Chapter 210
She shook her head and said, "Let's leave it for now."
She felt disgusted by digging it out, and if the authorities found out about the body there, it would definitely cause a lot of trouble, so it was better to let it stay there.
"Go to the Privy Council in a little while and tell Duan Ganren that there's no need to look for him anymore."
"Yes, Miss."
What interests her most now is why Tao's mother is so different. Is it because she forgot something or overlooked something?
That memory is sealed away by the subconscious, and perhaps there will be other unexpected things.
Back at the Tao family home, whether it was due to tacit understanding or not, Tao Tao and her mother acted as if nothing had happened and interacted as usual.
As the night deepened and the dew grew heavy, Tao Tao, having just finished her bath, sat before the bronze mirror, toying with a small, golden-bronze Xuanwu seal in her hand, her expression thoughtful.
She felt that the person she should investigate most was her mother, and Xia Guo... was a breakthrough point.
"Leng Qiao!"
The door was pushed open from the outside the next second, and a black figure walked in.
Leng Qiao: "County Princess."
Tao Tao walked to the desk, took out a pen and drew the shape of the seal in her hand, picked it up and blew on the half-dry ink, and then handed it to Leng Qiao.
"Go and find out what this seal is used for in the Xia Kingdom. Remember, you must not let Duan Gan find out."
She looked at Leng Qiao and gave him earnest instructions.
Leng Qiao took it, glanced at it, and nodded, saying, "Yes, County Princess."
"By the way, also check how many members the Xia Kingdom royal family currently has, what their names are, and whether any members of the royal family were separated during the chaos of war, such as being stranded in foreign countries."
After Tao Tao finished speaking, she walked to the dressing table and picked up the small red pear blossom wooden box placed on top. It was very heavy and required both hands to lift it.
She turned around, holding the box, and stuffed it into Leng Qiao's arms. "There's a lot of money in here. You'll definitely need it. The more thoroughly you investigate, the better. No one else can know about this except me."
Leng Qiao accepted the offer, carrying the heavy wooden box. She looked at her very seriously, and after receiving her permission, she turned and left.
"If she really is a member of the Xia Kingdom's royal family, then I would be a true member of the royal family. Wouldn't it be better to be in the Xia Kingdom than here?"
Tao Tao fell into deep thought, starting to consider which side would be more advantageous to her.
If she wasn't mistaken, Duan Gan probably harbored ambitions for the throne. A man with such aspirations and ambitions would never be content to be subservient to someone else; otherwise, he wouldn't have targeted the emperor.
If it weren't for the fact that Duan Gan, who shouldn't have been there, appeared instead of the emperor at the palace that time, she wouldn't have suspected anything.
She had seen the chief eunuch at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet; he was standing next to the emperor, which meant he was the emperor's personal eunuch.
The importance and significance of the emperor's personal eunuchs are self-evident.
Yet he personally guarded Duan Gan's place and treated her with such respect. It was highly unusual for a high-ranking eunuch to be so respectful to a minor county princess of insignificance.
She found it strange at the time, but when she saw Duan Gan later, she no longer found it strange and even vaguely guessed what was going on.
As far as she knew, the Duan family had once been allied with the royal family through marriage. If she calculated carefully, it would mean that Duan Gan had royal blood, so if he really wanted to seize the throne, it wouldn't be considered illegitimate.
But to be honest, she couldn't figure out Duan Gan's thoughts. Maybe she was overthinking it. If he didn't have such thoughts, then which side should he be on?
She recalled that Murong Huai Shi had once mentioned to her that the Third Prince was currently favored by the Emperor, and that Duan Gan and the Crown Prince were not on good terms, but it didn't seem like that was the case.
But if he truly supported the Crown Prince, he shouldn't have allowed the Crown Prince to be so disliked by the Emperor. Could it be that he was actually on the side of the Third Prince?
Thinking of the gentle Qi Heng, she frowned with worry.
Suddenly, a slight noise came from the door. At first, she thought she had misheard, but when it sounded a second time, she stood up and peeked out.
There was no one at the door, but a snow-white object was found near the door.
Tao Tao's eyes showed a hint of confusion. She took a closer look, exclaimed in surprise, smiled, and went over to squat down and hug her.
It is a little white rabbit with red eyes.
"Little rabbit, how did you get out here?"
She rubbed the rabbit's long, white ears with a look of affection; they were warm and soft to the touch.
"You come out at this time, do you also think Qi Heng will win?"
In her mind, she was more inclined to believe that Duan Gan harbored ambitions to seize the throne. He didn't even respect the Crown Prince and had turned the Emperor into this state; what else could it be but this intention?
Tao Tao stroked the rabbit's fluffy head, and suddenly a flash of inspiration struck her. She remembered the pile of withered bones she had encountered that night in the mountains on the outskirts of the city.
It seemed to be someone from the Yang family. There was something strange about his words at the time, but she didn't think much of it. Later, she thought about helping to collect his remains, but she forgot about it.
Could the Yang family be related to Duan Gan?
Should she continue the investigation? If she really investigates Duan Gan, he will definitely find out.
She needed to know who Duan Gan was targeting in order to plan her next steps. If she chose the wrong person, it would be a disaster.
In fact, she might have a way out, which is the Xia Kingdom. Now that the token is in her hands, if Tao's mother really believes that she is not her daughter, she will have no choice but to take action to get rid of her.
This was only the worst-case scenario; she didn't want to harm the original owner's mother unless absolutely necessary.
Duan Gan did have feelings for her, but not enough for her to control him, and it was unlikely that he would marry her as his principal wife. If she didn't like him, that would be fine; she didn't care whether he married or took concubines in the future.
But she happened to fall for him. Although it wasn't exactly love, she still had a possessive streak towards someone she liked.
She couldn't tolerate the fact that the person she liked had other women besides her.
But if it were the Crown Prince, it wouldn't seem to matter. She could sense that the Crown Prince had feelings for her, though she couldn't say exactly how much. His emotions were too reserved; compared to Duan Gan, one was assertive and the other gentle.
She didn't know how Duan Gan was perceived by others, but to her, Duan Gan was the kind of person who disdained to hide his emotions, so she could clearly sense his feelings for her.
That's why I dared to challenge his bottom line time and time again.
The Crown Prince, however, was different. He was gentle and polite, with little emotional fluctuation. He was too restrained, perhaps because his upbringing was too strict, which led him to learn to bury all his emotions deep inside.
Such a person is quite difficult to understand, but one thing is certain: he absolutely yearns for freedom, for the mundane world, and for the vast天地 (heaven and earth).
As the crown prince, the pressure he faced was unimaginable. Above him was the emperor and empress, and below him were his subjects, all waiting for his explanation.
In such a stressful environment, it's normal to crave what you don't have, so she couldn't tell whether he was attracted to her or just liked her carefree nature.
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