Chapter 58 Only you can save him!
Shen Qingci saw Huo Yunzhan suddenly stop and raise his head in disbelief.
When Huo Yunzhan realized that the person standing not far away was indeed Shen Qingci, his face suddenly changed color, filled with horror, as if he had seen a ghost: "You, you, you... how could you be here?"
Shen Qingci's lips curled up slightly, revealing a perfectly timed look of confusion: "Ah? Your Excellency's words are rather strange. If I'm not here, where should I be?"
Huo Yunzhan gritted his teeth and clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
No, this isn't right! How could Shen Qingci be here? Wasn't she drugged and sent to the palace by him, to His Majesty's bedside?
If Shen Qingci is still alive and well in this Marquis's mansion, then who was the person he sent to the palace?
Shen Qingci took in all the fascinating changes in Huo Yunzhan's expression, and said with a half-smile, "Is the Marquis asking me why I'm here so early?"
Before Huo Yunzhan could answer, she hurriedly added, "I came to see the Marquis because it's urgent!"
"One of my maids has gone missing!"
She frowned, her face full of anxiety and worry: "That maid has always taken good care of me. Last night, she suddenly developed a high fever, her whole body broke out in rashes, and her face was covered with blisters. It looked quite frightening."
"The maids who shared a room with her were afraid that she had some kind of contagious disease, so they all refused to share a room with her."
"I felt sorry for her, so I took her to my bedroom and let her rest on my bed. I wanted to call the physician to come and take a look, but it was too late and he should have already retired for the night, so I didn't want to disturb him."
"Her maidservant was unwilling to share a room with her, and the physician had not made a diagnosis. I was also unsure what illness she had or whether it was contagious, so I simply let her sleep on my bed and spent the night in a side room."
"But when I got up this morning to check on her, I suddenly discovered that she was gone!"
Shen Qingci looked worried: "Could it be that she's having a mental breakdown and something happened to her?"
Huo Yunzhan clenched his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, and his temples throbbed with pain! He felt dizzy and almost lost his balance!
His voice sounded like it was being squeezed out between his teeth: "You mean, the person who slept in your bed last night was a maid? A maid who was sick, covered in rashes, and had blisters all over her face?"
"yes."
Huo Yunzhan staggered back two steps, his face ashen. Despite it being a slightly chilly spring morning, fine beads of cold sweat uncontrollably seeped from his forehead.
"My lord, what's wrong? What happened? You look...not well."
Huo Yunzhan felt as if he had been struck by lightning, utterly devastated! His eyes turned bloodshot as he glared at Shen Qingci, and he suddenly roared at her, "You wretch! Why did you inexplicably bring a sick maid to your bed? You're going to kill me! You're going to kill the entire Yongning Marquis's mansion!"
Shen Qingci was startled by his sudden roar and looked at him with some surprise.
Huo Yunzhan had no time to do anything. His mind was completely blank. He turned around and walked quickly out of the mansion. As he walked, he started jogging.
Shen Qingci could still hear his desperate and fearful mutterings: "It's over, it's really over! I have to get to the palace right away..."
Before Huo Yunzhan could even run out of the hanging flower gate in the backyard, several people suddenly rushed in from outside. The one in the lead was dressed as an eunuch, followed by several guards.
"His Majesty has ordered the arrest of Marquis Yongning! Take him away!"
The steward following behind looked flustered and at a loss: "Sir, what has my lord done wrong? What are you trying to do?"
Huo Yunzhan cried out in alarm, "It wasn't me! It wasn't me! It was Shen Qingci! I was tricked by Shen Qingci!"
He turned his head sharply, pointed at Shen Qingci not far away, and screamed hysterically, "Shen Qingci is right there! Quick, go and arrest Shen Qingci and bring her to the palace! The Emperor wants her!"
The guards acted as if they hadn't heard a word, and without saying a word, they grabbed Huo Yunzhan and dragged him out of the mansion.
Wanqing trembled with rage, her anger barely contained: "He's not even willing to pretend anymore? Right in front of you, Miss, he actually ordered those palace servants to arrest you and take you to the palace!"
How can there be such disgusting and shameless people?
Shen Qingci's eyes deepened, but her gaze had already become calm. After everything that happened last night, she was not surprised at all to hear Huo Yunzhan's words.
It's better not to pretend anymore.
Since he was the one who tore off the mask first, then she shouldn't be blamed.
Not long after, the old lady of the Hou family, having received the news, hurriedly sent someone to invite Shen Qingci over.
"Qingci, what's going on?" The old lady of the Marquis looked panicked and helpless. "Why would His Majesty suddenly arrest Yun... bring Yun Ting into the palace?"
"I heard from the housekeeper that when Yun Ting was arrested, he mentioned you. Is this matter related to you? Do you know what happened?"
Shen Qingci looked even more confused and bewildered: "Daughter-in-law...daughter-in-law doesn't know!"
“Last night, my daughter-in-law gave her own bedroom to a maid who was seriously ill and might be contagious. This morning, I got up and wanted to call the family doctor to take a look, but I found that the maid who used to sleep in my bed had mysteriously disappeared.”
"I was worried that she might be doing something drastic, so I rushed to find the Marquis, wanting to ask if he could send someone to look for the maid in the mansion. But to my surprise, when the Marquis saw me, he looked like he had seen a ghost, his face pale, and kept asking me why I was here."
"I find it a bit strange. I live in the Marquis's residence. If I'm not in the Marquis's residence, where should I be?"
"I explained it to the Marquis, and he kept saying that it was all over and that he wanted to go to the palace. But before he even left the mansion, he was taken away by people from the palace."
"I don't know what this has to do with me. The Marquis inexplicably told those palace servants that I was there and ordered them to arrest me and take me to the palace..."
Old Madam Hou stared blankly at Shen Qingci with her mouth slightly agape. She wasn't stupid; she could piece together the whole story and quickly figure out what had happened.
She slumped into a chair, her face deathly pale: "How...how could he do such a thing! He's so...foolish!"
"Mother, what has happened to the Marquis?"
Shen Qingci continued to play dumb, but the old lady of the Marquis's eyes suddenly lit up. She hurriedly grabbed Shen Qingci's hand: "Qingci! In the time since you married into the Marquis's mansion, I ask myself, haven't I treated you quite well?"
Shen Qingci narrowed her clear eyes slightly: "My mother... is naturally very good to me."
Aside from going to great lengths to conceal the truth about Huo Yunzhan's faked death and return, and to cover up the fact that the entire Huo family was inextricably linked to the execution of the Shen family, the old Lady Hou was indeed quite kind and caring towards her "daughter-in-law" at other times.
Old Madam Hou's throat bobbed slightly, her voice a little hoarse, carrying a hint of pleading and pleas: "Then I beg you today! I beg you, for the sake of my past kindness to you, save Yun... save Yun Ting!"
"Only you, only you can save him!"
Shen Qingci's heart sank lower and lower, and the obsequious smile on her face gradually turned into a hint of mockery: "Me? Mother is joking. I am just a weak woman with no strength to even kill a chicken. How could I possibly save the Marquis? I don't know what heinous crime the Marquis has committed to incur the Emperor's wrath!"
The old lady's eyes darted away, not daring to look directly into Shen Qingci's clear, cold eyes that seemed to see through everything. She held Shen Qingci's hand tightly and said, "No matter what he has done, you will definitely be able to save him! His Majesty... His Majesty has taken a liking to you, hasn't he? As long as you are willing to enter the palace, you can go and beg His Majesty! His Majesty will definitely let him come back!"
"Qingci, I'm begging you, I'm pleading with you!"
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