Chapter 22 Secret Letter There is another person who looks exactly like the Crown Princess...

Qingge had no choice but to nod.

Jiang Yueying picked up the wine cup, took a sip carefully, smacked her lips, and found it a bit spicy.

In order to avoid choking herself, she drank slowly, one sip at a time, without rushing or slowing down, and at the same time pricked up her ears to listen to the storytelling in the lobby.

The first thing that reached his ears was the people's discussions about the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess.

"His Royal Highness actually won all the money and bet on himself. I'm really impressed!"

"That would require the Crown Princess's cooperation. When it comes to misbehavior, are these two people just too late to meet each other?"

"Come on, these two just won some money and went back to have a huge fight over the concubine issue. It's obvious they were really anxious before."

"Even if the prince becomes emperor in the future, it's impossible for him to have only one queen."

"It's still uncertain whether I can become one. I've heard that His Majesty prefers..."

"Ahem, it's fine to discuss family matters, but you can't talk about government affairs."

After the conversation was interrupted, everyone hurriedly urged the storyteller to continue.

After a clap of the wake-up stick, the storyteller began to tell other interesting stories.

"The refugees fleeing from Jiangbei were homeless, hungry and cold, living on the streets, looking very pitiful. Just then, the Cold-Coated Swordsman and his followers descended from the sky, bringing with them countless silver coins. They spent a large sum of money to build porridge huts, set up tents, and hired doctors to treat the injured refugees."

"It arrived faster than the imperial court!"

Someone couldn't help but ask: "Could it be that the cold-clothed swordsman is some wealthy young man? Otherwise, why would he suddenly take out so much silver?"

The storyteller shook his head and said, "The Hanyi Swordsman always wears a hat to conceal his face. I have never seen his true origins, but a righteous man does not question his origins. Those who have received his kindness should just remember the favor and not try to find out his identity."

The crowd agreed.

"Back then, my daughter fell into the pond, and it was the Hanyi Swordsman who rescued her! Now that I've made a lot of money in business, I wonder if I'll ever have the chance to repay my benefactor."

"Me too, me too. Two years ago, I was robbed by bandits. It was thanks to the Hanyi Swordsman who rescued me."

"Such a chivalrous man, God will surely bless him."

Jiang Yueying understood the story. It turned out that the cold-clothed swordsman was not a person in the storybook, but a real masked knight in Kyoto. He punished evil everywhere, saved the dying and the wounded, and gained a lot of reputation among the people.

What a powerful man! She felt a little curious, but she also knew that as the Crown Princess, she would probably never be able to meet the legendary knight in her lifetime.

She took another sip of her wine, thinking silently.

Swordsmen should all carry swords, swing their swords to cut in all directions, be free and unrestrained, have a chivalrous spirit, and be heroic.

Speaking of swords, Jiang Yueying couldn't help but think of the dandy prince at home and the fancy and gorgeous sword in his hand, and her headache started to arise again.

She continued to drink the wine, one glass after another. After an unknown amount of time, her vision began to blur, the wine jug was doubled, her wrists became weak, and she felt dizzy.

Why is the desk so soft, and my head so hard...

Seeing this, Qing Ge quickly squatted down and asked, "Crown Princess, are you drunk?"

"Ah...? I don't know whether you are drunk or not..." Jiang Yueying blinked her eyes and spoke incoherently.

"Do you remember who you are?"

"I am..." Ah Ying, no, no, Jiang Yueying shook her head vigorously, "I am Princess Anyi, yes, Princess!"

Qingge breathed a sigh of relief. He still remembered his disguise and should not be completely drunk.

Jiang Yueying continued to pour wine into her mouth. The unpleasant spiciness had long since faded, and the wine gradually became sweeter as she drank.

After a while, she lay on the round table in a daze, her cheeks flushed pink, like peaches in April.

