Rumors spread

The wine had a delicate and mellow taste. Xiao Shusheng couldn't wait to pick up the glass and take a sip. It was slightly bitter at first, but the spiciness was mixed with a cold and rich valley fragrance, which made people feel comfortable all over.

Xiao Shusheng couldn't help but open his eyes wide and exclaimed in admiration: "Good wine! Good wine! Sister Wen, this wine is the best I've ever had in my life."

Wen Weili's smile gradually faded, and she sighed softly, "Thank you all for not disrespecting me. This is the wine I brought from the North. It tastes very different from the wine in the Imperial City."

"It's actually wine from the north, no wonder it's so spicy and cold!" A young man in a green robe bowed to Wen Weili and said, "I'm Shen Shiquan. Sister Wen is truly courageous. I really admire her!"

"I've said it all, I've said it all," Wen Weili raised her wine bowl, "I won't say any more. Thank you all for welcoming me. Cheers!"

"Dry!"

The few of them drank the wine in their bowls in one gulp. Wen Weili handed the wine jar to them to help themselves. She picked up a piece of boiled tofu skin with chopsticks and sighed as she chewed it, "There's no such fresh and pure boiled tofu skin in the north. Hmm, home-cooked dishes are still more delicious."

"Of course, try this wood ear vegetable, it's the specialty of Wang Ji in Xishi." Chen Shiquan has always been fond of wine. At this time, he was already impressed by the wine brought by Wen Weili and had even more respect for her.

"Thank you, everyone, please enjoy your food. I have a jar of wine here," said Wen Weili.

A few people toasted each other in a lively manner, and when they were drunk, they started talking.

Xiao Shusheng had long been curious about Sister Wen's experiences as a traveling merchant. Her mention of a trip to the North had intrigued him even more. "Sister Wen, I've never left the Imperial City since I was a child, and I've always admired the North. Would you mind telling me a little bit?"

"Okay, okay. The customs and practices of the North are quite different from those of the Imperial City or the South. They've always been warm and hospitable..." Wen Weili picked out some of the stories Duanmu Huaixin had told her about the North. The young men were fascinated by her story, but she changed the subject, "But not all people in the North are good. When I first arrived in the North, I was unfamiliar with the place and was deceived..."

Next, Fumi-ri vividly tells the story of a traveling merchant who was deceived into marriage by the locals and forced to marry a dying black-hearted wealthy businessman as his second wife.

The young men were frightened by the cunningness of human hearts and couldn't help asking Sister Wen, "What should we do? How did you come back?"

"Of course, otherwise you wouldn't have seen me," Wen Weili sighed, drunkenness rising to her cheeks. "Not long after, the rich businessman passed away, and I got my share of his property."

"Wow————" the teenagers exclaimed in amazement.

"But this fortune wasn't easy to come by," Wen Weili sighed sadly. "I have to take care of his son, who has been mentally retarded and sick since childhood, otherwise I won't be able to leave."

"Then you, won't you be able to walk in the future?"

"Yes, but that wealthy businessman signed a contract with me. If I don't take good care of my adopted son, he might not survive more than three days," Wen Weili cried bitterly, covering her face as she thought of her unfinished business. "It's a pity that my good business is gone, but the child is also pitiful. How can I bear to let him die?"

Her sadness made the other boys sad as well, and they lamented the difficulties Sister Wen had to face.

Xiao Shusheng felt indignant on behalf of Wen Weili. "I never imagined there would be such a shameless person," he asked with concern, looking at Wen Weili. "So, what are your plans for the future, Sister Wen?"

"At first, I wanted to give the child to a farmer's family, give them some extra money every month, and ask them to take good care of the child." Wen Weili raised his glass and took a big gulp drunkenly.

Xiao Shusheng nodded, "That's a good idea. Buying a few more servants to serve will save us a lot of trouble."

Wen Weili raised her glass and clinked it with Xiao Shusheng's. "How could it be so easy? Before we even reached the Imperial City, the boy fell ill. He's been sleeping all day, and even more picky when he wakes up."

"What should we do?" Xiao Shusheng felt really sorry for Sister Wen. It was really pitiful for a woman who worked hard to earn a living but ended up in such a bad situation.

"Alas," Wen Weili held her forehead with her left hand, feeling a slight headache. "What else can I do? I'll just stay in the Imperial City for now. After all, it's the capital, so there might be some miraculous doctors there."

"That's right," Chen Shiquan thought for a moment and said, "If we are in the Imperial City, it is much safer than outside."

Wen Weili clinked glasses with Chen Shiquan again, "Why think about those things? Let's do it!"

Everyone stopped discussing the child and started drinking. They started talking about interesting things in the city. They kept having fun until the moon was above the willows. Then they dispersed and went home before the curfew patrol started.

Along the way, the young men couldn't help but talk about Sister Wen's misfortune, lamenting her bad luck. The summer was long and bitter, and with the emperor seriously ill, the city was much less lively. This incident was a novelty, a good topic for after-dinner conversation.

After the party, as Wen Weili had expected, within just two or three days, stories about her - a female traveling merchant who was deceived into remarrying and had to return home with her children in a dishonest state - were flying everywhere. Many people even passed by Wen Weili's door on purpose just to see the woman who had such a miraculous experience.

