Chapter 173 Caught in the Net

The carriage stopped at the gate of Dali Temple.

Dou Wenyi lifted the carriage curtain, and a large hand reached out to her. Pei Siyan, his face flushed red, smiled in a half-smile, "Come here!"

As the slender wrist fell into his warm palm, Dou Wenyi had a fleeting illusion that he seemed to be enjoying it.

"Your Highness... Crimson Flame!"

Her mind was wandering, and she almost called out the wrong name.

Pei Siyan said quietly, "Your medicine really works. Xie Guidu went straight to Dali Temple."

"You'd better watch your mouth when you go in, and don't say anything carelessly!"

Shen Yanzhou is so perceptive, and there's also Xie Guidu. If they discover his deception, wouldn't they be committing the crime of deceiving the emperor?

Pei Siyan's eyes darkened. "Don't worry, I won't give myself away. Did you say I'm a good actor?"

The two exchanged a smile and slowly walked into the Dali Temple prison.

This time, she's caught them red-handed; she's determined to expose Xie Guidu's hypocrisy.

——

Xie Guidu had already arrived at the Dali Temple and rushed in without regard for anything else, shouting, "Where is he? I'm taking him away today!"

Officials from the Dali Temple rushed over upon hearing this, intending to stop him from entering. However, Xie Guidu was familiar with the route and went straight to the long corridor on the floor where the female prisoners were held.

"...This is the Dali Temple prison, it's full of prisoners, there's no one you're looking for here."

Xie Guidu frowned almost imperceptibly and asked in a cold voice, "Don't you know me?"

The clerk's face was quite grim, and he had no choice but to repeat himself, "Young Master Xie, your sister is suspected of drowning. Didn't you already claim the body? The person you are looking for is not here."

A hint of hostility slowly surfaced in Xie Guidu's eyes. "What? Was someone investigating today?"

Originally, I thought that the most dangerous place was the safest place. Not only would Xie Mengyao suffer a bit, but after experiencing the pain of losing her daughter, Madam Xue would naturally restrain herself and would no longer torment Dou Wenyi as recklessly as she did in the previous life.

He simply couldn't remember what had happened at Plum Garden, or whether she had gone there or not.

The clerk frantically winked and whispered a reminder, "Young Master Xie, Lord Meng has been dismissed for dereliction of duty... I hope you won't make things difficult for me. I still have an eighty-year-old mother who needs this job to support her family."

"Not bad, very good."

The junior official of the Court of Judicial Review naturally sensed the intimidating meaning hidden in his words, but he didn't dare to say a word in response, wishing he hadn't been on duty that day.

Xie Guidu stared into the darkness at the end, gritting his teeth as he said, "Don't give me this nonsense. Release her. I must take her away tonight. You promised me this when you brought her in."

The clerk was utterly shocked, his face turning pale with fright. He cried out in terror, "Young Master Xie, what are you saying? We know nothing about this! Don't slander us! My mother celebrated her birthday a few days ago, and I wasn't even there!"

"Young Master Xie, are you drunk?"

He's courting disaster; he shouldn't drag himself down with him.

Xie Guidu, with a cold expression, was clearly impatient. "What, don't my words carry any weight? Should I call your superior, Lord Mo? Or should His Highness Prince Rui come in person? Or should Prime Minister Meng come?"

The clerk felt like he wanted to die. Had Xie Guidu gone mad? How could he drag all these important figures into this mess?

He trembled with fear. "Sir, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. Please don't make things difficult for me anymore!"

Xie Guidu pondered, "It seems you're determined to make things difficult for me today? You must accept Prince Rui's token, right?"

As he spoke, he handed over a token.

“Young Master Xie… that’s not how it is. There’s really no one in Dali who is looking for you.”

"You know perfectly well that the person locked up inside isn't Wang Cuihua, but my sister Xie Mengyao. I personally handed her over to you a few days ago, and today I'm going to take her away!"

"Slap! Slap! Slap!"

A few crisp, loud claps sounded quite abrupt in the silent prison cell.

Xie Guidu's pupils contracted slightly as he suddenly realized that there were other people in the prison besides the minor official from the Dali Temple.

A chill ran down his spine; the entire conversation had already been overheard by someone else.

A sense of dread suddenly gripped him. "Who's over there?"

Xie Guidu subconsciously looked into the depths of darkness, trying to see who it was. At that moment, the lights in the prison suddenly came on.

As the darkness dissipated, Xie Guidu was astonished to see the end of the prison: there sat a group of people, including Shen Yanzhou, Dou Wenyi, Chi Yan, a guard from the East Palace, and even Eunuch Feng from the palace!

They all hid in the shadows and witnessed his despicable and wretched nature.

Xie Guidu felt his blood rushing to his head, his head spinning, and his chest trembling. When did they come in? Did they already know that the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence had claimed a fake corpse?

He never imagined that he would so inadvertently admit to putting Xie Mengyao in jail.

They couldn't have predicted that they would storm the Dali Temple, so why were they here?

Xie Guidu suddenly thought of Mei Yuan, that snow-white neck, more beautiful than frost and snow, that he couldn't take his eyes off her.

Was the current crisis something she had planned all along?

Dou Wenyi lowered her eyes, her disdainful gaze sweeping over him. "Young Master Xie, I wonder what crime your sister has committed that makes you personally send her to the Dali Temple for detention?"

"You're not dead, yet you're trying to frame me. What are your intentions?"

Xie Guidu had never expected her to be so cruel to him. He was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized what was happening.

“You’ve misunderstood. I heard someone say that there’s someone who looks like my sister locked up in the Dali Temple’s prison, so I rushed here. My mother is heartbroken at home, and I’m eager to take her back, which is why I spoke without thinking.”

"It was my carelessness that caused me to identify the wrong body."

Shen Yanzhou chuckled softly, “What a coincidence, Young Master Xie. We found an eyewitness in the West Garden. He was standing in the opposite Chunfeng Pavilion that day. He witnessed Miss Xie being pushed into Yanming Pond, but shortly after, someone rescued her.”

After a moment of panic, Xie Guidu calmed down and asked, "Did he see clearly who did it?"

Shen Yanzhou continued, "The second young master of the Wei family, Wei Yuanzhen."

After a long silence, Eunuch Feng spoke in a cold voice, "Young Master Xie, how could you do such a thing when you were the top scholar appointed by the Emperor himself?"

"Lord Shen, I will certainly report this matter truthfully to His Majesty. You are knowledgeable about the law, so shouldn't we arrest the person first?"

Shen Yanzhou shouted, "Wang Cuihua is a murderer and should have been executed in the autumn. Heaven cherishes life, and the law allows her to live for another six months, so why did she die?"

"Young Master Xie, you are suspected of kidnapping and murdering female prisoner Wang Cuihua, and also attempted to frame the Crown Princess. Do you have anything to say?"

"Men, seize him!"