Ziwei's body went limp, and she collapsed to the ground like an autumn leaf. Her eyes were wide open, as if she couldn't believe what was happening before her eyes.
All that could be seen was Fu Erkang's head lying to the side, his eyes still open in defiance, looking particularly terrifying.
When Xiao Yanzi and Jin Suo arrived, they found Er Kang already decapitated, and Ziwei collapsed to the ground.
Jin Suo was startled and dared not step forward. Xiao Yanzi took the cloak from Jin Suo's hand and walked up slowly but firmly. She draped the thick cloak over Ziwei and patted the dust off Ziwei's clothes.
Seeing Ziwei's absent-minded appearance, Xiaoyanzi felt a pang of anxiety. She didn't know how to comfort her. Xiaoyanzi swallowed hard, and after a long while, she finally spoke, "Ziwei, let's go back. Master Fu and the others are here with Erkang. They will take care of his affairs after his death."
Xiao Yanzi was truly worried about Ziwei, who had been running a fever all night yesterday due to the shock. She and Jin Suo hadn't dared to relax for a moment, staying by Ziwei's bedside the whole time. Now, Xiao Yanzi was only worried that Ziwei would have a mental breakdown.
Ziwei pulled away from Xiaoyanzi's hand and stared straight at Erkang as he slowly walked up. Looking at Erkang, whose head was separated from his body, Ziwei felt that she couldn't even cry anymore.
Although the Fujin (principal wife) found it hard to accept, things had already come to this, so naturally she had to take her child and leave. Seeing Ziwei's state, the Fujin went up and pushed Ziwei aside, saying sternly, "You don't need to pretend to collect Erkang's body here. We will handle Erkang's funeral arrangements ourselves. If it weren't for you, how could Erkang have fallen to this state? It's all your fault, all your fault! You're a jinx to our Fujin family!"
The Fujin had been on edge these past few days, and seeing Ziwei was like finding an outlet for her frustrations. She unleashed all the tension, repression, and discontent she had been suppressing.
The princess carefully placed her son's head into the box she had brought earlier. Then she beckoned for the servants to take her young master's body back.
He then glared fiercely at Ziwei before quickly stepping down from the stage. Fu Lun stood by, observing coldly without intervening. He had no idea how much his family would fall apart.
Now that his eldest son was gone, although he had given up all hope for him, he was still the child he had longed for day and night. He had no mind to deal with anything now. He simply sighed softly, turned and left, after all, he still had many things to attend to.
"Oh dear, what has happened to the Fu family lately? How come their eldest son is about to be beheaded?"
"Who says otherwise? Didn't they say last year that the Emperor's adopted daughter had been found, and the eldest son of the Fu family even went through the parade with her?"
"Who knows? How can someone serving the Emperor not be constantly on edge?"
Groups of two or three women huddled together, discussing in hushed tones. They had no idea what was wrong with the Fu family, and could only offer their speculations.
"Ah, you guys don't know?" At this moment, a thin woman suddenly appeared from the side, looking at the group of people who were discussing this with a puzzled expression.
"What do you mean? Do you know?" One of the fat women looked the thin woman up and down with disdain, her words showing no particular respect.
"Of course, my relative works in the palace," the thin woman said, puffing out her chest, as if it wasn't her relative working in the palace, but rather that she herself had the right to do so.
"Oh, really? Then tell me more." Upon hearing that there was more to the story, two or three women surrounded the thin woman like stars around her, and even suggested that she go to the teahouse next door for tea.
The skinny woman had never received such treatment before, and for a moment she was quite pleased with herself. "Alright, if you want to know, come up with me."
Upon hearing that there was inside information, everyone flocked to the teahouse. The owner was beaming from ear to ear; with so many people, today's attendance would set a new record for him.
After about two incense sticks' worth of time, the thin woman had spread almost all the news about herself.
The audience listened with great interest, but also with some disbelief.
"Is the eldest son of the Fu family so audacious? He actually dared to murder the emperor?"
"Who says otherwise? I heard that Consort Ling has already given birth to a prince. Who knows, she might be paving the way for him."
"What Consort Ling? She's already become Consort Ling."
"Hey, what's going on here?"
After another round of discussion, everyone left the teahouse still feeling unsatisfied.
The thin woman and the teahouse owner were left exchanging a knowing smile. It was true that a relative of theirs worked in the palace, but she just happened to be passing by today and wanted everyone to come to her family's teahouse for tea.
