The punishment of the female imperial court

Chapter 262: Death in public
As dusk fell, the chains on the prisoners' feet rustled in the cold wind.

Yu Qiansi's fingers tightened slightly under her wide sleeves, and Yu Li Qian Kun knocked against the silver embroidered cloud pattern on De Ming's brocade robe, making a crisp sound.

"Please pass the message on for me, eunuch." She raised her eyes and looked in the direction she came from. "After all, Bo Yi is a great contributor. If we let him return to the capital with injuries, I'm afraid it will chill the hearts of loyal ministers who are devoted to the country."

Feeling the grip on Yu Qiansi's wrist, De Mingbai smiled and said quickly: "Your Majesty is always concerned about Lord Huaibo's health. The previous dynasty was busy with many things, so he sent the chief of the Imperial Hospital to see the patient as soon as he had time." Before he finished speaking, two purple-robed medical officers holding gilded medicine boxes bowed forward behind him.

Yu Qiansi then let go of Deming, her crimson skirt spinning across the bluestone slabs to reveal a half-moon of setting sun: "In that case, I have to thank the Saint for his compassion."

She leaned on her horse and watched the procession go away. The cold light reflected by the frost on the roadside made her eyebrows look sharp. Even when dusk fell, she could still see the red shadow standing there, like a cluster of unextinguished fireworks burning in the snow.

The warm room was filled with the aroma of medicine. Bo Yi had just finished applying the medicine and was looking at the red shadow leaning against the window.

The white jade ointment left by the imperial physician shone with a pearly luster under the candlelight, and he sighed softly: "Now this young emperor is becoming more and more difficult to guess."

He woke up a few days earlier than Yu Qiansi. As soon as he woke up, he learned that His Majesty was furious because of Su Niang.

The saint ordered him to escort the Lan family back to the capital, and specifically reminded him that no one should be missing.

It's not that he didn't notice the strangeness of such a request, but he was accompanied by guards and doctors, so even if he had doubts, he didn't dare to act rashly.

After Aru woke up, he found a living person and killed him, but then he received an imperial decree to punish him.

All this seemed to be arranged.

Yu Qiansi obviously also noticed the problem and thought about it for a long time.

"When an enemy comes, we will fight him with our generals; when a flood comes, we will block it with earth." Yu Qiansi turned around and sat at the table, pouring herself a cup of hot tea. Her fingertips stroked the celadon teacup on the table, and the ice cracks on the glaze reflected the flickering candlelight. "As long as he still wants the truth of the previous and subsequent cases to win over the court officials, he can't do anything to me."

"Aru, the situation was critical that day."

She then looked at Bo Yi, with a myriad of emotions running through her mind, but when the words came to her lips, she only sighed and said, "This is just the first time, it won't happen again."

Bo Yi said in one breath: "I have something to tell you about my blood——"

Before he finished speaking, Yu Qiansi drank the hot tea, stood up and turned her back to him. Her hair like a waterfall shone brilliantly under the candlelight. She interrupted him, "--It's getting late. Go to bed early. We have to travel tomorrow."

After saying this, she walked out without looking at the person behind her. As the red dress swept across the threshold, it raised a cloud of dust that had been there for a long time, which fluttered in the candlelight.

Bo Yi sat dejectedly at the table and laughed at himself.

As soon as she woke up, she rushed to kill people to silence them, and deliberately pretended in front of everyone that she did it out of personal grudge. I'm afraid she had guessed something a long time ago.

But now that things have come to this, even though she doesn't want to listen, I have no choice but to tell her.

Aru always puts the Duke of Qi's Mansion first in everything. Today, for him, she killed someone in public to silence him. How can he repay this kindness?

*
The road to the capital was cold and frosty. On the day when the Lan family was handed over to the Dali Temple, armored soldiers lined up outside the red lacquer city gate. The commander of the imperial guards held a golden order and said loudly: "I am ordered to escort Lord Yu back to the palace."

The rusty door knocker rang three times, and outside the green-tiled and white walls of Yu Qiansi's residence, there appeared guards on duty every twelve hours.

