Hongyu nodded and turned to go back to her room.
That petite and lonely figure, though pitiful, was incredibly resolute, enigmatic and out of place.
Shen Yu glanced at it, her eyes filled with anger. Hong Yu, Yan Wang, and the Sixth Prince were all using and plotting against each other. She could understand Hong Yu's difficulties; it was truly not easy for a woman to escape from the royal family. She did her best to help her.
But Hongyu actually used Gu Erlang? She could tolerate that.
What she found intolerable was that Hongyu had recklessly participated in the succession to the throne. Although this was only her speculation, judging from Songhua's attitude towards Hongyu, she was convinced of it, which was why she ignored Hongyu.
Hongyu carried Kang'er out, with Cuiwei carrying a bundle behind her.
Seeing this, Kong Que'er was very puzzled, "Hongyu, do you really want to leave my Kong family? My father is..."
"Prime Minister Kong saved me and Kang'er. Please tell Prime Minister Kong that I have moved to Cheng Garden. I will bring Kang'er back to visit him in a few days."
After speaking, Hongyu turned and left. Her steps were swift, her eyes resolute. She wanted to become Empress, so naturally she needed to sever ties with Prime Minister Kong to avoid angering Songhua.
Song Hua has not yet married or taken a concubine. If he returns to the capital to ascend the throne, ministers will surely present women to him and urge him to choose a consort and establish an empress.
Hongyu was anxious and began to plan her way to becoming empress.
------
Hai hour (9-11 PM).
Jade rushed to the yamen to report the case. She knelt in front of Gu Erlang and cried, "Sir, my young lady and young master Kang'er have been kidnapped by villains. Please send people to chase after them!"
Gu Erlang was stunned. Master Gu had given him thirty lashes for having an affair with Hongyu, and his buttocks still hurt.
But he did not resent Hongyu, after all, Hongyu was fragrant and lovely, and he could not forget her. He also wanted to see Hongyu again.
He hurriedly asked, "Who kidnapped Hongyu? Which way did they escape to?"
"It was a masked woman with two burly men. They tied up the girl and Young Master Kang and headed towards the west gate."
Gu Erlang led dozens of constables straight to the west gate. The guards at the west gate said, "A carriage just passed by, carrying two men, two women, and a child, heading towards Qinghe County."
Gu Erlang chased the carriage to Qinghe Village outside Qinghe County, but the carriage had disappeared without a trace. There were no lights on in any of the houses in the village, and there was no sound at all.
"Strange, how could she suddenly disappear?" Gu Erlang was anxious. He was worried about Hongyu's safety and also afraid that he would not be able to explain to Prime Minister Kong.
It is well known that Kong Xiang took great care of Hongyu and her son, and there are even rumors that Kong Xiang wanted to marry Hongyu.
So he sternly ordered, "Search! Knock on doors, search every house, guard both the entrance and the end of the village, don't let a single bad guy escape."
thump thump thump...
Shen Yu was awakened by the knocking on the door. The courtyard was already ablaze with flames. Shen Lan reported from outside the door, "Miss, Constable Gu wants to search our courtyard. He said that villains have kidnapped Miss Hongyu and Young Master Kang'er. The constables chased them to our village but couldn't find any trace of the villains."
Upon hearing this, Chen Yu quickly put on her clothes and went into the courtyard.
Just then, Gu Erlang rushed over and said, "Seventh Sister, Miss Hongyu and Young Master Kang'er have been kidnapped by three villains. I led my men here."
Lost in doubt, Prince Yan went to the southeast coast. The sixth prince was dead, and Wang Baochai was imprisoned.
Now that Hongyu has Kong Xiang protecting her, who would dare to mess with her?
Chen Yu asked Gu Erlang, "Did you hear any children crying along the way?"
Gu Erlang quickly shook his head.
Shen Yu suspected that this was Hong Yu's scheme. So, she ordered the constables to tell the dozen or so households in the village to keep quiet, and then ordered the constables to bang gongs and drums loudly throughout the village.
She listened intently and indeed heard no baby crying. Kang'er must be being comforted by Hongyu, which was why he wasn't crying.
From this, she concluded that Hongyu was not kidnapped by villains, but ran away on her own. She must have come to Qinghe Village in the middle of the night for her.
Could it be that Hongyu has some unspeakable secret? Is this the way he wants to meet her?
She pondered that there was an abandoned house by the river at the east end of the village, and that was the only place she could hide.
She told Gu Erlang that there was a temple to the west of the village and asked him to take people to the temple to look for it.
After sending Gu Erlang away, Chen Yu led Cuiwei, Shen Lan, and Chi Yan to the abandoned mansion.
The courtyard was silent. By the moonlight, a woman sat by the stone table. She stood up and held a child in her arms.
Chen Yu tried to approach, but Cui Wei stopped her, asking in a low voice, "Hong Yu? What do you want with me?"
thump!
Hongyu knelt on the ground, then began to sob softly, "Sister Yu, the reason I brought you here is to entrust Kang'er to you. In this world, Kang'er is my only family, and Sister Yu is the only person I can trust. Please, Sister Yu, adopt Kang'er."
Chen Yu asked in disbelief, "You abandoned Kang'er to marry Song Hua?"
"yes."
"Oh!"
Shen Yu couldn't help but sneer, and angrily retorted, "Young Master Songhua is now the emperor, above all others. Why should he marry you?"
"If it weren't for me, he wouldn't have been able to get up there at all..."
Hongyu suddenly paused, realizing she had let something slip, and changed her words, saying, "Songhua was concerned about me. Seeing me in prison, he refused to go to Jiangnan for disaster relief. If I hadn't persuaded him to go, he wouldn't have made such a great contribution..."
"Ha! Sophistry." Shen Yu sneered, "With so many princes, how could the Emperor pass the throne to the son of the Prince of Xiang? It seems that you were already planning all this when Song Hua first visited the Mu family, weren't you? I, Mu Shen Yu, am just a pawn in your game, Zhang Hong Yu."
Hongyu couldn't refute it, because what Chenyu said was true. If she didn't do this, how could she defeat King Yan and the Qiu family and save her life?
She placed Kang'er on the stone table, and watching him wave his little arms without crying or fussing, she burst into tears again, knelt on the ground, and choked with sobs, unable to speak:
"Many things... are already set in stone and cannot be undone. Hongyu knows she has made too many enemies, so she wants to use the hands of villains to help Kang'er escape."
Please, sister, adopt Kang'er, and never reveal his true identity... just say he's... an abandoned baby you found."
Shen Yu's eyes welled with tears. Although she didn't know the true cause of the Sixth Prince's death, she knew that Hong Yu had taken too many lives on her shoulders. The passenger ship fire was a case Hong Yu had orchestrated to extricate herself. Hong Yu was definitely involved in the cases of Zhang Manguan and Wang Baozhu.
Hongyu assisted Songhua in usurping the throne, but I fear that one day the princes will learn the truth and kill Hongyu.
Hongyu has been drawn into the royal power struggle, just as Bai Yehua provoked the Japanese pirates and could not escape unscathed.
Unable to protect Hongyu completely, Chenyu could only grant Hongyu's wish and adopt Kang'er.
After all, when she was pregnant, if it weren't for Hongyu's help, she definitely wouldn't have been able to save the child in her womb.
She pulled Kang'er into her arms, and Hongyu immediately kowtowed, thump thump thump...
Cuiwei quickly helped him up.
To everyone's surprise, Hongyu knelt down again and said something that left Chenyu feeling completely bewildered.
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