Jiang Xiancao went to see Chen Yubai.
Shen Yubai knew why she came and told her the truth about Shu Fei's death and the Shu family tragedy.
"The assassins who tried to kill my brother were indeed from the Tianming Pavilion. Their real target wasn't the emperor, but Concubine Shu."
Shen Yubai said calmly:
"Because if Shu Fei isn't killed, Tianming Pavilion can't kill the Shu family. They are also afraid that Shu Fei will take advantage of her brother's favor and support the Ninth Prince to ascend to the throne, posing a threat to the positions of the Empress and the Crown Prince."
Jiang Xiancao frowned, "Could it be that the Queen and the Crown Prince are also secretly connected to the Tianming Pavilion?"
"That's right."
Shen Yubai placed a piece on the chessboard, and then the game was decided, and the corners of his mouth curled up.
"But wasn't the Tianming Pavilion founded by the descendants of the previous royal family? Isn't everything it does aimed at restoring the previous dynasty? Why would the Queen and the Crown Prince cooperate with the Tianming Pavilion?"
This is what Jiang Xiancao can’t understand the most.
So even though she had long noticed that the Queen and the Crown Prince had different attitudes, she still didn't think of them as accomplices of Tianming Pavilion.
Shen Yubai smiled, his eyes indifferent:
"Because they believe that the Tianming Pavilion is a sword that can kill people without being noticed, a weapon that can eliminate dissidents for them. In the hands of the descendants of the previous royal family, this sword will eventually stab them; but if they can become the ones holding the sword, then everything will be under their control, right?"
Jiang Xiancao was stunned at first, then suddenly understood.
“So when Tianming Pavilion attacked the Shu family, it was to seize what the Shu family had, and then kill all the Shu family members who they regarded as traitors to the previous dynasty to silence them.
The Queen took advantage of Tianming Pavilion's intention and revealed the itinerary of the Emperor and his concubines to Tianming Pavilion, so as to use them to get rid of Shu Fei, the thorn in her side.
Afterwards, the Queen and the Right Prime Minister used some means to secretly change the leader of Tianming Pavilion and support the leader they trusted to take the position. In this way, Tianming Pavilion would no longer work for the previous dynasty, and the real descendants of the previous dynasty's royal family might have died long ago.
The people of the Sheng Dynasty still thought that the Tianming Pavilion was the work of the remnants of the previous dynasty, but they never expected that the Queen and the Crown Prince were the ones secretly controlling everything.
Shen Yubai smiled and clapped his hands:
"Xiao Jiu'er is indeed smart, but you missed one thing."
Jiang Xiancao lowered his eyes:
"Those families that are entangled with Tianming Pavilion also want to profit from it, including the Jiang family."
Shen Yubai nodded and said:
"The Jiang family was also involved in the Shu family's tragedy. They, along with other culprits, divided up the Shu family's treasured possessions. Not only did they earn ten thousand taels of gold, they also secretly stole a metaphysical instrument that could bring luck to the family, the Xuanyin Tianlu.
However, in order for Xuanyin Tianlu to recognize its master, it must be worshipped by someone with the blood of the Shu family, otherwise it will just be an ordinary jade statue of a divine beast.
This is why Marquis Wen Ning has imprisoned your mother for so many years. He needs her essence to offer to the Xuanyin Tianlu, bringing endless good fortune to the Jiang family.
After hearing this, Jiang Xiancao's hatred for Marquis Wen Ning reached its peak.
"But how did Mother end up in the hands of the Jiang family? My men found out that she once lived in the capital before being taken to Qingcheng by Marquis Wen Ning!"
Jiang Xiancao couldn't hide her excitement and asked, "How did Marquis Wenning find her? Did someone betray my mother's whereabouts to him?"
Shen Yubai said in a deep voice:
"Back then, Concubine Shu was assassinated and a tragedy occurred at Shu's Villa. Your mother and your grandmother luckily escaped on their way to visit relatives. When the Queen learned they had survived, she sent assassins from Tianming Pavilion to pursue them.
The queen also wanted to kill people and destroy their hearts, so she deliberately let those killers dress up as royal secret guards, so that your grandmother and mother would think that they were following the orders of the emperor. Even her sister's death was caused by the emperor, because the emperor could not tolerate the Shu family.
Your grandmother died at the hands of the assassin, but your mother escaped in disguise protected by several highly skilled guards of the Shu family. In order to avoid the assassin's pursuit, she had to go the other way and escape all the way to the capital, hiding in an unknown house that the Shu family had prepared in advance.
But because one of her servants accidentally ran into Marquis Wen Ning on the street, he was able to find her hiding place."
After listening to Shen Yubai's story, Jiang Xiancao learned that when her mother was still a young lady of the Shu family, she was favored by Marquis Wen Ning because she went to the palace to attend the banquet for the conferment of the title of Concubine Shu.
But his mother at that time was a young lady from the noble Shu family, and she was also the younger sister of the emperor's favorite concubine.
She hated the frivolity and hypocrisy of Marquis Wen Ning. Marquis Wen Ning had no way to deal with her and could not get close to forcing her.
But when something happened to the Shu family and the once proud Fenghuang could only hide in the dark as a commoner and survive, Marquis Wen Ning met her again. This time, with his power and force, he could naturally do whatever he wanted to her.
Not only did he take her body by force, he also locked her up in a dungeon for more than ten years, using her essence to nourish the Jiang family's fortune.
Jiang Xiancao stared at Shen Yubai:
"Since you knew all this, why didn't you rescue Mother from the Jiang family's dungeon sooner? She was a witness back then. With her testimony, you would have found evidence of the Queen's followers and the Jiang family's evil deeds. Why did you..."
Shen Yubai shook his head and said:
"You misunderstood. For so many years, I couldn't find the whereabouts of Princess Lin Yue, and I thought she really died at the hands of the assassins from Tianming Pavilion. It wasn't until you went to track down Marquis Wen Ning's 'concubine' some time ago that I realized your mother was not dead, but imprisoned."
Jiang Xiancao then realized that Tinglan's actions in Qingcheng were so smooth because Shen Yubai had secretly sent people to help.
"I have blocked the news. Now the Queen and the Jiang family still don't know that Princess Lin Yue has arrived in Beijing."
Shen Yubai looked at Jiang Xiancao with burning eyes:
"We've waited so long, it's time to close the net."
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