Chapter 72 Good News (Happy New Year)
Just like finding a thread in a tangled mess, Zhao Shiqing finally pulled out a line.
Xiuxiu's uncle Su Xinglian is the assassin who attempted assassination in Zither Villa!
Zhao Shiqing was extremely excited and spoke eloquently, which was in stark contrast to Xiuxiu's look of surprise.
"Xiu Xiu, your mother is right, your uncle is the troublemaker!"
Xiuxiu opened her mouth and stammered for a long time, "You mean, you mean, my uncle, he, he, he went to assassinate the eldest princess? The eldest princess who lives in my inn?"
Zhao Shiqing nodded and said, "Let me tell you a story. There was a little boy named Su Xinglian. He was eight years old that year. He was abducted by a flower stalker while playing outside.
The kidnappers have many children in their hands, like goods, for people to choose from.
One day, a man came and chose Su Xinglian from among these children.
The reason why Su Xinglian was chosen might be because he had good physique and was a good material for martial arts training, or maybe it was because of his cleverness. In short, Su Xinglian was bought.
But he was unlucky and jumped from the wolf's den into a fire pit.
There are a lot of kids like him there, and this is where killers are bred.
Su Xinglian and those children grew up there, and when they grew up they all became killers.
Su Xinglian's family had been looking for him. After his parents passed away, his elder brother Su Xingjian took over the burden of finding his younger brother. In order to find him, Su Xingjian took his wife and children and left Wu, where they had lived for many years, and returned to their hometown in Liang.
Finally one day, Su Xingjian found Su Xinglian, but Su Xinglian told his brother that he was controlled by the organization and was not free.
In order to redeem him, Su Xingjian gave almost everything.
At the same time, Su Xinglian received a new mission. He was to assassinate Princess Jiayi and Prince Consort Xiao.
This was no ordinary assassination, he knew he couldn't come back.
The target of this assassination was the highest-ranking person in his career as a killer.
Su Xinglian was not a rookie. He knew that whether the assassination attempt was successful or not, he would end up dead.
But this was his fate which he could not escape.
So before he went to Liangdu, he came to Jixiang Inn again to say goodbye to his brother.
He told his brother that he was going to carry out a mission. He also told his brother that he had a killer companion who worked as a cook in Zhaoting Town.
Su Xinglian must have thought that he might have implicated his brother, so when he was leaving, he told his brother about the cook. He did not want his brother to find the cook as a witness, but wanted his brother to tell him the whereabouts of the cook at the critical moment and buy a way out for his family.
Su Xinglian's assassination attempt failed, and the princess and her husband not only survived, but also accidentally stayed in the Auspicious Inn.
Before this, Su Xingjian spent a lot of money in the gambling house in order to help his brother escape. The killer organization had long known about his relationship with Su Xinglian, but the news that the assassin had come to Zither Villa was blocked by the Prince Liang's Mansion. The people behind the scenes did not know the truth, so they could only stop all actions for the time being.
However, the eldest princess checked into the Auspicious Inn at this time. The people behind the scenes didn't know that this was a spur-of-the-moment decision made by the eldest princess, and they started a conspiracy theory.
After all, Su Xinglian assassinated the eldest princess, but the princess did not die. Instead, she lived in the inn run by Su Xinglian's brother. Who would believe that this was a coincidence?
But I can testify that this is really a coincidence!
But the people behind the scenes did not believe that this was a coincidence. They believed that the reason the eldest princess did not die was because Su Xinglian was a traitor, and his brother was likely involved as well. So they finally took action against Su Xingjian's family.
Su Xingjian and his wife may have originally wanted both daughters to escape. They had already been arranging marriages for their daughters, hoping that they would marry far away, but before the marriages were arranged, those people arrived.
Su Xingjian's eldest daughter, Su Wenwen, had a leg disease. She was afraid of dragging down her younger sister, so she took the initiative to stay and die with her parents.
Su Wenwen asked her sister to go to her uncle and told her about the cook because it was the only clue left by Su Xinglian.
But the silly child did not go to find his uncle, but traveled thousands of miles to Zhaoting Town, hoping to get the criminal evidence of the person behind the crime from the cook on his own and avenge his relatives.
So, little Su Xiuxiu, please share your thoughts now."
Show Show......
She opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again, her face flushed red: "I'm not a child anymore... I'm fourteen..."
