Chapter 74 Accident 6 He He, you are finally back
Su He waded through the back street, dodged two groups of pursuers, successfully arrived at the alley where the carriage was parked, and slipped into the carriage.
The driver was still dozing off at that time.
At that time, Zhang Xiuhua was still praying for Su He's safety with her hands folded together.
When she saw Su He getting in the car, Zhang Xiuhua stopped abruptly, tears streaming down her face: "He He, you are finally back." She didn't even call her "Miss", and then hurriedly hid the jade pendant in her inner clothes.
Su He was exhausted both physically and mentally and did not notice her movements.
"Yes, I'm back," she replied, patting the car wall. "Brother, please take us to the Tzu Chi Center in Ping'an Lane."
The driver finally woke up, rubbed his eyes, picked up the whip, and said, "Okay, Madam, hold on tight."
The carriage turned around and sped all the way to Ping'an Lane.
In the carriage, Zhang Xiuhua wiped the rain off her body with a towel, asking, "What's going on? Why are the soldiers here to arrest you?"
Su He sighed, "I failed. I didn't expect Zhou Yuanze to be so wary."
"Anyway, I'm glad you're okay, miss."
"I'll be fine. As for Zhou Yuanze, I'll have to take his life next time."
Zhang Xiuhua softly consoled him, "Miss, there's no need to rush. Wait until this storm has passed."
Then he saw Su He holding up her other arm with her hand, and his heart sank: "Miss, is she injured?"
Su He replied: "Nothing, just a superficial wound."
Zhang Xiuhua hurriedly took out the ointment and said, "I'll apply the ointment to you, young lady."
Su He loosened his arms and leaned his head against the car wall: "Let's talk about it when we get to Ping'an Lane."
Zhang Xiuhua agreed with her in everything and nodded in response, saying "OK".
In less than half an hour, the carriage arrived at the gate of Tzu Chi Hospital.
Uncle Qing came out to greet her. Seeing Su He in a dishevel, he hurriedly told Xiaolian to prepare hot water.
The children in the yard wanted to come forward and play with Su He, but Uncle Qing stopped them: "The young lady is tired today, please don't bother her anymore."
Su He also smiled and said, "I'll bring you some delicious food next time I come."
The children happily agreed and then went back to their rooms to rest.
In the bathroom, Su He had taken off Hua Niang's clothes and sat in the bathtub.
The hot water rippled and caressed her skin, relaxing all her fatigue.
After a terrifying experience today, she finally returned safely and felt somewhat relieved.
Zhang Xiuhua helped her bathe and saw her injured arm, which was bloody and horrible. Then she saw the whip marks on her back, which were crisscrossed with wounds and swellings, even covering the birthmark on her back.
She suddenly burst into tears, "How...how did you get hurt like this?"
Su He breathed a sigh of relief: "Don't worry, aunt, it's just a superficial wound."
Zhang Xiuhua choked up, "The injury is so serious, yet the young lady is making such a nonchalant statement."
She comforted her, "I have thick skin and tough muscles. I was beaten a lot by Li Shuli before. This little injury is nothing. It will heal in a few days."
Zhang Xiuhua was still worried: "But now the young lady eats and sleeps with her son-in-law every day. How will she heal this injury? If her son-in-law finds out, how will she explain it?"
Su He was silent for a while, then whispered, "There's always a way. I'll think about it."
After bathing, Zhang Xiuhua bandaged Su He's wound and changed her into the clothes of the young lady of the Xie family.
Apart from looking paler, she looked no different from before.
Zhang Xiuhua asked, "Does your back really not hurt?"
She replied: "Don't worry, I can handle it."
"Can you lift your arms?"
She replied, "Yes."
Before leaving, Su He didn't forget to tell Uncle Qing: "If Xie Wuhen comes over and asks something, Uncle Qing should know how to answer, right?"
Uncle Qing smiled kindly: "Don't worry, Miss. Chunlan has explained everything to me clearly. I won't say the wrong thing."
Su He bowed and then turned around and got on the carriage to return home.
The streets on a rainy night are empty and lonely.
Due to the continuous rain, the streets are getting more and more flooded. In some sections of the road, the water even overflows the street flower beds.
Zhang Xiuhua looked at the rain outside the car and asked, "The crowd at Yichunlou should have dispersed by now, right?"
Su He answered nonchalantly: "Whether they break up or not, it has nothing to do with us."
"I wonder if the son-in-law has returned home?" Zhang Xiuhua looked at her with pity. "Young lady, have you thought about how to deal with it tonight?"
Su He also glanced at the rain outside the car: "Don't worry, Xie Wuhen is busy tonight and won't be back home so soon." After all, there is a drugged Second Prince in Yichun Tower.
