"The Emperor has issued an edict ordering Ye Hua to send men to escort General Mu back to the capital. However... the Emperor has also granted the Zuo family's request that you and Lady Liu live in peace until Ye Hua returns before taking any further action."
Chen Yu nodded, her joy outweighing her sorrow. The Zuo family valued Liu Yao'er so highly; if she were to be beaten to death, they would certainly not let it go. She was glad she had spared Liu Yao'er and Zhang Chang Le for the time being; to eliminate these two villains, she could only do so through others.
------
The next morning, Cuiwei woke up Chenyu.
"Girl, girl..."
Shen Yu abruptly threw back the covers and sat up: "What is it?"
“A guest came to visit Liu Xiaoniang’s place, so she entered the Peony Garden through a side gate.”
Chen Yu scoffed, pulled the covers over her head, and muttered, "Last night all our people were withdrawn, and Liu Xiaoniang has successfully miscarried. Let her make a fuss."
At this moment, Cuiwei rushed in to report: "Miss, Madam Zuo brought a girl into the Peony Garden. This girl is broad-shouldered and looks rather strange."
"Yes, this old servant also finds this matter strange. Miss, you should go and see for yourself."
"..."
Hearing Cuiwei and Rong Momo nagging, Chen Yu had no choice but to get up.
She wasn't heading to the Peony Garden; she went straight to her guest room.
Cuiwei was about to push open the guest room door when Su Ma opened it first and knelt down with a thud. "Miss Mu is kind and benevolent. Not only does she not hold Su Ma's evil against her, but she also saved Su Ma's life. Su Ma is willing to serve Miss Mu like a slave. Please take Su Ma in."
Chen Yu thought back to yesterday. Su Ma didn't really mean to harm her. Xian Sheng, who shielded her from the knife, only suffered superficial injuries. On the contrary, Zhang Chang Le was ruthless and stabbed Su Ma in a vital spot.
She bent down to help Su Ma up, but Su Ma shook her head and refused to get up. Seeing that Su Ma was wearing Cuiwei's clothes, she couldn't help but laugh and teased, "Since Su Ma is wearing these clothes, she is now a member of my household. Get up quickly."
At this moment, Cuiwei suddenly remembered what happened yesterday, hurriedly went to the bedside, took out a letter from under her pillow and presented it to Chenyu.
“Young lady, I received this letter yesterday while I was helping Su Ma change her clothes.”
Looking at the picture on the envelope, Chen Yu quickly took the letter. There was a picture in the lower right corner of the envelope: a little girl with two braids riding on a man's shoulders.
This was painted by Master Mu for Chen Yu; it's been this painting since she was a child.
She hurriedly opened the letter, only to find it completely blank.
Her father said he would write to her before he left, but... what exactly happened?
She gripped Suma's arms tightly and asked, "Where did you get this letter?"
Thump! Su Ma knelt down again, weeping bitterly, and choked out, "It was given to me by an old general who was over fifty years old."
"Did that general say anything?"
When Shen Yu asked, Su Ma burst into tears, unable to speak. "He was being chased by a group of men... He was shot by an arrow and fell from his horse. As he fled, he slipped this letter to me. Before he could even speak... the pursuers arrived..."
Chen Yu was terrified and hurriedly interrupted Su Ma, asking, "Who is chasing him? Is it an enemy country?"
"No, it was our soldiers. They called that general a traitor and then...stabbed him to death with their swords."
"Who stabbed him? What did he look like?"
"He was a young general, tall and burly, with dark skin; I dared not look closely at his appearance..."
Thump! Chen Yu collapsed to the ground, silently weeping. Her father had fought for decades, devoted to the people; how could he be a traitor? Bai Yehua had promised to ensure her father's safe return; how could her father have met such a fate?
She rushed to the Prince Yan's residence.
As Yan Wang was sitting on the edge of the bed feeding Hong Yu medicine, before the servants could announce her arrival, Chen Yu rushed in and knelt on the ground.
