Chapter 177: Starve for a Few Days
After dark, Jiang Lan came out and walked around the yard twice before going in.
When it was late at night and everyone in the palace had gone to bed, she quietly opened the door a crack and looked outside. After making sure that there was no one in the yard, she carefully opened the door and gently closed it after coming out.
Prince Rui did not have anyone guarding the door, which was a good thing for her. At least she didn't have to climb over the wall.
She didn't go through the main door, but went around to the side door at the back and quietly left through it.
It was quiet outside, with few people moving around, but there were guards everywhere.
Jiang Lan walked forward carefully, taking advantage of the cover of rockery and flowers and trees. She was not sure where the emperor would rest tonight, so she decided to try her luck in the imperial study.
Hearing footsteps coming from the front, she immediately squatted and hid behind the rockery. A team of patrolling guards came over. After the footsteps faded away, she quietly stuck her head out and looked around. After making sure that the people had gone far away, she came out crouched and continued to move forward carefully.
When she saw the guards guarding ahead, she hid herself first, then observed the situation for a while and went around in a direction where there was no one guarding.
When she was hiding behind the pavilion and observing, she saw someone walking towards her and about to pass in front of her. When the other person walked to the location where the palace lanterns were, she could see clearly that they were two people.
One person was walking in front, it was Prince An, and the other person was walking behind, with his head slightly lowered, but his figure looked somewhat familiar.
When the latter passed in front of her, he turned his head and looked at her, but he was not looking at her position, but at a place farther away, with a trace of loneliness in his expression.
Jiang Lan recognized the face at a glance and was shocked.
It turned out to be Shopkeeper Hao!
The next moment a series of questions popped up in her mind.
Is Manager Hao one of Prince An’s men?
What is his true identity?
Were the two of them also involved in the abolition of the crown prince this time?
When she heard the voices, she immediately held her breath and pricked up her ears to listen.
"Mother is doing well." Prince An also glanced in that direction.
Manager Hao nodded slightly and continued walking forward behind Prince An.
Jiang Lan was startled again, as if she had just eaten a big melon. Then she thought of the story that Shopkeeper Hao had told her when she and Qi Wuhan had gone to the Zhenxiu Restaurant for dinner. He said that when he came to the capital, he met a girl. The girl was very good, but unfortunately, he was just a poor boy at the time and didn't have the face to propose marriage. Later, when he became rich, the girl was already married...
Now it seems that the girl he was talking about should be Empress Qingfei.
Jiang Lan thought about it carefully again. When Concubine Qing gave birth to Prince An, she left the palace. Could it be related to Manager Hao? If the two were in love at the beginning, but later separated due to some unavoidable reasons, could it be that the emperor broke up the couple and stole their love?
She felt that the more she thought about it, the more ridiculous it became. If she continued thinking about it, she would have to imagine a big drama in her mind. She stopped thinking quickly, focused on the problem at hand, and went to the imperial study.
After observing the surrounding situation for a while, Jiang Lan changed direction and went around from the other side, but after walking a few steps, she saw guards guarding the front.
Seeing that she couldn't get around, she suddenly had an idea. She touched a small stone on the ground and threw it to the side with force. The noise immediately attracted the attention of the guards in front. She thought she could lead everyone over, but unexpectedly, these guards were smarter than she thought. Only two of them went to check the situation, and the rest continued to stay where they were.
She picked up another small stone from the ground and threw it in the opposite direction. Someone with sharp eyes saw the flaw and heard someone shout:
“There’s someone there!
Jiang Lan was startled and thought to herself that something was wrong. She squatted down and quietly moved back, but before she could take two steps, she was surrounded by a circle of people, making it impossible for her to escape.
Then she finally arrived at the imperial study as she wished, but she was taken there as an assassin.
When she was brought in, she saw Prince Rui and Prince An inside, but neither the emperor nor Manager Hao.
"Is this the assassin?" When King Rui saw her, a strange smile flashed across his face, as if he had known that she would sneak out.
"I'm not." Jiang Lan explained again, "I'm just lost."
Prince Rui chuckled, waved his hand, and asked the two guards who had brought her to leave first. He then asked, "Didn't I tell you that you cannot leave the courtyard without my permission? Have you forgotten so quickly?"
