But she hid on the other side of the city wall and did not show up. Looking at Shen Qingwan's stubborn back, he sighed and couldn't help but feel distressed.
The sun was a little strong, and she was afraid of attracting other people's attention, so she leaned against an inconspicuous wall, squatted there, and hugged her knees with her hands to give herself a sense of security.
Fu Yuheng stood there for a while before slowly walking over and staying beside her.
Shen Qingwan felt someone sitting down on her right side, just enough to shield her from the scorching sun.
"Why are you here? Didn't I tell you to wait in the inn?"
Fu Yuheng said naturally, "My wife is here worrying about her father. As a husband, how can I hide away and do nothing?"
Shen Qingwan knew that he said this on purpose, and she felt neither happy nor sad.
There was suddenly a noise coming from the cell over there.
Shen Qingwan looked up at the sky and found that it was indeed noon.
She stood up quietly and stared closely at the movements in the prison.
A jailer ran out in a panic and reported to the prison boss who was basking in the sun at the door: "Boss, General Shen has passed away. It seems that he died last night..."
The jailer was so frightened that his pants nearly fell off. He picked up the jailer and ran towards the prison.
When he got closer, he found that Shen Tianao was lying there stiffly, his face was bloodless and he didn't feel the temperature of a living person.
There was no pulse at all.
The jailer was completely panicked at this point. This man was a prisoner that the Queen Mother had designated for them to guard, and he might be brought in for interrogation at any time. Although everyone knew what he had done, that was their palace's business and none of the jailers' business.
But now Shen Tianao is dead...
Many of these jailers felt that they had no way of saving their lives.
Panic spread in the prison for the first time.
When the queen in the palace received the news, she was angry and surprised.
"Madam Gui, I clearly didn't do anything excessive, so why did that guy die?"
As if looking for reasons to comfort herself, Nanny Gui sighed.
"My queen, it's not your fault. It's General Shen's life that was too short. We just want him to know who is the boss in the harem."
The queen accepted this excuse with a clear conscience and continued to act lawlessly and tyrannically in the palace.
Nanny Gui felt that she was being more and more unreasonable.
At this time, Hua Zhaoyi suddenly came in to pay her respects.
"I pay my respects to the Empress Dowager. How is your health?"
The queen glanced at her but didn't ask her to get up.
"Sister Zhaoyi seems to be living a comfortable life, but why did you come to pay your respects to me so late today? Could it be that without the emperor, you will not put me, the empress dowager, in a safe place?"
Hua Zhaoyi was so scared that she knelt on the ground and said bluntly: "Don't blame me, Queen Mother. It's my fault. I have been feeling a little uncomfortable these days, so I accidentally got up a little late today. I hope the Queen Mother will forgive me."
"forgive?"
The queen sneered.
"You are always dishonest in front of me. Now that you have made a mistake, you still look so pitiful. Who are you showing it to? That person is gone. I am the master of the harem now. Do you know that?"
Hua Zhaoyi didn't know what to say to get the Queen's forgiveness. She had tried very hard to please the Queen, just to make her life in the palace easier in the future, but this woman obviously had no intention of letting her go.
"Someone, come here, slap her in the face. Keep hitting her until she understands where she is. See if she dares to ignore me again!"
"Yes, Queen."
Then a palace maid came forward, grabbed Hua Zhaoyi's hair and fanned her hard.
The sound of slapping rang out in the small inner hall, accompanied by her plea for mercy: "Queen Dowager, spare my life. I know I was wrong, please let me go!"
The queen looked at the beauty kneeling on the palace floor, her hair disheveled and her temples slightly sweaty. Even under such torture, her beauty was not damaged in the slightest.
The queen was extremely jealous.
"Drag her away and don't let her get in my way."
After Hua Zhaoyi left, the Queen thought of General Shen and said, "Throw that man into a mass grave and keep it secret. Three days later, announce that General Shen Tianao of the former Shen Mansion committed suicide out of fear of punishment."
Nanny Gui went down to issue the order with trembling hands and feet.
When they came back, the person had been carried to a mass grave, with only a tattered straw mat covering his body. It was so miserable that it was unbelievable.
It suddenly rained heavily at night, and the weather was quite bad for the bodies placed in the mass grave.
Shen Tianao was lying there, the ground was very wet, although he had no pulse and breathing, but he still had normal consciousness. He could remember everything those people said to him.
At this time, not long after the group of people who dragged him here left, suddenly two people who were not dressed very brightly and beautifully came towards this side quickly.
Shen Tianao could only feel the noise of them coming, but couldn't tell who was there.
"Hurry up! The rain is getting heavier. If we don't get him out of there, I'm afraid he'll get sick."
The man replied: "Okay, you go take shelter over there first, I'll carry him out later."
"Forget it. Haven't you heard that dead bodies are the heaviest? You can't lift it by yourself. I'll help you."
As he spoke, a pair of soft hands came onto Shen Tianao's body.
He recognized it, it was his daughter, Shen Qingwan.
A line of hot tears flowed from Shen Tianao's eyes. He had waited for so long just for this moment.
Since that woman is his daughter, then that man...
"Husband, let's lift our father up, wrap him in the cloth and leave. This will save you a lot of effort, and I can help a little."
Fu Yuheng wiped the rain off his face and smiled gently.
"You should take a rest. You are weak to begin with. Besides, after what happened last night, I am afraid you can't eat well."
Shen Qingwan blushed. In such a dark and scary place, Fu Yuheng could actually say such words
What she didn't know was that ever since Fu Yuheng was betrayed by the Queen and his own flesh and blood, Shen Qingwan's goodness had been highlighted. She had always stayed by his side, helping him deal with things that the ministers in the court couldn't handle, and she almost lost her life because of the plague.
All of this made Fu Yuheng intoxicated.
This is his woman. Even an iceberg that has been there for ten thousand years will melt one day.
It's just that Fu Yuheng has never been good at expressing himself. If he really cares about a woman, he will only use his actions to tie you down tightly, and from then on you will never think of separating from him again.
It was almost dawn and Fu Yuheng felt a little sleepy. He glanced at Shen Qingwan behind him, who also looked exhausted.