Chapter 75 Secret

The place where Shi Jingning was at this time was indeed a dilapidated corner of Jianfu Temple.

After Lady Dingxiang helped him escape from the Changhua Palace, he knew that he should flee Chang'an as far away as possible, go to a place where no one could find him, live in hiding for the rest of his life, and let "Shi Jingning" disappear from this world forever.

But a question always lingered in his mind -

Who is the person who colluded with Yang Huaijiang internally and externally to steal the Nine Trees Golden Flower?

Even though he knew that he would never be able to return to the county lady's side in this lifetime, he still couldn't let go of his worries and still wanted to know who the person was who was deliberately trying to frame the county lady.

After Yang Huaijiang's death, the people who wanted to frame the county lady came to Lu Wulin. And the next person they wanted to contact, who also knew the inside story, would be Lady Dingxiang?

So he did not flee far away, but secretly followed Lady Dingxiang until he found out that she stole the child and gave it to the monk of Jianfu Temple. He then followed her and sneaked in through a loophole in the guard change, hiding in the withered and messy reeds, and saw and heard everything that happened outside.

Even though he saw the county lady peeling off her disguise and schemes bit by bit, completely exposing everything behind the scenes and making his crimes untraceable, he still felt happy.

Just like Su Yunzhong and Jian Anting before, no one in this world can hide from the eyes and ears of the county lord.

The little girl who had peeked out of her father's arms and looked at him curiously in the snowy borderland back then had completely shed her ignorance and grown into a wise, calm and perceptive girl who was capable of supporting the royal palace.

When he saw her being slandered by Princess Gao, he almost rushed out to confess. He would rather his crimes be exposed and all his efforts go to waste, just so that the county lady could survive the disaster safely.

But while he was still hesitating, she had already analyzed and unearthed all the truth, as if when he and Lady Dingxiang committed the crime, she was watching their every move without any cover. Everyone and everything they had done was hidden from her and nothing was left out.

Finally, he could leave with peace of mind.

The guards withdrew, and everyone dispersed to go their own ways.

The surroundings became quiet. Shi Jingning stayed in the reeds for a while, then quietly passed through them, preparing to go out through the gap in the wall and completely leave the county lord's life.

At this moment, he heard the rustling of the wind through the reeds. In the gradually darkening sky, he also heard a faint sound mixed with the wind -

"Princess Lingling, I'm not done with her!"

This shrill sound was squeezed out from between the teeth. Even though the person speaking had a soft and crisp voice of a young girl, it could not conceal the fierceness in it.

Shi Jingning was slightly startled. Even though he knew that the reeds could fully cover his body, he still subconsciously bent his body and suppressed his breathing.

The dense reeds swayed in the evening breeze. Through the occasional gaps, he saw two vague figures among the pavilions overlooking the water.

Judging from their ages, they should be a mother and daughter, both dressed in luxurious clothes. Shi Jingning had already heard the voices of this mother and daughter when he was hiding in the reeds just now.

The Grand Princess of Gao State and the Princess of Changyi.

This mother and daughter, who repeatedly framed the county lord and refused to repent, now had their sinister intentions exposed in public by the county lord, but were only temporarily shelved by the queen. Although they were not punished, it was enough to make them uneasy.

"Mother, what exactly did she give the Queen?" Xiao Fuyu gritted his teeth, his face grim, not in front of the Queen and the Crown Prince. "I always feel that after the Queen got that thing, she clearly sided with her. Even...even the way the Queen looked at us made me feel a little scared..."

"I don't know... I've been thinking about it, it can't be related to what happened back then..." Princess Gaoguo's voice was filled with uncontrollable fear.

"What's the matter?" Xiao Fu Yu asked.

"It's all about when the Queen gave birth to the Crown Prince... Otherwise, why do you think there's only one adult prince in this palace, the Crown Prince, and how did the Queen manage to keep the harem so clean?" The usually arrogant Princess Gaoguo's voice finally trembled slightly, filled with fear. "It's all because of that loser Li Gaosheng! We had agreed with him that he would take care of everything in the Crown Prince's Mansion for you, and we would guarantee him a smooth career. Turns out, he can't even handle such a small thing. Not only did he suffer losses, but he also lost my reputation and put me in danger!"

