“My Lady, gege is playing with Wang Fei in the garden. Wang Fei’s personal attendant informed that they will play together until midday.”

Hearing that information, Yu Wan ce fei can only knead her handkerchief with annoyance. She just nodded at her yahuan then continued to enjoy her leisure time daydreaming facing her small courtyard view.

Yu Wan ce fei accustomed an habit for Anle duolun gege to greet her father every morning before Duan Qin Wang went to work. The motive behind this was to make their bonding grow stronger and also to maintain Duan Qin Wang to remember her.

Ever since Duan Wang Fei started her palace etiquette lesson with Ding mama at the pavilion on the back garden, everytime Anle duolun gege came back, that daughter of hers would ended up playing with Duan Wang Fei and be back to her quarter just nice before midday meal.

This was the fourth time Yu Wan ce fei learned that her own daughter was with Duan Wang Fei and Yu Wan ce fei grew jealous of the fact that her own daughter got close with her rival. Instead of diverting Duan Qin Wang’s attention towards her, the closeness between Duan Wang Fei and Anle duolun gege made Duan Qin Wang more pleased to see Duan Wang Fei.

A warm relationship between stepmother and step daughter made Duan Wang Fei’s reputation inside and outside fu become even greater.

With her mind wandered around on how to plan a new strategy to bait Duan Qin Wang’s affection to be back on her, Yu Wan sat down on the reclining bamboo chair and slowly dozed off.

Her senses was back when her yahuan nudged her carefully.

“My Lady, it has already passed midday and gege has not come back yet. Nubi has sent other yahuan to look after gege at the garden but no one was there. Wang Fei has already back inside the main quarter and according to their attendant, gege has already come back with her yahuan before Wang Fei goes back to her quarter.”

Both her eyes widened as she heard her daughter was missing all the sudden. Her blood and flesh that she loved dearly to pave her future was more important than anything else she has.

In the past, when she was still carrying her inside her, she was over the moon. She was the first one of the qiè shì who got pregnant in the fu. Her pregnancy was also slightly ahead than other qin wang’s ce fei. Some more, at the moment she gave birth, the empire won a battle to conquer a neighboring country.

The Emperor was very pleased and firmly believed that Anle duolun gege held the lucky star. Her maiden family line was bestowed greatly. The official title and name for her baby daughter was granted by The Emperor. The next childbirth by Rui Qin Wang’s ce fei did not get much attention like hers. Duan Qin Wang was proud of her. Yu Wan was swell-headed until Duan Wang Fei came into the picture.

“What do you mean by gege has not come back yet?!” Yu Wan snapped furiously. Quickly stood up, Yu Wan walked in a hurry to the garden. “You people have looked everywhere? The main quarter? Wang fei?! They played together for some time. She should know where gege is.”

Yu Wan continued to ask while the yahuan followed her steps.

“Wang fei ordered Xiao Gan Zi gonggong to find gege and her yahuan. Nubi has ordered the same thing to our own people.”

Suddenly stopping her feet, Yu Wan turned her body to her yahuan. A fast hard slap hit that yahuan’s in the face. By that time Yu Wan realized her tears in her eyes. Her hands shaking uncontrollably.

“Why did you fool never inform me before? Why did you not wake me up before midday?!” Yelled, she kicked hard on the yahuan’s ankle until that yahuan fell on the ground, crying and asking for forgiveness.

“Nubi thought gege might just play hide and seek like usual. After Wang fei gave orders to search around the fu, by then Nu started to feel the urgency. My Lady, please spare me.” The yahuan knocked her forehead on the ground in between her cries.

Yu Wan looked at her action with a mixed feeling of anger and scared. If something happened to her golden child, she did not know what else to do.

“Greeting Yu Wan ce fei.” Xiao Gan Zi showed up and did not properly greet her. Yu Wan ce fei ignored it and found his expression was somewhat drained.

Instead of responding to Xiao Gan Zi, Yu Wan’s feet already weakened. Her mind immediately set to the worst case of all. Fortunately, her yahuan caught her before she hurt herself. Xiao Gan Zi reacted fast by giving orders to the other taijian to carry Yu Wan.

