It turned out that before dawn, Ouyang Meiniang discovered that Liu Deng and Liu Chong had died from poisoning, but An'er and Ping'er were unharmed. Ouyang Meiniang had no choice but to suspect that Hongyu had poisoned the dinner, so she sent Qiu San Gongzi to arrest Hongyu.

Hongyu slowly tied the ribbon, walked to the dressing table and sat down. She picked up a wooden comb with one hand and gently combed a strand of hair with the other.

She raised an eyebrow and looked at the back of the Third Young Master Qiu in the mirror, her lips curving upwards even more, but the disdain in her eyes could not hide the arrogance deep in her heart.

Suddenly, she deliberately pushed the teacup to the ground, making a crisp sound—crash! The teacup shattered.

She hurriedly crouched down to pick up the shards, but in that instant, she gripped them tightly in her hand, a sly glint in her eyes.

Then, a scream shattered the silence: "Ah..."

Upon hearing this, Young Master Qiu turned his head and saw that Hongyu's palm had been cut by a shard of teacup, and blood was flowing down her finger and dripping onto the ground.

Young Master Qiu's heart tightened, and he quickly took out a clean white handkerchief from his pocket, squatted down, and carefully held Hongyu's hand.

At this moment, Hongyu's springtime beauty was already on full display, especially her high, firm breasts, which made Qiu San Gongzi blush and his heart race.

Young Master Qiu felt his cheeks burning. He dared not look any longer and wanted to turn his head away to avoid it, but just then, Hongyu said softly, "Young Master Qiu, men and women should not touch each other. Please use my handkerchief."

After saying that, Hongyu took out a red handkerchief from her bosom and gently tossed it to Young Master Qiu.

As soon as Qiu San Gongzi took the handkerchief, before he could react, he suddenly felt dizzy and saw stars before his eyes. He then lost consciousness and collapsed into Hongyu's arms.

...

When Young Master Qiu woke up, sunlight was already streaming into the room. Looking at the red robe in front of the window, he suddenly sat up and rushed out of bed.

This is Hongyu's bedroom. He was ordered to arrest someone, so why is he sleeping in a woman's room?

Upon entering the courtyard, he saw all the guards standing there, their gazes all looking in the same direction. He turned his head and saw Hongyu walking over carrying a large bowl.

【Young Master Qiu, you suddenly fainted. The doctor said you were overworked and your liver and kidneys are deficient. This is the prescription he gave you; please drink it while it's hot.】

How could Young Master Qiu dare to drink it? Consort Mei said that Hongyu poisoned the King and Liu Chong and helped Liu Ping'er usurp the throne.

Could it be that Hongyu also wants to poison him?

While he hesitated, Hongyu picked up the large bowl and drank from it. After drinking half of it, she handed the bowl back to Young Master Qiu.

"Drink it. Hongyu knows that Young Master Qiu has some doubts about her, so she specially brewed two doses of medicine to prove her innocence."

Upon hearing this, Young Master Qiu felt somewhat ashamed. He quickly took the large bowl, lowered his head, and said perfunctorily, "Thank you for troubling you, Yu Niang, but I have important official duties to attend to. I will personally find a doctor to examine me after I finish my work."

[Good! General Qiu has dared to defy my orders and is here flirting with this female traitor? Arrest General Qiu and this female traitor immediately!]

Everyone turned to look, and Ouyang Meiniang led the palace guards in, surrounding Hongyu and the Third Young Master Qiu.

The two knelt in the main hall.

Hongyu peeked over and saw that the officials were already standing in the hall, and Ouyang Meiniang was sitting on the dragon throne that symbolized supreme power.

Hongyu felt a surge of anger. Her eyes widened, and she pointed at Ouyang Meiniang, shouting, "Consort Mei, how can you be so indiscriminate! General Qiu suddenly fainted, and his condition was critical, so I summoned a physician to treat him. But you accuse us of colluding together! You are clearly framing a loyal minister!"

Ouyang Meiniang was even more furious. With Liu Deng and Liu Chong dead, she had no one to rely on. Unless she could conceive a child with the emperor again, she could only assist Liu Guiping in succeeding to the throne.

With the court officials currently without a leader, she is temporarily in charge of the government, and naturally has the right to execute Zhang Hongyu, this wicked woman.

She pointed at Hongyu and flew into a rage, ["How dare you, Zhang Hongyu! Last night at dinner, you poisoned the King and Chong'er's soup bowls, killing them, and you still dare to shout here? Guards! Drag Zhang Hongyu away and behead her immediately!"]

Hongyu shouted, "Wait! Yesterday, you and the King sent An'er and Ping'er to the Zheng'an Palace for dinner."

Luckily, I was careful and switched An'er and Ping'er's soup with the King and Liu Chong. I never imagined you would kill your own son, hahaha...!

The assembled officials in the hall were shocked and all looked at Ouyang Meiniang.

Ouyang Meiniang suddenly stood up, angrily rushed to Hongyu and slapped her across the face.

[You're crying wolf! If you're not beheaded today, you might destroy the dynasty Your Majesty established! Guards...]

Hongyu covered her face and immediately retorted, "Your origins are unknown. Could you be a spy sent by the Zhao family to wipe out the Liu clan's direct line? You're inseparable from the King; you must have poisoned him at night. To avoid suspicion, you didn't hesitate to sacrifice Chong'er's life..."

[Outrageous! Someone come quick! Beat her to death!]

Ouyang Meiniang shouted and looked around, but the officials and guards remained unmoved.

"Swish swish swish..." A series of hurried footsteps came, as if foreshadowing something important that was about to happen.

Shen Yu rushed over, her face tense, her lips clenched, enduring the pain in her knees.

She did not die.

The night before last, she was forced to kneel in the ancestral hall as punishment, and she knew that Ouyang Meiniang was going to harm her and her son. Fortunately, Hongyu sneaked into the ancestral hall, and she told Hongyu the plan.

When Ouyang Meiniang ordered her servants to throw her into the Tao River, Hongyu had already led her men to ambush her on the riverbank and successfully rescued her.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!