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At this time, the Zhuang family was surrounded by the rebel army. Fu Yunxi's yamen runners had been disarmed and were squatting dejectedly in the corner of the courtyard.

They were about to face either reorganization or repatriation to their hometowns; these ordinary constables could not escape the fate of being swept up by the times.

The people of the Zhuang family were filled with fear and panic. The banners of the rebel army prominently displayed the slogan "Kill the treacherous minister Zhuang Shiyang".

As Old Mrs. Zhuang, surnamed Wei, sat in the Buddhist hall, the prayer beads in her hand suddenly broke, and the sandalwood beads rolled to the ground.

Her thoughts involuntarily drifted back to that unforgettable rainy night.

Seventeen years ago, on that stormy night, lightning ripped through the night sky like a silver snake.

Wei wrapped her thin clothes tightly around herself and hurried through the puddles to the east courtyard.

Just now, a maid came to report that Master Zhuang Hanliang was furious again because of the young master Shiyang's dealings with the Pei family, and even resorted to family discipline.

"Master! Please calm down..." Madam Wei's voice stopped abruptly as soon as she opened the door.

In the flickering candlelight, Zhuang Hanliang lay back on the armchair, dark red blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, his right hand hanging limply to the ground, with a crumb of half a piece of mung bean cake still clinging to his fingers.

"Master?" Madam Wei stepped forward tremblingly, but at that moment she heard footsteps outside the window.

She instinctively slipped behind the screen and saw Zhuang Shiyang push open the door and enter through the silk gauze.

Young Zhuang Shiyang slowly knelt before his father's body: "Father, don't blame your son for being heartless. You insisted on opposing Lord Pei, and your son had no choice."

He reached out and closed Zhuang Hanliang's glaring eyes. "My son's life is more important than yours."

Behind the screen, Madam Wei covered her mouth tightly, her nails digging into her palms.

She saw Zhuang Shiyang take out a small porcelain bottle from his sleeve, sprinkle the remaining powder onto the half-eaten mung bean cake, and then pry open her deceased father's mouth and force it in.

"Who's there?" Zhuang Shiyang suddenly turned his head.

Wei's heart skipped a beat, and she accidentally knocked over the incense burner on the table.

"Mother?" Zhuang Shiyang narrowed his eyes, his face drained of color.

Wei Shiqiang walked out calmly: "Shiyang, your father..."

"Father suddenly fell ill with a heart attack, and by the time I arrived, he was already..." Zhuang Shiyang's voice choked with emotion, but his eyes were as sharp as a hawk's. "Mother, did you see anything just now?"

The rain gradually subsided, and the sound of dripping water from the eaves could be clearly heard.

Suddenly, Madam Wei threw herself at Zhuang Hanliang and burst into tears, crying, "Master! How could you leave us like this..."

She cried her heart out, but out of the corner of her eye she noticed that Zhuang Shiyang's tense shoulders relaxed slightly.

Three days later, Zhuang Shiyang brought a food box to Wei's room: "Mother, please accept my condolences and have some food."

Looking at the bowl of lotus seed soup, Wei recalled the powder in the porcelain bottle that night.

She took the bowl and gulped down the soup, not caring that it dripped down her chin: "Shiyang! The family is counting on you now. Your father passed away so suddenly, and the position of head of the family..."

"My son is still inexperienced..." Zhuang Shiyang said, feigning refusal.

"Nonsense!" Madam Wei slammed her hand on the table and stood up. "Who in the Zhuang family doesn't respect you? Tomorrow I'll have the clan elders open the ancestral hall!"

Her voice was loud, but her hands trembled so much that she could barely hold the bowl, revealing her inner fear and unease.

Zhuang Shiyang stared at his mother for a long time before finally smiling: "Then I'll reluctantly agree."

……

Seventeen years later, Zhuang Hanyan and Su Ning stood in the evidence room of Dali Temple, with a yellowed skeleton in front of them.

Yuwen Chang'an's handwritten letter lay quietly beside him: "The prefect of Danzhou personally examined the remains and found that there was a deadly poison between the bones and teeth, which was consistent with the poison in the mung bean cakes used by the Zhuang family back then."

“Just as I thought.” Zhuang Hanyan gently stroked the crack on her skull with her fingertips. “Grandfather’s illness back then wasn’t simply a heart attack, nor was it caused by me, some barefoot ghost.”

She recalled the three times her mother, Ruan Xiwen, had tested Wei Shi before her death…

The first time she was offered mung bean cakes, Ms. Wei spilled them on the spot; the second time she was invited to a meal, Ms. Wei claimed to be ill and refused to come; the third time…

Su Ning said in a low voice, "Madam, your grandmother Wei's birthday is approaching, this time..."

Zhuang Hanyan sneered: "Hmph! Don't worry! This time she won't be able to escape."

