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Inside the Grand Tutor's Mansion.
Hyunseung woke up and opened his eyes to see a woman wearing a veil, with large, clear, smiling almond-shaped eyes. She was the same woman who had come with Brother Yu.
“I recognize you. Although you are wearing a veil, your eyes are extraordinary, as bright as moonlight, and very beautiful. Brother Yu said that he will marry no one but you.”
Hearing Xiansheng's words, Shenyu was overjoyed. Just as she was about to speak to Xiansheng, Madam Zhang, who was standing to the side, gave her the order to leave, saying, "Xiansheng is fine now, Madam, please go back."
Hyunseung wept and smiled bitterly, muttering to himself, "Death would have ended everything, why save me!"
"Xiansheng, don't talk nonsense! Your uncle has gone to fetch the imperial physician for you." After saying this, Madam Zhang winked at Granny Cui behind her, who immediately picked up her medicine box and asked Chenyu to leave. "Madam Bai, this old servant will see you off."
Chen Yu had no choice but to leave. The Grand Tutor's Mansion was controlled by Madam Zhang, and Xian Sheng was like a fish on a chopping board, at Madam Zhang's mercy. She could only hope that Hong Yu could find a way to rescue Xian Sheng from the Grand Tutor's Mansion.
As she stepped out of the Grand Tutor's mansion, she saw the carriage of Prince Yan's residence parked opposite. The curtain was lifted, and Hongyu waved for her to come inside and talk. Upon entering the carriage, she was surprised to find Prince Yan there as well.
Yan Wang looked at her coldly and asked, "Were you kicked out?"
She couldn't help but chuckle, "Yes! At least he's better than Yan Wang. I bet if Grand Tutor Zhang saw Yan Wang, he'd be ready to pick up a stick and drive him away."
After saying that, she looked at Hongyu and asked, "Hongyu, will you go in with Prince Yan?"
Hongyu shook her head slightly. She had originally intended to ask Lianxiang, as the legitimate daughter of the Grand Tutor's Mansion, to take her younger brother Xiansheng to live in the Yan Prince's Mansion. Since the Yan Prince had come in person, she entrusted the matter of rescuing Xiansheng to him.
Knowing that the Grand Tutor's mansion disliked him, Yan Wang had no choice but to bite the bullet and enter the mansion in order to help Hongyu rescue Xiansheng.
Shen Yu lifted the curtain to observe the situation, and soon heard shouts and curses coming from the courtyard.
She hurriedly got out of the carriage and stood outside the gate of the Grand Tutor's mansion to watch.
Grand Tutor Zhang, leaning on a cane in one hand and carrying a stick in the other, staggered after Prince Yan, cursing as he went: "Now that Liu Yu has reformed and gone to fight the enemy, instead of thinking about serving the country, you spout nonsense and lies, and even want to take my son Xiansheng away, you are a scoundrel!"
Watching Yan Wang run out of the Grand Tutor's mansion and hurriedly get into the sedan chair, Chen Yu still stood outside the gate of the Grand Tutor's mansion, secretly smiling.
At that moment, a tall figure swept past, and something suddenly fell to the ground, flashing with golden light. Its size and shape were very similar to the waist token in Hongyu's hand.
Seeing that the guards weren't paying attention, she quickly picked it up. Returning to the sedan chair to examine it, she found it indeed engraved with the character "Zhang." She handed it to Hongyu for comparison, which would then confirm whether Lu Xue'er's words were true or false. She handed the waist token to Hongyu and said in a deep voice, "Look, it's a Zhang family waist token."
Hongyu swiftly snatched the waist token and examined it closely.
In fact, she had doubts about Lu Xue'er's words. After all, Lu Xue'er had schemed against her mother, and she found it hard to believe Lu Xue'er's one-sided story. She also did not believe that Grand Tutor Zhang would put her mother to death, because Liu Yu and Yan Wang had both mentioned that Grand Tutor Zhang had gone to Jiangnan many times to look for her and her mother.
She hurriedly took out another waist tag to compare. Both tags bore the character "Zhang," with identical patterns and fonts, and both were quite heavy. It seemed that Grand Tutor Zhang had indeed sent people to murder Lu Xue'er and Lianxiang, and even killed her mother!
