The man who knelt on the ground, having committed a crime, crawled to Shen Muzhou's feet. After kowtowing several times, he said, "Your Highness, the Ninth Prince, please spare my life. I cannot die. I smuggled salt to buy medicine for my elderly mother. She is advanced in age and disabled. Without me, it is no different from waiting for death."
"I didn't want to smuggle salt, but this vast capital does not provide treatment for the poor. The lowest cost for a doctor's consultation and medicine is one tael of silver. How much do I earn in a day doing manual labor? One hundred copper coins. My mother cannot afford medicine, and my children are on the verge of starvation. I beg Your Highness, for the sake of my elderly mother and children, to spare my life. I dare not do it again, I dare not!"
The man had an honest and simple appearance. As he knelt on the ground, trembling and begging for mercy, his dirt-stained, dark hands shakily reached for Shen Muzhou's shoe tip. Fearing he would dirty the fine deerskin boots, he withdrew his hands and placed them on the ground.
An old woman, leaning on a cane, appeared emaciated and hunched over. She stood with all her strength, accompanied by a small child. They pleaded for the man's life from below the platform.
Their backs were turned to Lin Yanxi, so their faces could not be seen.
Shen Muzhou cast a somber glance at the people below. The old woman and child immediately lowered their heads.
His face showed no emotion. Upon seeing Lin Yanxi below, his gaze paused for a moment before quickly shifting away.
Seeing that Shen Muzhou did not react, the man, as if possessed, stood up and attempted to flee, murmuring, "I cannot die. If I die, my mother and child will not survive. I cannot... ah..."
The moment he turned, his body was pierced by a white blade. Blood dripped onto the execution platform along the blade. The old woman and child watched with their own eyes as the only relative they could rely on died on the platform.
Shen Muzhou's face remained expressionless, his heart as cold as the blade in his hand that had taken countless lives. After withdrawing his sword, he unconsciously looked in Lin Yanxi's direction. She was no longer there.
-----
In the Sky Room of the restaurant.
Lin Yuan was covered only by a thin veil, her fragrant shoulders half-exposed, her lips a dazzling crimson.
Shen Qingyun held her in his arms, repeatedly caressing her lips and saying, "Are you in such a hurry to see me?"
Lin Yuan smiled shyly, her lips parted slightly to nibble on his finger. "Aren't you?"
Shen Qingyun smiled knowingly, pushed her onto the bed, and buried his head in her neck.
She suddenly pulled up the veil and pushed Shen Qingyun away, feigning shyness and saying, "Ever since Lin Yanxi regained her senses, she has been suppressing me everywhere in the mansion. Now she has even seized control of the Taifu's mansion. I fear you will be captivated by her sooner or later!"
She pretended to be angry, and a single tear rolled down her cheek, making her look even more alluring.
"What nonsense are you spouting?" Shen Qingyun calmly moved his arm away and sat on the edge of the bed.
Lin Yuan's expression changed. She quickly coaxed him with a sweet laugh, "I'm just afraid of losing you."
Shen Qingyun's expression darkened, and he did not look at her. He continued, "Do you know what I like about you? From the first moment I saw you, I knew you were like me, full of desire and ambition."
Lin Yuan lowered her eyes, her expression growing more somber. A stiff smile remained on her face.
He continued, "To achieve great things, ambition must be coupled with intelligence and the ability to know when to advance and when to retreat. If you only possess superficial cleverness, your ambition will be your downfall."
Lin Yuan's voice was a little hoarse. "I don't understand what the Crown Prince means."
When he turned his gaze to her, the chilling darkness in his eyes was terrifying. He retorted, "Oh? You don't understand?"
They both knew clearly what had happened that night when Lin Yanxi did not return home.
The Taifu's attitude towards his marriage with Lin Yanxi was still unclear. He needed someone in the Taifu's mansion to assist him, to act as his spy.
Lin Yuan was the most ambitious and the easiest to control.
Lin Yuan immediately knelt on the ground, tears welling up in her eyes. "I truly love you too much, Qingyun. I cannot lose you. I was momentarily foolish. Please don't blame me."
"Alas." Shen Qingyun reached out and helped her up. "How could I blame you? I love you too much to even think of it."
He took a small packet from his sleeve and gave it to her. "In two days, it's the Empress's birthday. Before she enters the palace, find an opportunity to give this to her."
Lin Yuan hesitated for a moment, not taking the powder. Lin Yanxi was not the same as she used to be; she was no longer the fool she could manipulate.
"Don't worry, this powder is colorless and odorless. No one will notice. As long as I and Lin Yanxi become man and wife, the Taifu, to save face, will beg me to marry her. At that time, I will propose to take you into the Eastern Palace as well. You two sisters will be equal consorts, not distinguished by rank."
"This is not betraying you."
Lin Yuan knew this was her best outcome. To be an equal consort, to enter the Eastern Palace, and if Shen Qingyun later ascended the throne as emperor, it was not impossible for her to become empress.
She had to endure for now.
She obediently took the packet and said, "Yuan'er is willing to lend a hand to Crown Prince Gege."
The gloom on Shen Qingyun's face vanished. He smiled, embraced her, and peeled away the thin layer of soft gauze covering her. Her snow-white skin came into view. His breathing hitched, and he passionately kissed her.
They lay embracing on the bed for a while when thick smoke began to drift in through the gap in the door.
"It's bad, it's bad! There's a fire!" someone shouted from outside, followed by a flurry of footsteps.
The restaurant was divided into three floors. The first and second floors were for dining and listening to storytellers. The third floor was never opened to the public; it was guarded and served by special staff. It was a place the Crown Prince used for private meetings, and the stairs for entry and exit were hidden at the back door.
