It turned out that Prince Yan had secretly sent people to monitor Yixiang Garden until the Zuo family caused a death. Only then did he plead with the Emperor to intervene, intending to make the Crown Prince's Mansion bear the blame.
Although twenty-six refugees died, the government did not execute the Zuo family members. Instead, they placed Zuo Mei'er under house arrest and provided shelter for the refugees.
The reason for this was that the northern border and the southeastern coast had been invaded by enemy countries. The two sons of the Zuo family had already gone to war, and the emperor was afraid that this would demoralize the army. Therefore, he placed Zuo Meier under house arrest in the Crown Prince's residence and did not strip her of her position as Crown Princess.
Seeing that the officials blamed Zuo Meier for the deaths of the refugees, Madam Zuo and Zhang Changle dared not accuse Shen Yu of Liu Xiaoniang's miscarriage and could only swallow their anger and leave Yixiang Garden.
And so, everyone left, leaving only crimson blood on the ground and servants sweeping the courtyard in Yixiang Garden!
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Crash! The sound of a teacup shattering echoed through the hall.
King Yan slammed his fist on the table and whispered angrily to Chen Yu, "Before Yu Lang left, he entrusted you with the Imperial Sword. Although it couldn't kill the Crown Princess, it could at least have killed Zhang Chang Le. Why didn't you do it? Did you intend to keep Zhang Chang Le alive to continue plotting against Yu'er?"
Shen Yu stood in the center of the hall, holding the imperial sword, secretly rolling her eyes. In reality, she didn't use the sword, fearing that others would know Liu Yu had left it to her, which might cause further criticism. Besides, she had other plans.
Facing the angry glare of the Prince of Yan, she retorted, "Zhang Chang Le has an extremely good relationship with the Crown Prince. If we kill her now, how can we find fault with the Crown Prince?"
At this moment, Cuiwei reported from the doorway: "Miss, Young Master Gu has returned."
Shen Yu turned to leave, but was stopped by King Yan: "Summon Young Master Gu inside and tell him that it is my decree!"
In reality, Gu Dalang, ostensibly a disciple of Master Mu and a palace guard, had already submitted to Prince Yan.
The reason why King Yan summoned Gu Dalang this time was to discuss important matters. Considering that Shenyu was Liu Yu's person and that she was like a sister to Hongyu, there was naturally no need to avoid the topic.
Upon seeing Gu Dalang enter, Chen Yu rushed forward and asked anxiously, "Big brother, did you intercept the letter?"
Gu Dalang shook his head: "I have questioned the guards at the city gate and the guards at the next city gate, and I have not seen anyone going to the frontier to deliver a message. I do not know why Madam Zuo is deceiving us?"
Shen Yu nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly realized: "We've fallen for Madam Zuo's trick of luring the tiger away from the mountain. She just wanted to get my elder brother away so she could attack me..."
"Is Seventh Sister injured?" Gu Dalang asked in alarm, quickly circling around Chen Yu to check on her. Seeing that Chen Yu was unharmed, Gu Dalang was relieved and stepped forward to bow to Prince Yan: "What is Prince Yan's decree?"
Prince Yan raised his hand and gestured to the side seat, indicating that Gu Dalang should take a seat. Then he glanced at Chen Yu and said in a deep voice, "General Bai sent a message saying that the war on the northern border is urgent and reinforcements are needed. His Majesty wants to send me there, but the Grand Tutor said that there is a trap and that I should find a reason to refuse. What do you think, Dalang?"
Gu Dalang frowned and shook his head repeatedly. "General Bai sent a letter to his subordinates, but did not mention the war."
"You and he are both disciples of General Mu. Based on your understanding of him, do you think he might be up to no good?"
Gu Dalang shook his head, then paused. Something was wrong. In Bai Yehua's last letter, he didn't mention Master Mu at all, which was definitely different from usual.
Remembering that his son Fengsheng often said, "Uncle Bai doesn't like Aunt Qi and even coerces her," Gu Dalang felt terrified and suddenly stood up and knelt on the ground. "Your Highness, please send Dalang with troops. I'm worried about Master's safety. If I go, I can protect Master."
Seeing this, Chen Yu quickly knelt down and held the Shangfang sword in her hands, saying loudly, "Chen Yu is willing to give the Shangfang sword to my elder brother, hoping that he will protect my father."
