After entering the book, the cold prince begs for favor

Chapter 376 Aunt Shen's Mission

The uproar caused by Liang Yusong's death in the capital gradually subsided.

Wang Min had been restless these past few days, so she got up especially early this day and came to Lingshui Residence. "Wanru, about Miss Liang..." Wang Min took the tea offered by her daughter-in-law, hesitating to speak.

Yuan Wanru understood, dismissed her attendants, and then recounted the whole story in detail.

She deliberately omitted some of the bloody details, only saying that Liang Yusong reaped what she sowed. Amidst the fragrant tea, she said softly, "If Mother has the time, she might as well make a trip to Rongshou Hall, so that the Old Madam may know what kind of person she used to dote on."

Upon hearing this, Wang Min's teacup trembled slightly.

She sighed, "Ever since that incident, the old lady has treated me like an enemy. The other day when I went to pay my respects, she wouldn't even let me in."

As she spoke, her brows furrowed even more deeply. "But that Aunt Shen, she's getting more favor with the Old Madam than the proper daughter-in-law these days. Wanru, if this continues, won't something bad happen?"

Yuan Wanru's gaze darkened.

These days she has been secretly keeping an eye on Aunt Shen, but she has remained calm and well-behaved.

"Mother is absolutely right."

Yuan Wanru lowered her voice, "In my opinion, she will definitely make a move in the next two days. Now that the Liang family has suffered such a disaster, whoever is on the Second Prince's side hates our Lu family to the bone. It's time for her, this hidden agent, to be put to use."

Wang Min twisted the handkerchief in her hand into a ball: "You mean...?"

"I'm not afraid of her open attacks," Yuan Wanru said, a cold glint in her eyes, "I'm just afraid she'll use Sixth Sister. She's such a young child; what if someone tricks her into putting something in her food..."

"good!"

The more Wang Min thought about it, the more restless she became.

"What should we do? Sha'er is so young, and everyone is completely unsuspecting. If any of the family members are harmed, Sha'er will never be able to turn back for the rest of her life."

Yuan Wanru pressed down on Wang Min's trembling hand: "Mother, don't worry, I'll go get her right away."

Wang Min shook her head repeatedly: "That won't do! After all, she's your second uncle's legitimate concubine, and she gave birth to Sister Sha. If you arrest her without any evidence, what will happen to your second uncle..."

At this point, she lowered her voice, "Besides, the old lady now considers her a confidante; she even rewarded her with a set of pure gold jewelry the other day. If you act rashly, this household will likely be thrown into chaos!"

Outside the window, a thrush landed on a branch, its clear chirping breaking the silence inside.

Yuan Wanru looked out the window, her gaze gradually hardening.

"Mother, the Emperor is going to purge the Second Prince's faction in the next few days. What wouldn't those people do when they're desperate? Our household is full of old and young people; keeping this menace around is really dangerous."

“Even if it causes chaos in the household,” Yuan Wanru said softly at the end, but every word was like a nail being driven into her throat, “we will eliminate this root of trouble today.”

In the end, Wang Min simply sighed softly, "What you say makes sense. A clean break is necessary. If the old lady and your second uncle cause trouble, your mother and you will share the burden."

-

Aunt Shen has been restless these past few days, tossing and turning at night, unable to sleep.

The day the news of Liang Yusong's sudden death came, she was embroidering when the needle suddenly pierced her fingertip, and a drop of blood stained the snow-white handkerchief.

"How could this be...?"

She muttered to herself, and the embroidery hoop slipped from her hands and fell to the ground.

How could someone as precious and noble as Miss Liang just disappear like that?

The incessant chirping of cicadas outside the window only added to my irritability.

Aunt Shen paced back and forth in the room, her embroidered shoes making a soft, crunching sound as they stepped on the blue bricks.

Suddenly, she heard a few cooing bird calls coming from the base of the wall. She was startled and quickly opened the window to look around.

After confirming that no one was around, she quickly walked to the corner of the courtyard wall and pushed aside the lush weeds.

There was an inconspicuous little hole in the corner of the wall, completely covered by weeds.

