"Drag her away. Make sure to investigate thoroughly until the truth is clear."
The servant girl panicked and lunged forward.
"Eunuch Fang, Eunuch Fang..."
Fang Fucai closed his eyes, sighed deeply, and turned his head away.
The servant girl was dragged out of the flower hall, crying so hard she nearly fainted.
"The servant girl will confess, the servant girl will confess right now..."
The will to survive ultimately prevailed.
A servant girl suddenly struggled violently, turning her head to look at Pei Jue with pleading eyes.
"Great General, spare my life!"
"It was Eunuch Fang who instructed us to do it..."
"Our families, they are all in Eunuch Fang’s hands. If we don’t do as Eunuch Fang commands, he will harm our families."
One spoke up.
And then another let it all out.
"General, save ..."
"The maid harbors no ill will toward the lady, truly, it was all Eunuch Fang’s coercion."
"The maid still has parents and siblings at ho. I don’t want to die, nor do I wish to watch helplessly as my family perishes..."
This cry opened a can of worms.
Fang Fucai’s complexion changed drastically.
The assembly of ministers was in an uproar.
Li Sangruo’s expression was solemn, her gaze fixed steadily on Fang Fucai’s face.
"You cur, what do you have to say?"
Fang Fucai t her gaze, his plump face trembling violently, and he fell to his knees with a ’thud’.
"Sheer nonsense, Your Highness, it’s all sheer nonsense. These two base maids are fabricating lies, slandering my good reputation..."
"Is that so?" Li Sangruo looked at him.
Upon eting that stern gaze, sweat rolled down Fang Fucai’s forehead, "Your Highness is wise. I have nothing but utmost respect for dical Officer Wei and Lady Feng; I have no intention of harming them!"
Li Sangruo’s face remained stoic.
"If not you who hard them, could it possibly be I?"
Fang Fucai looked at her, speechless.
Li Sangruo was the Empress Dowager, the Emperor’s own mother. With her father holding great power, what did it matter if everyone accused her?
As long as she denied it, everything they said was worthless.
She was the one with the highest authority here.
Only by keeping the Empress Dowager safe could he hope to survive.
Li Sangruo saw Fang Fucai calming down, and her eyes deepened.
"For tarnishing my reputation, you deserve to be punished. Hmm! One by one, playing dumb in front of . If it’s not you, it’s not them, I don’t know who it is. I’ll leave it to you to handle."
She looked at Wei Zheng with complete trust.
Wei Zheng bowed in assent, stood up, and looked coolly at Fang Fucai.
"Eunuch Fang’s character is clear to . But now that there’s testimony accusing you of instructing them, I’m afraid... You’ll have to accompany , won’t you?"
Fang Fucai’s face twitched, and he cried out in protest.
Pei Jue was silent, his eyes sharply cold.
Li Sangruo glanced at him, her heart pounding.
Wei Zheng said, "Guards, please escort Eunuch Fang."
Wailing to the heavens, Fang Fucai was taken away by the Imperial Cavalry Division.
Li Sangruo sat there, next to a brazier but still feeling cold, an unsettling chill.
-
The night was thick.
On the way from Cuiyu Island back to Chunng Hall, Feng Yun rode in a carriage, while Pei Jue was on horseback, with a distance between them that was neither too far nor too close, and without conversation.
All along the way, Puyang Jiu’s voice could be heard.
He was naturally talkative, and especially so in light of recent events.
Unfortunately, he lacked a willing listener.
Pei Jue helped Feng Yun into the carriage and then kept silent; he was not only lacking in pleasantries with Puyang Jiu but seed to be lacking sothing towards Feng Yun as well. Presumably due to her discomfort, Feng Yun also said little, leaving the couple’s silence disquieting.
Puyang Jiu felt that this couple was a match made in heaven.
He then turned to ask Zuo Zhong.
"Did sothing happen in the flower hall that I’m unaware of?"
Zuo Zhong shook his head.
Puyang Jiu pressed, "Unsatisfied with the results of the investigation?"
Zuo Zhong shook his head again.
Puyang Jiu: "Is it the Great General who is unsatisfied, or Lady Feng?"
Zuo Zhong looked troubled, lowering his voice.
"If the dical Officer doesn’t know, then I know even less."
Puyang Jiu thought about it and knew it made sense. He glanced at Pei Jue several tis until the carriage stopped at Chunng Hall, and he sighed deeply.
Only soone with serious misdeeds could be friends with Pei Wangzhi.
He naturally followed inside to prescribe dicine for Feng Yun.
Pei Jue did not enter but left on horseback after dropping Feng Yun at the entrance.
Puyang Jiu was even more puzzled.
"Sister-in-law, did you have a quarrel with Brother Wangzhi?"
Feng Yun smiled, "I wouldn’t dare."
Puyang Jiu: ...
He had a vague feeling of what was happening but couldn’t quite put it into words.
And Feng Yun, having chosen to act this way, had already considered the consequences. That Pei Jue would be angry did not surprise her.
She let soone lead Puyang Jiu inside, then went to bathe and change her clothes. After the fragrance was burned in her room, removing the gri from Cuiyu Island from her, she finally sat on the couch, leaning against the soft otter toy, as Puyang Jiu took her pulse for the diagnosis.
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