"Your Highness, I have just received news that my father was stabbed to death by Bai Yehua. I implore Your Highness to send someone to the northern border to inquire about my father's whereabouts and verify whether he is still alive."
"Where did you hear this news, Sister Fish? Get up quickly." Hongyu asked hurriedly, while gesturing for Chenyu to get up and speak.
Shen Yu did not get up, because Yan Wang's expression was solemn and he did not look at her; Hong Yu looked directly at her, but her crescent-shaped eyes were filled with tears.
She sensed something was wrong, swayed as she got up, grabbed Hongyu's hand, and asked in a trembling voice, "My father... Hongyu, have you heard something? Tell me!"
Hongyu hurriedly lowered her head, not daring to speak.
In fact, Yan Wang's ministers had already infiltrated Bai Yehua's army, and intelligence had reached Yan Wang's residence last night. The letter only stated that Master Mu had just arrived at the border and was personally executed by Bai Yehua on his first day, on charges of treason.
Although Prince Yan was aware of this matter, he dared not act rashly. Bai Yehua dared to kill Master Mu, so there must be a legitimate reason. Moreover, with the Emperor and the Crown Prince present, if he were to intervene rashly, wouldn't that be a violation of regulations and an overstepping of authority? Furthermore, recently the Emperor had become increasingly suspicious, not only placing the Crown Prince under house arrest but also the Third Prince, who was not involved in politics. Judging from this, the Crown Prince might lose his position.
At this moment, King Yan naturally dared not make any mistakes.
Seeing that Prince Yan and Hongyu remained silent, Chenyu nodded repeatedly, tears streaming down her face like broken beads. She swayed and left Prince Yan's residence, where she was escorted back to Chengyuan by Cuiwei and Rong Mama.
As night fell, Chen Yu still held the letter in her hand, examining it closely, trying to find her father's last words.
At this moment, Yanran stormed in, her anger nearly extinguishing the candles on the round table. Seeing that Chenyu's teacup was full, she picked it up and drank directly. "Ah! This is peach blossom wine?" Looking up, she saw that Chenyu was already drunk, squinting at a piece of paper.
Yanran was puzzled. She took the paper and looked at it, but it was blank. She couldn't help but complain, "I'm so angry! The Empress originally promised to marry me off to the Bai family as a secondary wife, but today she changed her mind and let Zhang Xing'er marry into the Bai family instead."
Zhang Xing'er was the second daughter of the Prime Minister's residence. Today, the case of Prime Minister Zhang's death has been closed. The conclusion is: Prime Minister Zhang unfortunately perished in the fire.
To appease Prime Minister Zhang's family, the Empress bestowed her illegitimate daughter, Zhang Xing'er, upon Bai Yehua as his concubine, and promised to find Yanran another good family.
Yanran was naturally unwilling. She had no interest in men and was only getting married because she was getting older and wanted to find a family of equal social standing. Within the capital, apart from Bai Yehua, it was difficult to find another man of high status and power, except for her brother Liu Yu.
*Thump!* She slammed the paper on the table and sat down abruptly. “Yu Yu, tell me, Zhang Xing’er looks like a child who hasn’t grown up. She’s not as tall as me, and she’s not as voluptuous as me. How is she worthy of the General’s Mansion?”
Shen Yu couldn't help but chuckle. This morning, Rong Momo said that Zhang Changle had taken a broad-shouldered girl to the Peony Garden. It must be Zhang Xing'er. How could she be as petite as Yanran described? This must be a woman's jealousy.
She didn't say anything. Although she felt dizzy, she carefully took the paper back and continued to examine it.
Yanran asked in confusion, "What is Yuyu looking at? If it weren't for the wordless book, even if you went blind, you wouldn't be able to see a single word."
A wordless book? Chen Yu suddenly realized, and hurriedly placed the paper over the candle, carefully and slowly heating it.
Gradually, the words on the paper appeared, just one character.
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