"But isn't this Mu Rendong already dead?" Li Jiaojiao asked in confusion.
"Right! Your maid heard that Princess Tianlin never told that woman about Mu Rendong's death. So, Miss, we can definitely take advantage of this..."
The maid didn't finish her sentence, but Li Jiaojiao understood. It seemed that even the heavens were on her side.
Mu Fengqie, Mu Fengqie, let's see how you can compete with me this time.
When Mu Fengqie was on her way back, she heard what the commoners were saying. Zhu Fei angrily glared at the chattering people around, wanting to teach them a lesson, but was stopped by Mu Fengqie.
"Beating them won't solve anything. It'll only stir up public outrage. Let's go back quickly and catch the mastermind behind this." With that, Mu Fengqie lowered the curtain of the carriage and told An Ye to speed up.
Sure enough, when Mu Fengqie returned, the people she had sent out had already come back and found out who was causing trouble.
"Master, this Li Jiaojiao is really going too far! Let me go and teach her a lesson!" Zhu Fei said angrily.
"No need. Just spread the news about my wedding with A Che. As for the rest... someone will help."
When Mu Fengqie said someone would help, she didn't mean she would go looking for help. Instead, others would step forward and voluntarily help clarify things.
For example, the maternal families of Concubine Jing and Concubine Shu.
After they intervened, the situation quickly took a turn. However, Li Jiaojiao didn't pay attention to this. Instead, she kept contacting Xiujuan.
"Miss Xiujuan, hello. I'm Li Jiaojiao." Li Jiaojiao looked at the veil on Xiujuan's face and remembered what the maid had said about her disfigurement. So, her look of disgust was evident. But for the upcoming plan, she had to endure it.
"What do you want to talk to me about?" Xiujuan didn't recognize the person in front of her, but she said she knew where Mu Rendong was, so she came out to meet her.
These days, she had been thinking about whether to stay in the capital and wait for Rendong to come back or go out and look for him.
"Miss Xiujuan, have you been looking for Mu Rendong?" Li Jiaojiao looked at Xiujuan, a glint of cunning flashing in her eyes.
"You know where he is?" Xiujuan hadn't been in the capital for nothing these days. She didn't believe everyone easily. A stranger saying she knew where Mu Rendong was.
Even though she was skeptical, she still came.
As long as it was related to Mu Rendong, she couldn't afford to take the risk.
Li Jiaojiao hooked her lips after hearing her words: "That depends on what you can offer me."
"What do you want?" Xiujuan wasn't easy to deceive now. She gave Li Jiaojiao a sharp look.
"I heard that your family is very wealthy, Miss Xiujuan. I wonder if you can come up with this amount." With that, Li Jiaojiao held out five fingers.
"Five hundred taels?" There was no reaction on Xiujuan's face. She could still afford five hundred taels.
Li Jiaojiao looked at Xiujuan and laughed: "Miss Xiujuan misunderstood. I meant five thousand taels."
Xiujuan immediately stood up: "Five thousand taels! Why don't you just rob me?"
"Miss Xiujuan, don't you want to know the news about Mu Rendong?" Li Jiaojiao leaned back in her chair, not worried at all about what would happen if Xiujuan refused. She was confident that Xiujuan would agree.
Xiujuan fell silent after hearing Li Jiaojiao's words. Yes, she wanted to know the news about Mu Rendong.
Xiujuan gritted her teeth and said, "I agree, but I need to see if your news is really worth five thousand taels of silver." Xiujuan looked at Li Jiaojiao and said.
Li Jiaojiao hooked her lips and smiled at Xiujuan: "Don't worry, Miss Xiujuan. My news is definitely worth it."
Then she whispered a few words in Xiujuan's ear. After Li Jiaojiao finished speaking, Xiujuan suddenly stood up and looked at Li Jiaojiao in disbelief.
"Bitch! How dare you lie to me!" Xiujuan glared at Li Jiaojiao angrily.
"If you don't believe me, you can go and ask some government officials. I won't lie to you. That Mu Rendong is really dead." Li Jiaojiao shrugged and said.
If it weren't for the fact that Xiujuan was still useful, just for that word "bitch" she had just called her, Li Jiaojiao would have killed her long ago. A commoner had no right to shout at her.
After hearing Li Jiaojiao's words, Xiujuan rushed out of the door. On the street, she grabbed someone and started asking about Mu Rendong. But how could these commoners know about what happened in the palace?
So, Xiujuan could only do as Li Jiaojiao said and ask the government officials.
And the official Xiujuan chose was the prime minister, second only to the emperor.
Xiujuan looked at the grand mansion in front of her. Her legs felt heavy. Once she took this step, she would know if what Li Jiaojiao said was true.
For a moment, Xiujuan hesitated. She was afraid of what she might find out.
Xiujuan looked at the big door in front of her, swallowed hard, and took a trembling step forward.
"Big brother, I wonder if you've heard of the name Mu Rendong?" Xiujuan looked at the guard at the door and handed over a money bag.
"Mu Rendong? Who are you to him?" the guard at the door asked in confusion, looking at Xiujuan.
"Oh, it's like this. Mu Rendong's family owed my family a lot of money back then. Now something has happened to my family, and I want to get the money back." Xiujuan made up a random excuse.
The guards at the door believed her because they all knew that when Mu Rendong came to the capital, he often went to the gambling house. So, they didn't doubt the fact that he owed money.
"I'm afraid you've come at the wrong time," the guard at the door said regretfully.
Looking at their expressions, Xiujuan's heart sank to the bottom.
"What do you mean?" Xiujuan forced a smile and asked.
"Mu Rendong was executed by the emperor a long time ago because he violated the palace rules," they said relatively mildly. In fact, Mu Rendong had coveted the emperor's woman, which was why he was killed.
Xiujuan's body suddenly took a step back. Her face was deathly pale, and her lips trembled constantly.
Seeing Xiujuan like this, the guards at the door thought that her family's situation was too serious and that she couldn't get the money back and would be in big trouble. So, they returned the money bag that Xiujuan had given them.
"Miss, you'd better take this money back," the guard put the money bag into Xiujuan's hand and then continued to stand guard.
But Xiujuan seemed to be in a daze and walked forward blankly.
Mu Rendong was dead? Why did he die?