This incident caused quite a stir, at least in the eyes of smart people.
But on the first day of the new year, Jiang Yue ordered Jiang Yuancheng to offer sacrifices.
As a result, many smart people were wavered.
But there were two who were absolutely unwavering, one was Wen Qingzhu and the other was Wan Bin.
They have one thing in common, that is, they know Jiang Yue very well.
On the afternoon of the first day of the new year, Wen Mingxuan came to Wen Qingzhu's side.
"Sister, are you still unwilling to forgive your father?"
Wen Qingzhu frowned slightly: "Have you seen him?"
Hearing Wen Qingzhu use him to describe his father, Wen Mingxuan already knew the answer.
He said no more and prepared to turn around and leave.
Wen Qingzhu stood up, grabbed him, and walked to him.
If you look carefully, Wen Mingxuan is almost as tall as her, and he will be thirteen next year.
Having prepared everything, Wen Qingzhu suddenly felt that sometimes, Wen Mingxuan needed to be able to distinguish right from wrong.
"There are no feelings anymore, and there is no love, hate or forgiveness anymore. I know he treats you differently. You are a son, and he has taught you with all his heart. After a while, I will let him go back."
After Wen Qingzhu said these words, he turned around and told Jasmine to invite Dr. Xue over.
When Doctor Xue came to the Hou Mansion, Jasmine took him directly to visit Wen Shuquan.
The guards guarding the courtyard let them in after confirming Dr. Xue's identity.
Wen Qingzhu and Wen Mingxuan followed closely, but they did not go in.
Standing in front of the half-open window, you can have a panoramic view of the scene inside the house.
When Xue Ren appeared in front of Wen Shuquan, he was slightly startled, but he quickly said with a smile: "Excuse me, doctor."
He calmly stretched out his hand and asked Xue Ren to check his pulse.
There were hurried footsteps from the other end of the corridor. Wen Mingxuan looked up and found that Yueniang was coming over in a panic.
Seeing Wen Qingzhu and her brother here, she calmed down a little.
After Yueniang signaled to their siblings, she turned around and walked into the house.
To Yueniang's surprise, Wen Shuquan's expression was very calm, as if he was not facing an enemy, but a benefactor.
But this kind of Wen Shuquan made Yueniang more and more worried.
She looked back at the window, but Wen Qingzhu and her brother had already left.
The fallen snow on the paths of Hou Mansion has been cleared away.
But there is still a thin layer of snow on the flower beds on both sides of the path, and the eaves and corners of the houses in the distance are also covered with a layer of white snow.
When the sun shines down, the scenery is particularly interesting.
Wen Mingxuan said happily: "My father has really changed. He can now treat Uncle Xue very kindly."
Hearing his words, Wen Qingzhu shook his head slightly: "Mingxuan, there are some things you don't know yet. If you knew, maybe you would change."
"What happened?" Wen Mingxuan was confused.
Wen Qingzhu stopped, turned his head and looked into his eyes: "Mingyao is Uncle Xue's child."
In an instant, Wen Mingxuan turned to stone, which was beyond description of shock.
"So do you think his reaction to Uncle Xue was right?"
Wen Qingzhu didn't want to tell him so early, but since Wen Shuquan was able to take advantage of Wen Mingxuan, she had no choice but to tell him the truth.
"The hatred for seizing his wife would be a life-and-death hatred for ordinary people, but he can pretend that nothing happened. Do you still remember how Aunt Wu died?"
"Yes... yes..." Wen Mingxuan felt something was wrong.
Wen Qingzhu told him calmly: "It was Uncle Wen who provoked them to fight for their lives. Aunt Wu once poisoned you and me. I will not let her be corrected, so I chose to help Yueniang."
"But even so, Yueniang is my father's wife, how can she-"
"She really shouldn't, but how did Yueniang's previous child die? You can find out for yourself. In Wen Shuquan's eyes, everyone is a pawn of his superiority, naturally - including you."
