Su Qingyu was startled. She turned around and looked at the closed door, her face full of panic.
The Prince of Qi had flipped her green placard again!
Did the Prince of Qi also know her identity? That's why he deliberately flipped her placard and intended to torture her to vent his anger?!
She was afraid that before the Divine Doctor of Apricot Grove came to take revenge on her, she would be beaten to death by the Prince of Qi!
Su Qingyu wanted to make an excuse that she had caught a cold and was not convenient to go. But the other party seemed to be well - prepared and said coldly, "His Highness said that no matter how seriously ill or injured Lady Su is, she must serve him tonight. Guards!"
Su Qingyu gritted her teeth and quickly took out a porcelain bottle from the bundle hidden in the quilt and hid it in her sleeve. Just as she finished this, the door was violently kicked open. Several stout nurses rushed in, grabbed Su Qingyu and took her to the Prince of Qi's bedroom.
The Prince of Qi was in a bad mood today, so he had drunk several jars of wine. By the time Su Qingyu was brought in, his vision was already a bit blurred from the alcohol. When Su Qingyu was brought in and looked up, she saw a whip beside the drunk Prince of Qi. She was so scared that she knelt on the ground.
When the Prince of Qi saw Su Qingyu's face, the anger that he couldn't vent flared up. He grabbed the whip in his hand and lashed out at Su Qingyu again.
He didn't say a word. He just wanted to vent his anger. It seemed that the news that the Pingyang Marquis Mansion had recognized back their real legitimate daughter hadn't reached the Prince of Qi's ears yet. This made Su Qingyu heave a sigh of relief.
The whip fell like a sudden storm. Su Qingyu curled up on the ground, letting the Prince of Qi whip her. Taking advantage of the Prince of Qi's inattention, she tremblingly took out the porcelain bottle from her sleeve and put it into her mouth.
After whipping for a while, the Prince of Qi found that Su Qingyu was lying at his feet like a dead fish without any reaction. He couldn't help cursing, "Useless thing. How disappointing!"
At this time, a eunuch reported, "Your Highness, someone from the Wang family has come."
Just as the Prince of Qi had put down the whip, a man strode in from outside the door. It was Wang Shijiang, who was now in power in the Wang family.
The drunk Prince of Qi called out, "My foster father... Why are you here?"
Wang Shijiang looked at the lifeless woman on the ground, frowned and asked, "What are you doing again?"
The Prince of Qi didn't even frown and said, "I'm in a bad mood. I'm just looking for someone to vent my anger on. Guards, throw her body into the mass grave to feed the dogs."
Several eunuchs came in, carried the blood - covered woman and left the room.
Wang Shijiang said to the Prince of Qi, "I've come today with good news. This news is extremely beneficial to you and can change your current situation. It is said that there is a rumor of the 'Phoenix Star' in the folk, and the Phoenix Star has appeared..."
The night was deep. Lights were lit everywhere in the Prince of Qingjun's Mansion. The light dispelled the darkness and made the rooms warmer.
A bird flapped its wings and landed on the open window sill of Mingzhu Garden. It cooed twice from its throat.
Su Yuanyuan walked to the window, raised her hand, and the bird landed in her hand. It chirped, as if singing.
Su Yuanyuan listened for a while, frowned tightly and murmured, "How is it possible? Is she really dead?"
Xiao Ba asked curiously, [What's wrong? What happened?]
Su Yuanyuan let the bird fly away and said, [Su Qingyu was severely whipped by the Prince of Qi in his bedroom today and was beaten to death. The Prince of Qi even ordered her body to be thrown into the mass grave to feed the wild dogs.]
[It's absolutely impossible! A scourge like Su Qingyu could still live well even after you cut her tendons and blinded her eyes. How could she die just because of the Prince of Qi's whipping?] Xiao Ba jumped up and down.
Su Yuanyuan also couldn't believe it.
Although it was quite satisfying to hear that Su Qingyu had been repeatedly abused by the Prince of Qi, but...
For some reason, Su Yuanyuan just didn't want to believe that Su Qingyu was dead.
Right, go find Brother Yunjian. Su Yuanyuan lifted her skirt and ran out.
Since Shu Moyun had settled in the Worry - Free Pavilion in the Prince of Qingjun's Mansion, Cang Xuan would come to the mansion every day to visit her and have dinner with her.
After the mother and son had dinner, Shu Moyun proposed to play chess with Cang Xuan. Cang Xuan didn't refuse. He set up the chessboard and played against his mother.
"Before, you said that the results of the special imperial examination had come out. Is the list ready? When will the official - conferring ceremony be held?" Shu Moyun placed a chess piece and asked.
Cang Xuan replied, "It's ready. I sent the list to the palace this afternoon for His Majesty to review. Now the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites are making preparations. The official - conferring ceremony will be held in seven days."
Shu Moyun's hand holding the chess piece tightened. She asked, "How is he?"
Cang Xuan knew that the "he" Shu Moyun referred to was the emperor. He had long known that his mother had no resentment towards Xiao Ce. He smiled and didn't hide anything. He said truthfully, "He has caught a cold. He has been coughing recently and is not in good health."
Shu Moyun withdrew her hand that was about to place a chess piece and frowned, "Why is that? Has he invited the imperial doctor to treat him? How can he preside over the official - conferring ceremony in such poor health?"
Seeing that his mother wasn't concentrating on the chess game, Cang Xuan stopped playing. He put the black chess piece back, looked at his mother and said coldly,
"The other day when I went to the palace, I deliberately hinted to him that the Divine Doctor of Apricot Grove was a woman from the Shu family in Shuzhou, implying that you were still alive. If he had his own difficulties over the years, he should have explained everything to me when I said those words. But he remained indifferent. Mother still misses him, but he may have long forgotten you. In that case, why bother about him?"
"Did he really show no reaction at all?" Shu Moyun didn't expect such a result. She was stunned, and a bitter feeling welled up in her heart.
Yes, more than twenty years had passed. There were other women around him, and he had other children with them. How could he still remember who she was? Indeed, the most heartless thing in the world was time. No matter how deep the feelings were, they would turn into smoke when faced with the passage of time.
But...
She didn't believe that he was really that heartless. If he were really so heartless, why would he have welcomed their child into the palace and made him the chief minister of the cabinet, giving him the power of life and death?
Seeing Shu Moyun looking dejected, Cang Xuan said, "Mother, if you're tired, you'd better have a good rest. I'll take my leave first."
Shu Moyun really had many doubts and confusion in her heart that she needed to sort out. So she didn't try to keep him.
Cang Xuan got up to leave. Just as he walked out of the Worry - Free Pavilion, he saw a familiar figure in front of him.
"Brother Yunjian." Su Yuanyuan called out softly to Cang Xuan.
His gloomy mood instantly lifted. He walked towards the girl waiting in the pavilion, held her hand and said, "It's so cold. Why are you sitting here instead of going inside? You didn't even bring a warm hand - stove. Your hands are a bit cold."
Su Yuanyuan shook her head and said, "I came in a hurry, so I forgot to bring anything."
Cang Xuan paused and asked, "Has something happened?"
Su Yuanyuan nodded. "Let's talk when we get to the Junyi Pavilion."