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

Shi Yiqian was still sitting on a rosewood chair in the middle of the hall, watching Tao Yao coming towards him step by step. His face, as gray and yellow as mud, became increasingly darker.

It seemed as if he had something on his mind that he couldn't express, so he could only sigh and lament. Shi Lanxin seemed to be in a good mood today, her face rosy and smiling, forming a sharp contrast with Shi Yiqian.

"Dad, now that things have come to this, we in the Shi family should make plans for ourselves as soon as possible." Shi Lanxin finally spoke, breaking the silence in the room.

Shi Yiqian sighed deeply and slowly stood up from the rosewood chair. He seemed to have become more hunched over after not seeing him for a few days. He pulled a small wooden box from a drawer in a nearby low cabinet, handed it to Tao Yao, and asked, "Tao Yao, is this yours?"

Tao Yao stared blankly at the lid of the wooden box as it was opened, revealing a plain silk handkerchief. She picked it up, spread it out in her palm, and examined it carefully, looking left and right. Gradually, she began to understand what was going on.

There were no embroidered patterns on this handkerchief; it was like a blank sheet of paper, ready for anyone to write on. Now, Shi Yiqian was holding this handkerchief, which had come from nowhere, and questioning her whether it was hers, clearly wanting her to claim it.

Tao Yao shook her head. "Almost everyone has a plain silk handkerchief like this. Daddy, I can't tell if this is mine or not."

The gloom on Shi Yiqian's face deepened a little. He sighed deeply again and rubbed his furrowed brows with two fingers.

Shi Lanxin walked around from behind Shi Yiqian to the front, holding a small wooden button in her hand. Tao Yao was suddenly startled, and a thin layer of sweat broke out on her forehead.

"Shi Taoyao, you don't want to admit that this handkerchief is yours. What about this button? Do you still want to deny it?"

Shi Lanxin threw the button on Tao Yao's chest with a smug look on her face. Tao Yao subconsciously caught the button and took a look at it. It was indeed the button on the sleeve of the inner garment she wore on the Lantern Festival.

Because the clothes worn by the people in Shifu are all made by their own tailors, the materials and buttons used are different from those worn by other places. Anyone who is a member of Shifu can tell at a glance that the clothes are from their own family.

Also, because Tao Yao hadn't had new clothes for many years, the underwear she often wore was quite old, and the buttons on these clothes were also the styles from many years ago - so, this button could not belong to anyone else except Tao Yao.

Tao Yao felt depressed and couldn't understand why this button appeared in Shi Lanxin's hand.

Shi Lanxin smiled awkwardly and asked, "Shi Taoyao, do you admit it?"

Tao Yao pursed her lips, lowered her head, and remained silent. She clutched the button tightly in her palm, wishing she could embed it into her flesh so no one could see it. The moment she saw the button, a host of possibilities flashed through her mind, and the events of that Lantern Festival night slowly resurfaced before her.

Chu Huanjun, Chu Huanjun, and Chu Huanjun—she could hardly remember anything else. She only remembered the ripples of light in Chu Huanjun's eyes amidst the colorful lights, which seemed to be trying to express something but could not.

It seemed like he had a plan in mind. She should have known what kind of person he was. It was she who trusted him repeatedly and was too careless.

Shi Lanxin clapped her hands, and a strange-looking maid suddenly emerged from the corner. Her face was pale, and she humbly came forward to greet Shi Yiqian and Shi Lanxin.

Shi Lanxin waved her hands impatiently and said calmly, "Xingfang, tell me everything you saw on the Lantern Festival."

The maid named Xingfang responded, then glanced at Taoyao evasively, slowly knelt on the ground, and said, "On the Lantern Festival, the young lady suddenly wanted to eat cheese puff pastry. The mansion hasn't had this kind of pastry for a long time, so I thought of going to the market to buy some. Unfortunately, on the Lantern Festival, the street vendors were doing a booming business, and I ran from the East Market to the West Market but couldn't find any cheese puff pastry.

Later, I happened to hear a vendor say that at that time, only Chunfenglou still sold cheese puffs, so I went to Chunfenglou to buy some cheese puffs..."

She paused, then glanced at Tao Yao out of the corner of her eye, her voice gradually lowering. "I never thought that I would witness a murder in Chunfeng Tower... I was terrified at the time and wanted to leave immediately, but the crowd in Chunfeng Tower was so crowded that I was pushed into the place where the murder took place..."

"I was so frightened that I didn't care about anything else but wanted to run... But, someone in the crowd pushed me, and I limped and fell next to the corpse..."

At this point, Xingfang's pale face was already covered with tears. "Then I saw the face of the corpse clearly. It was actually... it was Mr. Zhou Yan! I was terrified, but suddenly I saw something on Mr. Zhou Yan's body... I recognized it at a glance. It was a button from our Shi Mansion's clothes. At that time, I thought it was a button that fell off when I fell, so I quickly picked it up and put it in my pocket and took it away...

Although I can prove my innocence, I am afraid that if the button falls into the hands of others and they spread rumors, our Shi Mansion will be slandered..."

"Xingfang, you did a good job." Shi Lanxin patted Xingfang's shoulder as if to comfort her, then turned to look at Taoyao and said, "Shi Taoyao, Xingfang has already explained everything to us earlier. Xingfang only came to work at the Shi Mansion this year, and all her clothes are of this year's styles, but this button is obviously from three or five years ago. In the entire Shi Mansion, you are the only one wearing such old clothes.

Tell me, if this button isn't yours, whose else could it be?"

Tao Yao clutched the button tightly in her hand, her heart pounding with fear. Her mind was completely blank, and a sharp, thin buzzing sound seemed to be dormant in her ears, making her unable to think or answer.

Looking at Tao Yao who remained silent for a long time, Shi Lanxin became annoyed and couldn't help but push her.

Tao Yao, who had not had any water for three days, was already in a frail state. After being pushed by Lan Xin, he lost his balance and was about to fall backwards.

As Tao Yao's knees hit the ground heavily, a dull pain as if it penetrated the bones and split the liver spread throughout her lower limbs.

Tao Yao clenched her teeth tightly. The unbearable pain all over her body almost made her teeth break, but even so, she didn't want to say another word.

"This button is indeed mine." Tao Yao took a deep breath, "But Mr. Zhou Yan's death has nothing to do with me. As for why this button appeared on Mr. Zhou Yan's body, I can't explain it clearly. I'll leave it to the authorities to investigate."

"Shi Taoyao! Even now, with all the evidence and witnesses, you still refuse to admit it!?"

Shi Lanxin pointed at Tao Yao's nose and cursed. She had always had a hot temper, and now her patience had run out. She was convinced that Tao Yao must be involved in Zhou Yan's death, and she didn't want this bastard, who had no blood relationship with the Shi family, to continue hiding under the protection of the Shi Mansion.