Chapter 322: Hanlin Academy Vacation

Emperor Liang was silent for a moment, "Where is your student?"

Yan Yuze said Zhu Lan fainted on the ground, but fortunately he was fine. When he wanted to check on Chu Xiuning, the people from the Dali Temple came, so he had to hide in a tree and observe.

Yan Yuze thought for a moment and said:

"Royal brother, Mr. Ouyang was not aware of the book Annotations of Various Philosophers that Concubine Lan sent to Longchang Academy.

He has been in charge of the affairs of the academy for a long time. A few years ago, Zhu Lan won the first prize in the poetry and prose competition of the academy and happened to choose this "Collected Annotations of Various Philosophers" as a reward, so Mr. Ouyang agreed.

The book should have been in Zhu Lan's hands, but according to my investigation, she seemed to have given the book to another person."

"Who?"

"Zhu Qingyan, who went to the Northern Frontier with Zhu Lan and Princess Ning Yue, was also the third place winner of this year's imperial examination. He is now an editor at the Imperial Academy."

Emperor Liang nodded slowly, "I understand. Please continue to watch in secret."

…

That night, Zhu Lan tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep.

She had been cleared of suspicion in this case, and although the remaining matter of catching the murderer could be left entirely to the Dali Temple to investigate, she was still a little worried.

Chu Xiuning's death was strange. Who wanted to kill her? What was the motive for killing Chu Xiuning?

Thinking back to today's conversation with the two of them, the biggest secret of Chu Xiuning should be the prince's background.

Before her death, she mentioned that Concubine Lan had also sent people to investigate the identity of the prince, and confirmed that Yan Xiuyun, who survived the fire, was the real prince.

Chu Xiuning said that Concubine Lan hid the secret to prove Yan Xiuyun's identity in a book, but before she could say the name of the book, she and Chu Xiuning fainted, and then Chu Xiuning was killed.

If someone wanted to kill Chu Xiuning to silence her, it is very likely that they wanted the secret Chu Xiuning knew to be buried forever.

If the prince's life experience remains a complete mystery, then who is the biggest beneficiary?

The answer is self-evident.

Zhu Lan's thoughts were in turmoil and he had no desire to sleep at all, so he simply put on his coat and went to sit in the yard.

There are no stars or moon tonight, only the stone lamps in the courtyard illuminate the sky.

As the night wind blew, Zhu Lan's thoughts gradually became clearer.

Chu Xiuning said that Yan Xiuyun was the real prince. If this could be proven, the prince’s crisis would be resolved.

But now Chu Xiuning has been silenced. If it was really Prince Qi who did it, he certainly would not want the evidence in her hands to be discovered, so that the prince's life experience would remain a mystery forever.

Zhu Lan didn't care about the prince, but she had to consider Yu Wei.

It seems that I have to find out the secret that Chu Xiuning mentioned by myself, which can prove that Yan Xiuyun is the real prince.

But what exactly is the secret...?

Zhu Lan searched every corner of his memory but couldn't find any clues, and he felt a headache for a while.

Suddenly, in the darkness, there seemed to be a sound of something breaking through the air.

Zhu Lan felt something flash in his peripheral vision, and when he looked closely, he saw a silver dart as long as a finger nailed to the stone lantern in the courtyard, with a note stuck on the dart.

Zhu Lan immediately looked towards the top of the wall, but it was pitch black at night and there was no sign of anyone.

She then took the note off the dart, which only had eight words written on it -

"The true and false dragon son, all the philosophers have their own opinions."

"Collected Notes on Various Philosophers"! ?

Zhu Lan was stunned for a moment, and quickly pushed open the gate to go out to check, but the streets on both sides were dead silent and there was no one in sight.

She returned to the house and looked at the note carefully again. It seemed that someone knew that she was investigating the matter, so came to give her clues?

The book "Collected Annotations of Various Philosophers" was obtained when I first traveled through time. I wanted to win this book because the heroine Zhu Qingyan in the original story made great progress in the imperial examination after obtaining this book. At that time, I thought there was some secret in this book, but after getting it, I didn't find anything special.

Later, on the way to Northern Xinjiang, he simply gave the book to Zhu Qingyan, thinking that the secrets in the book could only be discovered by the original heroine Zhu Qingyan. However, in the end, Zhu Qingyan could not see anything.

Zhu Lan once thought that this book was just a coincidence. After all, Zhu Qingyan was a hard-working student with great talent, and he could have achieved brilliant success in the imperial examinations on his own.

Zhu Lan almost believed it. The "Collected Annotations of Various Philosophers" in the original plot was just a name mentioned by the original author in his essays. It had no meaning at all. He was just imagining things.

But who would have thought that the name of this book would suddenly appear before my eyes in this way.

What is going on?

Could it be that the secret proving the prince's identity is really hidden in this book?

Zhu Lan's gaze turned to Zhu Qingyan's tightly closed door.

…

At the same time, at the entrance of an alley across the street from the mansion, a black carriage seemed to blend into the night.

"Your Highness." A dark shadow appeared silently outside the carriage.

Yan Changwen's voice came from inside the carriage tent.

"Has the letter been delivered?"

"Yes, she has read the contents of the letter."

"...Okay, keep watching."

Yan Changwen didn't say anything else, and the black shadow left quietly.

A corner of the carriage curtain was lifted by a fan, revealing Murong Lan's face.

"Your Highness, do you think our number one scholar will investigate according to our wishes?"

"Now that Chu Xiuning is dead, she has no choice." Yan Changwen chuckled and held Murong Lian's hand, with a bit of pity in his eyes, "But you, you still accompany me out in the middle of the night."

"I am the Princess of Qi, so I must be with His Highness."

Murong Lian thought for a moment and then asked, "Then, Your Highness, have you thought about how to use the favor we gave to the top scholar?"

The carriage drove towards Prince Qi's Palace. Yan Changwen's voice in the carriage was full of maturity that did not match his age. He tapped his fingers lightly and said:

“The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

Now is not the time.”

…

Zhu Lan hardly slept all night.

Before dawn, she estimated that Zhu Qingyan had woken up, and they both had to go to the Hanlin Academy for duty today.

Zhu Qingyan had just woken up from the couch when he heard Zhu Lan knocking on the door, and couldn't help feeling a little puzzled.

It's not even time to go out yet, why is Zhu Lan knocking on the door so early?

Zhu Qingyan opened the door sleepily, and as soon as Zhu Lan saw her, he asked her if she still had the copy of Collected Annotations of Various Philosophers.