Prince! The political conspiracy is not a play, the show is real

During the next three days, Tao Yao almost felt that everything was just a dream.

On the night Zhou Yan died, Tao Yao returned to Shi Mansion in the dark. The mansion was quiet and there was no movement at all. Suddenly, a hand reached out from the darkness and covered her mouth. It was Huai Ling.

Huai Ling told her that the news of Zhou Yan's death had already reached the mansion. Zhou Yan's wives, concubines and family members were on their way at full speed. When Shi Yiqian heard the news, he summoned everyone in the mansion and they were now in the main hall.

Huai Ling found an excuse to run out and wait here to pick up Tao Yao. She could imagine that Tao Yao must be very panicked at the moment.

"Second Miss, where did you go tonight? You didn't go to Chunfeng Tower, did you?"

Huai Ling's anxious expression and tone at that time still keep appearing in Tao Yao's mind, reminding her that all this was not a dream.

She still remembered the hot sweat flowing from the palms of her hands as she held Huai Ling's, and all her sensations were as painful as her anxious heartbeat.

A bad premonition kept approaching her, finally condensing into a faint light through the crack of the tightly closed door in the main hall. With Huai Ling's whispered consolation, Tao Yao finally mustered the courage to push open the door.

The moment the door opened, Tao Yao would rather be faced with Shi Yiqian's harsh criticism or Shi Lanxin's ridicule, but on this day, their attitudes were different from their usual solemnity.

Shi Yiqian stood in the middle of the hall with his hands behind his back, as solemn as a statue.

He didn't say much. When he saw Tao Yao, he just asked calmly, "Can you stay in the mansion tonight?"

Tao Yao shook her head in shock, but heard Shi Yiqian asking the same question again, his voice even deeper and colder.

She suddenly understood something in her heart and whispered, "Dad, if this matter is reported to the government, I will never let the Shi Mansion be implicated."

Shi Yiqian sighed deeply and said, "You are just a little girl, what can your words mean?"

He frowned, his hands behind his back, and paced back and forth in the center of the hall, taking a step and sighing. Overnight, the wrinkles on his forehead seemed to have deepened a little.

Finally, Shi Yiqian finally stood in front of Tao Yao, hugged her for the first time, and advised earnestly: "You just need to pretend to be ignorant about this matter. Our Shi Mansion, apart from the engagement with Zhou Yan, has no other entanglements. No one will make a fuss about the Shi Mansion."

From what he said, he actually became suspicious of Tao Yao's whereabouts tonight.

As expected, in this world, right and wrong are determined only by the human heart. Chu Huanjun was right. Rumors are to be feared. If even the people in the Shi Mansion couldn't believe her, then she would never be able to clear her name even if she jumped into the Yellow River.

The next day, Zhou Yan's wives and concubines came to the house. The scene at the mansion that day was a complete commotion.

Two of the concubines believed that Tao Yao had long intended to escape the marriage, and since the wedding date was approaching, she had to marry, so they killed Zhou Yan; the other two concubines believed that the marriage between the two families was promoted by Shi Yiqian, and the strangeness in it must be related to Shi Yiqian.

Both sides insisted on their own opinions. Only the wife remained silent for a long time. In the end, she covered her face and sobbed, crying harder and harder, and finally fainted from crying.

After the doctor carried the unconscious wife into the house for treatment, the four concubines dragged Shi Yiqian to a side hall and actually wanted to discuss a private settlement with him - let Shi Yiqian take out 8,000 taels of silver and share it with the four of them, and the matter would be over.

In reality, the concubines had long disliked Zhou Yan as their husband, and now that he was dead, they were happy to regain their freedom. It was just a pity for the wife who had truly loved Zhou Yan. Her husband's body wasn't even cold yet, and these demanding concubines were already eager to share the leftovers from his still-warm soul.

However, even if Shi Yiqian wanted to agree to them and settle the matter in this way, he was powerless - he was an honest official, and eight thousand taels of silver was such a large sum of money, he had never received such a generous salary in his life. On weekdays, the inflow and outflow of silver in the Shi Mansion was strictly controlled. Even if all the people in the Shi Mansion were sold, they could not raise such a sum.

So, the women parted unhappily, saying: Since we can't figure it out privately, we can only report it to the government and let the yamen make the decision.

On the third day, it was like a nightmare had actually come true.

Tao Yao hadn't slept well in the past three days. Every night she spent half the night awake, half the night closed. Her mind was a mess, either thinking of the blood-stained carpet beneath Zhou Yan's body that night, or of Chu Huanjun's cold and composed expression.

Only three days had passed, but she felt like a century had passed.

Huai Ling opened the window, letting the sunlight from outside into the cold little room. Tao Yao turned over uncomfortably and tucked her head into the quilt.

"Second Miss, no matter what, why don't you get up and eat something?"

Huai Ling brought a lunch box back from the kitchen and was placing the congee and side dishes on the table. Tao Yao hadn't slept well or eaten much in the past three days; fear alone had consumed almost all of her energy.

Huai Ling went to Tao Yao's bed to see her, only to find that her eyes were wide open, staring straight ahead without blinking.

Huai Ling was startled by her behavior and sighed, patting her chest: "Second Miss, you must be extremely hungry. Huai Ling will help you get up and eat."

After saying that, Huai Ling reached out to help Tao Yao up, but found that she was cold even under the tightly wrapped quilt, and her palms and back were also cold.

Huai Ling felt her forehead and was shocked to find it was burning. "Second Miss! Are you feeling unwell? Why didn't you tell me? Huai Ling will go boil some medicine for you right away."

Tao Yao asked her weakly, "Huai Ling, tell me, do I not have much time left?"

"Pfft, pfft, pfft!" Huai Ling interrupted her, "Second Miss, what nonsense are you talking about? After all, the Second Miss has the support of the entire Shi Mansion. No matter what, the Master will settle everything for the Second Miss."

Before she finished speaking, there was a knock on the door. Someone whispered, "Second Miss, the master invites you to the side hall for a chat."

Tao Yao clearly felt Huai Ling's hands, which were supporting her back, trembled. Turning around, she saw Huai Ling looking as if she was facing a formidable enemy.

"Second Miss, don't be afraid. No matter what happens, Huai Ling will always be with you."

Before Huai Ling could continue speaking, Tao Yao pressed her down on the spot, quickly jumped up from the bed, put on her clothes, and went out like a gust of wind. She also locked the door handle, not allowing Huai Ling to chase her out.

Tao Yao had a vague feeling that today might be the last day that the Shi Mansion would allow her to stay.

This time, she couldn't drag Huai Ling to suffer with her no matter what. At least, if she really had to be a scapegoat and go to jail, there was Huai Ling outside who could support her.

With a nervous heart, Tao Yao quickly stepped into the side hall. As soon as she stepped through the door, it was quickly closed by two servants with brisk movements.

Somehow, Shi Lanxin, who had been hiding in her room to avoid the limelight these days, was here too.