However… King Yan shook his head and refused, “I’m afraid the intense fighting was just a matter of the past few days. Now it’s just an excuse to try and kill me. My son, there’s no need for you to go.”
Shen Yu pleaded, "Please, Prince Yan, send someone to deliver the Imperial Sword to my father, would that be alright?"
"Since we have the imperial sword, why not execute Lady Liu?"
Hearing this angry shout, the three looked in the direction of the sound and saw Madam Bai walk into the room with a gloomy face. Without saying a word, she slapped Chen Yu and said angrily, "Mu Chen Yu! As the eldest daughter-in-law of the Bai family, you knew that Liu Xiao Niang was harming people and damaging the reputation of my Bai family, so why did you spare her life?"
It turned out that after returning home, Madam Bai learned of the misdeeds of Liu Xiaoniang and the Zuo family from the servants. She was furious and wanted to beat Liu Xiaoniang to death. However, the Peony Garden was heavily guarded and no ordinary people were allowed to enter. Madam Bai had no choice but to come to find Chen Yu.
Shen Yu had no choice but to suffer in silence. Bai Yehua was threatening Master Mu's safety, so she dared not tell anyone. She feared that if Liu Xiaoniang died, Bai Yehua would kill Master Mu, which was why she was protecting Liu Xiaoniang.
Seeing her remain silent, Madam Bai grew even angrier. She grabbed her arm and pulled her away, saying, "Have the guards of Peony Garden withdraw. Today, I will beat Liu Xiaoniang to death. Keeping such a woman in the Bai family will only harm my son Yehua."
Seeing Lady Bai's resolute attitude, Prince Yan was secretly pleased and quickly caught up with her, saying, "I will order the guards to leave immediately. Lady Bai, there is no need to be angry."
Watching King Yan walk towards the Peony Garden, Chen Yu forcefully shook off Madam Bai's hand, chased after him, stopped King Yan, and knelt down to kowtow.
"Chen Yu begs King Yan not to harm Liu Xiaoniang."
Why?
Why is Seventh Sister protecting the wicked?
"Shenyu, why are you afraid of Liu Xiaoniang?"
Yan Wang, Gu Dalang, and Madam Bai questioned him in unison.
At this moment, Chen Yu's face was streaked with tears. Protecting Liu Xiaoniang, something that went against her conscience, had left her breathless.
To save her father from the Imperial City Guard, she reluctantly agreed to marry Bai Yehua. Unexpectedly, Bai Yehua betrayed her, taking her father to the border to blackmail her into caring for Liu Yao'er and her child. Fortunately, she used her position as the principal wife to control Liu Yao'er; otherwise, she would have died long ago. Now that Liu Yao'er has miscarried, Bai Yehua will likely blame her, implicating her father!
At this moment, both King Yan and Lady Bai are criticizing her. Why doesn't she expose Bai Yehua's despicable behavior and take the opportunity to beg King Yan to ensure her father's safe return?
"General Bai led my father on the expedition only to ensure the safety of Lady Liu and her child. Now that the child has passed away, if anything happens to Lady Liu, I'm afraid my father will not be able to return to the capital. I earnestly request that Prince Yan send someone to bring my father back to the capital. I hope that Prince Yan will grant my request."
All three were shocked.
The Prince of Yan was furious: "Bai Yehua is such a despicable person, using General Mu's safety to coerce a woman? I will not stand idly by."
Gu Dalang shook his head and sighed, "Alas! How dare you treat Master like this, Senior Brother? Master watched him grow up."
Madam Bai, tears streaming down her face, muttered curses under her breath: "My son is so foolish! How could he protect such a treacherous and vicious woman as Liu Xiaoniang!"
After speaking, Madam Bai helped Chen Yu up, feeling extremely ashamed, and said in a remorseful voice, "Chen Yu, don't worry, I will go to the palace to see the Emperor and ask Ye Hua to ensure your father's safety and safe return."
It wasn't until the hour of Xu (7-9 PM) that Madam Bai returned from the palace. As soon as she entered, she complained to Chen Yu, "The Zuo family committed such an outrageous act, yet they still had the nerve to go to the palace to plead for Liu Xiaoniang, saying that Liu Xiaoniang was Ye Hua's person and that they had to wait for Ye Hua to return before taking any action..."
Shen Yu hurriedly asked, "Has the Emperor agreed to let my father return to the capital?"
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