She remarried a cold-faced, powerful man, and the scumbag regretted it and cried his heart out.

Chunlan turned a corner on the road and walked into Banrixian. She looked up and saw Yaoqin standing on the second-floor corridor, so she hurried upstairs.

The four of them were somewhat surprised to see Chunlan.

Ignoring everything else, she asked Yaoqin, "Good Yaoqin, is the young lady still inside?"

"The Commandant is inside. What happened? Why are you here?"

“My cousin asked me to go find Fu Zijin, and I dare not delay.”

Upon hearing this, Yaoqin immediately knocked on the door and said, "Miss, Chunlan has arrived."

Shen Jingshu responded from inside the room, and Chunlan pushed open the door and entered the room, telling her Xie Wanqing's instructions in detail, without daring to look at the Captain sitting next to her.

Shen Jingshu narrowed her eyes, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Chunlan, do as she asks. After finding Fu Zijin, tell him this and that..."

She whispered some instructions in Chunlan's ear.

Chunlan accepted the order and left. Shen Jingshu turned to Jiang Jin'an and said, "Xie Wanqing is extremely stupid, yet she is ambitious beyond her wildest dreams. Let them fight like dogs."

“Fu Zijin is probably too busy to care about Xie Wanqing.” Jiang Jin’an said calmly, his tone so indifferent that it was almost impossible to detect any emotion.

"Why?"

"I stabbed him."

"..."

Fu Zijin is indeed still recovering from his injury.

To make the play more realistic, he actually stabbed himself that day, and just as he recovered, he was stabbed again by Jiang Jin'an.

Although he was not a weak and feeble scholar, he could not withstand Jiang Jin'an's ruthless and heavy blows.

In recent days, his expression has become increasingly gloomy and depressed. Even when Wen Huaiqing sent someone to invite him, he turned him away.

At yesterday's palace banquet, according to the plan from my previous life, Jiang Jin'an should have begun to arouse the Emperor's suspicion. So all we need to do next is to act according to the predetermined path.

When Qingzhu saw Chunlan arrive, she led her to the outer room, leaned close to her, and whispered, "Young Master has been in a bad mood lately, so please be careful what you say."

Chunlan's heart tightened, and she quickly nodded.

Qingzhu turned and went inside to inform them. A moment later, she came out again and led her into the inner room.

Fu Zijin was only wearing his undergarments, sitting on the couch, looking slightly haggard.

Chunlan was surprised to see this, but she still pretended to be anxious and said, "Young Master Fu, my young lady said that her marriage to the Cheng family is about to be finalized. If you don't save her, she... she will..."

"So what about her?" Fu Zijin raised his eyes, his dark eyes devoid of joy or sorrow.

"So she went to seek refuge with Prince Jing," Chunlan said, forcing herself to speak.

After he finished speaking, the room fell into a deathly silence.

A smile appeared on Fu Zijin's lips, but as he smiled, the smile changed and became somewhat ferocious and terrifying.

Upon seeing this, Chunlan was so frightened that she knelt down with a thud.

"Kneeling for what?"

Fu Zijin stood up, slowly walked to Chunlan, and looked down at her.

"Are you afraid of me too?"

He spoke softly and gently, but Chunlan felt as if a cold snake was coiling around her. She trembled and lowered her head, saying, "This servant did not."

Fu Zijin bent down slightly, reached out and pinched Chunlan's chin, forcing her to raise her head, "So that means you hate me?"

She opened her mouth, but couldn't say a word.

At the fourth watch of the night, Chunlan's body was discovered in a dark alley by the pimp who was rolling up the beaded curtain.

He initially thought this was a prostitute who had been played to death by some distinguished guest, so he mustered up his courage and went up to check if she had any valuables on her body, but instead he found a waist tag.

He was illiterate, but he greeted and saw off guests every day behind the beaded curtain, so he knew which families would wear such a brand.

The pimp immediately went to report it to the authorities.

Officials arrived quickly. The constable took the waist tag and immediately recognized it as belonging to the Marquis of Pingyang's residence. He promptly sent someone to the Marquis's residence to invite someone to identify the body.

Before dawn, the gatekeeper informed Uncle Fu, who immediately took his son Ashou and hurried over.