Whether these people were curious, malicious, or well-intentioned, it had no effect on Wen Weili. When she told this story, she had already anticipated that she would be subjected to all kinds of onlookers.

Is this story true? Is there no flaw in Fumi-ri's fabrication? Does everyone believe it?

In fact, it is not. They don’t care whether the story is true or not, nor do they care whether "Sister Wen" is lying or not. They don’t believe it. It’s just that the story is bizarre and full of romance. When they think of what the rich businessman and "Sister Wen" might have done, they will chuckle or maliciously speculate whether "Sister Wen", who had disappeared for a long time ago, had an affair with someone else and gave birth to a child, and now was driven out by others and made up this story?

In this way, it is easy to understand why "Sister Wen" can earn so much every time. They think that "Sister Wen" must be kept outside by some family, and then given some money to send her away after having fun. Now that she has become sick, people don't want her anymore.

How reasonable it is! Some people think they have guessed the truth and are willing to share their thoughts such as "I heard", "It seems", "Someone in my family knows" with others in private.

There were also some moralists who really believed it and started cursing at Wen Weili in front of her door, saying that she was shameless and unworthy of being a human being.

Wen Weili had anticipated this. From the meticulous patrols every night, the occasional secret inspections by spies during the day, and the increasingly tight city gates, she knew that the prince not only had not given up on the capture, but had intensified his efforts in trying to bring Duanmu Huaixin back.

Therefore, these malicious speculations were the perfect cover-up for Wen Weili. The more outrageous their rumors were, the more beneficial it would be for her to hide.

Her identity was temporarily hidden, and Wen Weili had been worried about Duanmu Huaixin's health, and it seemed that a delicate balance had been reached.

Although Duanmu Huaixin was in a deep sleep and could not breathe, even if you looked closely, he looked as if he was no longer alive. But when Wen Weili put her ear against Duanmu Huaixin's chest, the slightly beating sound told her that he was still alive.

When Duanmu Huaixin's health improved for the time being, the thought of rescuing Zhiyun became Wen Weili's biggest concern. Over the past few days, Wen Weili disguised herself and found a few unremarkable soldiers in the government office to inquire around, but she had heard no news about Zhiyun in the prison.

As far as Wen Weili knew, generally, captured criminals would be imprisoned in ordinary prisons. If they could not be found in the prisons, they must be imprisoned in the more inaccessible Imperial Prison. The Imperial Prison was also called the Heavenly Prison, which mostly held extremely serious criminals, such as those guilty of treason, or bigwigs who were either rich or noble.

Wen Weili was certain that Zhiyun was imprisoned, but the question arose: how could she approach the prison, and how could she rescue Zhiyun from it? These two questions left Wen Weili helpless and restless all day long. Everyone else thought she was worried about her stepson and didn't notice anything unusual.

Things took a turn for the better when the prince was increasingly unable to catch Duanmu Huaixin. He was convinced that Duanmu Huaixin was not dead and must have planted spies in the imperial city. In order to force Duanmu Huaixin out, the prince ordered that the criminals caught in Huai Wang's mansion be put into prison cars and paraded through the streets.

The prince wanted to use such a humiliating method to destroy Duanmu Huaixin's reputation. On the first day, he locked up the former wife of Prince Huai, Niu, in a prison cart and walked from the East Market to the West Market.

Although Prime Minister Niu fought desperately to oppose it, the prince no longer needed his support. The prince's regent was like the emperor issuing an edict. When the prince issued the edict, Prime Minister Niu saw the prince's true face of going back on his word and could only bow his head. No one cared about his disagreement.

In the prison van, Niu tried to cover her face with her dirty prison clothes, but she could still feel the gazes of countless people, like needles piercing her body. She had already thought about how she had brought shame to the family and how desperate her mother must be.

However, Niu was overthinking it. Apart from some onlookers, not many people cared about Princess Huai. At most, they just lamented that Prince Huai had run away and the princess was unlucky.

After a day's tour, the prince was furious. He had expected that everyone would despise Princess Huai and scold Duanmu Huaixin, but the reality was that everyone was so indifferent that no one cared.

Because Duanmu Huaixin was a general guarding the border, he protected the safety of the border town and was praised by people. The reason he was arrested was only because of the crime of treason forced upon him by the prince. For the common people at the bottom, it didn't matter who was in power as long as they could have enough food to eat.

If Prince Huai really succeeded in his rebellion, wouldn't that be great? Not everyone had this idea, and no one dared to say it out loud. However, there were always people who had heard about Prince Huai's deeds and thought that this prince was quite good, so the thought of being beheaded flashed through their minds.

The prince was very dissatisfied with the people's indifference. He became more and more aware of Duanmu Huaixin's terrifying influence, and he became more and more convinced that if Duanmu Huaixin was not eliminated, he would not be able to sit firmly on the throne.

After receiving advice from his advisers, the prince decided to first destroy Duanmu Huaixin's reputation and portray him as a traitor who was hated by everyone. In this way, even if Duanmu Huaixin brought people to seize his throne, he would not get the support of the people.

As for how to ruin Duanmu Huaixin's reputation, the prince also had a plan in mind.