After the two finished breakfast, someone came in to tidy up. As they left, Shen Jiaojiao noticed the hem of a pink dress.
"How did that girl end up here?" Shen Jiaojiao suddenly remembered.
Chu Tianling shouted to the outside, "Tianqi! Bring the woman in!"
Zhou Tianqi had just ate eight bowls of noodles, three more than usual, and was now standing happily at the door waiting for instructions.
Upon hearing that there was something to do, he immediately lifted the curtain and said to Zhao Ruyan outside, "Miss Zhao, His Highness the Crown Prince wants you to come in and give me a report!"
Expressionless, completely serious!
Zhao Ruyue straightened her clothes. Although she felt it wasn't the most perfect state, she had no choice but to slowly walk in with graceful steps.
She bowed to His Highness the Crown Prince: "Zhao Ruyan, daughter of the Minister of Revenue, greets His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the Crown Princess!"
"Stand up and speak!" Chu Tianling said calmly.
"yes!"
Zhao Ruyue knew that the occasion was inappropriate, so she confessed before the Crown Prince could speak.
"Your Highness, the reason I was arrested is entirely due to my elder sister!"
"My older sister's name is Zhao Ruyue. She was born to my father's first wife. Later, her mother passed away due to illness, and that's how my mother came to be. I was still young at the time and didn't understand adult matters very well."
"Later, as my older sister grew older, she became more and more rude and was disliked by my father. I always gave in to her, but she never appreciated it."
"Yesterday, my older sister invited me to dinner at Tianxiang Restaurant, and I gladly accepted. However, after drinking a cup of tea that she handed me, I fainted. Luckily, I ran into His Highness the Crown Prince! Otherwise, I wouldn't have dared to recover. I never expected my sister to be this kind of person; she's so disappointing!"
After speaking, she looked very sad and pitiful. She expressed her innocence and pitifulness both openly and subtly.
This time, Shen Jiaojiao roughly understood.
Her father was rich; his wife died, and he remarried. According to her logic, she, an outsider, was bullied for being kind to the locals.
Looking at the delicate little girl below, so fair and tender, she didn't look like she had been bullied at all!
Something just doesn't feel right.
"Tianqi, send someone to take her back!" Chu Tianling found it incredibly annoying that this person started crying as soon as he started talking, so he quickly sent her back.
Zhao Ruyue didn't want to leave at all, but she couldn't think of a good solution for the moment. Looking at the Crown Princess beside her, she said sweetly, "Crown Princess, would you like to come back to the city with me? It's not comfortable living in the suburbs. Besides, men should handle things, and we women can just stay home and take good care of the family, right?"
Shen Jiaojiao didn't understand why this had suddenly come to her, and coldly refused, "Miss Zhao, please go back first. I have something to do here!"
Zhao Ruyue was stunned for a moment. Seeing the Crown Prince looking at the Crown Princess with such doting eyes, she was so angry that she almost ground her teeth to powder. She had no choice but to swallow her anger and retreat with her head down.
As soon as Zhao Ruyue stepped out of the tent, Zhou Tianqi immediately brought over a carriage and urged her to get in quickly.
He needed to send the person back as soon as possible and then rush back; he couldn't miss lunch! Following His Highness the Crown Prince meant he could eat three extra bowls of food, but it would be too painful to eat afterward!
Zhao Ruyue wanted to dawdle a bit, but the big, clumsy man ignored her and kept urging her. Once she was on the carriage, he grabbed her and sped away.
When they arrived at the Zhao family's house, Zhou Tianqi opened the car door and saw a disheveled, madman-like figure. He remained expressionless, with only one thought in mind: he had wasted time being delayed, and he didn't know if he would make it back in time for food!
He gave Zhao Ruyan a cold look, who was utterly lacking in beauty, and once she had regained her footing, he turned and pulled the cart away.
Damn it! Women only get in my way of getting food!
Not wanting others to see her in such a disheveled state, Zhao Ruyan sneaked back to her room and secretly gave Zhou Tianqi a thorough dressing-down.
After Chu Tianling and the others left, they took Shen Jiaojiao and climbed up to the cave halfway up the mountain.
Doctor Zhang looked grave. Upon seeing the two arrive, he hurried over and said to Chu Tianling, "Your Highness, something terrible has happened!"
"What is it? Speak quickly!"
“I’ve been researching the corpse poison, and I’ve discovered that it’s the same poison that appeared in Peach Blossom Village 15 years ago! Back then, they sealed off the area and killed everyone. I don’t know how it reappeared! I’m afraid someone did this on purpose.”
Dr. Zhang was very sad. His master didn't have to die back then. If it weren't for the child who suddenly ran out and bit him, he wouldn't have died there. He was supposed to save people, but he ended up dying there.
It makes me so angry just thinking about it!
“Do you remember where Peach Blossom Village is? We can go there and take a look!” Shen Jiaojiao suggested.
Dr. Zhang nodded. It's time to go and see him.
Chu Tianling ordered his men to continue guarding the cave, while the others went with him to Peach Blossom Village.
It's quite a coincidence that Peach Blossom Village isn't far from this mountain; I hadn't noticed it before.
Turn left at the intersection ahead, cross a ridge, and you'll reach the so-called Peach Blossom Village. Standing on the ridge, you can still clearly see the cave you were in just now.
It seems this matter is indeed related to what happened before.
Fifteen years have passed, and standing on high ground, you can still see the charred remains from when it was burned. Because no one takes care of it, it still maintains its dilapidated state.
There wasn't a single person along the way, just tangled weeds.
Suddenly, Shen Jiaojiao stopped and asked the people behind her, "By the way, did you see any human bones or anything like that just now?"
Only then did everyone realize that they had been so focused on how horrific the scene was that they had forgotten that the body, burned to death and sealed off, should have had bones!
A gust of wind blew by, and everyone felt their hair stand on end.
Chu Tianling put his arm around Shen Jiaojiao and instructed the people behind him, "Everyone, spread out and look around to see if you can find anything!"
Everyone scattered.
This village isn't very big; almost all the houses are built together, and you can see the whole village at a glance.
It wasn't small, I heard it had several thousand people at the time.
A clear river flows through the middle of the village, with petals floating on its surface, and not far away, a continuous stretch of peach blossoms are in full bloom.
It truly lives up to its name as Peach Blossom Village; the peach blossoms are absolutely beautiful.
Shen Jiaojiao stood by the river, looking at the end of the stream, and asked, "Do you think anyone survived back then?"
Chu Tianling looked at the river and realized that what was set on fire back then was indeed a fire. If someone had hidden in the water, they might have been able to escape the disaster.
"Did you discover anything else?"
“I suspect this river is the same one where gold was found yesterday! And the gold in the river is very likely from the same place as the gold mine you took me to see back then.”
Chu Tianling recalled the locations of these places and was somewhat convinced. "Hmm, I'll send someone to verify!"
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