Chapter 66

  Back at the mansion, Hongyu's first thing to do was to see if Sima Qiang was in the mansion. What made her heart skip a beat was that Sima Qiang was not in the mansion at all. The servant said that he had been out for some time and might have gone to Liu Fei's place, and should be back by now.

  She was absent-minded today, so she took a wrong turn, what's with that look?

  It must be that I'm thinking too much, that place, Sima Qiang shouldn't go again, besides, nothing happened between her and Sima Zhe, even if it was Sima Qiang, there should be no problem, living together for so long, Sima Qiang should know her feelings towards him.

  Simaqiang returned from outside, his facial expression was normal, smiling and greeting Hongyu, "Where did you go? I came out from my mother's place, my mother said you left just before me, I searched all the way here, but didn't meet you."

  Hong Yu smiled warmly and said: "There are many familiar faces in the palace, I met an old friend on the road - or rather a sister, we chatted for a few sentences and lost track of time."

  "Oh, I see." Sima Qiang nodded casually, "The Emperor has already left, and Grandmother's mood might not be good for the next two days. Let's head back to Bian Guan in a couple of days too."

  "Alright." Hongyu nodded.

  Yu Jiao couldn't bear the pain after all, and when Ya Li helped her change the dressing for the second time, she was truly desperate. How long would this agony last? At night, she chose to end her life by swallowing gold. By the time Xiao Wu discovered her, she had already passed away, leaving Xiao Wu almost dead on the spot. Without caring that it was already midnight, those who usually came and went from the Fourth Prince's residence rushed to the Fourth Prince's residence like they were crazy.

  Murong Feng was reclining on the soft couch, reading a book. Sima Rui was beside him, accompanying him as he pondered over the chessboard. Although they had slept together last night, there was still no substantial progress between them. Sima Rui didn't have any intention of forcing himself on Murong Feng and didn't ask or plan to coerce her into anything tonight. Just being able to guard her was already a happy thing for him.

  Yan Yu hastily entered, looking at Sima Rui and Murong Feng, somewhat hesitant.

  "What's wrong?" Murong Feng looked at her expression and asked with a smile.

  "Yes, it's someone from the Moon Jade Building." Yan Yu said stiffly, afraid that Murong Feng would get angry. What a time to show up, and now people from the Moon Jade Building have found their way here - isn't this just asking for trouble? Even if Murong Feng had the best temper, he couldn't keep giving in forever.

  "It's so late, there must be something urgent. You go take a look quickly, I don't know how Miss Yu is doing?" Murong Feng looked at Sima Rui, "At this time, coming over makes me feel a bit uneasy in my heart. Why don't I go with you to take a look?"

  "It's too late, you should rest instead. With Imperial Physician here, nothing should go wrong. Besides, there's Consort Li, this Consort Li, although she has a temper, her heart isn't all bad." Sima Rui smiled and said, "If it wasn't for her, I really wouldn't have been able to obtain the antidote from Wumeng State."

  "Anyway, I couldn't sleep either. I really want to go with you to see her." Murong Feng smiled faintly, "Leaving me alone in the mansion also doesn't make sense."

  "Alright." Sima Rui smiled slightly. In fact, he also wanted to bring her along, having her by his side made him feel different, as if doing anything wasn't boring.

  As soon as he saw the people coming, with a sad face, Sima Rui's heart suddenly jumped, and he had an ominous feeling. Although Yu Jiao was Sima Zhe's woman, she had been taken care of by him all along, and almost treated her as his own family. "What happened to Yu Jiao? Why are you in such a hurry?"

  "Fourth prince, go take a look! Moon Jiao has swallowed gold and killed herself!" The newcomer wasn't clear who Moon Jiao belonged to, but knew that the fourth prince had always taken care of her. Every time something happened to Moon Jiao, it was the fourth prince who stepped forward to resolve it.

  Simarui was stunned and didn't say a word for half a day.

  Murong Feng felt a slight pain in his heart, how could that beautiful dancing woman be so ruthless? She took her own life with her own hands!

  Simarui suddenly walked out the door, Murong Feng saw his face was not good, as if suppressing a belly full of fire, somewhat worried, hastily grabbed him, "What are you going to do?"

  "I'll go ask that Hongyu, how did Yuelan provoke her?" Sima Rui said angrily, "She's fine being the second princess consort, why must she cause trouble!"

  "She would never admit it, and you have no evidence to prove that Yu Jiao's affair is related to her. Given your and her reputation in the imperial palace, everyone will think you are being unreasonable. Hongyu just returned from Bianzhou, how could she possibly know a courtesan and intentionally harm her?" Murong Feng said quickly, "Now let's go to Yu Jiao's pavilion to see her current situation, then we'll make plans."

  "Let her off for now, I'll deal with Yu Jiao's matter first. I won't let her off lightly! What reputation or not, I, Sima Rui, have never been one to care about such things. Even if Yu Jiao was just a courtesan, she had never provoked her, so why did she take it upon herself to end Yu Jiao's life? Back then, she could abandon Sima Zhe for Sima Qiang and even harm Sima Zhe's flesh and blood, did she ever think about right or wrong? Now, because of a courtesan who looks somewhat like her, she harms someone with poison that not even the Wumeng Kingdom would use lightly. It's simply unforgivable!"

  Murong Feng knew that Sima Rui was now in a fit of rage, so he pulled him back and slowed down his speech: "Have you thought about it? Even Sima Zhe wouldn't mind. What can you do? In the past, Sima Zhe only favored Yu Jiao because she looked a bit like Hongyu, but for the sake of his own future, he didn't give her any promises. If not for you, Yu Jiao would still be unknown now! We can only go and deal with Yu Jiao's aftermath first, other things will have to wait until later."

  "How did you know about Yu Jiao and Sima Zhe?" Sima Rui was taken aback, "As for this matter, I'm afraid only the Emperor's uncle and I know it in the palace. Did the Emperor's uncle tell you?"

  Murong Feng nodded, "He told me about a Sima Rui that was completely different from the one I knew."

  "Can't we just let Hongyu off lightly like this!" Sima Rui said reluctantly.

  Murong Feng furrowed his brow, and after a while, he said: "I don't know how to deal with it either, but I think the most important thing for us right now is to take care of Yu Jiao's aftermath. We can't just leave her lying in bed like that, unattended and unasked."

  The two of them hastily arrived at Yuejiao Pavilion and saw Yuejiao who had already passed away.

  Seeing Yu Jiao, Murong Feng felt a pang in his heart. The Yu Jiao he saw back then was still a lively being, dancing with joy. Now, she lay quietly on the bed, her face pale but without any vitality, her eyes closed, her black hair spread out on the pillow, without any adornment, lying there silently and motionlessly.