Chapter 64: Letters after Death

"If even the Huihe prince could be coerced, then who else could be implicated by Princess Gao? Furthermore... I think Princess Gao and the Princess of Changyi would be more pleased with your fate as a foreign marriage."

"Could it be... this is also what the court wants?"

Since the imperial court can give her instructions, it can naturally influence Princess Changyi.

Cui Fufeng shook his head and said, "The Princess's Mansion targeted Mingjiu before the conflict between the imperial court and the Huihe people intensified. In fact, just a day or two after Princess Gaoguo's death, they had already prepared scorched banana leaves at the river bend and began to set up a trap to lure Mingjiu in. Ultimately, they used the gold foil and pearl flowers as evidence to completely pin the crime on him."

"So, why did they choose the Screeching Vulture, which offers the least benefit? What's the reason... and when did it start?"

The two of them pondered and slowly traced back to the turning point.

"On the day Princess Gao was in trouble, Princess Changyi came to argue with us, unaware that Mingjiu was the one who killed the horse. But the day after the incident, they had already decided to target Mingjiu... So, the problem most likely stems from the scene that day when Princess Changyi came to cause trouble and Mingjiu chased her and cursed her."

Cui Fufeng's guess made Qiandeng's mind clear. Almost subconsciously, he said one word: "Letter..."

Cui Fufeng looked at her and raised his eyebrows slightly: "A letter?"

"Yes, because before my mother died, she left me a letter, but I haven't found it yet, and it's been on my mind ever since. So, that day outside the pavilion, I clearly remember Ming Jiu mentioning 'a letter' after he chased out!"

After hearing this, Cui Fufeng also remembered this matter.

When Mingjiu saw that Ling Tianshui was also a candidate, he was furious at Princess Gao for deceiving him into the nomination. He chased out of the waterside pavilion and yelled at Princess Changyi.

"Don't run so fast. Give your mother a message from this prince! The letter is already written. Where are you trying to escape to? No matter where she hides, I won't let her go!"

Qian Deng concluded, "So, after Ming Jiu sneaked into the princess's mansion, he must have seen a letter. That's why he said that the person who left the letter should hide in a corner."

"If that's the case, why did Princess Changyi act calmly when she heard the 'letter', and only start targeting Mingjiu after Princess Gao was in trouble?"

"Perhaps because the 'letter' hadn't appeared at the time, Princess Changyi didn't take his words to heart. But after Princess Gaoguo passed away, the 'letter' appeared, and Princess Changyi realized that Mingjiu knew about the letter and was the one who had infiltrated the princess's mansion and caused trouble. So, regardless of whether Mingjiu knew the contents of the letter or not, they had to silence him. If they couldn't kill him, they would have to expel him from Chang'an."

"A letter that appeared only after his death..." Fatigue and a high fever made Cui Fufeng's eyes slightly sleepy and distracted. However, even after making this deduction, a faint smile still appeared on his face. "It seems that the contents of the letter are about to be revealed."

"Yes, the death of Princess Gao has been concluded, and Shangluo's whereabouts should also be determined."

Qiandeng lowered his voice and waited until he slowly closed his eyes and fell asleep.

She touched the handkerchief on his forehead, put on another one, took off the warm one, and wrung it out in the basin until it was half dry.

She slowly thought about Cui Fufeng's words, the body of Princess Gao floating on the water, and her eyes that could not be closed, and she was lost in thought.

There were footsteps outside. Zhenzhu came over from the front hall with some hot porridge and reported, "County Lady, there's a young man outside who wants to see you. This is his visiting card."

This is strange. There are many people in Chang'an who take the shortcut of Zhongnan to curry favor with the powerful, but she has never seen anyone take the path of an orphan like her.

Qiandeng raised his hand to take the business card, opened it and took a look, and was immediately amused and confused.

There were only a few crooked characters written on it, which read:

If you don’t give me a deposit, then give it to someone else.

