Noble Lady

"We have been all the way back to the capital and just sat down. We don't know anything about what is happening in the capital. Yu'er, Han Hongyue has returned to the capital. Did the Han family make things difficult for you?" When Marquis Xue heard what Xue Chenyu said, he became very anxious.

"Marquis Xue and the Crown Prince have something to say to Miss Xue, so I will take my leave first."

The abbot stood up and took Mingkong away, once again giving them the place to reminisce about the past.

Xue Chenyu did not hide it and directly told Han Hongyue that he thought they were dead and took the opportunity to confuse right and wrong and accuse Marquis Xue of murdering Prince Cheng.

He also mentioned that His Majesty had ordered the Imperial Guards to surround the Marquis's mansion.

The incident in which Mr. Cai Jinxue banged his head against the pillar on the spot after being slandered was also mentioned.

Of course, she skipped over the fact that His Majesty had visited Madam Xue's residence at night.

After hearing this, Marquis Xue and Situ Zhen both had grim expressions on their faces.

"...Your Majesty, this action should be to protect the family of the Marquis. Han Hongyue complained on the surface, but he has always been a sinister person, and he might have some shady means in secret.

"Marquis Xue probably felt that this was a bit awkward to say; in short, it was a bit awkward to say, "If there were no imperial guards guarding the Marquis's mansion, he could have brought his men to the mansion and silenced them at night."

After Xue Chenyu learned about their past, she also felt uncomfortable listening to it.

Tu Zhen sneered, "I knew this old man was shameless and would definitely not miss such a good opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. I didn't expect that he would actually frame the crime on Magistrate Cai."

Old man Han Hongyue framed Marquis Xue for murdering him, and wanted to take the opportunity to destroy the Marquis Wu'an's Mansion, which caused Xiao Chenyu to run back and forth so hard.

If it weren't for that old guy, he would have returned to Beijing to propose marriage long ago!

You can't hide the look in someone's eyes that wants to kill you.

It can be seen that the prince wanted to chop the person who dared to murder him to pieces with a knife.

Marquis Xue nodded in agreement. "It's a pity for Magistrate Cai. Mr. Lu really likes this favorite student of his."

Xue Chenyu said with feeling, "Lord Cai is indeed a man of integrity, very similar to Mr. Lu in temperament. He is a man of pure loyalty, but it's a shame he has been stigmatized."

Although it was inappropriate, the prince still felt jealous when he heard Xue Chenyu praising Cai Jinxue.

"...It sounds like Miss Xue has quite a bit of respect for the Daling County Magistrate?"

"Lord Cai is a man of excellent character. He is an excellent painter and calligrapher. He is also a great lecturer on policy and poetry. My son Xue Huai has benefited greatly from his teachings. Even the Sixth Prince has spoken highly of him."

Xue Chenyu was full of compliments and seemed unaware of the increasingly awkward expression on Prince Cheng's face.

Xue Hou: Why do I have the illusion that I shouldn’t be here?

"Fortunately, father and the prince are safe, otherwise Lord Cai would have died with a stigma, and the entire Marquis's mansion would have to bear the stigma and live in hatred in the afterlife." Xue Chenyu pulled Marquis Xue up and down and looked him over.

"By the way, Father, I heard that you fell off a cliff. How did you escape from such a dangerous situation? Where are the others?"

Marquis Xue and Situ Zhen exchanged a glance, both of them showing a trace of deep sorrow. ...

……

The monks in the temple have fixed meal times.

When it was time for dinner, Mingkong brought the food over.

Marquis Xue and Situ Zhen had been sleeping in the open air all the way. They had been drinking ice and eating snow for so many days, so they didn't care about whether the food was vegetarian or not. They just ate as much as they could.

Mingkong was stunned.

He stood there in a daze for a long time, and when he saw that Xue Chenyu hadn't eaten yet, he reacted and went back to get more food.

Such a big bowl of rice was eaten up by the two young men.

Xue Chenyu also boasted that he had seen some scenes.

But this is the first time I have seen such a scene of people eating so voraciously.