On her way to the Zhuang residence, Zhuang Hanyan's thoughts were interrupted by a group of female prisoners.

At this moment, Zhuang Yushan was being taken to the imperial prison with several women from the Qi Prince's mansion. Upon seeing Zhuang Hanyan pass by, he immediately cursed her with all his might, "Zhuang Hanyan, how dare you rebel! You're courting death!"

"Hmph! I don't know if I'll live or die, but you're about to die now."

"you……"

"Zhuang Yushan, it's fortunate that you didn't do anything heinous, otherwise you would definitely be guilty this time."

"..."

After noticing the fear on Zhuang Yushan's face, Zhuang Hanyan suddenly felt rather bored.

Then she gestured to the guards to continue forward, for she was now the mistress of this capital city.

"My husband, I hope you will treat these sinners' wives kindly."

"Don't worry! Once the matter is cleared up, I will have them released."

"Husband, will the people below not be two-faced?"

"No! My soldiers will only be loyal to me, and they will resolutely carry out my will."

"That's good."

The Wei family's residence was even more dilapidated than Zhuang Hanyan remembered.

The old woman sat alone by the window, a plate of untouched pastries in front of her.

"Grandmother, are you well?" Zhuang Hanyan bowed. "Your granddaughter has come to wish you a happy birthday."

Wei's cloudy eyes flickered: "It's kind of you to still remember me."

At this moment, Zhuang Hanyan took out a brocade box and placed it in front of Wei Shi. "Of course I remember! This is a specialty of Danzhou, and it is exactly the same as the mung bean cake that my grandfather loved to eat back then."

Wei's withered fingers suddenly curled up, knocking over the teacup.

"Grandmother, there's no need to panic." Zhuang Hanyan bent down to wipe the water stains, lowering her voice, "Granddaughter only wants to ask one question: how exactly did Grandfather die back then?"

The room was deathly silent.

After a long silence, Wei said in a hoarse voice, "My heart... my heart condition has suddenly worsened..."

"Is that so?" Zhuang Hanyan took out Yuwen Chang'an's letter. "Then how do you explain the poison in these bones?"

Madam Wei trembled all over, tears streaming down her face: "I...I don't know anything..."

“Grandmother,” Zhuang Hanyan grasped the old woman’s trembling hand, “as long as you tell the truth, I guarantee you will have a worry-free old age. But if you continue to hide it…”

Suddenly, Zhuang Hanyan leaned close to Wei's ear and said, "Do you think Father would believe that you've kept your mouth shut for seventeen years?"

Wei was struck dumb, fear flashing in her cloudy eyes.

Zhuang Hanyan stood up: "Besides, my father has already been arrested by our soldiers, and he will be facing trial. So I can only give you three days to consider."

"..."

Three days later, a sandalwood box was delivered to Zhuang Hanyan.

Inside the box lay a stalk of water celery, its roots tinged with an eerie bluish-purple hue.

The attached note contained only a few crooked words: "The rabbit dies beneath the leaves."

"Just as I expected." Zhuang Hanyan sneered.

She remembered her mother saying that the Wei family had once kept a pair of white rabbits in their courtyard, which suddenly died one day next to a few water celery plants.

……

In the Dali Temple courtroom, Zhuang Shiyang was kneeling in the center, chained up.

Fu Yunxi, now disguised and loyal to Suning, was dressed in the official robes of the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. "Zhuang Shiyang, Zhuang Hanliang's remains have been confirmed to have died of poisoning. What else do you have to say?"

"Your Excellency is wise!" Zhuang Shiyang kowtowed repeatedly. "This humble official did indeed conceal the cause of my father's death, but the one who poisoned him was Zhou! She has always resented my father for not allowing her to become the official wife..."

"Absurd!" Zhou Ruyin was also brought in by the yamen runners, but her hair was disheveled. "Back then, I was just a concubine. How did I get the audacity to plot against the head of the family?"

She turned to Fu Yunxi, "My lord, I admit that I hired Master Duan to perform supernatural tricks, but Master tacitly approved of it! He's been wanting to for a long time..."

"Shut up!" Zhuang Shiyang suddenly sprang to his feet, only to be pushed down by the bailiffs. "You wicked woman! You were willing to kill your master to become the legitimate wife, and now you want to frame your own husband?"

An uproar erupted in the audience.

Zhuang Hanyan remained hidden behind the screen, coldly observing this farce.

When Zhuang Yushan was brought in by the yamen runners, hope immediately ignited in Zhou Ruyin's eyes: "Yushan! Tell the magistrate quickly, was your mother with you in your room that stormy night?"

Zhuang Yushan avoided his mother's expectant gaze and knelt down, saying, "My lord, when I was young, I saw my mother put drugs in my grandfather's pastries... I didn't understand at the time, but now that I think about it..."

