In the darkness, Li Zhongman stared at Cheng Zhiwen for a while, then walked up to the carriage with his hands behind his back and said with a sarcastic smile, "Who is in this carriage?"
Cheng Zhiwen cupped his hands in greeting: "Replying to Eunuch Li, my beloved is sitting in this carriage."
"Your lover?" Li Zhongman chuckled coldly. "Where is your lover rushing off to in the dark?"
Cheng Zhiwen's smile remained unchanged: "The young lady is not used to being away from home and entering the Cheng family for the first time. She cried and missed her parents in the middle of the night, so I simply sent a carriage to take her back to stay for a few days."
Li Zhongman snorted, his expression changed, and he said loudly, "I suspect you're harboring a wanted criminal in this car!"
After saying that, he waved his hand and said, "Take the people out of the carriage!"
Cheng Zhiwen's expression changed drastically, and she pressed her body against the car door.
"My lord, my wife has never committed any crime. You have falsely accused her of being a wanted criminal and dragged her, a young woman, off the carriage in front of so many men. Isn't that inappropriate?"
Such neither soft nor hard words had no effect whatsoever on Eunuch Li, a favorite of the Empress Dowager.
Since he knew who was in the carriage, he also knew whether that person could pull the carriage off the bus, and what the consequences would be.
"Arrest them!"
"yes!"
The officers and soldiers stepped forward, pushed Cheng Zhiwen aside, and used their spears to lift the curtain.
"Wait!" a soft female voice came from inside the carriage. "I'll get out myself."
As soon as she finished speaking, a slender woman wearing a Western-style cashmere dress, with half of her face covered by a black veil, lifted the curtain.
Cheng Zhiwen stepped forward, gave her his hand, and she helped him down from the carriage.
The moment her feet touched the ground, the soldiers rushed up and surrounded her and Cheng Zhiwen.
She lifted her veil and smiled at Li Zhongman, saying, "Eunuch Li, it's been a long time. Do the Empress Dowager and the Prince know that you've gone south to Yongzhou?"
Upon seeing her face clearly, Li Zhongman was startled.
In the darkness, she lowered her veil again, revealing the lower half of her face, and her red lips parted slightly: "I've heard that eunuchs in the Forbidden City are not allowed to leave the Forbidden City without permission?"
Upon hearing this, Li Zhongman's face grew even uglier. With a wave of his hand, the soldiers surrounding Cheng Zhiwen and the woman automatically dispersed.
He smiled ingratiatingly, stepped forward, and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to the woman: "The Empress Dowager sent me south to Yongzhou to purchase items. I have already done so, and I plan to return to the palace at dawn. That's why I came here specifically to say goodbye to Lord Cheng. Please, Miss Liu, do not publicize this matter, lest we disturb the Emperor and the Empress Dowager."
Liu Xixue smiled and said, "Alright, as long as you don't delay my carriage from leaving, I will forget that I saw you in Yongzhou today."
Li Zhong gave her a forced smile and bowed respectfully before turning and getting into the sedan chair.
The officers and soldiers followed the sedan chair out of the alley in single file.
The alleyway returned to its previous tranquility.
Liu Xixue turned around, her slightly upturned almond-shaped eyes filled with Cheng Zhiwen's image.
She gazed at him adoringly for a moment, then parted her red lips slightly: "Brother Zhiwen, I helped you a lot today, so please remember what you promised me."
Cheng Zhiwen didn't say anything, but nodded her chin at the carriage behind her: "Hurry back! Otherwise, your parents will worry when they see you're not in the house at dawn."
Liu Xixue smiled and took his arm, her attitude intimate: "No, they'll be overjoyed to know I'm with you."
Cheng Zhiwen calmly removed her hand: "Get in the car."
Liu Xixue reluctantly boarded the carriage.
As soon as he got into the car and sat down, he immediately lifted the curtain and looked at Cheng Zhiwen.
Cheng Zhiwen looked at Lao Xu and urged, "Hurry up and go!"
...
“I have thoroughly searched this dungeon; there is nothing dangerous there, and no one from outside can get in.”
Jiang Shen comforted Shen Qing, who was in a bad mood.
Re-entering the dungeon where she had been imprisoned was torture for her.
He Fei laughed heartlessly, "That's right! Now that the young master is dead, there's nothing to fear!"
