Minister Zhuang knelt before the emperor, kowtowing repeatedly and pleading, "Your Majesty, my unfilial son has been poisoned by a curse. His assassination attempt was due to the curse's control, and he was powerless to do it. Please, Your Majesty, investigate thoroughly!"
Nangong Xiao glared fiercely at Minister Zhuang: "Minister Zhuang, don't give me so many high-sounding reasons. Does Zhuang Weicheng think he can kill people at will just because he's been poisoned? Look at the Imperial Guards who died at his hands. If General Lin hadn't acted quickly, the Emperor would have been seriously injured..."
"Nangong Xiao, what did those two people in your villa look like when they were being controlled?" The emperor lowered his eyelids and asked in a cold voice.
“This…” Nangong Xiao looked at Shen Lixue and Dongfang Heng for help. He had been drugged when the two of them were poisoned and knew nothing about it.
"Your Majesty, the man and woman in the villa are very dazed, completely different from the ruthlessness of Deputy Commander Zhuang. However, what they have in common is that they are controlled by Gu and have lost their own thoughts..." Shen Lixue answered calmly, summarizing the commonalities among the three.
The emperor nodded, having made up his mind. He glanced coldly at Minister Zhuang and Zhuang Weicheng, then turned and strode out without looking back. His ruthless command echoed through the air: "Imprison Minister Zhuang and his entire family and execute them on a chosen day!"
Minister Zhuang felt a sudden, overwhelming shock, his mind going completely blank. He slumped to the ground, stunned. When he came to his senses, the emperor was already far away. His sorrowful eyes stared in the direction the emperor had disappeared, tears streaming down his face: "Your Majesty, this old minister has been wronged..."
"Minister Zhuang, stop crying foul! Deputy Commander Zhuang attempted to assassinate the Emperor. His crimes are heinous and enough to warrant the execution of your entire family!" Nangong Xiao said casually, waving his hand lightly. Several Imperial Guards stepped forward and took Minister Zhuang, Madam Zhuang, and Zhuang Weicheng away.
Whether it was Shen Lixue's imagination or not, when Minister Zhuang walked past Grand Commandant Lei, he glanced at him. That glance was cold, warning, and full of profound meaning!
"Princess, this way please!" Dongfang Zhan stepped forward, and Wen Heping greeted the princess of Southern Xinjiang with a smile.
Qin Ruoyan nodded, took light steps, and walked gracefully forward. The moment she stepped out of the second gate, she turned around wearing a bamboo hat and glanced at Dongfang Heng, Shen Lixue, and Nangong Xiao.
"Oh, so Qin Ruoyan wouldn't happen to have feelings for this young master, would she!" Nangong Xiao smiled wickedly, quickly straightened his clothes and headdress, and struck what he thought was a dashing pose, waving his folding fan with an air of elegance.
Shen Lixue glanced at the second gate, then glared at Nangong Xiao: "Qin Ruoyan has already left!" Shen Lixue clearly felt that Qin Ruoyan's gaze had been on her, Dongfang Heng, and Nangong Xiao. When that ugly woman ran away, she glared fiercely at the three of them. What a coincidence.
"Why are you walking so fast? She hasn't even seen me at my most dashing!" Nangong Xiao muttered, waving his fan.
Shen Lixue didn't respond to his teasing anymore, her cold gaze fixed on the Gu altar and the dilapidated woodshed.
"Are you preoccupied?" Dongfang Heng keenly sensed that Shen Lixue was thinking about something.
"Don't you think this went too smoothly?" Shen Lixue voiced her doubts. Following the 'Firefly,' they captured Minister Zhuang's family in just a few hours.
Nangong Xiao scoffed: "Qin Ruoyan understands Gu poison. She treated the symptoms and instantly caught the Gu master. If it were our usual method, investigating one by one, it would probably take years to find Minister Zhuang..."
“That’s absolutely right!” But Shen Lixue felt something was off, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
"How could Zhuang Weicheng be infected with Gu?" Normally, Gu worms enter the human body through wounds when they come into contact with blood. But Zhuang Weicheng had no blood on him, so how did the Gu worm manage to get in?
"He accidentally bumped his left arm while trying to escape the Gu worms, and the wound reopened, allowing the Gu worms to burrow in..." Nangong Xiao's calm voice carried a hint of schadenfreude.
"You're happy that Minister Zhuang's family has been arrested!" Shen Lixue looked at Nangong Xiao with a half-smile.
"The Gu they raised almost killed me. Of course I'm happy they've been caught!" Nangong Xiao waved his folding fan, his nostrils flared, in a rare good mood. "It's almost dawn. Let me treat you to breakfast!" Consider it a celebration of catching the Gu keeper and achieving a resounding victory.
"I'm going back to the manor for a nap, so I won't be having dinner. Please make yourselves at home!" Shen Lixue pretended to be sleepy, covering her mouth with her hand and yawning softly. She had been away from the manor for a day and three nights, and in case anything went wrong, she had to go back as soon as possible.
Shen Lixue left the Minister's residence, and Dongfang Heng also left. Nangong Xiao stood alone on the street, watching the two figures gradually disappear into the distance, and muttered with dissatisfaction, "These two are really not good friends. This young master will go have a celebratory breakfast by himself!"
When Shen Lixue returned to the Prime Minister's residence, it was already broad daylight. The maids and servants were all up and busy with their duties. Shen Lixue entered the residence through the back door and quickly ran towards the bamboo garden. Just as she pushed open the door, Qiu He came over.
"Young Miss, you're back! This servant will bring you breakfast!" Qiu He knew that her young mistress was no ordinary person; there must be a reason why she hadn't returned for a day and two nights. She wisely refrained from asking any further questions.
