"What?" Wen Shu was stunned.
Arson?
Yun Yueyin knew she couldn't hesitate; she had to burn her bridges. "Yes, hurry and set the fire! The bigger the fire, the better! Quickly! I must die in everyone's eyes, otherwise... like you said, the death of the palace maid will surely be blamed on me, and the Regent will definitely not let me off! Hurry!"
Yang Shi hadn't reacted. "Yueyin, what exactly are you trying to do?"
Yun Yueyin gritted her teeth and said, "Mother, from now on, you pretend I don't have a daughter! Tell everyone I died in the fire!"
After saying that,
Yun Yueyin pushed Wen Shu away, and also pushed Yang Shi away, stumbling out.
When Wen Shu recovered, she knew she had to do as her mistress said and immediately set the fire.
Then, she suddenly thought of something. She found another maid of similar height to her mistress, knocked her out, and pushed her into the room.
Afterward,
Wen Shu and Yang Shi surrounded the fiercely burning house, shouting, "Miss! Miss!"
At the same time,
As Yun Yueyin was about to leave Yun Mansion through the back door, a man in black suddenly appeared, knocked her unconscious, stuffed her into a sack, and quickly disappeared into the night, without a trace.
A moment later,
The government's soldiers arrived in a mighty procession.
The leader was Qiu Lu.
He had come with the soldiers to take Yun Yueyin away.
"Where is the criminal Yun Yueyin? Have her come out quickly!" the soldiers shouted loudly.
This shout terrified the gatekeeper.
He pointed to the courtyard, "The young lady is in the mansion. Her room just caught fire, and now... now her life is unknown. Everyone in the mansion is rushing to put out the fire to save her!"
Qiu Lu looked at the raging fire in the mansion, feeling a sense of foreboding.
It was such a coincidence that the Yun mansion caught fire just as he was on his way to the government office to bring people over on the Prince's orders?
A moment later,
Qiu Lu saw a charred corpse.
Yang Shi collapsed on the charred corpse, weeping bitterly, attempting suicide several times.
Old Madam Yun had already fainted on the side.
Yun Dezhi was completely sobered up from his drinking.
Dead?
His daughter, who could make him rise again, was dead?!
Wen Shu appeared calmer, crying as she told Qiu Lu and the soldiers, "Master beat the young lady for a long time today. The young lady later said she didn't want to live. We originally thought she was just saying that out of anger, never expecting that she would set the fire herself, and then... sob..."
For a moment, the entire Yun mansion was filled with crying.
Yun Dezhi also wailed, "I, I was just too angry, I didn't want you to die!"
"How could you die!"
Hearing Yun Dezhi's words, Yang Shi rushed forward and grabbed him, weeping and cursing, "It's all your fault, all your fault! You actually hit her! Our Yueyin, whom we cherished, was beaten to a pulp by you!"
Qiu Lu looked at the chaotic Yun family members before him, frowned, and walked coldly to the charred corpse.
The charred corpse was entirely black, with no intact parts.
It was impossible to discern anything from its appearance.
Qiu Lu glanced at the still-smoking, burned house again and said to the soldiers, "There are many suspicious aspects to this matter. A death occurred for no reason; we must investigate it thoroughly."
Upon hearing this, the soldiers immediately had Yun Dezhi and the others taken away.
Neither Yun Dezhi nor Yang Shi had expected to be taken to the government office.
In their haste, Wen Shu could only quietly tell Yang Shi that no matter what, she must not reveal that the young lady was still alive.
Yang Shi readily agreed, knowing that as long as Yueyin was alive, there was still hope.
When Qiu Lu informed Zhan Tianye of Yun Yueyin's death by fire,
Zhan Tianye, who already possessed an icy aura, had an even colder gaze. "Dead?"
"Yes, the person has been burnt to black, and her features are completely indistinguishable. Yun Dezhi and the others appeared very sad, but..." Qiu Lu felt something was amiss.
Zhan Tianye raised an eyebrow. "But what?"
"But the maidservant by Yun Yueyin's side seemed a bit too calm, able to explain the entire sequence of events very clearly," Qiu Lu voiced his suspicion.
"Investigate! There wouldn't be a fire for no reason. The Yun mansion is not large, but for someone to be burnt to death in such a short time indicates arson. Interrogate the Yun family members under severe torture," Zhan Tianye commanded sternly.
Qiu Lu immediately responded, "Yes!"
As Qiu Lu was about to leave, he heard Zhan Tianye say, "Even if Yun Yueyin truly turned into a charred corpse, don't even dream of reincarnating in the next life."
Qiu Lu also thought it made sense!
She was so vicious towards the Second Miss Yun, truly heartlessly cruel. And if Xiao Feng hadn't been lucky, she might have been eaten by wild dogs. For harming the Second Miss Yun and the Prince's son like this, dying so easily was too good a deal for Yun Yueyin!
He would go to the government office to investigate thoroughly now!
"Dispatch people to search inside and outside the city. If the charred corpse is not her, she must be hiding somewhere," Zhan Tianye issued another order.
"Yes!"
...
The Dungeon.
Zhan Tianhong covered his nose and mouth as he approached the prison cell.
At this moment, the dungeon under the night sky was even more eerie.
When Geng Yufei saw Zhan Tianhong, she immediately threw herself at him. "Your Majesty, do not believe that guard. He is lying! I have been framed!"
"You kept saying you wanted to see me, and this is what you want to say?" Zhan Tianhong asked coldly.
Geng Yufei was extremely flustered, looking at Zhan Tianhong in panic. Seeing the utter indifference on his face, with no marital affection whatsoever, she was terrified. "Your Majesty, I am your first wife! I don't want to be in the dungeon. I beg Your Majesty to release me. Confine me to the palace, place me under house arrest. It will not be too late to deal with me after this matter is investigated!"
"Do you think you can still walk out of the dungeon?"
After the slender youth's cold and heartless retort, he simply turned and left.
Utterly ruthless.
And it completely extinguished Geng Yufei's hope.
"Impossible, my father will save me, the Geng family will not abandon me, Mother will not abandon me, they will not abandon me, they will definitely save me! I am the Empress, I am the Queen of a nation!"
The entire dungeon was filled with Geng Yufei's murmurs.
No one could give Geng Yufei an answer.
...
Yun Shu had just finished telling her three sons a fairy tale about Chang'e. After watching them fall asleep sweetly before her, she returned to her room.
As she was changing into her sleepwear, Jing Heng's voice came from outside the door.
"Mistress, something has happened."
Yun Shu put on her clothes and opened the door. "What is it?"
"Just received news that the Yun mansion caught fire, Yun Yueyin was burnt to a charred corpse, and the Yun family members have been taken to the government office for interrogation," Jing Heng reported one by one.
Yun Shu's sleepiness vanished. "Dead?"
"It seems so now, but there are some doubts," Jing Heng nodded.
Yun Shu's heart stirred. Just as she was about to ask Jing Heng to go see Ruan Xi immediately and search for Yun Yueyin in the capital, the gatekeeper suddenly ran over in a hurry. Seeing Yun Shu standing at the door from a distance, he raised his voice and reported, "Miss, someone has come from the palace, saying they are from the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager requests Miss to enter the palace! She requests Miss to enter the palace immediately!"