Princess Zhaoning smiled at Fang Zheng and said, "But please rest assured, I will take good care of you and will not let you suffer any grievances."
After speaking, Princess Zhaoning turned around and slowly walked into the backyard with the warhorse.
In the backyard was a cellar. Princess Zhaoning beckoned her personal maids and had the old Prime Minister Fang Zheng carried down.
Being carried by several young palace maids, the old Prime Minister Fang Zheng blushed with shame, muttering incessantly, "Alas, what a sin, what a sin! Where have the etiquette of Da Cang Country gone?"
At this time, the Lotus Cult Leader had quietly returned to the inn. In the room, Huang Ying was already anxiously pacing.
The maid Du Juan had already knocked on the door, asking if she wanted to get up. Huang Ying claimed to be exhausted from the journey and wanted to sleep a little longer.
But she couldn't wait indefinitely.
Seeing the Lotus Cult Leader return, Huang Ying let out a long sigh of relief.
"Sister, you're back. If you hadn't returned, I'm afraid we would have been exposed."
The Lotus Cult Leader, however, looked indifferent. "What is there to be afraid of? If I said I would return, I would return."
"Sister, do you want to rest for a while? You look exhausted."
The Lotus Cult Leader nodded. "Tell them I have a slight headache and will skip breakfast. We'll talk at noon."
The Lotus Cult Leader undressed and lay down to rest, while Huang Ying, dressed neatly, left the room to accompany Chen Xiaobei and the others for breakfast.
For convenience, they chose to eat breakfast at a noodle shop next to the inn, rather than looking for Lamu and the others.
After all, Lamu was from the Da Tu Kingdom. Even if Chen Xiaobei wasn't paying attention, Feng Xiaoyue would be extremely cautious. At this time, any gossip would be a fatal blow to him.
As the group entered the noodle shop and had just ordered a bowl of noodles, another table of guests entered. After sitting down, they began to whisper.
"The sky dog eating the moon last night, did you hear about it?"
"Are you stupid? The sky dog eating the moon, who didn't see it? What's there to hear?"
"Hey, I'm telling you, you're so slow-witted. Didn't you hear what others said? This year's sky dog eating the moon bodes well for the south."
"You're talking nonsense again. Who did you hear that from..."
"Don't ask me who I heard it from. Anyway, it's spread now. The sky dog eating the moon bodes well for the south. What do you think this means?"
The crowd fell silent and all looked at a middle-aged man with a red face.
The middle-aged man lowered his voice and said in a deep tone, "Isn't this obvious? Think about it. For the south to be auspicious, who does the south represent?"
This question stunned everyone. They looked at each other and then shook their heads in unison.
"Hmph, who else could it be but Marquis Liu Xiangnan!"
"For the south to be auspicious, his name is Xiangnan. Doesn't that fit perfectly?"
Everyone looked enlightened and gave the man with the red face a thumbs-up, praising his insight. Feng Xiaoyue, however, could no longer contain herself.
She suddenly wanted to stand up and argue with these people, but Chen Xiaobei grabbed her arm.
Cheng Xiaoyue looked at Chen Xiaobei with surprised eyes. Chen Xiaobei shook his head slightly.
He said in a very low voice, "The rumors have already spread. What's the point of you going to reason with them? As I said, we can only solve the problem fundamentally by finding the person who spread the rumors."
After listening to Chen Xiaobei's persuasion, Feng Xiaoyue finally calmed down and stomped her foot fiercely.
"Brother Xiaobei, we can't just stand by and watch these people slander Marquis Liu like this."
Chen Xiaobei smiled faintly. "Have you thought about why there are so many rumors about Marquis Liu? First, he's accused of rebellion, and now this sky dog eating the moon is also being linked to him?"
"Why?" Feng Xiaoyue asked again, a little naively.
Chen Xiaobei saw it very clearly. This was a fabricated charge. To put it bluntly, the only result of pinning these charges on him was to keep Liu Xiangnan in prison and not let him out.
And it was necessary to find an excuse that the common people could accept, so the sky dog eating the moon and the auspiciousness for the south was a perfect excuse.
After listening to Chen Xiaobei's explanation, Feng Xiaoyue sighed again. "Who would fabricate such a shameless..."
Before she could finish, the shopkeeper shouted, "The noodles are here."
He then came forward and placed several bowls of noodles in front of Chen Xiaobei and his companions.
Chen Xiaobei picked up his chopsticks, twirled the noodles, and said to Feng Xiaoyue, "Alright, let's eat first. We'll explain everything later."
The bowl of noodles was quickly finished. Chen Xiaobei led the group back to the inn. As they approached the entrance of the inn, they saw two men dressed as servants standing there.
As soon as they saw them approaching, one of them stepped forward and bowed to Feng Xiaoyue, "You are Miss Xiaoyue, aren't you!"
Feng Xiaoyue nodded. "Yes, I am. Who are you?"
"We are sent by Minister Zhu of the Ministry of Rites."
"The Minister said he is willing to help you wash away Master Feng's grievances. Oh, and he has already sent people to pursue Old Prime Minister Fang. We believe there will be results soon."
After speaking, he handed over a calling card. "Miss Xiaoyue, please do not leave the inn. Minister Zhu will send people to contact you at any time." Su Dan Novel Network
Upon hearing this, Feng Xiaoyue was filled with surprise and joy. She bowed respectfully to the two men, "Please thank Minister Zhu on my behalf." She then offered them some small silver pieces.
Seeing these two leave, Feng Xiaoyue's face brightened.
Chen Xiaobei was also happy for her, as it meant that Feng Xiaoyue could fulfill her wish of clearing Feng Pengju's name.
Meanwhile, Liu Kai, Liu Ce, Liu Tie, and the others were filled with worry.
Rescuing Liu Xiangnan was already a difficult task, and now new rumors had spread. It seemed that the rescue had no hope.
Liu Tie slammed the table and roared in hatred, "These rumors are too hateful! This one sentence is going to cost the Marquis his life."
Hearing this, Liu Kai also sighed deeply. "Someone doesn't want the Marquis to come out. But whose path has the Marquis blocked?"
At this, everyone shook their heads and sighed again. Just then, someone reported that an envoy from the Grand Secretary Zhu Ziming had arrived.
Upon hearing that his envoy had arrived, Liu Kai hurried out of the inn to greet them.
After all, they were merely the family of a condemned minister, while the other party was the legitimate household of a Grand Secretary of the current court.
The envoy was Zhu Ziming's steward, named Zhu Shouteng.
Zhu Shouteng and Liu Kai were old acquaintances. After a few polite words, they got straight to the point.
"Grand Steward, I am here on behalf of my master to relay a message. Last night, my master met with the Crown Prince again and proposed the rescue of the old Marquis. The Crown Prince shifted the responsibility to the Emperor, saying he would do his best to find a way to rescue him. From this, it seems the Marquis will not be able to come out anytime soon. You must make preparations."
Liu Kai thanked him profusely and invited Zhu Shouteng in for tea. Zhu Shouteng waved his hand, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then left.