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Chapter 295 House Arrest
Zhu Yu's words startled Pang Yuzhen so much that she dared not utter a sound and could only stare blankly at Zhu Yu.

Now that things have come to this, Zhu Yu had no reason to be polite with Pang Yuzhen, and continued, "In the past, you were able to act arrogantly in front of your family only because of your status as the Princess Consort of Shuo."

But over the years, all your actions in the Prince's Mansion have been overlooked by your father, not because he was afraid of the Pang family supporting you, but because of the affection between husband and wife.

You should now be able to see Pang Yutang's ambitions. If he really seizes power, you will no longer have your husband's family to rely on, and you will be caught between the Zhu family and the Pang family. At that time, I'm afraid neither side will be able to tolerate you.

Originally, the Pang family might not have known about Father's arrangements, but you specifically summoned them to the Prince's Mansion and personally told Pang Yutang everything. All of this is thanks to your active "facilitation," which has finally given the Pang family a greater chance of victory. Encircled from both sides, they might be able to eliminate Father and my elder brother in one fell swoop, leaving the Zhu family with no chance of recovery.

"What?! Zhu Jie too?!" Pang Yuzhen was so shocked that she jumped up from her stool, not expecting her eldest son to be among them. "Shouldn't he be overseeing the construction of the irrigation canal at Black Stone Mountain? How did he end up at the Wutie Mine?!"

Zhu Yu looked at her coldly.

Sure enough, compared to Zhu Cheng, who needed to be constantly wary of any ulterior motives, Pang Yuzhen valued her "promising" eldest son, Zhu Jie, more.

After all, the title of Princess Consort of Shuo wasn't something she was born with. If Zhu Cheng were to be ungrateful and forget their past affections, even if a prince divorced his wife and remarried, Emperor Jin wouldn't care.

However, if Zhu Jie were to inherit the throne one day, the new King Shuo's mother would be unshakeable by anyone.

So when she heard that Zhu Jie was also within the scope of the Pang family's encirclement, she immediately panicked.

“Father had actually noticed the Pang family’s conspiracy long ago, but out of consideration for our years of marriage, he didn’t intend to hold it against them,” Zhu Yu took a breath and softened his tone a little. “He thought that a small punishment would serve as a warning, and as long as they didn’t do anything out of line again, their previous underhanded actions would be forgiven.”

Unexpectedly, the Pang family had no intention of leaving the Zhu family any way out.

If you still value Father's tolerance and love for you over the years, and know anything about the Pang family, then speak up. Perhaps you can still buy Father and your elder brother some leeway. Otherwise…”

Zhu Yu sighed and slowly shook his head.

Pang Yuzhen was already panicked when she heard that Zhu Jie was involved, and now that she heard Zhu Yu say this, she was even more at a loss. She bit her lip and twisted her hands. After a brief struggle, she still couldn't put her mind at ease and revealed the little information she knew to Zhu Yu. She said that although she was not sure, she vaguely knew that Pang Yutang seemed to have some private dealings with several officials in the capital and that they had a close relationship.

But she didn't know the deeper implications.

The more Pang Yuzhen spoke, the more guilty she felt. It was only at this moment that she suddenly realized that she didn't know much about the Pang family, and it seemed that Pang Yutang wasn't so honest with her, his sister who had been married for many years.

On the contrary, she always thinks of relying on her family. As for the Zhu family, unless it's something as serious as Zhu Yu and the others returning without permission, she can hardly keep anything from them. She tells the Pang family everything.

Pang Yuzhen became increasingly frustrated, but there was nothing she could do. She could only wipe away her tears and reluctantly lower herself to beg Zhu Yu to do whatever it took to ensure the safety of her father and brother.

Zhu Yu didn't care about her feelings at this moment. Having asked what needed to be asked, he helped Miao Shi out of the room and took her back to the chestnut garden. Although Pang Yuzhen and her daughter probably wouldn't dare to make things difficult for Miao Shi now, Zhu Yu was still worried about letting her mother stay with those two people.

In contrast, she preferred that Miao and Yan Shu be closer together.

Yan Shu is a straightforward and righteous girl. If anything happens, she can at least take care of Miao's safety.

At present, she and Fu Lu have only temporarily stabilized the situation in the Prince Shuo's mansion; the rest remains to be seen.

Zhu Cheng and Lu Qing have only been gone for a few days, so it's unlikely they'll be back anytime soon. During this time, she needs to proceed with extreme caution and avoid any mishaps.

After settling Miao Shi in, Zhu Yu ordered Fu Lu to release all the loyal and reliable stewards and servants of the Prince's Mansion. He instructed the stewards to arrange for people to guard the main courtyard and prevent Pang Yuzhen and Zhu Ning from going out at will. He told them to leave the small courtyard and not to interfere with their daily eating and drinking.

In the past, the steward would never have dared to grant such an order, but the situation was very different now. On one side was the second young lady, who had become the Princess Consort of the Carefree Prince, and the Carefree Prince was still accompanying the prince to quell the rebellion. On the other side was the lady who had always maintained an ambiguous attitude towards the Pang family, who had previously imprisoned them.

The steward knew very well that, no matter what, the lady had made a terrible mistake this time. Although everything had to wait for the prince to return and make his own decision, the second young lady's arrangement was not excessive at all.

If it were any other concubine in the household, just for the fact that she had previously leaked the prince's whereabouts and intended to inform the Pang family, she would have been beaten to death and thrown into the wilderness to be fed to the dogs.

So he immediately arranged for a reliable number of people to surround the main courtyard, inside and out, to ensure that no one could get out or get in.

After resting for a while and eating something, Fu Lu quietly left the palace when it was completely dark and went to the prison to find Wen Qiming.

Zhu Yu used to consider herself a capable person, but after all, everyone has their own expertise, and she has always been very confident in her own field.

But this is the first time she's truly been left to handle such a mess all by herself.

However, after quickly analyzing the situation, Zhu Yu felt more at ease.

Zhu Cheng brought a large number of men with him, which means that she doesn't have many people in the capital she knows well and can use. Although this is a disadvantage, Pang Yutang's side is in a similar situation.

The fact that he sent his son out first, and then tried to encircle him from the rear, suggests that he was taking a desperate gamble. How could he not go all out?

In this way, she and the Pang family are somewhat evenly matched in the capital, and as long as she plays it safe, her chances of winning are not small.

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