Chapter 720 You are not a member of my Xiao family
The King of Qin took a clean handkerchief and wiped away the bloodstains on the hidden weapon little by little, revealing its original appearance.
The dark metal surface was devoid of any patterns, but the weapon's shape was not the usual sharp angle; instead, it resembled a lotus flower.
"This lotus shape looks somewhat familiar." Nguyen Minh Chu stepped forward and extended her hand. "Your Highness, may I take a closer look?"
Knowing that she was the youngest daughter of the General of Chariots and Cavalry and should be familiar with these weapons, the King of Qin simply threw them to her.
Ruan Mingzhu caught the hidden weapon precisely, rubbed it with her thumb for a while, and cautiously said, "The main material of this hidden weapon is black iron. There are only a few workshops in the entire capital that can make such complex hidden weapons with black iron. I will now list the addresses of the weapon workshops. Your Highness can send someone to ask and find out who it is."
The servants behind the King of Qin immediately prepared writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and Ruan Mingzhu picked up the brush and began to write.
Rong Qing, who was standing to the side, looked increasingly pale.
If the investigation continues like this, it won't be more than an hour before it reaches her.
She was too careless. She thought no one would investigate the matter on the spot. She thought Sixth Brother didn't care about Sui Shuren to that extent...
She had to stop Sixth Brother from continuing the investigation.
Just as Rongqing was about to speak, the person who had gone to question them quickly ran back: "Your Highness, we have found out the whereabouts of all the attendants and maids. Please check them."
Because more than a dozen guards went to investigate separately, they made records in more than a dozen small booklets, and a large stack of them was handed to the King of Qin.
The King of Qin was extremely impatient with these books, so he asked the spoiled brats behind him to help him look at them. Ruan Mingzhu took the opportunity to pull out a book and open it as well.
This is exactly where Princess Rongqing's people went. Princess Rongqing came today with four guards, four maids, and two nannies. The whereabouts of all ten people are recorded in the book.
Ruan Mingzhu glanced at the scene quickly, then looked up and said, "One of Princess Rongqing's guards has been missing for about half an hour..."
Before she could finish speaking, snow suddenly began to fall.
Rong Qing's face turned deathly pale, and he fainted on the spot.
"Princess!"
The people serving her immediately panicked.
Ruan Mingzhu frowned: "Why does the princess faint as soon as we ask about the people around her? Could it be that..."
"Alright!" The King of Qin's expression changed. "Prepare the carriage, let's return to the city!"
He thought of that winter more than ten years ago, when the former crown prince made a comeback on a snowy day, captured Duanmin, and Duanmin died in the snow.
Every time it snowed after that, Rongqing would fall ill. At the sight of snow, he would either shiver uncontrollably or faint from dizziness...
Linxi is a mountainous area, and if the snow gets heavier, the group will not be able to get down the mountain at all. Therefore, the investigation was forced to stop, and they packed up and returned to the city.
Cheng Wanwan sat in the carriage, a cold smile on her lips.
Princess Rongqing is truly a ruthless character; she would kill a woman for the sake of a man.
She's only a third-rank Lady now, so dealing with a princess is quite troublesome. The most crucial thing is that this princess is deeply favored by the Empress Dowager...
But after being schemed against time and time again, even a clay figure would have some temper. If she didn't retaliate, she wouldn't be able to swallow her anger.
As Cheng Wanwan pondered in the carriage, the King of Qin's voice came from outside: "Don't worry, Consort Sui, I will definitely give you an explanation regarding Linxi's matter."
"Then thank you very much, Prince Qin." She did not lift the carriage curtain and said calmly, "If Princess Rongqing wakes up, please send someone to let me know."
The King of Qin nodded in agreement and then returned to his carriage.
He coldly ordered the servants around him: "Before the carriage arrives at the palace, I want to know which company forged this hidden weapon."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
His entourage split up and quickly disappeared into the snow.
The carriage behind him carried Princess Rongqing.
Once inside the carriage, with only her trusted confidants remaining, Rongqing slowly opened her eyes. She held a hand warmer, her eyes filled with a gloomy expression.
Before she could say a word, her maid knelt down and said, "Princess, this was something I did without permission. Please hand me over."
"Fool," Rong Qing said coldly. "Did you think that by handing you over, I, the princess, would not be suspected? Sixth Brother is just lazy, not stupid."
The carriage slowly made its way towards the palace, but she couldn't come up with a good solution after traveling the entire distance.
Upon arriving at the palace gate, Rongqing, aided by her maid, alighted from the carriage. She then saw that the Prince of Qin's carriage had also arrived at the palace gate.
Sixth Brother has a residence outside the palace; he must have been worried about her, so he specially sent her back to the palace.
She smiled weakly and said, "Sixth Brother, I'm fine. I'll just go back and get some sleep. I'm going to the palace first. Sixth Brother, you should also go back and have a bowl of ginger soup to warm yourself up."
"Why are you in such a hurry?" The King of Qin approached her step by step. "The people who went to investigate the clues have returned. Do you know what they found?"
Rongqing's fingers tightened, gripping the hand warmer tightly, and he forced a smile, asking, "What did you find out?"
"Ha, you're quite composed!" The King of Qin's face was gloomy. "This lotus-shaped hidden weapon is the special weapon of your bodyguards. Tell me, why did it end up on Consort Sui's horse's rump?"
His loud question startled Rongqing, who retreated and hid in the old woman's arms.
Tears welled up in her eyes, and her voice trembled as she said, "I wanted to say this in Linxi just now. This lotus-shaped hidden weapon is indeed very similar to the hidden weapon my guards use, but that doesn't prove that I attacked Sui Shuren. This is only the second time I've met Sui Shuren. I have no reason to kill her. Someone must be deliberately trying to smear me..."
"Who would bother to smear you, a princess living deep in the palace?" King Qin's gaze was extremely cold. "I always thought you were a gentle and unassuming woman. I never expected that you would hire someone to assassinate Consort Sui over such a trivial matter. I underestimated you before."
He had been thinking for a while, and Rong Qing's only motive for acting was when he first entered Linxi, and he had someone slap her personal maid.
As a mere princess, she naturally dared not vent her anger on him, thus making Sui Shuren a sitting duck.
In other words, Su Shu-ren suffered this undeserved misfortune because of him.
"Sixth Brother, you've misunderstood me, it's not like that..." Rongqing pleaded, tears welling in his eyes. "I really didn't, I didn't lay a hand on Sui Shuren, Sixth Brother, you have to believe me..."
She stepped forward and grabbed the King of Qin's sleeve.
"I am not your sixth brother." The King of Qin shoved her away. "You are not a member of my Xiao family, and your behavior is completely different from that of my Xiao family. What right do you have to call me sixth brother?"
Rong Qing's face turned deathly pale instantly.
She took two steps back, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.
The King of Qin rushed forward and caught her, feeling a pang of regret.
It was still snowing, and Rongqing was already weak, so why was he deliberately saying these spiteful things?
Although Rongqing wasn't his biological sister, she had saved his biological sister, Duanmin, and he had promised his mother that he would always protect Rongqing as if she were his own sister...
He pursed his lips and handed Rongqing to the nanny: "Send her back to the palace."
The old woman dared not speak her anger, and hurriedly carried Rongqing into the sedan chair, and the group went further and further away.
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