Li Mingfu sent his servants to the farm in the countryside of the Li Mansion to bring Li Xuemei and Li Xuelan to the Prime Minister's residence, and instructed them to treat them well with fine clothes and delicious food. Not only that, he also specially invited skilled dancers to teach them singing and dancing.
The two sisters were ecstatic. After going through so many hardships, they were finally able to return to the Prime Minister's Mansion and transformed into noble ladies.
However, the good times didn't last long. A few days later, Li Xuemei decided to personally bring her father a bowl of carefully prepared sweet soup as a token of her filial piety. So, she carefully carried the sweet soup to her father's study, but instead of going directly inside, she quietly hid by the window, hoping to hear if her father needed any help.
However, she didn't expect that Gu Manqing was sitting in the room at that time, and Li Xuemei heard the entire conversation between Li Mingfu and Gu Manqing.
Gu Manqing softly asked Li Mingfu, "Master, that immortal once said that twins are born with bad luck and will suppress their parents. Look, hasn't this killed their biological mother? Are you planning to let these two nemesis return home to murder us? Besides, our Shu'er is about to become the Crown Princess. What if she is unlucky by these sisters?"
Li Mingfu's eyes flashed with cunning, revealing his full calculations. "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is in urgent need of capable military officers, and we can use these two girls to win over those officers! Whether they are wives or concubines, they are sure to win the hearts of many generals with their stunning looks! After these two girls reach marriage age, I will carefully select suitable husbands for them!"
After hearing these words, Li Xuemei felt cold all over as if she had fallen into an ice cellar, and her heart was filled with grief, anger and despair. This man turned out to be the father that she and her sister had been thinking about and longing for for a long time!
Sisters Li Xuemei and Li Xuelan tearfully found their biological brothers, Li Kun and Li Lin. Upon meeting them, Li Xuemei and her sister threw themselves into their arms, sobbing and telling them about their father's cruelty and disloyalty.
Li Kun clenched his fists tightly and gritted his teeth, saying, "This man is completely devoid of humanity! If he had been able to intervene, our poor mother wouldn't have been forced to suffer at the manor by that vicious woman, and ultimately die at such a young age."
Li Lin, standing by, also had a gloomy expression. He angrily said, "It's all my brother and I's fault for being incompetent and unmotivated. We haven't been able to make a name for ourselves. Otherwise, how could we not even be able to protect our own family? In my opinion, you should find an opportunity to quietly escape from this Prime Minister's Mansion as soon as possible!"
Li Xuemei had been observing these days with a cold eye, and she had already realized in her heart: it turned out that the Li family didn't regard her two brothers as their own family at all! It made sense, after all, they were just illegitimate sons, but even so, their treatment was not as good as those of the servants around the legitimate sons. It was really sad!
Even more abominable was the woman named Gu Manqing, who always deliberately obstructed her two brothers from pursuing their bright futures. Whenever she thought of this, Li Xuemei would gnash her teeth in anger, wishing she could immediately find that vicious woman to settle the score! But then she thought, I'm just a weak woman, what can I do to her? Alas... it's just fate!
Li Xuelan was usually silent, but at this moment her eyes were filled with anger and unwillingness, as if burning with raging fire. She gritted her teeth and said, "My sister and I will never leave this place! Because here not only lives the culprit who murdered our mother, but also our sworn enemy! I would be a traitor if I didn't take revenge! Anyway, we still have about half a year to go before our coming-of-age ceremony. During this time, even if the road ahead is filled with thorns and dangers, we will stay in this prime minister's mansion and give it our all to win a bright future!"
After seeing this, Li Kun and Li Lin hurriedly spoke up to persuade them, "Sisters, with our current strength, there's no way we can compete with that sinister and vicious woman!"
However, Li Xuelan replied with a determined look, "Brothers, there's no need to persuade me anymore! I've made up my mind!"
At this moment, Li Xuemei and Li Xuelan heard the conversation between Bing'er and Shuang'er, and instantly realized that the time had come.
Mrs. Zhao hurried back to the Zhang residence and went straight to Chu Caiwei's room. Breathing heavily, she repeated to Chu Caiwei every word and every detail she had just heard from Li Jingshu.
Chu Caiwei's eyes widened in shock, her face a smear of astonishment, her entire body frozen in place. Her thoughts drifted back years to when Li Jingshu had first entered the Imperial Palace and the Kunning Palace. The Empress had specially ordered a plate of exquisite lotus pastries prepared for Li Jingshu, but just as she left, Chu Caiwei suddenly reached out and overturned the plate in Li Jingshu's hands, sending the scattered lotus pastries scattering across the floor, seemingly mocking her.
Chu Caiwei stepped forward and crushed all the lotus cakes with her feet! She stared at Li Jingshu arrogantly, and seeing Li Jingshu's panic, she laughed so hard that her body shook!
At the time, Chu Caiwei had even said to Li Jingshu in a cold tone, "Not just anyone can enjoy the lotus pastries in this palace!" Looking back now, Chu Caiwei realized that Li Jingshu had already noticed the distress signal in her jade pendant. However...she knew full well that Li Jingshu had sent this message to Mother Zhao, indicating that she would absolutely not help her!
Chu Caiwei clenched her fists, her heart filled with conflict and pain. On the one hand, she hoped Li Jingshu would help her out of their old friendship; on the other, she knew that an unbridgeable gap had already formed between them. Faced with such a difficult situation, Chu Caiwei felt lost and at a loss as to how to deal with the crisis that followed.
As night fell, all was silent. Mrs. Zhao contentedly accepted Chu Caiwei's generous gift, secretly calculating how much benefit it would bring her. As time passed, the night's chill grew stronger, but Mrs. Zhao gradually relaxed her watch over Chu Caiwei.
At the second watch, Mrs. Zhao couldn't help but yawning loudly, then she staggered back to the room, fell headfirst on the bed, and soon fell asleep.
At the same moment, a thin figure in black appeared, as stealthily as a ghost. She tiptoed quietly toward the courtyard wall and found the dog hole in the backyard. Without hesitation, she crouched down and swiftly slipped inside. She nimbly navigated the dark corners of the Zhang residence's backyard, skillfully avoiding any risk of detection. Finally, she arrived near the courtyard where Chu Caiwei was imprisoned.
Relying on her keen intuition and familiarity with the environment, she approached the room where Chu Caiwei was step by step under the cover of darkness.
When she reached the window, she stopped and looked around cautiously. After confirming that there was nothing unusual, she gently took out a small knife and skillfully pried open the window clasp. Then, she nimbly climbed into the house...
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