“Yu Wan ce fei, wang ye and wang fei requested your arrival at the central hall. Let’s rush to go there.” Xiao Gan Zi was about to lead her but Yu Wan grabbed his hand in lightning.

“Gonggong, did something happen to gege? Did wang fei have found gege?” Crying, Yu Wan half pulling Xiao Gan Zi’s hand.

Xiao Gan Zi lashed off his hand easily. His eyes gave silent warning to the two taijian who held Yu Wan to be more stern. Yu Wan cannot do much after she felt the power beside her. She only gazed on Xiao Gan Zi with sorrow, waiting for his answer.

“It is best for us to be at the central hall immediately, ce fei.” Then Xiao Gan Zi turned around and led her and her yahuan. Yu Wan could not feel her own feet. The taijian helped her until she reached the central hall.

Li Fei Long and Jiang Xi Yu seated side by side on the main seats. Everyone has gathered there before her. Zheng Wan’er and Qing Yu Fei already seated and dressed perfunctory.

Jiang Xi Yu seated there in front of her with graceful appearance. The more hatred Yu Wan possessed. That angelic face looked sad as if Anle duolun gege was her child. Yu Wan’s jealousy was pilling up.

She stood in the middle. She examined one by one in front of her until she saw that rare bangle that Jiang Xi Yu gave her daughter the next morning after the Grand Wedding. She fell down and sobbed.

“Wang ye… our precious daughter…..”

“Jie, please seat down first. Wang Ye has ordered all servants and guards to look for gege. Soon, gege will be back on your side. There is no need to be worry.” Qing Yu Fei helped her to stand up. “Wang fei has been in close harmony with gege, for sure, wang fei will make sure gege is fine.”

Qin Yu Fei added a statement that sounds fishy. It burned Yu Wan’s mind.

Glaring in anger towards Jiang Xi Yu, Yu Wan lost her senses. “Wang fei, Anle duolun gege is the lucky star that The Emperor fonds dearly.”

“Yu Wan….” Li Fei Long warned her. “Sit down on your seat and get yourself together.”

With the help from Qing Yu Fei, Yu Wan reluctantly took her seat. She purposely glared at Jiang Xi Yu. Ignoring Li Fei Long’s exasperation. At this moment, Yu Wan has no fear at all. Anyone who did any evil thing towards her daughter would pay for it and in this case she believed Jiang Xi Yu was not innocent.

The lightning struck her the moment Ming He carried a body on his hands. No need to ask further, she knew. She recognized the clothes, the body figure, the shoes. Yu Wan screamed her heart out. The daughter who was the lucky star turned out not to have much luck.

The trusted taijian of Duan Wang Fu carried Anle duolun gege’s dead body carefully entering the central hall. A junior taijian laid down a blanket before Ming He let down the body on it. They kneeled down beside Anle duolun gege’s body while Yu Wan stormed at it, crying.

“Wang ye, we found gege inside the well at the cui yōu yuàn.” Ming He did not dare to lift up his face as he was reporting.

Yu Wan heard it. Cui you yuan was the yard where Jiang Xi Yu occupied before that bitch became wang fei. Yu Wan has never been there before. That two-faced bitch must got her precious child to play there and drown her. Duan Qin Wang would blindly think Wang fei was an innocent woman.

Holding the stilted body of her child, Yu Wan growled at Jiang Xi Yu. “Wang fei! What sin that I have done towards you until you have to kill my only daughter?!”

“Yu Wan!” Shouted, Li Fei Long pounded the table between him and Jiang Xi Yu.

Ignoring the sad cries Jiang Xi Yu made, Yu Wan turned to Li Fei Long. Begging him to not lose his common senses. “Wang fei used to reside in cui you yuan before formally entering this fu. No one from all the qiè shì here ever step in their foot there. Who else knows better about that part of the fu beside wang fei.”

“Wang ye, look at this body.” Uncontrollably cried, Yu Wan shook her child as if she could wake up from that shake. “Not even once gege forgot to greet you every morning, every single day. This beautiful little angel is the lucky star this empire has. Wang ye, please uphold the justice for her.”

Her sorrow covered the atmosphere inside the hall. Jiang Xi Yu was also crying on her seat but that act just painted more grudge inside Yu Wan’s heart.

