Chapter 368 I Want to Live Well with You
Li Nanke's face instantly turned bright red, and her grape-like eyes stared blankly at Shen Cong.
But Shen Cong gently reached out and covered her eyelashes with his hand.
His palms were cool, and his voice was hoarse yet very pleasant to hear.
"Silly girl, I was just teasing you. Don't look at me like that, I can't stand it."
Li Nanke's heart was pounding. She gently bit her lip and reached out to pull down Chen Cong's hand.
Then he cut the blanket in half and wrapped it around Chen Cong.
Mustering her courage, she looked at Shen Cong and said, "What I told Ninth Brother in the cave was all from the bottom of my heart."
I've already decided that Ninth Brother is the one for me in this life. No matter what, I'll be with him...
Shen Cong reached out his finger and gently pressed it against her rosy lips.
"Don't speak lightly of life and death."
Li Nanke frowned. "Ninth Brother, you don't believe me?"
Shen Cong held her hand, a hint of a smile appearing in his eyes.
Then he gently pressed his forehead against hers and whispered, "I believe in you, and I want to live well with you."
Before my mother passed away, she told me to live well, and I promised her, but I never really thought about how to live well.
Shen Cong sighed softly and gently rubbed his forehead against hers.
Then he said, "Things are different now, I have you."
I want to live well, I want to live well with you!
Li Nanke felt a sharp pain in her chest, and her eyes welled up with tears.
"Ninth Brother."
Shen Cong gave a soft "hmm" and then said, "I've thought it through. Let's go straight to the imperial mausoleum."
The imperial mausoleum is our last hope; perhaps the imperial edict and the way to break the blood curse are inside.
Li Nanke's heart skipped a beat, "Ninth Brother has found a way to open the imperial tomb?"
Shen Cong turned around, picked up a purse from the bedside table, and handed it to Li Nanke.
"Take a look at what's inside."
Li Nanke opened his purse, inside which was a jade thumb ring.
It is about the size of a thumb, with a warm and transparent texture, and without any impurities.
This size...
Li Nanke was very surprised, "This size looks like a key to the door of an imperial tomb? Where did Ninth Brother find it?"
Shen Cong said, "Do you still remember the jade pendant that Mother left behind? I always carry it with me."
Li Nanke nodded.
She had examined that jade pendant carefully.
"When the cave collapsed, the jade pendant fell out of my neck and was smashed by a rock."
The jade thumb ring fell out of the jade pendant; it must have been the Empress Dowager who instructed the craftsmen to melt the jade thumb ring back into the jade pendant.
So that's how it is.
Li Nanke said, "The Empress Dowager has hidden this jade thumb ring so carefully, it seems there must be something we are looking for in the imperial tomb."
"Ninth Brother, let's stay here for a few days to recover from our injuries, and then we'll set off for the Imperial Mausoleum immediately."
Shen Cong nodded.
"We are now in a small village outside Ruzhou City, which is quite far from the Shi River."
Qin Wei and Shen Xu couldn't find this place in a short time, Your Majesty..."
When the emperor was mentioned, he paused and changed his form of address.
"The emperor is dying, and Prince Chen was crushed to death in the cave."
They will definitely return to Bianjing as soon as possible; they will not stay in Ruzhou for long.
We'll set off immediately as soon as they leave.
Li Nanke's face showed sadness as he thought of the babies in the cave.
"It's a pity we couldn't save those children. They had just come into this world, but because of the emperor's greed and cruelty, they lost their right to live."
This matter must not be left unresolved. We must make this public and seek justice for those innocent children.
Shen Cong nodded.
"Yes, we will definitely get justice for them."
Li Nanke suddenly remembered something else.
"The gate to the imperial mausoleum requires two thumb rings, and the other one is in the emperor's possession, right?"
We only have this one ring; it's not enough to open the tomb door of the imperial mausoleum.
Shen Cong pondered for a moment and said, "This morning, I wrote a letter to Prime Minister Wang."
Inform us of the cause of Consort Wang's death and ask Prime Minister Wang to find a way to help us obtain the jade thumb ring.
We agreed to meet in Lingshui Town, where the imperial tombs are located, ten days from now.
In recent years, Wang Youxiang has been secretly helping Shen Cong.
With the Wang family involved, they might be able to successfully acquire another jade thumb ring.
Li Nanke felt relieved and settled down outside Ruzhou City with Shen Cong to recuperate.
On the other side, at the Ruzhou Prefectural Government Office.
Qin Wei waved away the subordinate who came to report.
Shen Xu pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "We have already sent people to search under the cliff for five or six days."
The cave had collapsed, and a huge rock was blocking the entrance, making it impossible for anyone to get in.
Uncle Nine and Li Nanke are definitely dead inside. Didn't you also let wild dogs in?
The stray dog already had flesh and blood in its mouth, what are we still looking for?
"Is it really necessary to move that huge rock?"
Qin Wei was silent for a moment, then said, "Your Highness is right. His Majesty has also sent word that he has ordered me to return to the palace immediately."
Shen Xu stood up. "I will go with you to visit my father."
Qin Wei paused for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Your Highness would be better off returning to the capital first."
"If something were to happen to His Majesty... Your Highness and the Xue family must be prepared."
Shen Xu understood his implication, and his heart immediately began to pound.
The Emperor is dying, and Qin Wei is showing his loyalty to him.
He needed to return to the capital as soon as possible so that his mother and the Xue family could prepare for his ascension to the throne.
Shen Xu gently patted Qin Wei on the shoulder.
"In that case, I will return to the capital first. Commander Qin, rest assured, I will certainly not treat you poorly in the future."
Qin Wei bowed deeply, "Thank you, Your Highness."
Shen Xu hurriedly walked out, and before he even left the government office, he ran into Zhao Wanqing who was coming towards him.
The eunuch said, "Miss Zhao came to Ruzhou to pray for His Majesty's well-being. Upon learning of His Highness's arrival, she rushed over to pay her respects."
Zhao Wanqing tidied her carefully combed sideburns, gave a gentle curtsy, revealing her fair and slender neck.
"Wanqing greets His Highness the Crown Prince."
Shen Xu stopped, but instead of reaching out to help her up as usual, he looked at her indifferently.
Upon seeing Zhao Wanqing, he immediately recalled what Li Nanke had said that day.
"I am your true savior; the Zhao family is merely falsely claiming the title..."
Could what Li Nanke said be true?
"Your Highness, what's wrong? Have you been working too hard these days?"
Zhao Wanqing looked at Shen Xu with gentle concern, "Why don't I brew some calming and invigorating medicinal cuisine..."
Shen Xu snapped out of his daze and shook his head in refusal.
"No need, I have urgent business to attend to and need to return to Beijing."
With that, he strode outside.
Zhao Wanqing felt a little anxious and quickly followed.
Her mother wrote to her, saying that His Highness the Crown Prince had also come to Ruzhou, and that she should seize this opportunity and make sure to persuade the Crown Prince to agree to let her become the Crown Princess.
"Didn't Your Highness just arrive in Ruzhou? Why are you going back without resting properly? Has something happened?"
For the first time, Shen Xu found the gentle and considerate Zhao Wanqing a bit noisy.
He suddenly turned around and asked Zhao Wanqing.
"Wanqing, do you still remember what clothes I was wearing five years ago when you saved me? What caused my wound? What medicine did you apply to it?"
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