Wen Qingzhu no longer concealed anything: "My original plan was to let Fu Lie die of illness after I married him, but things changed. Jiang Yuancheng refused to let me go, and Wen Shuquan also wanted to live, so he appeared in Ping Guo Hou Mansion!"
"He was all lying to me..." Something began to collapse in Wen Mingxuan's heart.
He thought that when he was a child, even though his father was biased, his love for him was sincere.
"Let's go, you will slowly get to know him."
Wen Qingzhu held his hand and turned towards the main courtyard.
Two days later, Concubine Li held a spring banquet at Prince Ning's Mansion and invited ladies from various families to come.
When the post arrived, Wen Qingzhu knew that Princess Ning's position would eventually be decided.
The time is very urgent, it is scheduled for the seventh day of the lunar month.
While Wen Qingzhu was inquiring about the news about Prince Ning's palace, he was watching the movements in the palace.
On the morning of the sixth day of the lunar month, Lei Shuo came to the door in a hurry.
Different from before, her face looked very bad, and she also had a sense of guilt.
"What's wrong?" Wen Qingzhu wondered in his mind, could it be that Prince Ning still fell in love with Lei Shuo
Lei Shuo raised his head in confusion, biting his lower lip, but said nothing for a long time.
Wen Qingzhu handed over a cup of hot tea: "Warm your hands first. If anything happens, let's figure it out together."
"Qingzhu, it's all my fault!" Tears fell down as soon as Lei Shuo spoke.
She had never seen such a fragile Lei Shuo, and she didn't react immediately.
Lei Shuo's tears became more and more violent: "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have let Qiniang go out with me! If it weren't for saving me! Qiniang wouldn't-"
"The person Prince Ning wants to marry is Qiniang?" Wen Qingzhu understood instantly.
Lei Shuo wiped away her tears: "I really didn't know that Prince Ning was so shameless! He pretended to be interested in me, but in fact he was interested in Qiniang. There are so many people in Lingyun Mountain, Qiniang has no choice but to marry Prince Ning!"
"Prince Ning doesn't mind who he marries now, but as long as it's the daughter of the Lei family?" Wen Qingzhu's heart sank.
If this is the case, King Chu will definitely not be outdone. Liang Pingshu may not be able to escape for long.
"Qingzhu, you are so smart, help me think of a solution." Lei Shuo grabbed Wen Qingzhu's hand and put his hope in her.
Wen Qingzhu comforted Lei Shuo: "Don't worry, let me think carefully."
When it got dark, a scream suddenly came from the east.
"It's gone! It's gone!"
Wen Qingzhu immediately walked out and took a look. Seeing that the direction of the fire was exactly where Wen Shuquan was, she quickly ordered Jasmine and Xi'er to follow her.
When we arrived at the entrance of the small courtyard where Wen Shuquan lived, servants coming in and out kept bringing water inside.
The crowd was noisy and the fire was shooting into the sky.
Wen Qingzhu wanted to go over and take a look, but was stopped by Jasmine.
"Madam! Mr. Wen is a smart man! He will not let himself die here!"
After saying this, Wen Qingzhu calmed down.
She looked around and suddenly asked: "Where is Yang Liu?"
"Before we came over, Brother Yang Liu seemed to say that he had some important things to deal with." Xi'er was guarding the yard, so Yang Liu would tell her anything he had to do.
"What's important?" Wen Qingzhu sensed something was wrong. Is there anything else that Yang Liu needs to do personally
She turned her head and looked at the flickering fire in front of her, and her heart suddenly became heavy: "Xi'er, go and see Yueniang, are they in your yard?"
"Yes!" Xi'er suddenly understood, turned around and left quickly.
After a while, a servant brought someone out.
"Madam! I found someone. She looks like Mrs. Wen."
Wen Qingzhu stepped forward quickly, but the person on the stretcher had already lost his breath.
Covered with white cloth, she could still smell the burning flesh and blood.
Her hands were shaking slightly.
