Chapter 333 The Queen's Suspicion
The early mornings in October outside the Great Wall are very cold. Whenever the cold wind blows, the poplar trees on both sides of the ancient road will shed many yellow leaves.
Shen Yuexi's mood was just like the weather. She put her hands behind her back and kicked the small stones on the ground with her head down.
Ji Yunyan sneaked into Prince Ping's mansion last night and set fire to an empty room. She took advantage of the chaos to rescue her and even Xiaobai. However, Su Mo changed her mind and refused to go with her.
Su Mo didn't believe that Queen Wen would be that kind of person, so she insisted on asking Xiao Beiheng in person.
The situation was urgent at the time and there was no time to discuss it slowly, so she could only escape from Prince Ping's Mansion with Ji Yunyan first.
The next news made her even more sad. When Ji Yunyan arrived at Fengqi Palace, Madam Li and her daughter had already been poisoned by Empress Wen. Ji Yunyan was powerless to save them and could only return to find her.
It felt like there was a huge rock in her chest, pressing down heavily and making it difficult for her to breathe.
She hadn't had a good impression of Madam Li and her daughter at first, but after spending time together, they had finally reconciled, with Li Wan marrying Qiang Lin. Everything was fine, but now if she saw Qiang Lin, she wouldn't know what to say.
Madam Li insisted on going to the capital. She had been cautious and had Ji Yunyan and five hundred soldiers escort her. Madam Li had been safe all the way, but ultimately died within the imperial city—an outcome she hadn't anticipated.
It's understandable that Empress Wen poisoned her. She was indeed Xiao Zhuo's right-hand man, and Empress Wen wanted to get rid of Xiao Zhuo's right-hand man for the sake of her son. But what was her motive for killing Madam Li? The two of them had no relationship at all.
Judging from the process of drinking the poisoned tea, Empress Wen had obviously planned it in advance and it was definitely not a sudden killing intention.
"Princess An, don't blame yourself too much," Ji Yunyan said, sitting under a poplar tree that was as thick as a man's embrace, her arm resting on her bent left knee as she watched her walk back and forth. "None of us thought the Queen would take such a ruthless action against Madam Li."
Shen Yuexi stopped, turned around and asked, "Sister Ji, are you sure you heard those two words Li Wan said correctly?"
Ji Yunyan said, "Princess An, I've been practicing swordsmanship with my grandfather since I was a child, and identifying a location by sound is a fundamental skill. Miss Li was vomiting blood at the time, but I'm sure I heard the words 'aunt' and 'Daliang Village' correctly."
"Auntie is mother's elder sister, right?" Shen Yuexi lowered her head in thought. "Madam Li is the second daughter of Duke Pei, and her elder sister is Empress Pei. Empress Pei has been dead for more than a year. Why did Li Wan bring this up?"
"Miss Li was unconscious at the time. Perhaps she was recalling the past."
"That's possible, but why did she mention Daliang Village?" Shen Yuexi asked doubtfully, "Sister Ji, how many Daliang villages are there in Dayan?"
"There's only one, Daliang Village on the outskirts of Tongliao County, Liangzhou."
Shen Yuexi's eyes lit up. She was very familiar with Daliang Village. She and Xiao Zhuo had escaped the encirclement and went to Daliang Village, where they met Feng Zhang. Li Wan mentioned this place. Could it be that this place contained a secret about Pei Jingyun?
Ji Yunyan's words made sense. Perhaps Li Wan had just uttered a few random words in her final moments. But she didn't want Madam Li and Li Wan to die in vain. She preferred to believe that Li Wan had deliberately said these two words to Ji Yunyan.
To find out the truth, they must go to Daliang Village. Perhaps there they can find the reason why Queen Wen wanted to kill them.
"Sister Ji, I've decided not to go back to Shengjing," Shen Yuexi clenched her fist and waved, "You go back to Shengjing and tell my husband what happened here. I'm going to Daliang Village."
After saying that, she ran towards Xiaobai who was eating grass not far away.
"Oh, no!"
Ji Yunyan jumped up and leaped in front of her, reaching out to stop her: "It was so hard to rescue you, how could you go and take risks on your own?"
Shen Yuexi refused to listen and tried to bend down and slip under Ji Yunyan's arm, but Ji Yunyan grabbed her by the back of the neck and pulled her back: "Stop trying to act so arrogant, okay? Even if you don't think about yourself, think about the child in your belly, right?"
"I can handle it," Shen Yuexi argued, "My aunt can't just die like this. I have to find evidence of Queen Wen's guilt!"
Even if she knew that it was Empress Wen who poisoned her and killed Lady Li and her daughter, these were all gathered by Ji Yunyan, and there was no evidence. To accuse the Empress of her crimes to Emperor Ming of Qi, she had to find evidence.
Ji Yunyan held on tightly and refused to let go. "You know that Queen Wen is the enemy, and I know that too. Could it be that Queen Wen and Xiao Beiheng treat you as a friend? Xiao Beiheng must be sending troops to look for you everywhere. If anything happens to you, how can I explain it to the Queen? Let's hurry back to Shengjing, where it's safe."