This satisfies their curiosity while making a fortune for their own family. Why not? Everyone is happy.
After Ziwei was pushed down by the Fujin, she never got up again. After everyone had left, Xiaoyanzi quickly ran up to the stage, then pulled Ziwei's cloak tighter around her and hugged her tightly with heartache.
"Ziwei, let's go back to the palace. You still have us." Xiaoyanzi gently patted Ziwei's back, comforting her softly.
A fierce glint flashed in Ziwei's eyes as she let Xiaoyanzi help her up. Xiaoyanzi was right; she still had a long way to go, and she still needed to avenge Erkang.
Ziwei walked to Shufangzhai with a normal expression, but fainted as soon as she entered. It turned out that she had been holding on to her last breath the whole way back. Now that she had finally arrived at Shufangzhai, she felt relieved and immediately collapsed.
Meanwhile, in the teahouse next door, An Ke watched with little interest as Xiao Yanzi helped Ziwei walk back step by step. Looking at their retreating figures, An Ke couldn't help but shake her head and sigh, "What a pity, what a pity."
Qing'er was sitting opposite An Ke. Although it was the first time she had ever seen such a bloody scene, she managed to hold back her gagging. Seeing An Ke shaking her head and sighing, Qing'er couldn't help but chuckle and asked, "What's wrong with you? What are you regretting?"
An Ke pointed in the direction of Xiao Yanzi and Ziwei to Qing'er, "You didn't see it just now, but I did. There was a clear hint of resentment in Ziwei's eyes. I'm afraid she's thinking about how to avenge Erkang right now." An Ke said confidently.
In fact, back in modern times, Anke had also read books on psychology in her spare time. She knew that people who usually suppress their emotions, once they finally break down and explode, will be...
Qing'er felt a chill run down her spine after thinking about it. Rubbing her arms, she retorted to An Ke, "But Fu Erkang committed regicide! Besides, isn't the Emperor Ziwei's biological father? Surely she wouldn't side with Erkang instead of the Emperor?"
After all, it was all for the sake of traveling all the way from Jinan to the capital to find her father. Qing'er knew this too. Since she had come from so far away to find her father, would she really involve the Emperor in this trivial matter of love?
"People in love are the most terrifying, especially someone like Ziwei." Anke sat down and looked at the teacup on the table, in which her reflection was mirrored.
"Looks like I'll have to find a way to meet Little Swallow," An Ke murmured, looking at the teacup on the table.
Qing'er didn't know what good idea An Ke had come up with, but she believed that An Ke would handle everything well.
Hall of Mental Cultivation
"He was executed?" The Emperor looked at the hourglass, estimating the time, and asked a seemingly random question.
The young eunuch serving nearby had no idea what the Emperor meant. It wasn't until Li Yu arrived that he realized what was going on. Li Yu's first action was to slap the young eunuch with a whisk, cursing, "You fool! The Emperor is asking about the eldest son of the Fu family, who is already on the death row!"
The young eunuch suddenly realized what was happening. He knelt respectfully on the ground, holding the teacup, and said with his head bowed, "It was a message that just came that the body had been separated from its original body and taken back by Lord Fu."
The emperor waved his hand somewhat irritably, and the little eunuch breathed a sigh of relief and slowly withdrew. One really had to be extremely vigilant when dealing with the people serving the emperor.
These two eunuchs, Eunuch Li and Eunuch Xiao Lu, are truly extraordinary people.
"Li Yu, who saw Fu Erkang off today?" the Emperor asked casually as he reviewed the memorials.
After all, he is a relatively insignificant person, certainly not as important as his political affairs.
Li Yu had not yet investigated the matter, and bowed his head, begging the Emperor for punishment, "Oh dear, this servant has failed in his duty; this servant actually forgot to investigate."
The Emperor glanced at Li Yu, who was kneeling on the ground and slapping himself in the face. "Get up, I didn't say anything."
“Uncle, it’s quite lively here. If you want to know what happened at the scene, just ask An’an.” An’an entered without a word, looking at the Emperor with a smile.
The Emperor looked at An Ke with delight and beckoned her forward. An Ke walked up without hesitation. Seeing this, Li Yu knew that there was nothing more for him to do, so he bowed and retreated.
“Yes, An’an saw everything clearly from there.” An’an sat next to the Emperor’s dragon throne, describing what had happened to the Emperor.
