jdhmnovel Chapter 417: Turning Light into Darkness
Chapter 417: Turning Light into Darkness
Li Zhuoyue's hand paused at Yun Shang's neck.
He carefully sensed the movement, making sure there was no sound from his hands, before a barely perceptible smile appeared on his lips.
He then slowly turned around, his face instantly filled with grief and apology: "Aunt Yun, I... I really don't want to believe that Brother Yun is really like this... I lost my composure for a moment, please forgive me, Aunt Yun."
Madam Shen's face showed both anger and deep helplessness, her voice trembling: "Sir, this is going too far! It is a great disrespect to the deceased!"
Li Zhuoyue looked apologetic and bowed repeatedly, adopting an extremely humble posture: "It was my rashness that made me so upset. I really couldn't accept Brother Yun's departure. I hope you can forgive me, Aunt."
Madam Shen closed her eyes in grief, as if all her strength had been drained away: "Enough, since you have seen it with your own eyes, sir, please leave. My son has always preferred quiet, so please do not disturb his spirit any further."
Li Zhuoyue bowed apologetically, "It was our oversight, please forgive us, Aunt Yun. I will take them away now."
After he finished speaking, he looked up and nodded calmly to the other aristocratic officials.
Those aristocratic officials breathed a sigh of relief upon receiving the positive signal.
He's dead. He's really dead.
What a good death!
Previously, they never expected that Yun Shang, a nobody from a poor family, would be able to find so much evidence of crimes in such a short time.
This person's abilities are terrifying; they absolutely cannot let him live.
Now that Yunshang is dead, they can rest easy again.
Li Zhuoyue cupped her hands to Madam Shen and Yun Xi, her face showing just the right amount of grief: "Aunt Yun, Miss Yun, please accept my condolences. Now that Brother Yun has passed away, please do not hesitate to ask if you encounter any difficulties in the future."
Madam Shen lowered her eyes and wiped away her tears. "Thank you for your kindness, sir."
Only after confirming that Yun Shang was truly dead did Li Zhuoyue leave the Yun family with the aristocratic officials.
As the group stepped out of the Yun Mansion gate, Li Zhuoyue turned back to look at the white lanterns fluttering in the wind outside the gate, a meaningful smile appearing on her lips.
An official from a prominent family leaned forward and whispered with a smile, "Lord Li, this is a great relief. We can now act with more ease."
Li Zhuoyue glanced at the official, her expression indifferent: "His Highness asked me to tell you all to be more discreet in your actions recently, otherwise, if something happens, His Highness may not be able to protect you."
The officials from prominent families all smiled and agreed.
But he didn't really care.
The most troublesome Yun Shang is dead, and the emperor currently has no one he can rely on. It won't be so easy for him to launch an attack on the aristocratic families.
Before leaving, Li Zhuoyue glanced at the Yun residence, and the image of Yun Xi's stunningly beautiful face flashed through her mind. Her heart felt as if it had been lightly brushed by a feather, causing ripples to spread across her skin.
Although she is Yun Shang's sister, her status is somewhat inappropriate, and her background is too low, so it is absolutely impossible for her to be his wife.
But she's qualified to be taken as a concubine.
Suppressing her lingering desires, Li Zhuoyue mounted her horse, cracked her whip, and rode with great spirit.
With his biggest trouble gone and a beautiful woman in his life, today was the happiest day of his life in recent days.
Meanwhile, inside the mourning hall of the Yun family mansion.
As everyone left, Shen Shi and Yun Xi's crying abruptly ceased.
Yu Wan went to the door to make sure that Li Zhuoyue and the others had left and that Qi Wang's spies outside wouldn't be able to find anything before quickly returning to the mourning hall.
Shen and Yunxi were standing beside the coffin when they saw Yu Wan approaching. They both looked at her with worry.
"Yu Niang, why can't I wake Shang Ge'er?"
"Sister-in-law, I checked my brother's pulse...it seems he has no pulse. Is my brother really alright?"
Upon hearing this, Yu Wan smiled and waved her hand, "It's alright. We anticipated that these people would definitely come to check in person, so we had Old Man Feng research some medicine that can temporarily suppress one's breath."
As she spoke, she took a small porcelain bottle out of her bosom.
This is the antidote given by Old Man Feng.
Yu Wan asked Shen and the others to help lift Yun Shang out of the coffin, pry open Yun Shang's mouth, and force-feed him the antidote.
After waiting for about fifteen minutes, Yun Shang's finger twitched slightly.
Then, he slowly exhaled, his eyelids fluttered, and he opened his eyes.
Upon seeing the person in front of him, he asked, "Have the noble families been here?"
Just as Yu Wan was about to answer, Shen's urging voice rang out, "Don't keep chatting, Shang-ge'er, come out quickly, don't stay in here... it's too unlucky."
“If it weren’t for the emergency, I would never have agreed to you putting on this show.” Madam Shen glared at her son reproachfully. “Why did you have to pretend to be dead for no reason?”
Yu Wan took Shen's arm and gave her a fawning smile. "Mother-in-law, Yun Shang had no choice. The Emperor suddenly put him in the spotlight, and his every move is being watched."
"Only by making Yun Shang 'disappear' from the public eye can those people lower their guard, and Yun Shang can act more easily in the dark."
Madam Shen sighed softly, her expression softening slightly. She said helplessly, "I know you're doing this for the greater good, but I'm still worried. Shang-ge'er, you can't take such risks anymore. You've scared my heart half to death."
Yun Shang got up from the coffin and stretched his stiff limbs.
He obediently admitted his mistake to Madam Shen, "Yes, Mother, it was my fault this time, and I'm sorry for making you worry."
Madam Shen has grown accustomed to Yun Shang's increasingly humane nature, and she appreciates it, nodding gently, "I'll forgive you this time."
The plan to fake his death was a decision made by Yun Shang after careful consideration.
He was thrust into the limelight by Emperor Wenjing and became the target of public criticism.
If he performed his duties well, the powerful families would find ways to kill him; if he performed his duties poorly, the emperor would kill him.
Only by faking his death could he avoid being manipulated and exploited by both sides.
"King Qi is very suspicious and may not believe you are dead so easily, so we have to make the whole act complete."
Yu Wan felt that although King Qi sent Li Zhuoyue to verify it with her own eyes, it was impossible for a person with a strong sense of suspicion to dispel his doubts so easily.
King Qi will definitely continue to send people to monitor the Yun family and personally watch Yun Shang's "coffin" be buried.
Yun Shang nodded slightly, "I've already arranged everything else, but in this way..."
His gaze swept over Yu Wan, Shen Shi, and Yun Xi. After a moment of silence, he said, "I cannot appear in public until this matter is resolved."
Yu Wan smiled and said, "It's nothing, I'm just hiding temporarily, it's not like we can't meet."
Shen Shi and Yun Xi were initially a little sad, but upon hearing Yu Wan's words, they instantly felt nothing at all.
Yun Shang usually leaves early and returns late, so there's no difference between them.
After faking his death, Yun Shang naturally could no longer live in the Yun residence.
Firstly, there were always spies of Prince Qi outside the Yun residence, so no matter how cautious he was, there was still a risk of being exposed;
Secondly, the fewer people who know his whereabouts, the better, so that he can 'disappear' without a trace.