The widow becomes a fairy, and the time-traveling girl counterattacks and becomes the queen

The next day, just after dawn, when a thin layer of mist still covered the capital, Zhao Haoxuan was already ready to go.

Yin Ping'an hurried over in the morning dew and handed him three account books wrapped tightly in oilcloth.

"Your Highness, this is what my mother took out from the secret room in the Gou Mansion." Yin Ping'an lowered his voice, "Inside is irrefutable evidence of Gou Hongying's corruption, abuse of power, and murder over the years. It also contains records of every huge sum of money he has donated to Prince Yu. I hope this will be useful to you."

"Thank you very much!" Zhao Haoxuan took the account book, which felt heavy in his hand. With these in hand, it would be difficult for me, the Shangshu, to make excuses.

He immediately returned to his room, changed into a guard's uniform, and made up his face using the method taught to him by Concubine Wang Xin. In an instant, he became a sturdy man.

He carefully hid the account book in a storage bag. After entering the palace, he mixed in with the crowd attending court and, when no one was paying attention, handed the account book to the Minister of Justice Yang Chende.

Wang Xinyao, on the other hand, had changed into patched coarse cloth clothes, wrapped her hair with a faded headscarf, and deliberately smeared stove ash on her face. She was pushing a half-worn cart, looking like an ordinary peasant woman delivering vegetables.

She had just spent one hundred taels of silver to buy this outfit from the woman who used to deliver vegetables, and that woman happened to have a daughter.

Originally the other party disagreed, but the money she offered was so much that she couldn't resist the temptation.

She came to the back corner gate of Prince Yu's Mansion, which was the passage for transporting vegetables and ingredients every day.

"Stop!" Two guards on duty blocked her path, swords drawn, and squinted at her sharply. "Where's Mrs. Qian? Why is she replaced today?"

Wang Xinyao immediately put on a humble smile, her waist slightly bent. "Please be kind, my two military lords. My mother caught a cold last night and couldn't get out of bed. They were worried about delaying the meals for the nobles in the palace, so they asked me to take over for a day." As she spoke, she pulled out two oil-paper packets from her bosom, and an alluring aroma immediately filled the air. "This is my mother's gift to you two as an apology. It's a homemade roast chicken, still warm."

The fried chicken was golden in color, and the aroma was overwhelming. The two guards swallowed unconsciously. They glanced at each other, then stepped forward to check the vegetables in the bamboo basket. Seeing nothing unusual, they waved their hands and said, "Go in quickly, put down the vegetables and leave! Remember, don't go near the main courtyard!"

"I know, I know. Thank you, General!" Wang Xinyao nodded repeatedly, carrying the bamboo basket on her back and quickly stepped into the palace. Behind her, she heard the guards eagerly tearing chicken legs and mumbling praises: "Hey! It smells so damn good!"

The inner courtyard of the palace was deep. Wang Xinyao, with familiarity, delivered the vegetables to the main kitchen. The housekeeper complained a little about Mrs. Qian's delays and then dismissed her. Unprepared, Wang Xinyao slipped behind a rockery and quickly removed her coarse cloth outer garment, revealing a light green dress worn by a low-ranking maid in the palace. She re-arranged her hair and, with a humble demeanor, walked towards the main courtyard.

The main courtyard of Prince Yu's Mansion, "Jinhua Hall", is magnificent with flying eaves and brackets. However, beneath this splendor, there is an indescribable sense of oppression.

In the main hall, Princess Lin Shiyi sat at the head of the table, flanked by concubines Li Mei and Liu Yu. A delicate bowl of porridge and side dishes lay on the table, but no one had an appetite. Li Mei put down her chopsticks, her eyes slightly reddened, her voice choking with sobs. "Princess, when will this end?" she thought, unconsciously stroking her chest. "The potion Sister Xinyao left behind has long since run out. Now, my old wounds haven't healed, and I've incurred new ones. I'm... I'm really afraid I won't be able to hold on any longer."