She added, "I'll go straight to bed when I get home. By the time he comes back, I'll be asleep. He won't disturb me, and he won't notice my injuries."
"After today, what about tomorrow?"
Su He took a deep breath and replied in a deep voice: "Tomorrow will have its own way."
The carriage passed through the streets and alleys and arrived at Xie's house in less than half an hour.
As soon as Su He entered the archway of Chunhua Courtyard, Chunlan came out to greet her: "Miss, you are finally back."
"But what happened?"
"Nothing happened. I'm just... worried about the young lady."
Su He breathed a sigh of relief: "Don't worry, I'm fine."
Then he asked, "Isn't the uncle back yet?"
Chunlan shook her head: "He never came back."
Su He replied "OK" and went into the house to sleep.
It was getting late and the dew was heavy. It was a good night to sleep on a rainy night, but Su He couldn't fall asleep.
Her arms and back ached, and she was paying attention to the noises outside the house, wondering when Xie Wuhen would come back.
But Xie Wuhen did not return all night.
The next morning, Xiao Liuzi came to Chunhua Courtyard to report: "The boss was busy all night last night and didn't have time to return home. I asked me to come and inform the young lady. I hope the young lady will forgive me."
Su He asked, "Will he come back today?"
Xiao Liuzi shook his head: "I'm not sure, the boss said that the young lady doesn't need to wait for him for dinner."
Su He smiled and said, "Okay, I understand. Thank you for the trouble."
Then he pretended to be puzzled and asked, "Usually it's Wu Sheng who delivers the message, why is it you who delivers the message today?"
Xiao Liuzi sighed, "Wu Ge committed a serious offense yesterday and is currently being held in a dark cell in the Dali Temple as punishment."
Chunlan couldn't help but interject, "What mistake did Wu Sheng make?"
Xiao Liuzi looked embarrassed and said, "I'm not in a position to say more. I'll take my leave first." After saying that, he clasped his fists and bowed, then turned and left Chunhuayuan.
Su He looked at his back and thought for a while.
Last night she took advantage of Wu Sheng's carelessness and escaped successfully. Xie Wuhen must have been furious, right?
It was fine this way. The angrier he got, the more unwilling he became, and the more unwilling he became, the more he wanted to catch her.
In this way, he would immerse himself in official duties and would not return home for several days.
In this way, she could successfully heal her injuries without being noticed.
Thinking of this, Su He breathed a sigh of relief.
Although everything is not going well, as long as she has the identity of the young lady of the Xie family, everything can be solved.
For Xie Wuhen, everything went wrong last night as well.
At first, the second prince Zhao Bo was drugged and his life was in danger. He hurriedly sent someone to call the imperial physician, who finally saved him after several rounds of treatment.
Zhao Bo usually pretends to be kind and approachable, but today he was furious and vowed to dig deep into the ground to find Hua Niang who drugged him. He claimed that he recognized Hua Niang's face and there were whip marks on her back caused by him.
Zhou Yuanze also added: "That Hua Niang also has a cinnabar mole on her cheek."
Zhao Bo didn't bother to pay attention to Zhou Yuanze. He immediately ordered people to close Yichun Tower and called all the prostitutes to the lobby on the first floor. He identified them one by one and even took off their shirts to check their backs.
Xie Wuhen knew that the person they were looking for was not the prostitute of Yichunlou, but he remained silent and let them do whatever they wanted until the farce ended at midnight. Then he led a team of officers to the back street to surround the people in the warehouse.
Only then did he realize that the people in the warehouse had already escaped, and the gatekeeper Wu Sheng was sleeping soundly.
Xie Wuhen was furious. He woke Wu Sheng up and started scolding him. Wu Sheng felt so ashamed that he wished he could find a hole to crawl into.
We are just one step away from finding the child of Empress Duofu.
Just one step away!
In the end, nothing happened and nothing was achieved. How can one not be angry?
Wu Sheng wiped his tears and choked back, "I don't know... why I was so sleepy at that time. I didn't mean to do it. Maybe... maybe that person drugged me."
Xie Wuhen slowed down and told Wu Sheng, "You will be locked up in the small dark room for two days."
He then instructed Xiao Liuzi: "Take people to several city gates and strictly check for people without identification documents and no way to lead them."
He then instructed another officer, "Organize a city-wide search for anyone with a suspicious identity. Remember, this matter needs to be kept low-key and not publicized."
I didn’t know where the child was before, but now I know he is in the capital, so let’s catch him in the trap!
Several people answered "yes" in unison and turned to leave.
Just as Xie Wuhen was searching the entire city for someone, Zhou Yuanze also returned safely to the Zhou family.