“Wang ye…” Rushing to report, Qian Chang Xin’s dramatic appearance stole everyone's attention. “Nucai has delivered the harrow news to the palace. General Lou Sheng is still trying to locate gege’s yahuan but he gave updated information that the scoundrel have not traverse the capital gate which means she is still inside the capital city.”

“What about the chances she has accomplices inside and outside the fu?”

Hearing that question, Xiao Gan Zi replied carefully. “Nucai kept two yahuan who are sharing a room with the suspect. For now it seems they are innocent.”

“What about Ding mama?” Qing Yu Fei threw the question out of nowhere.

Her focus changed. Ding mama who stood behind Jiang Xi Yu looked dumbfounded. Full of tears, Jiang Xi Yu turned around to check on that old woman.

Qing Yu Fei stood up then sneered at Ding mama. “One of the servants accidentally collided with Ding mama a few days ago. It happened near cui you yuan which is also located near by the back of the kitchen.”

She took out a small pouch and threw it to the ground right in front of Xiao Gan Zi who was still on his knee. “My servant found this fell off from Ding mama after they separated and reported it to me. To be honest, Wang Ye, at first qie thought this was the expensive tea leaves that Jing Guì Fēi might have given to wang fei. But fortunately at that time taiyi was visiting qie. He was shocked to see this.”

As she pointed at that pouch, Xiao Gan Zi took it and opened the pouch. Some kind of grassy poured into the palm of his hand. It has nice light fragants.

“This thing has efficacy to weaken the body's resistance slowly.” Qing Yu Fei was too excited to play as a detective, she kept on her words as Xiao Gan Zi offered Li Fei Long to examine closely the grass on his palm.

“Wang ye, qie thinks it is weird that wang fei uses this as fragrance. Nobody would do harm to themselves unless they do not know what this could do to their own health.”

Ding mama rushed to kneel in front of Jiang Xi Yu’s feet. “Wang ye, wang fei, nubi never has any intention to do harm to Anle duolun gege. It is correct that nu possesses that grass but this has no relation at all with the death of Anle doulun gege.”

“Wang ye, please investigate this.” Qing Yu Fei cut the act as she bowed lightly.

“Qian Chang Xin!” Li Fei Long shouted angrily. “Bring Ding mama out for investigation. Ming He, properly arranges for gege’s funeral. Ben wang will wait for Lou Sheng at the study room.”

Angered by the hint that led towards Jiang Xi Yu but nothing from Li Fei Long’s command touched Jiang Xi Yu, Yu Wan disproved it.

“Wang ye….” She wailed. “A servant only does what the master says.”

Li Fei Long stood up. He kept quiet as he stared at Yu Wan.

His furious face disappointed Yu Wan’s heart. The man was blind. Her child would not get any justice. Wailing sorrowfully, Yu Wan could only hug the wet corpse of her child once more.

***

She wanted to stop the tears that streamed down but could not. The beautiful kid that just played with her, became her close friend, all of sudden lied breathless inside a coffin.

Jiang Xi Yu wiped her wet cheeks roughly. All kinds of scenarios ran inside her head. All kinds of possibilities she could imagine filled her mind. Jiang Xi Yu was restless the whole day. Her breath was stuffy as she realized Duan Wang Fu was not as safe as she thought it would be.

“Wang fei, do you want to eat a little bit?” Ru Ming approached with a bowl of warm soup on her hand. “Wang fei has been crying all day long, did not touch your meals at all while the weather is getting cold. Nu scares wang fei would fall sick.”

“I have no appetite to eat.” Leaned back to be more relaxed, Jiang Xi Yu signaled for Ru Ming to retreat. After she pulled her blanket up to her chin, Jiang Xi Yu’s mind went back to the cold body that rested well at Yu Wan’s quarter. Once again she was back in tears.

“Is there any news from wang ye?”

Ru Ming put the bowl on the side. She sat on the small stand then started to massage Jiang Xi Yu’s feet. “They are still interrogating Ding mama. General Lou Sheng entered the study room but still there is no instruction or update from wang ye. Let’s wait for Ru Qing to come back and inform us of the latest status.”

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“My heart feels uneasy.” Jiang Xi Yu whispered softly. She leaned on the wall with the window opened. From her view, all she saw was just the darkness of the sky. Even the moon was nowhere to be found.

