It was midnight.
Three figures arrived at the entrance of the Jingwang Mausoleum. A biting wind blew, and sounds emanated from within the mausoleum—some whooshing, some whistling, some moaning, some whimpering…
The three huddled together and whispered, "Don't be afraid, young lady, Cuiwei will protect you."
"Don't be afraid, Chen Yu. I, Bai Yejing, am a county magistrate with a sword."
"I'm so tired. Young Master Bai is injured, you should rest early."
As she spoke, Chen Yu pushed Cuiwei and Bai Yejing aside, took a mat from the carriage, spread it on the ground, and lay down on it, muttering to herself, "I went to the Jingwang Mausoleum when I was eight years old. The roads inside were rugged and overgrown with weeds. It's so dark here, I'm afraid we'll fall into a trap as soon as we go in. Let's wait until tomorrow..."
------
One month later.
The night was deep, and the moonlight was dim and yellow.
Hongyu led a veiled woman into a withered bamboo forest, entering the mausoleum through a small gate. The reason for choosing nighttime was that the imperial court had ordered the Jingwang Mausoleum sealed off, prohibiting anyone from entering.
Hongyu came to bid farewell to Chenyu.
Since Prince Hong's death, the Emperor's suspicions have intensified. Because the Empress's unauthorized execution of Chen Yu's unborn child aroused public outrage, she was banished to the Cold Palace.
On that very day, after returning from outside the city, Prince Yan fell ill and never recovered; he is now emaciated.
Just yesterday, the Emperor summoned the Sixth Prince to the Ziji Hall for a meeting, and then ordered the Prince of Li to guard the northern border.
Hongyu was worried that the Sixth Prince would harm Yan Wang, so she took Yan Wang away from the capital under the pretext of recuperating from illness.
"Waaah... Hehe..." A mournful and eerie sound came from behind. The masked woman tugged at Hongyu's sleeve and asked, "Yufei, is this place really haunted?"
Hongyu took the masked woman's arm and continued walking: "Don't be afraid. Sister Yu said in her letter that the rumor that the cemetery is haunted is because a crazy old woman is pretending to be a ghost to scare people away from entering the cemetery..."
"How can my sister settle down here in peace?"
"When Sister Yu was little, she often came to the cemetery to play and was already familiar with the old lady. The letter said that the old lady's madness was almost cured."
The masked woman nodded, still not loosening her grip on Hongyu's sleeve. The two walked for a while before finally seeing light coming from a house, and faintly hearing a woman's laughter.
"Haha... I won again."
"Sinking Fish's chess skills are superb, but I still need to learn from him about night scene."
"Alright! If you can beat me in one round, you can rest tomorrow, and I'll sweep the yard..."
Hearing Chen Yu chatting and laughing with Bai Yejing, Hongyu couldn't help but feel saddened. She felt sorry for Chen Yu's plight. First, she was forced to marry Bai Yehua, then she was defiled by villains, and then she suffered a miscarriage and contracted smallpox in prison. Now she was relegated to guarding the mausoleum. Alas... it's true that beautiful women have always had tragic fates.
She gently wiped her eyes and led the veiled woman into the hall. Seeing Cuiwei come out to greet them, she waved for Cuiwei to remain silent and allow her to settle the veiled woman first. She quietly closed the hall door and turned to look at Chenyu.
Chen Yu sat on the couch, one hand touching a chess piece, the other holding a hand warmer, a warm quilt covering her lap. She pouted, her brows slightly furrowed, then suddenly placed the chess piece down, smiling at Bai Yejing. "Young Master Bai, you'd better be careful."
Bai Yejing chuckled to himself, picked up a chess piece, and shook his head repeatedly. "Sigh...it seems Yejing is going to lose again."
"You deliberately gave in again."
As she spoke, Chen Yu reached out and scrambled the chessboard.
Bai Yehua suddenly stood up and bowed to Hongyu, saying, "Ye Jing greets Consort Yu."
"You may step back now. I have something to say to Sister Yu."
"Hongyu? I told you in my letter not to come, why are you taking such a risk?"
As she spoke, Chen Yu pulled Hong Yu to sit down beside her, placed the hand warmer in Hong Yu's hands, and said with a soft smile, "I heard that Consort Yu is pregnant. She will be a mother next year."
Hongyu gazed at Chenyu, hesitated for a moment, then nodded, "Yes, on the day Brother Yu was exiled, I deliberately fell to distract the Empress. Fortunately, the child was unharmed, but..."
After Hongyu finished speaking, her voice choked up involuntarily.
Shen Yu became suspicious and hurriedly grasped Hong Yu's hand, asking, "But what? What happened?"
Hongyu quickly shook her head, but her tearful eyes could not hide it from Chenyu.
In fact, Liu Yu was assassinated by secret guards sent by the Empress on the day he was exiled.
When Yan Wang arrived, Liu Yu had already fallen off the cliff. He rushed to the bottom of the cliff to search, and in the dark forest, birds and beasts roamed everywhere. Besides piles of white bones, there was also a mangled corpse. Based on the Hetian yellow jade pendant, he concluded that Liu Yu was dead.
Therefore, Yan Wang fell ill and became increasingly thin. He entrusted the letter left by Liu Yu before his exile to Hongyu to be given to Chen Yu.
Seeing Hongyu's grave expression, Chenyu knew something was wrong. She gripped Hongyu's arms tightly and asked in a trembling voice, "Has something happened to Brother Yu?"
Hongyu nodded slightly, tears instantly streaming down her face, and with trembling arms handed over a letter. "This is a letter that Brother Yu wrote at the Dali Temple. He instructed Prince Yan to open it only after he is exiled."
Shen Yu hurriedly opened the letter and carefully examined it by the lamplight: If Yu Lang were to meet with misfortune, she hoped that King Yan would find her a virtuous and talented husband of good character, so that she would not waste her life on Yu Lang.
“No…” Shen Yu shook her head vigorously, then grabbed Hong Yu’s arms tightly and asked, “He can’t be dead. Has anyone seen his body? Who saw it with their own eyes?”
"King Yan personally verified that Brother Yu is indeed dead."
"Ah..." Chen Yu was heartbroken and collapsed heavily onto the chessboard.
At this moment, Bai Yejing stood outside the window, silently shedding tears.
To make Chen Yu disappear, he did not hesitate to offend the Empress. For Chen Yu, he cleaned up the bumpy and overgrown Jingwang Mausoleum and even personally repaired the houses.
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