Chapter 19 Yingshang

Seeing her expression filled with confusion, he asked, "What is the content of that letter? Is it related to the murderer who killed your mother?"

Qian Deng shook his head, his voice hoarse, "My mother only said that it was a letter... that concerned my fate and where I would go..."

"Such an important letter, one your mother was still thinking about before her death, and now it's gone," he sternly scolded. "And yet you remain in a daze, lost in grief. Are you going to wait until all the evidence is destroyed and the murderer escapes before you regret it?"

Qiandeng tightly grasped her mother's bloodstained clothes. Her originally sad and numb face began to move. Her lower lip was bitten purple by her, and her eyes regained some clarity.

"What's the point of being sad all the time? If you don't eat or sleep, crying and mourning until she dies, will your mother rest in peace in her grave?" His voice was as cold as ice, and the look he gave her was more alarming than his cold words. "Bai Qiandeng, don't waste your life in useless misery. Think carefully about what you should grab onto right now!"

To be caught as soon as possible...

Qiandeng's fingers, which were tightly gripping his mother's clothes, were barely visible, but they eventually loosened slowly one by one.

She no longer tried to grasp what had passed away. She simply raised her trembling hands, turned her dazed gaze from her mother to her own hands, and then clenched them almost convulsively.

His expression eased slightly, and his tone finally softened. "Your grandfather and I once fought together on the battlefield, so we can be considered old friends. If there's anything you can't resolve, or if you can't capture the murderer, you can find me in the camp."

Qiandeng clenched her fists. The pain and resentment brought her to the brink of collapse. Her throat was choked and she couldn't speak, so she just nodded at him reluctantly but didn't respond.

After all, she also knew that how could the Changhua Palace, which was doomed to decline, dare to cling to the powerful and illustrious Prince Linhuai?

Seeing that she was just gritting her teeth and keeping silent, Prince Linhuai did not speak to comfort her. He grew up on the battlefield, and his life was filled with only blood and killing. He did not know how to say considerate and comforting words.

Therefore, he only said the last sentence: "If you need it, Li Yingshang will definitely help you."

After taking a close look at her slender figure, he turned around and strode away, heading towards the danger that was waiting for him.

What he had to face were the thousand-foot-high city walls of Chang'an, the millions of people in the 108 districts, and the mountains of corpses and seas of blood in the Daming Palace.

Giving this moment's attention to an orphan girl who had lost her mother was his greatest mercy.

Qiandeng lay in front of his mother's body, his last words still echoing in his ears.

Li Yingshang will definitely help you.

King Linhuai, Li Yingshang.

This is a name that people in the court dare not mention easily, and it is also the hope of the court, the hope of Chang'an, and the hope of the world.

This is the domineering and ferocious god that everyone fears; this is the traitor that her grandfather said was unruly and ambitious; and this is also her hope to capture the real murderer and avenge her mother.

Her nails, clenched too tightly, had pinched her palms until they were bruised and purple, but she seemed not to notice. She stared at her mother's bloodstained corpse for a long time before calling out softly, "Someone come..."

The hoarse voice did not come out of her throat, but it seemed to bring her back to her senses.

"Someone come!" She raised her voice and shouted again with all her might.

Aunt Xuanji and Liuli immediately rushed in and called her with tears in their eyes, "County Lady."

She stroked the dried blood on her mother's chest with trembling hands and whispered, "My mother's clothes are dirty. Let's... change her into clean clothes."

Seeing that she had finally regained consciousness, Aunt Xuanji, not knowing whether to be happy or sad, responded with tears in her eyes and a trembling voice. She searched through her wardrobe and pulled out a royal blue Shu brocade dress with endless swastika patterns. She held it up and sobbed, "Wear this one. This color looks so calm and elegant."

Qian Deng shook his head and said, "My mother doesn't like this color. She looks better in brighter colors."

She stood up on her stiff knees, staggered to the wardrobe, picked out a wide-sleeved dress with a crimson background and gold patterns, held it in her arms, walked to her mother's body, and knelt down to change her clothes.

She unbuttoned the blood-stained collar with trembling hands. The originally white undershirt was stuck to the wound on her chest due to the blood and could not be taken off for a while.

Liuli brought some warm water, and Qiandeng used a wet cloth to clean and dissolve the coagulated blood bit by bit, and slowly took it off.

