Xu Yuehuai walked up to Marquis Ningyuan with a smile, bent down to pick up the letter from the ground, shook off the dirt, and said, "I'm sorry, Marquis Ningyuan, I misspoke earlier. This is the original."
"You bastard..." Upon hearing this, Marquis Ningyuan wanted to curse. How dare Xu Yuehuai trick him? But now that his weakness was in someone else's hands, he dared not speak out and could only swallow his anger.
In the dungeon, Jiang Shichen was weakly calling out Anan's name. He had been calling for a long time, but there was no response.
Jiang Shichen thought Anan might be dead, so he began to sob softly.
He had only been crying for a short while when the dungeon door suddenly opened, and blinding light rushed in. He instinctively closed his eyes, and then he heard someone opening his cell door. Jiang Shichen thought that the Marquis of Ningyuan had also come to kill him to silence him, so he started cursing and swearing, using all sorts of vulgar language to curse the Marquis of Ningyuan's ancestors for eighteen generations. But even so, he was still dragged out.
Jiang Shichen's curses reached Ningyuan Hou's ears, and his face turned extremely ugly. After the guards brought Jiang Shichen over, his eyes gradually adjusted to the light. When he tentatively opened them, he saw Xu Yuehuai looking at him with concern.
His nose stung with tears, and he immediately broke free from the guard's grasp, crying out, "Manager Xu, Anan... Anan might have died in the cell next to mine."
Xu Yuehuai was shocked and immediately looked coldly at Marquis Ningyuan.
Upon hearing this, Marquis Ningyuan's face immediately showed a look of panic.
He was imprisoning the real crown prince. If these people found out, all his carefully planned schemes would be for naught. He took a deep breath, trying his best not to let them notice anything unusual about him.
Xu Yuehuai's heart skipped a beat. Right now, they all suspected that Anan was the real crown prince. If Marquis Ningyuan imprisoned him, then they would never be able to find any clues.
Thinking of this, she immediately questioned in a cold voice, "Lord Ningyuan, is what Chen-ge'er said true? You really imprisoned Anan here?"
"What nonsense are you talking about?!" Upon hearing this question, Marquis Ningyuan immediately roared to cover up his guilty conscience.
His gaze was fixed on Jiang Shichen, wishing he could tear him to pieces immediately. However, given the current situation, he couldn't act rashly. Instead, he said directly, "Princess Heyue, I am a marquis personally appointed by His Majesty. Yet you slander me because of a child's words. Aren't you afraid that I will report this directly to His Majesty?"
"At that time, not only you, but even the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion will not have a good time."
Upon hearing this, Xu Yuehuai hesitated for a moment.
No matter what, she couldn't drag the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion down with her.
But if we think about it carefully, if we can find Anan now and prove that he is the real Crown Prince, it would be a good thing for the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.
After much deliberation, she finally made up her mind.
Xu Yuehuai looked up at Marquis Ningyuan, showing no intention of backing down, and said, "Since Marquis Ningyuan says it's slander, why don't I go down and take a look? If it really isn't true, it can at least give you justice."
As she spoke, she headed toward the dungeon.
Unexpectedly, she hadn't taken two steps before she was surrounded by a group of guards.
Xu Yuehuai couldn't help but frown, turning around to question, "My lord, what do you mean by this?"
“Princess Heyue, my mansion contains many things that His Majesty entrusted to me for safekeeping. If you were to damage or break them, I would have no way to explain myself. Moreover, there are many important matters of state in my mansion. If word gets out, can you bear the infamy, or can the Duke of Zhenguo’s mansion bear the consequences?” Marquis Ningyuan snorted coldly.
Xu Yuehuai could tell that this person was clearly trying to use moral blackmail.
She took a deep breath, and just as she was about to speak, the Duke of Zhenguo suddenly grabbed her arm.
"Godfather?" Xu Yuehuai was somewhat incredulous.
She never expected that the Duke of Zhenguo would stop her.
The Duke of Zhenguo lowered his voice and advised, "A-Yue, it's already a blessing from heaven that we were able to take Chen-ge'er away safely today. You can't keep acting recklessly. Know when to stop."
“Godfather, Anan’s identity is special, I don’t think we can leave him here.” Xu Yuehuai shook his head, also lowering his voice.
Although the Duke of Zhenguo did not know how special this situation could be, he still reminded him: "If you continue to make trouble like this, not only will you not be able to rescue that Anan, but you may even get yourself into trouble."
"Ah Yue, as long as we're alive, we can always make a comeback. Let's go now."
“But…” Xu Yuehuai hesitated, unable to finish her sentence.
Her gaze suddenly fell on the white hair on the Duke of Zhenguo's head—she had caused him a lot of trouble these past few days, and even made him age so much; she shouldn't continue to act recklessly.
She quickly replied, "Okay."
Upon hearing this, the Duke of Zhenguo immediately breathed a sigh of relief, turned to the Marquis of Ningyuan, cupped his hands in greeting, and said with a smile, "We are truly grateful for your kindness today, Your Excellency. My daughter and I will be returning now."
After he finished speaking, he turned and left with Xu Yuehuai.
Marquis Ningyuan finally breathed a sigh of relief, thankfully his affairs had not been fully exposed.
...
The Duke of Zhenguo gave Xu Yuehuai instructions for a while in the carriage, but when he saw the dark circles under her eyes, he felt very sorry for her and could only send her back to Tianxiang Tower first.
Before the person got off the carriage, he couldn't help but say, "Ah Yue, I will talk to your godmother. But you must be trusting these days. As for Ah Nan's matter, I will definitely investigate it. You are in a precarious situation right now, so don't do anything rash."
"Godfather, I understand," Xu Yuehuai replied.
Meanwhile, the Third Sister in Tianxiang Tower, who had been dozing off, immediately perked up after hearing the commotion outside.
She subconsciously looked at Qi Guze beside her and said nervously, "Your Highness, there's a commotion outside. Could it be that the Ministry of Justice's prison has sent someone to find you here and come to arrest you?"
Hearing her tense voice, Qi Guze couldn't help but open his eyes.
His departure from the prison was ultimately the Emperor's decision. Even if those people had suspicions, the Emperor would definitely suppress the matter. Therefore, he had no worries whatsoever and instead felt that Xu Yuehuai had returned.
He quickly said, "Perhaps it's A-Yue who's back. Third Sister, why don't you go out and take a look?"
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