Chapter 207: Chapter 95: Autumn Moon_2
"A letter of divorce?"
He laughed, his eyes as cool as snow water, "He wishes."
Pei Yunshu was startled.
"I want him to respectfully see you out the door and not dare to say a single bad word about you."
Pei Yunshu’s brows furrowed slightly, feeling inexplicably uneasy, "Don’t do anything rash." She hesitated, "Besides, there’s the matter of my father..."
In the circles of high society, marriage can sometimes be the least important part. Once she leaves the Prince’s Mansion, the relationship between Pei and Mu families would need to be reassessed.
"Why do you care about what he does? Leave it to me." He stood up and walked over to the cradle, extending his hand to caress the baby girl’s chubby cheek. The baby seemed to sense something and cooed softly. He withdrew his hand and looked at the little bundle in the cradle with a smile.
"You just focus on drafting the invitations for the full moon celebration," he reminded, "Keep in mind that Doctor Lu is quite busy and doesn’t favor lavishness; he might not attend the banquet."
His eyelashes slightly drooped, concealing the tumultuous waves in his gaze, as he just smiled and said, "You should send out the invitations early."
...
The deep recesses of the Department of Criminal & Justice’s prison were especially quiet at night.
Torches burned silently on the walls, their shadows stretching grotesque and long on the ground. The deeper inside, the darker it got, save for the hazy moonlight that slipped through the small barred windows on the wall, casting a layer of cold frost on the ground.
Huddled in a pile of straw was a person in tattered clothing, with disheveled hair and a dirt-smudged face, hands buried in the straw, trying to use the damp dry grass to fend off the cold of the dungeon night.
Drip, drip, drip.
The sound of footsteps echoed, especially clear in the quiet night.
Fan Zhenglian turned over but didn’t open his eyes. At this hour, it would be the prison guards on patrol.
But the footsteps stopped in front of the cell door, followed by the sound of a lock being picked. Someone was opening the iron door to the cell.
Fan Zhenglian sat up groggily, peering forward into the dim torchlight to see a figure of a prison guard, who was closing the door behind him.
Recognizing that this guard wasn’t the usual arrogant jerk with eyes on the sky, he felt puzzled for a moment. Then he saw the man look at him and call in a low voice, "Lord Fan?"
Fan Zhenglian was taken aback, and, setting aside all else, he scrambled to his feet and ventured, "Are you from the Qi Family Mansion?"
The prison guard nodded.
Fan Zhenglian was ecstatic.
Since meeting Qi Chuan that day, he had been waiting in this prison in desperation. Although the Lu Family held little influence compared to the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion, Grand Preceptor Qi cherished his children and would never allow any damage to Young Master Qi’s reputation. Once he played his Lu Family card, whether or not the Grand Preceptor would come to his aid, at the very least, they would not remain indifferent.
That was what he had thought, yet days had passed without a sign of Qi Chuan. Fan Zhenglian began to wonder if Qi Chuan had failed to reach the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion, and he worried that the Mansion, upon learning of his predicament, might not care and ultimately leave him to his fate.
After a few days of waiting and growing disheartened, even Fan Zhenglian himself started to despair. Yet, to his surprise, help seemed to fall from the heavens tonight.
He had won his bet, and it seemed fortune was still on the side of Fan Zhenglian.
"Thank you for your assistance, my lord," he said hurriedly, bowing to express his gratitude, his mind still clouded with doubts.
He had only intended his message to Qi Chuan for the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion to be a ploy. He had anticipated some movement from them, but not yet, and he certainly didn’t expect them to send someone personally.
Suppressing his suspicions, he asked the man before him, "Does the lord have a message for me?"
The prison guard shook his head.
"Then what is this..."
"Shh—" The other party made a gesture to be silent, and Fan Zhenglian immediately dared not speak.
Due to the case’s complexity, he was secluded in the innermost cell of the Department of Criminal & Justice, isolated from other prisoners. The prison guard signaled him with a glance to come forward.
Is this... a prison break?
Fan Zhenglian was stunned for a moment.
He had hoped for the Grand Preceptor’s help, believing that with Grand Preceptor Qi’s current status in the imperial court, a mere word to the emperor could change his situation. Yet, they were taking him out of the Department of Criminal & Justice directly. While this would save his life, he wouldn’t be able to show his face publicly in the future, nor could he think of making a comeback.
Fan Zhenglian was reluctant, but considering his current lack of leverage, he had to yield.
He suppressed what he wanted to say and moved toward the cell door. Moonlight trailed behind him, casting a monstrous shadow on the ground. After a couple of steps, he couldn’t shake the sense that something was amiss.
Not right.
If the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion truly intended to save him, why would they send someone personally? Given the gravity of the case and countless eyes watching, if he were to leave the prison today, wouldn’t there be a citywide manhunt, risking trouble for the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion?