The 19th year of Chong'an's reign.
A squad of Imperial Guards hurried down Chang'an Avenue.
The vendors and pedestrians on the streets seemed to be used to it, and moved aside slightly. Once the guards passed, the lively atmosphere immediately returned.
"This is the fifth one already, isn't it?" a vendor asked someone beside him casually.
"That's right. I've been setting up shop here for a few days, and I counted. It's the fifth one."
"I wonder who's the unlucky one this time." He wasn't gloating, he was simply curious about the gossip.
"Who else could it be? It's definitely one of those officials from the crown prince's faction."
Speaking of bad luck, who could be as unlucky as the Bulwark Duke Residence?
They were just holding a wedding banquet in their manor, but before they could complete the ceremony, the crown prince and the duke were captured by the Ministry of Justice. It's a pity that the old duke had been fighting for our Great Xia his whole life."
He sighed. "Now that you mention it, doesn't it seem like that new bride is the unluckiest of them all?
The crown prince's rebellion would definitely implicate the Bulwark Duke's family, as they were the crown prince's maternal relatives.
"But this new bride…" Upon saying that, the man clicked his tongue and said seriously, "She was taken away as soon as she entered the manor. She might even be beheaded!"
That didn't make sense to anyone listening.
Putting aside whether the crown prince was really plotting a rebellion, this bride was really unlucky. No matter what the outcome was, she would be tainted by bad luck…
At the Bulwark Duke Residence.
Ever since the crown prince and the duke were taken away on the day of the wedding banquet.
The Imperial Guards surrounded the residence and did not allow anyone to enter or leave. There was no news from outside.
This caused the people in the residence to panic, thinking that the duke's residence was probably doomed.
Furthermore, Madam Li, the old duchess, was sick in bed and could not carry out her duties.
The servants were even more careless. The food that they delivered to their masters was often cold.
Fortunately, no one would pursue the matter now.
"I heard that the Old Master left the residence today."
Two young maids from the west courtyard were chatting while walking down the corridor.
"Really? Didn't the officers outside the mansion stop him?"
The young maid who spoke first said uncertainly, "They stopped him, but let him pass soon after."
"Does that mean our Duke and the Crown Prince will be released soon?" Her tone was filled with joy.
In this residence, the old duke was like a stabilizing force, more so than the crown prince.
After all, the old duke had fought on the battlefield with the late emperor! He had even spent half his life protecting Great Xia.
Only when the country was at peace and no country dared to invade the border did he step down from the court.
To put it bluntly, half of this country was built by the old duke.
In their hearts, if the old duke took action, things would definitely be resolved.
At this point, the two of them stopped slacking off and returned to their duties.
The conversation between the two maids in the corridor outside the door could be heard clearly from within the room.
Shen Yijia, who had just woken up, frowned.
"Didn't I get hit by a car while trying to avoid being captured by those people at the Institute?" she thought.
"Did I get transmigrated?"
When she opened her eyes, she saw the color red, and nothing else.
She pushed aside the red cloth, revealing a small face that was a little unbearable to look at.
Half of her face was covered in blood, and there were some weird chunks smeared on her face.
Her big and bright eyes couldn't hide the dark eye circles underneath them.
Thankfully there was no one else around, otherwise, they would definitely scream upon seeing her.