At the end of the silent long street, a figure was cast on the wall by the firelight, tall and straight.
Liang Yuzhou walked with a brisk pace, seemingly in a great hurry.
"Cousin, save me, cousin!"
Like a person who had been floating on the sea for a long time and finally grabbed a life - saving straw, Yu Huiyan crawled to Liang Yuzhou's feet sobbingly and tightly hugged his thigh.
Her body was shaking like a sieve. Although she hadn't been thrown into the river yet, she felt as if she had been submerged by the icy water, shivering from head to toe.
The Crown Prince finally lifted the curtain and looked down at Liang Yuzhou from above, a faint sneer curling on his lips.
Liang Yuzhou quietly pulled his legs out of Yu Huiyan's arms.
He walked forward slowly. The firelight lengthened his shadow, covering Yu Huiyan's body.
This darkness gave Yu Huiyan an unprecedented sense of security.
Like a drowning man who had come back to life, she gasped for breath, as if she had survived a disaster.
Cousin had come to save her. She knew that cousin still cared about her.
So what if she had poisoned Song Wanchu? The bond of their childhood friendship couldn't be easily broken!
Liang Yuzhou bowed to the Crown Prince, his attitude neither overbearing nor humble.
"Liang Yuzhou, you're not a fool. Don't you really know what Yu Huiyan has done?"
Before he could speak, the Crown Prince questioned him.
"I naturally know, but this is a private matter of the Duke's Mansion. It's not necessary for the Crown Prince to worry about it."
Liang Yuzhou's voice was cold and calm.
"She tried to ruin Wanchu's reputation. After her scheme failed, she even made your mother take the blame. Your mother was almost divorced by the old duke and lost all her dignity. Yet you still want to protect her. You're really—"
The sneer on the Crown Prince's lips grew wider. "Deeply in love."
Hearing the Crown Prince openly call Song Wanchu by her given name, Liang Yuzhou's black phoenix eyes darkened.
He said indifferently, "In this whole incident, I'm both a husband and a son. In either role, I have more right to handle this matter than the Crown Prince."
The Crown Prince only read the meaning of protection from these words and sneered, "Liang Yuzhou, Yu Huiyan dared to stir up trouble in the Duke's Mansion because of your partiality.
Wanchu has been framed and slandered by her again and again, and even forced into a difficult situation. How can you still have the nerve to say that you're her husband?"
Liang Yuzhou listened quietly, his expression changing little, but there was a faint anger gathering between his eyebrows.
"You and Yu Huiyan are a perfect match made in heaven."
The carriage curtain embroidered with a five - clawed dragon slowly fell. The five - clawed dragon was facing Liang Yuzhou's face, glaring at him menacingly and imposingly, like a silent threat.
"I'm putting it clearly today. If Wanchu is hurt again because of the woman behind you, I'll surely make her die a miserable death!"
The Crown Prince's sedan chair left. The firelight on Liang Yuzhou's face grew dimmer and dimmer until darkness completely engulfed his face.
Yu Huiyan's tense body suddenly lost all its strength, and she burst into tears.
She looked at Liang Yuzhou tearfully, as if she had endless grievances.
In the darkness, she couldn't see Liang Yuzhou's expression, but she could imagine that his face was full of concern.
"Get up. I'll take you to the Princess Dowager's Mansion."
Originally, he was going to the Yu family to look for Yu Huiyan.
The doorman of the Yu family told him that Yu Huiyan had been called away by the Princess Dowager late at night.
He rushed all the way in the direction of the Princess Dowager's Mansion. Unexpectedly, the Crown Prince had been waiting for them on the only way to the Princess Dowager's Mansion.
The dignified Crown Prince, the future master of the Great Zhou Dynasty, actually took the trouble to teach Yu Huiyan a lesson for his wife.
Wasn't he afraid that after the Princess Dowager found out, she would use this matter to make trouble and complain to the emperor, saying that he lusted after a minister's wife and had bad moral conduct?
In the carriage, Liang Yuzhou sat opposite Yu Huiyan, watching her cry uncontrollably.
His eyes were cold.
