Chapter 99: Hell Begins, Hell Ends
The person the secret guards killed wasn't the real Fifth Prince, but a replacement he had prepared long ago. The real Fifth Prince had gone into hiding, preparing to make a comeback. Concubine Wen was the spy he had deliberately placed beside the tyrant.
The tyrant realized something was amiss and played along, pretending to be completely bewitched by Lady Wen. He was simply trying to use himself as bait to lure out the Fifth Prince and capture him all in one fell swoop.
[The tyrant acted too well, deceiving even the shrewd Fifth Prince. This led the Fifth Prince to repeatedly pass on information to Concubine Wen, prompting her to coordinate internal and external efforts to attack the tyrant.]
[Unfortunately, the tyrant was one step ahead of the others and tracked down the Fifth Prince's hiding place before him, killing him.]
[Once the Fifth Prince died, Lady Wen was no longer useful, and the tyrant naturally no longer needed to pretend to favor her. This is why Lady Wen suddenly rose and fell from favor.]
Because she had never attacked the tyrant, he had his secret guards cripple her martial arts and spared her life, but she never set foot in Xuexiang Garden again.
[Tsk tsk, from Miss Wen's perspective, this is just a melodramatic story of a spy falling in love with his target.]
[Lady Wen sent people to humiliate Concubine Gao not because she was arrogant, but to test the tyrant.]
[Once, twice, three times, four times, five times, six times... the entire harem was in turmoil, filled with complaints. However, the tyrant remained steadfast in his side, unwilling to punish her, even the Queen Mother's words were ineffective.]
[Even now, who wouldn't feel that this man is exclusive to her? A moment of weakness, a moment of hesitation...]
Chu Liuzheng smacked his lips. Lady Wen wanted to kill the king, and the tyrant took advantage of her. The two deceived and schemed against each other... It really started in hell and ended in hell.
Put yourself in their shoes. Imagine an orphan who has been trained as a tool and never loved since childhood. Suddenly, a powerful, talented, and handsome man holds him in his heart and dotes on him. He is given everything he wants and tolerates and favors him no matter what he does. This doting lasts for months. How strong a will does it take to withstand this?
Chu Liuzheng felt that if he were Lady Wen, he would probably be corrupted by the sugar-coated bullets.
But if it was her...
[The misfortune of falling in love with a heartless man is doubly unfortunate. When this man is the emperor, the misfortune is multiplied.]
Chu Liuzheng shuddered and shook his head.
【I can’t accept it! 】
Moxiang pushed the door open, bringing in a gust of cold wind and a few snowflakes. "It's snowing again."
Chu Liuzheng came back to his senses after hearing the sound and saw that there was snow on her body. "Sister, don't be in a hurry. Quickly brush the snow off."
"Okay." Moxiang responded while putting the basin of hot water on the shelf. She raised her hand to quickly brush off the snowflakes on her body, turned her head and sneezed.
Chu Liuzheng was worried that she might catch a cold, so he hurriedly said, "Come over here and warm yourself by the fire to get rid of the cold."
"No rush." Moxiang took out the handkerchief and dipped it in hot water. After wringing it dry, she walked over to wipe Chu Liuzheng's face.
Chu Liuzheng tilted his head back to make it easier for her to move.
Moxiang said, "Soak your feet and go to bed. I just saw that Yuzhui looked unhappy. I'm afraid she's been wronged. I'll go talk to her."
Chu Liuzheng had slept too much during the day and couldn't fall asleep at this moment. She suggested, "Let's go together. If you've really been wronged, I can help you."
"No." Moxiang poked Chu Liuzheng's smooth forehead. "Imperial Physician Li told me to watch you go to bed early. He'll come to change the dressing tomorrow. If he sees the dark circles under your eyes, I won't be able to explain myself."
Chu Liuzheng pouted. Although he was reluctant, he still had to follow the doctor's orders.
*
The next day, the sky was gray and it was snowing lightly.
