Seeing the soldiers rushing into Danyan Embroidery Shop with long spears, Meng Zhong shook a cup of hot tea and slowly smiled. Empress Du had merely returned to the imperial city and had not yet obtained a position. To put it bluntly, she was just a concubine with no name or status. How could she compete with Concubine Li, who had a solid foundation and gave birth to an imperial heir?
Concubine Li was confused by the emperor's attitude and failed to fight back in time. Now that she has recovered, she will naturally eliminate the remnants of the Du family. Meng Zhong was lucky enough to get in touch with the Li family. While dealing with the Du brothers and sisters, he also dragged Lin Dan into the mud. Having been charged with such a serious crime, he wanted to see how Lin Dan would turn things around this time.
In the storeroom of Danyan Embroidery Shop, Lin Dan's hands were handcuffed behind her back by two soldiers and she was forced to kneel on the ground. The leader pointed at a box that had been pried open and said in a cold tone: "Lin, you are so brave!"
"This box is not ours! You are framing us!" Du Ruyan kicked and stomped the people who held Lin Dan hostage, her expression angry. Hidden in the box was actually a piece of mulberry wood. If it had been found alone, it would not have been anything special, but next to it there happened to be a piece of bright yellow silk.
The leaves of mulberry wood can be used to raise silkworms, the trunk can be used to make furniture, and more importantly, it can also be used as a dye. Since the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, the bright yellow cloth worn by emperors was painted with it, so it was considered a tribute. But now, this piece of zeyl wood and this piece of bright yellow silk are hidden in a small folk embroidery shop, which has a close connection with Empress Du. If the news gets back to the capital, what will the emperor think? The trust he had just built up in Queen Du would probably be completely shattered.
Du Ruyan understood instantly that today's farce was not only to deal with Lin Dan, but also to deal with her aunt. She had already said that her aunt should not return to that cannibalistic place and should not be involved in these filthy things again. Why did she insist on doing so?
Du Ruyan's eyes quickly turned red, and she looked like she was about to cry.
Lin Dan's tone was very calm: "Don't cry, Yan'er, go find your brother first."
The leading officer sneered immediately: "What brother are you looking for? You have committed the crime of treason by hiding the mulberry wood and the bright yellow silk. No one can escape today. You will all be locked up in the prison! Someone from Du Rushong's side will also come to arrest you. You can wait for him in the prison."
After hearing this, Du Ruyan collapsed immediately, but Lin Dan lowered his head slightly to hide his ruthless expression. At this point, she had no evidence to prove her innocence, so she might as well kill all these people and escape with her mother, two aunts and Cuilan. The Japanese women were also brought along. They had followed the Japanese pirates on the sea and knew exactly where there were habitable islands. Going to those small islands, far away from the rule of the Great Zhou Kingdom, she could do whatever she wanted, even being a pirate, which was better than being killed by others.
After thinking about it, Lin Dan's eyes were filled with murderous intent. He was about to break free from the soldiers' hold and launch an attack, but he heard a burst of hurried footsteps coming from outside.
"Captain Xiao, you are so arrogant!" Du Rushong strode in and saw Lin Dan being pressed to the ground. His eyes turned cold.
"General Du, you are here. We were just about to send someone to the military camp to invite you. Now that everyone is here, we don't have to trouble you to make an extra trip." The soldier named Xiao pointed to the box in the corner and said, "This is your stuff, right? Who is this piece of cloth made for? Please ask General Du to go to Lord Li and explain it in person."
"No need to go to the yamen. I can tell you right now that this piece of cloth is dyed for my aunt." Du Rushong wanted to draw his sword and chop the two people who held Lin Dan hostage into meat paste, but he held himself back. He gritted his teeth, suppressed his anger, and pulled his sister up.
"Brother, don't talk nonsense!" Du Ruyan shouted in horror.
Captain Xiao grinned fiercely and was about to order the arrest of these traitors, but then he heard Du Rushong slowly say, "The emperor has issued an order to re-enthrone my aunt as the queen. The ceremony will be held at the end of the month. This piece of cloth was dyed by her at the request of Miss Lin, and it is waiting to be sent to the imperial city to be made into a phoenix robe for her. Captain Xiao, if you like it, you can take this piece of cloth away. I will write a letter to my aunt later to explain the whole story to her."
"No, it's impossible! I have never heard that a deposed queen can be re-enthroned! This is absolutely impossible!" Xiao Bazong's smug expression was replaced by horror.
"Believe it or not." Du Rushong kicked the two soldiers away and pulled Lin Dan into his arms. He patted her back with great care and tenderness, and said in a low voice: "I'm sorry, I got you into trouble this time. Don't be afraid, I'm here."
Lin Dan used his broad chest to hide the murderous intent in his eyes and shook his head, "I'm not afraid."
Du Rushong patted her back again, then said softly, "Let's go back." Then he slowly walked out, holding his sweetheart with one hand and his sister with the other. Before leaving, he turned around and carefully looked at the officers and soldiers who came today, engraved their faces one by one in his heart, waiting to settle the accounts someday.
His gaze did not seem to be looking at a living person, but rather at a dead object, which made the officers and soldiers shudder. They did not dare to stop them and let them go. The soldier who came with Du Rushong made a gesture of wiping his neck and had a very bloody smile.
After they left, an officer trembled and said, "Captain Xiao, has the deposed queen really been reinstated?"
"This must be a delaying tactic by Du Rushong!" Captain Xiao gritted his teeth and spoke, but he did not dare to mention the arrest again. He waved his hand and said, "Let's go back today and talk about it after the news is confirmed."
"If the news is true, what should we do?"
This question made Xiao Bazong turn pale and his heart was broken. His eyes kept changing, and finally he grinned and said, "Then we will betray the people above us, and we will die together!"
Seeing Du Rushong leading Lin Dan and Du Ruyan out in perfect condition, Meng Zhong was a little disappointed, but he did not think that they could escape this disaster. Treason is a serious crime punishable by the execution of nine generations of the clan. Even Queen Du could not escape, let alone these small fry.
However, at this moment, Du Rushong and Lin Dan raised their heads at the same time and looked at him with the same cold eyes, making the smile on his face freeze. He accidentally knocked over the teacup and burned his wrist. He immediately took a few steps back to avoid the sight of the two people, his heart beating rapidly.
Du Rushong fought his way out of a bloody storm, so it was no surprise that he was so powerful, but Lin Dan was no less powerful than him. The murderous aura that was so thick that it was like the devil in hell, suffocating. Lin Dan is definitely not as simple as he seems! Thinking of this, Meng Zhong suddenly felt an ominous feeling in his heart.
After getting on the carriage, Du Ruyan said in a low voice: "Brother, has my aunt really been crowned as the queen?"
"Really? I just received her letter. In a few days, the news will reach Lin'an Prefecture." Du Rushong poured a cup of hot tea for Lin Dan and said softly, "Dan'er, drink some water to calm your nerves."
"Thank you, I'm not scared." Lin Dan handed the cup to Du Ruyan.
Du Ruyan quickly drank a cup of tea and said admiringly, "Dandan, aren't you afraid at all? If we are really arrested, it will be a heinous crime that will punish all nine generations of our clan!"
"What are you afraid of? The worst that can happen is that we can kill all those people. We can then go out to sea and become pirates. My mother has channels to make weapons and armor, your brother can get warships through the military camp, I have a little bit of martial arts skills, and you are good at business, so you can help us sell the stolen goods. Once we are out to sea, we can do whatever we want and rob as much money as we want. Our life will not be any harder than it is now." As Lin Dan spoke, a look of longing appeared in his eyes, as if it was a pity that he had not been able to go on a killing spree and become a wanted criminal.
Du Ruyan was so stunned that the teacup in her hand fell onto the mat with a plop.
Du Rushong was stunned for a moment, then he covered his face and laughed. He should have thought that Dan'er would be able to find a way to survive no matter what the circumstances. She is the most powerful girl in the Great Zhou Kingdom, no doubt about it.
"Dan'er, why are you so cute?" Seeing Lin Dan's serious look, Du Rushong's muffled smile turned into a loud laugh.
Du Ruyan also started to giggle, and her previous fear had completely disappeared. She should have thought of it earlier. As long as Dandan was there, she didn't have to worry about anything because Dandan could always think of a solution. What's wrong with being a pirate? It would be much more enjoyable when pirates could roam the seas and do whatever they want!
When they returned home, Du Rushong got out of the car first. Then he turned around and put his hands under Lin Dan's armpits without saying anything and carried her down. He was originally very tall, and after many battles in recent days, he had become even more muscular. However, Lin Dan inherited Lin Dafu's short and stocky stature, and he had not grown taller since he was fifteen years old.
Now she was held in Du Rushong's arms, like a rag doll, and her thin legs kicked several times in the air before they could barely step on the ground. Du Ruyan saw her funny look and covered her mouth and laughed again. I never expected that Tandan, who is fearless of all gods and ghosts, could be in such an embarrassing situation.
Zhang Hui, who walked out to greet her daughter, was slightly stunned, and looked at Du Rushong with a bit of scrutiny. This man takes such good care of his daughter, could it be that he has a crush on her? Oh, this won’t do. My daughter needs to marry a man who lives with her. She can’t be married off to a rich and powerful person!
Thinking of this, she immediately found an excuse to pull her daughter into the house and slammed the door shut.
Du Rushong touched his nose and smiled helplessly, but he had no intention of giving up.
Three days later, the news that Empress Du was deposed and then re-established finally reached Lin'an Prefecture. The Du brothers and sisters immediately became popular figures in the local area. All the officers and soldiers who went to search Danyan Embroidery Shop were arrested and interrogated by Du Rushong himself, who used torture. Some people could not survive the torture and died in prison. Some people made random accusations and dragged many of their colleagues into the matter, making the situation even more confusing.
No one knows what Empress Du said to the emperor, but the emperor actually sent his most capable minister to investigate the matter, which led to a major reshuffle of the officialdom in Lin'an Prefecture. Fortunately, Meng Zhong and the Li family were clean enough, and the scapegoats they found were tight-lipped and did not give them up. But the emperor was not a fool. After receiving the letter, he severely punished the relevant people.
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