After reading my mind, Daddy, why don't you smile?

After leaving the house, Zhao Ying asked Hou Zhu to send the child back to Qingyu Pavilion.

The Crown Princess had already taken Zhao Xiao out. When she saw her coming out, she immediately came up to her and asked, "How is the old Duke?"

Zhao Ying shook her head. "I'm afraid it will be tonight..."

The Crown Princess sighed and said some polite words of praise and pity for the old Duke.

She also said that she had sent someone to inform the Crown Prince and His Majesty.

After all, the old Duke had a good relationship with the current Emperor. If Your Majesty could have caught up to see the old Duke for the last time, I believe the old Duke would have passed away more peacefully.

The two returned to the banquet and pretended nothing had happened.

Butler Qian found Zhao Ying at this time and said, "Your Highness, is the play still on? The troupe has been waiting for a long time."

"Open it! After all, today is Xue'er's good day. If we delay it because of other things, I'm afraid she will say that I, her aunt, am too harsh on her."

Zhao Ying's voice was not loud, but it was loud enough for the officials and ladies around to hear.

Although the guests thought Zhao Ying was dull, they still admired her kindness and generosity in their hearts.

After half a cup of tea, the show began.

The old duke's favorite play was "The Substitute Prince", but he did not come out to watch it. Someone asked Zhao Ying about it, and Zhao Ying just said that the old duke was feeling a little unwell.

As soon as he finished speaking, the actor on the stage screamed and threw the swaddling clothes in his arms to the ground.

"Eh? There's this drama of a cat replacing a prince?"

On the stage, the actress playing the role of a palace maid covered her face and screamed, "Dead cat! Dead cat!"

Everyone stood up immediately after hearing the noise, realizing something was wrong, and leaned over to see what was going on.

Zhao Ying scolded, "What are you all arguing about?"

Everyone quieted down a bit after hearing this.

On the stage, the troupe owner and a group of actors had already knelt down to apologize.

Breaking into a cold sweat.

If you mess up your performance in the Duke's Mansion, your life may be in danger!

The little actor who played the maidservant sobbed, "Princess, please spare me. There really was an accident. This dead cat looks..."

The little actor stammered, and Zhao Ying frowned and ordered someone to bring the swaddling clothes.

The Crown Princess and Huyan Xue were also on both sides of her. When Nanny Li came over with the swaddling clothes with a sullen face, everyone looked down and gasped in fear.

The dead cat in the cradle was stripped of its fur and wrapped in blood.

"what!"

Hu Yanxue screamed and took two steps back.

Zhao Ying was also frightened, but she pretended to be calm and asked someone to take the dead cat down and bury it.

"It's just an accident, no problem!"

He comforted Hu Yanxue a few more words, then asked the troupe to change the play and continue performing.

However, no one was in the mood to watch the show anymore.

Everyone's face turned pale.

Madam Jinghou said in fear: "Cats are intelligent. Today's tragic situation may be a bad omen!"

These words made people panic, especially after the fire at Kanshan two days ago and Princess Huai'an's series of accidents... Thinking of the rumors about the evil spirit coming to the world, several ladies couldn't help but look at Zhao Ying.

"I heard from my family that... the Imperial Astronomical Observatory observed the sky at night and said that a demon star descended from the Duke's Mansion... Now it seems to be true..."

"Don't say anything. The old Duke is not feeling well today. Maybe it's because of that evil star!"

Zhao Ying's face darkened.

Huyan Xue also heard these words. She curled her lips into a smile and put a phoenix hairpin in her hair, which made her look more elegant.

She said to Zhao Ying, "Aunt, Xue'er heard that you wanted to send Yue'er away... Lingyin Temple and the Imperial Observatory both said that there is a demon in our house. Could it really be Yue'er?"

Zhao Ying sneered, "Didn't the Master teach you that a man should not talk about strange things?"

"Zi is silent. I didn't say there is no evil. Xue'er thinks that if there is an evil, it must be eliminated as soon as possible to avoid hurting others! If aunt is reluctant, Xue'er can do it for you!"

"So what do you think?" Zhao Ying asked in an ambiguous tone.

Hu Yanxue sneered, "This evildoer is causing chaos in the government, so we should burn him to death and cut off his escape route!"

The Crown Princess glanced at her and said, "I didn't expect that you are so hard-hearted despite your young age!"

"To control chaos, one must use severe punishments. The same is true for eliminating evil!"

The play on stage is over.

Zhao Ying stood up, as if nothing had happened, "Xue'er, your aunt has prepared a fireworks show for you today, let's go to the garden to watch it!"

After saying that, everyone walked a few steps and came to the garden. In front of the garden was a pond. There were no flowers or leaves in the winter, but the servants cleaned it diligently, so the water was crystal clear.

"Bang, bang!" Colorful fireworks exploded in the sky.

The fireworks were so magnificent and extraordinary, Shangguan Chengjing had prepared them with great care, and even the usually arrogant Huyanxue was stunned.

Perhaps because the noise was too loud, the little lion dog in the arms of Yang, the wife of the Minister of Works, was frightened and jumped out barking.

Yang went to chase it, but unexpectedly the little lion dog stopped under a century-old tree, and the puppy kept digging with its paws, as if there was something inside.

Yang was quietly waiting for the puppy to dig the soil, but unexpectedly she heard another scream beside her.

She looked up, and the next second her pupils dilated slightly, she covered her mouth, and her heart stopped.

The originally colorful fireworks turned into a scarlet color. The flames gathered into one, looking bloody and terrifying. What was even more terrifying was...

"Look, does this firework look like a skinned dead cat?"

"Ahhhh! It really is!"

The guests were in chaos and were just wondering, but the next second, something even more horrible happened.

The water in the pond in front suddenly turned red, as if it was stained with blood, and people who were close could even smell the blood.

Everyone's spirits were completely exhausted.

a mess.

Zhao Ying was also startled and took a step back. When she was about to fall, someone grabbed her waist from behind. She looked up and her heart sank in panic.

"Runlang..." Zhao Ying hugged Shangguan Shu, her voice trembling.

Shangguan Shu comforted Zhao Ying and said, "I was afraid you couldn't handle it alone, so come out and take a look."

"What happened?"

Before Zhao Ying could answer, Madam Jinghou turned pale and was so frightened that she could not speak clearly, "The prince... there is... there is a demon!"

As soon as the words fell, the women in the crowd exclaimed.

Shangguan Shu frowned.

The Crown Princess angrily scolded, "Nonsense! The so-called evildoer's words are nothing but human evil! Someone, come and check for me immediately. I want to see who dares to be so presumptuous in front of me!"

"How could the Crown Princess not know that this was a warning from heaven? After all, Master Yuanzhuang of the Lingyin Temple and the Imperial Observatory said that there is a monster in the Duke Zhenguo's Mansion!" Huyan Xue looked at Shangguan Shu hugging Zhao Ying, a trace of jealousy flashing in her eyes.

"Some people are reluctant to deal with the evildoers, and even the heavens can no longer bear it."

Anyone with a discerning eye knew who Hu Yanxue was referring to.

No one else had the guts to say anything to Princess Chengqian, but Cui and Lin had already taken sides and of course agreed with Huyan Xue at this time.

Cui relied on the fact that the Minister of Rites was a close confidant of Shangguan Shu's rebel group, and came over and pretended to be righteous and asked, "My lord, may I ask you a question, is the old Duke in good health?"

"From what I have seen, the old Duke was in good health. How could he suddenly fall ill? Could it be..."