Shen Qing composed herself. "What happened? Have a cup of tea first and calm down before you tell me."
Yuzhen quickly poured a cup of tea for Yingxiu. Yingxiu drank it and it took her a long time to recover, but her little face was still ashen.
"I was on my way to buy colored paper. When I passed by the Spring Welcome Courtyard, I heard people saying that someone had died. The officers and soldiers came too. Soon, a body was carried out. I took a look from the side, and it was actually the Second Master of our mansion!"
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely! The Second Master's personal attendant was right there. Now he's been taken away by the officials from the Yingtian Prefecture for interrogation. The whole Spring Welcome Courtyard was sealed off on the spot."
Xu Yanxing was actually dead?
This was something Shen Qing had never expected.
Shen Qing called for Zhuxing and asked her to find out the situation from the Yingtian Prefecture. If it was really Xu Yanxing, she wanted to know the cause of his death.
A death was no small matter, especially when it involved the son of an official family.
In the afternoon, Xu Yanxing's body was sent back. Mrs. Ge wailed heart - rendingly. If no one had held her back, she might have thrown herself at the officers who carried the body.
The officers thought it was extremely inauspicious. Usually, the bodies in the Yingtian Prefecture were only released to the family after the investigation was clear. If it weren't for the fact that the Guangping Marquis Mansion was a marquis's mansion, they wouldn't have sent the body here.
It was the old lady who gave them some gratuities to send them away.
Xu Yanchi also rushed back in a hurry, looking grief - stricken.
"Why did the Second Brother suddenly..."
The old lady's face was very grim. "According to the officers, he died from taking a large amount of aphrodisiac drugs... We've lost all our family's face!"
This way of dying was truly disgraceful.
But who could be blamed?
The old lady was angry and ordered that no white mourning decorations be hung at the main gate, and there should be no mourning in the mansion.
Mrs. Ge strongly opposed, but there was nothing she could do. Even the clan elders were invited. In the end, she only managed to get permission to hang white decorations in the Second Branch.
Xu Yanchi, showing deep grief, ordered a fine coffin to be prepared for Xu Yanxing's burial. And Xu Wei, the person in charge of the Second Branch, didn't come back until it was dark.
Hatred grew wildly in Mrs. Ge's eyes. She went crazy and ordered people to find Xu Wei. Finally, there was a great commotion.
The Second Branch was in a complete mess, and Shen Qing couldn't calm down either.
Xu Yanxing's cause of death was taking a large amount of aphrodisiac drugs, but half a month had passed since she gave him the antidote. During this period, Xu Yanxing hadn't come to her for the antidote.
When Xu Yanxing died, he shouldn't have been able to get aroused.
If there was no antidote, taking more aphrodisiac drugs would be useless. Xu Yanxing couldn't have been unaware of this, yet he still went to the brothel and died because of this...
Shen Qing always felt that Xu Yanxing's death was not simple.
Shen Qing called for Zhuxing. "Is there anyone in your team who can perform an autopsy?"
Zhuxing asked, "Does the Lady mean..."
"I want to perform an autopsy on Xu Yanxing's body."
Zhuxing understood. "Yes, but I don't have the authority to dispatch them. Lady, why don't you ask His Majesty? Given His Majesty's favor and respect for you, it shouldn't be difficult."
Shen Qing was silent for a moment. "I'll try tomorrow."
Ji Junye had already sent a message, asking her to go to release river lanterns with him the next night.
Xu Yanxing's coffin would be placed in the courtyard of the Second Branch for three days before burial, so there was still time.
Even though such a thing had happened, Shen Qing still made two lotus - shaped river lanterns with her own hands. One was for herself in her past life, and the other was for the child in her past life.
Then she thought for a while and made another one for Ji Junye in her past life.
On the day of the Ghost Festival, as soon as it got dark, Shen Qing went out to the small courtyard. Ji Junye hadn't arrived yet, so Shen Qing waited alone.
Since the release of river lanterns had to wait until midnight, the Ghost Festival was also the only day in the Jing Kingdom when the curfew was after midnight. Since the curfew time was late, more attention had to be paid to order and safety.