Liu Yu silently rolled up her sleeves, revealing the crisscross pattern of old and new whip marks on her arms, some of which were still slightly bleeding. She lowered her head, tears silently dripping onto her lapels.

Lin Shiyi felt a sharp pain on her back. It was the whip marks Zhao Yucheng had left last night after a drunken night. The pain burned fiercely. But she forced herself to smile soothingly. "Sisters, even ants try to survive, so why not humans? As long as we're alive, the clouds will eventually part and the moon will shine. I heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has returned triumphantly from Li Kingdom and is on his way back to the court. Sister Xinyao must have returned with him. As long as she returns, we...we have hope."

"Sister is right," Li Mei's eyes lit up, but were soon drowned by the pain in her body. She frowned, "But, Xinyao... when will she arrive? I'm afraid I won't be able to wait until that day..."

"Sister, don't be silly!" Lin Shiyi said firmly, "The harder it is, the more you need to take care of yourself. Eat more so you have the strength to fight that demon. Staying alive is your greatest hope!"

At this moment, a maid dressed in green walked in with her head lowered and went straight to the dining room.

Lin Shiyi's face suddenly changed. They never allowed anyone to serve them close to them during meals; it was customary, and also a helpless move to protect those around them. She shouted, "You ignorant servant! Who let you in? Get out!" She remembered clearly how her personal maid had inexplicably "slipped" and fallen into a well the next day because she had waited on her for an extra night while she was injured.

The maid raised her head, revealing a beautiful face. She put her index finger to her lips, made a "hush" gesture, and whispered, "Sister Lin, it's me, Xinyao!"

Lin Shiyi froze in shock. When she saw who it was, her eyes lit up with disbelief and surprise. She quickly stepped forward, grabbed Wang Xinyao's hand, and her voice trembled with excitement. "Xinyao! It's really you! You...you're finally back!"

Li Mei and Liu Yu also surrounded her in an instant, holding Wang Xinyao's arms tightly, as if they had grabbed a life-saving straw, tears streaming down their faces, and they were so excited that they couldn't speak.

Wang Xinyao looked at their pale, haggard faces and the scars they could not hide, and her heart ached. "Sisters, you have suffered so much. I came back to take you away from this devil's den."

"Leave?" Hope flashed in Lin Shiyi's eyes, but was soon replaced by worry. "Xinyao, Zhao Yucheng has absolute power in the capital, and the palace is heavily guarded. How can we escape?"

Wang Xinyao held her hand, her eyes firm. "Don't worry, sister. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has already brought solid evidence of Gou Hongying's corruption to the court to impeach him. If Gou Hongying falls, Zhao Yucheng will be implicated. I daresay he won't be able to leave the Golden Throne Hall easily today. You just need to find a way to avoid being seen and follow me out of the palace."

Upon hearing this, Lin Shiyi's eyes lit up with determination. She took a deep breath and said to Li Mei and Liu Yu, "Sisters, this opportunity is fleeting! Go back quickly and pack only the most important items. We're leaving today!"

"Yes! Sister Princess!" Li Mei and Liu Yu wiped away their tears, their faces glowing with a long-lost glow, and they hurriedly turned around and went back to their own courtyard to prepare.

After they left, Lin Shiyi clutched Wang Xinyao's hand tightly and hurried into Zhao Yucheng's inner bedroom. The room was luxuriously furnished yet cold, tinged with hostility. She walked to the massive rosewood bed, forcefully lifted the quilt, and felt around a corner for a hidden mechanism. She pressed it gently.

With a light "click", the bed board slowly moved to the side, revealing a deep staircase leading downwards.

"Xinyao, hurry!" Lin Shiyi whispered, "This is Zhao Yucheng's private vault. Most of his shady things are in there. You go down and find evidence, I'll stay here."

Wang Xinyao nodded and stepped onto the stairs without hesitation.

Just as her figure disappeared into the darkness and Lin Shiyi had just restored the bed to its original state, a burst of hurried and chaotic footsteps suddenly came from outside the yard, accompanied by the sound of weapons clashing and shouting.

