After leaving the house, Zhao Ying asked Hou Zhu to send the child back to Qingyu Pavilion.
The Crown Princess had already taken Zhao Xiao out. Seeing her come out, she immediately came forward and asked, "How is the old Duke?"
Zhao Ying shook her head. "I'm afraid it will be tonight..."
The Crown Princess sighed and said some polite words of praise and regret for the old Duke.
She also said that she had sent someone to inform the Crown Prince and His Majesty.
After all, the old Duke has a good relationship with the current Emperor. If Your Majesty could have caught up to see the old Duke for the last time, I believe the old Duke would have passed away more peacefully.
The two returned to the banquet and pretended nothing had happened.
Butler Qian approached Zhao Ying and asked, "Your Highness, is the play still on? The troupe has been waiting for a long time."
"Open it! After all, today is Xue'er's day. If we delay it for other things, I'm afraid she will say that I, her aunt, am too harsh on her."
Zhao Ying's voice was not loud, but it was loud enough for the officials and ladies around to hear.
Although the guests thought Zhao Ying was dull, they still admired her kindness and generosity in their hearts.
In half a cup of tea, the show began.
The old duke's favorite play was "The Substitute Prince", but he didn't come out to watch it. Someone asked Zhao Ying about it, and Zhao Ying just said that the old duke was feeling a little unwell.
As soon as he finished speaking, the actor on the stage screamed and threw the swaddling clothes in his arms to the ground.
"Eh? There's this drama about the cat-substitute prince?"
On the stage, the actress playing the palace maid covered her face and screamed, "Dead cat! Dead cat!"
Everyone stood up immediately upon hearing the noise, realizing something was amiss, and leaned over to see what was happening.
Zhao Ying scolded, "What are you all arguing about?"
Everyone quieted down a bit after hearing this.
On the stage, the troupe owner and a group of actors had already knelt down to apologize.
I broke out in a cold sweat.
If you mess up your performance at the Duke's Mansion, your life could be in danger!
The young actor who played the role of a palace maid sobbed, "Princess, please spare me. There really was an accident. This dead cat looks..."
The little actor hesitated, and Zhao Ying frowned and ordered someone to bring the swaddling clothes.
The Crown Princess and Huyan Xue were also on both sides of her. When Nanny Li came over with the swaddling clothes with a sullen face, everyone looked down and gasped in fear.
The dead cat in the cradle had been stripped of its fur and wrapped in blood.
"ah!"
Hu Yanxue screamed and took two steps back.
Zhao Ying was also frightened, but she pretended to be calm and asked someone to take the dead cat away and bury it.
"It's just an accident, nothing serious!"
He comforted Hu Yanxue a few more words, then asked the troupe to change the play and continue performing.
However, no one was in the mood to watch the show anymore.
Everyone's face turned pale.
Lady Jinghou was horrified and said, "Cats are intelligent. Their plight today might be a bad omen!"
These words made people panic, especially after the fire at Kanshan two days ago and the series of accidents that happened to Princess Huaian... Thinking of the rumors about the evil spirit coming to the world, several ladies couldn't help but look at Zhao Ying.
"I heard from my family that... the Imperial Astronomical Observatory observed the celestial phenomena at night and said that a demonic star had descended from the Duke's Mansion... Now it seems that it is indeed true..."
"Don't say anything. The old Duke is not feeling well today. Maybe it's because of that evil star!"
Zhao Ying's face darkened.
Huyan Xue also heard these words. She curled her lips into a smile, and the phoenix hairpin in her hair made her look more elegant.
She said to Zhao Ying, "Aunt, Xue'er heard that you wanted to send Yue'er away... Lingyin Temple and the Imperial Observatory both said there was a demon in our mansion. Could it really be Yue'er?"
Zhao Ying sneered, "Didn't the Master teach you that a man should not speak of strange things?"
"Zi is silent. I didn't say there isn't one. Xue'er thinks that if there is an evil spirit, it must be eliminated as soon as possible to avoid hurting others! If aunt is reluctant, Xue'er can do it for you!"
"So what do you think?" Zhao Ying asked in an ambiguous tone.
Hu Yanxue sneered, "This evildoer is causing chaos in the imperial court. We must burn him to death and cut off his escape route!"
The Crown Princess glanced at her and said, "I didn't expect that at your young age, you have such a hard heart!"
"To control chaos, one must use severe punishments, and the same applies to eliminating evil!"
The play on stage is over.
Zhao Ying stood up, as if nothing had happened. "Xue'er, your aunt has prepared a fireworks show for you today. Let's go to the garden to watch it!"
After saying that, everyone walked a few steps and came to the garden. In front of the garden was a pond. There were no flowers or leaves in the winter, but the servants cleaned it diligently, so the water was crystal clear.
"Bang, bang!" Colorful fireworks exploded in the sky.
The fireworks were so magnificent that Shangguan Chengjing had carefully prepared them, and even the usually arrogant Huyanxue was stunned.
Perhaps because the noise was too loud, the little lion dog in the arms of Yang, the wife of the Minister of Works, was frightened and jumped out barking.
Yang went to chase it, but unexpectedly the little lion dog stopped at the foot of a century-old tree, and the puppy kept digging with its paws, as if there was something inside.
Yang was quietly waiting for the puppy to dig the soil, but unexpectedly there was another scream beside her.
She looked up, and the next second her pupils dilated slightly, she covered her mouth, and her heart stopped.
The originally colorful fireworks turned into a scarlet glow, the flames gathered into a single mass, looking bloody and terrifying. Even more terrifying was...
"Look, does this firework look like a skinned dead cat?"
"Ahhhh! It really is!"
The guests were in chaos and were just wondering, when the next second, something even more terrifying happened.
The water in the pond in front suddenly turned red, as if it was stained with blood. People who were close could even smell the blood.
Everyone's spirits were completely exhausted.
It's a mess.
Zhao Ying was also startled and took a step back. When she was about to fall, someone grabbed her waist from behind. She looked up and her heart instantly sank with panic.
"Runlang..." Zhao Ying hugged Shangguan Shu, her voice trembling.
Shangguan Shu comforted Zhao Ying and said, "I was afraid you couldn't handle it alone, so come out and take a look."
"What happened?"
Before Zhao Ying could reply, Madam Jinghou's face turned pale, and she was so frightened that she couldn't speak clearly. "The prince... there is... there is a demon!"
As soon as the words fell, the women in the crowd exclaimed.
Shangguan Shu frowned.
The Crown Princess angrily rebuked, "Nonsense! The so-called evildoer's words are nothing but human mischief! Someone, come and investigate immediately. I want to see who dares to be so presumptuous in my presence!"
"How could the Crown Princess not know that this was a warning from heaven? After all, Master Yuanzhuang of Lingyin Temple and the Imperial Observatory both said that there was a demon in the Duke Zhenguo's Mansion!" Huyan Xue looked at Shangguan Shu holding Zhao Ying, a trace of jealousy flashing in her eyes.
"Some people are so reluctant to deal with the evildoers that even the heavens can no longer bear it."
Anyone with a discerning eye knew who Hu Yanxue was referring to.
No one else had the courage to say anything against Princess Chengqian, but Cui and Lin had already taken sides and of course responded to Huyan Xue at this time.
Cui, relying on the fact that the Minister of Rites was a close confidant of Shangguan Shu's rebel group, came over and pretended to be righteous and asked, "My Lord, may I ask if the old Duke is ill?"
"From what I've seen, the old Duke was in good health. How could he suddenly become ill? Could it be..."
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