Shen Moping stared at him and sneered, “Don’t waste your effort. I won’t say a single word!”

Li Shimin was about to speak again when Li Jiancheng said with a cold expression, “Second Brother, no need to waste words with him. I’ve already thought of a way to make that wench walk into our trap.” Saying this, he straightened up and clapped his hands. Duan Zhihong and others entered, saying, “What orders does Elder Young Master have?”

Li Jiancheng said expressionlessly, “Take him outside and hang him up. I want every corner of the Governor’s mansion to be able to see him.”

Shen Moping guessed his intention and his expression changed. Somewhat anxiously, he said, “I’m just an insignificant person. Using me to lure someone is nothing but wishful thinking!”

Li Jiancheng smiled sinisterly, forcefully stepping on his head and saying word by word, “Whether it’s wishful thinking or not, we’ll know very soon.” Saying this, he continued, “Deploy people in ambush everywhere. As soon as that wench appears, capture her immediately. If anyone is careless and lets her escape again, don’t blame me for being merciless!”

His words sent chills through everyone’s hearts. They hurriedly bowed in agreement, then dragged Shen Moping to the front courtyard, hung him high up, and arranged ambushes all around.

Shen Moping hung suspended in mid-air by his arms. Looking through his blood-blurred eyes, everything appeared so glaringly red. He murmured, “Master, you must not fall for their trick. This servant’s life was originally saved by you – returning it to you is only proper. You must safely return to Luoyang to see Her Majesty the Empress. However… this servant cannot accompany you back.”

Yunyi was currently unaware of Shen Moping’s situation. After dealing with Li Shimin, she hurriedly left, wanting to find a hiding place. Unfortunately, the Governor’s mansion was being searched everywhere with nowhere to hide. Moreover, she hadn’t eaten for several days and was dizzy from hunger. After much consideration, she decided to first return to the dance quarters to see if Meixue had returned. If not, she could still impersonate her identity for a while.

With this thought, Yunyi quickly came to the dance quarters. Recently, with the assassin incident at the Governor’s mansion, people were anxious and fearful. When not busy, they all kept their doors tightly closed and stayed in their rooms, which saved Yunyi much trouble.

Following her memory, she came to the room shared by Meixue and Jiang Caiping. After listening carefully to confirm there was no sound inside, she pushed the door and entered.

In the room, Jiang Caiping was sitting bored in a chair, resting her chin on her hand. Seeing Yunyi push the door and enter, she was first stunned, then showed a delighted expression. The next moment, she rushed over and hugged Yunyi tightly, choking with emotion as she said, “Sister, you’re finally back! I was so worried about you. Are you alright? Did they do anything to you? After they took you away, I went to find Nanny Yang and begged her to save you, but Nanny Yang said you had committed the great crime of plotting against the Governor and no one could save you. Later, I wanted to visit you in the dungeon, but they wouldn’t let me in no matter what. Now seeing that you’re fine, it’s wonderful!”

Except for Empress Xiao, when had Yunyi ever been embraced like this? She stood there stunned, not knowing what to do. Only when pain came from her shoulder did she come to her senses, saying somewhat uncomfortably, “I’m fine. Don’t worry.”

Jiang Caiping reluctantly released her and looked her over carefully, saying with red eyes, “In just a few days, Sister has become so much thinner. You must have suffered greatly. They’re truly awful – the one who assassinated the Governor was that Shen Yunyi, which has nothing to do with you at all, yet they suspected you were an accomplice. It’s completely unreasonable.”

Yunyi forced a smile and said, “It’s understandable they would think so. After all, I was the one who recommended Yunyi to go to Songtao Residence.”

At the mention of this, Jiang Caiping immediately said hatefully, “That Shen Yunyi is truly detestable! We treated her so well, yet she was lying to us all along and used Sister to enter Songtao Residence for the assassination, nearly getting Sister killed. If I see her again, I’ll definitely give her a good scolding.”

Yunyi casually responded and said, “Caiping, I was locked in the dungeon for two days without a drop of water. I’m very thirsty and hungry now. Could you help me get some water and food?”

Jiang Caiping readily agreed. After instructing Yunyi to wait there, she hurried out. After a while, she returned with a pot of water, a plate of steamed buns, and some pickled vegetables, saying, “There’s nothing good in the kitchen right now, only these steamed buns. Later…” Before she could finish speaking, Yunyi had already eagerly grabbed the steamed buns and was eating them voraciously – she had been hungry for too long.

Seeing her wolfing down the food, Jiang Caiping poured her a cup of water while saying with concern, “Sister, eat more slowly. Be careful not to choke. Don’t worry, lunch will be ready soon, and there will be lots of good food then.”

Yunyi nodded and quickly finished the three steamed buns on the plate. After Jiang Caiping cleared away the dishes, she said mysteriously, “I heard that Shen Yunyi’s brother has been captured, and Elder Young Master and the others are forcing him to reveal Yunyi’s hiding place. By the way, Sister, why do you think they wanted to assassinate the Governor for no reason?”

Yunyi replied perfunctorily, “I’m not an assassin – how could I guess their thoughts?” Then she said, “Caiping, I’m still a bit hungry. Could you help me get a few more steamed buns?” This was not a place to stay long. Once Meixue returned, her identity would be exposed. She needed to leave quickly. When hiding, the most fearful thing was having nothing to eat. If she had a few steamed buns to fill her stomach, it would be somewhat better.

Jiang Caiping clicked her tongue and said, “Sister, you’ve already eaten so much and you’re still hungry? Why don’t you wait a bit? Lunch will be ready soon.”

“After being hungry for two days, I still don’t feel full. Moreover… compared to those meals, I still think steamed buns are more filling.” Seeing her say this, Jiang Caiping said, “Alright, I’ll go ask the steward if I can get a few more steamed buns.”

Jiang Caiping went to the kitchen again. After much pleading, she finally managed to get two more steamed buns. When returning, she was surprised to see Meixue standing outside the room. She quickly walked over and said, “Sister, didn’t I tell you to wait inside for me? Why did you come out again? Don’t tell me you were afraid I wouldn’t help you get the steamed buns. Look, didn’t I bring them back?”

Meixue had just been released from the dungeon and was confused by her words. “What waiting for you? What steamed buns? Caiping, what are you talking about?”

Jiang Caiping said in amazement, “Wasn’t it you who said you weren’t full yet and asked me to get steamed buns?”

“When did I ever say such things? Besides, I was locked in the dungeon for two days without seeing you – how could I have said these things to you?”

Jiang Caiping stared blankly at the steamed buns in her hands, shaking her head repeatedly, “That’s not right. Sister, you just came back and said you were very hungry, asking me to get you something to eat. After eating, you said you were still hungry, so you asked me to get more steamed buns.”

Meixue was both amused and exasperated by her words, “You silly girl, did you get confused from sleeping? Would I not know what I’ve done and said myself?”