Upon hearing that Ziwei had actually gone, the Emperor's eyebrows furrowed involuntarily.
"Uncle, calm down, calm down. You haven't heard the end yet." An Ke noticed the Emperor's action, and after the Emperor stopped interrupting her, An Ke continued to tell the story.
After hearing the Emperor's expression, which alternated between green and white, it was impossible to know what the Emperor was thinking.
Anyway, An Ke had said what she wanted to say, so she got off the dragon throne and ran to the soft couch next to her, where there were pastries that the imperial kitchen had just sent over.
The Emperor was about to say something, but seeing An Ke's state, he smiled and pointed at her, saying, "Look at Princess Yong'an like this. Anyone who didn't know better would think I hadn't given her breakfast." The Emperor made a witty remark by accident.
An Ke sighed softly, "That's right, I didn't have breakfast. I rushed over early this morning to grab a spot. These spots are so sought after, and all the people in the capital want to see the excitement. If you don't get there early, you probably won't see anything. There are layers upon layers of people surrounding it."
The Emperor hadn't expected so many people to be watching the spectacle. Seeing An Ke's condition, he felt a pang of sympathy and called out to the door, "Li Yu, have the Imperial Kitchen send over some food immediately."
Li Yu heard the Emperor's order from outside the door and immediately shouted "Yes, Your Majesty!" towards the door. After all, the princess couldn't go hungry.
An Ke swallowed the pastry in her mouth, poured herself a cup of tea, and drank it down like a cow drinking water. "Uncle, did you hear me talking about Ziwei just now?"
Anke felt that it was better to do this sooner rather than later, or to take preventative measures as soon as possible.
The Emperor nodded thoughtfully. "Then, in your opinion, what should be done about this?"
Anke curled her lips into a smile and said mysteriously, "Just wait and see, it's a secret for now."
Emperor Bei Anke was quite helpless in this situation, so he could only point at her through the air and say, "You always have a belly full of tricks. All of your father's thoughts are in you."
“That’s right,” An Ke proudly raised her head. Isn’t it normal to resemble her father? Then her expression changed drastically. “But Uncle, you have to give me some special privileges, the right to bring others to visit me in prison.”
Although the Emperor did not know what An Ke was going to do, seeing An Ke's confident and composed demeanor, he nodded with trust, "Go ahead and do it. I believe An An will handle it well."
Anke only stayed with the Emperor until the afternoon before hurriedly leaving.
I just received news from Xingxing that Ziwei has woken up and is now heading to Baoyue Tower with Jinsuo. Although the Emperor said he had people surround Shufangzhai, he hasn't explicitly forbidden Ziwei from staying there.
The guards at the gate naturally dared not interfere, after all, they were just insignificant guards, while she was the emperor's daughter. If a conflict were to break out, it was obvious to them who the emperor favored.
An Ke knew that Ziwei wouldn't bring Xiaoyanzi, after all, Ziwei had given Xiaoyanzi a resentful look at her on the execution ground. An Ke knew that the Fujin's words had deeply pierced Ziwei's sensitive heart.
Ziwei is now in a dilemma, with her sworn sister and her father whom she has traveled a long way to find on one side, and the death of her beloved Erkang on the other.
But now Ziwei has clearly figured it out; she has decided to give up on Xiaoyanzi and the Emperor.
From the moment the Fujin said those words to Ziwei, Ziwei harbored resentment towards Xiaoyanzi for usurping her position as a princess; otherwise, they wouldn't be in this situation today.
So when she went to find allies, Ziwei deliberately didn't bring Xiaoyanzi, but instead brought Jinsuo, who had grown up with her.
Ziwei was courting death, and Anke didn't intend to stop her. After all, what good would it do for her to go to Hanxiang now? The Hui people all depended on the Qing Dynasty. As long as she remained a Hui princess, her fate would be in the Emperor's hands.
This was exactly what An Ke wanted, so she sent someone to Shufangzhai to summon Xiao Yanzi.
When Xiao Yanzi heard Princess Yong'an's summons, she was stunned for a moment. She didn't understand what she could possibly have to do with this princess.
But now she was no longer Princess Huanzhu, but a high-ranking princess, so she could only resign herself to her fate and follow the head palace maid to Cining Palace.
Xiao Yanzi was momentarily stunned when she saw the noble and elegant woman sitting at the head of the table. She quickly bowed in greeting.
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