Everyone sat in the main hall of the Prince Nan’s mansion. Shen Zaiye remained silent, staring blankly at the empty doorway. Mu Wuxia wanted to ask him what had happened several times, but seeing his expression, he couldn’t bring himself to do so.
“What’s wrong with your master?” Unable to bear it any longer, the young prince pulled Zhanlu aside and asked in a low voice.
Zhanlu remained silent. How could he tell the young prince that his master had intended to kill Jiang Taohua? That would surely cause an uproar.
“You don’t need to tell me. I can guess. He must have done something terrible to Sister Jiang,” Mu Wuxia turned back, clasping his hands behind his back, and glanced at Shen Zaiye again. “You don’t need to worry that I’ll blame your master. His current regret is the best punishment for him.”
Since he had known Shen Zaiye, he had never seen him express such an emotion. It was a novel sight. However, it was a pity for Sister Jiang. Who knew if she could withstand Shen Zaiye’s methods?
Zhanlu sighed, looked at the young prince, and said softly, “If you know Lady Jiang’s whereabouts, please tell the master quickly. Seeing him like this… it’s painful for this servant too.”
“I don’t know,” Mu Wuxia shook his head. “Seeing how anxious he is, I wouldn’t hide it from him if I did. The Shen mansion is so heavily guarded. How did Lady Jiang manage to escape?”
How else? Zhanlu smiled bitterly. His master’s previous indulgence towards Lady Jiang had been too much, and now this sudden cruelty… He gave her a chance to escape, yet forced her to flee. Now that she’s gone, it’s truly only his master’s fault.
“Stop tormenting yourself!” Xu Yangui couldn’t bear to watch anymore. Though he felt bad too, seeing Shen Zaiye like this made him feel as if the sky was falling. “An hour has passed. Jiang Taohua is surely dead. Isn’t it simple to find a body in this capital? Why sit here idly? Go give her a grand burial!”
Shen Zaiye’s body trembled. He looked up at Xu Yangui, his gaze as sharp as ten soft swords.
“Glaring at me won’t help,” Xu Yangui said. “You decided to kill her, you administered the poison, you offered the food. Now that it’s come to this, who else can you blame? If you had honestly said you couldn’t bear to part with her and sent her away from the mansion earlier, wouldn’t that have been better? Did you have to wait until this point to clearly show your care? Who are you showing your care to? Jiang Taohua won’t forgive you anyway, dead or alive!”
“Master Xu!” Zhanlu couldn’t help but stand in front of him, frowning deeply. “Please don’t speak to the master like that.”
“He can do it, but I can’t say it?” Xu Yangui pointed at Shen Zaiye. “It’s been like this since childhood. I’ve told him countless times not to play games with his words and actions, that it would lead to trouble someday, but he wouldn’t listen. Now what? He’s stumbled and wants comfort? How old is he?”
Mu Wuxia listened in shock. He walked to Shen Zaiye’s side and looked at his expression. “Is the Prime Minister like this because Lady Jiang died?”
Shen Zaiye lowered his eyes and finally spoke in a hoarse voice, “Forgive me, Your Highness. I’m not in a good mood today and have lost control of my emotions. I’ve behaved inappropriately.”
Tilting his head, the Prince Nan said, “I didn’t realize Lady Jiang was so important to you, to the point of making you lose control. If so, why couldn’t you treat her better?”
“One can’t have both fish and bear’s paw,” Shen Zaiye forced a smile and looked at him. “Though I’m in pain, I haven’t necessarily done wrong. Your Highness should remember that in the face of great ambitions, women are insignificant.”
“Insignificant.” Mu Wuxia slowly savored these words, then shook his head. “The Prime Minister is right in everything he does, and his thoughts are always thorough. Only in matters of women is he destined to suffer great losses.”
All emotions between people are mutual. Only when one treats others well will others be willing to treat one well in return. He valued women too little, so naturally, no woman would hold him in her heart.
But clearly, Jiang Taohua had already found a place in Shen Zaiye’s heart. It was pitiful that just as he realized this, he had lost her forever. Stubbornly refusing to admit it would only add to his pain.
“This subject will take his leave now,” Shen Zaiye came to his senses, avoiding Mu Wuxia’s gaze as he stood up. “It’s almost curfew. I will send people to find Lady Jiang as soon as possible. Your Highness should rest.”
“Alright,” Mu Wuxia nodded, watching him leave hurriedly, feeling a bit sad himself.
Had Lady Jiang died just like that?
At the City God Temple in the capital…
Qingtai laid her mistress on a pile of straw, supporting her shoulders while crying and helping her breathe. “First, spit out the poisoned blood. I’ve brought water. Take the medicine first.”
Taohua, her face deathly pale, followed the instructions and turned her head, pressing her chest to spit out a large amount of poisoned blood. After struggling to breathe for a while, she took the medicine Qingtai handed her and forced it down.
“Cover the ground,” Taohua said in a hoarse voice. “We’ll rest here for half an hour, then we must leave.”
Qingtai choked with anxiety, “Where can we go? It’s past curfew. There must be many people searching for us outside.”
“That’s exactly why we can’t stay here,” Taohua closed her eyes, leaning in Qingtai’s arms for a good while before continuing, “Find a commoner’s house, give them some silver, and ask them to shelter us for one night. Even with his incredible abilities, Shen Zaiye can’t search every household.”
