Chapter 45 Does Prince Lin recognize this person? What grudge does he have against him...?
In Yongning Palace, Consort Jia also summoned her children.
She had two sons and one daughter: the fourth prince, Prince Ning; the fourteenth prince, Qi Jingxun; and the third princess, Qi Yunying.
The youngest of them, the fourteenth prince, is only eight years old and did not leave the palace to attend the Dragon Boat Festival banquet today, so only Prince Ning and the third princess were summoned.
Consort Jia had already learned the general situation on the pleasure boat from the palace servants. She called the two children over simply to ask them some details and give them a few words of admonition, telling them to stay away from these troubles.
"I heard you were with Yunxiu when the incident happened today."
Consort Jia looked at the Third Princess and asked.
The Third Princess was already feeling unlucky when her mother asked about it. She said irritably, "Don't even mention it. I was having a great time going out of the palace, and I was even planning to stroll around the city this afternoon. But because of this, my brother the Crown Prince made us all return to the palace immediately and not linger outside. So I had no choice but to come back with him."
The perfect plan was ruined, and the Third Princess was furious but didn't know who to vent her anger on.
Qi Yunxiu had intended to vent her anger on the Fifth Princess, but upon returning to the palace, she was summoned to the Imperial Study for questioning.
Seeing that she was still preoccupied with playing, Consort Jia frowned and scolded, "What time is it? And you're still thinking about these things!"
"Yunxiu's maid got into trouble, and you've been with them all day. It's good enough that you weren't implicated!"
The third princess didn't care. She casually twisted the handkerchief in her hand on her lap: "I didn't kill the person, so what does it have to do with me? I'm not afraid."
Consort Jia clenched her fists in anger upon hearing this. If the girl hadn't been sitting some distance away from her, she would have really wanted to reach out and pinch her arm a few times.
"How old are you? Why are you still so slow? Do you think you can avoid being implicated in palace affairs just because you don't take action?"
"Furthermore, how many times have I told you? Yunxiu is timid and unlikable. Your father has almost forgotten he has such a daughter. What's the point of spending all your time with her? You should spend that time with your other brothers and sisters. Why won't you listen?"
With others, you might have a chance to show your face to the emperor, but what good would it do to be with that girl Qi Yunxiu? You'd only get dragged down by her!
The third princess pursed her lips and muttered, "She's obedient."
She was always arrogant and spoiled, and none of her brothers and sisters of similar age in the palace were willing to associate with her often.
The only exception was the Fifth Princess, Qi Yunxiu, whose mother was of humble birth and died young. As a result, she developed a timid and cowardly nature and dared not disobey her mother no matter what she said. Therefore, she always liked to take this fifth sister with her and would call her wherever she went.
Consort Jia became even angrier upon hearing this, slamming her hand on the table and saying, "Even a dog would be obedient! Can you take a dog with you everywhere you go?"
The third princess was startled and shrank back, instinctively looking at her brother sitting at the head of the table with a pleading look in her eyes.
Prince Ning sat to the side without saying much, and seeing this, he calmly tried to smooth things over.
“Mother, Third Sister just gets along better with Fifth Sister, it’s nothing serious. Today’s incident was an accident, no one expected it to happen, otherwise, not to mention Third Sister, I would definitely have taken her away much earlier.”
The third princess nodded hurriedly, indicating that her brother was right.
Consort Jia rubbed her forehead in exasperation: "I don't want to scold her either. If she were half as easy to deal with as you, I'd be happy to have some peace and quiet."
"But look at her, she's almost of marriageable age, yet she hasn't made any plans at all. How can I not be anxious?"
Prince Ning is nineteen years old this year and is the fourth among all the princes.
Because the eldest prince and the third prince died young, he is now the eldest prince besides the crown prince.
In Consort Jia's private heart, her son was the best of all the princes, even surpassing the Crown Prince.
He was extremely handsome, humble, well-read, and skilled in martial arts, making him a man of both literary and martial talents, and thus he enjoyed considerable prestige in the court.
If there hadn't been a crown prince before him, he would have been the emperor's eldest son, and perhaps... when the crown prince was initially chosen...
Consort Jia sighed inwardly, putting those thoughts aside, and said in a softer voice, "Don't always spoil your sister. I think she's just being pampered because she has you backing her up!"
With a gentle smile on his handsome face, Prince Ning said softly, "As the elder brother, it is my duty to take care of my younger sister."
The third princess smiled again at these words, tugged at her brother's sleeve, and proudly raised her chin at her mother.
Consort Jia felt both helpless and gratified. She was helpless about her daughter's lack of progress, but gratified by the good relationship between the brother and sister.
In the end, she couldn't bring herself to say anything harsh, and after giving them a few more instructions, she let them leave.
After they left, Granny Chang stepped forward and whispered in Consort Jia's ear, "Your Highness, Consort Hui just went to the Empress's side."
Consort Jia raised an eyebrow, gave an intrigued "oh," and asked, "What did the Empress say?"
"I don't know the specifics, but I heard that Consort Hui looked very unwell when she came out. She then went to the Imperial Study, but His Majesty refused to see her. She is still kneeling outside the Imperial Study."
Consort Jia chuckled and glanced at the blazing sun outside: "Kneel down. Kneel until evening, then it will cool off."
………………
In Yangliu Hutong, Shen Yan only told her mother about what happened on the painted boat, and didn't say anything else.
Although Madam Su was a little nervous, since her daughter was not on the pleasure boat and the matter did not involve her, she did not take it too seriously and let it go.
Once she was sure her daughter had returned home safely and without any mishaps, she felt relieved. After watching Shen Yan go back to her room, she took a nap herself.
Shen Yan, who had returned to the east wing, was not so calm. She sat in the room silently waiting for news, and her mind kept replaying the conversations she had with Qi Jingxuan and A Qing at the Prince's Mansion.
