Caiyu had never been this scared or desperate before.
"Your Highness, calm down. I'm Yu'er..." Her voice was hoarse with fear, broken into pieces.
...
"Bang! Bang!"
"Bang! Bang!"
The knocking on the door outside was as loud as a war drum. Song Yongzhen's voice came in along with the knocks. "Fourth Brother! Fourth Brother! Are you in there?"
Caiyu pushed the enraged man with her shoulder, looking up at him with tears streaming down her face.
She didn't want others to see her in such a vulnerable state.
Song Yinghuai lowered his eyes. For a moment, he was stunned by the woman beneath him, and half of his sanity returned.
He bit his lower lip, finally stopped his actions, stuffed Caiyu into the brocade quilt, then turned his head impatiently and asked, "What is it?"
Song Yongzhen shouted, "I heard that Fourth Brother was commended by Father today, and Caiyu also received merits. Ninth Brother and I brought some good wine and food to celebrate with you."
Celebrate?
Song Yinghuai raised his eyebrows, got out of bed to put on his clothes, then opened the door. His cold eyes stared at the two young men outside.
These two must have been sent by Ji Ming or Han Fen.
Seeing the murderous look on the man blocking the door, Song Yongzhen couldn't help swallowing his saliva. Worried about Caiyu, he boldly peeked over Song Yinghuai's shoulder and asked, "Where's Caiyu? Where did she go?"
Song Yinghuai closed the door behind him and coldly said, "She's resting. How do you want to celebrate? I'll accompany you."
Good timing.
He was in a complete mess right now. Staying with Caiyu would only make him lose his mind even more. It was better to leave and calm down.
Song Boming quickly lifted the wine jar in his hand. "I brought Qinhuai Chun. I'll ask Ji Ming to get some side dishes from the kitchen. How about we have a drink together?"
Song Yinghuai nodded and strode past them towards the courtyard gate. His robe was spotless, as pure and white as a blooming snow lotus in the night.
Caiyu lay on the bed helplessly with her hands tied. As she stared blankly at the canopy embroidered with lotuses, the lotuses seemed to be spinning.
She turned her head and looked at the green pomelo Buddha statue on the altar. The Buddha looked down at her with a compassionate expression, overlooking all sentient beings equally, but not really telling her whether acceptance was an escape.
Suddenly.
Big tears welled up in the corners of her eyes again.
She thought that if she became Lan Jinshu again, she and Song Yinghuai would have a new beginning and a happy ending.
But reality told her otherwise.
So far, she still didn't know what she had done wrong.
Was it because she was carefree and too close to Sheng Jiangli?
Or was it because she accidentally ruined Song Yinghuai's plan?
Thinking about the hardships she had endured on this journey, falling into the dust for the Lan family and struggling to climb out of the mire for her lover.
She never thought that instead of climbing out of the mire, she had stumbled all the way.
What kind of outcome could possibly be worthy of all her hardships?
...
Song Yinghuai drank with the two young men in the outer courtyard.
This was the most he had drunk since he broke his abstinence.
Although Qinhuai Chun was not very strong, it was like a gentle spring rain, slowly seeping into his limbs and bones, gradually eroding his brain, making him drunk and his heart ache.
The more he drank, the more scenes of his acquaintance with Caiyu flashed through his mind like a carousel.
They clearly loved each other, but because they were on opposite sides at the beginning, they chose to hide many things.
As a result, things got worse and worse, and they could no longer be honest with each other.
He thought that after everything was over, they could start anew as Song Yinghuai and Lan Jinshu. But now that things had come to this, could they still start over?
Song Yongzhen and Song Boming glanced at each other. Seeing him drinking one cup after another, they didn't dare to say a word and just silently accompanied him.
Anyway, they would get Fourth Brother drunk and let him have a good sleep. He would calm down the next day.
As long as Caiyu was okay.
Until the wine jars were lying all over the place, Han Fen suddenly rushed in with a panicked look on his face. He helped the half-drunk man up and said to Song Yongzhen and the others,
"Ninth Lord, Twelfth Lord, something big has happened. I need to report it to His Highness."