Marquis Xue quickly finished his meal before remembering the most important thing. "How did you get out of the city when Han Hongyue was defending it so tightly? And how can we get back to the city without anyone noticing?"

Upon hearing this, Situ Zhen looked up at Xue Chenyu, then lowered his head and continued eating.

Xue Chenyu: "Wait."

"What are you waiting for?" asked Marquis Xue.

But she just smiled and didn't answer.

Many pilgrims came down the mountain today.

Logically speaking, today is neither the first nor the fifteenth day of the lunar month. Even if there are many pilgrims at Qinglong Temple, it would not be so crowded.

And those who came were the wives of high-ranking officials and dignitaries.

Qiuhua explained it to Xue Chenyu, who nodded and said she understood, and then asked her to go check again.

After dinner, Xue Luoyan and Weng Xuemei also arrived.

Also present were Princess An Ning from Prince Cheng's Mansion and the seventh princess Tao Tao.

As for the Sixth Princess Jinghua, due to some rumors recently, she was confined by the Queen and could not leave the palace.

During the days when the Marquis of Wu'an's Mansion was surrounded by the Imperial Guards, countless waves of remarks had been raised in the court calling for the killing of the elderly, children, women and children in the mansion to avenge Prince Cheng.

On the surface, it was some Confucian scholars and civil servants who were shouting, but in fact, those people were supported by the Han family.

In addition to the Han family, people from Prince Cheng's Mansion also tried to cause trouble in the Marquis' Mansion, but were suppressed by His Majesty.

His Majesty said that the relationship between Marquis Xue and Prince Cheng was very close, and it was impossible for them to turn against each other for no reason. Before the matter was fully understood, if Prince Cheng acted recklessly, he would be taught a lesson first.

After all, Prince Cheng is your majesty's brother, and he also has to consider the royal family. It would be difficult for him to do too much openly.

Princess An Ning had a quarrel with Princess Cheng and the Second Young Master over the affairs of the Marquis' Mansion. She ran away from home in anger and then moved into the palace to live with the Seventh Princess.

Today, they came together to burn incense.

Xue Chenyu knew that this trip to bring people back to the city would not be smooth, so she brought in other reinforcements.

There are several rooms in the abbot's courtyard.

After dinner, Marquis Xue and Prince Cheng were arranged to rest in other meditation rooms.

Xue Chenyu also got a meditation room to rest temporarily.

Qiu Hua saw Xue Luoyan and her group and happily came back to report, "Miss, the Second Miss, Miss Xuemei, Princess An Ning and the Seventh Lord are all here."

Xue Chenyu listened to her unusually excited voice and asked, "Who else has arrived?"

"Young lady, you're truly foresighted." Qiuhua said with rare excitement, unable to contain herself. "This is an absolutely unexpected surprise!"

Xue Chenyu hesitated for a moment, "Is it the Queen Mother?"

Qiuhua's smile suddenly stopped, "...How did you know that, young lady?"

Xue Chenyu's lips curled up slightly. "Princess An Ning and the Seventh Princess must have said they wanted to pray for Prince Cheng before leaving the palace. The Queen Mother is also worried about Prince Cheng, so she will naturally come along."

She originally planned to take advantage of the return of the noble women to fish in troubled waters.

Unexpectedly, the Queen Mother was really invited out by Princess An Ning and the Seventh Princess.

In any case, the Queen Mother's arrival was a pleasant surprise.

However, they had not informed us in advance before their arrival, so there was no way to clear the area in advance, as other pilgrims were also there.

I wonder if there will be any complications?

Xue Chenyu drank the remaining tea and got up to see Situ Zhen.

When I got to his door, I found out—

"Miss Xue, the prince has gone to the main hall." Mingkong clasped his hands together in front of Xue Chenyu.

"The main hall?" Xue Chenyu was confused.

Then she heard Qiu Hua whisper in her ear, "The Empress Dowager has taken her guards to the Main Hall."

Did the Queen Mother go to the Main Hall?

Xue Chenyu was stunned again, and finally understood what Situ Zhen wanted to do.

Based on past rumors about Prince Cheng, she seemed to understand why the Queen Mother had come today. ...