Gu Dalang hurriedly changed his clothes and rushed to the main hall.

Before he went to sleep, Hongyu said that she was ordered by Chenyu to examine the evidence, so he ordered the yamen runners to keep an eye on Hongyu to prevent her from destroying the evidence.

He rushed into the hall. In the center of the hall was a wooden boat from the Prince Jing's mansion. Near the bow of the boat, Hongyu was being held down on the ground by two yamen runners, but she didn't utter a sound.

The constable said, "Sir, Zhang Hongyu attempted to destroy evidence."

[Take him away for a second trial.]

Gu Dalang walked to the bow of the boat with a puzzled look and squatted down. He saw that the words "Mu Nanfeng" were carved on the bow. Judging from the thickness of the characters, they should have been carved with a woman's hairpin.

I remember Cailian tied herself to the reins, perhaps to lure people to this clue.

Did Mu Nanfeng kill Cai Lian?

Gu Dalang couldn't help but shake his head.

The Gu family and the Mu family are old friends, and he knows Mu Nanfeng's character very well; he would never take lives lightly.

------

9:00 AM (巳时).

Hongyu was escorted into the main hall, where Gu Dalang sat upright, his face ashen. He grabbed the gavel and slammed it down heavily—bang!

[Zhang Hongyu, the case of Cailian's drowning is closed. Considering you did not destroy any evidence, I will treat you leniently.]

Hongyu immediately asked, "Is the case closed? Who is the real culprit?"

Gu Dalang didn't answer, but looked at the constable beside him and ordered, "Release her. Young Master Ping'er and Princess An'er are waiting for her."

Hongyu stood up, saw the case file still on the table, rushed forward and flipped through the case file: the murderer was actually Mu Nanfeng and Mu Chenyu.

Hongyu was shocked and turned sharply to Gu Dalang, asking, "Lord Gu, can't you see? Someone is deliberately fabricating evidence to frame Madam Yu and Mu Nanfeng? Can you rest easy with a case like this?"

Gu Dalang frowned. The inscription on the bow of the ship was smooth and flat without a single stain, clearly indicating that someone had shaved off the original characters and carved Mu Nanfeng's name on it.

He concluded from this that someone had infiltrated the government office and altered the evidence.

It happened to rain last night, so there should be some clues left.

So he bent over and searched the surroundings for half an hour, but apart from the footprints of the yamen runners and Hongyu, there were no other footprints.

Just as he was racking his brains trying to figure it out, Liu Deng and Ouyang Meiniang came to hear the case.

Based on the letter left by Cailian and the words carved on the wooden boat, Liu Deng determined that Cailian harbored resentment towards Mu Chenyu because of love, and was later killed by Mu Nanfeng.

Therefore, Mu Nanfeng was imprisoned and will be beheaded at noon tomorrow, while Mu Chenyu's whereabouts are unknown.

Just then, the sound of a child crying came from outside: "I want my mother..."

Mother, where are you...?

An'er and Ping'er rushed into the hall, grabbed Gu Dalang's sleeve, and cried out, "Uncle, where is my mother?"

Uncle, An'er woke up this morning and couldn't find Mother anywhere. She wasn't at the Liu family ancestral hall, nor at the palace. Where could Mother have gone?

Upon hearing this, Hongyu was terrified. Remembering that Mu Nanfeng had been sentenced to death and that Chenyu was also unable to escape, she looked at Gu Dalang and asked, "Is Madam Yu...?"

Seeing the two tearful children, before Hongyu could finish speaking, Gu Dalang nodded, "Yes, the King has ordered the execution of her and her brother, but we don't know where she went. You should take the two children back and pack your belongings; the King wants them to stay in the palace."

The hour of You (5-7 PM).

Hongyu and Jiu'er led An'er and Ping'er to Zheng'an Palace, where the King summoned An'er and Ping'er to have a meal.

An'er walked slowly forward, clutching Hongyu's hand and sobbing, "Yuniang, where has my mother gone?"