Tears welled up in her eyes.
Upon seeing the two waist tokens, Yan Wang picked them up and glanced at them before saying, "The Zhang family's waist tokens are quite different. Although Master and Zhang Lianhua are married, they share the same surname, as Master is frugal and uses a silver token. This gold token should belong to Madam Zhang's family. But why is it so old? Also, how did Yu'er come to have a waist token from Zhang Qingbai's family?"
Who is Zhang Qingbai?
"He is the eldest brother of Madam Zhang, Prime Minister Zhang."
Hongyu nodded in thought. Even if the waist token belonged to Prime Minister Zhang, it only indicated that Prime Minister Zhang intended to eliminate Lu Xueer and Lianxiang. She had witnessed the murder of her mother, and she could not conclude that Prime Minister Zhang was her mother's killer based solely on the evidence in Lu Xueer's possession!
Sure enough, speak of the devil, and he appears. Prime Minister Zhang emerged from the Grand Tutor's residence, and the guards at the gate hurriedly stepped forward to receive his orders.
"What are your instructions, Prime Minister Zhang?"
"Send a message to the Gao family immediately, saying that I, the Prime Minister, am tied up with important matters today and cannot attend the banquet."
Shen Yu peeked through a corner of the curtain and whispered, "As expected of the Prime Minister, who is second only to the Emperor, he is even more imposing and dignified than my father, with a tall and imposing figure and a square face..."
Hongyu pushed Chenyu aside, stepped forward, and peered out from behind the curtain. Chenyu was broad-shouldered, square-faced, and had fierce eyes. Even if she turned to ashes, she would still remember his appearance.
That's right, the man who walked out of her house that year was none other than Prime Minister Zhang. It was Prime Minister Zhang who killed her mother! It seems that what Lu Xue'er said is true.
She felt terrified, gripping the waist token tightly with both hands, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.
"What's wrong with Hongyu?"
"Yu'er, don't be afraid, I'm here." Prince Yan didn't care that Chen Yu was present, and pulled Hong Yu into his arms to comfort her. "Yu'er is not feeling well? Let's go back to the manor now."
Hongyu shook her head and remained silent, burying her face in Yan Wang's arms and weeping silently.
Yan Wang became wary. Could it be that Hongyu was afraid of Prime Minister Zhang? But they had never met before.
At this moment, Prime Minister Zhang's voice came from outside the sedan chair: "Prince Yan, come quickly, Grand Tutor Zhang has important matters to discuss with you."
Prince Yan looked extremely reluctant. He had just told Grand Tutor Zhang that Lady Zhang was plotting to harm Xian Sheng and wanted to take Xian Sheng back to Prince Yan's residence to recuperate. Grand Tutor Zhang not only didn't believe him but also drove him out. Now, he was being summoned by Prime Minister Zhang, which probably wasn't anything good either.
He released Hongyu and whispered to Chenyu, "Remember, never show your face." Then he got off the carriage and met the Prime Minister, saying, "I just received a beating from the Grand Tutor. Do you want to teach me another lesson?"
"Haha... I just returned from the palace. It was naturally an important matter of the court. Let the Grand Tutor speak with Prince Yan."
"Thank you, Prime Minister. I will go to see the Grand Tutor immediately."
Shen Yu peeked through the crack and saw that Yan Wang hurriedly entered the Grand Tutor's mansion, while Prime Minister Zhang touched his waist and suddenly panicked, "Hmm? My waist token is missing, you guys search for it quickly."
She suddenly realized that the murderer who killed the Lu sisters was none other than Prime Minister Zhang.
Looking over, Hongyu was already in tears, her thin lips trembling as she wept silently.
She quickly pulled Hongyu into her arms and whispered comforting words, "Hongyu, don't be sad. At this moment, we are outnumbered and outmatched. We must be patient and wait for the right opportunity."
Unexpectedly, the words coming from outside terrified her and made her break out in a cold sweat.
"Prime Minister, just now there was a woman standing at the door. Perhaps she picked up your waist token. I saw her get into Prince Yan's sedan chair with my own eyes."
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