Shen Qing ate something in the small courtyard and waited for a while. Then Ji Junye came under the night sky.
"Have you been feeling better these days?"
Shen Qing nodded. "Much better. Doctor Qin's medicine is very effective."
She felt that her body had become lighter in the past few days.
"Have you packed everything?" Ji Junye said as he pulled her hand and walked towards another carriage.
Shen Qing was stunned. "Pack what? Aren't we going to release river lanterns?"
But Ji Junye helped her into the carriage. "Yes, I'll take you to a place."
The carriage rumbled along, passing through the bustling crowd, and actually headed towards the outskirts of the city.
Shen Qing and Ji Junye played chess in the carriage. It was a rare quiet moment for them.
"Brother Yanchi, what are you looking at?"
The curtain of the carriage was just blown up by the wind, and at that moment, Xu Yanchi saw Shen Qing's profile.
Xu Yanchi clenched his fists tightly.
Shen Qing...
Lu Mian bought a river lantern. Seeing Xu Yanchi in a daze, she dragged him away. "Brother Yanchi, if we don't go now, we won't be able to get a good spot."
Xu Yanchi's lips moved a few times. "Mian'er, do you think Shen Qing doesn't have any feelings for me at all in her heart?"
"What?"
It was too noisy outside, and Lu Mian didn't hear clearly.
Xu Yanchi looked at Lu Mian's delicate face and swallowed the words on his lips.
"Nothing."
"You've lost."
In the carriage, soon, Shen Qing's white pieces were surrounded by Ji Junye's black pieces.
Shen Qing was a bit unconvinced and pouted. "Let's play another game."
Ji Junye raised his eyebrows. Before long, Shen Qing lost again.
"One more game."
After playing three games in a row, Shen Qing lost all three. She was so depressed.
Her chess skills were not outstanding, but they were still good. Why was she completely defeated in front of him? He didn't even let her win.
Shen Qing angrily threw the chess pieces back into the chess basket. "I don't want to play anymore."
"It's not hard to guess your thoughts, Qingqing. No matter how many more games you play, you won't be able to win." Ji Junye also put the chess pieces back.
Shen Qing: "???"
"Playing chess is like a battle of wits. Your Majesty is so shrewd. I'm far behind."
Shen Qing was in a bad mood and her words were sarcastic. Ji Junye noticed it but didn't care.
Anyway, she would run away in a few days. Otherwise, staying with such a conceited and boring person like him all day would really suffocate her.
It seemed that she had to speed up her plan against the Marquis Mansion.
Shen Qing was feeling depressed when suddenly a shadow fell in front of her. She was pulled forward, and then there was a spinning sensation. When she came to her senses, she had been pushed down on the chessboard by him.
The chess pieces that hadn't been put away were scattered all over the floor.
The originally spacious space in the carriage suddenly became cramped because of their movements.
Ji Junye took her hand and gradually moved it up to his chest.
Shen Qing heard him sigh softly. "Since ancient times, only opponents can match each other in chess. The first thing to understand in playing chess is the opponent's thoughts. Your thoughts are not on me, so naturally you can't win. If you wish, how could you not know my thoughts at all?"
The thin clothes couldn't block the strong "thumping" of his heartbeat, which almost made Shen Qing's hand go numb.
She tried to pull her hand back but couldn't.
Shen Qing felt that her own heartbeat was gradually becoming clearer and gradually following the rhythm of the hand in hers.
Shen Qing turned her face away. "Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven. How could his thoughts be easily guessed?"
"If you wish, why not?"
Shen Qing felt that Ji Junye was very different from usual tonight. She even hoped that he would be the same as usual. In that case, she could suspect that he had taken the wrong medicine or was possessed by something evil.
Fortunately, the carriage soon stopped, ending Shen Qing's uneasiness.
Ji Junye got up from her and got out of the carriage. Then he reached out his hand to her.
Shen Qing looked around. The moon was shining brightly tonight. Even in the middle of the night, there was no trace of eeriness. Not far away, the water was gurgling, and in the nearby forest, there were still dots of green fluorescent light.