Chapter 61 You Almost Lost Another Sister (Two Chapters in One)

Zhao Shiqing didn't know what Master Zhen did in the capital.

The moment she met Shen Guanyue (Xiao Yue), the cooperation was completed, and she threw Xiao Zhen out of her mind.

At this moment, Zhao Shiqing was standing in front of a ruin in a daze.

Is this the Jixiang Inn?

Is this the auspicious inn where she stayed for one night?

This place is not far from Liangdu. Zhao Tinghan and Zhao Yunnuan who came to pick him up are both staying at the official inn. As usual, Zhao Shiqing and Meng Hu and the people they brought with them went their separate ways to find a place to stay.

The first thing Zhao Shiqing thought of was the Jixiang Inn. This inn was not only large but also comfortable. Its only drawback was that it was surrounded by empty space and not prosperous. However, for someone like Zhao Shiqing who wanted to hide his whereabouts, it was the most suitable place.

Therefore, Zhao Shiqing not only came by himself, but also asked Meng Hu to come along.

I never thought that the magnificent inn three months ago would now be reduced to rubble.

Ling Bo opened his mouth in surprise. Although Meng Hu had never lived here, he knew this inn. It was the largest inn within a hundred miles. How did it become like this?

Zhao Shiqing briefly recounted how the princess and her entourage had stayed here when they arrived in Beijing. Meng Hu said, "Second Miss, about ten miles south of here, there's an inn called Hao Zai Lai. You can stay there. I have a friend in this city. This matter seems suspicious. I'll go ask him."

Zhao Shiqing nodded and took his people to the Haozailai Inn.

At night, Zhao Shiqing was getting ready to go to bed when Ling Bo came in: "Second Miss, Meng Touer is back and wants to know if you've gone to bed."

Zhao Shiqing said, "Please ask him to come in."

As she spoke, she came out from the inner room and went outside.

Although one doesn't need to be polite when out and about, Zhao Shiqing's status is there, and she is an unmarried girl. Meng Hu felt embarrassed to come and disturb her so late at night.

Zhao Shiqing was very calm and composed. She knew that Meng Hu would not have come over overnight if he had not found out anything.

"Brother Meng, what happened in that inn?" Zhao Shiqing went straight to the point.

Meng Hu said hurriedly, "My friend is the head constable in the county government. According to him, the owner of the Jixiang Inn is named Su Xingjian. The Su family's ancestral home is here, but they left for Wu two generations ago. In addition, there are few descendants, so there is only one family left in the Su family.

Three years ago, the previous owner of the Jixiang Inn wanted to sell the shop. The relatives of the Su family thought this was an opportunity, so they told Su Xingjian, who was far away in Wu, about this. So Su Xingjian and his family returned to their hometown, bought the inn, and lived here ever since.

Su Xingjian was very good at business. In less than a year, he doubled the size of the Jixiang Inn.

Moreover, Su Xingjian had a very good reputation in the city. Whenever the government needed money, he would be found and he would always be generous.

But this year, Su Xingjian suddenly became addicted to gambling. He would go to the gambling house whenever he had time, and he would lose money nine times out of ten. Fortunately, the Su family was wealthy, so this little money was nothing to him.

A few months ago, Su Xingjian repainted the Jixiang Inn, making it more gorgeous than before, and thus won the eldest princess's business.

No one expected that on the tenth day after the eldest princess left, one morning, the innkeepers were cleaning each room one by one, but found that a room that should have no guests was bolted from the inside.

The clerk called the shopkeeper, who brought his men to break down the door, only to discover three bodies hanging from the beams in the room.

The dead were Su Xingjian, his wife Yan, and their eldest daughter Su Lanlan.

There was a suicide note on the table. After comparison, it was found to be Su Xingjian's handwriting. In the note, Su Xingjian said that he owed gambling debts and could not bear to see the inn being used to pay off the debts, so he went to the underworld with his wife and daughter.

In addition, the innkeeper also recalled that someone had indeed come to inquire about the inn in the past two days, asking about the inn's business and whether it was profitable.

Based on these pieces of evidence, and the fact that Su Xingjian was indeed a gambler, the government quickly closed the case, concluding that Su Xingjian and his family of three had committed suicide.

Everyone originally thought that after Su Xingjian's death, the creditors would soon come to take over the inn. Since the fish scale book was not found in the home or the inn of the Su couple after their death, the government believed that the fish scale book had been paid to the creditors.

But this was a place where a murder had occurred, so the government office sealed the inn and also posted a piece of paper on the gate, which roughly meant that if the creditor came, he could go to the government office with the fish scale book to unseal the door.

