Lin Yu Ning’s pupils constricted. "No!!"
The people from Cang Gui Lou quickly discovered the fire and rushed to extinguish it.
Su Yun Mo knew Lin Yu Ning wouldn't die. She hadn't come here for her to die, but for the list.
Of course, if Lin Yu Ning could suffer a bit because of this incident, that would be even better.
Su Yun Mo exited Cang Gui Lou, got into the carriage, and handed the list to Zi Yuan, asking her to deliver a copy to Ye Jing Yu.
As for what happened next, she didn't need to worry. Ye Jing Yu would handle everything.
In fact, things unfolded exactly as she had expected. In the end, the position of chief examiner did not fall to anyone on that list.
Su Yun Mo understood. Although Ye Jing Yu's foundation in the court was not yet stable, Ye Jing Cheng could not easily shake it.
A day passed.
It was the day Su Yun Mo was scheduled to visit Consort Liang in the palace.
After a month and a half, Consort Liang, having taken the medicine for so long, was almost fully recovered.
Su Yun Mo entered the cold palace.
There were voices speaking inside the hall.
She thought it was Ye Jing Yu, but upon entering, she discovered it was Ye Jing Ge.
Su Yun Mo raised an eyebrow and swept her gaze over the pastries and tea on the table. "It seems your relationship with Ye Jing Yu has eased considerably?"
Ye Jing Ge did not come closer as usual. Instead, upon seeing Su Yun Mo, he froze in place, his eyes wide as if he had seen a ghost.
Su Yun Mo found it strange. "What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"
Ye Jing Ge opened his mouth, but not a single word came out. He grabbed his outer cloak from the table and dashed out.
"Hey! What are you running for!" Su Yun Mo's eyelids twitched. She quickly gave chase, wanting to find out the reason.
Ye Jing Ge ran fast, and Su Yun Mo couldn't catch up. However, she bumped into Ye Jing Guang at the doorway.
When Ye Jing Guang saw it was her, he quickly helped her up. "Are you alright? Did you and Xiao Wu quarrel?"
Seeing Ye Jing Ge disappear, Su Yun Mo gritted her teeth in frustration. "No!"
She also wanted to know why!
She didn't expect him to be overwhelmingly grateful, but she had helped him; he should at least say thank you, right?
Ye Jing Guang let out an "Oh," not quite understanding, but he didn't dwell on it. "I've been wanting to apologize to you. I misunderstood you last time."
She was a good child. She had helped Xiao Wu last time, and this time she had helped Consort Mei vindicate herself, and even arranged for Xiao Wu to meet Third Brother.
Su Yun Mo glanced at him. "You wanted me to bring someone to see Ye Jing Yu before, were you talking about him?"
Ye Jing Guang nodded and sighed. "Xiao Wu has been blaming himself for Consort Mei's poisoning incident."
"No matter how I persuaded him, it didn't help. Moreover, it was Xiao Wu's mother who reported Consort Liang for adultery back then, so only Third Brother can resolve this knot in his heart."
Su Yun Mo's fingers paused, her pupils constricting. "You're saying that Consort Mei reported Consort Liang's matter?"
Ye Jing Guang looked surprised. "You didn't know?"
He scratched the back of his head and recalled. "I remember that after Consort Liang was banished to the cold palace, Xiao Wu fell ill."
"Many people said that Consort Mei had harmed her good sister, and Consort Liang in the cold palace harbored resentment, which then afflicted Xiao Wu."
"Later, Consort Mei poisoned Third Brother, and everyone said she did it out of resentment and wanted revenge... I haven't finished speaking, where are you going!"
Ye Jing Guang watched her walk away and stood stomping his feet in frustration.
Su Yun Mo left the imperial palace and headed straight for the Prince Yu's mansion, not even having time to see Consort Liang.
She finally understood what was wrong. The Empress had orchestrated a grand scheme.