“Wang fei, let me close the window and put some lotion on your hands and feet. The lotion you made from aloe vera last time….”

“Ru Ming, I do not think Ding mama has bad intentions towards gege even though they have found that mysterious grassy in her possession.” Jiang Xi Yu butted in. She caught Ru Ming’s hand to stop from massaging her feet.

“Ding mama might have intentions to use that on me but i do not think it was for gege. She lit the scents each time we were doing etiquette lessons. Anle duolun gege never planned to always join the lessons. As I remember, Ding mama just used that scent when I was always alone. Not when I was with gege.”

Jiang Xi Yu noticed Ru Ming knew what she was trying to explain by the look of her face. The servant was hesitant to express her opinion.

“Wang fei…. nu thinks wang fei needs to be careful with Ding mama and also….” She stopped there and clearly did not dare to mention one name.

Knew exactly who Ru Ming meant, Jiang Xi Yu nodded and understood.

“Nubi thinks because of this case, we could prevent Wang fei from malicious schemes in the future.”

“Ru Ming!” Raged, Jiang Xi Yu almost cursed Ru Ming. The latter was shocked. Ru Ming kneeled on the ground.

“Wang fei, nubi knows the death of Anle doulun gege is horrifying. But if this never happened, we would never find out what Ding mama has prepared for wang fei.”

Before Jiang Xi Yu could reply, Ru Qing entered the room. Her shoulders were slugged. Her expression was not good. When she saw Ru Ming kneeled on the foot of the seating area, she tried to learn what was going on there.

With eyes swollen badly, Jiang Xi Yu waited for Ru Qing to say something. Ignoring Ru Ming who still kneeled next to her.

“Wang fei, Ming He gonggong told me that tonight wang ye will spend his night at Qing yiniang’s living quarter. Wang fei should rest and not wait for wang ye.” Said Ru Qing carefully.

Jiang Xi Yu sighed while Ru Ming stood up, ignoring what just happened after the previous conversation before. “Why wang ye staying there when every night wang ye usually sleep with wang fei?!” Asked Ru Ming, could not believe what was going on.

“People would think wang fei truly has done horrible things. Do you think wang ye believes Qing yiniang’s accusation? Or did Ding mama have given confession that set a trap on wang fei?” Ru Ming chided with the questions.

Ru Qing just shook her head helplessly. “There is no confession from Ding mama. The pozi are still torturing Ding mama. Every servant who heard the screaming coming out from the torturing room, they ran in fright. General Lou Sheng was inside Wang Ye's study room for sometime but nothing mentioned or announced after the general left.”

“They never caught the yahuan?” Jiang Xi Yu asked.

Ru Qing shook her head for the second time.

Jiang Xi Yu tried to calm her mind. She was devastated by the death of Anle doulun gege but she needed to be careful too because she did not know who was behind all of this. It seemed this event was meant to hit two birds at the same time.

“Both of you stay by my side tonight.” Jiang Xi Yu gave her order. She stood up and moved to her own bed. “I never expect wang ye would always stay beside me every single night. So, staying at qiè shì's bed tonight should not bother me. But if Wang Ye truly believes that I have a relation in this case. That would be a problem.”

Agily helping Jiang Xi Yu to get dressed before she tucked herself in, Ru Ming and Ru Qing tried their best to cheer her up.

“Rest, wang fei. Wang ye trusts wang fei no matter what happened.” Ru Ming convinced her.

“We will fight our best to prove our innocent, wang fei.” Ru Qing added firmly.

It felt weird since Li Fei Long never stormed into her chamber that night. The night was chiller than usual. Her feeling was restless. Before she learned that Li Fei Long would spend his night at someone else’s bed, she was just sad. After that her feelings got mixed up.

A young innocent life got taken away. A mother lost her child. A husband drove away his loss in the warmth of another woman. So this was the day where her honeymoon phase started to erode away. Jiang Xi Yu needed to start being guarded of her actions for her life in the future.

***

The next morning Xiao Gan Zi gonggong came and requested Jiang Xi Yu to join Li Fei Long at the central hall. Everyone was there by the time Jiang Xi Yu arrived. Everyone except Ding mama.

