Mo Yao exchanged a glance with Lady Lan. It seemed that they remembered something. After a moment of silence, Mo Yao gritted her teeth and knelt on the ground. The cold bluestone floor was damp. As soon as she knelt down, it felt like kneeling on ice.
She knelt and crawled towards Mo Qinghuan. "Your Highness the Princess, I was ignorant before. I shouldn't have offended Your Highness. But please, for the sake of my mother's old age and poor health, spare her life."
She didn't dare to mention taking her mother back to the General's Mansion. After all, she herself was on thin ice in the General's Mansion.
Zhao Yiyi and the old Lady Ning always gave her a hard time and made her do menial tasks. As for Ning Shouzhang, although he spent nights with her, he didn't know how to cherish her. She was exhausted during the day and had to serve him well at night. She didn't dare to show the slightest dissatisfaction, for fear that even this last bit of favor would fade away...
Mo Qinghuan couldn't help but find it ridiculous. People only understand the principle of leaving a way out when they suffer themselves.
But even if she understood, it didn't mean she would spare them. So she walked up to Mo Yao, bent down, and lifted her chin. "Why don't you take her back to the General's Mansion?"
The smile on her face deepened, making Mo Yao shiver. Cold sweat broke out on her palms.
"Deputy General Qing, take them out."
Qing Heng, who had been standing silently, nodded and ordered two guards to step forward and drag the people out roughly.
Seeing the guards treating her daughter so roughly, Lady Lan stretched her hand out of the prison cell and cried shrilly, "Yaoyao, Yaoyao, my daughter. Let go of my daughter!"
Mo Qinghuan walked over and held Lady Lan's hand. "Don't worry. Your daughter is highly favored in General Ningyuan's mansion. I won't touch her for now."
Lady Lan was frightened and could only pray that her daughter would always be in favor with General Ningyuan. Otherwise, this woman would surely deal with her.
She was already in prison, and she didn't want her daughter to suffer the same.
Mo Qinghuan glanced at her sideways, covered her chest, and walked out. Seeing this, Dan'er quickly stepped forward to support her.
"Your Highness the Princess, are you okay? Your complexion looks pale."
She shook her head, leaned against the wall, and frowned tightly.
Just then, Mu Yanming rushed over. Seeing her state, a flicker of worry flashed in his eyes.
"You're not fully recovered yet. Can't you just rest in the room?"
Saying that, he was about to pick her up horizontally, but Mo Qinghuan dodged. She leaned against the wall and walked forward slowly.
"Your Highness, the Princess is a bit willful. I'll persuade her well."
After saying that, Dan'er quickly followed.
"Dan'er, take good care of her."
Dan'er bowed and stepped back.
...
After nightfall, Mo Qinghuan tossed and turned in bed and couldn't fall asleep. For some reason, she had a premonition of doom.
She sat up. Dan'er, who was sleeping under the window, saw her wake up, got out of bed, lit a candle, and then came to the bedside to put a robe on Mo Qinghuan.
"Your Highness the Princess, why did you get up?"
She pulled Dan'er onto the bed and sat in the quilt.
"Dan'er, what kind of person do you think Mu Yanming is?"
Hearing this, Dan'er quickly comforted her. "Your Highness, I know you're angry with the Prince. But I don't understand why you're angry with him."
Mo Qinghuan looked up at Dan'er. "I don't know either. I just feel uncomfortable about what he did."
"Your Highness, I think the Prince did nothing wrong. Do you remember what I said when the second miss had me and Shuang'er tied up and you came to rescue us?"
She sighed. Of course, she remembered what Dan'er had said. She had appreciated this girl back then...
It was ironic that the situation was the same now.
But facing the same situation, she was not as clear - headed as a child.
"Your Highness, it's getting late. Go to sleep early." She got out of bed and tucked the quilt for Mo Qinghuan.
...
After the midnight watchman's gong sounded, the few scattered lights were all extinguished.
The streets of the capital were completely dark. It was pitch - black, and everywhere was deathly silent.
Suddenly, a shrill scream pierced the silent night sky. Then came the cries of children, the barks of dogs, and the meows of cats.
Shortly after, a fire broke out where the sound came from. The flames shot up into the sky, dyeing the moonlight red.
The fire burned for half the night and gradually died out near dawn.
...
Morning came, and the sun rose as usual. The colorful sunlight shone through the window lattice into Mo Qinghuan's room, passed through the carved and hollowed - out screen, and scattered on the brocade quilt.
She opened her eyes, got out of bed, and heard the chirping of birds outside. Everything seemed the same as yesterday, but for some reason, she felt uneasy.
"Dan'er."
She called out. Dan'er, who was talking to Shuang'er in the yard, heard her voice and quickly walked over.
"Your Highness, you're up?"
Mo Qinghuan's complexion was not good. She had had a dream all night. In the dream, the Prime Minister's Mansion was massacred. The fire was raging, and the blood flowed everywhere in the yard, even dyeing the sky red...
"Dan'er, go to the street and find out if anything has happened."
Dan'er stood still, stunned.
Mo Qinghuan asked with a straight face, "Why aren't you going?" After saying that, she suddenly sensed something was wrong.
She pushed Dan'er aside and was about to check it out herself.
Seeing this, Dan'er quickly followed.
"Your Highness, where are you going?"
Seeing her so flustered, Mo Qinghuan already guessed most of it. "You know what happened, don't you?"
Dan'er lowered her head. She knew. Not only she, but probably everyone in the capital knew by now.
Seeing that she didn't say anything, Mo Qinghuan didn't waste any more words with her. She bypassed her and walked out of the mansion.
Shuang'er ran over. "Sister, you can't stop her. The Princess will know sooner or later."
She walked all the way to the Prime Minister's Mansion.
The discussions about the Prime Minister's Mansion echoed in her ears.
"How pitiful. The whole family was wiped out overnight..."
"Tell me about it. Although the left prime minister extorted from the people and always looked down on us farmers, what did his family do wrong..."
Yes, what did the family do wrong? Why did they have to be exterminated? Why did he say he would spare them during the day but...
Just as she was thinking, she saw Mu Yanming's sedan chair coming towards her from the opposite direction.
Bai Ke saw her and quickly jumped off the carriage.
"Your Highness the Princess."
He called out, but Mo Qinghuan ignored him and walked past him.