That person was none other than the Empress.
Because the men of the Liu family had a secret fetish, the Empress arranged for the steward Liu Deng to consummate his marriage with the Duchess.
Eighteen years ago, on the day Yanran was born, a fire broke out in Liu Deng's room. Fortunately, the Duchess was on guard and sent Liu Deng to a temple in advance to become Master Yideng.
If the Empress were to learn that the Duchess was secretly meeting with Yideng, she would surely plot to kill her again.
Although Chen Yu was shocked, she was also worried for Yi Deng, "If the Empress knew you were still alive, she would definitely..."
"Heh... I suppose once Miss Chenyu leaves, this place will become a sea of fire... When will this cycle of revenge end? Enough... It's time to put an end to it. As long as Yu'er and Yanran are safe and well, I will be content. Miss Chenyu, could you please help me deliver this letter to Yu'er?"
Chen Yu nodded, then turned to look at Yi Deng's hand. Yi Deng's right hand actually had six fingers.
She put away the letter, got up to take her leave, but stopped at the door and turned back to ask, "Is there a hidden compartment behind the wooden planks?"
Yideng nodded, subtly praising Chenyu, "Miss Chenyu is clever and intelligent; the Duke's mansion will recover."
Shen Yu then asked, "Did Miss Yanran leave from inside the Dark Pavilion?"
Yideng nodded again, but this time a smile appeared on his face that lingered for a long time until Chenyu's figure disappeared into the side courtyard.
When Chen Yu and her group arrived at the entrance of Putuo Temple, a long queue had formed in front of them, and guards and nuns were searching the people leaving the temple.
Eunuch Cai was pointing and gesturing, which seemed to be the Empress's decree.
No, she has Yideng's letter. If it is found out, wouldn't that confirm the father-son relationship between Yideng and Liu Yu?
"Fire! Fire!"
Hearing shouts behind her, she hurriedly rushed towards Yideng's courtyard.
Just as Yideng said, once she left, this place would turn into a sea of fire.
As if she had just remembered something, she ran to the ginkgo tree outside the Guanyin Hall and secretly opened Yideng's letter: "When Yu'er sees this letter, Yideng will have already flown far away. I hope Yu'er will take good care of her mother and sister. We are far apart, so please take care of yourselves."
It seemed that Yideng had already escaped. She breathed a sigh of relief and slowly returned to Yideng's courtyard. When no one was paying attention, she secretly threw the letter into the fire.
After being searched by the nanny, Chen Yu was able to leave Putuo Temple. Eunuch Cai came to greet her, "Miss Chen Yu, Her Majesty the Empress requests your presence."
Shen Yu followed Eunuch Cai to the front of the Empress's sedan chair, where the Duchess waited by Yanran's arm.
Where did Yanran go just now?
Shen Yu dared not speak to Yan Ran, and bowed to the Empress's sedan chair, saying, "Shen Yu greets Your Majesty the Empress."
“Chen Yu, get up. Yanran is naughty and mischievous. She actually ran into the palace without the Duchess’s knowledge. I was afraid that the Duchess would be worried and upset, so I personally brought Yanran back.”
Yanran went to the palace? Shenyu couldn't help but suspect that Yanran had let something slip, which was why the Empress had sent people to burn down Yideng's courtyard.
"Chenyu, I heard that there was a fire in the temple. Is anyone trapped inside? Since you are here, why don't we go and check after the fire is extinguished? That way, His Majesty won't complain that I'm turning a blind eye to the people's plight."
"yes!"
Shen Yu replied, then couldn't help but curl her lips in mockery of the Empress... What a patron of the nation, she just wanted to see if Yideng perished in the fire. It seems this fire was the Empress's doing.
As dusk fell, the fire was finally extinguished. A guard rushed in to report, "Your Majesty, a charred corpse has been found in Master Yideng's courtyard. It is unrecognizable."
The Duchess fainted immediately. Yanran, with tears streaming down her face, dared not utter a sound and helped the Duchess into the carriage of the Duke's mansion.
"I will go and see for myself, so as to give His Majesty an explanation."
The Empress personally accompanied Shen Yu to examine the corpse.
In the side courtyard, smoke swirled, the ground was slippery, and a body covered with a white sheet lay beside the collapsed house.
The Empress broke free from the support of the two maids and rushed over to check. She only lifted a corner of the white cloth, glanced at it, and then retreated.
Seeing the slight joy on the Empress's face, Shen Yu immediately sensed something was wrong and hurriedly went over and squatted down to check.
Although the body was charred, the skeleton was intact, and the right hand had six fingers?
She was incredulous, and her eyes instantly welled up with tears.
Yideng said that he could escape to a distant place and flee into the dark chamber, so why did he perish in the fire?
What unspeakable secret is behind this?
She turned to look at the Empress, who sat in a chair away from the corpse, her face covered by a handkerchief. The Empress, speaking in a measured tone, gave her orders, her words carrying a hidden meaning:
"The famous Putuo Temple caught fire. Fortunately, it was not the monks in the temple who were burned to death. It is said that Master Yideng had six fingers on his right hand, but this body has five fingers on both hands. Where is Master Yideng?"
Is he still within the ruins? I order you to search carefully again and find Master Yideng's remains!
Shen Yu was surprised, but then she understood the Empress's intention... The Empress extinguished a lamp but refused to admit it, probably because she was afraid of being resented by the Duchess and her two sons.
At the same time, she suddenly realized that perhaps... what Yideng meant by "it's time to end it" was not to fly away, but to perish in a sea of fire.
Before she could recover, the Empress ordered, "Send someone to investigate which thief infiltrated Putuo Temple and set fire to Master Yideng's courtyard."
Oh!
Shen Yu sneered inwardly, propped herself up to stand up. The Empress's word was law, so why should she bother with this autopsy?
She and her servants prepared to leave, but the Empress stopped her and asked loudly, "Shenyu, how many fingers did the corpse have on both hands? Could you please record that clearly?"
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