It might be common at the ancient time for people to get easily torture. Specially servants who did not have a worthwhile life. Ding mama was old. Her scheming might be one of the top notch but her body was not that strong any longer. Jiang Xi Yu thought Ding mama might have died after the torturing investigation.

Everyone wore their mourning clothes including Li Fei Long. Jiang Xi Yu spotted his under eyes had blackened. His expression was still the same, furious. Knowing this kind of person for sometime, Jiang Xi Yu was in between. Curious about what happened between Li Fei Long and Qing yiniang last night.

Did he cry his heart out on Qing Yu Fei’s shoulder? Did he listen to Qing Yu Fei’s opinion on this misfortune? Did they make love?

Perplexed on that feeling Jiang Xi Yu insisted so many times she would not let it happen, Jiang Xi Yu tried to move her eyes away from Li Fei Long.

Yu Wan ce fei sat on her seat just like a puppet. Her eyes stared blankly to the ground. Zheng yiniang kept silent while Qing yiniang smiled so bright at Jiang Xi Yu.

“Jiě jie has arrived.” Qing yiniang greeted her cheerfully. Before Jiang Xi Yu replied on that, Qing Yu Fei continued her words, acting lousy like she had made a mistake on her. “Aah...Please forgive me, wang fei. Nu forgot that Wang fei does not like qiè shì to call you jie jie and to maintain our deep respect for you.”

After slightly bowed, Qing Yu Fei went back to her seat. Her true color came out too easy for Jiang Xi Yu to ignore. Purposely mentioned that Jiang Xi Yu did not like to act like a two-faced woman. Calling each other jiě jie-mèi mei and keeping their rivalry under the surface. Qin Yu Fei wanted Li Fei Long to get the idea that his wang fei was an arrogant woman.

After making herself comfortable on her seat, Jiang Xi Yu threw her sarcastic mood right away. “You are not younger than me and you are not my sister either. Therefore, do maintain the etiquette by using a formal title.”

It was obvious Qing Yu Fei was about to add some more words to counter Jiang Xi Yu, but Li Fei Long butted in. His rough voice made everyone there lower their head.

“Lou Sheng!”

His trusted General quickly showed up. Behind him, two house guards brought in a young girl, bounded and in a tattered state. Jiang Xi Yu recognized her as Anle doulun gege’s yahuan. That servant who used to be cheerful and warm hearted, Jiang Xi Yu cannot trace that any longer from her looks. So young but turned out to be cold-hearted.

Qing Yu Fei no longer kept her arrogant face while Yu Wan started losing her mind. She screamed at that servant, jumped at her, pulled her hair, gave her a couple of slaps, while also cursing and questioned the young servant’s sanity for what she did to Anle duolun gege.

“You were there the day she was born. You cared for her since then. You watched how she grew lovingly each day. How dare you?! How dare you?!!” Yu Wan was letting her grief and anger out and no one seemed to care to stop her.

Already gotten a severe wound all over the body, the servant begging for mercy as she cannot handle more of persecution. Jiang Xi Yu peeped on her husband. Li Fei Long quietly watched and from her side view. This was how Li Fei Long expressed his grief too.

“Tell me who sent you. Who gave you the instruction?” As Yu Wan pulled the servant’s hair, she was screaming right in front of that bitch’s face.

The crying bitch lifted her hand weakly. She pointed in between Qing Yu Fei and Zheng Wan’er. Not only Yu Wan was shocked, Jiang Xi Yu gasped while Qing Yu Fei jumped up and stormed to add a slap on the servant’s face.

“How dare you!” Qing Yu Fei shouted. She turned to face Li Fei Long. “Wang ye, this unacceptable. Wang Ye listened to the witnesses last night, this criminal is outrageous.”

“Sit.” Just one word but the effect was huge.

Jiang Xi Yu could feel the tension. Li Fei Long got this aura that could make the others feel intimidated. A simple tone and expression of him could either charm people or destroy their lives.

It was not only Qing Yu Fei who went back to her own seat, Yu Wan was doing the same thing.

“Speak!” Li Fei Long directed for that criminal to tell her side of the story.