Jiang Lan met his gaze directly, not intending to make excuses, and said calmly, "I want to see His Majesty."
"What do you want to see my father for?" Prince Rui picked up the teacup and scraped it, then asked indifferently.
Jiang Lan replied confidently, "I want to know how His Majesty intends to deal with the Marquis."
Prince Rui paused for a moment while scraping the tea, then took a leisurely sip before asking, "If you care so much about him, why don't you run away with him? What are you still doing here?"
Jiang Lan didn't say anything.
Prince Rui uttered an "oh," "I understand. You're afraid that if you run away, your father and your elder brother will die. Am I right?"
"Your Highness, there is no need to provoke me. His Majesty is a wise ruler. He will not take the lives of my father and brother just because of a married daughter like me." Jiang Lan said.
Seeing her determined look, Prince Rui said in a deep voice, "Then do you dare to bet on the lives of all the people in your Jiang family?"
Jiang Lan clenched her fists and did not answer.
"Then do you know the whereabouts of the Marquis now?" Prince An asked in a flat tone.
Jiang Lan asked back, "Didn't your two princes already know this a long time ago?" There was a hint of testing in her tone. If it was true as she had guessed before, Prince Rui had already known Qi Wuhan's true identity, then Prince An should have known it as well.
"Know what?" Prince An looked calm and his tone was still flat, without a trace of emotion.
Jiang Lan could not catch any clues from his expression or tone. If he was not born with such an indifferent temperament, he would be able to hide his emotions to the extreme. Only now did she realize that this Sixth Prince was truly unfathomable.
"Yes, tell me, what do this prince and my sixth brother know?" Prince Rui stood up and walked towards her step by step, with a smile on the corner of his mouth with a hint of sinister cunning.
Jiang Lan wondered if she would be murdered to silence herself...
"If Your Highness wants to kill me, then do it quickly. It would be best if you use a poison that will kill me instantly once I take it." She decided to just go for broke.
"Do you think I dare not kill you?" King Rui suddenly grabbed her hand, his expression suddenly becoming extremely sinister.
Jiang Lan felt that the other party was as moody as a lunatic. She didn't know what words had irritated him. She just struggled a little, and her wrist was pinched even tighter. She hissed softly and frowned, feeling that her bones were about to be crushed by him.
Rui Wang turned his gaze towards Prince An and said, "Sixth brother, you go back first—"
Before she could finish the word "go", Jiang Lan made a "Pooh" sound.
"Dirty!"
A mouthful of saliva was spat on his face. Prince Rui was stunned for a moment, and so was Prince An.
Before he could react, Jiang Lan immediately broke free from his hand and ran away.
"I'm going to kill her!" When Prince Rui realized that something was on his face, he was so angry that his veins popped out. He wiped his face with his sleeve in disgust and threatened to kill Jiang Lan. Seeing Prince An smile, he asked him what he was laughing at. Prince An said, "It turns out that my royal brother can be hard-mouthed but soft-hearted."
As soon as she finished speaking, Jiang Lan was caught by the guards guarding outside.
"What does your royal brother plan to do?" asked Prince An.
Prince Rui glanced at her and said coldly, "Take her away and lock her up. Starve her for a few days first."
mean.
Jiang Lan muttered something in her heart, and then was taken away.
"I can walk on my own. Can you please let me go? Men and women shouldn't touch each other."
When Prince Rui heard her still bargaining with the guards, he was almost laughing out of anger. When Prince An looked over, he immediately restrained his expression, clenched his fist, coughed lightly, and said, "You go back first."
After Prince An came out, Manager Hao came over.
After leaving the Imperial Study, Shopkeeper Hao said, "I just saw the wife of Marquis Jin'an being taken away."
"My royal brother likes her." Prince An replied.
"I originally thought that apart from the late princess, the Third Prince would not fall in love with anyone else." Shopkeeper Hao said.
"Who can predict the future of this world?" Prince An raised his eyes to the bright moon in the night sky and suddenly asked, "Have you ever regretted it?"
Shopkeeper Hao was slightly stunned and did not answer.
Prince An did not ask any more questions.
......
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