Aunt Shen's residence was located in a corner of the Lu family's house, next to the Liang family's residence. For many years, she had received instructions through this hole.

This is why it has remained undiscovered for so long.

However, she is now being closely watched by Lu Jiangnian's men, and Yuan Wanru and the others already know this secret.

Aunt Shen, her hands trembling, pulled out a finely rolled-up strip of paper from the hole.

I took it back to my room and had just finished reading the contents when I heard cheerful footsteps.

"Auntie!"

Sixth Sister Lu Sha's silvery laughter rang out, "Look! My second sister gave me a Luban lock!"

Aunt Shen's hand trembled, and she almost dropped the note.

She quickly dipped the note into the basin of water next to her hands, stirred it a couple of times with her fingertips, and the ink dissolved in the water, making the writing unrecognizable.

"Shouting and yelling like that, what kind of behavior is that?"

Aunt Shen forced herself to remain calm, and when she turned around, a gentle smile had appeared on her face.

Lu Sha held up the exquisite Luban lock, her face flushed with excitement.

Although the second wife, Zhou Fang, was mean-spirited, she would at most deduct some of her monthly allowance or punish her by making her copy "Admonitions for Women." Lu Sha, as the youngest daughter of the second master, Lu Bai, was quite loved and developed an innocent and carefree personality.

Aunt Shen took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the sweat from her daughter's forehead.

She suddenly turned around and poured out a brown pill from a small porcelain bottle: "This is a digestive pill that my aunt specially asked the doctor to prepare; it's most suitable to take in the summer."

Lu Sha frowned and backed away, saying, "It's bitter..."

"good."

Aunt Shen's voice was gentle, but her hands brooked no refusal as she fed the pill to her daughter. "Eat it quickly, it won't be bitter in a little while."

Watching her daughter swallow the pills with a pitiful expression, Aunt Shen hugged her tightly, but her gaze drifted into the distance.

The words on the note are still vivid in my mind: "Tonight, poison the food."

Aunt Shen held her in her arms, her gaze fixed on the distance. It was hardship, but at least her life could be saved.

It was her child after all; she couldn't bring herself to harm him.

"Auntie, what's wrong?"

Lu Sha was held quite tightly by Aunt Shen, and she looked up uncomfortably.

Aunt Shen then realized she had lost her strength and quickly released Lu Sha, saying, "It's alright."

The little one in her arms was warm and soft, her only comfort in this deep mansion.

Outside the window, a cicada suddenly stopped chirping.

Aunt Shen's heart skipped a beat, and she vaguely sensed that something was watching her from the shadows.

Unbeknownst to her, Lu Jiangnian's bodyguards were coldly watching everything from the shadows of the trees outside the courtyard wall.

-

Xuan Ying went to Ling Shui Residence and reported to Madam, "There's some news from Aunt Shen's side."

Yuan Wanru paused slightly as she was reading a medical book and taking notes.

She slowly put down her brush, a cold smile playing on her lips: "What a coincidence."

She had originally planned to arrest the person tonight, but she didn't expect the other party to be unable to hold back first.

However, Yuan Wanru was unaware that this order did not come from the Second Prince. According to the Second Prince and Consort Liang, because of the poison in the Second Prince's body, they could not act rashly and needed to plan carefully.

But Liang Shangjiong couldn't listen to a single word anymore.

This was an order issued by Liang Shangjiong without his consent.

Since Liang Zhi's tragic death, Liang Shangjiong had been harboring a deep-seated anger. Now, with his only daughter suffering such a fate, Liang Shangjiong had lost all reason.

Forget about taking a long-term view and planning slowly; he wants the Lu family to pay for their blood debt right now!

Xuan Ying whispered, "After receiving the secret letter, Aunt Shen immediately dissolved the note in water. Although I couldn't see the contents, judging from her expression, she's definitely going to do something."

Yuan Wanru tapped the table lightly with her fingertips, her gaze growing cold: "Go and prepare, keep an eye on her, and make sure nothing goes wrong."

She gazed at the deepening twilight outside the window and murmured, "Since someone is so eager to die, let's grant him his wish."