Chapter 188 It’s time to close the net, Lu Shenyan wakes up?

Xu Susu tucked the quilt in for Xie Yao and said, "I made some soup in the kitchen at the palace. I'll serve it to you right away."

Then she left with the palace's old housekeeper.

The prince did not move. Seeing that his princess did not seem to want to rest at all, he hesitated to speak. Finally, he looked at Rendong and said, "Help the princess sit up."

He knew Xie Yao's personality and she wouldn't listen no matter how hard he tried to force her to rest.

Instead of this, he might as well drag his two crippled legs to accompany her, staring at her half-dead, to see if she feels sorry for him, a disabled person.

The former prince: Alas, I am a disabled person.

The current prince: Hey, I am a disabled person!

"How is Jiang Congyan?"

Xie Yao was helped up by Rendong and asked while leaning against the head of the bed.

"I followed your instructions and, along with a royal guard, disguised myself as a Xirong assassin. I even deliberately let the Marquis of Anping overhear a few words in Xirong dialect, and rescued Miss Jiang."

In Yunhe Tower, the masked man who took Jiang Congyan away from the assassin was Bai Mi who followed Xie Yao's plan.

Bai Shen: "Miss Jiang's injuries are more serious than yours, but she wasn't poisoned. I've already placed her in a house outside the palace. An hour ago, I received news that she's awake."

"Since she's awake, let her... prepare her own body." Xie Yao felt relieved and gave instructions again.

Jiang Congyan is the biggest evidence of the Queen Mother's collusion with the Western Rong people. She will keep her well and make her play a role at the critical moment.

Faking death is the best way.

Let Jiang Congyan prepare her own body, I believe she will not refuse.

"I understand." Bai Mi accepted the order and left.

Tang Xin came in and announced, "Princess, Her Royal Highness the Princess has been waiting in the main hall. She heard that you woke up and wanted to see you."

"Your Highness, please come in."

The eldest princess walked in quickly. She was still dressed the same as yesterday and had obviously come to the palace with Xie Yao.

Bai Zhu retreated and pushed away Xiao Yizi, who was reluctant to leave.

"Yesterday was New Year's Eve, and today is New Year's Day, yet I have caused you to suffer such a serious injury."

The eldest princess's gaze fell on Xie Yao's injured arm. Although her tone was flat, it was filled with genuine guilt.

Xie Yao's face was still pale. She said calmly, "I am the captain of the Xihe Camp, and Your Highness is the commander of the Xihe Camp. Protecting you is my duty."

The eldest princess shook her head. She was still frightened when she thought of the moment when Xie Yao was shot by an arrow and the feeling of her heart being tightened.

"Xie Yao, you saved my life, and so did Xu. If you want any reward, just tell me, and I will definitely satisfy you."

This time, the eldest princess not only regarded Xie Yao as a partner or a subordinate, but also as a benefactor and a junior who she cared about.

Xie Yao didn't say what she wanted, but changed the subject: "Why didn't His Highness enter the palace?"

The Princess said, "Last night's New Year's Eve banquet has been cancelled. Besides me and Prince Jingbei, the Marquis of Anping was also assassinated in Yunhe Tower. The Marquis of Anping's wife, Jiang Congyan, is still missing."

Speaking of the assassination, her tone darkened. "The Imperial Eagle Division has examined the bodies of the assassins, and half of them are from the Western Rong. The guard who turned against me confessed that he was one of Li Jun's men, and that he planned this assassination to avenge the death of the Five Kings."

Li Jun is the name of King Rui, the leader of the Five Kings Rebellion five years ago.

"So, the assassin is a remnant of King Rui?" Xie Yao asked back.

Sure enough, the Queen Mother still blamed the matter on the dead man.

She said leisurely, "What a coincidence! During the Five Kings' Rebellion, Your Highness was still in Yong State. Rumor has it that Marquis Anping was even the younger brother that King Rui loved very much. Why would the remnants of King Rui go to such great lengths to assassinate you?"

The princess's eyes narrowed slightly. "Prince Rui was executed along with his entire family by the Jingbei prince, but yesterday's assassins were clearly targeting me. From this, it seems something is fishy."

Xie Yao reminded: "Your Highness, for some things, you don't need to look at the process, you only need to look at the results."

