Many people had a sleepless night, but Zhuang Li slept very well.
However, when he woke up and couldn't see Feng Ming, his mood instantly fell.
He held the piece of warm jade tied with a bright yellow silk ribbon, looked at it again and again, rubbed it again and again, and was reluctant to let it go.
At this moment, the door was pushed open, and Zhuang Xiaohui walked in with a bowl of hot medicine, calling out cheerfully, "Brother, come and drink the medicine. I've been up all morning."
Zhuang Li quickly put the jade pendant under the pillow, then put on his outer robe and sat at the table, gently stirring the medicine with a spoon.
Zhuang Xiaohui stood beside him and looked at him. Besides nostalgia, there was also a hint of trance in her eyes.
"Brother, did we just leave that damn place like that? I still feel like I'm dreaming." She murmured in disbelief.
"Don't worry, someone will be sent to call us back soon." Zhuang Li said lightly.
"I will never go back!" Zhuang Xiaohui said firmly.
"You have to go back, you have to attend Hu's funeral." Zhuang Li chuckled.
Zhuang Xiaohui stared at him blankly, eyes wide open, as if she didn't understand what he was saying. What did it mean to go to Mrs. Hu's funeral? Wasn't Mrs. Hu still alive and well?
"Do you know what would happen to Mrs. Hu if this case were tried by the Dali Temple?" Zhuang Li blew gently on the boiling hot medicine, smiling with a look of amusement. "She'd have the word 'traitor' tattooed on her face, her nose plucked out, and she'd be sent to the workshop to pound rice."
"Tattooing, cutting off the nose?" Zhuang Xiaohui touched her pretty face with a terrified expression.
She didn't expect that Mrs. Hu would be punished so severely.
"Yes, there are many gossips in the workshop. Soon, everyone in the capital will know that the wife of the Minister of Revenue is a traitor whose nose was cut off, and Zhuang Yuqing and Zhuang Yunzhu will be ridiculed by everyone. As long as Mrs. Hu lives, their shame will never be washed away. Do you think they will let such a thing happen? Therefore, killing Mrs. Hu suddenly is the only way."
"No way! Dad dotes on Hu so much, and Zhuang Yuqing and Zhuang Yunzhu are also very filial..."
Zhuang Xiaohui shook her head, thinking her brother's words were ridiculous. How could Hu, who had been so glorious in her previous life and even been canonized as the Duke's wife, die so miserably in this life?
Zhuang Li took a sip of the medicine and smiled without saying anything.
At this moment, a maid came in to report, "Master, Miss, someone from the Zhuang Mansion has come to announce a death. They say Mrs. Hu died of a sudden illness last night. They want you to go back."
Zhuang Xiaohui's face turned pale with astonishment. A painful memory kept flashing through her mind, plunging her into a trance and fear.
Zhuang Li tapped the table lightly and said sarcastically, "See? This is the human heart."
The subtle beeping sound was like thunder, instantly waking Zhuang Xiaohui up. Her eyes held a trace of despair and cruelty, yet she grinned. Yes, who could understand the darkness and cruelty of the human heart better than she, who had died once before?
"Brother, just take your medicine and I'll go get rid of them." Zhuang Xiaohui pushed the door open and went out.
"How do you get rid of them?" Zhuang Liduo asked.
"I'll think about it on the way." Zhuang Xiaohui scratched the back of her head.
"Just say I'm terminally ill and can't get up. If they insist we go back, you can remove a door panel and hire two more people to carry me back along the road. You don't have to worry about what passersby think or say when they see me."
Zhuang Li waved his hand. "Let's just say that and see if they dare to send anyone over. Hu's death cannot withstand scrutiny. Zhuang Ai will definitely not dare to make things worse. Go ahead."
Zhuang Xiaohui nodded timidly: "Okay, I'll go right away."
She quickly ran to the front yard, realizing clearly that her brother had changed so much, as if he had suddenly become a different person. He had never been this powerful before.
Could it be that his situation was similar to hers, possessed by some wandering ghost? Thinking of this, Zhuang Xiaohui was shocked.
At the same time, 7480 began to introduce the original plot: "Master, this script is called 'The Female Number One Scholar'. It tells the inspirational story of a woman who pretends to be a man, becomes the number one scholar, falls in love with the fifth prince, and eventually becomes the empress."
Zhuang Li laughed and teased, "Last time it was a pure story of secret campus love, this time it's an inspirational story about a woman breaking through feudal ideas. Your Lord God is really good at writing."
"That's right! He is simply the king of stories!" 7480 complained.
"What role does my sister Zhuang Xiaohui play in the story?" asked Zhuang Li.
"She loved going to the temple to pray for blessings. By chance, she met the mother of the top female scholar, Yu Yuxian, in the temple. The two chatted happily and became close friends regardless of age difference. This is how she was able to marry into the top scholar's mansion. After marriage, she accidentally discovered Yu Yuxian's true gender, but she did not argue or make a fuss. Instead, she helped him conceal it from the court. She is a female supporting role with a very important part in the play.
"She and Yu Yuxian were close friends. They had a great relationship and had been through many ups and downs together. However, she was not blessed with good fortune and suddenly contracted a strange illness and died."
"Died suddenly from illness overnight, does that sound familiar?" Zhuang Li smiled sarcastically.
7480 swallowed, his face pale. My god, this plot seemed fine at first glance, but when you think about it carefully, it's really terrifying.
Zhuang Li continued to ask, "What about Feng Ming?"
