Cao Zhi, riding his horse, felt as if he were floating on clouds. He felt light and airy, as if he were spinning in the clouds.
Shen Qingyu buried her face in her robe. After all, she was riding a horse with a man, and for the sake of her reputation, she couldn't let anyone see her face.
Her heart pounded, and she nervously gripped the sleeve that Cao Zhi had wrapped around her chest.
Perhaps it was her first time riding a horse, and she was scared. She comforted herself with that thought.
Cao Zhi was an excellent horseman, and since it was nighttime and the roads were almost deserted, he rode straight to the gate of the Prince of Xiaoyao's mansion, where he had the gatekeeper announce his arrival before leaving.
The gatekeeper immediately sent someone to the Prince Yong's residence to inform the prince and princess. The princess went to settle accounts with the person, and the prince went to pick up the person after returning home. Fortunately, the person was found and nothing serious happened.
Song Yaozhu stayed in the messy room for half an hour when the old woman came in to tell her that Shen Qingyu had been found, so she got up and left.
"Consort Zhao, what goes around comes around. Your retribution will come sooner or later for your heinous acts."
The wound on Zhao Ying'e's hand had already scabbed over. She looked at Song Yaozhu with a cold smile, only hating that her subordinates were too stupid to have killed her!
From this day forward, the two of them will be mortal enemies; she will never let Song Yaozhu get away with it!
As soon as Song Yaozhu left, the maidservant who served her rushed in.
"Consort, are you alright?"
"Are you blind? Do you think I'm alright?!" Zhao Ying'e roared. "Go and fetch the Prince! I'll teach her a lesson for offending me!"
The maidservant hurriedly went to Princess Yong's courtyard to invite Prince Yong, and soon returned with a mournful face.
"Consort, that old woman by the Princess's side is utterly shameless. She said that because the Prince was summoned away midway, you deliberately cut your hand to curry favor!"
Zhao Ying'e screamed in fury, "Zhai Gewen, Song Yaozhu, you just wait! I'm going to kill you! Kill you all!"
As soon as Song Yaozhu left the Yongwang Mansion, she saw Xie Liwei. He was wearing a black cloak and carrying a snow-white fox fur cloak, which was even more magnificent than the one Song Yaozhu had lent to Shen Qingyu.
Xie Liwei draped a cloak over her shoulders, saying, "Your Highness, you've worked hard."
He took her hand and led her to the carriage. As soon as they entered, Song Yaozhu threw herself into his arms, shrinking back in fear.
"Ah Li, I'm so scared, someone else has gotten hurt because of me."
Song Yaozhu's voice was like a firework exploding in the night sky, short and desolate. She seemed so flawless, yet she was still utterly crushed by Zhao Ying'e's words, "She was made your scapegoat."
The maids, wet nurses, and nannies who grew up with her all died in a fire at Fengwu Palace because of her; it was a wound that she could never heal in her life.
Her heart ached, and her body ached too. The pain, etched into her soul, tugged at her nerves, making her feel like a dying fish, yearning for water and salvation.
But the water source was so far away from her; she could see it, but she didn't have the strength to jump in.
Xie Liwei held her tightly, his arms tightening weakly. He knew she was stressed and in a terrible state; a single wrong word could cause her to break down.
"This isn't your fault." Xie Liwei tightened his arms, but his tone was as resolute and unwavering as a cup being smashed as a signal. "It's the bad guys' fault."
She took the burden of those deaths upon herself; what a painful decision that must have been.
He didn't want her to live with guilt in the future; she should be lighthearted, bright, and full of life.
"Yaoyao, don't think like that. They're the ones who want to harm people. The people who harm others don't even feel ashamed, so why should the victims bear the burden?"
It seems that pain only stays on kind people, while those with evil intentions can live freely and unrestrained.
Song Yaozhu cried in his arms for a while, then heard him say, "People still can't live too morally."
Song Yaozhu burst into laughter through her tears.
Morality? She had long since been seduced by male beauty and crossed that line!
Song Yaozhu tilted her head back and said, "Kiss me."
Xie Liwei lowered his head, kissed her forehead, kissed her red, tear-filled eyes, kissed the tip of her nose, and finally kissed her lips.
"Salty..." His kiss was stained with her tears, yet he kissed her lips instead.
Xie Liwei took a handkerchief and wiped her face, saying, "If you don't want to shed your own tears in the future, cry less."
Song Yaozhu snorted and turned her head away from her.
She was thinking about something, and Xie Liwei coaxed her into eating half a bowl of rice more than usual. After lying down, she finally figured it out.
"I don't think it's my fault!" She clenched her fists, quite indignantly. "If my friends get hurt because of me, it only means I'm not strong enough!"
Xie Liwei thought her awareness was good, it was better than self-pity.
"good!"
"Give me the silver! And give me the intelligence network you have!"
Xie Liwei rolled over and hugged her tightly. "Honey, Mr. Ji doesn't earn money easily, let's spend less."
Song Yaozhu kicked him hard.
The following day, the Shen family brought gifts to express their gratitude and also asked the Prince and his wife not to tell anyone about the matter.
Song Yaozhu naturally wouldn't tell anyone, and she also had some medicinal herbs prepared to help Shen Qingyu take back.
Such a matter might fool ordinary families, but it certainly couldn't fool the Emperor, who was constantly monitoring the Prince of Xiaoyao's residence. Yuwen Wuji summoned his third son and gave him a severe scolding, ordering him to go back and manage the household affairs properly.
Prince Yong was also baffled. After returning to his residence, he interrogated Lady Zhai and learned what foolish thing Zhao Ying'e had done.
That crazy woman actually wanted to sell a princess to a brothel! If this got out, it wouldn't just be a scandal for the Xie family, but for the entire royal family!
What kind of royal family could do such a thing! Especially under the emperor's very nose, directly forcing women into prostitution!
Prince Yong had initially felt sorry for Zhao Ying'e because she resembled Liu Manli somewhat, but now he felt that she was a vicious woman and could not be divorced directly, so he ordered her to be sent to Huangjue Temple to eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist scriptures.
It's called vegetarianism and chanting Buddhist prayers, but in reality it's lifelong imprisonment!
Zhai Gewen was quite saddened when he learned of the outcome of Prince Yong's handling of the matter.
"Men really can't be relied on."
Granny Huang hurriedly said, "Your Highness, be careful what you say! Now that Consort Zhao has left the capital, we must hurry up and get pregnant. After the birth of the legitimate son, you can arrange for Prince Yong to take another concubine."
Zhai Gewen rubbed her temples. Although she had received such ideological education since childhood, she still found it hard to accept that her husband should take a concubine, even if she did not love this husband.
You don't want to get things you don't like dirty, right?
"Don't worry, Granny, I know what I'm doing." She sighed. "Let's make this year's New Year's gifts for the Prince Yong's residence more generous."
After all, they helped him deal with a menace like Zhao Ying'e, so he should show his appreciation.
"Zhao Ying'e is such a useless piece of trash!"
Song Wenyue spat, a venomous glint in her eyes, "Find someone to find a way to get into Huangjue Temple."
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