Chapter 155 Three marriage proposals, three accidents
Xiao Yan pinched his fingertips and said in a very low voice: "Don't tell others that you will be with him forever in the future."
It was too exciting and too easy to make people have delusions. For a moment just now, he really wanted to imprison the person by his side regardless of the consequences.
Boom——
Suddenly, thunder was heard in the sky outside, which had been dark for a long time. After a flash of light, heavy rain began to fall in a moment.
Raindrops fell on the railings outside Yueli Terrace, making a thunderous sound. The inner lake next to Heli Hall was surging due to the sudden wind and rain, so Tang Ning, who was squatting in front of him, could not hear what Xiao Yan said at all.
Tang Ning looked up and asked, "What did you say, brother?"
"nothing."
Xiao Yan sighed, feeling that it was all in vain.
The wound on his waist was bandaged again. This time, Xiao Yan did not tease Tang Ning anymore, but leaned back on the couch.
Tang Ning sat down at the small table across from him and said, "Your injury keeps coming back. We need Sister Qin to take a look. And the wound shouldn't be soaked in water. Sister Qin has repeatedly warned us not to listen to the doctor's advice. Why don't you listen?"
Xiao Yan was distracted when he heard this: "I forgot about it today."
Tang Ning glared at him.
Xiao Yan tolerantly said, "Don't stare at me. I'll have someone invite Madam Qin over later."
Seeing the little girl looking at him with suspicion, he took the half-empty kettle on the table and poured some of the remaining tea into it and placed it in front of Song Tangning.
"Madam Qin went to the palace today. It's difficult for me to find her even if I want to. I will send someone to invite her when she comes back. But why did you suddenly come looking for me at this time?"
Song Tangning was momentarily puzzled. Aren't there people from the Imperial Medical Bureau in the palace? What was Madam Qin doing there? But before she could dwell on it, Xiao Yan's words distracted her. She remembered the business she had just come to discuss with Xiao Yan: "My aunt said she's going back to Prince Cheng's mansion tomorrow."
Xiao Yan paused: "Going back at this time?"
Song Tangning tucked into the teacup on the table and whispered, "I also think my aunt shouldn't go back at this time, but she said her baby is growing big, and the old concubine at Prince Cheng's mansion is seriously ill. She can't just ignore the repeated messages from the mansion."
She vaguely knew that her aunt had wanted to go back before, but she had been waiting for what happened to the Lu family. Now that Lu Zhao was in prison and Lu Chongyuan was disliked by the Emperor, the Lu family was in trouble and would not have time to bother her in the short term. So her aunt had no scruples and wanted to return to the palace.
She looked a little gloomy. "Xie Yin sent letters every day, and I couldn't ask anyone to stop him. Auntie must have softened her heart towards him."
But remembering her aunt's mysterious death in her previous life, she felt uneasy again. Song Tangning couldn't help but look up at Xiao Yan and said, "Brother, you said before that you would help me investigate King Cheng's past. Have you found out yet?"
Xiao Yan murmured, "A little."
Tang Ning quickly sat up straight, and then heard Xiao Yan say, "Did I tell you before that Prince Cheng had discussed marriage with your aunt before he met her?"
Song Tangning nodded: "Brother said so."
Xiao Yan said in a deep voice, "The woman Prince Cheng was discussing marriage with was the daughter of General Huo, the garrison commander of Ningzhou in the north. The Huo family's daughter had already been summoned to the capital, and the late emperor had already drafted an edict granting the marriage. All that was left for the two families to finalize the engagement was the summons. However, something happened to the Huo family's daughter, and the marriage fell through. After that, Prince Cheng proposed marriages twice more, but each time failed for various reasons. That was until Prince Cheng met Princess Cheng and fell in love with her at first sight, and the two got married."
"Three marriage proposals failed?" Song Tangning immediately grasped the key point: "Brother, do you know why it didn't work out?"
"The first time was when the Huo family's daughter accidentally fell off her horse during an autumn hunt and her appearance was disfigured. The second time was when the woman suffered from a hidden illness. The third time, when the marriage proposal was made with Prince Cheng, the woman had an affair with an actor. She was caught eloping and she and the actor hanged themselves together."
Xiao Yan said calmly, "Except for the Huo family incident which happened in the royal hunting grounds and was known to everyone, the two subsequent marriage proposals by Prince Cheng went wrong before they were even put on the agenda. Because most of the cases were caused by the women and were not very glorious, both families begged Prince Cheng to resolve the matter privately and kept it secret, so few people knew about it."
