Chapter 80 Entering the Palace: No matter how important the matter in the world is, it cannot surpass his throne...
"Aci, Aci"
Qi Jingxuan called her name several times, but Shen Yan didn't respond, so he gently nudged her.
The scene before Shen Yan's eyes suddenly disappeared, and she returned to the Prince's mansion where she was now. Looking at Qi Jingxuan and Shi An in front of her, her heart was still pounding wildly.
Qi Jingxuan knew she must have been reminded of unpleasant memories again, and he didn't want to press her for details. However, the matter was of great importance, and some things simply couldn't be left unasked. So, he carefully chose his words and asked, "Aci, do you still remember that mountain... what was it like back then?"
That mountain outside Gansu-Ningxia city...
Shen Yan closed her eyes briefly and nodded slowly: "It collapsed."
The mountain had indeed collapsed; many rocks and trees tumbled down from it, and the entire mountain seemed to have shrunk in the blink of an eye.
But at the time, everything was shaking and collapsing, and she thought... it was caused by an earthquake.
So that's not true! So that's not true! From beginning to end, from the capital to Yingzhou, their entire family was murdered! And so many people in Ganning City were also murdered!
Her fists were clenched so tightly that her lips almost bled.
Qi Jingxuan felt heartbroken, but what had already happened could not be erased. She could only hold Shen Yan's hand tightly, trying to comfort her in this way.
Shi An didn't understand what they were talking about, but seeing that the two looked very serious, he didn't dare to reply.
Qi Jingxuan gently patted Shen Yan's hand, and after she calmed down a bit, he looked at Shi An and asked, "Have you found out who is illegally mining iron ore and your young master? How is he? Did he escape safely?"
Shi An was startled, then remembered something and hurriedly took out a letter from his pocket.
He fled all the way back to the capital, his mind tense. When he suddenly saw the prince, his heart relaxed and he was so busy crying that he almost forgot about the young master's letter.
"Your Highness, this is a handwritten letter from my young master, containing all the details."
“Most of the people in that mine are locals, and we don’t know them. But my young master looked familiar with one of the managers. After careful examination, he confirmed that he was the seventh master of the Xie family.”
"Young Master suspects that the Xie family is operating that mine, and it's probably for... His Highness Prince Ning."
As for what he would do for Prince Ning, it's obvious. The most important use of iron ore is for forging weapons. What else could Prince Ning do with so many weapons besides rebelling?
Qi Jingxuan's heart tightened when he heard the words "Xie family," and he opened the letter even faster.
The envelope had been through many hardships, and the corners were curled up. Fortunately, the letter inside was unharmed; the handwriting was still clear, though very messy, and clearly written in a hurry.
He skimmed through the letter, while Shi An continued, "When we escaped, we alerted the mine guards. Although we weren't caught on the spot, our escape was extremely difficult."
"Young Master originally intended to return to the capital as soon as possible and personally deliver the message to you. However, the checkpoints around the city have suddenly become extremely strict, especially the checks on outsiders."
"They're obviously coming for us. If we pull out our travel permits now and reveal our Lu family identity, we'll probably have a hard time leaving."
"The young master said that hiding around like this is not a solution and that we will be caught sooner or later. So he left only two people to guard him and told the rest of them to go their separate ways and find a way to return to the capital as soon as possible to spread the news."
"Young Master also said that Seventh Master Xie recognizes him, and there might be other people from the capital there. If they don't discover Young Master, that's fine, but if they do, they will definitely send a message back to the capital immediately, and then the capital may be thrown into chaos."
“If they had sent the message back before us, the Lu family would definitely have had someone watching them. The young master told us not to go to the Lu family after we returned, but to come directly to you, so I disguised myself as a beggar and came to you first, Your Highness.”
He then kowtowed heavily again, pleading, "Your Highness, please save my young master! It took me nearly twenty days to travel here by fast horse, and in these twenty days... I don't know how my young master is doing..."
Shen Yan and Qi Jingxuan both knew that Lu Heng's thinking was correct. If the people in Yingzhou didn't know his identity and only thought that someone had accidentally entered the city, they wouldn't be in a hurry to send a message to the capital. But once they recognized Lu Heng, or couldn't find him for a long time, they would definitely send a message to the capital so that Prince Ning and the Xie family could make preparations in advance.
Lu Heng had nothing to do with this matter; Qi Jingxuan had asked him to go. Now that his friend was in trouble, how could he ignore it? He immediately summoned He Yuan and asked him to arrange for people to rush to Yingzhou.
Shen Yan and He Yuan said in unison, "It's too late."
Qi Jingxuan was taken aback, and Shi An's heart sank even further: "Why is it too late? Have you already received news that my young master..."
