throne and remained silent with an indiscernible expression on his face. The imperial hall fell into dead silence. When Ao Ping and Fu Fan Xing could hardly withstand it, Emperor Cheng Kang slowly spoke, âAo Ping, bring someone to thoroughly investigate the Marquis Yongle manor and report any discrepancies immediately.
Ao Ping pretended to hesitate, but was given a cold and stern gaze by Emperor Cheng Kang. Only then did he lead Fu Fan Xing to bow and retreat.
[1] ćżèŁ(Ă©r chĂ©n)- This child and subject/ I, me. (archaic) a first person pronoun employed by a male sovereign when speaking to an empress mother, queen mother, empress dowager, queen dowager.