Chapter 14 Xiao Shenjing felt extremely irritated.
The bride was left alone in the bridal chamber, and even the bright red "double happiness" characters inside had lost their luster.
"Miss, why don't you eat something?" the maid Nianxia advised.
"Don't call me 'Miss' anymore." Zi Shu turned to look at her. "Call me Madam."
Even though they hadn't gone through a wedding ceremony, she was already married to him.
She and Brother Xu are already husband and wife.
Nianxia paused for a moment, then quickly nodded, "Yes, Madam."
Zi Shu waited in the new house for a long time, but Xu Yuansi did not return.
About half an hour later, the servant who had been sent out to gather information returned.
"Madam, the young master has been imprisoned by the prefect."
Zi Shu frowned and asked, "On what charge?"
“They say it’s human trafficking,” the servant immediately said.
It was clearly a fabricated charge.
After hearing this, Zi Shu did not hesitate at all. Wearing her bright red wedding dress, she walked straight to the government office. Many of her familiar neighbors followed behind her. Some were just there to watch the excitement, while others, who had a good relationship with her, offered some advice.
As she got closer to the government office, more and more people followed her on both sides, making her appear quite imposing.
"Dong dong!" Zi Shu struck the drum without hesitation.
Her wrists were slender, as if they could be broken easily.
When the prefect in the back hall heard that it was Xu Yuansi's unmarried daughter-in-law who had come to appeal and beat the drum, attracting a lot of onlookers, he immediately felt a headache coming on.
But there was nothing he could do but grit his teeth and put on the airs of an official to hold court.
Zi Shu bowed gracefully and knelt below the hall.
"Your Honor, my name is Zi Shu." She wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief embroidered with locust flowers, tears welling up in her reddened eyes, her voice choked with emotion. "I came to Yangzhou as a refugee, and my background and name are all registered. I voluntarily married you, my husband. How can you say he abducted me?"
As if unable to bear it any longer, she sobbed, "Please, Your Honor, grant me this favor and release my husband, Xu Yuansi, so that he may return with me to our wedding ceremony."
Zi Shu is bright and beautiful.
Her mournful weeping was so pitiful, like a willow swaying in the breeze.
Knowing full well that she was telling the truth, what could the prefect do?
He could only slam his gavel and loudly proclaim, "This is a serious matter; how can we rely solely on your word? He has abducted more than just you; this matter must be thoroughly investigated."
"How many days will it take to find out?" Zi Shu asked, wiping her eyes.
"We need to go to his hometown to find out, and that will take at least ten days to half a month."
“But since there is no evidence to prove his guilt yet, why keep him in jail?” Zi Shu asked. “Can we send him home? You know my husband is an honest man and would never do anything illegal, disorderly, or immoral. Besides, the other party has no evidence and is making baseless accusations. If anyone should be locked up, it should be them.”
The prefect thought to himself, "How come I didn't know?"
My wife was on the verge of death when Dr. Xu saved her.
But knowing this was one thing, the judge still slammed his gavel and ordered Zi Shu to be detained and retried at a later date, kicking her out of the hall.
The people outside quickly learned the whole story from various sources.
One by one, they cast sympathetic glances at Zi Shu.
Zi Shu stood outside the lobby for a long time, looking bewildered.
"Madam, are you alright?" Nianxia asked, supporting her with a worried expression.
Zi Shu shook her head, then wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief and walked toward the prison cell.
Even though she offered money just to get a glimpse of the prison, she couldn't get in.
"He is not a death row inmate, nor has he been convicted yet. Why can't I see him?" Zi Shu asked, puzzled.
Dao Er, who carried a sword, was still standing there, keeping watch.
With orders from above, how could the yamen runners dare to act?
He could only impatiently wave them away, saying, "Hurry up and leave. No one is allowed to see the criminals until the case is fully investigated."
"Officer, please let me see my husband." Zi Shu refused to leave.
"No, no!" the bailiff said impatiently, and without paying attention, pushed Zishu so hard that she stumbled and fell to the ground.
Dao Er frowned as he watched.
How could someone so delicate and pitiful, with tears streaming down her face, possibly be Miss Yunxi?
She has always been exceptionally fierce; it's considered good if she doesn't beat others until they cry out in pain.
"Madam" Banxia was startled and quickly went to help her up.
With reddened eyes, Zi Shu stared at the prison door, then could only turn and leave helplessly.
Seeing her limping and helpless appearance, Dao Yi, who had been following behind and monitoring her movements, began to waver.
He had witnessed every single heroic deed of Yunxi.
That person was truly capable of scaling walls and roofs, and would never forget a grudge. How could he possibly be so weak and pitiful?
After returning to the inn and recounting everything that had happened, Dao Yi couldn't help but ask, "Young Master, is she really Miss Yunxi? These two people seem to have completely different personalities."
Xiao Shenjing, who was writing, remained silent for a long time.
After writing the last word, he rolled up his sleeves, put down his pen, and looked at Dao Yi, saying, "Tell Xing Zhao to reinvestigate the case of Princess Yong'an's kidnapping."
"Young Master, do you suspect that the cliff jump was pre-planned? If she really is Yunxi, then she's just acting?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Dao felt a sharp chill run down his spine.
Seeing the look in his master's eyes, he turned around without saying a word and quickly retreated.
