Chapter 61
Wen Yue didn't answer it. He just looked down at her and asked in surprise, "What are you doing? What did your master say to make you so panicked?"
Xiao Tao sobbed and spoke incoherently according to Song Qingyuan's instructions: "Our master... our master said... she knows that she has committed serious sins and has not much time left... She dare not ask the prince for mercy, but only asks... only asks that Madam Wen be magnanimous and say a few good words in front of the prince, so that she... can have an intact body after death..."
A subtle glint flashed in Wen Yue's eyes. She picked up the silver hairpin and examined it carefully. The hairpin was made of silver, of ordinary workmanship, but the orchid was intricately carved. She knew that Song Qingyuan loved orchids the most.
It really seemed like something close to her.
It seems that Song Qingyuan has really reached the end of his rope and needs to make arrangements for his funeral.
"Your master is a sensible man." Wen Yue sighed, a look of pity on his face, "Well, considering her sincerity, I will plead for her in front of the prince.
Go back and tell her to go with peace of mind."
Xiao Tao felt as if she had been pardoned. She kowtowed a few more times and ran away crawling.
Looking at Xiao Tao's receding back, the compassion on Wen Yue's face instantly disappeared, replaced by a twisted sense of pleasure.
She played with the silver hairpin in her hand, scratching the orchid-shaped groove on the hairpin with her fingernails, as if she wanted to see if there was any note or something hidden inside.
However, there was nothing. Just an ordinary silver hairpin.
She sneered and threw the hairpin on the table.
The final struggle of a dying man is both ridiculous and pathetic.
The only thing she had to do now was to add fuel to the fire, so that Song Qingyuan would die faster and more "legitimately".
She thought for a moment, then instructed the maidservant beside her, "Go and tell Steward Wang what I said. Since the one in Hibiscus Garden is too ill to get out of bed, the medical expenses and charcoal costs... should be halved, according to the rates of the lower-ranking maids in the mansion."
After all, the royal palace has a lot of expenses, and we can't be so extravagant and wasteful for a criminal."
"Yes, my aunt is wise!" The old woman immediately took the order and left.
Wen Yue looked out the window at the bleak autumn scenery, as if she could already see Song Qingyuan dying in despair from the cold and illness. She picked up the teacup and blew gently, feeling extremely relaxed.
She didn't know that at the same time she got the silver hairpin, Caiwei, who had slowly woken up in the courtyard outside the city, also took an identical orchid silver hairpin from Lin Feng's hand.
"Is this... the master's hairpin?" Caiwei's voice was hoarse and weak, but the moment she saw the hairpin, the light in her dim eyes rekindled.
"The prince has ordered that the young lady should rest and recover from her injuries." Lin Feng said concisely, "The princess has wronged the young lady.
But she said that justice will come back. This hairpin is a token of her love for the girl, and also a promise to her.
Caiwei tightly grasped the silver hairpin, the cool touch seemed to give her infinite strength.
She recalled the despair she felt when she was tortured in the woodshed, and the ferocious faces of those who forced her to sign. She thought she would never see her master again.
But now, the master has not given up on her.
Tears slid down silently, but they were no longer tears of despair, but tears of relief at surviving the disaster and the flames of revenge.
She looked at Lin Feng and said clearly, word by word, "Sir, that confession is false. They forced me to write every word. The real mastermind is Wen Yue!"
In the study of the palace, Shen Yanzhi listened to Lin Feng's report, with a cold arc on the corner of his mouth.
"Cut the fee in half? She really can't wait." He muttered to himself.
Song Qingyuan's move was truly brilliant. The hairpin not only soothed Caiwei, allowing her to confess the truth, but also placed it in Wen Yue's hands, acting as bait to lure her into a mistake. Now, the fish had taken the bait, revealing its greedy and ugly face.
"Your Highness, what should we do now..." Lin Feng asked.
"No hurry." Shen Yanzhi stood up and walked to the huge map. His eyes seemed to penetrate the wall and fell in the direction of Furong Garden.
"The game has only just begun. Since she has set up such a grand scheme, how can I let her play a one-man show? Pass the order down. From today on, no one is allowed to set foot in Hibiscus Garden without my order.
Also, tell Steward Wang that Madam Wen's suggestion is very good and we should follow her advice."
He wanted to see, when all the escape routes were blocked and all hope seemed lost, how his princess, who was trapped in an ice cellar, would make her next earth-shattering move.
Winter in Furong Garden seemed to come earlier and be colder than in any other corner of the palace.
Wen Yue's order to "reduce the expenses by half" was like a gust of ice-hardened north wind, which blew away the last bit of warmth in Furong Garden overnight.
The charcoal delivered every day changed from the finest silver charcoal to smoky black charcoal, which was barely enough to burn for an hour.
The food was even reduced from the standard of sick food to leftovers.
The servants who originally had some sympathy and awe for Hibiscus Garden began to change with the wind and became negligent. The maid who swept the courtyard disappeared, and within a few days, a thick layer of fallen leaves accumulated in the garden, making it look even more desolate and dilapidated.
Xiao Tao hugged a damp, cold quilt, her lips turning purple from the cold, tears welling up in her eyes. "Master, this...how can we endure this? That Concubine Wen is so vicious! She wants to freeze and starve us to death!"
There was no fire in the house, and the cold air seeped in through the gaps in the doors and windows, making it as cold as an ice cellar.
Song Qingyuan was wearing a thick cloak and sitting by the window, holding a yellowed ancient book in his hand, reading with great interest, as if he didn't feel the biting cold at all.
Hearing Xiaotao's crying voice, she slowly raised her head. Instead of sadness, there was a faint smile on her face.
"Look at what's written in this book: 'When besieging an army, leave a gap; when an enemy is desperate, do not pursue them.'
It means that when you surround the enemy, you should leave a gap, and when you pursue an enemy who is in a desperate situation, you should not press too hard. Why?
Xiao Tao had no intention of listening to these and just kept shaking.
Song Qingyuan didn't care and explained to himself, "Because if you push someone into a desperate situation, he will fight back desperately. Even a desperate dog will jump over the wall. But our opponent obviously doesn't understand this principle."
She extended a slender finger and pointed out the window. "She cut off our charcoal fire, withheld our food, and even had all the servants distance themselves from us. She thought she was driving us to death, but in reality, she was personally clearing the cleanest possible stage for us."
"Stage?" Xiao Tao was puzzled.
"Yes." Song Qingyuan's eyes became deep, "A stage where we can sing a good show quietly without any outsiders disturbing us."
She put down the book, stood up, walked over to Xiaotao, and tightened her collar for her. "Don't be afraid. Especially at this time, we must remain calm. The more she wants to see us miserable, the more we must live... colorfully."
Xiao Tao still didn't understand, but her master's calm appearance inexplicably made her feel a lot more at ease.
In the next few days, Furong Garden completely became a "ghost garden".
During the day, the place was completely silent, with not a single human voice to be heard. But at night, strange things began to happen one after another.
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