Meng Wan had been waiting, and hurriedly got up. When she saw Mu Ci bring the girl in, her face lit up with joy, and she grabbed her: "Finally found it! Tell me quickly, whose clothes did that button come from?"
Finding her wasn't easy, because she had disposed of those clothes and was delayed outside, which is why Mu Ci only brought her back now.
She had already inquired along the way, so when Meng Wan asked her, she answered truthfully: “Your Highness, that dress is from Liuli Garden. When I went to clean it up a couple of days ago, I asked a maid to give it to me. Because it was very new, I was thinking of keeping it secretly, but since there was bloodstain on the chest, I figured it wouldn’t wash clean, so I took it out and threw it away.”
Liuli Garden?
Meng Wan didn't care about what was said afterward; she was only provoked by the words "Liuli Garden." Her fists clenched, and her gaze narrowed slightly.
Fu Qingcheng, it really was you! This time the evidence is conclusive, let's see how you try to deny it!
He immediately took his guards and headed towards the Glazed Garden.
Unexpectedly, Liuli Garden was deserted. Meng Wan was puzzled when she suddenly noticed a white gauze dress on the cabinet inside the room. At first glance, she couldn't tell anything about it, but the faint red stains that looked like bloodstains and the long black hair-like things placed below made Meng Wan freeze.
Around my father's birthday, the Prime Minister's residence was haunted, and these two items are precisely the things indispensable for performing ghost stories. Could it be...?
Meng Wan narrowed her eyes, preparing to pick it up and examine it closely, but before she could move, the person she had sent to the palace to gather information rushed in and pounced on Meng Wan: "Your Highness, something terrible has happened! The Prime Minister has been imprisoned in the Imperial Prison."
One sentence made Meng Wan's already tense mind tremble, and she staggered two steps, almost falling down.
She originally thought that the emperor would believe her father no matter what, so she was able to stay at home peacefully. However, she was wrong. The emperor not only did not believe her, but also imprisoned her father.
His head was buzzing, and he didn't know what to do. He didn't care about the clothes and just said to the people in the courtyard, "Prepare the sedan chair, I want to go to the palace."
--
The rain grew heavier, and by midnight, it seemed poised to pour. Meng Wan knelt outside Zhengyang Palace, directly in the wind and rain, for an hour, then two hours...
The words of the night watchman still echoed in his ears: "The Emperor has decreed that the Meng family is not to be seen."
The night was so deep, and the surroundings were so dark that Meng Wan's heart sank to the bottom as well.
This was unprecedented. She knew that if the Emperor were willing to see her, there might still be a chance for things to turn around, but now he was avoiding her. So, this meant that there was solid evidence of her father's crimes.
But how could that be? How could my father do such a thing? And why would the Emperor, who has always been wise, believe it?
One question after another, the long-standing mental torment left her breathless. She knelt there, letting the rain wash over her, her body stiff but motionless.
She didn't know what to do. Only then did she realize how weak she was. When Zhenzhen was in trouble, she didn't even have the ability to save her.
At that moment, she thought of Huangfu Mi. If he were there, things would definitely take a turn for the better. That's right, Huangfu Mi...
Even if it would affect the march and battle, her father's and the lives of everyone in the Meng family were hanging by a thread, so she had to be selfish for once.
She suddenly stood up, but before she could make a move, she saw a tall figure standing not far away, which made her freeze. Then, she pounced on him.
"Fu Qingcheng!"
Meng Wan was searching everywhere for her when she unexpectedly appeared in public and even entered the palace. How could Meng Wan not be astonished?
Fu Qingcheng remained standing there, holding an umbrella, looking down at Meng Wan with a sidelong glance. When Meng Wan pounced on her, Fu Qingcheng didn't dodge, but just watched her move with a smile on her lips.
V63 Resurrection (Third Update)
Fu Qingcheng remained standing there, holding an umbrella, looking down at Meng Wan with a sidelong glance. When Meng Wan pounced on her, Fu Qingcheng didn't dodge, but just watched her move with a smile on her lips.
