Chapter 148 Beware of Your Father

Seeing that Fu Langxing had given in so easily, Song Sangyu's last hope was shattered.

As the dagger that had appeared in Shen Yiqiu's hand slowly approached, fear finally overwhelmed everything.

She was crying and pleading for mercy in a shrill voice:

"Sister, Sister Yiqiu, please forgive me. It's all his fault! Fu Langxing forced me to do this. He said that if I helped him, he would give me the position of his principal wife. The child... he forced me to have the child too. I was forced!"

Fu Langxing turned his head sharply, looking at her incredulously, as if he were seeing this woman for the first time:

“Sang Yu? You…”

Song Sangyu, however, seemed to have grasped at the only straw and screamed at him:

"Don't call me! You say you love me, yet you keep making excuses about even being my principal wife. I've given you everything, but you won't even pay this small price. You want love but don't want responsibility? There's no such thing as a free lunch."

Shen Yiqiu watched this dog-eat-dog farce with cold indifference, without immediately taking action.

She looked at Song Sangyu, who was trembling like a leaf, and slowly spoke:

“I can spare your life. But…”

Song Sangyu quickly pledged her loyalty:

"Sister, you said I would do anything, even die for it!"

Shen Yiqiu smiled, a smile that sent chills down Song Sangye's spine:

"I want you to return to the Song residence and stay by my father Song Qingming's side to monitor his every move. I need to know who he meets, what he says, and what he does."

"If you can do that, I'll spare your life and let you marry into the Earl's family in style. If you can't..."

Her gaze swept over Song Sangyu's abdomen.

"Today marks the anniversary of your death, mother and son."

Song Sangyu looked troubled:

“My father’s study has always been a forbidden place; he never lets us near it. Besides, I am currently pregnant and will soon be married. How can I…”

Shen Yiqiu interrupted her meaningfully:

"Don't you still have four good older brothers? How you make use of them is your business."

The tip of the dagger in her hand was already gently pressed against the fabric of Song Sangyu's abdomen.

The icy touch completely broke Song Sangyu down; she closed her eyes and screamed:

"Okay! I promise you! I promise you!"

Seeing this scene, Fu Langxing was heartbroken, and his last bit of affection for Song Sangyu vanished.

He turned to Shen Yiqiu and said in a hoarse voice:

"Shen Yiqiu, I was wrong today. Do with me as you please, just let me go back..."

Shen Yiqiu simply gave a wink to the guard beside her.

Two guards stepped forward and roughly grabbed Fu Langxing's jaw, forcing him to open his mouth.

Another guard swiftly and lightly sliced ​​his tongue with a dagger.

ah! ! !

Fu Langxing let out a muffled roar of pain, his mouth instantly filled with blood, unable to utter a clear word.

Song Sangyu, who was standing nearby, screamed in fright and nearly fainted.

Shen Yiqiu's voice was icy as she looked at them with disgust:

"If either of you utters even a single word of what happened today, I will make you wish you were never born, never die, no matter where you are in the world."

Xiao Yongjing watched quietly from the side, his eyes revealing undisguised admiration.

He waved his hand, and the guards dragged Fu Langxing and Song Sangyu, whose mouths were full of blood and whose faces were ashen, out of the room.

The hall returned to silence.

Shen Yiqiu was about to take her leave when the Crown Prince gently grasped her wrist.

"It's late. You may stay in the side hall of the East Palace. You are the rightful Crown Princess, and no one dares to object. As for Father Emperor, I will explain the situation myself."

Shen Yiqiu did not answer immediately, but instead took out the red cloth package that she had been hiding behind her back.

Xiao Yongjing's gaze fell upon it:

"This is……?"

"It was given to me by Granny Su when I came out of the Cold Palace. She said it was something that Green Peach was determined to give to the descendants of the Shen family before she died."

Xiao Yongjing frowned: "Green Peach...is already dead?"

Shen Yiqiu nodded:

"Granny Su said that he died from the plague that struck the Cold Palace a few months ago."

Xiao Yongjing recalled:

"The plague... I remember. At that time, I was dealing with the aftermath of the flood in the south of the city. It's not surprising to guard against a major epidemic after a major disaster. The Cold Palace is close to the Imperial Kitchen, and there were often people from outside the palace delivering food to and from it. Perhaps it was introduced at that time."

Shen Yiqiu shook her head:

“I have carefully examined the inside and outside of the Cold Palace and found no signs of an outbreak of plague.”

"Could it be that the traces have disappeared due to the passage of time?"

"No. If it were the plague, there would be specific traces left on the remains and in the environment. But the skeletons in the hall are normal, and there are even herbs that treat the plague growing in the corners. This is illogical."

A glint of inspiration flashed in Xiao Yongjing's eyes:

"In that case, the plague is indeed strange. Logically, everyone entering and leaving the palace should be strictly checked, yet nothing happened in the imperial kitchen, but something did happen in the secluded Cold Palace..."

A startling thought flashed through their minds simultaneously.

They exchanged a glance, saw the same answer in each other's eyes, and whispered in unison:

"It's to cover up the crime!"

The candlelight flickered inside the hall, and both men wore equally solemn expressions.

Shen Yiqiu placed the red cloth wrapping on the table, exchanged a glance with Xiao Yongjing, took a deep breath, and carefully untied the knot.

The red cloth was unfurled layer by layer, revealing the objects inside.

A private seal made of jade, and a letter with torn paper.

Xiao Yongjing's gaze sharpened, and he picked up the private seal first, carefully examining the inscription by the light:

"This is... the private seal of the Marquis of Yongjia."

He turned the seal over and pointed it out to Shen Yiqiu.

“Look at the shape of this seal knob and the engraved patterns. It’s a special design made by the Imperial Household Department specifically for a rank of super-noble.”

Shen Yiqiu was startled and immediately took out the private seal that Ying'er had given her from her bosom, placing the two seals side by side for comparison.

Under the light, the two seals are almost identical in terms of jade material, size, and the font and shape of the characters, making it difficult to distinguish the real from the fake with the naked eye.

"this……"

Shen Yiqiu frowned. If she didn't know that one of them came from the Cold Palace, she would hardly be able to determine which was true and which was false.

Xiao Yongjing took the two seals and rubbed them together for a moment:

"The counterfeiters are highly skilled, and their work is almost indistinguishable from the real thing. But there is always a difference between genuine and fake products."

He pointed to one edge of the seal.

"Look here, a genuine seal, due to years of use, has naturally rounded wear on its edges. But a fake..."

He picked up the one Ying'er had given him again.

"The lines are too sharp and clean, an intentional attempt to create an aged look, which only makes them appear stiff. More importantly..."

He held the two seals up to the light, gesturing for Shen Yiqiu to examine them closely:

“The seal of a genuine seal has a unique hidden mark made by the craftsmen of the Imperial Workshop at the turning points of the strokes. It is as fine as a hair and can only be seen under specific lighting. Counterfeits only imitate its form but not its spirit, so they naturally lack this mark.”

Shen Yiqiu looked as instructed and indeed saw the extremely hidden mark between the strokes of Zhenyin's brush.

A chill ran through her. Forging a marquis's private seal was a serious crime, and the other party had not only done it, but done it so realistically that their intentions must be extremely ambitious.

She put down her personal seal and picked up the yellowed letter.

The letter was fragile, and she unfolded it with utmost care.

The handwriting on the letter was neat yet strong, just like the handwriting of her maternal grandmother, Shen Zhaohua, which she was familiar with. The difference was that the strokes were hurried, as if it had been written in a very rushed situation.

However, the letter contained only a single line:

"Be careful of your father."