Chapter 53: Ruthless Turn

There was another commotion in front of the Shengfa Casino, which had just been renovated.

Seeing that Mingjiu's nameplate, which had just been hung up, was taken down, those who had bet on him before became anxious and asked what was going on.

"Impossible? Could it be that even the Huihe prince couldn't suppress the fate of the Lingling County Princess?"

Some even shouted directly: "This is unbearable! The Huihe prince was killed by the county lady in her backyard. This has escalated to the diplomatic relations between the two countries. What should we do?"

The housekeeper of the Jin Mansion, who was in charge of the gambling house, quickly shouted, "What nonsense! If the Huihe prince dies, how can Chang'an City ever have peace?"

"If he's not dead, why did you take off the nameplate? I'm betting on everyone to die, and I'm still waiting for him to make a comeback!"

Butler Jin knocked on the removed plaque and said, "You all may not know this, but this Huihe prince is definitely not destined to marry the Princess of Lingling. I heard he has already led his men out of the city and returned home. Now that the prince has left on his own, and the Princess of Lingling didn't join him in the marriage, shouldn't this plaque be removed?"

"This is strange. Didn't he say he was determined to win over Lingling County Lady? He shot her in the eye with an arrow from Qifeng Pavilion. No matter how many potential husbands she had, he was determined to squeeze into the County Lady's backyard. Why did he leave without a word now?"

"Who knows? Perhaps something big happened in the Huihe region, and he was anxious to return. He spent two or three months here, saw no hope, and gave up." Butler Jin said, seizing the opportunity to promote his case. "Everyone, how about betting on my young master instead? Young Master Jin is young, wealthy, and deeply favored by the county lady. If you all bet on my young master, it will definitely be a sure thing!"

"Screw you, I'm going to bet on Ji Linyou, and the general's tiger will definitely survive to the end!"

"Then you might as well buy Ling Tianshui, the one at the bottom. I heard he's a better fighter than his cousin and can definitely fight his way into the county lord's backyard."

"What about the money I bet on Shangluo? I heard his father has been looking for him for days. Is he still alive? Am I going to lose everything?"

"Well, considering the fate of Lingling County Princess, which is full of evil, I think it will be more bad than good!"

There was commotion in the city, while outside the city, Mingjiu led the guards to rein in their horses and look back, staring intently at the solid walls of Chang'an on the other side of the wilderness.

Inside the towering wall, there was a vicious woman who deceived him the first time they met and framed him on the last occasion, causing him to be disgraced and unable to face his clan members.

He clenched the whip tightly in his hand with resentment, and could barely control the horse under his crotch. He had no way to vent his anger: "Bai Qiandeng!"

One day, he would catch her and return today's humiliation to her a thousand times over.

The Uighur guards who followed him were also furious. After all, this was the only descendant of the Prince of Changhua, and possessed the destiny of a celestial being, as Uighur legend had it. If she became their princess, wouldn't all fifteen Uighur tribes sing the story, boasting about how the prince married the most beautiful woman in Chang'an in the spotlight?

Who knew that their dream would turn into nothing so quickly? How could they not be angry?

The guard behind him angrily asked, "Where did that inexplicable pearl flower come from? Why did it appear on the prince's body and become the important evidence to frame him?"

The others were also puzzled: "When the prince came back from the camp that day, we were the ones who escorted him back to the Changhua Palace. He had absolutely no contact with anyone else during that time..."

Mingjiu was furious, whipping the air with his whip. "Who said I haven't touched anyone?"

The guards kept asking, "Who is it?"

"Bai Qiandeng!" He gritted his teeth and squeezed out a few words from between his teeth. The scene of her turning against him and ruthlessly framing him in Qinghui Pavilion could not be erased from his mind.

It seems that she was in charge of everything from beginning to end.

First she framed someone, then she testified in public. From beginning to end, who else could it be except her?

Everyone was in an uproar, and there was inevitably sympathy in their eyes when they looked at him.

Ming Jiu swung his whip high, slashing fiercely in the air, pointing at Chang'an and angrily saying, "Since you've driven me out of Chang'an, if she has the guts, she'll never leave this city again!"

