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"Wenren Zhou!!" Song Yuan suddenly interrupted Wen Renzhou, "If you have business at my residence, just say it directly. If you are here just to make trouble, I fear the General's residence cannot accommodate such a big Buddha like you!"
"The one who becomes a general is indeed hot-tempered. I came this time because I heard that someone in your residence harmed another out of jealousy, and even plotted against the widow of Young Master—" Wen Renzhou's gaze swept across the crowd in the courtyard. Meng Liu quickly understood that he had mistaken her for Liu Nian Nian yesterday, and naturally thought this was Liu Nian Nian's courtyard, which is why he rushed in. However, the reality would likely disappoint this prince.
"This is a matter for Song Residence; it may not require Wenren Zhou's intervention." Song Yuan stepped forward half a step to shield Meng Liu behind him, blocking Wen Renzhou's line of sight, which revealed some displeasure on his face.
"Indeed, this matter of Song Residence does not require my assistance. However, it just so happens that I have some personal grievances with Lady Liu, the widow of Young Master. A friend has been poisoned; how can I, as a prince, just stand by and do nothing?" Wen Renzhou smiled on the surface, but his words were sharp.
"Moreover, I heard that the culprit is none other than Young Master's legitimate wife. Why are you all gathered around Lady Liu's courtyard instead of capturing her for questioning? Could it be that you are sheltering a criminal due to her status as a princess?" Wen Renzhou's gaze pierced through Song Yuan's figure directly to Meng Liu hiding behind him, his eyes filled with undisguised hatred.
Wen Renzhou was an adopted child of the late emperor. His father had followed the late emperor in battle all his life and left only Wen Renzhou as an orphan. The late emperor took him under his wing and made him a leisurely prince. Since the late emperor's death, Wen Renzhou's status had become awkward. Initially, the current emperor was wary of him, but seeing him indulge in pleasure day after day and frequenting brothels, he gradually relaxed his vigilance.
Meng Liu had only met him a few times; although they were both royal relatives, they were not close. In fact, for Wen Renzhou, he probably despised every member of the current royal family. The royal family's wariness of him meant he could do nothing but indulge himself; any display of ambition or talent would be immediately suppressed.
Now that Wen Renzhou believed Meng Liu had harmed Liu Nian Nian, old grudges combined with new ones made him look at Meng Liu with increasing disdain.
"The servant thanks the prince for his concern for Lady Liu. Our Second Young Master is fair and impartial; this is Madam's courtyard, and he is currently leading people to capture the criminal!" The Little Maid who often followed Lady Liu stepped forward to respond when she saw someone backing them up.
Now it was Wen Renzhou's turn to be stunned. He raised his hand to point at the side courtyard and stammered, "This... this isn't Lady Liu's courtyard?!"
"This is Madam's courtyard. Young Master was considerate of Lady Liu's frailty; Lady Liu resides in the main courtyard." The Little Maid did not understand why Wen Renzhou suddenly turned pale and instinctively answered his question.
"You are talking nonsense!" Wen Renzhou suddenly kicked the Little Maid down. She was weak and was kicked in the chest, spitting out blood on the spot and nearly fainting.
"How dare you! How can the prince act violently in the General's residence?!" Seeing Wen Renzhou act out, Song Yuan quickly raised his hand to block Wen Renzhou from advancing further.
As Song Yuan moved, Meng Liu, who had been hidden behind him, appeared before Wen Renzhou. His pupils constricted; he was a moment too slow to react to Song Yuan’s move and was knocked back several steps by Song Yuan’s palm.
Just as Meng Liu nervously clenched her sleeves, worried about what else Wen Renzhou might say, he suddenly laughed. However, that smile resembled a venomous snake contemplating mischief. Meng Liu shivered all over and turned even paler.
"I apologize for intruding; please continue as you were. I will return to my residence first." Just like when he arrived, Wen Renzhou left behind a bewildered Song Yuan and others before storming away along the same path.
"Can you really find evidence in three days?" Hearing a voice from above her head brought Meng Liu back to reality; she realized Song Yuan was speaking to her. After being strongly stimulated by Wen Renzhou, her mind buzzed faintly as she recalled how he looked at her before leaving—her heart sank.
"I must find evidence." Meng Liu met Song Yuan’s gaze; Chun Tao was an important person to her, and she could not bear to see her suffer because of herself.
Their eye contact felt like a silent battle; ultimately, Song Yuan lost. He sighed lightly and turned to Zhao Han beside him: "Chun Tao will be detained temporarily; we will interrogate her again in three days."
With this assurance, Meng Liu finally breathed a sigh of relief. Her body, which had been tense for so long, suddenly softened as she lunged forward and collapsed against Song Yuan’s shoulder.