Was my mother murdered by a villain?

After Ping'er finished speaking, she stopped and stared blankly at Hongyu.

Hongyu stroked An'er's forehead to comfort her, saying, "Madam Yu is alive and well. If you don't believe me, you can ask the King."

An'er and Ping'er were instantly overjoyed and rushed into the Zheng'an Hall. Without even bowing to Liu Deng, they asked directly, "Grandfather, Yu Niang said my mother is alive. Where did she go?"

[Grandfather, Ping'er is very worried about Mother. Please let us see Mother. We will be obedient and stay with you in the palace...]

Liu Deng looked at Hongyu in surprise. Although he didn't know why Hongyu had concealed the news of Chenyu's death, he was sure that Hongyu's actions wouldn't alienate him from his relationship with the two children.

He felt a pang of gratitude, nodded to Hongyu, and pointed to the round stool beside him, saying, "An'er and Ping'er, please sit down and eat first. Grandfather will explain this matter to you later."

Hongyu hurriedly stepped forward and helped An'er and Ping'er set up the round stools. After the two children sat down, she handed them chopsticks. When she saw Liu Deng looking over, she walked to Liu Deng's side, picked up a small bowl, ladled out a bowl of soup, and handed it to Liu Deng.

[Your Majesty, the weather is getting cooler. Please have a bowl of soup to warm yourself up.]

Wait a minute!

Hongyu was terrified. She turned around and saw Ouyang Meiniang leading Liu Chong over.

[Your Majesty, Chong'er didn't have dinner and kept calling for his father, so I brought him here. But as soon as he entered the room, he stopped making a fuss. It must be because he saw Your Majesty.]

As Ouyang Meiniang spoke, she walked to Liu Deng's side.

Hongyu hurriedly had An'er sit opposite the King, giving her seat to Ouyang Meiniang.

Ouyang Meiniang sat down, holding Liu Chong in her arms. She glanced sideways at Hongyu, then at the food on the table. Seeing Liu Deng pick up his small bowl to drink soup, she reached out and tugged at his sleeve, still scrutinizing Hongyu, and said, "Yuniang, His Majesty shouldn't eat too much soup for dinner. I see Ping'er's bowl is rather small; let's switch it."

Hongyu nodded, placed Ping'er's soup bowl in front of Liu Deng, then picked up Liu Deng's small bowl and placed it in front of Ping'er, saying, "Young Master Ping'er, please have some soup to warm yourself up."

Ping'er woke up early in the morning and didn't see Chen Yu. She hadn't had a drop of water all day, so she drank a whole bowl of soup in one go.

Seeing this, Liu Deng picked up the soup and took a couple of sips. Before even putting down the small bowl, she exclaimed, "Fresh! There's shrimp in the soup. Give some to Chong'er."

After saying that, he looked at Ouyang Meiniang, [Meiniang and Chong'er should also drink some to warm themselves up; this soup is very delicious.]

Ouyang Meiniang picked up the small bowl with one hand and used the soup spoon in the other to feed Chong'er two sips, but she didn't like Hongyu and stubbornly refused to eat a single bite.

------

Early in the morning, before dawn, Young Master Qiu led a group of people into the Red Jade Courtyard.

With a loud bang, the door was kicked open.

Hongyu suddenly sat up, her jet-black hair sliding down her fair shoulders and falling messily across her chest. She was only wearing a thin red bodice, revealing large expanses of snow-white skin and delicate collarbones.

She got out of bed unhurriedly, her bare feet touching the cold floor. She strolled slowly to the clothes rack, grabbed a coat and draped it over her shoulders. Turning to look at Young Master Qiu, she said languidly, "So early! What are you doing here, Young Master Qiu?"

Young Master Qiu's cheeks were already flushed red. He immediately turned his back to Hongyu and stammered, "You...you are so audacious, Zhang Hongyu! You plotted to assassinate the emperor and usurp the throne! Consort Mei ordered me to arrest you!"

King murder and usurpation?