Yu Qiansi didn't care at all, and sat in the courtyard all day with a hand warmer in her arms. The warm sunlight that filtered through the sparse shadows of the plum branches made her pale face look more lively.

Originally, she only needed to go to the palace to reveal the truth of the case, but she saw that Jiang Jiqing was now fully focused on the affairs of the Lan family, so she did not go to him to make trouble. She just regarded it as a way to cultivate herself, and stayed in the yard all day, moving with the warm winter sun, leisurely and comfortable.

On the way back to Beijing, there was frost everywhere, dark clouds and cold wind, which seemed like the precursor of the first snow. But I didn't expect that after returning to Beijing, the weather would warm up day by day.

If it weren't for the fact that it's not the twelfth lunar month yet, no one would doubt that this weather is the Waking of Insects Day.

There was another commotion at the door. It seemed that the guards had stopped many uninvited guests for her. However, people who had a way to get in would always find a way to get in no matter how hard they tried to stop them.

Bo Yi jumped down from a tree in the side yard, adding another layer of fallen leaves to the yard.

As soon as he sat down, he heard the jingling of jewelry coming from the main entrance.

Yu An Ning walked in quickly carrying a gilded food box. Her pomegranate red gilded horse-faced skirt swept the fallen leaves in front of the steps, leaving a trail of them on the ground.

Yu Qiansi looked at the two people's tacit understanding, and the corners of his lips curled up slightly: "Your tactics of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west are more sophisticated than those of the masters of military strategy."

Yu An Ning raised his head and snorted, feeling quite smug: "Sister Yu is under house arrest, and the imperial decree did not forbid us to visit her. Besides, my cousin and his friends always accompany me here, so of course those imperial guards dare not act presumptuously."

Bo Yi smiled and took out the Yue kiln secret color porcelain cup that was in the food box. The amber tea soup was filled with white mist, mixed with the cool fragrance of red plums, which was refreshing.

Yu Qiansi squinted his eyes, took the hot tea, looked up and felt the warm winter sun on his face, feeling very comfortable.

"How's it going at Yuli Pavilion?"

Since they returned to the capital, Yu Qiansi asked Boyi to keep an eye on Yuli Pavilion. She had promised Shi Moer to treat his daughter, so she would not break her promise.

Bo Yi glanced at Yu An Ning, then said cautiously: "Uncle Yang said that no one has looked for him."

In the curling tea smoke, Yu Qiansi frowned suddenly. She knocked her knuckles unconsciously on the bluestone table, and the jade world hit the stone table, making a clear sound.

Yu An Ning was confused when he suddenly fell silent, so he made small talk: "I heard that Lan Shu will be tried in public at the grand court meeting today. I wonder how he is doing now."

The word "Lan Shu" actually brought back the secret that the two of them had not yet revealed that night.

Yu Qiansi turned his head away, still in deep thought, and Bo Yi also looked as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Yu An Ning didn't expect that his words would make the situation even more awkward, and he felt a little at a loss.

Yu An Ning watched coldly. After returning to Beijing, she always felt that something was wrong between the two of them.

Although they were talking and laughing, there always seemed to be something between them.

And it always happens like this, inexplicably silent.

She couldn't figure out the problem and could only worry.

Suddenly, Bo Yi sat up straight: "Someone is coming."

As they were talking, the sound of horse hooves suddenly sounded in the distance like heavy rain.

Bo Yi quickly climbed up the wall and hid among the trees.

Yu An Ning hurriedly cleared the food boxes on the table, making some noise to protect Bo Yi.

As soon as they reached the main entrance, someone came in carrying an incense table and an imperial decree.

"Lan Shu died suddenly in Xuanzheng Palace! His Majesty has ordered Yu Qiansi to immediately investigate the cause of death and report to His Majesty within one day!"

Yu An Ning, who had not yet had time to leave the door, was also shocked when he heard this.

While waiting for her money, Shi Fang explained the whole story to her.

At the grand court meeting today, in full view of everyone, Lan Shu just confessed his guilt and said that there were confidential matters that could only be revealed to His Majesty. Suddenly, he became speechless and fell to the ground twitching. Later, when the imperial physician checked, he was already dead.