After waiting for a long time and seeing no one emerge, Zhao Yong paced anxiously outside, sweat beading on his forehead.
Just as he was about to send someone in to check, the prison door was pushed open. Seeing Feng Yinwan emerge unharmed, he secretly let out a sigh of relief.
"The Consort is finally out. This subordinate was terribly worried outside."
Primarily, he was worried about his official hat.
Feng Yinwan let out a soft hum, her steps not faltering.
Seeing this, Zhao Yong ordered the prison door to be closed and quickly hurried after her.
"Consort, you were inside for so long just now, did you get the answers you wanted?"
He had personally sent her there, yet she had to ask her questions inside the prison. Honestly, he was a bit curious too.
Meeting Feng Yinwan's slightly cold gaze, Zhao Yong paused, realizing he had been too forward. He immediately put on a fawning smile.
"What this subordinate means is, the doors of the Jingzhao Prefecture are always open to the Consort. If the Consort has any further instructions, this subordinate will always be at your service!"
He was as cunning as a monkey.
Feng Yinwan raised her delicate eyebrows slightly, her expression unreadable.
"Then I shall trouble Lord Zhao to pay close attention to the situation in the prison. This Consort believes Feng Yiyi will eventually speak on her own."
This matter, amplified by her feigned pregnancy, had clearly become very serious.
Regardless of Ye Tingyan's motives, he had no reason to get involved in Feng Yiyi's mess.
Therefore, Feng Yiyi's only reliance was Yu Shi. Taking down Yu Shi would be the challenge she posed to Feng Yiyi.
This was a good opportunity to find her mother's belongings.
Daring not to ask further, Zhao Yong could only act as instructed.
"Please rest assured, Consort. This subordinate will do his utmost to fulfill his duties and not miss a single whisper!"
"Then I thank Lord Zhao for your trouble. If this matter is handled well, I will have an explanation for the Empress Dowager when she inquires."
Hearing the unspoken implication, Zhao Yong nodded even more enthusiastically, "Yes, yes, yes! Consort, you can rest a hundred percent assured!"
Feng Yinwan's kick had shown no mercy. Yu Shi, having lived a life of luxury for many years, had a body that was extremely frail. Now, she was too weak to get out of bed after being kicked.
The guards in the manor were all subordinates of General Feng and Feng Jingyuan, and naturally, they were more inclined to obey Feng Yinwan's orders.
"Madam Yu has a bodily ailment and cannot temporarily manage household affairs. All matters recently will require consultation with this Consort. Do you understand?"
This was a move to seize power.
Among the servants, many were sycophants promoted by Yu Shi. Upon hearing this, they immediately spoke out.
"The eldest daughter is already married. As the matriarch of an external household, how can she interfere in her maternal family's affairs? This is not within the rules, is it?"
Before the words could even fall, a scream echoed.
Unprepared for the guard's kick, the man knelt on the ground, both in pain and humiliated, his face instantly turning a shade of liver-pig red.
"What does the eldest daughter mean by this? Are we not even allowed to speak the truth?!"
"Exactly! Such arbitrary rule will naturally not win hearts. We wish to see Madam!"
These two men, one in charge of the storeroom and the other of the kitchen, were both trusted subordinates of Yu Shi. Soon, the crowd was incited.
Seeing the commotion grow louder, a guard stepped forward to ask Feng Yinwan's intentions.
"Eldest Miss, should we..."
Feng Yinwan let out a cold laugh, drew the guard's sword, and lunged at the man.
The gleaming blade sliced fiercely, instantly piercing the man's front. Terrified, his face turned deathly pale, and he immediately fell silent.
Feng Yinwan's lips curled coldly. She twisted the sword in her hand, and the fabric tore with a "hiss."
Losing momentum, the man fell heavily onto the ground, instantly silencing the crowd's clamor.
Feng Yinwan slowly retracted the sword, her beautiful eyes chillingly surveying the assembled people, "Does anyone else have anything to say?"
They dared not say another word!
The courtyard fell silent, so quiet that even breathing could be heard. Feng Yinwan smirked, contentedly tossing the sword back to the guard.
"Since that is the case, proceed according to this Consort's instructions."
She then turned to a nearby guard.
"Guard Cheng, the second daughter's matter is not yet resolved, and Madam Yu is currently indisposed. The General's manor will refuse visitors from today onwards. No one in the household is permitted to leave. Anyone violating this will be immediately sent to the authorities for punishment as accomplices!"
This sounded like house arrest.
The servants' faces turned pale again upon hearing this, and the expressions of the two stewards who had spoken earlier became even more grim.
Without giving them time to argue, the guards immediately dispersed the crowd.
"Have all the eldest daughter's orders been noted? Disperse!"
Feng Yiyi had been kept in the dark in the prison, and Yu Shi's courtyard was heavily guarded by the guards. Apart from two close maids, no one else could enter.
This should settle things.
After a morning of turmoil, Feng Yinwan had lunch and then comfortably returned to her room to rest. Unexpectedly, as soon as she fell asleep, she felt a jolt as a cold blade swung directly at her.
A masked figure in black appeared before her again, moving like a phantom. Feng Yinwan's heart tightened.
It was the Wu Xi Pavilion!
These people were always appearing and disappearing, and each time they did, they nearly cost her her life. That familiar sense of escaping death surged back, and Feng Yinwan instinctively felt a tremor of fear.
"Someone wants you dead!"
The black-clad assailant uttered these words and then lunged at her with his sword. Feng Yinwan tried to dodge, but her body seemed frozen, completely unable to move.
In a flash of lightning, the sharp blade pierced her chest. Feng Yinwan numbly looked down. Before her body could even register pain, blood gushed out like a pillar with the assailant's sword withdrawal.
With a "thud," she fell straight down. The assailant in front of her, at this moment, let out a triumphant laugh and tore off his mask.
Her consciousness began to blur. Feng Yinwan struggled to look up and saw that beneath the mask was Ye Tingyan's face!
So this scoundrel wanted to harm her! Why!
She no longer had time to ponder why. They say death begins with coldness spreading from the body, and she now felt completely chilled.
Is this what it felt like to die? It didn't seem very painful, more like...
"Miss?"
Her body was suddenly pushed, and Feng Yinwan jolted awake.
Yuping had just come closer and saw her spring up from the ground, her little face turning pale with fright. She immediately stumbled back.
"M-Miss, what's wrong?"
Her eyes met Yuping's worried expression, and Feng Yinwan was stunned. She touched her chest and exclaimed with relief.
"I'm not dead?!"
It was a dream, it had scared her to death!
"What dead or not dead? Miss, did you have a nightmare?"
Yuping breathed a sigh of relief and quickly stepped forward to help her up.
"Miss, I asked you to sleep on the bed earlier, but you insisted it was cooler here and wanted to sleep on the small couch."
"As a result, I heard a 'thud' from downstairs. When I entered, I saw you lying on the ground. It looked like you fell from up there!"
Feng Yinwan clicked her tongue.
She wondered why the sense of weightlessness had felt so real. If she had actually fallen, it would indeed feel real!
Chuckling sheepishly and scratching her head, she sat back on the couch. Yuping, however, blinked and leaned closer.
"Miss, what did you dream about just now?"