Chu Liuzheng was awakened by the sound of snow shoveling outside the house. He opened his eyes and found that there was no one in the house.
She tried to sit up on her own.
Although it still hurts, it's not as excruciating as when I was first injured, and it's still within the tolerable range.
At this moment, Moxiang pushed the door open with breakfast in her hand. Seeing that she had sat up by herself, she asked, "Did you touch your hands?"
"No." Chu Liuzheng leaned back. "What are you having for breakfast this morning?"
"Salty steamed buns and rice porridge."
Moxiang helped her get up, wash up, and then fed her breakfast.
Chu Liuzheng still remembered what happened last night. He looked up at Moxiang and found that there were dark circles under her eyes. She must have chatted with Yuzhui for a long time.
"I fell asleep last night and didn't know when my sister came back."
Moxiang paused while scooping porridge, turned her head and glanced out the window. Seeing that no one was around, she whispered, "Something happened at Yuzhui's home."
Chu Liuzheng was stunned for a moment, and quickly swallowed the steamed bun in his mouth. He asked with concern, "What happened?"
Moxiang fed her a spoonful of porridge and lowered her voice: "Her parents had someone beat her to death in the street."
"What!" Chu Liuzheng's eyes widened in shock.
Yuzhui is the eldest daughter in the family. She has a younger sister who has just reached the age of marriage. Her parents both work in the fields to make a living.
Back then, her family was too poor to afford food, and Yuzhu was of good looks and at the right age, so she sold herself and entered the palace as a maid.
Every three months she would send a message home, give some money, and ask about her parents and sister's well-being.
With her help, the family has more money. Last year, I set up a pancake stall in the city to sell pancakes. I heard that the business is pretty good.
Moxiang sighed, "Yuzui sent someone home with some money yesterday morning, and in the evening she received a message from her cousin. He said her parents were selling pancakes on the roadside five days ago when they were surrounded by several strong men. They not only overturned their pancake stand, but also beat them so badly that they barely made it that night. They both died."
Chu Liuzheng frowned and asked, "Have you reported it to the authorities?"
"I reported it, but Shuntian Prefecture ignored it and even gave her cousin ten lashes."
"How ridiculous!" Chu Liuzheng slapped the quilt angrily. His face twisted in pain and he couldn't help but let out a low cry.
"Look at you, why are you even bothering?" Moxiang held her hand and examined it. Seeing that there was nothing wrong, she scolded, "Can you just pat the quilt twice and get away with it?"
Chu Liuzheng looked at his hands dejectedly.
Didn't she forget about it in the heat of the moment?
Moxiang sighed softly, "Last night I went to talk to her, and she was lying on the pillow crying while talking, and the pillow was soaked with tears."
[After such a tragedy, it's a blessing to be able to cry.]
Chu Liuzheng couldn't help but sigh as well.
"There's nothing the government can do about it. It's fine to let the dead rest in peace, but her sister has suddenly disappeared again." Moxiang looked worried. "Yuzhu wanted to leave the palace to look for her sister, but it's difficult to enter the palace and even more difficult to leave. So she had to ask her cousin's family to help find her."
"But the capital is so big, and the person disappeared so suddenly without any clues. How can it be that easy to find him?"
There is still a little bit of jasmine that I haven't mentioned.
A fifteen-year-old girl suddenly disappeared. If she left on her own, it would be fine, but if she was kidnapped... she didn't dare to think about it.
【Is it not easy to get clues?】
Chu Liuzheng lowered his eyes and secretly opened the system.
[Five days ago, pancake stall, someone was beaten to death... Got it!]
Chu Liuzheng clicked it quickly.
[It turns out Yuzhui's surname is Zhao, her original name is Zhao Ling, and her sister is Zhao Yue.]
The one who overturned the pancake stall and beat someone was a servant of the Li Mansion. The master of the Li Mansion personally ordered him to beat the man to a disability but not to death.
[Eh? Then why did he die in the end? How did Yuzhui's parents offend this Master Li?]
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