In the back hall of the main hall of the Prince Jing's Mansion.
At this moment, Lu Yinxi was the only one here.
She placed both hands on her left chest. The violent thumping of her heart echoed over and over again in the small space, as if pounding on her palms.
Lu Yinxi seriously suspected that her heart had broken because of all the pain. Otherwise, why was it beating so fast at this moment?
It was just a single sentence. Why was it beating so frantically? And that Shang Luoshu, why did he have to get so close when he was talking? Was he crazy?
"Fourth Miss, what's wrong with you? Is your chest hurting again?"
Hongrui, who had been sent into the back hall by her master, noticed the young girl squatting in the corner, covering her heart as soon as she entered. This immediately reminded her of several previous incidents.
"No, it doesn't hurt," Lu Yinxi pressed down Hongrui's hands, which were flailing about due to worry. She looked up blankly, her eyes filled with a bit of aggrieved accusation.
"Fourth Miss?"
Seeing that her expression didn't seem to show pain, Hongrui felt a bit relieved. But she still thought that the Fourth Miss seemed a bit off at the moment.
Remembering that only her master and the Fourth Miss had been here just now...
Hongrui thought she had guessed the truth: "Fourth Miss, did the Prince..."
"It wasn't this Prince!"
In the front hall, Shang Luoshu's slightly angry voice drifted through the curtain into the back hall.
"Just based on a jade pendant, you're accusing this Prince of being the arsonist last night. Lord Hu, aren't you being too hasty?"
To be honest, Hu Xinya also thought it was hasty. But this jade pendant had been personally handed to him by the Regent. Even if it wasn't something belonging to His Highness the Prince Jing, it had to be now!
"Your Highness, regardless, the evidence is conclusive now. And you can't prove where you were last night. Please don't make it difficult for this official."
"What? Lord Hu, are you planning to torture this Prince?"
"This official wouldn't dare. It's just that all the evidence now points to you. According to the rules, you have to go to the Court of Judicial Review with this official."
Inside the back hall, Lu Yinxi, who had heard every word of the conversation clearly, dug her five fingers into the doorframe, her fingertips turning white from the pressure.
The fire at the Regent's Mansion had become common knowledge. If Shang Luoshu really went to the Court of Judicial Review today, it would be an admission that he was involved in this matter.
Even if it was later clarified that he wasn't the culprit, it would still be a stain that was hard to erase.
Subconsciously leaning forward, Lu Yinxi had already lifted one foot. She wanted to go and help him. But the next moment, she forced herself to stay where she was.
He had just said that he could handle this matter. She had to trust him!
In the front hall, the conversation between the two continued.
"Lord Hu, you'd better think this through. It's okay for this Prince to go to the Court of Judicial Review with you. But if it's later found out that this Prince is innocent, can you bear the charge of slandering the royal family?"
Even though Shang Luoshu wasn't of royal blood, he was still an adopted son recognized by the late emperor, representing the face of the royal family.
Now, Hu Xinya wanted to take him to the Court of Judicial Review based on a jade pendant of unknown origin. In the future, would he use the same method to take away other royal family members?
If it was finally proven that Shang Luoshu was indeed involved in the arson, then so be it. But if he was innocent, then Hu Xinya had to be prepared to bear the wrath of the royal family.
Sure enough, as soon as the man said this, Lord Hu, who had been insisting on taking him away just now, showed a flash of panic on his face.
He had only remembered the Regent's order to take His Highness the Prince Jing to the Court of Judicial Review in full view of everyone. He had forgotten the possible consequences he might bear.
Fine sweat broke out layer by layer. Hu Xinya had already started to back down in his heart, but he still stubbornly said, "Y-Your Highness, this official is just handling this matter according to the rules."
"According to the rules? Do you think that in the end, the Regent will spare your life just because you followed the rules?"
No, he wouldn't.
Although Hu Xinya had only been following Shang Mozheng for a short time, he had a bit of an understanding of his way of doing things.