Back then, Consort Liang was a favored consort. His Majesty would not have believed others accusing her of adultery, but Consort Mei and Consort Liang were close, so His Majesty would naturally trust Consort Mei's words more.
The Empress used the Fifth Prince to make Consort Mei harm others. Later, fearing that Consort Mei might reveal the truth out of sisterly affection, she designed a situation where the Fifth Prince, while ill, had no physician, using this as leverage to make her poison Ye Jing Yu.
Afterward, Consort Mei left a suicide note, and everyone assumed she had killed herself because her poisoning plot was exposed and she feared implicating the Fifth Prince.
This chain of events, coupled with the rumors in the palace, made perfect sense. Since Consort Mei was dead, no one continued to investigate the truth behind it.
However, the poisoning with Jian Feng Hou was not the cause of the entire incident, but its conclusion!
At the entrance of Prince Yu's mansion, Ying Xiao stood with the mansion guards, fully prepared.
Ye Jing Yu stood on the steps, watching them count the numbers.
Su Yun Mo jumped off the carriage and strode over, saying angrily, "Ye Jing Yu, you knew all along, didn't you?"
Consort Mei's suicide out of guilt was true, but at the same time, it was also 'silencing a witness'!
The so-called adultery of Consort Liang back then was a setup from beginning to end!
This sharp exclamation made everyone stop what they were doing.
Ye Jing Yu frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "Continue with your tasks."
The mansion guards all withdrew their gazes, not daring to be distracted further.
Su Yun Mo had already strode up to Ye Jing Yu, standing on tiptoe to pull at his collar. "Why did you hide it from me? Give me an explanation!"
Qian Xue came from the side. "My Lord, the carriage is ready."
Ye Jing Yu pried off her fingers from his collar. "I am going out of the city. I will tell you when I return."
Su Yun Mo scrambled onto him, her arms tightly around his neck, as if threatening to strangle him if he didn't speak.
"I won't! I must hear it now!"
Ying Xiao had finished his preparations and was waiting for orders.
Ye Jing Yu, with no other choice, embraced her and stepped into the carriage.
Qian Xue waved his hand, and the procession headed towards the outskirts of the city.
Inside the carriage, Su Yun Mo sat on the young man's lap, her cheeks puffed out in a sulky manner.
Ye Jing Yu couldn't help but poke her cheek. "What good would it do to tell you? Back then, Father Emperor likely didn't suspect anything either, but after investigating for so long, he still found nothing?"
Su Yun Mo calmed down a little and felt that he had a point. "But you should have at least told me. After all, it would have been fine if I hadn't intervened, but now I am already involved in the events of that year."
Being involved meant she would become a direct opponent of the Empress.
Although they had been at odds before, once she delved deeper into the matter, the Empress would become even more wary of her.
If she knew some of the truth, it would be easier to navigate any future difficulties.
Ye Jing Yu sighed inwardly.
"This is why I didn't want you to meddle in this business before."
However, as she said, since she was already involved, there was no need to hide anymore.
"I do want to help my mother overturn the verdict, but it is difficult to start directly from the inner palace. However, there is another angle to approach this."
Su Yun Mo's interest was piqued. "What angle?"
Ye Jing Yu rubbed her head. "How much do you know about the Marquis's mansion and Lin Ze Qu?"
He had asked this question last time.
But this time, Su Yun Mo felt a strange sensation. "Lin Ze Qu is related to this matter?"
Ye Jing Yu paused, his gaze falling on the carriage window. "You'll know soon."
Su Yun Mo felt a sense of unease.
The carriage traveled all the way to the foot of Black Wind Mountain.
The procession slowed down, and the sounds of fighting could be heard from outside.
Su Yun Mo looked through the window and saw the mansion guards clashing with a group of bandits blocking their path.
These bandits were fierce, but the mansion guards personally trained by Ye Jing Yu were not incompetent.
After one round, the bandits were all eliminated.
Qian Xue called out softly from outside, "My Lord, we have arrived outside the bandit gate."