Chapter 935 Golden Hairpin
Lou Yingxiong was still a little dazed, staring blankly at the thing that the man had thrown into the cell. It seemed to be a cloth bag. He hurriedly went over to pick it up, opened it, and his face immediately changed.
Inside the cloth bag was a gold hairpin.
He was very familiar with this gold hairpin, in fact, he was very familiar with it, because it was his daughter Lou Chanyue's favorite ornament. He gave it to her when she came of age. Lou Chanyue loved it dearly and wore it all the time. Even after she married into the Crown Prince's household and became a concubine, and had many more beautiful ornaments, she still wore this gold hairpin and was proud of it.
But now, this golden hairpin has been separated from her daughter, thrown into a prison cell, and delivered to him.
The cell was cold and damp, so much so that Lou Yingxiong could feel the lingering warmth of his daughter's body on the gold hairpin, which made him tremble. He suddenly recalled the day his daughter got married, when she insisted on personally putting this gold hairpin on her head, and looking at his kind smile in the bronze mirror, he said, "Father, rest assured, even if I am just a concubine, I will not disappoint you."
That's what he thought too.
One's own daughter cannot just be a concubine.
So when they encountered the opportunity at Tangquan Palace, they staked everything on it. They never expected the Crown Princess to create such a complication and secretly suppress them. The thought that this woman, already holding the title of Empress, was so intolerant—what if the Crown Prince were to ascend the throne and she were made Empress? Given her narrow-mindedness and Yu Dingxing's cunning and ruthlessness, would she be able to tolerate Chanyue and themselves?
Driven by revenge and a plan for the future, the father and daughter took a desperate gamble, sending a group of assassins they had long kept outside the city into the city to intercept and kill Pei Xingyuan. Since the emperor ordered Su Qinglan's release, the case had stalled. Lou Yingxiong had already given up hope of gaining merit in this case, and the true truth was known only to them. Although they didn't understand why Pei Xingyuan hadn't spoken after being arrested, keeping him alive was ultimately a threat.
So they took action.
Most importantly, everyone can see that the Crown Princess did those things intentionally to make things difficult for them. If Pei Xingyuan is intercepted and killed again, people around them will only suspect the Crown Princess and her father even more. The best outcome would be for the Emperor to take action and punish them.
Even if the emperor doesn't intervene, once a rift develops between the crown prince and the Yu family father and daughter, the Lou family will have hope.
But unexpectedly, the plot failed, and Lü Qianfeng quickly uncovered the group's hideout, implicating them all. Now—
Seeing the gold hairpin in his hand, Lou Yingxiong felt as if his heart was being torn apart. He gently stroked the cold patterns on the hairpin with his fingertips, and suddenly a chill ran through him.
This incident has ruined their previous plans, and the Crown Prince will likely not let him and Chanyue off easily.
And now, the meaning of sending this gold hairpin is—
Lou Yingxiong's eyes gradually reddened. He glanced down at the gold hairpin in his hand, then suddenly burst into laughter: "Haha, hahahaha..."
The arrogant yet desperate laughter raged for a moment in the cold, dark cage before quickly subsiding.
The night grew even deeper.
In the deep darkness of the night, Shang Ruyi didn't sleep well, so she woke up when people started moving around outside in the morning. As soon as she woke up, she heard clear and alert breathing beside her. She opened her eyes and turned her head, and sure enough, in the dim light, she saw Yuwen Ye's cold and shrewd eyes open, seemingly staring at the magnificent curtains above her, or perhaps seeing something else through the curtains, his eyes flashing with a sharp light.
She said, "You're awake."
Last night, the two of them went to bed early, but while lying in bed, they reviewed everything that had happened during the day, trying to figure out when Yuwen Yuan would announce that Yuwen Ye would lead troops to reinforce Cijian and attack Luoyang.
By the end, it was past midnight, and feeling drowsy, Shang Ruyi responded to Yuwen Ye's words while slowly closing her eyes and falling asleep. She didn't know when she fell asleep, but it must have been very late.
Unexpectedly, he woke up so early too.
Hearing her voice, Yuwen Ye turned around, looked at Shang Ruyi's slightly disheveled hair, reached out and tucked it behind her ear, then said, "Why are you awake too? Didn't you sleep well?"
Shang Ruyi didn't speak. She propped herself up and looked outside. The window was closed and she couldn't see outside. But she could tell from the light coming through the window that it was still early and probably not yet Chen Shi (7-9 AM).
So she lay back down on the bed and whispered, "I wonder what decision Father will make today."
"..."
Will you be allowed to send troops?
Yuwen Ye laughed and said, "Are you dreaming about this all the time?"
Shang Ruyi smiled as well.
Ever since the incident at Tangquan Palace, the atmosphere in Qianqiu Palace has been somber and heavy. Even though Xiaoyuanzi was by her side and could cheer her up, the heavy weight on her heart made it hard to breathe until Pei Xingyuan was "intercepted," which finally eased the tension a little.
At least, Pei Xingyuan's life was saved, and the Pei family was temporarily spared as well.
Yesterday's revelation brought some relief.
The matter had reached its most critical point. The final step was to see if Yuwen Yuan could compromise and allow Yuwen Ye to return to the front lines. Although he seemed to have no other choice, they could not relax for a single day until the emperor spoke.
Yuwen Ye said, "Don't worry too much, things will work themselves out."
After saying that, he sat up and dressed himself, saying, "I'm going out to practice my sword for a while. You didn't sleep well, so lie down for a bit longer."
Shang Ruyi sat up as well, about to shake her head and say she couldn't sleep either, when she suddenly heard a series of hurried and chaotic footsteps outside. These were completely different from the sounds of people moving around and doing things just now; they sounded anxious and cautious. Both of them sensed something, and after exchanging a glance, they heard another set of footsteps approaching, a soft voice calling from the outer hall, "Your Highness, Your Highness..."
It was Chang Wan's voice.
Yuwen Ye gestured for Shang Ruyi not to move, then put on a robe and got out of bed. Shang Ruyi sat on the bed, holding her breath, listening to the voices outside, which seemed to be the voice of a young eunuch serving in the Liangyi Hall.
After saying a few words in hushed tones, the footsteps disappeared.
Immediately afterwards, Yuwen Ye, with a furrowed brow and a solemn expression, slowly walked in from the outer hall.
Shang Ruyi hurriedly asked, "What happened?"
Yuwen Ye walked back to the bedside and sat down. After a moment of silence, he looked up at her and said softly, "Lou Yingxiong hanged himself in the prison."
"What?!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com