The storyteller outside was still talking incessantly about the swordsman in cold clothes. Jiang Yueying became excited as she listened, and couldn't help but imagine that she was also a man of the world who traveled the world with a sword. Suddenly, she stood up, holding up the empty wine cup and started to gesture.

His steps were unsteady, his head was shaking, and his face had a dull and silly expression.

This time I was really drunk.

Qing Ge glanced down at the wine jug and remembered Jiang Yueying's alcohol tolerance. He couldn't drink more than half a jug, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous.

I glanced out the window at the sky. It was noon and the sun was shining brightly. It was still early for dinner, so I decided to wait until the Crown Princess sobered up before knocking her out and taking her back.

…

East Palace Study, Ganmo Pavilion.

Xie Yuting sat at the desk, lowered his head to sort out the documents, and methodically sorted the documents from the Ministry of Justice into categories and arranged them according to the severity and urgency of the cases. A cup of tea was placed beside him, which had already gone cold.

The afternoon sun was blazing, shining through the window lattice onto his handsome face, casting a layer of warm orange light over it. He stood tall and straight, his eyes lowered in thought, revealing an unusually calm and solemn expression, like the sharp cold light that flashes after a sword is unsheathed.

There was a knock on the study door, and after getting approval, Yu Lang pushed the door open and walked in.

Yu Lang came in with the freshly brewed tea, placed it on the desk, and put the cooled tea back on the tray.

The young man reported, "Your Highness, the Third Prince has been in a bad mood recently, his mood swings unpredictable. This is probably because of the downfall of Minglei Gambling House."

Everyone in Kyoto knew that the owner behind the gambling house was very powerful, and they all speculated about who this person was. Those who were well-informed found out that he was related to the royal family, so they dared not continue to inquire for fear of getting into trouble.

Xie Yuting also sent people to inquire about it, but the person hid it very deeply. It took many twists and turns to find out the truth. The real owner of Ming Lei Gambling House was actually the third prince Xie Yusui.

Xie Yusui had huge private expenses, which he could not support with his salary alone, so he opened a Minglei gambling house, recruited some old gamblers to have fun, and step by step built the gambling house into the best in Kyoto. From then on, money flowed into his pocket like water.

Nowadays, the gambling house’s reputation has been ruined, and gamblers have looked for better places elsewhere. The Minglei Gambling House is deserted and looks desolate.

Without the money coming in, the Third Prince naturally couldn't eat. He was probably at home cursing the Crown Prince for being a fool and ruining his good fortune.

Thinking of this, Xie Yuting curled his lips and said, "The third brother has to eat this dumb thing even if he doesn't want to. He dare not admit who is behind the gambling house."

Yu Lang nodded: "Your Highness is wise."

"By the way, where is the Crown Princess?"

Yu Lang replied, "The Crown Princess felt that the Eastern Palace was too boring, so she took her maids out for an outing. She was accompanied by guards, but once the Crown Princess entered the restaurant, they stopped following her."

"She ended up in a restaurant while outing," Xie Yuting laughed. "At least she went outside the city for a walk before going to the restaurant. Why did she just go straight in? Was she afraid that others wouldn't know she was going there for a drink?"

Yu Lang didn't understand what was so tempting about wine, and even less why she had to lie. What was wrong with just saying that she wanted to drink? There was no rule in the Eastern Palace that the Crown Princess was not allowed to drink.

The child didn't understand, but Xie Yuting could guess most of it. He guessed that a little princess was worried about her alcohol tolerance and was afraid that she would make a fool of herself after getting drunk at the palace banquet for His Majesty's birthday.

He had noticed on their wedding night that she wasn't good at drinking and would probably get drunk after just a few drinks.

But wasn't the real Princess Anyi known for being able to drink a thousand cups without getting drunk? Why were there so many false rumors about her? And why did she pretend to be so cruel and ruthless...

Xie Yuting picked up the teacup, took a sip of the tea, and the fragrance lingered on his lips and teeth.

I rubbed the cup wall with my fingertips, and the smooth porcelain felt cool.