Seeing Han Fen's rare panic, the two of them knew that it must be something serious. They didn't dare to ask the reason and quickly left.
"Your Highness, are you still sober?" Han Fen asked.
Song Yinghuai supported his forehead with his hand, rubbing his throbbing temples, and said in a deep voice, "What is it?"
Han Fen said, "His Majesty just summoned Du Liang, the new director of the Eastern Depot, and secretly ordered the execution of the Lan family in Hainan! Commander Lu of the Jinyiwei has placed his own people in the Eastern Depot these days. After learning the news, he immediately sent an urgent message to inform Your Highness."
At tonight's banquet, as the Commander of the Jinyiwei, Commander Lu was also present.
He saw everything that happened in the imperial garden.
The Lan family had a close relationship with His Highness the Prince of Yan, so as soon as he heard the news, he immediately came to report it.
Song Yinghuai instantly sobered up. He sat up straight, and his palm on the stone table suddenly tightened.
A large corner of the stone table suddenly broke off and fell to the ground.
Song Yinghuai slowly turned his head and looked at Han Fen with a gloomy face. "Father... is acting so fast?"
Han Fen was extremely anxious. "What should we do? His Majesty sent people from the Eastern Depot this time, not the Jinyiwei. We can't even stop them."
He just couldn't understand.
Why did His Majesty suddenly want to kill the Lan family?
In the imperial garden, everything seemed fine, and His Majesty even agreed to the Lan family's request for a retrial.
Song Yinghuai frowned tightly, and his heart sank to the bottom.
He had already guessed this outcome, which was why he was so angry with Caiyu.
Caiyu had suddenly revealed her identity and "blackmailed" Emperor Guangwu into retrial the Lan family's case in front of all the officials. It was already difficult for Emperor Guangwu to reluctantly agree, but she even wanted to bring Song Chengyuan down in one go.
This was like plucking hair from a tiger's head.
After much thought, Emperor Guangwu realized that the constant trouble with the Lan family's case was because the Lan family members were still alive.
It would be better to end it once and for all and kill them all.
Last time, because Sheng Jiangli had offered to defect to Song Chengyuan in exchange for the lives of the Lan family, Song Chengyuan had pleaded for the Lan family to be exiled in front of Emperor Guangwu in order to blackmail Sheng Jiangli.
But this time, Caiyu had offended him and betrayed him. He not only had no intention of pleading for the Lan family but also bitterly complained and analyzed the consequences of a retrial to Emperor Guangwu after the banquet.
Emperor Guangwu had only agreed to the retrial under pressure, and with Song Chengyuan's instigation.
He immediately made up his mind to use killing to maintain the dignity of the royal family.
He just didn't expect that Emperor Guangwu would act so fast this time, not giving anyone a chance to react.
Once the Lan family members were dead, the retrial would be meaningless.
If Caiyu knew that her efforts had actually led to the destruction of her family, would she be so stubborn as to seek revenge or choose to die to repay her family's kindness?
Song Yinghuai didn't even dare to imagine her reaction.
No matter how intense the argument had been just now or how angry he was with her, his anxiety now overshadowed everything.
Facing Han Fen's anxious expression, he took a deep breath, quickly adjusted his thoughts, and gave the order:
"Han Fen, gather all our hidden forces in the capital and rush to Hainan immediately. We must rescue the Lan family before the Eastern Depot's people arrive!"
Han Fen swallowed his saliva. "Your Highness, those are our informants and ambush soldiers who have been buried in the capital for many years! And if His Majesty finds out that we've rescued them, what will you do..."
"We can't worry about that now. Saving people is the most important thing." Song Yinghuai tightly clenched his fist with exhaustion, his voice as cold as winter. "Go and do it."
Han Fen gritted his teeth, glanced at the dark bedroom in the inner courtyard, and finally left.
The autumn wind, with a touch of desolation and unwillingness, blew through the courtyard.
Song Yinghuai slowly got up and finally walked back to the bedroom.
He pushed open the door.
The room was pitch-black, and the dead silence was spreading. A faint stench of blood filled the air.
Song Yinghuai's face changed, and he immediately strode towards the darkness:
"Yu'er!"