This was the first time he had taken Yu Huiyan's carriage.
The Yu family had long been in decline, but the carriage Yu Huiyan took when going out was delicate and luxurious. There was a small table in the carriage, on which there were tea and candied fruits.
Before meeting the Crown Prince, the mistress and her maid must have been happily eating and drinking in the carriage, feeling relieved that they could get rid of all suspicion.
Liang Yuzhou handed Yu Huiyan a silk handkerchief and poured a cup of tea.
Yu Huiyan took the silk handkerchief and wiped the blood off her face. Her skin still burned with pain, but the scent of Liang Yuzhou on the silk handkerchief made her feel the pain ease a little.
"Cousin, I really don't know what to do without you. The Crown Prince is so scary..."
She looked at Liang Yuzhou lovingly.
"Huiyan, have I ever told you that Wanchu is my bottom line?"
The cold question shattered the tender atmosphere Yu Huiyan had imagined. She was caught off guard and stared blankly for a long time.
"You've crossed the line. My patience is limited."
"Cousin, I don't know what you're talking about."
Yu Huiyan's face turned pale. She lowered her eyelids, hiding the panic and fear in her eyes.
"I'm also very surprised about today's incident. I'm very sad that aunt is in trouble, but this matter really has nothing to do with me."
She held on stubbornly, thinking that although Liang Yuzhou had deep suspicions, the only person who knew the truth, Cuizhu, was already dead. As long as she refused to admit it, Liang Yuzhou had no evidence to prove her guilt.
A cold laugh pierced her ears. She didn't dare to look up because the two gazes were too oppressive. She was afraid that once their eyes met, her guilt would be exposed.
A soft bill was thrown on her face.
Yu Huiyan took a closer look, and for a moment, her blood seemed to freeze.
It was the two - hundred - tael silver note she had asked Caidie to use to bribe Cuizhu!
"Yu Huiyan, my mother is stupid and blind. She was harmed by you and ended up in this situation. It's her own fault. But do you think everyone is as stupid as my mother?"
Liang Yuzhou's eyes were cold and sharp, like a sharp sword that could cut her to pieces.
"This silver note is from Rongchang Bank. The money of each branch of the Duke's Mansion is never deposited in this bank. My mother is the same. Her money is all deposited in Yuntai Bank. If it was really her who instructed Cuizhu to drug and deceive Du Yong to Shuiyunju, the silver note on Cuizhu should be from Yuntai Bank."
Yu Huiyan was extremely frightened. Her throat seemed to be choked, and she wanted to defend herself but couldn't make a sound.
"As for your Yu family, you've always deposited your money in Rongchang Bank. Even the drug you used on Wanchu is a forbidden drug by the court. Only your elder brother, who is engaged in illegal business, has the means to get it."
Yu Huiyan's body trembled even more violently than when the Crown Prince said he would throw her into the river.
"You're also a woman. You know how important a woman's reputation is. But you tried to ruin Wanchu's reputation with the most vicious means. Yu Huiyan, how could you become like this? So hideous, so venomous and ruthless, completely losing your humanity?
If my mother knew that the niece she had painstakingly raised like a daughter would unhesitatingly push her out as a scapegoat to clear her own suspicion, how would she feel?
Yu Huiyan, how can you be worthy of your dead mother?"
The man in front of her was scarily calm and wise, leaving her no room for defense.
This was the man she had loved for many years, coldly pressing on her step by step without showing any mercy.
All her disguises were mercilessly torn off by Liang Yuzhou. She felt like a complete joke.
She didn't know when it started, but she had already found that her tears no longer worked on Liang Yuzhou.
Her tears were pouring down, but the coldness on Liang Yuzhou's face only increased.
Yu Huiyan was like a dying person, shaking her head desperately, her tears flying everywhere. "It's not like this, cousin. I'm just too jealous of Song Wanchu. She doesn't have a better background than me, but why does she always steal my limelight? Even you, cousin, have been snatched away by her! I was just so angry that I lost my mind, so I—"
"Splash!"
The cup of tea that had been on the table was picked up by Liang Yuzhou and splashed on Yu Huiyan's face.