Zi'an returned to the room and saw Shuyu making tea. Yuan had already fallen asleep on the table.
The effect of the love potion had not yet worn off, and she had only managed to hold on until now.
"Miss, the madam has fallen asleep." When Shuyu saw Zi'an come in, she seemed a little guilty and stepped aside.
"Hmm!" Zi'an walked out, put the lampshade on the table, and said, "Come out with me for a moment. There's a rose growing in the corner. Go pull it out."
"Yes!" Shuyu seemed extremely obedient and went out with Zi'an.
There was indeed a rose in the corner, and it was in full bloom. Zi'an said loudly, "Shuyu, after you pluck out this rose, come with me to take the damaged lampshade out and repair it."
Shuyu responded: "I understand, Miss."
Someone poked his head in from the door, Zi'an looked up, and the person immediately disappeared over the wall.
Zi'an sneered in his heart, as expected, he was still waiting.
After Shuyu pulled out the rose, Zi'an asked her to go back and serve Yuan.
As soon as Shuyu entered the dormitory, she felt a pain at the back of her head. She turned around and looked at Zi'an in astonishment. Zi'an turned the Soul-Snatching Ring expressionlessly, and it felt like an electric shock radiated out, and Shuyu fell to the ground with a bang.
Zi'an quickly stripped off her clothes, moved her to the corner of the inner room, covered her with a cotton quilt, leaving a hole for her to breathe, and then took her clothes to the storeroom.
A moment later, Zi'an took "Shuyu" out. Shuyu was holding a lot of things in her hands, all of which were old boxes with a lampshade on top, covering her entire face.
There were indeed two people wandering at the door. When they saw Zi'an coming out, they pretended to pass by and dispersed in two directions.
"Hurry up!" Zi'an shouted harshly.
"Shuyu" followed closely. Fortunately, the maids in the mansion wore long skirts for the sake of appearance, which covered the big feet.
Zi'an escorted Shuyu to the door smoothly. The doorman was sitting nearby. When he saw Zi'an coming out, he stood up and bowed, "Miss!"
Zi'an glanced at him, and the kindness she received was deeply rooted in her heart. She remembered this man.
When "Shuyu" saw someone calling her at the door, she panicked and stepped on the hem of her skirt when she took a step. She rushed out and the things in her hands naturally fell to the ground.
The doorman hurried forward to help pick up the things. In the chaos, he glanced at "Shuyu" and was stunned.
Zi'an walked forward quickly, stuffed the things at random into "Shuyu", and scolded, "You can't even walk carefully, hurry up!"
"Shuyu" hugged the things and ran away quickly.
The doorman took a step back, expressionless on his face.
As if he could sense Zi'an staring at him, he looked a little frightened, "Miss, I didn't see anything."
Zi'an said softly, "Thank you."
The servant was slightly startled, his face was bitter, "I really didn't see anything."
"I'm talking about the steamed buns and the bowl of water." Zi'an said softly.
The servant looked a little flustered, "Not a slave!"
He turned and went into the gatehouse, hiding there and refusing to come out.
Zi'an took a deep breath, turned around and went back.
She went straight to the old lady's room. As soon as she entered, she saw Xia Quan leading people out and Cui Yu also standing at the door.
Xia Quan glanced at Zi'an and walked away expressionlessly.
Aunt Lanyu came out and sneered, "Miss, you took a really long time to go to the toilet."
Zi'an walked in without saying anything.
The people in the room seemed to have not even changed their posture. A layer of tea dust had already condensed on the tea table next to the old lady, but she hadn't drunk a sip.
Madam Linglong looked quite displeased when she saw her come in, "The old lady asked you to copy Buddhist scriptures, where did you go?"
Since they were all trying to cover up the truth, Zi'an naturally didn't expose it. She walked forward politely and said, "Please forgive me, old lady. My granddaughter just felt a little uncomfortable in her stomach, so she went back to her room to find some medicine to take. When she felt better, she hurried over to continue copying the Buddhist scriptures."
"You should have come back and said that. Didn't your mother teach you manners?" The old lady spoke for the first time, with a cold look on her face.
Zi'an suddenly raised his head and looked directly at the old lady, "I'm sorry, old lady, Zi'an really has no family education."
The word "family tutor" involved the entire prime minister's residence.
The old lady's face became even uglier, but she didn't say anything. She just raised her hand. Aunt Lan Yu, who followed Zi'an in, turned and went into the inner room. After a while, she came out with a plate.
There was a glass of wine on the plate. The glass was made of white porcelain with decorative patterns and a gold-rimmed edge. It was small, exquisite and extremely precious.
Zi'an felt alarmed. This glass of wine was certainly not a reward of fine wine given to her. It was a glass of poison.
All the servants in the house, except Lan Yu and Cui Yu, went out. The door was closed, and not even a ray of sunlight could get in.
A faint smile gradually appeared on Madam Linglong's face, and the joy in her eyes became more and more obvious.
The old lady stared at Zi'an with eyes like a venomous snake, and said slowly: "Three days ago, you openly regretted your engagement and refused to ride on Prince Liang's sedan chair. The Queen was furious and would definitely vent her anger on our Prime Minister's Mansion. This is a sin you committed yourself, and you should not have implicated your parents and family. The Queen has granted you a favor and left your body intact. If you drink this cup of wine, the Prime Minister's Mansion will announce to the public that you died of a sudden illness to protect your reputation. Otherwise, once the Queen's decree comes down, it will be the day you are beheaded, and you won't even have a whole body left."
Zi'an knew that the Queen Mother would not punish her again because she had already found the best way to punish her, which was to hand her over to the Regent and make her suffer eternal damnation.
She looked at Prime Minister Xia, the original owner's father, and asked calmly, "Does father mean the same thing?"
Whether she admits it or not, there is always a lingering desire for fatherly love from Prime Minister Xia in her heart. Today, the Prime Minister's Mansion intends to get rid of her and Yuan together. She just wants to know if he feels any guilt and discomfort in his heart.
Prime Minister Xia did not hide his disgust and hatred for her at all. The regret of the engagement had ruined his reputation and offended the Queen and Prince Liang, which would affect his official career.
"Misfortunes sent by Heaven can be forgiven, but those brought upon oneself cannot be forgiven!" After Prime Minister Xia said this, he turned his face away, not even wanting to look at her.
Zi'an laughed coldly, "What a saying goes, you will suffer the consequences if you do evil."
Madam Linglong stood up, swaying her long skirt as she came in front of her. She reached out to take the wine glass, handed it to Zi'an, and sighed softly, "As your stepmother, I have watched you grow up, and I really can't bear to see you end up like this. However, you have offended Prince Liang and the Queen, so you will definitely not be able to survive. It is better for you to end your life on your own, so that you can leave a whole body."
Zi'an didn't look at her, but still looked at Prime Minister Xia. "You also arranged Chen Er, right? If you catch her and Chen Er, you can announce to the public that she is indeed cheating on you. Then the divorce letter thrown out at the wedding can't be regarded as a random pile of charges to frame the original wife. It seems that the words I said in front of the guests when I regretted the engagement were useless. Instead, they let you take advantage of the situation. I made a mistake. The Prime Minister's Mansion is full of thieves and prostitutes, a nest of evil thieves."
The old lady said angrily, "No matter how much you talk, you can't save your life. This is your own fault. If you had listened and got on the bridal sedan chair of Prince Liang, you wouldn't have ended up like this. Do you want to go against the entire family with your little cleverness? You can't help but overestimate yourself."
(End of this chapter)