Chapter 372 The Old Woodcutter Confesses Everything
If even Zhen Huan could think of something, how could Madam Min Qiao not have thought of it?
Last night's events were sudden and quite frightening for her.
But when she calmed down and thought about it carefully, she realized that there were flaws everywhere in what happened last night.
Just as I had thought, the first flaw was the old woodcutter!
Others might not know about the relationship between Min Qiaoshi and Lao Qiao, but how could Min Qiaoshi herself not know?
Old Qiao is her own nephew!
Whether from the capital to Huizhou, or from Huizhou to Daxi, Lao Qiao followed her with the goal of ensuring her safety.
But when the incident happened last night, the old woodcutter didn't go to her side to protect her at the first opportunity; instead, he ran away and disappeared.
This is the biggest flaw!
Secondly, from the time she heard that someone had discovered the assassin until she actually went to the carriage, there must have been quite a bit of time, yet she did not notice the assassin coming to kill her.
The most outrageous thing was that, on the way she and Zhen Huan traveled through half of the camp in the carriage, not a single man in black came after her.
Although the number of soldiers was a factor in keeping the men in black occupied, was it really true that none of the men in black were capable of breaking through the soldiers' encirclement and assassinating her?
Doesn't that seem strange?
The strangest thing is that everyone in the marriage alliance died, but all the truly important people in the group managed to escape alive!
She, Lady Qinghe, Princess Xihe, Li Sanqi, and the King of Chu—none of them lost their lives!
Isn't that strange?
Therefore, last night's assassination was definitely premeditated!
As for the mastermind, need I say more?
It was naturally Emperor Xiaozhao.
She originally thought that Emperor Xiaozhao would restrain himself and wait for Da'er to make the first move.
At the very least, they should wait until Princess Xihe and Crown Prince Dahe are married before having Princess Xihe killed and framing Dahe.
Then, taking advantage of Princess Xihe's death, Dayan led its troops westward to demand an explanation.
Unexpectedly, Emperor Xiaozhao was even more anxious than she had imagined.
The marriage procession hadn't even reached Xijing when they started their attack halfway there!
However, it seems that Emperor Xiaozhao still cares about the King of Chu, otherwise the Earl of Annam would not have allowed the King of Chu to stay when they were at the border.
However, in order not to affect the overall situation, the Earl of Annan did not dare to make his words too obvious.
Because Li Sanqi was also in the group, the King of Chu was not persuaded by the Earl of Annan.
Of course, all of this was just her speculation.
She needs an answer now.
And if nothing unexpected happens, Old Woodcutter can provide that answer.
Sure enough, after she asked the question, the old woodcutter's expression did not change, as if he was not surprised at all that she would ask such a question.
"Madam, what happened last night was arranged by His Majesty."
Old Woodcutter did not hide anything and said truthfully, "When we arrived at the border, I received a secret order from the secret guards."
really!
Madam Min clutched her chest and asked in a deep voice, "So, you are the Emperor's secret guard?"
Old Woodcutter shook his head. "I'm just an unofficial member. The real bodyguard is my brother."
Min Qiao thought of Qiao Jingyuan, who had infiltrated Daxi last year.
Suddenly, a thread connected everything.
Min Ji and Qiao Jingyuan both infiltrated Da Xi.
She returned to Huizhou, and the old woodcutter followed her.
Princess Xihe was to be married off, and she was responsible for escorting her. Naturally, the old woodcutter also came along.
Because of her relationship with Qiao Jingyuan, Lao Qiao was the most obedient and most useful knife.
"So, you deliberately let those men in black let us go."
This is an affirmative statement.
"I can understand deliberately letting me, the King of Chu, and the Seventh Princess go, but why is Princess Xihe also alive?"
Min Qiao asked the question that had been bothering her, "If it were me, I would definitely order someone to kill Princess Xihe and confirm Da's crime."
The old woodcutter looked ashamed. "My men were afraid of killing the Seventh Princess by mistake, so they missed the best opportunity to kill Princess Xihe. When they tried to do it again, they were stopped by her maid."