Upon reaching the dark alley, Uncle Fu approached and, after careful examination, confirmed that it was indeed Chunlan, Xie Wanqing's companion.

He was shocked and panicked. He hurriedly told Ashou to return to the manor immediately and inform the Marquis and his wife. His voice trembled slightly as he said, "Ashou, you must return to the manor immediately and tell the Marquis and his wife about this matter. There must be no mistakes!"

Ah Shou dared not delay and turned to run towards the Marquis's residence.

He ran all the way back to the main courtyard. Just as Granny Chen was about to bring in some tea, he was startled and scolded, "What are you rushing about for! You've offended the master and mistress; you're going to get a beating!"

Ah Shou had no time to complain. He knelt on the ground and gasped, "My lord, my lady, Chunlan is dead!"

Shen Zizhong was preparing for court proceedings in his room, with Song Wan by his side. Both of them were startled when they heard the shout.

Song Wan hurriedly pushed open the door and asked, "Who did you say died?"

"Chunlan, who was by the young lady's side, is dead!"

Where is he? Where is he?

"People..." Ah Shou hesitated, afraid that mentioning such a filthy place would offend the lady's ears.

Seeing his hesitation, Shen Zizhong angrily said, "If the madam asks you a question, just answer it directly!"

"The person is in the dark alley where the beaded curtain is rolled up!" After saying this, Ah Shou kowtowed repeatedly, feeling fear and unease in his heart.

Song Wan felt a sudden dizziness, her vision blurred, and she almost lost her balance. Shen Zizhong quickly supported her, "Granny Chen, go and see how Miss Biao is, and call her here."

Granny Chen hurriedly led her maid to the Cherry Blossom Courtyard.

Shen Zizhong helped Song Wan sit down and asked A Shou, "Are you sure it's correct?"

Ah Shou replied, "It was Uncle Fu who identified the body; it is indeed Chunlan without a doubt."

Shen Zizhong's expression was solemn. He stood up, paced back and forth, and after thinking for a moment, he comforted Song Wan, saying, "Madam, don't worry. I'll go there myself. You wait for me at the manor."

After saying this, he led a few servants to roll up the beaded curtain.

When they arrived at Luoying Courtyard, Xie Wanqing was still resting, and two maids were cleaning the courtyard.

"Is Miss Chen in her room?" asked Granny Chen.

One of the maids replied, "Reporting to Granny, the young lady has not yet gotten up."

Granny Chen asked again, "Where is Chunlan?"

The two maids exchanged a glance and shook their heads, saying, "We haven't seen Sister Chunlan since yesterday afternoon."

Chen Mama understood, but her expression remained unchanged. She raised her eyes and gestured for the maid to knock on the door. After knocking a few times without response, Chen Mama simply pushed the door open and went in.

Xie Wanqing was fast asleep when she vaguely heard someone calling her. She assumed it was Chunlan returning and mumbled, "Chunlan, why did you take so long to come back?"

Granny Chen approached the bed and raised her voice, saying, "Young lady, wake up."

Xie Wanqing slowly opened her eyes and saw that it was Granny Chen. She frowned slightly and said unhappily, "Granny, what's the matter? You're disturbing my sleep so early in the morning."

Granny Chen said, "Madam requests your presence."

"My aunt is looking for me?" She assumed Song Wan wanted to talk to her about marriage again, and felt extremely annoyed. "Please tell me, Granny, I'll get ready and go."

Granny Chen sighed inwardly, "This old servant brought maids with her, all of whom are clever and quick-witted. From now on, they will stay by Miss's side to serve you."

"Leave it for me?" Xie Wanqing was completely confused. "What about Chunlan?"

"You'll see when you get there, Miss, don't delay."

Xie Wanqing was helped by two maids to wash and dress in a daze, and then went to the main courtyard.

Ah Shou remained kneeling in the center of the courtyard, while Song Wan sat in the hall, supporting her forehead with one hand, seemingly extremely exhausted.

Xie Wanqing felt flustered and stepped forward to greet Song Wan, "Greetings, Aunt."

Song Wan opened her eyes and looked at Xie Wanqing. "Chunlan is dead."

Xie Wanqing collapsed to the ground.