However, after half a month, the new owner of the inn did not come to handle the handover procedures, and the inn caught fire. Fortunately, the inn had been sealed and there was no one inside, so no casualties were caused.

But why the inn caught fire, and whether it was arson, has never been determined. Furthermore, the inn's new owner has never appeared, and without a victim, the government has let the case go.

Meng Hu told Zhao Shiqing everything he had found out, and then he went back to sleep, but Zhao Shiqing couldn't sleep.

She remembered the cute girl with big eyes and dimples. That girl was dead?

She recalled the dream she had that night, in which she saw the little girl and her family of four being strangled to death.

A family of four?

Zhao Shiqing, who had been lying on the bed, suddenly sat up. She had dreamed of a family of four, but Meng Hu had just said that three bodies were found: Su Xingjian, Mrs. Su, and their eldest daughter.

So does Su Xingjian have a little daughter? Yes, the little girl she saw last time seemed to be the one she heard from the people in the kitchen, saying that she was the boss’s little daughter.

Zhao Shiqing is not someone who likes to meddle in other people's affairs. In the past, if she encountered such things, as long as she was not involved, she would mostly just treat it as gossip and forget about it.

But today, she couldn't fall asleep no matter what.

She had seen the little girl, and then she dreamed that the little girl and her family were all killed, and now, the little girl's family was really dead.

The crows covering the roof and the warning from heaven were all her own creation, but that dream was something she really had.

Is there really such a thing as a warning from God in this world?

No, no, no, this matter has nothing to do with her, so there is no warning, but it is a revelation from God to her, telling her that a tragedy is about to happen here?

Zhao Shiqing felt very uncomfortable. If she had found the inn's owner that day and told him her dream...

Zhao Shiqing shook her head. Even if she told him, Su Xingjian's family probably wouldn't believe it.

Besides, is there any conspiracy here? After all, Princess Jiayi once lived here.

Zhao Shiqing wanted to dream again, preferably one that could reveal the truth. But that night, not only did she not dream, she even stayed awake all night. Her mind was full of random thoughts, and as she was thinking, dawn came.

The next day, Crown Prince Zhao Tinghan, who had been away from Liang for fourteen years, finally returned to Liangdu.

Before entering the city gate, Zhao Tinghan, supported by Denghua, staggered to the incense table that had been prepared long ago, knelt on the ground, and burst into tears.

"Father, I am an unfilial child!"

Two eunuchs from the Prince of Liang's mansion tied a mourning band around him. After completing the procedure, Zhao Tinghan walked towards the city gate. Outside the gate, officials of all ranks in Liang, as well as gentry and merchants from Liang, knelt on the ground in a black crowd to welcome the return of the prince.

Zhao Yunnuan walked beside Zhao Tinghan. They were twins and looked 30% similar. This was the first time in 14 years that they stood side by side.

Zhao Shiqing stood in the distance, only able to see the backs of her brother and sister's heads. She was so moved that she sniffed, but she heard Meng Hu muttering in her ear: "Why hasn't the Second Young Master arrived yet? This shouldn't be the case."

Zhao Shiqing was stunned. She was so moved that she remembered that her second brother did not go to pick up her eldest brother. So when they arrived at the city gate and so many officials were there, why didn't her second brother show up?

Could something have happened at home?

When she thought of this, she wished she could go into the city and take a look at the palace right now, but there were so many people at the city gate that if she wanted to go in, she would have to wait until her elder brother and the others went in first.

She raised her hand and snapped her fingers in the air, and Xiaoguai fell silently on her shoulder.

"Go to the palace and see what my second brother is doing."

Xiaoguai flapped his wings and flew high, over the high city walls and into Liangdu.

About two incense sticks later, before Zhao Tinghan's carriage entered the city gate, Xiaoguai came back.

Soon, Zhao Shiqing knew why Zhao Tingxuan did not leave the city to welcome the emperor.

Princess Nie of Liang is sick!

The news that Zhao Tinghan was going to enter the city at noon today was reported back to the palace last night, and Nie fainted at noon today.

In the golden hour before Zhao Tinghan came back, Nie fainted and the palace was in chaos. Zhao Tingxuan, the filial son, must have been staying by Nie's side to take care of her.

Zhao Shiqing opened her mouth, speechless, so speechless!

After turning around in a circle, she said to Ling Bo, "What do you think she wants to do?"

Ling Bo thought, you ask me what I do, but I don’t dare to tell you.

Zhao Shiqing didn't expect her to answer. She just wanted to vent her anger. She turned around twice and whispered, "Second Miss, now that the prince is back, let's go back to Baihe Mountain in a few days. It's more comfortable to live there."