He Yuan shook his head: "The journey between the capital and Yingzhou is long, and even at the fastest speed, it would take about twenty days. If we want to go faster, we would have to keep changing horses at the post stations along the way, with neither the people nor the horses stopping. But that's the speed of the post stations delivering urgent messages over 800 li. We are rushing to Yingzhou to rescue people, and we will definitely send elite troops. We cannot change people along the way. Even the horses are not something we can change whenever we want."
Although Qi Jingxuan was a prince and greatly favored by the emperor, such a large-scale mobilization of the post stations, requiring all stations along the route to cooperate in exchanging the fastest and best horses, would still necessitate the emperor's approval and a written document from the local government. Even if he, the crown prince or the Prince of Ning, had no real power, such a large-scale operation would have required reporting to the emperor, otherwise it would be considered treason.
They didn't know the current situation in Yingzhou, but since the government was colluding with the Xie family, it meant they might be using local troops. In that case, to successfully rescue Lu Heng, they would need at least a hundred or so men. These men had to be highly skilled, and each man had at least two horses, and good horses at that. Otherwise, a single horse would die on the journey. That meant they'd need nearly two hundred horses. Where was Qi Jingxuan going to get so many?
Without these people and horses, it would be impossible to rescue Lu Heng as quickly as possible. But if the rescue is too slow, Lu Heng won't be able to wait.
"Moreover, our large-scale departure from the capital will inevitably alarm Prince Ning, and at that time... Young Master Lu will likely be in even greater danger."
The more people there are, the harder it is to conceal their movements. If they also need to move quickly, it becomes even more impossible to hide their tracks. Prince Ning was already keeping a close eye on Qi Jingxuan; even if he hadn't received the letter from Yingzhou, seeing so many men Qi Jingxuan had sent there, how could he not know what had happened?
Qi Jingxuan's men couldn't be replaced, but Prince Ning had iron mines in Yingzhou, and to ensure timely communication between the two places, he would undoubtedly have men along the route. These men might not be numerous, but sending a letter would be easy. If his letter arrived ahead of schedule, Lu Heng would be in danger.
"Your Highness, this matter is of great importance. We should report it to His Majesty and let him handle it."
He Yuan bowed his head and said.
"Father," Qi Jingxuan said, getting angry at the mere mention of the emperor. "I do want to tell him, but all I have is this one letter, just a few words from Shi An. Do you think he'll believe it? By the time he's done investigating and making a decision, Shuanglu is probably doomed!"
Qi Jingxuan knew the emperor's character. Although he doted on him, he didn't believe everything the emperor said. Otherwise, he would have told him long ago that he had been killed eight times by Prince Ning, instead of going through all the trouble of finding evidence himself.
In one of his previous lives, he had no choice but to tell his father about his repeated rebirths. At first, his father didn't believe him at all. It was only after many things actually happened as he had said that his father believed him.
But from the moment he said he wanted to marry Shen Yan, many things changed. He no longer had any evidence to convince his father of such an absurd idea.
Moreover, now that the Emperor knows that the Spring Banquet in March was orchestrated by Prince Ning, he has suppressed the matter and acted as if nothing had happened, which shows that he does not want the conflict between the two to escalate. If he were to bring this letter to the palace now, the Emperor would likely think that he fabricated it to retaliate against Prince Ning.
He Yuan choked, momentarily at a loss for words to refute.
If he were present to corroborate Qi Jingxuan's testimony, the emperor would likely believe him. However, the problem was that he only knew the information from the letter Shi An brought back and couldn't confirm its veracity. If the emperor inquired, he would have no way to answer.
But he instinctively felt that the emperor would believe it, so he still wanted to persuade Qi Jingxuan to give it a try.
Just as she was thinking about how to persuade Qi Jingxuan, she heard Shen Yan say, "He will believe it."
The two turned to look at her at the same time. Shen Yan's gaze was firm. She took Qi Jingxuan's hand and squeezed it tightly: "He will believe it. Because... this concerns himself."
Qi Jingxuan was taken aback, and inexplicably recalled the day he beat up Prince Ning.
He waited until dark but did not receive any punishment from the palace, concluding that his father already knew everything, but had chosen to let him suffer injustice and to consider the bigger picture.
So what about now?
Although this news lacks concrete evidence, it threatens the Emperor himself and his throne. For the Emperor, nothing in the world is more important than his throne. Even with only a one in ten thousand chance, he will not allow it to happen.
Qi Jingxuan instantly understood Shen Yan's meaning, and a strange, indescribable emotion welled up in his heart.
He gave a wry smile: "I was wrong. You're right, he'll believe me."
He then gripped Shen Yan's hand tightly: "Let's go, let's enter the palace."
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