Lin Yuan quickly put on her clothes, but her outer garment had been thrown into the corridor when they were being intimate earlier. It was now nowhere to be found.
She tugged at Shen Qingyun's sleeve, anxiously saying, "My outer garment is still in the corridor."
Shen Qingyun opened the door intending to leave through the back stairs, but the thick smoke was billowing up from the back staircase. The two were forced to return to the room.
He calmly surveyed the room and said, "Let's go through the window. Don't worry about the outer garment for now. Outside the window is the back courtyard. The carriage is waiting there. I'll buy you a new one once we're in the carriage."
Shen Qingyun struggled to open the window and suddenly squatted down. He tugged at Lin Yuan's sleeve, signaling her to quickly crouch down and hide. For some reason, a crowd had gathered below the window.
Seeing the thick smoke filling the room more and more.
All paths were blocked. He had only one way to go: down the main staircase, walking down with dignity.
"Yuan'er, I will go down first. You wait upstairs. My personal guards will come to rescue you."
Because he was meeting a lover, he had not brought any personal guards or attendants, only a stableman to wait downstairs.
Lin Yuan clutched Shen Qingyun's sleeve, unwilling to let go, and softly called his name, "Qingyun, don't leave me, cough cough cough."
The smoke in the room was so choking that it was difficult to breathe. Shen Qingyun guessed that the fire outside would soon spread upwards, and he pulled his sleeve free from her grasp.
"Be good. I will come back to rescue you soon. Besides, you are not wearing an outer garment, so to protect your reputation, you must wait for me here."
"Do not go downstairs. Wait for me to find guards to rescue you."
Shen Qingyun, still worried, instructed her again and ran towards the stairs leading to the main entrance without looking back.
Lin Yuan watched his hurried departure and sneered in her heart. Her reputation had been ruined the day she climbed into the Crown Prince's bed.
Lin Yanxi, Lin Ze, and Jiang Wan were sitting around a table listening to the storyteller. After waiting for a long time, they finally saw the Crown Prince running down the stairs in a panic.
"Crown Prince Gege, what a coincidence," Lin Yanxi said, raising her eyebrows casually.
Shen Qingyun saw the Taifu's family and his face became flustered. After steadying himself, he realized that the diners on the first and second floors were all leisurely, with no sign of a fire.
He had fallen into this young girl's trap.
Shen Qingyun, with a gentle and courteous demeanor, exchanged pleasantries with Lin Ze. "Does the Taifu also enjoy the storyteller here?"
Lin Ze offered a smiling bow. "Your humble servant greets the Crown Prince."
Shen Qingyun nodded and said he had urgent matters to attend to and left.
Lin Ze, having followed Shen Qingyun for many years, could see the panic in Shen Qingyun's face and his evasive words. He then glanced at Lin Yanxi, his face darkened, and he began to walk upstairs.
He had long heard that the third floor of this restaurant was booked by high-ranking officials, but he had not expected it to be booked by the Crown Prince.
Jiang Wan glanced at Lin Yanxi and said nothing, following Lin Ze upstairs.
When they reached the third floor, most of the smoke had dissipated, but it was still hazy. From one of the rooms, they heard the intermittent cries of a woman.
Lin Ze's heart tightened. He was very familiar with the crying sound. He pushed the door open and stood frozen in place.
"Father..."
Lin Yuan was wearing only her thin undergarments. The gauze lay scattered on the floor, and the bedding on the bed was disheveled, filled with an ambiguous atmosphere.
She lowered her eyes in panic, not daring to meet Lin Ze's shocked and disappointed gaze.
Lin Ze, furious, grabbed a teacup from the table and smashed it towards Lin Yuan's head. Jiang Wan, however, reacted quickly and shielded Lin Yuan.
"You wicked creature! You are utterly disgracing me!" Lin Ze trembled with rage, unable to hit or scold her properly.
Jiang Wan ordered Yu Gu, who was following behind, "Quickly fetch some clothes for Eldest Miss to wear."
Yu Gu had been serving Jiang Wan since she was young. When Jiang Wan married the Taifu, Yu Gu accompanied her as part of her dowry. They were inseparable.
---
Taifu's Mansion.
Lin Ze sat silently in the main hall. Jiang Wan dismissed the household servants, leaving only Yu Gu by her side.
Lin Yanxi also sat in a side armchair, sipping her tea in small sips. Her large, dark eyes appraised Lin Yuan, who was kneeling on the ground, with an air of someone waiting to watch a good show.
Concubine Xu also came to the hall and shielded her daughter behind her, saying, "My Lord, Lin Yuan is still young and was deceived by a man into making a grave mistake."
Lin Ze clenched his fists, trying his best to suppress the anger and shame in his heart. "What kind of person is the Crown Prince? Would he lack women? Would he actively take an interest in Lin Yuan and trick her into giving herself to him?"
Concubine Xu was rendered speechless and resorted to her usual tactic. Tears did not fall, but she wailed, "This is all my fault. I did not raise my daughter well. If you are angry, vent it on me! Please do not make things difficult for Yuan'er."
Lin Ze, with a dark expression, flipped over the table in front of him with a single palm strike. His anger burning, he roared, "Vent on me? The reputation of our Taifu's mansion, my position in court, my relationship with the Crown Prince – devouring you and your unpromising daughter alive would not be enough to compensate! You foolish woman!"
Lin Yanxi suppressed a giggle, blowing on her tea foam in small sips, finding it quite amusing.
Jiang Wan sat beside her and subtly squeezed Lin Yanxi's arm. She rubbed her arm in pain, glanced at Jiang Wan's expression, and quickly sat up straight again, putting on a stern face.
Lin Yuan wiped her tears and suddenly pointed at Lin Yanxi, glaring at her with venomous hatred. "It was her! Lin Yanxi plotted against me!"