Peach Blossom.

A gust of cold wind blew, and several old trees in the yard swayed, and some fallen leaves floated down. Mantangjiao reached out to catch one.

Humble and lonely, she seemed to have seen the outcome of her future in that dead leaf.

"In the past few months, rumors have been spreading everywhere in Jiankang City that you and the princess have an affair. She is so attentive, but she is afraid that it won't reach my ears!" Mantang Jiao smiled bitterly.

"The Grand Marshal has invited you many times, and you had to attend the banquet sooner or later out of consideration for his relationship. Once you attend the banquet, that day will be the day when Prince Consort Chen will be demoted. So, the rumors were confirmed, but there was still no rift between us because of her... She should be very disappointed..." Mantangjiao shed tears again.

"In the end, she can only ask the Queen Mother to make the decision and ask the Emperor to grant the marriage!" Mantangjiao raised the corner of her mouth slightly, her eyes full of contempt.

"Can you imagine how long she has been planning for this? Now, the Queen Mother has made it clear to Mother, do you think... we still have a chance to escape?" Mantang Jiao looked up at Wang Jing, her eyes filled with infinite sadness.

Wang Jing frowned, but still held on to a glimmer of hope: "I must give it a try to see if I can get away!"

In the distance, someone coughed.

Wang Jing and Mantangjiao turned around and saw Zhou Yunniang supporting Xiao Rui.

Zhou Yunniang smiled and said to Wang Jing, "Second brother, a lot of official documents have been delivered to us. Do you want to go and take a look?"

Wang Jing nodded and went to the front yard.

Mantang Jiao watched Wang Jing's back go away, walked up to Xiao Rui and bowed gently: "Mother, if you have anything to say to me, please speak frankly!"

Xiao Rui gathered the cloak on Mantangjiao's shoulders, his gesture full of kindness: "You are wearing thin clothes, you should go back to the house to talk!"

So, the mother-in-law, daughter-in-law and the two of them sat down in the beautiful room in the hall.

Xiao Rui held Mantangjiao's hand, as if with endless sympathy: "I just heard that Jing'er wanted to take you away, what do you think?"

Mantang Jiao smiled helplessly, "Second brother has repeatedly declined. Although the Queen Mother did not say anything on the surface, she must be angry in her heart and must think that he is ungrateful. Of course, they cannot sentence him for "refusing marriage", but if anyone in the family is caught with any other minor mistakes, I am afraid that exile three thousand miles away would be the least of his punishment..."

"Yes! That Grand Marshal relied on the princess to get to where he is today. He would do anything to win credit in front of the princess! I'm afraid that long before the Queen Mother hinted at her intention to grant me the marriage, the Grand Marshal had already begun to have people strictly control every gate of Jiankang City, and would never give Jing'er a chance to escape!" Xiao Rui kept an eye on the changes in Mantangjiao's expression while narrating the story.

Mantang Jiao really did not disappoint Xiao Rui. She forced a smile and went to comfort Xiao Rui: "Don't worry, mother. I will definitely persuade my second brother not to leave, and I will not give Da Sima a chance to catch us."

Zhou Yunniang also had a sad face, looking at Xiao Rui: "But, mother, not running away... doesn't mean you won't make mistakes. Although my father left the capital without permission, it was secretly instructed by the government, but the queen mother, the princess, and all the civil and military officials in the court were kept in the dark. Now the city gates are strictly guarded, it's not easy for those who want to escape, and it's also impossible for those who want to enter to enter!"

Xiao Rui sighed, "This is exactly what I fear the most! Now, every time I hear the Queen Mother summoning me, I feel like I'm seeing a rope to my life! I've already thought of all the excuses I can use to politely refuse the marriage proposal, so what other excuses can I have?"

Zhou Yunniang said, "I heard from my sister, Concubine Zhou, that the princess has sworn in front of the Queen Mother that she will not marry anyone other than my second brother. How can the Queen Mother bear that the princess will never marry? I'm afraid that sooner or later she will turn our Wang family upside down. How can we keep this from father?"

"Ah Yun is right..." Xiao Rui hesitated for a while, and once again held Mantang Jiao's hand tightly: "Ah Jiao, how about... how about you stay away for a while, and wait until the storm is over..."

Xiao Rui didn't feel comfortable continuing.

Mantang Jiao looked confused, as if she understood and didn't understand: "Avoid for a while? What does that mean?"

Zhou Yunniang seemed to be as conflicted as Xiao Rui, but she had to finish what Xiao Rui had not said: "That is... that is, you leave home temporarily... After the princess comes home and the situation gradually stabilizes, I will find a way to let you return home..."

"I understand now. Mother finally decided to send me away and accept the arranged marriage to marry the princess." Mantangjiao's hand trembled as it pulled away from Xiao Rui.

Zhou Yunniang quickly spoke up for Xiao Rui: "Sister-in-law, please don't misunderstand mother. What mother said was just a delaying tactic... Otherwise, if father's affairs are implicated, then the whole family will be executed!"

"I understand! I'm leaving!" Mantangjiao closed her eyes and two lines of tears rolled down.

Upon hearing this decision, Xiao Rui and Zhou Yunniang seemed relieved.

Mantang Jiao opened her eyes again and forced a smile: "In fact, when I saw mother and sister-in-law send my second brother away, I had already guessed your intention. Before coming to me, you had already discussed everything. I was just a person who accepted the result."

Xiao Rui and Zhou Yunniang didn't say anything, which was considered as their agreement.

Mantang Jiao looked at Xiao Rui and guessed, "Is it... the last time when mother entered the palace, she couldn't get away with it, so she lied to the Queen Mother and said that I agreed to the divorce?"

Xiao Rui nodded helplessly.

