◇ Chapter 79 (79) Betrayal of the Trusted (Part 1)
Two short arrows were deeply embedded in the top of the carriage. Bo Kang pulled them out, not with much effort, but with some difficulty. If these arrows had hit someone, they would have been killed instantly.
Bai Kang looked up. From this angle, the only place where he could hide and easily escape was the old tree next to the corner tower. That person must be very skilled, as they hadn't even noticed he was hiding there.
The most important thing is that just now, Lianzhi was standing there.
Given the length of Lianzhi... the person in the dark was aiming for Lianzhi's head. Someone wanted to kill him.
Realizing this, Bai Kang hurriedly lowered his head to look at the person in his arms: "Don't be afraid, baby, get in the car first."
He almost regretted not getting on the carriage sooner, instead staying outside and talking for so long. If he had left earlier, he might have gotten rid of the person in the dark. Lianzhi, however, wasn't at all flustered, and climbed into the carriage calmly.
"Let me see." Lianzhi stretched out her hand.
Bai Kang ordered the driver to hurry up before handing the two short arrows to Lianzhi. Lianzhi held up the short arrows and examined them carefully. When she saw the markings on the arrows, her eyebrows knitted slightly.
He leaned against Bo Kang and huddled together with him: "Brother Kang, look."
A small black hollow pattern was engraved on the arrow. Bai Kang felt it looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it before. Lian Zhi narrowed her eyes and reminded him, "Do you remember? That year, the Second Emperor broke into my bedroom after drinking."
Bai Kang recalled for a moment and slowly touched his nose: "Is it you who scolded me for not being a good guard?"
"I didn't bring any troops to punish him." Lianzhi curled her lips. "Didn't someone take Second Brother back to the clan residence at that time?"
This time, Bai Kang didn't pretend to forget. Back then, after the Second Prince had trespassed into the inner palace, he was quickly escorted away by Chen Fenglian's secret guards and is now imprisoned in the clan residence. Bai Kang whispered, "You mean, secret guards? His Majesty sent someone to assassinate you again. He suspects you again."
Unlike weapon workshops in other places, this kind of craftsmanship could only be from the palace. But the one sent to kill him could never be Chen Fengke.
When she saw his face, she knew that Chen Fengke would not kill him. This was also the strangest thing about Lianzhi. Chen Fengke would not kill him. The Queen Mother was in a coma. Who else hated him so much?
Lianzhi almost wanted to laugh, for the man who wanted to kill him for some unknown reason, and for himself, who was so disgusting. He exhaled, suddenly remembered something, and looked at the arrow again.
"I seem to remember..." he said slowly, "the pattern is different."
Every few years, the palace would select homeless children from the public, bring them to the palace for secret training, and then, when they were older, send them to the various princes. With the exception of the crown prince, each of the other princes was assigned only one secret guard. When Lianzhi turned ten, her father also assigned a secret guard to guard the cold palace.
He was a prince after all, so he couldn't be too harsh on them. It was just that his brother, the Crown Prince, had long since passed away, and no other Crown Prince had been appointed since then. He didn't know much about the selection of secret guards, and only learned a little after he became emperor.
His neglect of learning this aspect of knowledge resulted in him gazing at the pattern on the arrow for a long while before he remembered that the symbols used by each prince's secret guards were different, with slight differences to distinguish their identities - most of the secret guards had no names from the moment they entered the palace, only symbols and code names.
The Chu Xiu before...I don’t think that would be his real name.
If this mark is different from what he remembered, he can still breathe a sigh of relief and use that mark to find out which remnant of the royal family is holding a grudge against him and suspecting his identity and trying to assassinate him.
But that mark was exactly the same as the ones branded on his secret guards. Lianzhi still remembered that the secret guard who had accompanied him the longest was a mute born without a tongue, with a chin that looked a bit like his, and was codenamed Dark Fifteen.
An Shiwu had long ago died in the palace coup, his body completely gone. As for the others, could it be that they were captured and threatened after his death? But the secret guards were considered death warriors, so how could they betray their master?
And now, there is only one person who can mobilize his former secret guards.
"Brother Kang." Lianzhi hugged Bai Kang's arm again, "What do you think of the relationship between the eldest princess and the queen mother?"
Bo Kang pointed at himself and said, "Ask me?"
His expression, as if he dared not criticize the royal family, made Lianzhi trust him even more. She analyzed, "The eldest princess and the queen mother have always been at odds. She attends to the queen mother's illness, so she needs to go to the palace frequently and has many opportunities to interact with the palace maids. If it's her... that's not right."
Princess Jinyang was no fool; how could she choose such a high-profile time to poison him? Furthermore, they had a plan in place. If they had endured for years, why couldn't they endure this moment?
"If you were the eldest princess who holds real power, would you endure it?" asked Bai Kang.
Lianzhi shook her head, and Baikang spread his hands: "You are siblings, isn't it normal for her to be unable to bear it?"
There was some truth to it, but not much. Both morally and logically, Princess Jinyang was a suspect. Lianzhi didn't return to the inn, but cryptically wrote down some of his suspicions and had someone pass them on to Da Ximi. He and Bai Kang returned to the Shangshu Mansion, and asked Bai Kang to invite a doctor he trusted to the mansion.
The exquisite leather suitcase was placed on the table. When it was opened, the spice powder inside was packed in small porcelain bottles and neatly arranged on one side. In the open box on the other side, the long jewel chain was stacked.