Qiandeng came to the front hall and saw the person sitting in the hall with his legs crossed waiting.

He was a young man in his early twenties, with a sharp face and regular features. He looked familiar at first glance, but when you looked closely at his eyebrows, eyes, mouth and nose, you felt that he was clearly a stranger. The more you looked at him, the less you believed your judgment.

Only after catching a glimpse of the arrogance that could not be concealed in his eyes did Qiandeng dare to confirm who he was.

Seeing that she had been looking at him, the man touched his face and asked, "Do you still recognize me, County Lady?"

"Of course. I was in danger last night, and it was you who saved me from the bandits, wasn't it?"

He grinned, revealing his snow-white teeth, which sparkled with his amber eyes, which were lighter than normal.

Qiandeng checked his injuries. Military doctors are best at treating external injuries, and the wound on his shoulder was wrapped very nicely and neatly.

This physique was truly terrifyingly strong. Although the arrow wound last night hadn't hit a vital part, a penetrating wound like that would have required an average person to be bedridden for at least ten days or half a month—Cui Fufeng had already developed a high fever. Yet, after applying medicine and bandaging, he was full of life, and aside from the inconvenience of being unable to lift his left arm, he was as good as new.

Qian Deng asked him: "What are you going to do next?"

"I will stay by your side and wait for you to wash the circle for me!" It would have been fine if he didn't speak, but once he opened his mouth, his identity was exposed.

"Don't worry, I will. But now you have sneaked into Chang'an without telling the court and are hiding in my backyard. I hope you can keep a low profile and preferably not show up in front of acquaintances."

He reluctantly agreed: "Okay..."

Qian Deng pointed at the wound on his shoulder again: "There is one more thing we cannot ignore. Are you aware of the men in black who attacked last night?"

Mingjiu was puzzled: "Isn't it a fake robber meeting a real robber?"

"How could there be such well-armed and well-trained robbers?"

"Well...you'd better be careful with that fairy bead! Think about who you've offended," Mingjiu warned her seriously. "I helped you block it this time, but who would be so kind to you next time?"

Qian Deng said, "I have never made such a big enemy in the capital."

"Who said that? Am I not one of them?" Ming Jiu was actually quite confident.

Qian Deng was speechless when he heard Ling Tianshui's cold voice from the doorway: "You'd better be careful. The other party is definitely coming for you."

Mingjiu looked up at Ling Tianshui coming in from the door, his face full of depression: "I don't believe it!"

Ling Tianshui sat down and asked, "If those people wanted to harm the county lady, then after seeing her being robbed, they should have just sat back and watched the show. Why would they chase her and strangle her?"

Mingjiu opened his mouth, his mind convinced, but his mouth remained stiff: "Impossible, who in Chang'an dares to kill me?"

Qian Deng didn't say anything, but the first thought that came to his mind was -

Could it be that in order to cover up the truth about the letter, Princess Changyi actually dared to kill Mingjiu?

Ling Tianshui calmly reminded Mingjiu, "There are bound to be stubborn and extreme people in this world. Besides, with the remnants of the army roaming around, and as a Uighur prince, it's not impossible for something to happen to you on your way back."

Mingjiu, caught in danger, was completely unaware. He patted his injured shoulder and said, "What are you afraid of? Who would have thought that I would be back again, staying in the backyard of Xianzhu?"

"You handled this quite cleverly." Ling Tianshui praised him, but also warned, "But you are the murderer of Princess Gao after all. If someone discovers you hiding here, it would be detrimental to the county lady. You'd better hide carefully and don't let anyone see you."

"What are you afraid of? Who can recognize me in my current form?" Mingjiu said proudly.

Qiandeng looked at him, then turned to look at Ling Tianshui, the suspicion in his heart difficult to conceal.

Seeing her looking at Ling Tianshui thoughtfully, Ming Jiu blurted out, "He also found someone to change!"