By the time everyone returned to their respective residences, it was already late at night.
As Jiang Luoluo and Dingdiao stepped off the carriage, they saw a tall, dark figure standing quietly in front of the Jiang residence. The moonlight illuminated his upright posture, making him appear calm and serene.
Jiang Luoluo paused slightly, the night breeze ruffling her cloak and dark hair, and she called out crisply, "Your Highness."
Dingdang, holding the wooden box that Empress Dowager Du had bestowed upon her during the day, followed closely behind her young mistress.
Xie Yizhi's lips curled up slightly, a smile flashing in his eyes, as he strode towards her, his tone extremely cheerful: "Luo Luo."
As he drew closer, Xie Yizhi's gaze fell upon her radiant face. His eyes darkened slightly, and his tone was low and gentle: "Seeing that you are safe and sound, I am relieved."
Jiang Luoluo looked up with a smile and said, "I am the future Princess Consort of Yi, who dares to do anything to me?"
Upon hearing this, Xie Yizhi chuckled. It was the first time he had heard Jiang Luoluo use his name to intimidate others.
Empress Dowager Du's methods of making things difficult for people are hard to guard against. He had already given instructions to his secret guards that if the situation was special, they could use force, no matter who the other party was. Their duty was to ensure Jiang Luoluo's safety.
Seeing the lively and cunning Jiang Luoluo at this moment, his heart softened even more. Jiang Luoluo seemed to be his lucky star, giving him more courage to move forward in the darkness.
*
After a period of peaceful days, one day, a message sent by carrier pigeon landed at Cining Palace.
Rong Momo deftly removed the letter tube from the carrier pigeon's leg and handed it to Empress Dowager Du.
After reading it, Empress Dowager Du's face darkened. She slammed her hand on the table and gritted her teeth, saying, "Jiang Yuelan, how dare you covet my people!"
Jiang Yuelan eagerly began to implement the plan that Lu Baimei had pointed out to her, unaware that she had fallen into a huge trap.
Empress Dowager Du, her face dark, coldly ordered the guards around her, who bowed and left to obey.
These days, Yao Shiyu has been extremely anxious. She doesn't know why she is so upset, but she thinks it's because of Jiang Luoluo's stealing the spotlight at Yunhua Temple, which has left her feeling resentful.
Because things went wrong at Yuanhua Temple, Lu Anrou changed her tune again, saying that the position of Commander of the Imperial Guards would not be filled so quickly.
At Yunhua Temple, Yao Shiyu had already found an opportunity to tell Lu Tingyue about Gu Boyuan's background, but she had not received a reply from Lu Tingyue for a long time, so she thought that these things were causing her unease.
Little did they know that just two days later, the Yunhua Temple tolled its death knell. News of Jiang Yuelan's accidental fall into the well and drowning while fetching spring water reached the Gu family.
When the news arrived, Yao Shiyu was having lunch with Madam Gu. The news struck her like a bolt from the blue, and Yao Shiyu's bowl fell to the ground with a clatter.
She rushed out as if possessed, shaking the nun who had come to deliver the message violently, and screamed at the top of her lungs, "It's not my mother, it's not my mother, you've got the wrong person, haven't you?"
The nun simply clasped her hands together and said with a touch of reassurance, "Dr. Yao, please accept my condolences."
Yao Shiyu knelt in the courtyard of the Gu family mansion, crying so hard she was about to faint, while the snow fell heavily.
Madam Gu merely glanced at her dismissively, muttered "bad luck..." and left.
When Gu Boyuan returned from his shift and saw this scene, his eyelids twitched. He asked the maid and learned that Jiang Yuelan had passed away.
Gu Boyuan took the oil-paper umbrella from the maid and held it over Yao Shiyu's head to shield her from the wind and snow.
He bent down and gently comforted her, "Shiyu, please accept my condolences. I'll go with you to bring your mother back."
Tears streaming down her face, Yao Shiyu threw herself into Gu Boyuan's arms, crying, "Brother Boyuan, I have no mother anymore."
Gu Boyuan recalled that night when he was drunk, Yao Shiyu had been comforting and taking care of him. Now was Yao Shiyu's most vulnerable time, and as her husband, he had to stand by her side.
Gu Boyuan gently pulled her into his arms. "Shiyu, don't be afraid, I'm always here."
Looking at the two people embracing in the courtyard, Madam Gu felt a little breathless. How could she have been so blind to drive Jiang Luoluo away and marry Yao Shiyu, that jinx?
I heard that a few days ago, Yao Shiyu and her lowly maid offended the Empress Dowager at Yuanhua Temple. Not long after, that criminal mother died. What bad luck!
Gu Boyuan accompanied Yao Shiyu to Yunhua Temple to handle Jiang Yuelan's funeral arrangements. Jiang Yuelan had drowned, and her body had turned white from being submerged in water.
Yao Shiyu looked at the well behind Yunhua Temple, her gaze slightly somber. She felt guilty and hated herself for not visiting her mother even once during her two days at Yunhua Temple.
Yao Shiyu didn't know why, even though she was clearly the chosen one, her mother had accompanied her all the way to the ceremony where she was crowned empress in her previous life.
Why did she die so early in this life? Yes, it was Jiang Luoluo. It was all Jiang Luoluo's fault. It was Jiang Luoluo who plotted and framed her mother, which led her to Yunhua Temple. Otherwise, how could her mother have fallen into the water?
No, there's no moss around this well, so it's not slippery at all. How could someone suddenly slip and fall into the water?
Yao Shiyu felt something was amiss the more she looked. She slipped some silver to the nuns who lived with Jiang Yuelan and managed to get some information out of them.
Lu Baimei came to visit her mother...
On a whim, Yao Shiyu had Gu Boyuan find a private forensic examiner to disguise himself and come to Yunhua Temple to examine Jiang Yuelan's body.
As expected, Jiang Yuelan suffocated to death before being thrown into the water. When Yao Shiyu received this news, she was trembling all over.
Lu Baimei, it must be Lu Baimei avenging her daughter.
The last time Yao Shiyu framed Jiang Yunjiao in order to help Lu Anrou, Lu Baimei finally found out it was Yao Shiyu.
Yao Shiyu clenched her fists tightly. The hatred for her mother's murder was irreconcilable. She buried Jiang Yuelan on the spot before taking the memorial tablet back to the capital.
Two days had passed before Su Cuirong learned of this news.
Madam Gu forbade Yao Shiyu from placing Jiang Yuelan's memorial tablet at the Gu residence, so Yao Shiyu had no choice but to take the tablet back to General Weiyuan's mansion.
When Su Cuirong learned of the death of her most beloved youngest daughter, she fainted from anger.
Jiang Luoluo happened to be at the General Weiyuan's Mansion. She did not stop Yao Shiyu from bringing Jiang Yuelan's memorial tablet back. No matter how much hatred or grudge there was in life, once a person dies, they are like a wisp of air.
Moreover, Jiang Yuelan is also considered her grandfather's daughter, so it is only natural for her to return to the General Weiyuan's mansion.
Jiang Luoluo led Dingdang to the ancestral hall and respectfully offered incense to Jiang Yuelan in front of the memorial tablet.
On the day Jiang Yuelan passed away, Jiang received the letter. In the past few days, with the help of the secret guards given to her by Xie Yizhi, she has carefully investigated and has roughly figured out why Jiang Yuelan died.
Her aunt was ambitious but incompetent, and ultimately died because of Lu Baimei's schemes.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