The cliff jump was a ruse; the real purpose was to manipulate everyone and escape far away. Now, they even want to deceive the current emperor.
hiss
At this moment, Dao Yi felt that Zi Shu should definitely not be Yun Xi, as this would be better for everyone.
Otherwise, given His Majesty's increasingly unpredictable nature over the years, who knows what kind of storm will Miss Yunxi eventually face?
Zi Shu returned to the Xu residence, sat in the new room for a while, and then, with red and swollen eyes, instructed the cook to prepare several dishes that Xu Yuansi liked.
At noon, she delivered the food to the prison and asked the jailer to give it to Xu Yuansi.
Although he dared not accept the money, the jailer readily agreed.
Zi Shu slowly walked to Dao Er, who was standing to the side.
Dao Er's body tensed instinctively, wary of her attack.
Unexpectedly, she actually bowed and gave a curtsy.
This startled Dao Er, who hurriedly returned the greeting in a flurry of activity.
There was no way around it; Zishu and Miss Yunxi just looked too alike.
When Miss Yunxi sees him, she usually just barges into the Prince of Huailing's mansion and never bothers to bow to him.
Zi Shu straightened up, lowered her eyes, and asked gently, "Brother, may I ask where your young master lives?"
Dao Er suddenly understood what his brother had said.
He immediately said, "I'll take you to see my young master."
Fulai Inn is located in the East Market, the most famous Pishi Street in the surrounding area.
With more merchants, there will naturally be more people.
Even at noon, there were still many people hawking their wares.
When Dao Er appeared on the streets of Pi City with Zi Shu, Xiao Shenjing, who was in the inn, already knew about it.
Don't be fooled by the fact that he only had a page and two guards with him; there were countless disguised guards following and protecting him within a ten-mile radius.
Xiao Shenjing leaned back on the chaise longue, staring at the book in his hand without even raising his eyebrows.
He seemed completely unconcerned.
Once outside the inn, Zi Shu left Nian Xia outside.
He whispered in her ear, "If I haven't come out in half an hour, go find Granny Wang and go report to the authorities together."
Although I know the government can't be relied on.
But Aunt Wang is a native of this area and knows many people.
If things escalate, even the prefect will have to take it seriously.
Thinking of this, Zi Shu gave a bitter smile.
Faced with tyranny, what else can ordinary people do?
She lifted her skirt and slowly walked up the wooden stairs.
Dao Er knocked on the door and said, "Young Master, Miss Zi Shu wants to see you."
Xiao Shenjing turned a page of his book without saying a word.
There was no response.
Just as Dao Er was about to report again, Dao Yi immediately pulled the idiot away.
The simpleton was still unhappy and said to himself, "Brother, why are you pulling me? Miss Zishu, she..."
"Shut up, you're just being nosy." Dao Yi couldn't take it anymore and really wanted to give his stupid younger brother a good whack.
After Dao Yidao Er left, the long corridor immediately fell silent.
The surrounding guest rooms all seemed to be uninhabited, making the space feel exceptionally empty and eerie.
Zi Shu pursed her lips, her hand lingering in mid-air for a moment before she finally dared to knock on the door.
This time, Xiao Shenjing's voice came from inside: "Come in."
The fading sunlight filtering through the window cast a long, sword-shaped shadow on the sandalwood pen holder, which was fixed on the unstamped secret memorial from the Ministry of Justice on the desk. Xiao Shenjing tapped the four characters "Autumn Execution Awaiting Verification" with his finger, startling the half-dry vermilion ink in the inkstone, which stirred up fine dust.
Just then, the door was slowly pushed open by a pair of delicate hands.
Xiao Shenjing stared at the secret memorial in his hand, without raising his head.
"Young Master" Zi Shu was clearly a little afraid of him. After entering the house, she stood at the door and refused to come any closer.
Xiao Shenjing finally raised his eyes and slowly looked at Zi Shu.
Their eyes met, and Zi Shu's gaze, as if startled, couldn't help but look away.
"Yunxi." Xiao Shenjing's gaze remained fixed on her without wavering. "Have you ever heard the saying that one lie requires countless more to cover it up?"
Zi Shu twisted her handkerchief. "Young master, I am truly not the person you are looking for. Please spare my husband."
"Husband?" Xiao Shenjing sneered.
The laughter that burst forth from his nose was laced with sarcasm.
"You and he haven't even had a wedding ceremony yet, so how can you talk about a husband?"
Zi Shu pursed her lips, forcing herself to remain calm, and said, "Even though we haven't had a wedding ceremony, I consider him my husband, and he considers me his wife."
Cinnabar splattered on the secret instrument, causing blood to flow.
"Yunxi," Xiao Shenjing suddenly interrupted her, gripping the calligraphy brush tightly in his hand.
Zi Shu was clearly frightened, her shoulders trembled.
"Do you know," he asked, his eyes lowered and a hint of impatience in his voice, "that the crime of deceiving the emperor is unforgivable?"
"Deceive the emperor?" Yunxi took a step back, her eyes widening in disbelief.
Staring at her frail and helpless appearance, Xiao Shenjing suddenly felt extremely irritated.
In the familiar almond-shaped eyes, there was no love or joy, only fear and dread.
Yunxi, however, was audacious and rebellious, and would never look at him with that expression.
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