"Your Highness, please accept my condolences." Jinfu stood beside Li Guanghan and whispered. When they found Yao Yushu, she was alone, trapped under a fallen beam. Most of her body was burned, and her face was unrecognizable.
Li Guanghan recognized her because she was wearing the jade pendant he had given her, and because of the red birthmark on Yao Yushu's forearm. Jinlu simply performed an autopsy on Yao Yushu's body. Her body was covered in scars, including the red marks on her neck and wrists, and a fatal wound on the back of her head. After her death, she was hit by a broken beam, leaving her body burnt beyond recognition, a scene that moved everyone.
Li Guanghan watched over her in grief, holding her tightly in his arms, his expression a little dazed. After hearing Jinfu's words, he still didn't want to let go.
The prince saw that Li Guanghan had really brought the person out, so he walked forward to take a look. Before he could get close, Jinfu raised his hand to stop him. Jinfu had a cold face and said in a firm voice: "Your Highness! The prince doesn't want to see anyone right now."
The prince's eyes turned cold, "What? Li Guanghan, are you going to turn against me for a woman?"
Li Guanghan froze for a few seconds before raising his eyes. He wanted to confront the Crown Prince, but he held no real power. For years, he had sought to be a leisurely prince, so he hadn't recruited officials from the court. Many ministers had previously offered him covert allegiance, but he had coldly rejected them all. Now, under the Crown Prince's pressure, he realized how powerless he was without power and influence.
He couldn't even redress the injustice done to the woman he loved...
Li Guanghan suppressed his hatred for Li Yuanzhuo, and his voice trembled with repression: "My royal brother dare not." He held the body of the person in his arms, and the nerve called resistance in his brain trembled.
Seeing him like this, the Crown Prince put on a wicked smile and said, "She's such a boring woman. What on earth do you like about her, my royal brother? You're so blind that you refuse to marry Princess Dingjia for her.
Alas, I thought the daughter of the Grand Tutor would be different and could take on the position of Crown Princess, but now it seems that she is not even as good as Wan Niang in the brothel, tsk."
Li Guanghan could no longer contain his anger as he listened to his disdainful tone and compared Yao Yushu to a prostitute. He tightened his grip, the corpse in his arms irritating him every second.
That nerve finally broke...
His eyes glared, and he looked up at the Crown Prince, his voice tinged with anger: "Royal brother!" He took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and calmed his rage. He spoke sharply: "Royal brother, you are so disregarding of life and death, taking human life lightly, and killing the Grand Tutor's legitimate daughter. Is this what a Crown Prince should do?"
The prince narrowed his eyes, "Are you threatening me?"
Li Guanghan's voice had completely stabilized, and he said in a steady tone: "I dare not, I just want an explanation from my brother. Ah Shu entered the Zhiwen Tower with my brother, and the people in the tower saw with their own eyes that the Zhiwen Tower was on fire. My brother escaped safely, but Ah Shu died here. My brother should give an explanation to me and Taifu Yao, right?" Li Guanghan raised his head and looked straight at the prince, with unconcealable anger in his eyes.
As Qiao Si approached with Jingzhu's support, he saw the anger in Li Guanghan's eyes.
She knew that what she wanted was about to be achieved...
She didn't say anything, but Li Guanghan didn't let her go. Li Guanghan looked up at Qiao Si, his eyes fierce and his teeth gnashing, "Qiao Xiting! Ah Shu used to speak well of you. I thought you were just willful and capricious, but I didn't expect you to be so sinister and vicious."
Qiao Si's face paled when he said that. She opened her mouth slightly, but no sound came out. In the end, she didn't say anything to refute him. Li Guanghan looked at the two people in front of him, and hatred grew in his eyes.
The prince stared at him and said in a stern tone: "I am the prince, I can kill anyone I want. I just killed the daughter of a minister, what punishment can I get?"
Li Guanghan watched him bully others with his chest rising and falling rapidly. Seeing a group of onlookers gathered around, he didn't want them to see Yao Yushu's miserable state. He picked up her body and walked past them to leave.
As he passed them, he paused and looked up at the Crown Prince. When their eyes met, it was as if waves surged. Li Guanghan said, "Then wait and see how this ends for you, my brother."
He then looked at Qiao Si, his eyes thick with hatred. He had long since determined that Yao Yushu's death was due to her aiding the Crown Prince in his evil deeds. He spoke with a hint of gnashing teeth, "You are so vicious! Why didn't you follow the late Princess and die together in Dingzhou? Having you in the Qiao Palace is truly a disgrace to the old prince's reputation for loyalty and patriotism."
After he finished speaking, without looking at Qiao Si's expression again, he held the person in his arms, walked past Qiao Si, and left step by step.
Qiao Si was hurt by his words. She raised her hand to cover her heart and frowned.
"Princess? Are you okay?" Zhang You and the others came forward, concerned. Qiao Si shook his head and did not refute Li Guanghan.
Qiao Si did not refute because she felt guilty towards them, but they, the maids, could not tolerate it!
Zhang You couldn't tolerate others talking about them like that!
Where were they when Prince Qiao led his troops in a fierce resistance?! Where were they when Princess Qiao was managing Dingzhou, offering a way out to those with nowhere else to go?! Qiao Er and Qiao Si had worked diligently for so many years, striving for Dingzhou for so long, but what had they done?!
Only maids like them knew clearly how much Qiao Si had shouldered... No one could use Dingzhou or Prince Qiao's Mansion to blame Qiao Si!
Zhang You took two steps forward and shouted at his back, "What right do you have to say that about my princess? Miss Yao's death, in the final analysis, is nothing more than your uselessness! What does it have to do with my princess? Shouldn't you be the culprit behind Miss Yao's death? It's you who are useless and couldn't protect her! And in the end, you blame it on a woman. It's your incompetence!"
Li Guanghan paused. He didn't look back, or rather, he didn't dare. What Zhang You said was true, and it was something he couldn't forgive. He couldn't forgive himself. He had promised to marry her, but he had always been unable to do so, owing her money, and causing her death.
Jinlu noticed that the prince was in a bad mood, and he didn't want to see Xia He blamed for it, so he quickly pleaded for her: "Your Highness, she was just too eager to protect her master and said something she shouldn't have. I'll go talk to her." Seeing that Li Guanghan didn't react, he quickly ran to Zhang You and covered her mouth with his hand, "Xia He! Stop talking!" He lowered his voice and whispered in Zhang You's ear: "No matter what Your Highness says, he is still the Second Prince. You can't criticize him."
He looked at Zhang You with worry in his eyes, but Zhang You just thought he was protecting Li Guanghan. She hesitated and wanted to scold again, but Qiao Si Pai Chunhua pulled her back.
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