The deep and horrifying wound on her mother's heart was clearly revealed in front of her. She burst into tears and did not dare to look at the bloody hole any longer. She wrapped the wound with white cloth, changed into her middle clothes, put on a crimson and purple wide-sleeved shirt, tied the silk ribbon and rings, and put on a colorful gold shawl.

Aunt Xuanji helped the lady to fix her hair and put on the square hairpin.

Qiandeng gently stroked her mother who was lying quietly in her gorgeous attire. Her cheeks were as cold as her heart.

The last of her relatives in this world had passed away. From then on, she was the only one left to support the Changhua Palace.

She leaned on her mother's neck and whispered to her mother and herself:

If Bai Qiandeng, the Princess of Lingling County, is still immersed in pain and sorrow and cannot extricate herself, and only knows how to blame herself, heaven and earth will not tolerate her!

There was commotion in the village, and Nan Yu had his hands tied and was tied to a pillar in the village's woodshed.

Suddenly, chaos broke out and Lady Qi died. The whole village was in turmoil and no one had time to deal with the murderer.

Ever since he was captured by Cui Fufeng last night, he has been tied up in the woodshed, his mouth gagged, his hands tied behind his back with a thick hemp rope, and tied to a pillar.

He was frightened and panicked. At first he tried to struggle, but later he was exhausted and could only sit there with his head hunched, feeling hopeless and helpless.

It wasn't until the sun was setting outside that the wooden door creaked open. Someone came in with a food box, cursing angrily, "I'm bringing you food! Just starve to death!"

The voice was old but full of energy, it was Uncle Fu.

Nan Yu sat on the ground with his hands and feet tied. Uncle Fu could only squat in front of him, took out a bowl of rice from the lunch box and a pair of chopsticks, ripped the cloth out of Nan Yu's mouth, and glared at him: "Open your mouth!"

Nan Yu's tongue had been blocked all night, and he was so stiff that as soon as the cloth was removed, he cried out with his lips stiff, "I...I'm innocent. I really didn't do anything to Madam..."

Before he could finish his words, Uncle Fu stuffed a ball of rice into his mouth and cursed him fiercely: "Beast! Who else could it be besides you? Bah!"

A ball of rice choked Nan Yu's mouth. He was struggling to speak and was trying to swallow when his chopsticks suddenly stopped. Then he saw Uncle Fu's body sway, and the bowl in his hand fell heavily to the ground along with his body.

Nan Yu was horrified and looked down to see blood gushing from Uncle Fu's neck. His whole body was twitching, but his throat was broken and he could no longer make any sound.

He panicked and looked up at the door hastily, but there was no one outside.

He struggled a few times, his eyes fell on the broken pieces of porcelain on the ground. He hesitated for a moment, then hurriedly raised his foot to hook the porcelain pieces to the side of the pillar, then walked around the pillar with difficulty and turned his back. He grabbed the broken porcelain pieces with his hands that were tied behind the pillar, and used his backhand to cut the rope on his hands.

The hemp rope was rough and hard, and the broken porcelain pieces were not very sharp. He was sweating profusely, and even cut his wrists and palms with many bloody wounds. Finally, he freed his hands, staggered to his feet, and ran out.

The woodshed was in a remote area, with no one outside. His hands and feet, bound for so long, were not very flexible, so he managed to squeeze through the bushes and escape towards the village gate.

Unfortunately, the Shuofang Army had already protected Zhuangzi, so he had no chance to get close to the gate.

In desperation, he could only hide in an empty corner. Seeing a very tall poplar tree in the corner with its branches not far from the courtyard wall, he quickly climbed up and tried to escape by climbing over the wall using the tree.

However, just as he touched the forked branch and was about to approach the courtyard wall, two people suddenly passed by below.

He held the tree tightly and didn't dare to look up. Seeing the other party getting closer and closer, he lay on the tree, not daring to breathe.

He recognized the two people; they were both candidates who participated in the selection with him.

One of them was Shi Jingning, who made some flower cakes for the princess. Although Nanyu thought the cakes were good, he also laughed at them in his heart. What good would it do for a grown man to make delicious food? Didn't the palace have a chef?

There was another one, who was still small, with a young face and a wound on his arm. It was Shangluo.