"You wicked child!" Zhou Ruyin shrieked, "I've planned for you for half my life, and you..."

She suddenly lunged at Zhuang Yushan, but was held back tightly by the yamen runners.

Zhuang Shiyang feigned a sigh: "You wretched child! Yushan, how could you falsely accuse your own mother?"

He kowtowed deeply, “My lord, the daughter should be punished with caning for accusing her mother. This crime… I am willing to take the blame for her.”

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Yushan immediately exclaimed, "My lord, everything I have said is true! My mother even used hemlock to kill my grandmother's beloved rabbit as a test drug!"

Behind the screen, Zhuang Hanyan's lips curled into a slight smile.

She watched as the light in Zhou Ruyin's eyes gradually faded, until she finally collapsed to the ground: "Yes...it was all me..." Fu Yunxi frowned: "There are still doubts in this case, pending..."

"Your Excellency is wise!" Zhuang Shiyang interjected. "This wicked woman deserves to die a thousand deaths!"

He struggled to get up, and Zhuang Yushan quickly stepped forward to help him.

The father and son left hand in hand, and neither of them looked back at Zhou Ruyin, who was slumped on the ground.

"Everyone is temporarily detained."

After the court session ended, Zhuang Hanyan met Fu Yunxi in the corridor.

"Is Madam Su satisfied?" Fu Yunxi asked meaningfully.

Zhuang Hanyan smiled: "The justice of Heaven is clear, how can I be satisfied? It's just..."

She looked at Zhou Ruyin being taken away in the distance, "Some birds have been caged for too long, and when they are released, they don't know where to fly."

Fu Yunxi followed her gaze and suddenly asked, "That water celery... was it you who arranged it?"

"Lord Fu is too kind," Zhuang Hanyan curtsied. "How could a granddaughter harm her own grandmother?"

"Madam Su, is the Earl of Zhongqin really planning a rebellion?"

"It's not a rebellion! It's an uprising! Besides, Lord Fu, you wouldn't want the false emperor to know that you are Pei Dafu's adopted son, would you?"

"Alas! That's why I'm the first to surrender to you. Anyway, my fate was already sealed long ago."

"As long as Lord Fu knows what's going on, that's fine."

Then she turned and left, her skirt sweeping across the bluestone slabs like a faded bloodstain.

……

"Aunt Zhou," the girl's voice was like a knife chilled to the bone, "is this prison comfortable?"

The campfire crackled in the prison.

Zhou Ruyin, wrapped in the cloak handed to her by Chai Jing, held the hot tea in trembling hands.

The wound on her face, inflicted by the gold hairpin, had scabbed over, resembling a centipede crawling on her once beautiful cheek.

Zhuang Hanyan suddenly said, "Aunt Zhou, now that you've seen through Zhuang Shiyang's true colors, you shouldn't continue to cover for him, right?"

The teacup fell from Zhou Ruyin's hand, and hot water splashed onto her skirt.

Her lips trembled, but she couldn't make a sound.

"You think Zhuang Shiyang only harmed my mother, Ruan Xiwen?" Zhuang Hanyan squatted down, looking directly into Zhou Ruyin's bloodshot eyes. "He even killed his own father, let alone you, a concubine who knows too much?"

Zhou Ruyin suddenly grabbed Zhuang Hanyan's wrist: "You're lying to me! Your grandfather was clearly the one who deserved to die, you barefoot ghost."

"The Zhao family of Qingzhou?" Zhuang Hanyan sneered. "That well is in the back garden of the Zhao family's villa. Would you like me to take you to see it?"

Zhou Ruyin felt as if her spine had been removed, and she collapsed to the ground, completely limp.

She recalled the hesitant expression on Yuqin's face when she last saw her daughter.

At that time, she was busy preparing congratulatory gifts for Zhuang Shiyang's new appointment as Vice Minister of Rites, and only said perfunctorily, "We'll talk about it later."

"Why did you save me?" Zhou Ruyin asked hoarsely, "To laugh at me? Or..."

She suddenly became alert. "You want to use me against Zhuang Shiyang?"

Instead of answering, Zhuang Hanyan asked, "Do you remember the jade earrings my mother gave you?"

Zhou Ruyin was taken aback.

That was a gift Ruan Xiwen gave to everyone at the New Year's Eve dinner three years ago.

“She hid a letter in the pendant.” Zhuang Hanyan took out half a yellowed piece of paper from her sleeve. “It said that if one day you are desperate, you will give me something.”

A spark suddenly burst from the campfire.

Zhou Ruyin stared at the paper, recalling what Wei had once hinted: "The real ledger of the Zhuang family is in Aunt Zhou's hands."

"Ha, hahaha..." Zhou Ruyin suddenly burst into laughter, her laughter more unpleasant than crying, "Ruan Xiwen, Ruan Xiwen, you've been dead for three years and you're still scheming against me!"