Suddenly, another stretcher was brought over. This time it was not covered with white cloth. Wen Qingzhu saw the person on the stretcher at a glance.
Wen Qingzhu immediately ran over and Yueniang lay sideways on the stretcher.
Only then did she see clearly that Yueniang's back was severely burned, and she could even smell the smell of flesh and blood.
Seeing Wen Qingzhu coming, she tried her best to say: "Let, let Mingyao follow, leave with him...his father, leave Beijing..."
After all, Yueniang fainted before finishing the last sentence.
Wen Qingzhu grabbed her wrist and felt for her pulse, which was no longer beating.
Not long after, a nanny came over with a child in her arms.
Although she saw that Wen Qingzhu's mood was not right, she still said bravely: "Mrs. Wen saved the young master. He just inhaled some thick smoke. Just now, the slave gave him some water and took him to a windy place. Yes, it’s much better now.”
Wen Qingzhu turned to look at the fire that was still not extinguished, and then looked at Yueniang's body. Her belly was wet and there were residual tea stains.
On the clothes that had not suffered any burns, there were traces of being pressed tightly by something.
The child woke up. The surrounding environment made him very uneasy and he burst into tears.
Not long after, Yinniang suddenly appeared here wearing black clothes.
"Madam, there is something that I need you to see."
Wen Qingzhu narrowed his eyes and looked at her: "What about Brother Yang?"
"No, it's... Yang Liu." Yinniang knew that Wen Qingzhu had always doubted her, but she didn't mind.
After leaving Jasmine to arrange things here, Wen Qingzhu followed Yinniang and walked towards the north of the Hou Mansion.
There were not many people in the Hou Mansion, and most of the people went to put out the fire as Wen Shuquan was running into water.
Wen Qingzhu followed Yinniang to the deserted path. The moonlight reflected the unmelted snow, giving people a strange dull feeling.
Finally, they arrived at a small courtyard that no one had ever set foot on.
Wen Qingzhu stopped and looked at Yinniang: "These places have never been used, and few people come here from the Hou Mansion. How do you know this place?"
Yinniang sighed and looked back at Wen Qingzhu: "When we get here, madam, don't you understand that I am a member of the Yang family?"
Wen Qingzhu said nothing, and Yinniang pushed open the courtyard door and walked in first.
In the main room in the backyard, a light was on, and Xi'er was bandaging Yang Liu who had fainted.
Seeing Wen Qingzhu and the others coming over, Xi'er got up and handed Yang Liu to Yinniang.
"Ma'am, you may need to see someone."
Xi'er turned around and led Wen Qingzhu to a wall. There were mottled oil paints on it, and it could be vaguely seen that there was once a gorgeous painting on the wall.
She twisted the lamp next to her, and the wall shook slowly. A door appeared in front of her. It was so dark and deep that it was impossible to see the bottom at a glance.
As the door opened, a faint smell of decay and dampness hit my face.
Xi'er turned around to get a lamp, and then walked inside first.
The passage went all the way down. The further Wen Qingzhu went inside, the smell of decay and dampness was mixed with the slightest trace of blood.
Soon, the smell of blood became stronger, and cells made of black iron appeared on the left and right, with rusty iron locks and rotten straw on the ground.
Xi'er in front stopped, and the candlelight illuminated the place in front.
This is an interrogation room. The walls are covered with various torture instruments, but most of them look strange.
Xi'er put down the candlestick and stepped aside.
A man with blood oozing from his abdomen was tied to the cross in front of him, and his face was obscured by his messy hair.
"who is he?"
Just as Xi'er was about to answer, the person on the shelf suddenly moved, then raised his head, revealing a very familiar face.
The man looked at Wen Qingzhu's shocked look, and his evil eyes instantly lit up: "Madam, I have been waiting for you for a long time. Are you satisfied with this great gift to you?"
"Who are you?!" Wen Qingzhu looked back at the entrance of the passage. When she came down just now, she clearly saw Yang Liu above.