Xiao Fuyu thought of the blood-stained robe that the prince had hidden deep in the storeroom. He felt a burning resentment rising to his head, and his voice became distorted: "Lingling County Princess, it's all her fault!"

"Fuyu, now that things have come to this, the Queen must have evidence of Mother's guilt. If she has any dissatisfaction with the Princess's Mansion, she'll probably dig it up at any time. This knife is probably hanging over our heads at all times..."

Xiao Fuyu hugged her arms and comforted her, "Don't be afraid, mother. Didn't you say that you have someone in her backyard who can obey our orders at any time if we need him?"

Arranged a person...

Shi Jingning was shocked and couldn't help but go over the names of the people in the county lord's backyard in his mind one by one.

But in such a hurry, he had no idea and had no idea which of those calm gentlemen in daily life might be the pawns set up by Princess Gao.

"But he's our last hope. How can we let him reveal his secrets so easily?" Princess Gao sighed helplessly, "You must also restrain yourself, especially towards the Crown Prince and the Empress. Times are different now. The Empress hasn't made any decisions about us yet because you are, after all, the Crown Princess designated by the late Emperor. This concerns the foundation of the nation, and the Emperor and Empress must carefully consider it. Next, you must securely win over the Crown Prince. Only then can our Princess's Mansion remain safe and sound."

Xiao Fuyu gritted her teeth and said, "But, with Lingling County Lady around, the Crown Prince is always vulnerable... Mother, not only can we not get rid of her, but the Crown Prince has become alienated from me because of her. What should we do next?"

Shi Jingning was stunned and his scalp was slightly numb. He never thought that under such circumstances, he would actually get a glimpse of the secret that he should never know.

He heard Princess Gaoguo say in a deep voice, "Don't panic. No matter what the Crown Prince's feelings are, at least you were chosen by the late Emperor. Besides, that woman has a terrible reputation and has brought disaster upon her relatives. How could the royal family allow her to enter the Eastern Palace? In the coming days, we must be extremely cautious in our words and actions. As long as your wedding date arrives next spring, everything will be settled and everything will be fine."

Xiao Fuyu was still feeling angry, but seeing her mother staring at her, she could only bite her lower lip and nodded reluctantly, "Okay."

The winter evening breeze blew the reeds on the ground, making them whistle and droop.

Princess Gao and Xiao Fuyu stood up alertly and looked around. Shi Jingning lowered his body with the reeds, trying his best to hide his figure.

The two people, who did not notice any unusual movements, also felt that the sky was getting darker and a little scary. They quickly glanced around and left immediately.

Shi Jingning breathed extremely slowly, and only after all the sounds around him had died down did he quietly bend down and emerge from the reeds.

In the dim sky, in front of us is the Hall of Rebirth of Jianfu Temple.

Inside the open temple door, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva sat on Diting, looking down at the person kneeling quietly in front of him.

The sky and the earth were already dark, but the incense and candles in front of the Buddha were still burning, illuminating the familiar figure and allowing Shi Jingning to clearly see the golden note he had burned in the pool of eliminating resentment and relieving misfortune.

Lady of Qi, Lü Hepu.

Shi Jingning's eyes widened in shock. He stared in disbelief at the man burning his sins before the Buddha and praying for forgiveness, unable to help himself but taking two steps back.

It turned out that the person who needed to atonce for the sin of Lady Qi's death in Zhuangzi that day was the person in front of the Buddha.

There was a crackling sound under his feet. The reed roots near the shore were stepped on by him and made a breaking sound.

He hurriedly looked down at his feet, but saw the afterglow of the setting sun cast a figure in front of him, and because of the other party's big strides approaching, the shadow quickly enveloped him.

He raised his head, but before a look of panic appeared on his face, the man opposite him had already drawn his knife, and while running towards him, he slashed his throat with the knife.