Zhao Shiqing also thought so. After she settled Xiao Yue, she would return to Baihe Mountain, which was her territory.

By the time Zhao Shiqing returned to the palace, it was already past noon.

Zhao Tinghan was weak and exhausted after all this trouble, so he returned to Changchun Palace to rest.

Doctor Hu, who had been treating Zhao Tinghan, was in Suining Palace at this time.

Zhao Yunnuan asked him to come and see Nie, but Nie refused to cooperate. Zhao Yunnuan took action himself, grabbed Nie's wrist, and asked Doctor Hu to take Nie's pulse.

Doctor Hu was shocked and frightened. He had been an imperial physician for so long and had met countless important people, but this was the first time he had experienced such a scene.

One was the Princess of Liang, and the other was the eldest princess. He couldn't afford to offend either of them, so he could only bite the bullet and go to check Nie's pulse.

"Has my mother's illness reached the point where no medicine can cure it?" Zhao Yunnuan asked.

Hearing this, Zhao Tingxuan, who was standing by helplessly, was startled and said hurriedly: "Eldest sister, how can you say that?"

Zhao Yunnuan glanced at him. "Oh, so you also know that Mother isn't seriously ill. Then why didn't you even go to the city gate? Let the people from the capital, the officials of Liang, and the people of the city laugh at you? Let them all know that you, Zhao Tingxuan, the Second Young Master Zhao, are a disrespectful beast."

Zhao Tingxuan's face changed drastically: "Sister, I didn't, I didn't disrespect Big Brother, I, I just, it's just that Mother fainted, I couldn't bear it, I..."

Zhao Yunnuan looked at Doctor Hu: "How is my mother's health?"

Doctor Hu hunched his shoulders and said cautiously, "Princess Liang is not seriously ill."

Zhao Yunnuan nodded with satisfaction: "In that case, we won't delay Doctor Hu. You can stay in Changchun Palace to look after the prince for the next few days."

Doctor Hu was overjoyed and quickly said goodbye and left.

Seeing that Doctor Hu had left, Nie was about to speak when Zhao Yunnuan grabbed the cups on the small table and threw them at Zhao Tingxuan!

The cup broke at Zhao Tingxuan's feet, and the warm tea splashed on his robe. Zhao Tingxuan took a few steps back to avoid falling.

Nie didn't cry or scream. She stared blankly at the cup that was broken into pieces. Suddenly, she raised her head, stretched out the hand that was not held by Zhao Yunnuan, and hit Zhao Yunnuan in the face.

A slap hit Zhao Yunnuan in the face. Zhao Yunnuan looked at her coldly, let her go, stood up and walked out.

Zhao Yunnuan walked to the door and bumped into Zhao Shiqing who was walking towards her.

Since Zhao Shiqing is back, even though she knows that Nie's illness might be fake, as her daughter, she still wants to come and see her.

When Zhao Shiqing saw Zhao Yunnuan, she was about to say hello when she saw the fingerprints on her sister's face.

Nie looked frail, but she used all her strength to deliver this slap. At this moment, half of Zhao Yunnuan's cheek was red and swollen.

In Prince Liang's mansion, apart from Nie, who else would dare to hit the eldest princess?

Zhao Shiqing was stunned and asked, "Sister..."

Zhao Yunnuan forced a smile: "These things have nothing to do with you. Go in and pay your respects, then go see Big Brother. I'll go too."

Zhao Shiqing nodded and said to Zhao Yunnuan, "Sister, I'll be back soon. I'll come find you later."

After watching Zhao Yunnuan walk out of Suining Palace, Zhao Shiqing walked in.

The porcelain fragments on the ground had been cleaned up, but the tea stains that had not yet dried were telling Zhao Shiqing what had just happened here.

She saluted Nie and was about to speak when something flew towards her.

Zhao Shiqing subconsciously dodged, and the thing flew past her ear and hit the opposite wall with a crisp sound, and incense ash flew everywhere.

It turned out to be a small brass incense burner the size of a palm.

Zhao Shiqing: This is murder!

If this incense burner hits her on the head, she will have no choice but to go to the underworld to complain to King Liang.

She turned around and looked at Zhao Tingxuan, who was already stunned. "Second brother, just now, Mother wanted to kill me. You saw it, Mother wanted to kill me! I'm still alive, thanks to my master. It's not that Mother was soft-hearted, but my master taught me well. I have martial arts skills, so I was able to dodge in time, don't you think? If it weren't for my master, I would be dead now. Second brother, you almost lost another sister."

Zhao Tingxuan's head buzzed. Ah Ying was dead, and now Xiaomei almost died...

He spoke with difficulty: "Mother, Qingqing just came back. Didn't she make you angry?"