As he spoke, the old woodcutter looked at Min Qiaoshi with a strange expression.
That maid was Ajiu. She was sent to Princess Xihe by Lady Minqiao.
If it weren't for her, how could Princess Xihe have escaped?
"What are you going to do next?" Madam Min asked.
Old Woodcutter truthfully told Min Qiao about his arrangements: "I have arranged for people to find the King of Chu. After they find him, they will escort him back to Dayan."
"I'm responsible for finding the old lady and the seventh princess, and then bringing you back safely."
"As for Princess Xihe..."
"What are you planning to do?" Madam Min Qiao asked calmly, suppressing the coldness in her eyes.
"Cut the weeds and eliminate the roots."
"So, you arranged for people to hunt down Princess Xihe?"
"yes."
"Are you also planning to kill Ajiu and Jiang Hongling, who are guarding Princess Xihe?"
Madam Min paused, then asked in a cold voice, "Jiang Hongling should still be alive, right?"
Old Qiao twitched his lips awkwardly. "I'm not sure."
Min Qiaoshi closed her eyes, took a deep breath to calm her inner turmoil, and then opened her eyes again, coldly ordering, "Pack your things, let's go to Xijing."
"Madam, news of the attack on the marriage procession will spread quickly. War is imminent between the two countries, and it is too dangerous to go to Xijing now."
Old Woodcutter earnestly advised, "Why don't you hurry back to Dayan before things escalate?"
Min Qiaoshi knew that the old woodcutter was right and that returning to Dayan immediately was the best choice.
However, her purpose in coming to Da'an was not to send Princess Xihe off to her marriage, nor to send Min Pan'er off, but to see with her own eyes that bastard Min Ji and confirm whether he was really still alive.
Just as she was hesitating, Zhen Huan quickly came in, bowed, and advised, "Grandmother, it's not safe here. Let's go back to Dayan first."
"If you don't care about your own safety, don't you also care about the safety of the Seventh Princess and the King of Chu?"
She paused, then added, "And what about the safety of me, Ajiu, and Jiang Hongling? Don't you care about that either?"
“Grandmother, the only way for him to return to Dayan is to have Steward Qiao send us back first, so that he can turn back and look for the whereabouts of the Seventh Princess and the King of Chu.”
Old Woodcutter glanced at Zhen Huan and quickly chimed in, "Madam, Miss Zhen Huan is right. Let me take you home first."
Madam Min looked at the two people with worried expressions, thought it over and over again, and finally nodded, "Okay, let's go back first."
With her old arms and legs, she's really a burden; it's better not to let her stay and cause trouble for others.
As for Min Ji... if Dayan successfully conquers Da'e, that bastard will return to Da'e sooner or later. There's no rush.
Upon hearing Min Qiao's words, both Lao Qiao and Zhen Huan visibly breathed a sigh of relief.
The old woodcutter quickly suggested, "Then let's go now."
"Why don't we rest for the night and leave tomorrow? Zhen Huan and I haven't slept all night, you're probably even more tired than us."
As she spoke, Madam Min Qiao looked at the old woodcutter's blood-stained clothes again, "In addition, you should change your clothes and your wounds need to be treated again."
The old woodcutter frowned. "It's not safe here. Especially since I was covered in blood when I entered the village. We'd better leave quickly."
Zhen Huan agreed, saying, "Grandmother, it's indeed not very safe here. Let Steward Qiao wash up, change his clothes, eat something, and then we'll leave."
"If you are tired, I will drive the carriage more smoothly in a while so you can rest in the carriage."
"And you?"
"I'm not tired." Seeing that Madam Min was about to say something more, Zhen Huan quickly added, "With Steward Qiao here, if I get tired, he can drive the carriage, and I can go into the carriage to rest."
Having said all that, Madam Min naturally wouldn't object anymore. "Then let's decide on this."
"I'll go check if Grandma Liu has boiled the water yet." With that, she went out of the house.
Only Min Qiaoshi and the old woodcutter remained in the house.
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