Shen Yuexi couldn't struggle anymore and had to give in: "Sister Ji, I won't go anymore, please let go."
Ji Yunyan released her hand, looked up at the sky and said, "We've rested enough. Let's go now. We can get back to Shengjing in the afternoon."
The two were about to adjust the saddles when they heard the sound of horse hooves coming from outside the woods, heading straight for them.
Ji Yunyan's expression changed. Standing in the open space, she gripped the sword behind her back with her backhand and said to Shen Yuexi, "Princess An, hide behind me."
She was afraid that someone would recognize Shen Yuexi if she walked on the main road, so she deliberately chose a remote and deserted path. Along the way, she only saw woodcutters. And the person who came was riding a horse, so it was obvious that he was not an ordinary woodcutter.
In a moment, the man rushed into the forest on horseback, sweeping up the dead leaves on the ground.
Shen Yuexi hid behind Ji Yunyan's shoulder and looked over. She was surprised at first, but then the smile froze on her face, becoming uglier than crying.
"Princess An!" The person who came jumped off the horse excitedly. It was Qiang Lin.
In order not to attract attention, Qiang Lin wore the clothes of the Dayan people and rode an ordinary horse that could be found everywhere on the market.
When Ji Yunyan saw Qiang Lin, she took her hand off the hilt and said, "It's you. No wonder you were able to find us."
She turned around and said to Shen Yuexi, "Princess An...it's Qiang Lin, are you...are you coming out?"
Shen Yuexi took small steps and moved sideways out from behind Ji Yunyan, saying, "Cousin-in-law, why are you here?"
Qiang Lin tied the reins to a tree and said with a smile, "Didn't you ask me to prepare the army? I've already set up camp north of Shengjing. Prince An's army has returned from conquering the rebellious Jingzhou. Prince An missed you and asked me to come and see you... Haha, let me be honest. I came to pick up Wan'er. Isn't she with you? I thought you all came back together."
Shen Yuexi lowered her head, not daring to look at Qiang Lin's smile. She felt like she was about to cry. Qiang Lin had been with her through thick and thin. To protect her and Xiao Zhuo, he had led his secret guards to risk their lives more than once to fend off pursuers. The hideous knife wound on his face was the best proof of his loyalty.
Now she had to tell Qiang Lin a terrible truth, and she really didn't know how to start.
Qiang Lin's smile gradually disappeared from his face. He walked up to the two of them and asked in confusion, "What's wrong with you two? Why aren't you talking?"
Shen Yuexi hardened her heart and raised her head.
You can hide it on the first day, but you can't hide it on the fifteenth day. What you should know will be known sooner or later. Can you still hide it?
"Wan'er... Wan'er and her aunt have gone to see the gods." She chose a statement that would be least likely to hurt Qiang Lin, but her voice was only slightly louder than a mosquito's.
Qiang Lin opened his eyes wide and stretched out his hands as if to grab her, but stopped mid-stride and said in a trembling voice, "You... tell me again, who went to see the gods?"
Shen Yuexi took a deep breath, thinking that this would give her courage, but when she spoke again, her voice was still as small as before:
"Wan'er and my aunt have both gone to see the gods."
Qiang Lin stumbled back two steps, then squatted down slowly with his hands on his head, and asked in a trembling voice, "Who did this?"
Ji Yunyan said, "It was Empress Wen. She summoned Madam Li and Li Wan and poisoned their tea. When I rushed over, Madam Li and her daughter were already dead. The palace was heavily guarded, and I couldn't bring their bodies back."
Qiang Lin raised his head, his eyes red and tears streaming down his face. "Why did she do this?"
He also knew that in that situation, even if he were present, he would not be able to take Madam Li and her daughter away, let alone Ji Yunyan. He just wanted to understand why Empress Wen did this.
Shen Yuexi walked up to him, squatted down and said, "We don't know why Queen Wen did this. Even if Madam Li and her daughter committed a crime, she shouldn't have poisoned them directly. Obviously, she is hiding something. I'm going to investigate this matter... Don't hold it in. It will feel better if you cry."
Qiang Lin stood up. Although tears streamed down his face, his voice no longer trembled. "I once witnessed my brothers die one by one before Xiao Beiheng. Now my beloved has died at the hands of his mother. I no longer want to ask her why. No reason can stop me from seeking revenge. Miss Ji, did Wan'er leave any last words?"
Ji Yunyan said, "Before Miss Li died, she mentioned 'Auntie' and 'Daliang Village'."
Qiang Lin turned to look at Shen Yuexi: "Her aunt is the Queen Pei of Dayan, your husband's mother?"
This sentence was like a spark that suddenly lit up in Shen Yuexi's mind. She shouted, "I understand. Auntie is Empress Wen, and Empress Wen is Pei Jingyun."
Ji Yunyan and Qiang Lin were both shocked. Ji Yunyan asked, "How is that possible? You said Empress Wen is Pei Jingyun, but who was Empress Pei who entered the palace back then?"
"I saw Queen Wen's face when she came to Shengjing, and I know what to do," Shen Yuexi waved to the two of them, "Let's get on our horses and go to Shengjing to find my husband. I already know what to do."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com