Mantang Jiao wiped away her tears and tried to calm herself down: "I don't have to stay in a place that doesn't want me. I only have one request, I want to take Yu'er with me."

"This..." Xiao Rui obviously didn't want to agree to this request.

Zhou Yunniang immediately came to persuade again: "Sister-in-law, Yu'er is still young and has been spoiled since childhood. How can she endure the life of wandering outside? Even if you can go to your uncle and have a little stability, you are still living under someone else's roof. How can you bring another burden with you?"

Mantang Jiao shook her head: "It is precisely because Yu'er is too young that I am worried about leaving her here. Yu'er is naughty by nature, how can the princess tolerate her? If there is any unhappiness between the princess and my second brother, won't my Yu'er be a ready-made punching bag?"

Xiao Rui looked at Mantang Jiao, as if he was solemnly swearing an oath: "I promise you, I will protect her with my life, and will never allow others to bully her!"

Zhou Yunniang also hurriedly added: "Sister-in-law, think about it, once the princess enters the family, no matter how noble she is, she can't disrespect her elders on the surface. Just based on this point, mother can suppress her. Besides, Yu'er is the blood of the Wang family, not a servant, so she dare not do anything reckless!"

Mantangjiao didn't say anything for a long time. She stood up from her chair, slowly walked to the window, and looked at the withering old tree again.

Most of the leaves on the ancient tree have fallen, just like Mantangjiao's withered heart.

Zhou Yunniang walked behind Mantangjiao and comforted her, "If you miss Yu'er, you can always come back to see her!"

Mantang smiled sweetly, and laughed out loud, a sound of distrust. She still looked at the ancient tree: "When this place belongs to the princess, will she still allow me to appear in this place? The so-called "delaying tactic" is just a strategy you use to persuade me to leave."

"No... the emperor will make the decision for us. The emperor will become powerful in the future, and he will not always be controlled by the empress dowager!" Zhou Yunniang tried hard to find evidence for her words.

"The emperor will definitely become powerful?" Mantang Jiao repeated, and finally turned back to look at Zhou Yunniang and Xiao Rui: "When will that be? Five years later? Ten years later? Or twenty years later?"

Zhou Yunniang didn't know how to answer, and Xiao Rui remained silent.

The conversation ended here and they dispersed.

Mantangjiao later went to see Yu'er, watched her eat, combed her hair, packed her books, and finally, she and her maid Xiuping sent Yu'er to the school in the front yard.

After leaving the school, Mantangjiao did not return to the central courtyard, but went straight west.

Zhou Yunniang had just sent her two children to school. When she saw Mantangjiao heading west, she felt something was wrong, so she followed Mantangjiao from a distance all the way to the vicinity of Bi Bo Lake.

Bi Bo Lake is located at the westernmost part of Situ Mansion. It is the only clear water in the mansion, and nearly half of the lake is planted with lotus flowers.

It is the flower blooming season. The lake is filled with pink and tender colors, and lotus leaves are floating on the lake. The blue sky is reflected in the water.

Mantangjiao stood by the lake admiring the scenery, which made Zhou Yunniang frightened.

Just as Zhou Yunniang had guessed the worst, Mantangjiao, who was viewing the flowers, suddenly moved forward and fell into the lake.

"Hurry up! A Jiao jumped into the lake!" Zhou Yunniang shouted in panic, attracting a group of servants to go into the water to rescue her.

Wang Jing, who was reading official documents in the study, heard about this and hurried to see.

Mantangjiao had been rescued and brought back to the bedroom in the middle courtyard. Because she was found in time, she was not seriously injured. She just lay quietly on the bed, not saying a word.

Xiao Rui sat beside the bed and cried silently, while Zhou Yunniang stood beside him and tried to comfort him.

Wang Jing had just walked to the bedroom door when he heard Zhou Yunniang's voice: "It's our fault. We knew that your parents had already passed away, but we still persuaded you to leave your second brother and leave Yu'er behind. In this way...what hope do you have in life!"

Xiao Rui shook her head, already weeping and unable to speak: "As a mother, I don't want to force you, but I can no longer find an excuse to refuse... Last time I went to see the Queen Mother, I almost couldn't come back..."

Zhou Yunniang also shed tears.

Xiao Rui held Mantangjiao's hand tightly, with infinite self-blame written on his face: "Good child, you must not do this... Mother will think of a way... Let mother think of a way..."

Wang Jing looked at his mother in tears and his wife in despair. He did not step into the room again, but turned and left.

Xiao Rui and Zhou Yunniang were still babble-ing on about apologizing and analyzing the current situation.

After a long while, they smelled something burning, like mugwort.

Zhou Yunniang hurriedly asked a maid to check.

The maid went out for a while and came back soon to report, looking panicked: "The smell came from the next room. Someone said they saw the second young master go in just now, but he didn't open the door even after knocking!"

When Xiao Rui heard this, he was surprised and immediately stood up and walked out. Zhou Yunniang hurriedly followed him.

Mantangjiao helped herself to sit up on the bed and ran out without even putting on her shoes.

When the mother-in-law, daughter-in-law and their two companions arrived in the yard, several servants were banging on the door with thick wooden sticks. They finally managed to break the door open, and a thick smoke came out, choking the servants and making them cough.

Xiao Rui and Mantang Jiao walked in quickly, and were stunned by the scene before them: Wang Jing was sitting on a chair, beads of sweat the size of beans kept dripping from his forehead, his white gown was soaked with sweat and stuck to his body, he was barefoot, and under his feet was a copper basin with mugwort burning in it, which was the source of the smoke.

There was no time to ask further questions. Xiao Rui stepped forward and kicked away the copper basin, and the feet that were shrouded in smoke were finally revealed. Only then did they see that the soles of Wang Jing's feet were completely charred!