Lianzhi looked at Bai Kang quietly, but Bai Kang had already turned his head away guiltily.
"Bai Kang." Lianzhi whispered, "Did you accept it?"
Bai Kang paused and asked uncertainly, "Isn't this pretty? There are rubies on it. If you like it, haha..."
His voice became increasingly quiet as Lianzhi's eyes grew colder. But soon, the boy across from him blinked, and the coldness around him suddenly dissipated.
"It seems... the length is quite suitable?" Lianzhi picked up the jewel chain and tried it on herself.
Many geishas in the Western Regions do wear such jewelry. Some even wear bells. Lianzhi thought of the people he hated the most in Chunfeng Tower. Although those people were annoying, the jewelry was innocent!
"Do you want to see it? I can try it on."
Lianzhi's breath was hot, spraying against his ear, as if to seduce him - and in fact, it did seduce Bai Kang. Bai Kang coughed lightly: "What do you want to do?"
"Nothing." Lianzhi blinked again, looking innocent, "This one is pretty good."
The housekeeper had already summoned the doctor, and to avoid any trouble, he and his young apprentice had changed into the driver's clothes. Lianzhi stared at the doctor carefully, then confidently pulled a soaked handkerchief from her sleeve.
The handkerchief smelled strongly of alcohol, pungent and sweeter than usual. Lianzhi secretly poured the wine onto her own handkerchief, but fearing it wasn't enough, she poured more, wrung out so much water that it could be wrung out. The doctor sniffed carefully, compared it with the spices in the bottle, and suddenly knelt down.
"My Lord, the person who poisoned me is extremely skilled!"
"So, someone poisoned it, and it wasn't a problem with the spices?" Bai Kang asked in a deep voice.
"Yes and no," the doctor explained. "You should know that some foods, while safe to eat, are inherently toxic. A small amount is fine, but if you take too much..."
"No need to explain these, just tell me the conclusion directly." Bai Kang waved his hand.
"I'm trying to say that this wine is indeed non-toxic, but rather mixed with spices to add flavor. It's just that the excessive amount of spices has triggered the toxicity. I'm not very knowledgeable, so I can only identify a few of them. I need someone who understands Western spices to compare the differences with me."
This matter couldn't be made public. If the merchants from Fanfang were to come, wouldn't it cause a big stir? Bai Kang looked at the butler, who reminded him, "Sir, this matter ultimately requires an investigation into the food. Why not ask our chef to assist? He comes from a family of imperial chefs, and it was Madam who originally agreed to bring him back. He must be knowledgeable and well-informed about Western food."
Bai Kang had the butler take them to the small kitchen. A servant brought two cups of scented tea and placed them beside Bai Kang and Lian Zhi. Their noses had become numb from the constant inhalation of spices. The scent of the tea made Lian Zhi suddenly thirsty, so he took a sip. With just one sip, his expression changed slightly.
Bai Kang didn't notice. He was still studying those small bottles. His daily frugality didn't mean he hadn't seen these things. Bai Kang drank the tea in his cup without changing his expression, which showed that there was nothing wrong with his cup. Lianzhi remained calm and waited for the doctor to come back. Together with the cook, he reported, "Sir, we have found the result. Among the spices, we added more of a herb called 'Golden Pearl Grass'. There are some records of Golden Pearl Grass in medical books. It has a unique fragrance and analgesic effect. It also grows in hot areas such as Chizhou and Tongcheng in Daning. However, it is scarce and has strong substitutability. Few people use it as medicine. But this sir said that he had heard that someone in the Western Regions died of liver and intestines due to continuous consumption of Golden Pearl Grass."
The doctor's words were concise, but still elegant. Bo Kang had figured out the key point: the golden bead grass was delicious, but poisonous.
Grew up in Chizhou, Tongcheng...near the eldest princess's fiefdom.
Things were starting to look promising. Bai Kang put away his suitcase and had his butler prepare a carriage to go to the Ministry of Rites. Lianzhi sat motionless at the table. Bai Kang waved his hand in front of him, "Baby, I'll take you to the post station first. This matter needs to be reported to His Majesty first, and he and the Imperial Clan Court will make a decision."
"Are you sure it was Princess Jinyang who did it?" Lianzhi's voice was a little muffled, and her round eyes were shining with water.
"The incident is directed at the eldest princess. It's beyond our power to handle right now. We must report this to His Majesty. Regardless, this outcome is fine. Since it involves the royal family, we don't need to get involved anymore." Bo Kang squatted down and wiped Lianzhi's eyes with his fingertips. "What's wrong? Are you angry that I suspected your sister?"
"I'm not familiar with her, but I don't think she'd be so foolish as to rashly poison the Queen Mother and leave so many loopholes." Lianzhi slowly stroked the lid of the teacup in his hand, his face filled with confusion, not anger. He couldn't figure out who could be behind this false accusation.
Suddenly, Lianzhi paused and carefully wiped the cup lid twice. After wiping off the "stain" on the cup lid, Lianzhi raised her hand and stared for a moment, then suddenly smiled.
"Look."
Bai Kang lowered his gaze, and Lian Zhi held out his palm, showing it to him. His fair fingers were stained with a few grains of shimmering, coarse powder, the same color as the spices in the small porcelain bottle.
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