The petals crushed by the fingertips turned into fine red marks and fell on the palm of the hand. Shen Qingyuan slowly withdrew his gaze and stepped into the Moon Cave Gate of Tinglan Courtyard.The gauze lantern hanging in the corridor in the courtyard has been lit, and the warm yellow light spreads through the orchid grass in front of the steps. Chuntao followed closely beside her, speaking in a low voice and detailing the details she had just found out.
"Miss, the boy who delivered the letter went through the inconspicuous side door behind the mansion and walked around two remote streets before entering the East Palace. It took half an hour to return to Ningxiang Courtyard. I think the prince has already given a reply to the letter."
Shen Qingyuan walked to the stone table and sat down. On the table was a pot of chrysanthemum tea, which was steaming with heat.She picked up the porcelain cup and took a sip. The slightly cold tea suppressed the turbulent thoughts in her heart.The Begonia Banquet at Marquis Pingning's Mansion in her previous life was a watershed moment for her fate. Xiao Jingyu teamed up with the Liu family and their daughter to drug her at a remote waterside pavilion to ruin her reputation. Afterwards, the engagement contract changed hands and fell to Shen Qingrou. With the support of the prince, the Liu family gradually eroded the dowry left by her biological mother, and finally followed the prince to frame the entire Shen family.
"Liu has no choice now, so she can only rely on the prince to take action at the banquet." Shen Qingyuan put down the tea cup, her eyes as calm as water, "Since they are determined to lay a trap, I will fall into the trap. Chuntao, take two taels of silver and go out of the city overnight to the farm on the outskirts of the city to find Aunt Zhang who used to serve my biological mother."
Nanny Zhang was one of the few old people who had witnessed Mr. Liu secretly tampering with his wife's medicine. Back then, she was accused of stealing by Ms. Liu and was sent to the countryside and suffered a lot on the farm.In her previous life, Shen Qingyuan didn't know about the existence of this person until she was in prison. In this life, she will have this person's evidence in her hands as a key evidence to overthrow the Liu family in the future.
Chuntao didn't dare to delay, so she collected her silver and quietly left the house at night.
On the other side of the Ningxiang Courtyard, the candlelight flickered. Mrs. Liu held the secret letter sent back from the East Palace and read it over and over again, her eyes full of peace of mind.Xiao Jingyu had already finalized his plan. On the day of the Begonia Banquet, he sent his confidants to pretend to be servants of the Hou Mansion and set up an ambush at the waterside pavilion in the back garden, looking for an opportunity to poison Shen Qingyuan. As long as rumors spread, Shen Qingyuan would no longer be qualified to be the prince's fiancée, and Shen Qingrou would be able to take his place.
Shen Qingrou leaned on the table and played with her newly acquired hairpin, her expressions unable to hide her greed: "Mother, as long as things are done, I will be the crown prince's concubine from now on. Everything that is the direct descendant of the prime minister's house will belong to us sooner or later."
Ms. Liu frowned and told her to calm down. The regent was now biased towards Shen Qingyuan in everything, and he must not expose any flaws in his actions. Everything would be handled by the people from the East Palace on the day of the banquet.
At the same time, candles were brightly lit in the study room of the East Palace.Xiao Jingyu threw the letter into the candlelight and watched it burn to ashes with a cold expression.Shen Qingyuan, who used to be submissive to him, ruined Liu's plans one after another and has lost her use value and ruined her reputation. Marrying the obedient and docile Shen Qingrou is the safest way to stabilize the Shen family's support.
He ordered the guards in a deep voice to prepare the poison and select four close associates to lurk in Pingninghou Mansion in advance.
In the Regent's Palace, the secret guards reported all the movements in the East Palace to Xiao Yuci.The man tapped his fingertips on the table, and a chill filled his eyes. He would never let the tragedy caused by the Begonia Banquet in his previous life happen again. He immediately ordered the secret guards to lurk around the Marquis Mansion, keeping an eye on the minions of the East Palace, waiting to be captured on the spot when the other party made a move.
The night was getting darker, and the country roads on the outskirts of the city were stained with night dew. Chuntao took some money and asked around under the moonlight, and finally found the shabby thatched hut where Nanny Zhang lived.
The low house was leaky, and the kang was covered with a thin layer of hay. Aunt Zhang, who was over fifty years old, was rubbing hemp ropes in the dim light to spend her days. She saw Chuntao dressed as a maid coming to the door. At first, she was wary and thought it was the Liu family who had sent someone to cause trouble again.
After Chuntao explained her purpose of coming, handed over the money, and relayed Shen Qingyuan's desire to look into the old cases for her late mistress, Granny Zhang clutched the heavy silver ingot, her skinny hands kept shaking, and the grievances she had accumulated for many years suddenly came to her, and tears instantly fell from her cloudy eyes.
Back then, she witnessed Mrs. Liu secretly mixing her mistress's anti-fetal medicine with health-harming medicinal materials. Then she was accused of stealing jewelry and was kicked out of the prime minister's palace for no reason. She suffered in the barren farm for these years, hoping every day to have the opportunity to seek justice for her late master.Now that the concubine is interested in investigating the case, she also promised to buy a small home for her and provide her with a stable retirement after the matter is completed. Grandma Zhang did not hesitate at all, she immediately nodded in agreement, carefully put away the half-sheet of medicine residue certificates that she had hidden, and only waited for Shen Qingyuan to summon her.
After finishing the matter, Chuntao did not dare to stay outside for a long time, so she hurriedly returned to the Prime Minister's Mansion before dawn.
When she returned to Tinglan Courtyard, Shen Qingyuan was still sitting by the window looking through the dowry booklet left by her biological mother.Hearing the footsteps, she raised her eyes to look at the dusty Chuntao.
"Miss, everything goes well. Aunt Zhang has agreed to testify and the physical evidence has been properly kept."
Shen Qingyuan nodded lightly and gently stroked the yellowed paper with her fingertips.The biological mother worked hard throughout her life to accumulate a generous dowry, but most of it was quietly taken away by Ms. Liu while taking care of the house. In her previous life, she was unable to get it back until her death. In this life, she not only has to protect her innocence, but also gets back everything that belongs to her biological mother.
In the blink of an eye, the next day, the Prime Minister's Mansion seemed stable on the surface. Mrs. Liu still took Shen Qingrou to fulfill her filial piety in front of the old lady every day. Her words and deeds were gentle and respectful, and there was no trace of her secretly plotting to harm others.But in private, Mrs. Liu sent her servants from time to time to inquire about the activities in the East Palace to confirm that the manpower had been arranged properly, and she became more and more sure that Haitang Yan's plan was foolproof.
Far away in the Prince Regent's Mansion, Xiao Yuci heard the second report from the secret guard and learned that the men from the East Palace had quietly set off to settle near Pingninghou Mansion.He opened the window and looked far away in the direction of the Prime Minister's Mansion. The evening breeze blew past his temples, and he made secret calculations in his heart.
He silently guarded Shen Qingyuan's miserable end, and was careful every step of his life. He was only waiting for the Haitang Banquet three days later to expose Xiao Jingyu and the Liu family's dirty plan in public, and let these evildoers reap the consequences.
In a blink of an eye, it was the day before the Begonia Banquet, and there were frequent carriages and horses from various aristocratic families in the capital. Many noble ladies had prepared their clothes and jewelry early, just to go to the banquet the next day to enjoy the Begonias.Shen Qingyuan told Chuntao to get ready to go out and wait for Xiao Yuci to come to meet him as promised the next day.