The crying bitch was trying to speak in between her pain. “Gege… gege asked to play hide and seek… we played for a bit around cui yōu yuàn. Nu closed eyes and counted…. Nu heard a faint brief cry…”

Covering her face and then cried, the servant could not handle her emotional state. Jiang Xi Yu wiped her tears as the imagination of the story played inside her mind. The hall soon was full with sobbing sound.

“Gege has fallen into abandoned well. By the time Nu found her, gege floated deep down in the well. At that moment Nu freaked out, Qing yiniang’s personal attendant passed by. After she saw what Nu saw inside the well, she said gege was already dead, it was too late to save gege. She brought Nu to inform Qing yiniang.”

“Impudent!” Qing Yu Fei screamed out of her lungs. She jumped out from her seat to attack that servant but Xiao Gan Zi gonggong caught her and skillfully directed her back to her seat.

“The best is to let her finish her words, Qing yiniang.” Xiao Gan Zi gonggong warned her.

The servant crouched as if she was in deep pain. “It was all just an accident, wang ye. Nu scared if wang ye would give death punishment. At that time, Qing yiniang and her attendants gave an idea to frame wang fei. Using Ding mama accidentally collided with Qing yiniang’s people and offered to help nu escape from the fu. The idea sounded like the best way out for Nu.”

The servant continued to sob. For Jiang Xi Yu, this story sounded more realistic. Putting the whole puzzle into a fit frame.

Qing Yu Fei kneeled in front of her. No more arrogance in her face. Like day and night, the table has turned on her side.

“Wang ye, she is lying. Qie is innocent.” Qing Yu Fei begged in fear.

“Bring in the evidence.”

That command made Jiang Xi Yu and others stunned. Li Fei Long’s short command meant that the whole time Li Fei Long actually already knew what happened the day before. He already got the report from his silent investigation. Jiang Xi Yu looked through each of these capable men. Ming He, Qian Chang Xin, Xiao Gan Zi, and Lou Sheng.

Finally Jiang Xi Yu leaned back on her seat. Her heart no longer restless. The case has been solved even before this meeting was started.

Qian Chang Xin brought in a piece of servant clothes and pouch which has Duan Wang Fu’s symbol and filled with silver and gold coins. Behind him, a guard brought in trusted taiyi.

“Wang ye, when one of the guards caught this criminal, he found this servant's clothes that were usually used by one of Qing yiniang’s attendants. The taiyi also concluded from examining gege’s body that gege passed away from collisions in the head. The seam on gege’s fingers was due to her attempt to climb the well in panic state. The criminal has spoken the truth.”

Hearing Qian Chang Xin’s explanation, Jiang Xi Yu’s tears were back on the surface. Yu Wan ce fei fainted as she cannot take on the exact chronology any longer.

“It is enough for a mother to hear all of this all in once.” Jiang Xi Yu’s hoarse voice sounded strange after she kept quiet before.

“Bring Yu Wan ce fei back into her living quarter.” She ordered the two yahuan who already caught Yu Wan on their hands. “Taiyi, please follow them and check her health.”

Qing Yu Fei did not wait until Yu Wan ce fei came out from the hall. She dragged herself to Li fei Long’s feet. Before her hand caught the edge of Li Fei Long’s pants, Xiao Gan Zi pulled her hand gripped on her tightly.

“Wang ye, qie have served you the longest. We shared so many memories together. Please….” Qing Yu Fei pleaded tearfully.

“Anle doulun gege has a tragic death. For that ben wang forever grief. But to add salt on the wound, framing wang fei for crime she never do, you tarnished not only ben wang’s trust but also your own family name.”

Li Fei Long waved his hand. “Ben Wang strips Qing Yu Fei’s title and status from Duan Wang Fu. This fu no longer has any relation with Qing family name. Take Qing Yu Fei and her personal attendants to the court and report this matter to the palace.”

The guard dragged the sobbing Qing Yu Fei. Out of curiosity, Jiang Xi Yu took a look at Li Fei Long’s expression. Her husband sat still with a stern face.

“Wan’er, go back to your quarter.” He said calmer than before.

Zheng Wan’er stole a glance at Jiang Xi Yu before she nodded. Quietly she walked out from the hall and left Li Fei Long, Jiang Xi Yu, and their closest attendants.