In her dazed state, Meng Liu vaguely felt herself being lifted up; the embrace was warm and broad as if it were perfect for leaning against. She forced herself to open her eyes and unexpectedly saw Song Yuan’s anxious face before completely fainting.
Meng Liu only took a brief rest before immediately starting her investigation. However, without her most capable Chun Tao by her side, she felt constrained in her actions and didn't even know where to begin.
At a particularly tricky moment, Meng Liu suddenly thought of the relationship between Wen Renzhou and Liu Nian Nian. Since Liu Nian Nian had even sought Wen Renzhou's help to murder Song An, given Wen Renzhou's keen awareness of the situation this morning, it was likely that he had a hand in it as well.
Since Liu Nian Nian dared to openly frame her, she must have been fully prepared, probably having already erased all traces of evidence. To find proof of her and Chun Tao's innocence, she might have to take the risk of visiting the Wangfu.
Although Wen Renzhou was a prince, he was not a true member of the royal bloodline. After the late emperor's passing, no one cared about him anymore, and the defenses of the Wangfu were not very tight.
When night fell, Meng Liu changed into dark clothing and bribed two servants to disguise themselves among the crowd of buyers. Taking advantage of the darkness, she stealthily entered the inner courtyard.
The inner courtyard of the Wangfu appeared even more desolate than the outer courtyard. Most of the rooms were vacant, with only Wen Renzhou's study lit up. Meng Liu took the opportunity to climb through an inadequately closed window in Wen Renzhou's bedroom.
The area that had been rubbed raw last night still throbbed with pain; any sudden movement sent waves of discomfort through her. She stumbled a couple of steps to steady herself. The room was pitch black, making it hard for her to see. She took out a fire stick and lit it, finally revealing the room's layout before her eyes.
Wen Renzhou's bedroom was simply furnished; apart from a bed and basic table and wardrobe, there was mostly empty space. This simplicity seemed rather excessive for a prince.
Meng Liu first felt around by the bed and surprisingly found a box hidden under the pillow. With a hint of anticipation, she opened it but froze in shock. Inside lay a jade rod that looked very familiar in both texture and shape. The jade column was covered in raised dots, with its top even curving upward. It was larger than what had been inserted into her earlier that morning—a truly astonishing size.
Meng Liu's hand trembled violently. Despite her efforts to suppress memories of last night’s events, seeing the weapon that had been left inside her brought back feelings of helplessness and pain. She steadied herself and closed the entirely black box again, continuing to search along the bedside.
This time she discovered a book. The night was too dark for her to see the title at a glance, but since it was kept close by Wen Renzhou on his bedside, it must be something important. She tucked the book into her bosom and moved toward the wardrobe on the other side.
There weren't many clothes in the wardrobe either; after searching twice without finding anything useful, she was about to look elsewhere when footsteps suddenly approached from outside the door.
Meng Liu quickly blew out the fire stick and spun around to hide in the wardrobe, instantly enveloped by Wen Renzhou's unique sandalwood fragrance, which made her feel as if she were back in that moment of humiliation from last night.
After taking several deep breaths to clear her mind, she heard footsteps stop at the door as a maid respectfully called out "Your Highness."
Meng Liu's eyes widened as she peered through a crack in the wardrobe toward the door. It was indeed Wen Renzhou returning!
For a moment, Meng Liu felt as if her heart might stop beating. She pressed one hand tightly over her mouth to stifle any sound while watching Wen Renzhou step closer from the doorway.
"Has anyone entered my bedroom?" Wen Renzhou stood at the door for a moment before turning to ask a maid who was standing not far away.
"Reporting to Your Highness, no one has," the maid answered diligently.
Wen Renzhou frowned deeply and scanned the room with his gaze. His eyes lingered on the wardrobe for a moment; there were several instances where Meng Liu felt he might have seen her. However, he merely waved his hand to dismiss his servants and walked toward the bed after removing his outer robe, seemingly unaware that anything was amiss.
Meng Liu slowly relaxed; now she could only wait for Wen Renzhou to fall asleep completely before sneaking out under cover of darkness.
She didn't know how long it had been when an unusual fragrance began wafting through the room. After just a few whiffs, Meng Liu felt drowsy; her already weak legs felt almost unable to support her weight.
Quickly covering her mouth and nose with Wen Renzhou's clothing nearby, she held on for a moment longer. Outside his bedroom had fallen silent; having inhaled that strange scent for too long made her feel inexplicably hot all over. After listening carefully for any sounds in the room and confirming there were none, she quietly pushed open the wardrobe door. Just as she poked her head out, a large hand reached over from beside her to cover her mouth and nose and pushed her back inside.
Then Wen Renzhou's sinister smile appeared before her: "Got you!"
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