Mutation 1
After taking a short nap in the afternoon, Mrs. Wu, who was Lu's companion, came to her house in person, holding a delicate and pretty child in her arms.
Mother Fan briefly explained the reason. Ling Wan held Huai Cheng in her arms, watching him smile fearlessly at her with his bright almond-shaped eyes, and she couldn't hide the bitterness in her heart.
The Tao family rebelled, and Sixth Master Shen was trapped in the palace, his fate unknown. The hostility between her family and her husband filled Tao with fear and torment. She was so exhausted that she miscarried.
Mother Fan said that Tao hadn't known she was pregnant, and after she found out she was dead, she was stunned for a long time before she hugged Lu and burst into tears. The two sisters-in-law locked themselves in a room and talked for a while. When they came out, Lu asked her to bring Huaicheng to the second room.
"Sixth sister-in-law, is she okay?" Ling Wan kissed Huai Cheng's little face, almost crying.
Mrs. Lu did not allow Ling Wan to see Mrs. Tao, and Mrs. Tao did not allow Ling Wan to see her either. She only asked her to take good care of Huai Cheng.
Since ancient times, it has been difficult to achieve both filial piety and righteousness. She understood Tao's torment. But because she understood, she knew that this matter had to be her own choice and she had to think it through herself.
"My wife said, please rest assured, Second Madam, Sixth Madam is a sensible person."
Now the situation has changed drastically. Prince Yuyang is attacking the city. As long as the Tao family, who have defected to Prince Ning, do not confront the prince, they will just be military generals who follow Prince Ning to defend the city, rather than traitors who participate in the fight for the throne.
Ling Wan nodded in agreement, asked Fan's mother to send a lot of nourishing products to the sixth room, and then took Huai Cheng to the study.
In the study, three children were reading and practicing calligraphy. Seeing their younger brother arrive, they were all delighted. Huai Jie even dropped his pen and rushed over, shouting, "Xiaojiu, hurry up and let my brother hold you!"
Seeing the children laughing and making noise together, Ling Wan's heart felt a little relieved.
The Shen residence was under tighter security that afternoon, with no one allowed to move around freely. Ling Wan and her group were transferred to Old Madam Shen's Rong'an Hall in the evening.
After a while, the sound of fighting coming from outside could be heard in Rong'an Hall deep in the Shen Mansion.
Ling Wan knew that King Zhao could no longer hold back and wanted to threaten the entire Shen family.
Although the Shen family is famous for its literature, they have always followed the path of "literary people can pacify the world with their pens, and martial artists can decide the outcome on horseback." In addition, the eldest son of the Shen family joined the army, so most of the guards in the outer courtyard of the family are also soldiers.
Lu immediately took off her makeup, put on armor, drew her sword and went on stage herself.
Going into battle and killing the enemy was not a strange thing for the third lady of the Lu family, who had been stationed on the border with her father and brothers before she was fifteen years old.
Inside Rong'an Hall, Huai Jie listened attentively to the noise outside, standing by the door with a small bow on his back, guarding with several maids. In the back, Huai'an was held by his wet nurse, trembling. Huai Yin sat on the couch, gently patting the ignorant Huai Cheng to comfort him.
The shouting and killing sounds gradually came from far away.
Ling Wan's pupils shrank slightly. She didn't know how many troops King Zhao had, but if King Zhao could force the emperor to abdicate, he would definitely make sure that the Shen family, a key chess piece, was firmly under his control.
Facts proved that Xu Lingwan's guess was correct. Not long after, Qingque, who was watching outside, heard that a small group of more than ten palace soldiers were heading towards Rong'an Hall!
Ling Wan's heart sank, and she hurriedly ordered several maids to take Old Madam Shen and the children away first, and hide in a secluded place in the garden, while she herself stayed in Rong'an Hall to delay time.
Madam Shen held Ling Wan's arm tightly and said, "Ling Wan, take the children and go!"
Ling Wan took a deep look at her and the child, then shook her head and said, "Mother, just listen to your daughter-in-law. If you are captured by Prince Zhao or Prince Ning, Wang Xi and my elder brother will be even more constrained!"
In ancient times, the world was ruled by filial piety. In that era when scholars would die for their confidants, "brothers are like limbs, and women are like clothes." In a man's heart, parents, brothers, and children are far more important than his wife (although he doesn't want to admit it, this is the reality).
