Yuan Yao's gaze met hers directly.
Xu Yunzhi froze for a moment, then ran crying towards the Minister of Revenue's body: "Father, Father, wake up..."
His voice was hoarse and shrill.
One of the concubines, quick-witted and agile, shouted, "Quickly, stop the Second Miss!"
"Who dares to stop me!" Xu Yunzhi cried, her grip on the knife tightening.
The servant who was about to step forward quickly stopped.
Immediately afterward, Li Chang, dressed in a black brocade robe, stepped through the door with a dark expression.
Upon seeing Yuan Yao and the Minister of Justice in the courtyard, he first bowed.
The Minister of Justice asked in a deep voice, "What's going on here?"
The wedding was just yesterday, and it's not time for the bride to return to her parents' home yet, so why did she run back to her parents' home?
Moreover, why did they even resort to surgery?
Li Chang, with a sword hanging at his waist, knelt on one knee: "I failed to restrain my wife properly, which is why she broke in. If this delays your investigation, I am willing to accept the punishment."
"Alright, get up now." The Minister of Justice raised his hand.
Li Chang stood up.
One of the concubines of the Minister of Revenue spoke up: "Tomorrow is the day for the bride to return to her parents' home. Why is the young master accompanying the second young lady back today?"
The master's body is barely cold, and you two are so insensible, doing such an unlucky thing..."
“Yes,” another concubine said, “holding a knife to his throat and wailing like that, she’s trying to make the master die with his eyes open in disgrace…”
"Shut up!" Xu Changze shouted. "All of you, shut up!"
With Minister Xu dead, Xu Changze became the highest-ranking member of the Xu family.
The concubines glanced at it a few times, and ultimately chose to keep quiet.
In the past, Minister Xu doted on his concubines more, while Xu Changze, being old-fashioned and somewhat simple-minded, was not highly regarded by his concubines...
Xu Changze glanced at the restless concubines: "If they say another word, they'll go and be buried with my father!"
Buried with the deceased?
With just one sentence, he frightened several beautiful concubines so much that their faces turned pale.
The Minister of Justice said in a deep voice, "Madam Li, the coroner has not yet come to examine Minister Xu's body. You can just watch from the side, but do not move the body."
Xu Yunzhi seemed not to hear, and cried her heart out, kneeling on the ground: "Father, Yun'er was wrong, please wake up."
"Father, Yun'er will listen to you in everything and will live on. Please wake up!"
Yuan Yao stood under the eaves, listening to the mournful sounds.
Judging from Xu Yunzhi's appearance, Minister Xu must have doted on her in the past.
Her beloved father is gone just like that; how heartbroken she must be...
If only I had known then what I know now!
Harming others will ultimately harm yourself!
Hearing Xu Yunzhi's cries, Yuan Yao sighed.
Listening to this here is giving me a headache.
Put yourself in Xu Yunzhi's shoes; if the Ninth Prince were to die, she would probably cry herself to death...
Pshaw! What nonsense are you thinking?
Only someone who lives to be nine thousand years old will not die!
Nine thousand years old, nine thousand years old, he will definitely live better and longer than anyone else!
Yuan Yao was a little upset. She beckoned to Dan Qing and said, "I want to go for a walk."
Danqing glanced into the study and said gently, "His Majesty has probably taken His Highness to the back courtyard. It's too chaotic outside; it's not advisable for the Princess to wander around."
Moreover, the Ninth Prince just told her to behave and not run around.
Yuan Yao looked up and gazed toward the study.
This is the main entrance to the study.
However, in general, the study rooms of wealthy families would have doors that opened from the back.
The courtyard was packed with people, making it impossible for the two to speak in the study; otherwise, Xu Yunzhi would probably have been kicked out long ago…
Yuan Yao hesitated for a moment, then said, "It's alright, the Imperial Guards are here."
Besides the Imperial Guards, she also has secret guards!
