"Okay, I can hand her over to you, but... she's pregnant now. Even if the Crown Prince no longer favors her, I still can't just give her to you. So... I need to use other methods."
In the Prince's Mansion after nightfall, Ni Yueshan sat under a candle as usual, sewing small shoes and new clothes for the children. When she was tired, she blew out the candle and rested.
The Prince's Mansion became quieter as the night progressed, but in the originally dark courtyard, flames gradually shot up into the sky.
All the servants in Ni Yueshan's courtyard were sent away, and the fire was discovered only when it gradually spread to other places in the Prince's Mansion.
"Oh no, oh no, there's a fire!"
Soon, the servants in the mansion hurriedly fetched water to put out the fire, but someone grabbed a maid and shook his head at her.
The maid asked confusedly, "What are you doing?"
"The new Crown Princess is about to enter the mansion, and it would be annoying for this concubine to stay here. If you run away too quickly, the Crown Prince might not reward you, so just pretend!"
The maid suddenly understood: "I understand!"
So the servants who were fighting the fire started paddling.
After the fire was stabilized, Jing Yuchen hurried over wearing his outer robe, but all he saw was a pile of ruins after the fire.
A servant nearby suggested, "Prince, because Concubine Ni's courtyard had few servants, the fire was discovered too late. Furthermore, the wind tonight fanned the flames, so there was no time to put it out. While they were putting out the fire, they heard screams coming from the room. I'm afraid Concubine Ni is gone."
Jing Yuchen's face was gloomy, and he gritted his teeth and said angrily: "Then go and look for the body. When you find the body, come and tell this prince that the person is gone!"
After saying this, he left in a hurry. The servants searched slowly, disdaining the ruins that still emitted a scorching heat.
When it was time for Jing Yuchen to go to court, there was still no conclusion.
After Jing Yuchen left the court, a servant reported to him, "Prince, only one body was found in the backyard. After the coroner's autopsy, they concluded that the body was a pregnant woman!"
Jing Yuchen looked at the servant who was speaking in surprise: "What about Qingfeng, Qingluan, Qingfeng and the others?"
"They contradicted the princess before, and you punished them by slapping them in the face. Concubine Ni also caned them. But there is no one in the mansion to take care of them, so they are all in the infirmary."
"So... the screaming in the room when the fire started could only have been caused by Concubine Ni. Crown Prince, please accept my condolences! It must have been Concubine Ni who, tired and sleepy, knocked over the candle while copying the Women's Instructions, and that's what started the fire!"
As they spoke, all the servants knelt down.
When this incident happened, people throughout the capital thought it was an intentional arson, but no one knew who did it. They just treated it as a topic of conversation after dinner, and everyone talked about it and laughed it off.
Because of Ni Yueshan's death, Jing Yuchen asked the emperor to postpone the wedding for one month, as he needed some time off.
Originally, everyone thought that Jing Yuchen was heartless and had forgotten his old love after finding a new one. But when they learned that Jing Yuchen was drunk several times today, they felt that Jing Yuchen might still be somewhat sincere.
Ni Yueshan, who was taken away, lived in the general's mansion. In the eyes of the emperor, Ni Yueshan must have been tortured to the point of being worse than death because she was taken away by Zou Yangyao, but Ni Yueshan was taking good care of her pregnancy in the mansion.
She ate green dates and sighed, "Such a crude method, is there no one who will come forward and say this is premeditated murder? Or is this perhaps a trick to disguise the truth?"
Zou Yangyao sat aside, a smile flickering across his resolute and handsome face. "Does it matter? Right now, everyone's attention is on Jing Yuchen and Qiu Tianmi. Who cares about where you, Ni Yueshan, are going or whether you're dead or not?"
Ni Yueshan swallowed the green dates in his mouth and looked at Zou Yangyao depressedly: "What you said is true, but what am I now?"
Ni Yueshan finally smiled and said, "You are now considered a minister that the emperor values very much. You should be prepared to be granted marriage!"
When Ni Yueshan brought up this topic, the playful expression on Zou Yangyao's resolute face gradually disappeared. He snorted, "What marriage do you want? I'm not a real man anymore!"
Ni Yueshan was stunned and then shut up.
The atmosphere was awkward for a moment, and finally, Jing Yuchen stood up, a little irritable.
"If Mr. Xu really has the ability to bring the dead back to life, then I can definitely be saved!" After saying that, he strode out, looking very angry.
Ni Yueshan, who was sitting in the room, fell silent, and the green dates in his mouth no longer tasted sweet.
Zou Yangyao took the initiative to enter the palace and asked to see the emperor.
When the emperor saw Zou Yangyao about to bow, he quickly walked over and helped him up. "My dear Zou, there's no need to be so polite. Get up quickly."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Zou Yangyao stood up and reported sincerely, "Your Majesty, I still have a few pills. Elder Xu has instructed me to take them once a month until they are all gone. However, I don't know if anything will happen to me if I run out of the medicine. I hope that after the emperor develops the pills, he can return them to me."
No matter how Zou Yangyao asked before, he was unwilling to tell the emperor what medicine he had taken. Now the emperor finally understood.
It turned out that it was because his life was at stake.
"Okay, don't worry, I will definitely return it!"
The emperor took the box away in a hurry. Zou Yangyao looked at the box and felt a little uncomfortable.
Seeing Zou Yangyao's reluctance to leave, the emperor was delighted: "My dear Zou, I know that you are good at martial arts, and you are better than many generals in leading troops in battle. I will now appoint you as a second-rank general!"
Zou Yangyao's resolute and troubled face instantly lit up with joy, and then he knelt on the ground: "Thank you, Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor!"
The emperor was delighted and helped Zou Yangyao up. "Alright, leave the palace now and wait for my news. I will definitely not treat you unfairly!"
Zou Yangyao breathed a sigh of relief after walking out of the South Study. He didn't know whether the medicine could be passed without any verification, but since Ni Yueshan could produce it, he believed it.
He had nothing before, and now, he gets everything back one by one, which can be regarded as seeking wealth in danger!
After returning to Zou's residence, he went to see Ni Yueshan, who was playing chess with a woman. It seemed that Ni Yueshan was not as good as the other woman and was racking her brains...
Zou Yangyao walked over, picked up a chess piece and put it down.
Ni Yueshan glared at Zou Yangyao, "Who asked you to help me play chess?"
Zou Yangyao said with great pride: "Didn't you see that you have survived your death trap?"
The woman sitting beside Ni Yueshan playing chess was dissatisfied: "Who told you to interfere? It's just the two of us playing chess, and you're interfering. That's immoral!"
Zou Yangyao then looked towards the woman who had spoken, but soon, Zou Yangyao was surprised: "It's you!"
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