Upon hearing the name of the deceased Cheng Zhiwu, Shen Qing's expression darkened further.
He recalled all the things that had happened while he was imprisoned in this dungeon.
Fear was like an invisible hand, squeezing her heart so tightly that she couldn't breathe, as if she were about to suffocate.
She couldn't help but ask again, "How long am I going to be locked up here?"
Jiang Shen honestly said, "Mr. Cheng didn't say, but he knows we didn't prepare any food. I think he should come and let us out by noon at the latest."
Shen Qing nodded.
She also believed that Cheng Zhiwen would not let her go hungry.
But she really didn't understand why, after agreeing to leave for Shanghai before dawn, she was brought to this terrifying dungeon.
He asked Jiang Shen again, "Why did Mr. Cheng make us stay here?"
Jiang Shen didn't answer at first, but seeing that she was extremely tense, he relented and said, "Mr. Cheng received a tip that Li Zhongman has arrived in Yongzhou. He suspects that Li Zhongman is after you, so he arranged for you to stay here temporarily."
Shen Qing was startled and stood up: "What? Li Zhongman is here?"
This is a name that makes her feel lingering fear whenever she thinks about it.
This person believed that a huge amount of gold and silver treasures were buried under the Gao family's house. In order to seize the Gao family's house, he colluded with Master Zhao and fabricated the military supplies incident, trying to kill her time and time again.
Qi Zhenheng and Cheng Zhiwen both knew this man was dangerous, but because he was a favorite of the Empress Dowager, they couldn't do anything about him.
So now Li Zhongman knows she's not dead, and that's why he's come to Yongzhou to arrest her?
Shen Qing looked at Jiang Shen nervously: "How did Li Zhongman know I wasn't dead?"
"They must have planted spies in both Yongzhou and Jiangzhou. That day, your parents were at the Cheng family's gate..."
He didn't finish speaking, but Shen Qing understood everything.
Shen Liang and Chen made a scene at the Cheng family's door yesterday, trying to claim their daughter, which attracted many onlookers. At that time, she felt that something bad was going to happen sooner or later!
I went to Shanghai because of this!
Unexpectedly, Li Zhongman had already arrived at the scene immediately!
Just as Shen Qing was getting angry, a loud "bang" was heard.
All three of them looked toward the dungeon entrance upon hearing the sound.
Cheng Zhiwen bowed and entered the stone archway.
Upon seeing him, Shen Qing rushed forward with delight: "You're here!"
He immediately pulled her into his arms: "Come on, let's go out."
Shen Qing looked up and asked, "Is everything resolved? Are we still going to Shanghai?"
"Let's not go to Shanghai for now; it's not safe there right now." Cheng Zhiwen took off his coat, draped it over her shoulders, and led her out. "Let's stay at the Cheng family home for a while longer!"
She muttered to herself, "But is the Cheng family safe?"
He Fei, who was following behind, laughed and said, "The most dangerous place is the safest place!"
...
After all that commotion, Shen Qing returned to Cheng Zhiwen's courtyard.
The two had thought they would be separated for a while, but now they knew they could spend a few more days together, so that night they were especially affectionate.
Several times, under Shen Qing's initiative, Cheng Zhiwen almost couldn't hold back and entered her body, but fortunately he managed to hold back at the last moment.
Afterwards, Shen Qing hugged him tenderly and whispered, "Actually, it's okay. It's not that easy to get pregnant."
She was unaware of her infertility.
Cheng Zhiwen did not selfishly possess her just because she might not be able to conceive, nor did he subject her to that one percent of danger.
The doctor only said it was difficult to conceive, but didn't say it was absolutely impossible to conceive.
Given her current situation, if she were to become pregnant, it would be a cruel thing for her.
Cheng Zhiwen didn't want her to suffer even the slightest hardship or fatigue...
The days passed uneventfully.
Shen Qing knew that Cheng Zhiwen was busy with Cheng Zhiwu's case and didn't want him to be upset, so she never asked about Cheng Zhiwu's case.
Anyway, it has been confirmed that it was Mr. Cai who sent someone to poison them.
Sometimes when Shen Qing got bored in the courtyard, he would go to Madam Cheng's place to keep her company and talk to her.
Several peaceful days passed, until one night after winter had begun.
The two of them had been up until midnight and had just fallen asleep when a commotion suddenly broke out in the yard.
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