The sunlight slanted and shone on Yu Lang. Suddenly, he took out a secret letter from his arms and presented it respectfully to Xie Yuting.

"I almost forgot that this is a secret letter sent by the spy sent to Jiang State. It is stamped with a vermilion seal of great importance." Yu Lang said in a serious tone.

Xie Yuting raised his eyebrows slightly.

He would stamp his correspondence with his subordinates. Ordinary messages would usually be stamped in black, important matters would be stamped in blue, and only extremely urgent matters would be stamped in red.

What secret is so big that the Jiang Kingdom has to use the rare red seal?

Yu Lang was about to leave when Xie Yuting stopped him and told him to stay put and not to avoid him.

Xie Yuting slowly opened the envelope. The letter inside was folded into four. He unfolded the letter and smoothed it out, revealing a blank space.

There was no light during the day, so Yu Lang immediately brought the low candlestick on the table closer, lit the candle, and placed it next to Xie Yuting.

The bright candlelight reflected the snow-white paper. Xie Yuting held the letter paper and heated it over the candlelight for a while, and soon the outlines of several lines of runes appeared.

Xie Yuting interpreted the runes one by one, and his eyes suddenly darkened.

Yu Lang was watching from the side, and a look of surprise appeared on his usually cold little face. He opened his eyes wide and could hardly believe it.

The room was eerily quiet.

"Your Highness, it's said that there is someone in the Jiang Kingdom's palace who looks exactly like the Crown Princess..." Yu Lang was shaking as he spoke.

How is that possible? Unless it's haunted, how could there be two Princesses Anyi?

Could it be that Emperor Jiang found an imposter to marry in order to prevent his beloved daughter from marrying out?

If this matter were to be exposed, it would cause a huge uproar, and the two countries might even go to war again.

Feeling a little scared, Yu Lang said carefully: "Your Highness, this person in the East Palace can't be fake..."

The one in the Jiang Kingdom’s palace is definitely the real Princess Anyi. Who else could it be but the beloved daughter of Emperor Jiang who protects her in every possible way and even keeps her well-fed and well-dressed in the palace?

He didn't believe that Emperor Jiang would keep someone who looked like his daughter in the palace.

Xie Yuting's eyes were deep, and he immediately burned the letter. The flames were dim, and a thin ash remained on the desk.

A gust of wind blew, leaving no trace.

"The Emperor of Jiang is willing to take such a risk for his daughter. He is really not afraid of playing with fire and getting burned." Xie Yuting sneered.

Previously, he had discovered that the Crown Princess was kind-hearted, could not use a whip, and could not read, so he thought there was another hidden story behind this matter, just like he had to pretend to be a playboy. However, he did not expect that Emperor Jiang was so bold as to replace one thing with another, and the one he sent was not his own daughter at all.

Yu Lang frowned: "Could it be that the Crown Princess...is this a spy deliberately planted in our Beiliang?"

Speculation is not impossible.

The position of Crown Princess means that she is with the Crown Prince day and night, so it is easy for her to eavesdrop on the court secrets. In addition, Xie Yuting has the image of a fool to the outside world, and may not be able to detect the disloyalty of his partner. For the State of Jiang, the East Palace of Liang is an excellent place to plant spies.

But Xie Yuting didn't believe that Emperor Jiang would be so rash as to find such a soft-hearted person to be a spy. Moreover, the portrait of Princess Jiang was not a secret. If the other person's true face was exposed, wouldn't there be no room for quibbling?

Yu Lang also thought of this and said, "I heard that there are some sorcerers in Jiang Country who are good at disguise. They can make human skin masks that look just like the real thing. You have to use a special gel to tear the mask off."

"Go get a bottle of gel right now." Xie Yuting smiled dangerously.

"Your Highness is planning to..."

Xie Yuting put down his teacup and raised his sharp peach blossom eyes: "Of course, I'm going to tear off the skin of a certain little princess and see what's going on."