“Yes.” At the mention of Shen Zaiye’s name, Qingtai’s hands tightened, her eyes burning with hatred.
It was fortunate that her mistress had been infected with the charm parasite earlier. Any poison that entered her body would only be consumed by the parasite. But she truly hadn’t expected the Prime Minister to be so cruel to her mistress. Ordinary poisons would only cause her mistress to sleep it off, but the poison he gave made her mistress spit up so much poisoned blood, and her complexion was getting worse.
She worried that if even the charm parasite couldn’t suppress this poison, they would truly be finished.
“Let’s go,” After resting for half an hour, Taohua leaned on her to stand up, but her head was still spinning, and she almost fell.
“My lady!” Qingtai gritted her teeth, “How are you? Please tell me!”
“It’s nothing,” Taohua grinned, “It’s just that the Zhao parasite might not be familiar with the Great Wei poison yet. They’re probably greeting each other and making small talk, not rushing to fight. That’s why I’m feeling unwell. Once they get familiar and let their guards down, our Zhao parasite will surely swallow the Great Wei poison in one gulp.”
Even at a time like this, she still had the mood to joke. Qingtai cried anxiously and started carrying her on her back.
“Am I heavy?” Taohua asked with her eyes closed.
“I can carry you,” Qingtai’s voice was full of heaviness, “Please hold on a little longer.”
Chuckling softly, Taohua said, “You little girl don’t know how to speak. What do you mean you can carry me? You should say your mistress is light, that you could easily run across the entire capital carrying me. That way, I’d feel at ease.”
A pain rose in Qingtai’s throat as she stood on the road carrying her mistress, almost unable to hold back her loud sobs.
“Don’t be too sad,” Taohua’s voice grew fainter, “Think about how your mistress will surely sleep well tonight, while that person in the Shen mansion definitely won’t be able to sleep. We’ve won…”
Qingtai gritted her teeth, “If anything happens to you, I swear I’ll storm the Shen mansion and take that dog’s head!”
The person on her back fell silent, her hand hanging limply on Qingtai’s shoulder, swaying weakly.
“Since you’re not stopping me, I’ll take it as your agreement.”
Taking a deep breath, Qingtai, with reddened eyes, went to knock on a household’s door. She didn’t think about why her mistress wasn’t speaking. After giving the people some silver and finding a room to settle in, when she finally laid the person on her back onto the bed, Qingtai dared to tremblingly check her breath tremblingly.
There was still a faint breath.
With quivering lips, Qingtai burst into tears. Like a child who had just survived a great disaster and nearly lost everything, she leaned against Taohua’s bedside, crying heart-rendingly.
At the Prime Minister’s mansion…
Zhanlu glanced at Shen Zaiye several times before finally asking in a small voice, “How should we explain Lady Jiang’s situation to the household tomorrow?”
Shen Zaiye seemed to have returned to normal, his expression calm, though his face was still pale. Hearing the question, he said, “Tell everyone that Lady Jiang’s old illness relapsed, and she’s been sent to a temple in the mountains to recuperate.”
Slightly startled, Zhanlu frowned, “But…” But Lady Jiang will never return.
“There’s no time to cause disputes with Zhao now,” Shen Zaiye said. “Just do as I say.”
“Yes,” Zhanlu answered and withdrew.
After sitting in a daze for a while, Shen Zaiye stood up and changed his clothes to prepare for bed, just like usual.
He had figured it out. She was just a woman, one he was going to kill anyway. He had thought about sparing her, but she didn’t grasp the opportunity. It wasn’t his fault.
What’s gone is gone. Dwelling on it wouldn’t change anything. He might as well rest well and prepare for the banquet with the Crown Prince. There are so many women in the world; surely he’d meet better ones in the future.
As his heart gradually calmed, Shen Zaiye lay down on the bed.
However, when a familiar medicinal scent wafted from the pillow into his nostrils, Shen Zaiye knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep at all tonight.
What a curse.
The next morning, when Zhanlu came in to help him dress, he frowned and said, “Master, we’ve searched the entire city but couldn’t find Lady Jiang’s body.”
Slightly stunned, Shen Zaiye’s eyes suddenly brightened, “Nobody found?”
“She might have already been buried,” Zhanlu lowered his head, bursting the bubble of hope that had just risen in his master’s heart. “There are many new graves on the outskirts of the city, and it’s not appropriate to dig them up. If Qingtai had carried the body alone, she would surely have been reported to the authorities by the commoners. But since there’s been no news, she must have already buried Lady Jiang.”
The light in his eyes slowly faded. Shen Zaiye chuckled lightly, “This maid is quite ruthless, not even providing a coffin?”
Zhanlu looked up at him.
“Forget it. Have people prepare for tomorrow’s banquet. Don’t worry about other matters. If we can’t find her, so be it.” Brushing his sleeves and adjusting his collar, Shen Zaiye strode out composedly. “We have many things to do.”
“Yes.”
With the Crown Prince newly installed, it was time to establish authority. The case of the Duan and Liu families came at an opportune moment. Mu Wuyin wasted no words and immediately sentenced the murderer to death.
(End of Chapter)