7480 flipped through the script. "He's the Emperor of Great Yan this time, but his throne isn't legitimate, so many in the court don't obey him. But don't worry, he's a tyrant, using all sorts of coercive tactics to keep his officials in check. Now he holds immense power, and his word is law."
"However, he was injured fighting on the frontier in his early years and was unable to have children, so he adopted several talented royal family members. The fifth of these was the protagonist of this story, Feng Yu. Feng Ming was assassinated by an enemy spy, so Feng Yu, who was already the crown prince at the time, naturally became emperor. Then, Yu Yuxian found a way to die suddenly of illness, changed her identity, and entered the palace to become empress."
Zhuang Li grinned, revealing two rows of sharp white teeth. "Killed by enemy spies? Not necessarily?"
7480 didn't dare to answer.
Fortunately, Zhuang Li didn't hesitate and continued to ask, "What about me?"
"You're a scoundrel." 7480 felt secretly pleased after saying this before continuing, "After Zhuang Xiaohui died, you thought it was strange and went to blackmail Yu Yuxian, demanding an exhumation of the coffin for an autopsy. Yu Yuxian tried to explain, but you refused to listen and insisted on paying her 20,000 taels as hush money. In desperation, Yu Yuxian gave you two silver notes. You were unlucky, too. You took the money and went drinking with your friends. That night, you collapsed drunk at your doorstep, caught a cold, and died after being bedridden for half a month."
Zhuang Li pondered for a moment and asked, "What roles do the other members of the Zhuang family play?"
"Let me see." 7480 licked his thumb and flipped through the script while introducing: "Zhuang Yuqing was the Fifth Prince's confidant and later became Prime Minister; Zhuang Yunzhu married the Fifth Prince as a concubine and later, relying on her brother's power, became an Imperial Noble Consort; Zhuang Ai was conferred the title of Duke, and Hu was conferred the title of Duke's Wife. They were all very prominent families."
Zhuang Li smiled slowly. "The whole family is a die-hard supporter of the Fifth Prince. No wonder the original owner, who wanted to find out the cause of his sister's death, died of an inexplicable illness."
He clapped his hands lightly, his tone cold: "The Lord God is really good at making up stories, brilliant!"
7480 asked cautiously, "Master, is there anything else you would like to know?"
Zhuang Li closed his eyes and remained silent.
7480 disappeared quietly.
After a while, the door creaked open and Zhuang Xiaohui walked in quietly with a look of vigilance and suspicion on her face.
"Brother, can I go out for a while later? I want to go to the temple to pray for you." She spoke tremblingly.
However, praying for blessings is fake. The real purpose is to find an expert to see what is going on with his brother.
"Go to the temple to pray?" Zhuang Li opened his eyes, looked directly at Zhuang Xiaohui, and said in a calm and nonchalant tone, "This time, do you still want to use the act of praying to Buddha to please Yu Yuxian's mother and then marry into the mansion of the top scholar?"
"What, what?" Zhuang Xiaohui was shocked.
"Sit down." Zhuang Li pointed to the stool opposite him.
Zhuang Xiaohui quickly sat down on the stool, her face full of horror.
"Do you know how I died in my previous life?" Zhuang Li asked slowly.
7480 exclaimed, "Master, why are you suddenly revealing your cards?"
"If we don't reveal our cards, are we going to let her fight alone and mess around?" Zhuang Li asked back.
7480: "That's true. Master, your strategy is the most effective."
Zhuang Xiaohui hadn't come to her senses yet and just stared at her brother blankly.
Zhuang Li said calmly, "In my previous life, I felt your death was suspicious, so I went to Yu Yuxian's house and asked for an exhumation. She agreed, but she also said that she had to choose an auspicious day to open the coffin, otherwise it would affect her family's fortune. I couldn't refute this reason, so I agreed to give her a few days. I didn't expect that when I returned home that night, the Zhuang family would poison me. I suffered for half a month before I died. I went there at the same time as you."
Zhuang Li raised his chin and ordered, "Tell me, how did you die? Was it Yu Yuxian who killed you?"
Zhuang Xiaohui still looked at him stupidly. After a long time, she fell to her knees and lay on her brother's knees, crying heart-wrenchingly.
She originally thought that her brother never cared about her, let alone protected her, but she didn't expect that after her death, he would lose his life for it.
I am not a child who is not loved or cared for. I also have relatives who depend on me!
The emotions she had suppressed for so long finally burst forth like a flash flood, leaving Zhuang Xiaohui weeping breathlessly. Yet, amidst her sorrow and anger, she felt a profound sense of relief: "My brother is back! How wonderful! Thank God for his blessing!"
7480 was shocked and said, "Master, is this the truth hidden beneath the script?"
Zhuang Li sneered, "What else? Casting bad guys as good and smearing good guys as bad has always been a common tactic used by the Lord God."
7480 nodded, then sighed. These two siblings are just too miserable!
Zhuang Li gently stroked Zhuang Xiaohui's hair and persistently asked, "Tell me how you died. Was it Yu Yuxian who killed you?"
"Yes, she killed me! She ordered her servants to force poison into my stomach, which ruptured my intestines and drove me crazy with pain. I struggled from dusk to midnight without dying, so she untied her belt and strangled me to death with her own hands! Brother, she's an evil ghost! She's completely inhumane! Brother, I'm also an evil ghost. I've crawled out of hell! I want revenge!"
Zhuang Xiaohui raised her head, revealing her face distorted by hatred.
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