She staggered to her feet, pulled a paper package from her undergarments, and said, "Here's the IOU from Shiyang Village that you wanted!"

Zhuang Hanyan unfolded the IOU, and Chai Jing raised a lamp and leaned closer.

The yellowed paper clearly stated, "I have borrowed five thousand taels of silver from Zhuang Hanyan's name." It was signed by seventeen households from Shiyang Village and dated the year Zhuang Hanyan returned to Beijing.

“Zhuang Shiyang started planning this a long time ago.” Chai Jing said in a deep voice, “He put all the debts in your name, so you would be the scapegoat when the case comes to light.”

Zhou Ruyin scoffed: "You think that's all?"

She suddenly ripped open her collar, revealing a hideous scar below her collarbone. "Do you know what this is? It's the scar he burned himself when I discovered he was illegally minting official silver!"

The sound of rain grew louder.

Zhuang Hanyan stared at the woman who had once been her enemy at every turn, and suddenly asked, "Aunt Zhou, is it worth it?"

"what?"

"You've spent your whole life striving to become a noblewoman?" Zhuang Hanyan pointed to Zhou Ruyin's scarred hands. "How many handkerchiefs have these hands embroidered to please powerful ladies? How many nights have you spent sewing official robes for him?"

Zhou Ruyin seemed to have been stung: "What do you know! A merchant's daughter is considered a low-class person in the capital! I just wanted to..."

"Want to live with dignity?" Zhuang Hanyan interrupted, "But a true noblewoman..."

She suddenly removed the silver hairpin from her hair. "It's like this."

The tip of the hairpin grazed the table in Zhou Ruyin's astonished gaze, shaving off a piece of wood.

“My mother once said that a noble lady’s worth is not determined by how many jewels she wears,” Zhuang Hanyan said, putting the hairpin back into her hair, “but by whether she can control her own destiny.”

Zhou Ruyin was stunned.

Many years ago, on a certain afternoon, Ruan Xiwen seemed to have said something similar to her.

At that time, she was crying and making a fuss because Zhuang Shiyang refused to take her to the banquet. Ruan Xiwen just quietly embroidered a handkerchief and said, "Mountains crumble when you rely on them, and people run away when you rely on them."

Zhuang Hanyan extended her hand. "Now, Aunt Zhou, are you willing to cooperate?"

Looking at that hand, Zhou Ruyin suddenly remembered that when she first entered the manor, she had also reached out her hand to Ruan Xiwen in the same way.

At that time, she was full of scheming, while the other party's eyes were full of pity.

"Do I have a choice?"

……

Three days later, in Shiyang Village.

As soon as Zhuang Hanyan's carriage entered the village, a group of ragged old people knelt on the muddy road.

"Please have mercy, sir!" The elderly man at the head of the group kowtowed repeatedly. "Give us a little more time. The children have gone to work in the south, and they'll surely be able to pay back the interest by the end of the year..."

Chai Jing helped the old man up: "Sir, you've misunderstood. We're not here to collect debts."

“Uncle Li,” Zhuang Hanyan took out the IOU, “it says on this that I lent money to you, but I never…”

"It's Granny Tao!" a woman in the crowd suddenly shouted. "She said she's lending money for Miss Zhuang, and the interest is only three percent!"

Chai Jing and Zhuang Hanyan exchanged a glance.

Tao Mama, who was Zhou Ruyin's confidante, has now become Zhuang Shiyang's cook.

"My name is clearly on the IOU, aren't you afraid of being scammed?" Zhuang Hanyan asked.

Li San smiled wryly: "How could we peasants possibly read? Every time Granny Tao comes, she brings an account book stamped with the official seal, saying that Miss Zhuang is the daughter of an official and is the most compassionate..."

Zhuang Hanyan's heart sank.

Zhuang Shiyang not only lent money in her name, but also probably forged official documents.

If the case comes to light, she will be a serious criminal who colludes with the government to exploit the people!

On the way back, Chai Jing was also full of emotion, "I really didn't expect your father to be so ruthless, actually taking Aunt Zhou's confidante under his wing."

"Therefore, we cannot overlook any detail, otherwise we would be letting down our husband's efforts."

"Han Yan, after things are settled here, are you really willing to leave with Su Ning?"

"We'll be together through thick and thin, inseparable!"

"..."

Because Chai Jing did not sign that "devil's agreement" with Suning, she could not experience the soul connection between Suning and Zhuang Hanyan.

However, she also hoped that Su Ning would offer to take her away, since she and Su Ning had done all they could.

"Chai Jing, don't worry! When your husband leaves, he will definitely take you with him."

"Really? I still feel that Suning likes you more."

"Chai Jing, why don't you sign a devil's pact with your husband too?"

“No way! I asked Jiang Si, and she said not just anyone can sign the agreement.”

"..."

...(End of chapter)