"Hmm!" Shen Lixue had been drunk for a day and a night, and after waking up she only drank a cup of millet porridge. Hearing Qiu He say this, she suddenly felt hungry, her body was weak and she had no strength. She really needed to eat something.
A moment later, Qiuhe brought over a food box, gently opened it, and placed the food inside onto the table one by one.
"Why is it all cabbage?" Looking at the three dishes and one soup on the table, Shen Lixue frowned deeply. Stir-fried cabbage, mixed cabbage, stewed cabbage, cabbage soup. She had only been gone for a day and two nights, and the food at the Prime Minister's residence had become so bad.
“Miss, the Madam is under house arrest and doesn’t care about anything at the Prime Minister’s residence. The food in the residence has run out, and the nannies have limited power. Without the Madam’s orders, they can’t get any money from the residence. So, the food in the residence is getting worse every day!” Qiuhe explained in a low voice with her head down.
"You mean, Prime Minister, Aunt Jin is also eating this cabbage feast?" Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow, a glint of light flashing in her cold eyes.
Qiuhe nodded: "Prime Minister, Aunt Jin's cabbage has tofu and vermicelli added for seasoning, it's a little bit better than the cabbage feast that Miss ate..."
"Where is Madam now?" Shen Lixue's lips curled into a faint smile, which made Qiuhe's heart tighten. Was her mistress plotting something? "Madam is under house arrest in Ya Garden!"
When Shen Lixue arrived at Ya Garden, Aunt Li and Aunt Zhao were sitting in the outer room drinking tea. Aunt Jin was wiping her eyes, as if she had been wronged. Lei Shi was standing behind a desk, holding a brush, dipping it in black ink, and leisurely writing one beautiful regular script character after another, as if she was cultivating her mind and body, completely ignoring everything around her.
Shen Lixue smiled, she was testing everyone's patience, waiting for someone else to speak first so she could take the initiative, how clever!
Shen Minghui had probably just arrived. He frowned, stared at the Lei family for a moment, and then sat down at the table, looking agitated. He picked up a teacup and took a sip. As soon as the tea entered his mouth, his expression changed instantly. He slammed the teacup on the table, slammed his hand on the table, and stood up abruptly. The teacup, which he hadn't placed properly, was knocked to the ground and shattered. "Lei Yarong, how long do you intend to keep this up?"
"I was punished by my master and confined to write the Peace Sutra. What do you mean by 'making a fuss'?" Lei stopped writing, but did not put down her pen. She smiled at Shen Minghui, her eyes deliberately flashing with doubt and resentment, and her chest felt tight.
"Stop being stubborn. Your confinement is over. Quickly restore the food expenses of the Prime Minister's residence to normal!" Shen Minghui suppressed his anger and said coldly, his tone revealing a hint of arrogance. Cabbage and tofu, cabbage and vermicelli, that's what he ate every meal. He hadn't eaten such bad food in all these years.
Lei smiled, saying that simply lifting the confinement was not enough: "I am grateful for your kindness, but you are Prime Minister Qingyan. You cannot go back on your word. If you issue a punishment order and then take it back, wouldn't that be like slapping yourself in the face? For the sake of your reputation, Prime Minister, I will also be confined for a full month and write the Peace Sutra a thousand times."
"You!" Shen Minghui pointed at Lei Shi, too angry to speak. He had already lowered his stance, yet she was still deliberately making things difficult for him. Did she expect him to kowtow and apologize before she would stop?
Shen Lixue understood. Lei Shi used the excuse of confinement to lock up all the expenses of the Prime Minister's residence. She used those cheap cabbage banquets to control Shen Minghui. If Shen Minghui asked her to come out of confinement, she would make demands to get the greatest benefit for herself.
"What exactly will it take for you to agree to let the Prime Minister's residence return to normal?" Shen Minghui was the first to compromise, his anger barely concealed in his gritted teeth.
For more than a decade, he had trusted her completely, entrusting the Prime Minister's residence to her management without any involvement in the inner court affairs. He never expected her to pull this stunt, cutting off his lifeline. She controlled all the accounts and funds of the Prime Minister's residence, and no one else could use them without her permission.
Although he was the prime minister, he was not very familiar with the affairs of the inner court. Moreover, Lady Lei was his legally wedded wife, and Grand Commandant Lei had a falling out with him and was waiting to find fault with him. If he forced Lady Lei to hand over the keys or smashed up the storeroom to take the silver, the news would spread throughout the streets and alleys in less than half a day. At that time, his lifelong reputation as Shen Minghui would be completely ruined.
Lei smiled and looked at Shen Minghui. Aunt Jin's eyes were full of mockery. She had known they would come to beg her for help. But simply saying a few sweet words would not be enough. She had been stuck here for three days and suffered for those three days. She had to get back at the culprit.
Lei looked at Aunt Jin. She was smiling, but there was a chill in her smile that sent shivers down one's spine. Aunt Jin's body trembled suddenly, and she shivered. Panicked, she instinctively hugged Shen Minghui's arm and hid behind him.
Lei Shi smiled coldly, her gaze towards Aunt Jin full of mockery. Shen Minghui can't save you. Now that she's out of seclusion, Aunt Jin's bastard child can forget about staying. Her cold gaze swept over Shen Lixue, and Lei Shi's smile deepened. This wicked woman is full of tricks and needs to be taught a lesson.
Amidst Aunt Jin's shocked and frightened gaze, Madam Lei parted her thin lips, about to state her conditions, when a clear, cold voice rang out first: "Father, Madam is right. You must not easily change your mind and order once you have placed her in solitary confinement!"
Lei's gaze sharpened as he looked at that bright face, his heart leaping into his throat. What was Shen Lixue up to?