Zhou Ping, now over sixty, was deeply disappointed with his son: "I've long warned you against excessive debauchery, but you haven't changed, and you've repeatedly committed offenses. Now, you've even taken advantage of my visit to Xinglong Temple to wander into Yichun Tower. If anything were to happen to you, how would your father, and how would the Empress, feel?"
Zhou Yuanze was impatient: "Father, why are you nagging me? I just got through this by a hair's breadth."
Zhou Ping sneered, "It's obvious someone is out to get you revenge. If they fail once, they'll surely do it again. Do you think you can get away with it every time?"
Zhou Yuanze said nonchalantly, "My son already has guards around him. At worst, I can just bring a few more guards with me next time I go to Yichun Tower."
Zhou Ping shouted, "You still want to go to Yichunlou?"
Zhou Yuanze shuddered with fear: "My son means...if we go to Yichunlou."
Zhou Ping was so angry that his face turned as cold as ice and he called out, "Someone come here."
Butler Shi Kai walked into the room: "Master, what's the matter?"
Zhou Ping ordered in a deep voice, "Add more people to guard outside Jingya Garden. Don't let the young master leave the gate. From now on, you will be responsible for all of the young master's food and drink."
Shi Kai lowered his head and replied "yes".
Zhou Yuanze was shocked when he heard this. "My son is already over 40 years old. He is not an ignorant child. What your father did is really inappropriate."
He added, "This is a home, not a prison. I hope Father will reflect on this."
Zhou Ping was too lazy to pay attention to him and walked out.
Zhou Yuanze shouted behind him, "Father, how long are you going to keep your son locked up?"
Zhou Ping replied coldly: "You are not allowed to leave the house for at least the next six months." After that, he left without looking back.
Zhou Ping was so angry that his body went limp and he collapsed on the armchair...
At this time in Changle Palace, Concubine Shu also summoned Zhao Bo.
She was also very disappointed with her son: "I have heard about what happened at Yichun Tower yesterday."
Zhao Bo knelt down with a plop: "My son has misbehaved, I hope my mother will punish him."
Concubine Shu had already reached the limit of her patience. "I know you've always been obedient, sensible, and restrained, but I never expected you to go to a lowly place like Yichun Tower to have some fun. It would be fine if you were just looking for fun, but you had to go with Zhou Yuanze. Who the hell is Zhou Yuanze? He's the Zhou family's only son, the Empress's cousin, and someone on the Crown Prince's 'ship.' You and the Crown Prince are now irreconcilable. Do you think he hasn't caught you yet?"
Zhao Bo replied in a low voice, "My encounter with Zhou Yuanze was merely a coincidence, and he was also enjoying himself in the building that night. If he had any shame, he would definitely not tell anyone about my whereabouts. Mother, don't worry."
Concubine Shu slowed down and said, "If you still have any dignity, you will never go to such a place again."
He then solemnly warned, "At this critical juncture, you must not make even the slightest mistake, and you must not have the slightest disagreement with your father. Although your father appears to trust you, he is secretly also looking after the Fifth Prince. Remember, your opponent is not only the Crown Prince, but also the Fifth Prince who is slowly growing up."
Zhao Bo said disdainfully: "The fifth prince is just an ignorant child, there is no need to worry about him."
"But we can't underestimate the enemy."
"The child understands."
"Are you still going to Yichunlou?"
"The child swore that he would never go there again."
Coming out of Changle Palace, Zhao Bo's face was tense and his heart was filled with restlessness.
It would have been bad enough that I was drugged, but I was also scolded by my mother. The person who drugged me hasn't been caught yet. I'm so unlucky.
He will never go to Yichunlou again from now on, but others should not even think about going there.
He raised his eyes and looked in the direction of Yichun Tower, and ordered the guard Xiang Qingchi: "Tonight, burn down Yichun Tower."
He clasped his fists toward Qingchi and replied “Yes”.
When the flames from Yichun Building shot up into the sky, screams, shouts, cries and curses were heard everywhere. Yichun Building was connected to a large area of houses, shops and an entire area of merchants' warehouses. If this fire went off, who knows how many people would die and how many merchants would go bankrupt.
Xie Wuhen searched for the child on the dark streets.
Looking back, I saw flames rising into the sky not far away.
He suddenly thought of the fire in the melon field outside the city that night and the death of Liu Dazhong.
Then he thought of Du Yuting's death and Zhou Yuanze's near-death experience.
They are all women and are good at poison!
The difference is that the murderer who killed Du Yuting had a cinnabar mole on his chin, while the murderer who assassinated Zhou Yuanze had a cinnabar mole on his cheek.
That cinnabar mole is most likely fake.
In this night of blazing fire, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration, and all the key points were cleared in his mind...
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