Danqing said with a hint of helplessness, "Then let's leave the manor?"
"Mmm!" Yuan Yao nodded.
Just as the two were about to leave, there was another sound of voices at the door.
Xu Wanzhi, supported by a palace maid, entered the room with a pale face.
Upon seeing her, the people in the courtyard bowed again.
Xu Wanzhi first glanced into the study, then asked in a trembling voice, "Brother, Father, is he really...?"
Xu Changze's eyes were red, and he gritted his teeth as he said, "Wanzhi, Father... he's gone!"
Upon hearing this, Consort Wan swayed slightly.
The palace maid quickly helped her up, saying, "Your Majesty, please accept my condolences."
At this moment, Madam Xu, who had fainted, slowly regained consciousness, grabbed Xu Wanzhi's skirt, and cried, "Wanzhi, go and beg the Emperor not to blame your father."
Go and beg the Emperor to say that your father knows he was wrong!
When a person dies, it's like a lamp going out. I beg Your Majesty to spare him and the Xu family...
"Madam, you've frightened Her Majesty. Let go of her hand." The palace maid supporting Xu Wanzhi pried Xu's hand away.
Madam Xu was taken aback when she saw this.
Xu Wanzhi wiped away her tears: "Mother, I was father and daughter with Father. When I learned of his accident, I came to see him off."
Father is gone, but those who are alive must continue to live. Please accept my deepest condolences.
Those who are alive must continue to live.
This means...
Mrs. Xu looked shocked.
Yuan Yao frowned slightly as she listened.
Judging from Consort Wan's words, she probably wants to sever ties with the Xu family?
Once Minister Xu's confession is made public, his crimes will be known to everyone.
As an imperial concubine, if she didn't want to be affected, she had no choice but to sever ties with the Xu family to protect herself...
“Mother.” Xu Changze helped Madam Xu up: “Consort Wan is in the inner palace and has too many things she can’t control. Mother, please don’t make things difficult for her.”
"Wanzhi..." Madam Xu cried, and fainted again.
“Mother…” Xu Wanzhi covered her face with a handkerchief and wept bitterly.
Yuan Yao watched for a while, then said to Dan Qing, "Let's go."
Danqing nodded and took her little hand.
At this moment, Xu Wanzhi spoke up: "Princess Yuan Yao is here too?"
Yuan Yao: "..."
She may be small, but she's still a living, breathing person!
Could it be that Consort Wan has been standing here for so long and still hasn't seen her?
Yuan Yao raised her head, revealing a docile expression: "Your Majesty, please accept my condolences."
Xu Wanzhi wiped her eyes with a handkerchief and said to her, "It's too noisy here. The princess must be uncomfortable staying here. Someone, take the princess to the backyard to rest for a while."
Yuan Yao: "?"
She immediately refused, saying, "Your Highness, Yao'er will wait for Father here. Father will be back soon."
She doesn't want to go to the backyard!
What if someone comes and ties her up as soon as she goes there?
What if the people from the Ministry of Revenue's office want to kill her?
Xu Wanzhi wiped her eyes and said in a kind tone, "Princess, others will likely come in later. It's not safe for you with so many people around."
If someone else had said that, Yuan Yao would have believed it!
With her big eyes wide open, she said in a childish voice, "Your Highness, Yao'er won't go anywhere. Yao'er is very safe here!"
Xu Wanzhi's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
Just as she was about to speak, Xu Yunzhi, with red and swollen eyes, came out of the room.
Xu Yunzhi looked like a walking corpse, her dull eyes finally lit up when she saw Yuan Yao.
A hint of resentment rose in her bloodshot eyes: "Yuan Yao, it's you again!"
Yuan Yao pursed her lips.
Danqing shouted, "Insolence!"
"Insolence?" Xu Yunzhi laughed, then walked step by step towards Yuan Yao: "Why are you always here whenever something happens?"
Tell me, Princess Yuan Yao…
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