Song Tangning frowned slightly when she heard this. If it were in the past, she might have just sighed that it was too much of a coincidence, but she had always been suspicious of King Cheng, and she also suspected that her aunt's death in the previous life was related to King Cheng. These so-called coincidences were full of doubts.
She couldn't help but whisper, "Were the three marriage proposals that went wrong accidental or man-made?"
Xiao Yan said calmly, "It's been too long. The other two families are no longer in the capital, and the people involved have all passed away, so there's no way to verify it. However, the people I sent found the girl from the Huo family. Because her appearance was ruined, she never married. Now she's guarding the northern border with General Huo."
"When the people I sent to find her and inquire about what happened back then, she didn't say there was anything wrong with Prince Cheng. She only said that Prince Cheng was willing to marry her and was very caring towards her. In addition, the late emperor and the current empress dowager were very close to her in the palace. She also had very good relationships with several of the princes' consorts at the time. So, even though she was about to be married, she still made an exception and went to the royal hunting grounds."
But who knew that something would happen when he went there.
Xiao Yan said, "Mrs. Huo recalled that the hunting grounds were in great chaos when she got into trouble, but she was certain that her fall from the horse was not an accident, but was the result of someone's manipulation."
The daughter of the Huo family was born into a family of military generals. She knew some martial arts and grew up on horseback in the north. However, when the accident happened in the hunting ground, she was limp all over and couldn't use any strength at all.
By the time she woke up after falling off the horse and fainting, her appearance was already ruined and the matter was settled.
General Huo wanted to investigate the matter back then, but afterwards no trace of drugs could be found in the Huo family girl's body. The horse she was riding was shot to death by arrows after it threw her off and broke into the imperial tent, alarming the emperor.
That day, the late emperor was frightened in the hunting ground, and several concubines fainted from fright. Many of the palace guards, the Sima Jian, and the people who arranged the autumn hunt were beheaded. Later, the matter involved the Eastern Palace. The Huo family wanted to investigate but had no evidence and could only swallow the bitter pill.
Song Tangning was shocked: "Is it related to Crown Prince Li?"
"It's nothing, but someone said at the time that the Eastern Palace didn't want Prince Cheng to get any help, so they secretly ruined his marriage with the Huo family."
But Xiao Yan knew clearly that this matter had nothing to do with the Eastern Palace.
Xiao Yan said, "The Eastern Palace was in power at the time, so there was no need to do such a sinister thing. Moreover, General Huo believed in the Crown Prince. Seeing that someone was trying to divert the blame to the Eastern Palace and implicate the Crown Prince, intending to use the Huo family as a weapon against the Crown Prince, he took the initiative to give up the pursuit and took Madam Huo away from the capital where there was trouble."
The incident at the hunting ground was classified as an accident.
Song Tangning's face turned heavy when he heard what Xiao Yan said. If the lady from the Huo family was not lying and she was persecuted back then, then she could not be a simple person to be able to take action in the royal hunting ground and get away with it afterwards.
"Could it be King Cheng..."
"Probably not."
Xiao Yan knew what she was speculating about and dismissed it outright. "When Prince Cheng was discussing marriage with the Huo family, Crown Prince Li hadn't gotten into trouble yet. At that time, Prince Cheng was very influential in the capital. Dissatisfied with the crown prince's position passing to someone else, he constantly challenged Crown Prince Li in court, being extremely assertive and using every possible means to recruit court officials."
"The Huo family holds the military power in the north. This marriage will benefit him. If he can get the support of General Huo, he will have the confidence to fight for the throne. Even if he doesn't like the girl from the Huo family, there is no need for him to do such a cruel thing."
Mrs. Huo said it very clearly. When she first came to the capital, Prince Cheng was very considerate and caring towards her, and it seemed as if he had already treated her as his own bride and was introducing her to the wives of the powerful and wealthy in the capital.
The two knew about their marriage very well, and the only thing missing was the imperial decree from the late emperor granting the marriage. There was no need for Prince Cheng to put on a show and then cause trouble for himself.
Song Tangning frowned when he heard this: "Who could it be?"
Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes slightly. "I don't know who it was. After all, it's been so long since I last saw him. Evidence is hard to come by. But during the three marriage negotiations, he only attacked the woman, while Prince Cheng was unharmed. That person can't be Prince Cheng's enemy."
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