The princess' heart moved. After pondering her words for a moment, she said coldly, "If anything happens to me, the one who will be most happy is the Queen Mother. Are you saying that the Queen Mother is the mastermind behind the assassination? But why did the Queen Mother kill the Marquis of Anping?"

Xie Yao looked at her, their eyes were very similar, both clear and sharp.

"Marquis Anping, is he dead?"

The eldest princess was stunned.

Yes, although Marquis Anping was assassinated, he himself was fine!

However, the wife of the Marquis of Anping, who had previously wanted to divorce him and made the Queen Mother extremely dissatisfied, is now missing.

Xie Yao: "The Queen Mother is worried that Your Highness and the Emperor will join forces to check and balance the Jiang family, so she wants to kill you; she also thinks the Marquis's wife is not obedient enough, so she wants to replace her niece as the Marquis of Anping's wife; the Imperial Eagle Division is investigating the assassin. If the result is that the remnants of Prince Rui are found, those with ulterior motives will also suspect that the Emperor wants to get rid of the Marquis of Anping. Killing three birds with one stone, the evidence is no longer important."

"Jiang Jinyun..." The eldest princess's face darkened as she called out the Queen Mother's name.

Then, Xie Yao raised the corners of her lips.

Perhaps because she guessed that the princess and the general had a past relationship, she did not hide it and said straight to the point: "It's just that the Queen Mother would not have thought that Jiang Congyan is not dead. It's just that she has gone from being open to being secretive and cannot be exposed yet."

The eldest princess's eyes widened and she understood.

Having only Jiang Congyan as a witness is not enough.

If you want to bring down the Queen Mother and the Jiang family, you have to catch them red-handed.

"Xie Yao, what are you going to do?"

"Divide and conquer until they... become desperate."

The princess looked at her and said seriously, "I will go to the palace to meet the emperor and explain the whole story. I will also tell him your guess so that he can record your merit. As for Jiang Congyan's matter, I will follow your arrangements. I will not say any more."

Xie Yao smiled and breathed a sigh of relief: "Then please trouble the Princess. I need an order from the Emperor."

In his previous life, Lu Shenyan told the emperor his guess, and the emperor took note of his contribution.

Originally, she planned to tell the emperor in person at the New Year's Eve banquet yesterday, but now it is okay for the eldest princess to speak on her behalf.

The eldest princess asked Shuangxi to deliver various precious medicines. After confirming that Xie Yao's injuries were not serious, she left the Jingbei Palace and hurried into the palace.

Xie Yao rested for a while, let Rendong grind the medicine for her, and wrote a letter to the general.

Xu Susu came in with the prepared tonic soup in her hand.

Xie Yao stuffed the finished letter into Ren Dong's arms, and fell back onto the bed with a cry of "ouch," her voice softening: "Mother, I can't move my hands anymore, please feed me."

Xu Susu glanced at the table. The ink in the inkstone was not dry yet. Besides, Xie Yao's injured arm was the left arm, not the right arm.

But when she saw Xie Yao acting coquettishly towards her, how could she refuse?

"Open your mouth. Is it hot?"

Xie Yao shook her head and drank two bowls in one breath. Xu Susu didn't mind and when she was about to get the third bowl, she grabbed her hand.

"Mother, it's OK."

Xie Yao looked up and saw the warm winter sun outside the window.

This is the first day of the new year, and everything is reborn.

"It's time to close the net."

In the evening, officials from Jingzhao Prefecture found the body of the marquis' wife at the foot of a cliff in the suburbs of Beijing and sent the body back to the Anping Marquis' Mansion.

Three days later.

In the dungeon of the Marquis' Mansion, where the sunlight could not penetrate, Lu Shenyan woke up.

He felt a sharp pain in his body and opened his eyes. It was not the scene he had imagined: servants guarding him and imperial doctors asking about his health.

The familiar figure in the dream also disappeared like a wisp of smoke.

Lu Shenyan lowered his head with difficulty and found that his wrists were locked with iron chains.

There was a piercing pain in his lower body, and there were wounds on his shoulders and chest from darts.

Although these wounds did not bleed, they still hurt so much that he trembled all over.

"woke up."

A cold voice came.

Marquis Anping, holding a lantern and reeking of alcohol, walked up to Lu Shenyan with unsteady steps.

The light flickered on his face, and a mocking smile appeared on the corner of his mouth as he said quietly:

"Thank you, Master Lu, for blocking the arrow for me. You are my lifesaver."