Just as Lu Lingyan said, the news of Xie Qichang's daughter drowning late at night spread throughout the city. Even the emperor knew about it and ordered a thorough investigation.
The people made the story even more mysterious. One said that a servant in the prime minister's mansion saw a female corpse floating on the water when he passed by the pond early in the morning. When he fished it out, he found it was the young lady, but her face had been swollen and looked horrible. It was very likely that it was a water ghost taking his life.
Coupled with the incident of Master Mingyue falling into the water during the day, the theory of water ghosts became even more widely spread.
Shi Mingyue also learned about this. She certainly suspected that Xie Rutao might have pushed her into the water that day, but she never thought that Xie Rutao would actually drown. It was impossible for Xie Rutao to commit suicide by jumping into the water. There must be a murderer behind it.
She thought of the scene when Lu Lingyan hurried in that day. He deliberately avoided her. What did he say to Fu Yueli? Shi Mingyue knew that although Fu Yueli would suspect that Xie Rutao pushed her into the water, he would definitely not kill Xie Rutao.
The murderer was clearly defending her. Who would kill Xie Rutao for her? She thought of the missing Qin Zheng, but Qin Zheng's personality wouldn't kill anyone. So there was only one person left, and for this person, killing Xie Rutao was a piece of cake.
Shi Mingyue believed that her father would not find out anything, so Xie Rutao's death would be in vain.
She just felt sad. Although she didn't like Xie Rutao and suspected that it was Xie Rutao who pushed her into the water, because she could swim, she didn't suffer any harm from falling into the water except getting her clothes wet, so she didn't want to care about it anymore.
Now this incident reveals a message, that is, that person has not given up thinking about her.
"Fu Xingkai, you made Yueli the crown prince and then killed Xie Rutao. What will you do next?" Shi Mingyue hesitated.
She couldn't be passive anymore. Shi Mingyue had a bold and terrifying idea in her mind: Fu Xingkai was not worthy of being the emperor. Since he had made Fu Yueli the crown prince, then Fu Yueli's right to be emperor was legitimate, and there was no problem in bringing this date forward.
However, she was not sure what Fu Yueli's attitude towards the emperor was. Although Fu Yueli did not appear to have a deep father-son relationship with the emperor, she still needed to verify what he was thinking in his heart.
Another month passed, and there was still no progress in Xie Rutao's case. The authorities were clueless, and despite their investigations, they could find no trace of the intruders. All the evidence pointed to Xie Rutao's suicide by drowning. The only one who couldn't accept this was Xie Qichang. Xie Rutao was his daughter, after all, and her death was so unclear. He vowed to seek justice for her, but his investigations proved fruitless. Finally, persuaded by others, Xie Qichang accepted that his daughter had drowned herself.
He blamed Fu Yueli for the incident. If he hadn't insisted on breaking off the engagement, his daughter wouldn't have suffered humiliation. He was so upset that he did something stupid.
In early July, the emperor acted as a matchmaker again. This time, he arranged a marriage for his third son, Fu Fenglin. The woman was Huo Qiuwen, the eldest granddaughter of Master Huo.
Although Huo Qiuwen did not marry Fu Baiheng, she was going to marry Fu Fenglin.
Shi Mingyue didn't know much about Fu Fenglin. In her previous life, she only knew that he had been competing with Fu Baiheng for the position of crown prince. One year, when Wutan was at war with Xinzhou, Fu Fenglin was sent there. Qin Zheng attended the banquet to welcome him and came back to say that Cen Jian had arranged many beauties to accompany the drinking, but Fu Fenglin refused to let them get close, as if he was disgusted and didn't give Cen Jian face.
Therefore, Fu Fenglin should not be interested in women. Shi Mingyue thought that after he married Qiuwen, he would not be unfaithful, and Qiuwen's marriage would not be like the previous life.
When Shi Mingyue went to the Huo Mansion, Huo Qiurong also came back. She and her sister became sisters-in-law, so of course she had to come back to visit.
When Huo Qiurong was around, Huo Qiuwen could still force himself to smile, but as soon as she left, the smile disappeared from Huo Qiuwen's face.
"You still don't want to get married?" Shi Mingyue asked with concern.
Huo Qiuwen said: "I don't want to."
Shi Mingyue said: "The Third Prince is not as fickle as the Second Prince..."
"That has nothing to do with it." Huo Qiuwen interrupted her and then said something that shocked Shi Mingyue, "I don't want to get married because I don't like men, but women."
Shi Mingyue was stunned and took a long time to come back to her senses. She said in panic: "This won't work. No one will accept it." What will happen if Qiuwen's parents and elders find out?
"I know no one will accept it. Since I was little, I've never been interested in the conversations they've had about which young man is the most handsome. I'm attracted to women. But, Mingyue, please don't misunderstand me. I only consider you a friend and have no improper thoughts about you."
Shi Mingyue knew Huo Qiuwen only considered her a friend, and she was now worried about what would happen if others found out. There had been stories of women falling in love before, but they were always two women sharing one man; only this kind of relationship was accepted.
"I don't want to marry the third prince! I won't marry! Mingyue, can you help me, please help me?!" Huo Qiuwen grabbed her hand.
Shi Mingyue's heart softened when she saw her pitiful and helpless appearance. After all, she was her good friend, so how could she not help her?
But she didn't expect that she was the one who ran away from marriage in the previous life, but in this life it was Qiuwen who ran away from marriage.
Shi Mingyue quickly arranged for Qiuwen to go to Yunzhou to seek refuge with the Gao brothers and sisters. No one would have thought that Huo Qiuwen left for them.
On the fifth day of the seventh month, Huo Qiuwen left the capital. The Imperial Tutor's Office discovered the incident that day and sent people to search everywhere, but found nothing. The next day, the Emperor learned of the incident and had no choice but to send people across the country to search for him.
The seventh day of the seventh month is the annual Chinese Valentine's Day. Shi Mingyue remembered the dream. It was also the Chinese Valentine's Day when she returned to her previous life. She dared not recall that Chinese Valentine's Day.
Qixi Festival is a day for unmarried boys and girls. Shi Mingyue and Fu Yueli are already married, so they don’t need to celebrate Qixi Festival, but this day is still a special day.
They drank some peach blossom wine, and Shi Mingyue's face turned as red as the peach blossoms.
Fu Yueli also carried her to the bed. After a while of kissing, she felt a little dizzy. She leaned on his chest, smelled his pleasant scent, and felt at ease.
Fu Yueli held her quietly, playing with her scattered hair, which was so smooth and slippery that he never got tired of playing with it.
"We have been married for almost three years." Shi Mingyue suddenly sighed.
Fu Yueli nodded above her head, "Almost three years."
"But there is still no child." Shi Mingyue never understood this and said sullenly.
Her words reminded Fu Yueli that indeed, they had never had children.
"Maybe it depends on fate," he said.
Shi Mingyue thought so too, so she raised her head from his chest and looked at his face. Fu Yueli's facial features were still as handsome and noble as ever, and he looked a little more mature than when they first met.
She thought, he was twenty years old and she was eighteen years old. Time passed so quickly.
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