Jiang Xi Yu waited nervously. Like waiting for something to happen, Li Fei Long did not open his mouth even after Zheng Wan’er had gone for some time. Ming He served each of them a cup of tea. Li Fei Long took a sip but Jiang Xi Yu did not have the desire to do so.

From her seat, Jiang Xi Yu noticed why Li Fei Long asked Zheng Wan’er and the other servants to leave the central hall. Ding mama accompanied by two senior pozi, walked slowly entering the hall.

Ding mama who usually fit for her age, turned into a weak convicted old woman. There were traces of blood all around her fingers. One of the pozi must have done a pulling finger torture method on her. Her hair arrangement was messy. There was a slight wound under her eyes. When Ding mama kneeled down, it seemed like she needed to use a lot of effort to do it.

“Wang fei, Ding mama has committed a crime towards you.” Li Fei Long opened the conversation. For the first time since the drama started, this was when Li Fei Long finally turned around and looked deep in her eyes.

“This worthless life confesses to planning and preparing the grassy wood aromatherapy to be used on wang fei. This worthless life confesses to cause a harm for wang fei and solely acted alone without anyone suppressed.”

Ding mama was an example of a loyal accomplice. Until the end of her life, Ding mama proved to be defending her master all she might. Jiang Xi Yu realized Ding mama already knew what was waiting for her when she had this mission assigned on her. To give death penalty was just too easy for Ding mama and whoever behind her.

Li Fei Long took her hands and her mind stopped calculating. The gentle tap on her hand made Jiang Xi Yu move her attention to Li Fei Long.

“Ben wang pledge no one will put wang fei in danger again.” He said firmly.

Even though it seemed like Li Fei Long really meant what he promised, Jiang Xi Yu warned herself to not easily believe in that promise. She pulled back her hands from Li Fei Long, leaned back on her chair, and took a calming breath.

“Ben wang fei gives a pardon for Ding mama. Get a taiyi to take care of Ding mama. While recovering, Ding mama needs to contemplate which residence she would like to serve in.”

To give someone death penalty was never been in Jiang Xi Yu’s mind. She was not a killer or a judge. She was safe and alive. It was her fortune. If Li Fei Long wanted Ding mama to accept death penalty, Jiang Xi Yu thought it was unfair since Ding mama was just a puppet.

Jiang Xi Yu gave Ding mama a chance to be back to Zhong Jing Palace. Out from her sight, far away from her. But the other party did not think that way. Ding mama was astonished by her words and who felt the same way were not only her.

All eyes were bugged out on her. Jiang Xi Yu glanced at Li Fei Long in confusion.

“What?!” She asked in annoyance. “If you kill her, your mother would keep trying to get back on me.” She waved at Ding mama impatiently. “Ming He, Qian Chang Xin, Xiao Gan Zi, Lou Sheng, Ding mama, all were Jing Guì Fēi’s elected people. Killing one of them for trying to harm me would just make the other one take turns doing the same thing until I am running out of luck and be completely dead.”

Ignoring the ancient manner, Jiang Xi Yu unknowingly released her true nature. “Just let the old woman be. The torture already punished her serverely. To stand still on her own feet after that is already good enough. Let her decide where she would like to be.”

No one including Li Fei Long stopped staring at her. Both sides have different thoughts about each other. Jiang Xi Yu realized they all might be taken back after she spoke informally and without any manner at all.

Calmly, she tried to ease the tension. “Qie is still grieving over Anle doulun gege’s pass. Please do understand.”

Ming He, Qian Chang Xin, Xiao Gan Zi, Lou Sheng, Ding mama, all in tune kowtow towards her.

“Wang fei, even though Jing Guì Fēi elected us. Nu’s only master is just Duan Wang Fu.” Pleaded in harmony, the others were saying similar thing like what Ming He said.

Jiang Xi Yu took deep breaths at them. Her swollen eyes made her uncomfortable to sit there and let the others see, especially for Li Fei Long to see. She wanted so bad to be back inside her chamber to grieve therefore she turned to Li Fei Long.

“Wang ye, let me rest inside.” In her heart she said you take care of this for me. Without waiting for Li Fei Long to answer her, Jiang Xi Yu stood up and reached Ru Qing’s hand to guide her back to her quarter. Leaving her husband stunned on his seat.