Chapter 289: Previous Life Extra 1
News came from prison: the former Princess Jiang of Rui has passed away.
The emperor specially granted permission for the Rui Wang Mansion to hold a grand funeral.
Prince Rui Liang Jinghe sat on the armchair in a daze, holding his forehead with one hand, with his eyes lowered, not knowing what he was thinking. The servants and maids did not dare to disturb him and stayed away from him.
At this moment, a burst of hurried footsteps came in. Liang Jinghe frowned and was about to scold, but a servant about sixteen or seventeen years old reported: "My lord, it's bad. The old princess's body was robbed on the way back!"
"What?!" Liang Jinghe stood up suddenly, frowned and looked at the boy and asked, "Have you sent someone to chase him?"
"Everyone who chased after them died!"
"How many troops have arrived? Which direction are they heading?"
"Just... just one person, and he seemed to be heading towards Mount Putuo."
"You useless bastards! You are helpless against one person alone. What's the point of me keeping you around?" After cursing angrily, he took down the long sword hanging on the wall and prepared to go and retrieve Jiang Muyu's body himself.
However, as soon as he walked out of the yard, he ran into Shen Qingxi who had rushed over after hearing the news.
The gloom on his face disappeared a lot the moment he saw her. "Why are you here?"
Shen Qingxi looked worried and said, "My husband, I heard that my mother's body was robbed. Who did it?"
"I don't know. I am preparing to investigate and will bring my mother back safely. You can wait for the news in the mansion."
After comforting Shen Qingxi, he left the house alone, took his men with him, and rode his horse out of the city.
Liang Jinghe originally thought that it would take some trouble, but he didn't expect to encounter Heather as soon as he arrived at the foot of Mount Putuo.
Heather sat on an ox cart, one leg hanging down and the other bent, looking as romantic as ever. She was not surprised at all to see him: "Nephew, I haven't seen you for a long time. Your appearance and temperament are becoming less and less like your father's."
He frowned, and although he was quite dissatisfied with such words, he still dismounted, bowed in front of Heather, and asked, "Why is Uncle Shi here?"
"Of course I'm here to show you a clear path."
"What clear path?"
"Go up 521 stone steps and you will see a path on the right. Follow it to the end and you will see the person you want to see."
Liang Jinghe was reluctant to believe what he said because he sounded mysterious.
"Uncle Shi, do you know who I'm looking for?"
Heather just looked at him, shook her head, sighed, but said nothing.
Liang Jinghe thought that the look was strange, like a reproach, and also like anger at the lack of fighting spirit. He didn't understand why Shi Nanye had such an expression. He pursed his lips and decided to do as Shi Nanye said.
So he prepared to go up the mountain with his people, but was stopped by Heather Ye again.
Heather said lazily, "You can go up alone, the rest of you stay."
"Why?" He frowned.
Heather remained silent again, but there was a hint of warning in her eyes when she looked at him.
Liang Jinghe knew that Shi Nanye was an extraordinary person. Although he was quite dissatisfied, he still had to do as he said.
He went up the mountain with only his sword, counting the steps along the way. When he reached the 521st step, he saw a muddy path winding through the forest on the right.
He glanced at the clean black boots on his feet, pursed his lips, and finally stepped on them.
Maybe it was because it had rained, but the path was not only muddy, but also covered with countless puddles. Even though he walked carefully, he still got his shoes dirty.
Fortunately, the road becomes wider as you go further in, and gradually changes from a dirt road to a gravel road, and then to a bluestone road.
He was not sure how long he had walked, but he just kept walking, as if he had circled the mountain several times, and finally saw a small hill full of flowers. It was surrounded by cliffs on three sides, and there was a huge semicircular bulge in the middle. A person was standing in front of the bulge.
He drew the long sword from his waist, walked over slowly, and asked in a cold voice: "Who are you?"
The man did not answer.
As he approached, he saw a person lying in a bunch of bent flowers nearby. She was wearing the gorgeous clothes of a queen, with her hands folded in front of her. When he saw her face clearly, he was stunned, "Mother, mother..."
He turned and glared at the man, asking coldly, "You robbed my mother's body. What on earth do you want to do?"
"Heh--" The man sneered and slowly turned around.
It turned out to be a woman with a very outstanding appearance, fair and translucent skin, deep and three-dimensional facial features, thick and naturally shaped eyebrows, thick and curled eyelashes, slightly narrow and long eyes, slightly upturned eye tails, a small and tall nose, and slightly curved red lips. She looked like a beautiful and elegant exotic woman.
He had seen this person before.
"Are you the female killer that Qingxi saved?"
"I have already done what she asked me to do. I have repaid her kindness and the matter is now written off." She had a cold expression on her face and a calm voice as she spoke.
Liang Jinghe actually felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity for a moment. He pursed his lips and asked, "Even so, why would you repay kindness with hatred and take my mother's body?"
"I brought her here to repay a favor." After saying this, she slowly walked to the side, revealing a square tombstone standing behind her.
Liang Jinghe saw densely packed small characters on it, and the big characters in the middle read: Xia Qingchen's Tomb.
His heart shuddered, "This is..."
"Your father's grave."
"My father's last name is Liang, isn't it?"
She said, "Your father was from the original royal family of Xuan Cang, the crown prince of the Xia family. He hid in Tianqian for sixteen years just to restore the country, but he failed."
Liang Qingchen couldn't help but be incredulous.
The emperor had clearly said that his father was ambushed on the battlefield and shot to death by random arrows, and his body was captured by the Xuancang people and has not been found until now. The emperor not only named his father the King of Rui'an, but also built a tomb for him in the suburbs of Beijing. Although it was just a cenotaph, its scale was comparable to that of a first-class meritorious marquis.
He had always believed that his father died in battle, but now he was told that his father died because of the failure of restoring the country.
Seeing that he didn't believe her, she took out a wooden box and handed it to him, saying, "You will understand after you look at this."
He took it and found it was quite heavy. The lock on it had been opened. Hesitantly opened the lid and found a thick stack of papers and some letters inside.
He looked at them one by one and found that they were countless deeds to houses and land, as well as many letters.
He then realized that his father actually had so many businesses under his name. Most of the shops on South Street were his, and he also owned brothels, restaurants, and music houses scattered throughout the towns of Tianqian...
He even owned a casino, large estates and private residences. Even the hunting grounds outside Beijing were his. It was no exaggeration to say that he was rich enough to rival a country.
But why had he never seen these things before?
The woman said, "This is what Heather asked me to pass on to you. Xia Qingchen's plan to restore the country was exposed. The reason why you have been able to live safely in Tiangan for so many years is because these things have not fallen into the hands of the emperor. He is still wary."
Liang Jinghe tightened his grip on the letter, looked up at her, and asked, "How do you know this?"
"You don't need to know. I brought you here today just to let you bury her body and Xia Qingchen's body together."
She paused and said, "He has suffered so much in this life, and all he asked for was not granted. So, please fulfill his last request and let them have a happy life in the next life."
Having said that, she turned around and was about to leave.
Liang Jinghe subconsciously stretched out his hand to her and asked hurriedly, "What's your name?"
She turned her back to him and answered softly, "Nanxing."