Chapter 110 Old Acquaintance

It turned out that the feeling of familiarity when they met by chance several times was not her illusion, but because they had seen each other before!

I saw it when I was a child.

Eight years ago, not far from the former Wen Mansion lived a family of officials named Liu. There was a son and a daughter in the family. The daughter was the older sister, who was sixteen or seventeen years old at that time, and the son was the younger brother, who was only seven or eight years old.

In the capital city where high-ranking officials and nobles are numerous, a fifth-rank official is too inconspicuous and cannot be considered rich, but the husband is down-to-earth and generous, the wife is gentle and kind, the eldest daughter is beautiful and sensible, and the youngest son is lively and intelligent. The family lives in harmony.

The bad thing is that the eldest daughter is too beautiful.

On the Qixi Festival, the eldest daughter disappeared while out for fun and was found the next day. Neighbors were gossiping about Miss Liu, saying bad things about her, and she hanged herself the same day she was found.

She was still young at that time and didn't know much about what the Liu family had encountered. She had even forgotten who told her about it. The Liu family seemed to have reported it to the authorities, but before the authorities could investigate, Liu's father died of a sudden illness. The case was left unresolved, and Liu's mother left the capital with her young son.

The Liu family's house was empty for a long time. As the new owner moved in, the Liu family's affairs were gradually forgotten by the neighbors.

In the first two years after the Liu family's accident, she would sometimes think of the boy who was about her age.

She was mute and had almost no playmates except her sister and her adopted brother Cheng Shu. One day, as usual, she was just passing the time outside her house, watching people passing by on the street. Suddenly, the boy raised his hand and asked her if she wanted some candied haws.

Maybe it was because the boy's smile was too bright, or maybe it was because the candied haws in his hand were too tempting. Even though they were just acquaintances and had never played together, she nodded as if for some unknown reason.

She ate candied haws with her missing front teeth and listened to the boy, who also had missing front teeth, talking nonstop.

After that, they would occasionally play together, but she would always listen silently while he talked non-stop.

Not long after, something happened to the Liu family and they never saw each other again.

Lin Hao looked at the boy who was as quiet as a water lily, and tears welled up in her eyes.

It's you.

Although there was no deep affection or connection between them, the feelings of discomfort and regret were overwhelming and impacted her heart.

She suddenly thought of the wintersweet that was presented to her with red silk.

At the time, she'd thought he'd just been casual, or perhaps just remembered she'd tipped him when they were street performers. Now that she thought about it, had he already recognized her, a barely playmate?

Lin Hao lowered her eyes, not wanting anyone to see the tears in them, but she didn't know that there was a pair of calm and clear eyes watching her.

"Does anyone know the origin of this young man?" The person who asked the question was a Jinlin Guard who came to have a drink with Cheng Maoming, the commander of the Shangfeng Jinlin Guard.

When such a shocking event as the assassination of the crown prince occurred, Cheng Maoming hurried into the palace, leaving behind a few capable subordinates to mobilize manpower and stabilize the scene.

Jinlin Guards' eyes were burning as they swept over everyone present.

Everyone knew that this young man was the murderer who assassinated the prince. After hearing this, they shook their heads like rattles.

Jinlin Guard waved his hands and said, "Clean up the bodies first, and lock up all the surviving members of the Ruyi Class!"

Soon someone came to drag the body away.

Lin Hao watched Xiao Feng being dragged away, leaving a long trail of blood on the ground.

The hall, which was already a little stuffy due to the large number of people, was now filled with an even stronger smell of blood.

Not to mention the ladies and noble girls, even some of the male guests couldn't help but retching.

The Jinlin Guard in charge had a cold expression on his face, and had no intention of letting these people leave.

Under normal circumstances, no one here, not even the Jinlin Guard Commander, would want to offend. But this was the Crown Prince's assassination, and anyone even remotely connected to it, regardless of their status, would be punished.

Among them, the people in Wuning Marquis Mansion were under the greatest pressure.

"Who invited the Ruyi class?"

Tang Hua's face was as pale as a ghost. After a while, he spoke: "It's me..."

Countless eyes were cast at him, and Tang Hua hurriedly defended himself: "I only invited the Ruyi Troupe to entertain my mother's birthday because I saw them perform well at other mansions. Who could have imagined that they would be so audacious!"

The Crown Princess managed to maintain her composure and defend her brother, "The Marquis' Mansion is your Highness's in-laws' family, and they care most about your safety. Who could have imagined that a small circus could harbor a traitor..."

This statement drew many nods.

Who could have imagined that a handsome young man would dare to assassinate the crown prince? They just came to drink, how could they get involved in such a deadly matter?

Let them go now.

The person handling this matter also knew that it was impossible to keep so many nobles here all the time, so he asked the steward of the Marquis' Mansion to bring people to count the identities of the guests from each mansion, and to see if anyone left in the middle of the trip, and then let everyone go back first.

When Lin Hao followed Lin out, he saw many people holding guns and swords surrounding the Wuning Marquis Mansion and walking inside and outside.

It started snowing outside, and the snowflakes were wrapped in the cold wind, as sharp as a knife.

Lin Hao looked up at the gray sky, and the falling snowflakes took the opportunity to fill her neck.

"Ahao, get in the car quickly." Seeing that Lin Hao didn't move, Lin urged.

A voice came from the side: "Mrs. Lin, let me take you there. It's on our way."

Lin looked over.

The young man riding the horse had snow on his hair and clothes, and his posture was as straight as a cedar tree.

Lin didn't bother to pay attention to the boy's posture. She waved her hand and said, "Prince, please return home quickly. Be careful not to catch a cold."

Qi Shuo was silent.

In Mrs. Lin's eyes, he seemed particularly fragile.

He looked at Lin Hao, but found that she was absent-minded and didn't know what she was thinking about.

"Then you and Miss Lin Er should be careful on the road." Qi Shuo glanced at Lin Hao again and rode forward.

Lin pulled Lin Hao into the carriage and put a heater in her hands: "Ah Hao, are you scared?"

Warmth spread from the palm of his hand, and Lin Hao's pale lips regained some color.

"A little." She was in a state of confusion and had no energy to chat with her mother, so she simply admitted it.

Although Lin was not afraid of death, she could not help but feel terrified at the thought of the Crown Prince being assassinated in the Marquis of Wuning's mansion. "Even the Crown Prince could be assassinated. The world is becoming increasingly unstable. I don't know how the Crown Prince is doing. I'm afraid many people will suffer this time."

"The prince should be fine." Lin Hao murmured.

Lin's expression was a little strange: "Ah Hao, how do you know the prince is okay?"

Lin Hao's eyes regained their spirit, but a hint of melancholy remained. "The prince has so many experts protecting him, so it's probably just a minor injury at best."

In her previous life, she returned to the capital when the crown prince was regent. No one mentioned the assassination. The most reasonable analysis was that the assassination caused minimal harm to the crown prince.

It’s a pity that Xiao Feng died in vain, but no one knows what kind of hatred there is between him and the prince.

Lin Hao felt sorry that Prince Gou was fine, but the imperial physician who was treating the prince in the Marquis of Wuning's mansion did not think so.

"Oh no! The poison on the flying knife is too strong. I might need to scrape the bone to cure the poison."

Another imperial physician, with a look of fear on his face, whispered, "You will suffer greatly, Your Highness—"

The prince had fallen into a coma and had no idea what he was about to endure.