Chapter 427 Border Incident
Three days later, before Marquis Pingyan had recovered from his coma, Xia Linyuan received another message from the border.
The border mission said that after Ji Huailang appeared with Min Pan'er, Da'er briefly gained the upper hand in the negotiations.
However, this advantage quickly disappeared due to Dayan's denial.
However, just when Da Xi was unable to prove that Min Pan'er was the Xihe Princess sent by Dayan for a marriage alliance, and was instead accused of slander, the King of Dayan Chu took the initiative to stand up and admit that Min Pan'er was a fake princess.
Thus, the situation completely turned in Da Xi's favor.
Xia Linyuan narrowed his eyes. Did the King of Chu in Dayan have some serious illness?
Or is it that he and the Marquis of Pingyan had some secret deal?
Just as Xia Linyuan was filled with doubt, his subordinate continued, "It seemed like the matter was about to be settled, but unexpectedly, the real Princess Xihe, the Seventh Princess Li Sanqi, appeared the next day. Moreover, she came from the direction of Da'e territory."
"The Seventh Princess said that she was the real Princess of Xihe and had always been in the marriage procession until the procession was attacked, at which point she was forced to separate from the others and flee for her life."
She said that Dayan never intended to marry a fake princess to them, let alone use the marriage alliance for any purpose.
"Because she is the most noble princess of Dayan, the most beloved princess of the Dayan Emperor, Empress, and Empress Dowager."
"Therefore, the Emperor of Dayan would never harm her, much less risk her life to start a war."
"More importantly, the Seventh Princess said that she came here voluntarily for this marriage alliance. Her aim is to establish friendship and peace between the two countries and to spare the people from the suffering of war."
"As for Min Pan'er, she also admitted that she briefly served as her stand-in during the procession of the marriage alliance."
"The purpose of this arrangement is to prevent accidents from happening."
"The Seventh Princess also said that she, the Prince of Chu, and Lady Qinghe discussed on their way to the marriage alliance that they were afraid someone might try to sabotage the peace between the two countries and harm her along the way. So, just in case, the three of them arranged for Min Pan'er to be their substitute."
"The original plan was to return the two before the marriage procession arrived in Xijing, but who could have predicted that the procession would be attacked so early."
Xia Linyuan chuckled. "The explanation is reasonable. I just don't know if it's true or just a sophistry they came up with."
The man continued, "In any case, the Seventh Princess did indeed come to Da'e; that is an indisputable fact."
"But King Chu acknowledged Min Pan'er's identity, didn't he?" Xia Linyuan questioned, "And what was the final result?"
The man hesitated for a moment before saying, "Although the Seventh Princess's explanation explains why the King of Chu accepted Min Pan'er's false identity as a princess, the truth of the matter remains uncertain."
"Therefore, the talks between the two countries have been temporarily suspended, and both sides are waiting for the news to be sent back to the capital so that the two emperors can make a decision."
Xia Linyuan frowned. "Has this matter already alarmed Father Emperor?"
"I dare not conceal this from Your Highness; the news has indeed reached His Majesty."
"Alright, you can leave now."
"yes."
After everyone left, Xia Linyuan immediately sent people to investigate how the Seventh Princess, who should have been imprisoned in the royal villa, ended up at the border.
Soon, the servants returned to report that the Seventh Princess had been released by the heir of the Marquis of Pingyan's mansion.
Before the Seventh Princess was released, Marquis Pingyan and his heir visited the royal villa three times.
The fake princess, Min Pan'er, also visited once along the way.
Xia Linyuan sighed and waved for the people to leave.
Did he ultimately trust Marquis Pingyan too much?
Just as Xia Linyuan was feeling dejected, someone came in to report: "Your Highness, His Majesty has returned to the palace. Please come to the palace immediately to meet him."
Xia Linyuan's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately replied, "I'll go right away."
***
Meanwhile, Marquis Pingyan slowly awoke from his coma.
"My lord, you're awake!?"
Wang stayed by Min Ji's bedside the whole time, and she noticed him as soon as he opened his eyes.
She rushed forward with delight to check on Min Ji's condition, while loudly ordering, "Someone come here! The Marquis has woken up! Quickly, fetch the royal physician!"
Min Ji struggled to open his eyes, saw Wang Shi, and said in a hoarse voice, "...water."
Wang quickly poured him a cup of warm water and fed it to him. Then, overjoyed, she cried, "My lord, you're finally awake! I was so worried about you these past few days!"
After drinking some water, Min Ji felt a little better. He then gestured for Wang Shi to help him sit up before slowly asking, "How many days have I been unconscious?"
“It’s been three whole days.” Madam Wang wiped away her tears. “I thought the Marquis wouldn’t wake up, I…”
Min Ji raised his hand to interrupt her nonsense and continued to ask, "So, the three days the Crown Prince gave me have passed. Has the Crown Prince sent anyone to inquire about the progress of the assassination attempt?"
Wang shook her head, "No."
Min Ji frowned slightly and asked again, "You didn't tell anyone about my injury, did you?"
“No,” Wang said without hesitation. “The Marquis instructed me before he fell into a coma. I didn’t say a word.”
Min Ji nodded slightly. "That's good."
However, as soon as he finished speaking, he noticed something amiss with Madam Wang's expression. He then asked, "What happened?"
Wang stammered, "On the day the Marquis fell into a coma, I... I ordered men to surround the Qiao residence."
Upon hearing this, Min Ji's pupils constricted sharply. "What did you say?!"
Now that the words had been spoken, Wang, who had initially been somewhat apprehensive, was at ease.
She said with a hint of indignation, "In broad daylight, Qiao dared to stab the Marquis with a knife. I only ordered people to surround her mansion, which was already showing mercy."
"If the Marquis hadn't instructed me not to let the news of your injury leak out, I would have burned down the Qiao residence and made her pay with her life!"
"Foolish! Cough cough, you're so foolish! Cough cough cough... cough cough cough..."
Upon hearing Wang's words, Min Ji began to cough violently, and his pale old face gradually turned red, becoming increasingly red.
Min Ji's originally steady breathing became increasingly difficult due to the violent coughing.
Seeing that Min Ji was perfectly fine one moment and was now struggling to breathe the next, Madam Wang panicked and cried out, "Help! The physician! The physician! Why isn't he here yet?"
Just then, the steward rushed in with the family physician.
The physician went up to check on Min Ji's condition, while the steward politely invited Madam Wang to the outer room.
Wang sat outside, looking lost and confused. She didn't know what she had said wrong that had caused Min Ji to react so strongly.
Min Ji had just woken up. What if something happened to him because of her? How could she explain it to her son?
But what did she say?
She said she surrounded the Qiao residence.
Is it just because of this?
Wang stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
Is it because she surrounded the Qiao residence that Min Ji became so agitated?
No, is that excitement?
That was anger! That was resentment!
This is also a defense of the Qiao family!
Thinking of this, Wang gritted her teeth and tore the handkerchief in her hand to shreds.
Just then, a startled cry came from inside the room: "My Lord!!!"
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