All the disturbances seemed to have subsided and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Only Qian Deng was still worried and was a little dazed after returning to the mansion.

The court expelled Mingjiu from Chang'an and told him that due to the friendly relationship between the two countries, they did not want to publicly announce Princess Gao's death and would completely conceal the truth, never to be made public. However, from then on, he was not allowed to set foot in Chang'an without the court's permission.

As for the border dispute between the Tang Dynasty and the Uighurs, it was also interrupted by this incident. Troops were quickly dispatched to the northwest, and the Uighurs no longer had the possibility of plundering the border.

Cui Fufeng accompanied Qiandeng back to the mansion. She was silent for a long time and asked softly, "Do you think this is the truth?"

Cui Fufeng replied: "This is a happy occasion for everyone."

A satisfactory result in all aspects.

The death of Princess Gaoguo would not harm anyone, but it would allow the Tang Dynasty to use this as a basis to flatly reject the unreasonable demands of the Uighurs, and their request for the marriage of Princess Lingling would ultimately come to nothing.

"But the murderer is still in my backyard, and Shangluo hasn't found any trace of him. You and I both know that Mingjiu is innocent."

"When Mingjiu left the city, I asked him about Shangluo, but he was clearly furious. He simply said he had killed Shangluo and hidden him in a corner of the backyard, and told us to find him on our own."

But in fact, Mingjiu’s original words were, let the Princess of Lingling County, who is good at harming people, slowly look for the corpse in her own backyard!

Qiandeng naturally expected Mingjiu's anger, but now that things had come to this, she could only accept the result of being hated.

After all, it was indeed she who felt sorry for him.

"Actually, I thought the county lady would help Mingjiu point out the suspicious points and wouldn't let the case end like this." Cui Fufeng studied her expression and asked softly, "Why did the county lady make such a decision? Is she worried that she'll be sent to marry a foreign prince?"

Qiandeng pursed her lips silently, unable to tell the Queen's instructions.

"The County Lady's move is unwise. While it may have temporarily resolved the dilemma, the evil forces in the backyard are still lurking. Future investigations will likely become more difficult."

He was always clear-headed and calm, neither hurried nor slow. This was the first time he showed helplessness in front of her.

Since they met, Cui Fufeng has always stood by her side. No matter when or what happens, he is always behind her to help her move forward unwaveringly.

Even against a powerful force like Princess Gao, he could still secretly launch a killing move without making any noise, causing the queen to turn against him in an instant, killing her with one blow.

"But, could you, Master Cui, help my father and grandfather's old subordinates by not changing commanders or redeploying troops?"

Cui Fufeng knew she had been worried about this matter, but when she mentioned it, a thought flashed through his mind and he blurted out, "Did the Crown Prince instruct you to do so?"

Qian Deng nodded silently: "I...can't refuse."

Cui Fufeng frowned slightly, wondering what he was thinking. After a long pause, he slowly spoke, "How could you do this, Crown Prince? If anything were to happen, you might never be able to return to the land of your ancestors, and you would have no choice but to remain in Chang'an."

"That's not the case. There's more than just the Uighurs in the northwest. After a year or two, the hype will die down, and Mingjiu's anger will subside. How will he even remember me then?" Qian Deng said, then added, "I won't give up on the clues I've found. Once the case is fully understood, I will definitely give Mingjiu justice, issue a formal apology, and make up for the loss of face he's suffered today."

Cui Fufeng listened to her naive plan, sighed with helplessness and indulgence, and changed the subject: "Forget it, the first thing to do now is to find Shangluo."

Shangluo has been missing for several days. In fact, they all had a bad premonition in their hearts, but they wanted to see the person alive or the body dead. They couldn't let a living person disappear like this.

Thinking about Shangluo's young age, if something unexpected happened to him because of her...

When Qian Deng dared not to think about it, nor could she bear to think about it, Aunt Xuanji hurried in to report: "County Lady, the Crown Prince is here to visit and has arrived at the street corner."

Qiandeng and Cui Fufeng looked at each other, stood up and walked quickly to the gate of the mansion to greet them.