"Quick! Surround the main house! Someone suspicious has sneaked in!"

"The latch shows signs of being pried open! Not good!"

Lin Shiyi's heart tightened, but she forced herself to remain calm. She quickly walked to the round table outside and sat down, picking up the cup of tea that had long since cooled. Her fingers were slightly white from the pressure.

"boom!"

The door was violently kicked open, and the guard commander rushed in with a dozen knife-wielding guards. Seeing Lin Shiyi sitting upright, the guard commander was obviously stunned: "Princess? Why...why are you here?"

Without even raising her eyelids, Lin Shiyi took a sip of her cold tea and said in an icy tone, "How dare you! I, the princess, am in my husband's room, and I still need to report to you? Who gave you the guts to trespass into the main house!"

The guard commander's forehead was covered in sweat, but remembering the prince's strict order, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and said, "Princess, please forgive me! I dare not do that! It's just that someone with suspicious behavior was spotted sneaking into the main courtyard. It's my duty to investigate!"

"A suspicious person?" Lin Shiyi sneered and slammed her teacup down on the table. "This palace is impenetrable. Even a fly can hardly get in. How could a suspicious person come from here? Could it be that you failed to guard it properly and you're trying to frame me?"

"Princess, calm down!" The guard commander was under immense pressure. He knew the relationship between the prince and the princess was delicate, but the prince attached great importance to the main house, so he dared not neglect it. "For the safety of the palace, please allow me to search. If no one is found, I will gladly accept the punishment!"

Lin Shiyi's eyes widened as she stood up abruptly, awe-inspiring aura emanating from her body. "Excellent! What a loyal servant you are! I will allow you to search today! If you can't find anyone, I will report this to the prince and punish him severely for disturbing me and defaming my reputation!"

The guard commander was intimidated by her aura, but the arrow was on the string and had to be shot. He gritted his teeth and waved his hand: "Search! Search carefully!"

The guards immediately dispersed, rummaging through the room, carefully checking every corner where someone might be hiding. Lin Shiyi appeared calm, but her heart was in her throat, and her eyes involuntarily swept over the seemingly normal bed.

Meanwhile, Wang Xinyao, deep in the secret chamber, was stunned by the scene before her. This underground space was far larger than she had imagined. The walls were surprisingly made of marble. Dozens of large chests lay open, piled high with gold ingots. Illuminated by the night pearls on the walls, they reflected a dazzling light. Scattered in the corners were countless pearls, jadeite, coral, and other rare treasures.

She didn't have time to examine it. With a quick wave of her hand, she stored all the gold, silver, and treasures in the room into her ring's space. As the treasures disappeared, the numbers on the space container jumped rapidly, and the variety of exchangeable materials increased significantly. She felt relieved. With this capital, she could do more in the future.

She quickly walked towards the bookshelves on one side of the secret room, which were piled high with files and books. Time was pressing, so she quickly and meticulously searched, her fingertips running over each account book. Finally, behind a hollowed-out ancient tome on the top shelf, she touched a cold brocade box.

Opening the brocade box, she found a thick stack of letters. She quickly scanned them, and they were indeed secret correspondence between Concubine Yin and Zhao Yucheng. They contained numerous accusations of framing loyal officials, forming cliques for personal gain, and even references to palace secrets. Beneath them lay several even thicker account books, detailing bribes paid by officials from across the country to Prince Yu's palace. The sheer magnitude and widespread implications were truly shocking.

Wang Xinyao hugged the brocade box tightly in her arms, feeling excited. This was the key to overthrowing Zhao Yucheng!

At this moment, there was a dull thud of the bed being knocked on from above, and Lin Shiyi's voice suddenly rose in anger: "This is my bedroom, and you dare to search it so brazenly?! Commander, are you going to search my bed too?!"

This was Lin Shiyi warning her! The situation up there was critical!

Wang Xinyao's heart trembled, knowing she had to leave immediately. She looked around, searching for another exit, while quickly storing the brocade box in her space.