allonlinenovel Chapter 271 Tragic Death
Chapter 271 Tragic Death
His face was grim. He was surrounded by guests and onlookers, and he was afraid that if things got out of hand, his misdeeds would be exposed.
Without hesitation, he returned Shen Mingzhu to her, led Shen Qingtan back into the mansion to pay respects, and sent her to the bridal chamber.
He didn't want to marry a useless, abandoned child, so he deliberately poisoned the plain noodles, causing Shen Qingtan to become poisoned and bedridden.
Finally, under the pretext of her illness, they imprisoned her in the backyard and refused visits from everyone.
He knew that Shen Qingtan was quite intelligent, and the reason she fell into their trap was simply because she trusted them.
She never considered that she was not the daughter of the Marquis's family, so she never harbored any ill intentions towards them.
After all, Madam Shen's attitude towards Shen Shaohuai and Shen Shaobai was polarized. She cherished and doted on one as if he were her most precious treasure, while she looked down on the other and remained indifferent to him.
Compared to Madam Shen's indifference towards Shen Shaobai, she was actually quite nice to Shen Qingtan on the surface.
With Shen Shaobai as a comparison, even if Madam Shen's attitude was unusual, Shen Qingtan would not have any doubts.
They would only think that Madam Shen was more biased towards Shen Shaohuai.
Moreover, before the marriage exchange, Madam Shen's attitude towards Shen Qingtan remained unchanged for more than a decade.
He was afraid that Shen Qingtan would run away, so he added something to her food every day, making her weak all over and unable to even get out of bed.
Finally, through her connections, he obtained grain from Boss Qin and escorted it to the northern border.
When he returned, Zhao Yi was already seriously ill and had left the capital to await death in his ancestral home.
The First Madam, the Eldest Master, the Duke, and the Old Madam went to their ancestral home, seemingly to bid farewell to Zhao Yi.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, he had Shen Qingtan fake her death and moved her to another courtyard.
After the Duke and the old lady returned from their ancestral home, the First Madam, whose family had suffered misfortune, lost interest in managing the household affairs and handed over the power to run the household. From then on, she lived a secluded life.
The Duke submitted a memorial requesting that he be made the grandson of the Duke, and then resign from his post to live a leisurely life at home.
Afterwards, a sum of money was distributed to the fourth branch of the family, and they were separated from the mansion to establish their own household.
No one in the entire household ever mentioned Zhao Yi again.
Emperor Jing'an fell seriously ill and was unable to manage state affairs. In accordance with the court officials' wishes, he appointed Prince Yu as the crown prince and allowed the crown prince to act as regent, with the Grand Secretary assisting in governing.
The Northern Qi launched another attack, and the court appointed the Prince of Zhenbei as commander-in-chief to lead troops to resist the foreign enemy.
After nearly a year, the Prince of Zhenbei won a battle and was summoned to the capital.
At this time, Emperor Jing'an recovered from his illness and took over the reins of government personally.
The Prince of Zhenbei apologized to Emperor Jing'an, explaining that his daughter had left Liangzhou without permission to fulfill her filial duty to the Princess, thus disobeying the late Emperor's decree.
Emperor Jing'an was a benevolent and wise ruler. He did not punish the Prince of Zhenbei, but instead allowed the Prince of Zhenbei's merits and demerits to offset each other.
The Prince of Zhenbei's sons made significant contributions in this battle, and Emperor Jing'an intends to reward them.
The sons of the Prince of Zhenbei refused the rewards and requested the Emperor to issue an edict ordering the Embroidered Uniform Guard to assist them in finding the missing princess.
Emperor Jing'an agreed.
The Marquis's mansion learned about the young princess's characteristics when she disappeared from Prince Yu, and only then did they realize that Shen Qingtan was not the daughter of a wealthy merchant, but the daughter of the Prince of Zhenbei.
If this matter is exposed, the Marquis's mansion will face utter destruction.
If the Prince of Zhenbei were to learn of the many evil deeds he had committed against Shen Qingtan, he would likely meet a tragic end at the Prince's hands.
After discussing it, they decided to silence them to prevent future trouble.
As long as Shen Qingtan dies, all these evils will be covered up.
On the day of his wedding to Shen Mingzhu, he ordered someone to set fire to the house and burn Shen Qingtan to death.
They thought they could finally relax and have peace of mind.
Unexpectedly, after entertaining his guests, he returned to his bridal chamber and was beheaded by the Prince of Zhenbei.
Zhao Jue felt a sharp pain in his neck, as if he could feel his blood vessels spasming and blood gushing out. He instinctively turned his neck, which was still intact, but it burned painfully from the flames.
Realizing this, Zhao Jue snapped out of her daze. The scene just now was too realistic, as if it had really happened.
Ever since Shen Qingtan married Zhao Yi and their lives got better and better, he regretted abandoning Shen Qingtan and missing out on immense power and wealth.
It was probably his mental illness that caused him to imagine the scene just now before he died.
In the scene, he married Shen Qingtan as he wished, but he did not cherish her and burned her to death with his own hands.
He did not take advantage of Shen Qingtan's influence to obtain the position of heir apparent, but he still died tragically under the sword of the Prince of Zhenbei.
Zhao Jue found it too absurd; how could he possibly kill Shen Qingtan?
He was convinced that he had been influenced by Shen Mingzhu's words and that this was why he was hallucinating.
But he had to admit that if Shen Qingtan had publicly exposed the bride-swapping incident on their wedding day, he would have done so.
This seems to imply that, given his extremely ambitious nature, whether he gets Shen Qingtan or not, he will ultimately not cherish her.
Only by abandoning his pursuit of power and sincerely seeking to marry Shen Qingtan can he obtain the power and status he has always dreamed of.
Otherwise, all his scheming will ultimately amount to nothing.
Thinking of this, Zhao Jue felt a churning pain in his internal organs, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. A white blur appeared before his eyes. In the blur, he saw Shen Qingtan standing gracefully under the osmanthus tree, reaching out her hand to him and calling his name.
His eyes burned with desire, and he slowly raised his hand, wanting to hold hers. Just as he was about to touch her fingertips, his hand fell limply to his side.
At this very moment, Shen Qingtan stood at the entrance of the hot spring pool, holding her clothes.