Peach Blossom.

After the carriage stopped, Wang Jing slowly got out, leaning on his cane.

Immediately afterwards, Xiuping also got out of the car and hurriedly helped Yuer down.

Qiongju and another coachman pulled the carriage elsewhere.

Wang Ao looked up and felt that Wang Jing looked older than before, while Yu'er looked more graceful, but she kept covering half of her face with a veil.

He wanted to say hello, but he didn't know what to say for a moment. There was a sense of strangeness between brothers.

Yu'er saw Wang Ao. Although she was not very happy, she still maintained basic courtesy. She walked to Wang Ao, bowed lightly, and called out, "Third Uncle."

Wang Ao could only force a smile: "Yu'er has grown so tall?"

Wang Jing then slowly came over and asked, "Third brother, is everything okay at home?"

Wang Ao smiled again, but this time his smile was not very friendly. He looked at Wang Jing and asked, "Do you think your family will be okay?"

Wang Jing nodded and asked, "Where is Tao Ye? Is she living in our house now? Or has she left?"

Wang Ao's smile suddenly froze on his face. When he heard that the first person Wang Jing cared about was Tao Ye, he felt that he should feel happy for Tao Ye.

But in reality, he was not happy and did not know how to answer: "It's hard to explain in a few words. You should go to your father's funeral hall to pay your respects first. I will tell you slowly later."

After saying that, Wang Ao led Wang Jing, Yu'er and Xiuping in.

Because the funeral was fake, although Wang Jing and Yu'er were dressed in mourning, it was just for the occasion. After seeing off the guests that day, they came to the backyard to visit Xiao Rui.

Xiao Rui had just taken the medicine and fallen asleep not long ago. The three brothers Wang Dun, Wang Jing, and Wang Ao, as well as Zhou Yunniang and Yu'er just came over to take a look and then sat down a little further away to talk.

There was no one in the room, so Wang Dun asked Wang Jing, "Do you really want to try to bring Prince Yongchang to the capital? We are relatives of Queen Mother Zhou. If we try to play both sides, we could capsize at any time! It would be fatal if we capsize on either side!"

Wang Jing lowered his head and was silent for a while. He said helplessly, "I have no choice. Ever since my father was followed by Chen Ji, we have been in a passive position all the way. Now, my father's life is in their hands. We have no choice at all."

"You have been in Yongchang for four years, and there was no chance of escape at all?" Wang Dun questioned.

Wang Jing shook his head. "You have never been to Yongchang, so you may not believe it. All the officials and people in Yongchang are completely submissive to the King of Yongchang, and there are countless people willing to be his spies. Once someone is used by the King of Yongchang, there is no way they can completely get rid of him. They have to be careful about their words and actions, and they can't even think about entering and leaving Yongchang freely."

Wang Dun was very shocked when he heard this: "How come the Prince of Yongchang is so able to win the hearts of the people?"

Wang Jing replied, "Because the poverty of Yongchang is far beyond our previous imagination, and the King of Yongchang has always been humble and treated the people as close as a family. Most of the officials and people in Yongchang were exiled people, and they hated the Meng family to the core, so they were more willing to submit to the King of Yongchang. Over time, it became a kind of belief. Even in places where the King of Yongchang could not see, they would not allow anyone to slander the King of Yongchang."

Wang Dun asked again: "What do you think of the Prince of Yongchang?"

Wang Jing sneered and shook his head: "Would a true gentleman take hostages to force others to do something?"

After hearing this, Wang Dun frowned and sighed.

Wang Jing added: "However, my father believes that if the Meng family continues to rule Qi, the country will soon be destroyed. Only if Prince Yongchang steps forward can the situation be reversed. Therefore, even if Chen Ji had not leaked the treasury secrets, my father would most likely still choose to join Prince Yongchang."

Wang Dun shook his head and sighed, "Although this is the case, a hypocrite may not be as good as a real villain. Father sincerely cares about Qi. How can you think that King Yongchang will not cross the river and destroy the bridge after the success? We are the ministers of the government, but we work for King Yongchang behind the scenes. We are double-dealers. When the time comes, no matter who wins or loses, my Wang family will probably be ruined!"

Wang Jing went on to say, "So, before I came back, I begged my father several times to find a way to escape to Wei if there was a chance. I thought that when the son of the Prince of Yongchang went to the capital to marry and a large number of people set out to leave Yongchang, he should have a chance to escape. He has promised me that he would escape. Once my father is out of danger, we will not work for anyone anymore. I hope that all of us can escape to Wei and become ordinary people, and no one will interfere in the internal affairs of Qi anymore."

After hearing this, Zhou Yunniang looked up at Wang Jing, then at Wang Dun, and remained silent.

Wang Dun had understood Zhou Yunniang's concerns and hurriedly reminded Wang Jing: "Don't forget, Queen Mother Zhou is your sister-in-law's biological sister. Can we just save our father and leave the mess behind and just walk away?"

Wang Jing did not answer.

Seeing this, Wang Dun looked up and asked Wang Ao: "Third brother, what do you think?"

"Ah?" Wang Ao was in a daze when he suddenly heard Wang Dun calling him. He was suddenly awakened as if from a dream, but he could not remember what his two brothers were talking about just now.

Wang Dun could not help but feel a little angry, and rebuked Wang Ao, "We are discussing important matters, what are you thinking about?"

"I...I..." Wang Ao couldn't answer, nor did he dare to answer, because he had been thinking about Tao Ye and kept planning in his mind how to question Wang Jing about his attitude towards Tao Ye.