The current Regent cared more about his reputation than anyone else. Once it was found out that Shang Luoshu was innocent in the arson case, the first person he would punish would be Hu Xinya.
This was to show the world that he didn't appoint people based on personal connections and that he was a wise and virtuous prince.
But Lord Hu also knew that if he went back without doing anything, the Regent wouldn't treat him well either.
Thinking of this, he suddenly knelt down in front of Shang Luoshu with a "thud", fear clearly written on his face.
"Please, Your Highness the Prince Jing, show this official a way out."
This was exactly the attitude the man wanted. Reaching out to help the man up, Shang Luoshu softened his tone and said, "Lord Hu, you're overthinking. You just need to tell the Regent what happened today truthfully."
The sun was high in the sky. The outside of the Prince Jing's Mansion was surrounded by curious onlookers. They already knew that the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review had taken over the case of the fire at the Regent's Mansion.
Because of the war with the Southern Chu State three years ago, they had always had a good impression of this adopted son of the late emperor.
Even though he had been keeping a low profile in recent years and didn't interfere in political affairs, if you asked the people in the capital who the bravest general in this dynasty was, everyone would mention Shang Luoshu, the Tiger and Dragon General of the past.
Today, they had gathered outside the mansion. Some were just here to watch the show, but most of them hoped that this matter had nothing to do with His Highness the Prince Jing.
Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted, "They're coming out!" Everyone's eyes instantly turned towards the mansion gate.
Before long, everyone saw a middle - aged man in a bright red official robe walking out of the mansion.
He first whispered a few words to the yamen runners guarding the door. The next moment, the yamen runners surrounding the mansion began to gather in an orderly manner towards the gate. When everyone was assembled, he led the group away in a grand manner, leaving behind a cloud of flying dust.
Among those people, there was no sign of the Prince Jing.
"So, the fire at the Regent's Mansion has nothing to do with His Highness the Prince Jing?"
"Of course. If it did, the Court of Judicial Review wouldn't have left without taking him back for interrogation."
"So, His Highness the Prince Jing isn't the arsonist!"
"Great! His Highness the Prince Jing isn't the arsonist!"
No one knew who started it, but the crowd suddenly began to cheer in an orderly manner. The sound passed through the layers of walls, and even Lu Yinxi could hear it.
Hu Xinya had left, and she had returned to the front hall from the back hall.
"Is that jade pendant really the one you lost?"
Since there were only their own people around, the young girl spoke without any restraint, but there was a bit more restraint in her words and actions.
"What do you think?"
Noticing her unease, Shang Luoshu deliberately took a step forward to close the distance between them. At this moment, he could pull the person in front of him into his arms with just a stretch of his hand.
"Can you please not get so close when you're talking?"
The familiar scent lingered around her. Lu Yinxi felt that her heart, which had finally calmed down, began to beat out of control again.
"Okay."
Glancing at the pink that had reappeared on her cheeks, the man felt secretly delighted. He readily stepped back to his original position and then patiently explained.
"That jade pendant definitely wasn't mine. Knowing that I was going to the Regent's Mansion, how could I bring something that could easily fall off?"
"So, the Regent deliberately framed you?" Lu Yinxi suddenly understood, but then she felt something was wrong. "But what about the fire?"
Last night at the Regent's Mansion, this man in front of her had personally admitted to her that he had set the fire. Moreover, her visit to the Regent's Mansion last night had been a spur - of - the - moment decision. How could Shang Mozheng have known? And even predicted that Shang Luoshu would come to save her?
Seeing the confusion on the young girl's face, the man couldn't help but feel like teasing her again: "Do you want to know?"
"Of course!"
Hearing this, a big smile suddenly appeared on Shang Luoshu's face. On closer inspection, there was also a hint of cunning that was hard to detect: "Then it depends on the sincerity of Miss Lu, the Fourth Miss!"