"Meng Wan, we meet again. Seeing how excited you are, I suppose you saw what was in my room. Are you now filled with confusion? Confused about why those things were in my room, and why they are now in the palace?"
Her lips curled into a sneer, her gaze fixed on Meng Wan, sharp and piercing, as if she wanted to devour Meng Wan alive.
Meng Wan frowned: "It really is you, Fu Qingcheng! So, Huan Yan's death, and my father's current predicament, are all related to you?"
"That's right."
Now that things have come to this, Fu Qingcheng has no intention of hiding it anymore. Or rather, she has been waiting for this moment from the very beginning, waiting for Meng Wan to be overwhelmed, exhausted, and as if the sky were about to fall!
"Why?" Meng Wan asked in astonishment. "We have no grudge against each other. Why would you do this, murder Huan Yan, and frame my Meng family?"
"Because I want the Meng family to die! Every single member of the Meng family must die, every single one of them!"
The hatred surging from her eyes was like a net that swept across the sky, surrounding Meng Wan. She was stunned for a moment, just staring blankly at Fu Qingcheng's beautiful face, which was twisted and terrifying with anger. Meng Wan seemed to be seeing another person, a person who was so frightening whenever she lost control of her emotions.
After a long silence, she finally uttered, "You...who exactly are you?"
"Haha--" Fu Qingcheng laughed, a wild and unrestrained laugh: "You finally asked. I've been waiting for you to say that for so long. Who am I, my dear sister? Do you really not remember who I am? After framing me and driving me out of the Meng family, and then causing the death of my mother, have you forgotten me so quickly?"
Meng Wan froze, instinctively exclaiming, "Meng Junyao!"
Fu Qingcheng smiled, seemingly quite satisfied with Meng Wan's reaction. She stepped forward, her oil-paper umbrella dripping water onto Meng Wan and Fu Qingcheng's skirt, but she seemed oblivious, staring at Meng Wan's face and chuckling, "Yes, it's me, it's me, Meng Junyao, who's back. Not only am I not dead, but I'm back for revenge, to witness you and the Meng family's destruction and death!"
Meng Wan then came to her senses. No wonder they hadn't found Meng Junyao's body back then; it turned out she hadn't died at all!
only...
"Being kicked out of the manor was your own fault. If you hadn't tried to frame me first, how could I have let you suffer like this? As for your aunt, she only wanted revenge because of you, which is why she ended up like that. Blame yourself. What does it have to do with Father that you would frame him like this!"
"Because he is heartless and ungrateful. I am his daughter, and my mother is his wife, but how has he treated us?"
Fu Qingcheng roared, "And you, Meng Wan! Your mother died long ago, but why do you still hold the status of a legitimate daughter? Why do you suppress me in every way? What do I lack compared to you? In terms of looks, I am more beautiful than you; in terms of temperament, I am more charming than you. But why is all eyes on you, while I am forever just that unnoticed illegitimate daughter—"
As she finished speaking, Fu Qingcheng became increasingly agitated, her distorted features appearing even more eerie in the rainy night.
Meng Wan, however, was no longer afraid. She stood up straight, letting the rain wash over her, completely oblivious. She simply stared coldly at Fu Qingcheng, her smile full of mockery: "Because you carry such twisted hatred in your heart, no matter how beautiful you are, no one will care about you. Just like now, you've even killed someone and harmed your father. A person like you deserves to be kicked out of the house, deserves to never find happiness, uh--"
"What did you say!" Before she could finish speaking, her slender neck was suddenly grabbed, and Meng Junyao gripped her tightly, her eyes blazing with fury.
Meng Wan winced in pain, her brows furrowing, but the smile on her lips remained unchanged: "I said you're pitiful. You've always been conflicted about your status as the legitimate wife or illegitimate child, and now you've infiltrated my life using someone else's identity. So, Meng Junyao, you're destined to live in my shadow for the rest of your life—"