Wang Dun stared at Wang Ao and just sighed.

When the atmosphere was becoming awkward, they heard Xiao Rui cough twice.

The three brothers stood up, gathered around Xiao Rui's bed, and called out, "Mother."

Yu'er also came closer.

Under the dim candlelight, Xiao Rui slowly opened his eyes and saw Wang Jing. He was immediately surprised: "Jing'er... Jing'er is back..."

As he spoke, Xiao Rui was about to stand up.

Wang Jing hurriedly sat down beside the bed, helped Xiao Rui up, and said with a smile: "Mother, Yu'er is here too."

When Yu'er heard this, she also walked over and sat beside the bed. She gently held Xiao Rui's hand, looked him up and down, and couldn't help but burst into tears: "Why is grandma so thin?"

When Xiao Rui saw Yu'er's tears, he couldn't help himself and hugged Yu'er in his arms. The two of them cried together.

Zhou Yunniang was busy persuading her, "Mother, don't be sad. My second brother just said that after a while, when father's situation stabilizes, he will take you over to reunite with him! From now on, our whole family will stay together like before and live a good life. Don't cry!"

"Jing'er? Is it true?" Xiao Rui was very excited and held Wang Jing's hand.

Wang Jingxiao nodded.

Xiao Rui was extremely happy and smiled from ear to ear: "That's great... I haven't seen the master for more than ten years. I'm afraid that if we meet, we won't recognize each other..."

Just after saying this, Xiao Rui suddenly pulled Wang Jing back and said, "By the way... we still need Gillian to be reunited! Why hasn't Gillian come to see me these past few days?"

"Ah Jiao?" Wang Jing was confused.

Wang Ao came closer and explained to Wang Jing in a low voice: "Mother is talking about Tao Ye..."

Wang Jing was even more surprised and asked hurriedly: "Tao Ye came to see mother? Is she at our house?"

Wang Ao glanced at Wang Dun, and neither of them spoke.

Wang Jing didn't hear a response and seemed to feel something was wrong: "Why aren't you talking? Where is Tao Ye?"

Xiao Rui asked foolishly, "Tao Ye...Who is Tao Ye?"

Wang Dun winked at Wang Ao.

Wang Ao then pulled Wang Jing and walked out of Xiao Rui's room together, and then told him: "Sister Tao Ye was kidnapped by the princess."

Wang Jing was shocked: "Why didn't you tell me earlier? Where did you tie him to?"

"I don't know. Taoye has no roots here, so I can't even ask, unless... we go and ask the princess directly. The princess will definitely not see me, so you can go and ask in person, maybe you can get the answer."

After hearing this, Wang Jing walked out with the help of his cane.

"You are not allowed to enter the palace!" Wang Dun also came out of the room, stopped Wang Jing, and scolded his two brothers: "In the middle of the night, you want to go into the palace to cause trouble? The body has been kept for 49 days, and it should be buried tomorrow. If you are not afraid of the fake body being exposed, go ahead!"

Wang Jing and Wang Ao remained silent.

The next day, the Wang family buried the coffin containing the fake corpse in the Wang family's ancestral tomb according to the rules, and the funeral was nominally completed.

As soon as he took off his mourning clothes after returning home, Wang Jing called Wang Ao, avoided Wang Dun, and hurried into the palace together.

Wang Jing took the initiative to find Princess Si Yao. This was the first time in the history of the world, and the palace people all found it strange.

As expected, Wang Jing had great reputation. When they arrived at the Anshou Hall of the Empress Dowager, they were quickly invited in.

When Wang Jing entered the hall, Si Yao saw Wang Ao following behind him. He suddenly realized that Wang Jing must have come for Tao Ye, and he felt very uncomfortable.

Wang Ao looked around but did not see the Empress Dowager. Only Princess Si Yao was sitting in the middle, with a group of palace maids standing inside and outside. Because of the hot summer, all the windows were covered with curtains, making the palace a little dim.

"Greetings to the Empress Dowager." Wang Jing bowed.

Wang Ao was a little confused. He looked around the palace again and found that he did not see the Grand Empress Dowager. He was very puzzled: "Second brother, there is only the princess here, where is the Grand Empress Dowager?"

Wang Jing was stunned for a moment and did not respond to Wang Ao's words. Soon he became hysterical again and spoke to the front: "Then may I ask Princess, where is Tao Ye?"

Si Yao was also surprised at first that Wang Jing was paying homage to the Empress Dowager, but soon he was attracted by Wang Jing's question and became annoyed: "I knew it. If it wasn't for that bitch, how could you come to me?"

Wang Jing repeated his question, his tone still cold: "Where is Tao Ye?"

When Wang Jing was talking to the princess, Wang Ao kept staring at Wang Jing's eyes. He seemed to feel that Wang Jing's eyes were very scattered, as if they had never been focused on one point.

Seeing Wang Jing cared so much about Tao Ye, Si Yao acted proud and said, "It's okay to tell you! I sent your Tao Ye to the Shihua Pavilion!"

"Flower House? What place is that?" Wang Jing didn't quite understand.

Wang Ao was surprised and told Wang Jing: "Shihua House is a brothel with extremely good business."

Si Yao smiled and replied viciously, "That's right, your Tao Ye is so beautiful, and there are many customers who like her. She couldn't handle all the customers, and she was too tired to handle it, so she jumped off the building and died! You will never see her again!"