My past lives kept replaying in my mind, and those scenes that I once thought were "dreams" became clearer and clearer.
Just as she felt she was about to suffocate from the memories, a maid's voice came from outside the door: "Miss, someone from the Prince's mansion has come, saying they are looking for you."
She had just instructed that if anyone from the Prince's residence came looking for her, they should just come to this side room and tell her, without disturbing Madam Su.
Shen Yan quickly got up, opened the door, glanced at the direction of the main room, and seeing that there was no movement, whispered to the maid, "Let them in."
He then sat down in the outer room.
Before long, the maid led two people in. One was one of the guards from the Prince's mansion who had escorted her home earlier, and the other was Aqing.
Aqing used to guard outside the Shen family's house, and this was her first time entering. She was a little curious, but after entering the house and seeing that only Shen Yan was inside, she looked away and stopped looking around.
Eager to know the result, Shen Yan asked as soon as the two entered, "Did you find out? Who is the person A Qing mentioned?"
The guard replied, "We've found him. It's Lin Guangmao from the west of the city, the fourth son in his clan, known as Fourth Master Lin. Does Miss Shen recognize him?"
Shen Yan shook her head: "I don't know him."
She had only been in the capital for half a year, and had never even heard of this person, let alone known him.
The guard, assuming this was the case, nodded and continued, "The Lin family ancestors were officials, the highest reaching the third rank, but later the family declined, and there were no outstanding descendants in the clan, so they gradually fell into decline. When it came to Lin Si, there was nothing left but the ancestral home and a few acres of meager land."
"Lin Si was not good at studying, and he was unwilling to live a poor life. So he ignored his family's objections and went into business. He tried to do legitimate business for several years but did not make a name for himself. However, he opened several casinos and made a lot of money."
“Now the three major casinos in Beijing are all his, and many idlers and hooligans work for him. I suspect that he was the one behind the rumors about Miss Shen that were spread in Yangliu Hutong.”
Shen Yan pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly and asked, "Does Your Highness recognize this person? Do you have any grudge against him?"
“How could Your Highness recognize such a person?” the guard immediately said. “It’s just that this person is quite well-known among all sorts of people in the capital. We guards should know a little about them, which is why we recognized him at a glance.”
“I think if he really got involved in this, he must have been instructed by someone.”
"But this person is very shrewd and has connections with many high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital. It's hard to say for sure who he is acting on his behalf. We need to investigate further."
Shen Yan understood his meaning, but she wasn't in a hurry. She said in a low voice, "As long as we find the right person, there will definitely be clues to follow. Take your time to investigate, and don't be impatient, lest you alert the enemy."
The guard thought so too, nodding vigorously: "I've already sent someone to inform Lord He. He must have arranged for people to keep an eye on Lin Si and will surely be able to find clues!"
As he spoke, he turned to Ah Qing and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Brother Ah Qing. If it weren't for you, we would still be running around like headless flies right now."
It's quite shameful to admit, but even though they've been following the Prince and Miss Shen for over a month, they've only managed to find some minor, unimportant clues and haven't been able to grasp the main point.
If Ah Qing hadn't witnessed Lin Si's ill intentions towards Miss Shen from the shadows, they wouldn't know when they would have been able to find him.
This made the guards reflect on their actions. They were ordered to protect the prince and Miss Shen, but their attention was always on the prince, and they paid very little attention to Miss Shen.
Otherwise, they might have discovered Lin Si long ago.
The guard was genuinely remorseful and grateful to Aqing, but Aqing waved her hand dismissively and made a few gestures, meaning, "No need to thank me, just let me know if you find any clues later."
Unfortunately, the guards couldn't understand, and Aqing was too lazy to repeat herself. She figured she already knew these people from the Prince's Mansion, so she could ask them later.
The two decided not to linger at Shen Yan's place and prepared to leave after finishing their conversation. Just before leaving, Shen Yan suddenly remembered something and called out to A Qing, asking him to wait a moment.
Shen Yan quickly packed some things back in her room, put them in a small bundle, and handed it over, saying, "You came to the capital for my sake, and it's thanks to you that we were able to find Lin Si."
"I don't know how to thank you. Here is some silver and some things you might need. Consider it my token of gratitude."
"When you return to Yingzhou, remember... remember that the snowstorm is heavy this year, so be sure to avoid it!"
She didn't know when Aqing would leave the capital, nor whether this would be the last time the two of them would meet, so she hastily prepared some thank-you gifts to express her gratitude.
Ah Qing had no intention of leaving at all. Upon hearing this, she frowned and waved her hand, indicating that she didn't want to leave.
Shen Yan thought he wouldn't accept it, so she insisted on stuffing the bundle into his hands.
As they pushed and shoved, the bundle came loose, revealing a colorful rope inside—a longevity thread that Shen Yan had personally braided a few days earlier.
This is a very common item, not worth much money. Every year during the Dragon Boat Festival, many people sell it on the streets, simply to bring good luck during the festival.
Every year for the Dragon Boat Festival, Shen Yan would weave several ribbons, one for her parents, one for herself, and the rest would be given away to guests who came to visit.
She was in a hurry when she was preparing the thank-you gift, and just happened to catch a glimpse of this longevity thread. Thinking that it symbolized health, longevity, and warding off evil spirits and plagues, she casually put one in.
When Aqing saw the longevity thread, she casually pulled it out, hung it around her waist, examined it for a moment, then nodded in satisfaction, turned around, waved, and strode away.
He left, and the guard, feeling it inconvenient to stay there alone, quickly bowed to Shen Yan and hurriedly chased after her.
Only Shen Yan remained in the room. She looked at the bundle that she hadn't been able to send away, sighed, and had no choice but to put the things back.
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