Old Madam Shen understood what Ling Wan said, but she had already made plans, so she insisted that Ling Wan take the child away.
Ling Wan looked at her resolute and loving eyes, and her eyes instantly turned red. Although she had only been with her ancient mother-in-law for more than a year, she had a deep admiration for her mother-in-law.
Ling Wanhong's eyes narrowed as she ordered several maidservants to forcibly take Old Lady Shen and the child away. Old Lady Shen's eyes flashed with sternness, and she suddenly pulled out a dagger and held it across her neck, threatening to die.
It was at this moment that Ling Wan knew her plan.
It is better to die in glory than to live in disgrace. If anyone wants to use her as a bargaining chip to coerce the men of the Shen family, then what awaits them can only be the Shen family's crazy revenge.
Because this resolute mother would use her death to pave the way for her son.
"Mother!" Ling Wan fell to her knees with a plop, grabbing onto Old Madam Shen's sleeve, her eyes nearly filled with tears. "Mother!"
"Good boy." The blade cut Madam Shen's neck, causing her to bleed. She held the dagger tightly, her eyes firm as she silently forced, "Take Huai Jie and the others with you!"
Huai Jie and Huai An were already in tears. Old Madam Shen's wife, Madam Fan, stepped forward to help Xu Lingwan up, wiping her tears and saying, "Second Madam, please listen to what the old lady says and take the young masters and leave quickly, otherwise it will be too late!"
Ling Wan knew that if they continued to delay, everyone in the group would die. She kowtowed several times to Old Madam Shen, then stood up, grabbed the children, and walked out.
However, what Mrs. Shen didn't expect was that at the moment she breathed a sigh of relief, Zhu Chi, who was hiding beside her, snatched the dagger from her hand with lightning speed and tears on his face.
"Ling Wan!" Before Mrs. Shen could react, she felt a numbness in her neck. Before she could regain consciousness, she saw her second daughter-in-law's red eyes. "Mother, be obedient. You are only here when you are at the Shen family."
Once Qingque and Zhuchi left, Ling Wan wasn't so scared anymore. The worst that could happen was death, and she'd died once before. And she wasn't sure she'd survive.
Outside Rong'an Hall, just as the few guards of the Shen Mansion were still desperately resisting the Feiyu Army under King Zhao's command, they suddenly saw black smoke billowing from Rong'an Hall and a fire gradually starting.
Huan Wei, the commander of the Feiyu Army, cried out, "Oh no!" The closed door was scorching hot. Someone must have spilled tung oil inside and outside the house!
"Madam Shen, why are you doing this? King Zhao just wants you to meet with the Right Prime Minister. He has no other intentions!" Huan Wei did not expect that this old lady would ignore her daughter-in-law and grandson and was willing to die to cut off King Zhao's retreat.
"What do you mean by no ulterior motive?!" A high and clear female voice came from inside the house, resounding and proud. "Prince Zhao is ambitious and plotting treason. He's forcing the Shen residence with his troops just to threaten the Shen family. Don't even think about it!"
"My Shen family has been loyal to the emperor for generations, and our loyalty is unwavering. Although we are women and children, we would rather die standing than live on our knees! We will never let you, the scoundrels and traitors, take her as a wife and put the men of my Shen family in a position of disloyalty, unrighteousness, and unfilial piety!"
In the courtyard, Ling Wan had already changed into a maid's attire. After lighting a fire in various places and shouting a few times, she covered her mouth and nose and walked towards the small side door.
Madam Shen and her group had just left through the small side door. However, after escaping from here, they would go in the opposite direction.
Now she could only pray that this young rebel, who sounded relatively young, did not have the manpower to discover the small side door.
They had already set fire to Rong'an Hall inside and outside. Due to the dry weather, the fire quickly grew larger and more intense.
When Ling Wan and her two maids left through the small side door coughing, they could already vaguely hear the sound of the rebels breaking into the house.
"Madam, are you okay?" Hongyue looked at Ling Wan's pale face, tears welling up in her eyes.
"I'm fine, I'm fine." Ling Wan patted her stomach gently, comforting the anxious child. She looked at the fire behind her with some worry. She wondered how long this deception could last.
"Let's go and check the situation in the front yard first." This small group of people was able to reach Rong'an Hall. Could it be that the eldest sister-in-law and the noble lady were captured?
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