Zhao Shiqing snorted and said in his heart: Your IQ is about the same as that of a four-year-old.
Forget it, I won’t say anything more. Xiuxiu is also eager for revenge.
Zhao Shiqing cleared her throat. "I am Miss Zhao II. Wisteria Villa belongs to my family. Princess Jiayi and her husband live there. If your uncle succeeds in his assassination, everyone will think their deaths are related to our family. I was the one who prevented the murder. I didn't kill your uncle myself. He committed suicide. If you think his death was caused by me, then we are enemies now."
Xiuxiu was stunned. They were fine just now, how come they became enemies now?
This Miss Zhao Er is really a hot-headed person.
"We can't be considered enemies, right? If we were enemies, then the deaths of my parents and sister were all caused by my uncle. Doesn't that make him my enemy too?"
Zhao Shiqing nodded: "Yes, that's the reason."
Show Show......
Zhao Shiqing asked, "How is your relationship with your uncle? Are you close?"
Xiuxiu shook her head. "I've only met my uncle twice. Once, my father brought him home, and the other time he came secretly and I ran into him. Afterwards, my mother always complained about him, saying he was a troublemaker. As a result, my sister and I also stopped liking him, let alone being close to him."
Yes, even if there hadn't been the tragedy that happened later, her father would have almost gone bankrupt trying to redeem his uncle. It would be better not to find such a relative at all.
Zhao Shiqing asked again: "Then do you think we are enemies?"
Xiuxiu said firmly: "They are not my enemies. The ones who killed my parents and sister are my enemies. I want to go find my uncle..."
At this point, Xiuxiu was like a deflated pig, listless: "It's useless to find my uncle. My uncle usually doesn't like to go out, let alone meddle in other people's business. He once said to my father that after so many years, your brother might have become a bad guy who committed crimes. My father was very angry and took me away from my uncle's house..."
Zhao Shiqing thought for a moment and said, "Your family used to live in Wu, so you must have relatives and friends there. We're going there now, so we can take you there. By the way, where is your uncle's house? If you want to go there, we can also take you there if it's convenient for you."
Xiuxiu: "My uncle lives near the capital, which is quite far from here. You won't be able to go there. My father sold all the houses and shops in Wudi to buy the Jixiang Inn. As for relatives and friends, I grew up in another family and don't know any relatives or friends in Wudi."
Zhao Shiqing understood. This meant that even if Xiuxiu was brought to Wu, she would have no place to stay.
But this is not a problem for Miss Zhao Er.
"How about this, you just follow me first, and if I go to the capital again, I will take you to find your uncle.
Now, I will support you!"
Xiuxiu was stunned: "Then what do I need to do? Wash clothes and cook? I can do all these."
She doesn't eat and drink for free at Chef Zhang's place. She has to do a lot of work every day.
Zhao Shiqing: "Lingbo is my maid, you can't take her job."
Xiuxiu: "How about I learn to drive a cart?"
She really couldn't think of anything else to do. Although she didn't know how to drive a car, this didn't seem difficult and she could learn it.
Zhao Shiqing: "I bought this mule cart because of you. When you learn to ride a horse, I will sell it and you won't have to drive it anymore."
Xiuxiu felt even more guilty. It turned out that even this mule cart was bought for her. Add to that the money Zhao Shiqing paid to Chef Zhang on her behalf, and she now owed even more.
"Then what else can I do..."
Zhao Shiqing smiled, like a little mouse that had successfully stolen oil: "Where did you learn the art of disguise? Your father, your mother?"
"This is a unique family skill passed down from my maternal family, but it requires extremely high talent, so when it was passed down to my mother's generation, only my uncle learned it. When I was a child, I lived in my uncle's house, and my uncle taught me. Before I could learn it all, my father took me home." Xiuxiu said.
Zhao Shiqing: "It seems that your family doesn't have the rule of passing skills to men but not to women, or passing skills to family members but not to outsiders. In that case, can you teach me? Just teach me a few moves."
In other words, as long as Xiuxiu teaches her the art of disguise, she can follow her and eat and drink for free in the future.
Xiuxiu hesitated. Her uncle never said that the art could not be passed on to others. After returning home, she wanted to teach her sister, but her sister didn't want to learn. She thought it would be better to embroider a few more handkerchiefs with that time.
Since her uncle didn't say that it couldn't be passed on to others, and Miss Zhao only asked to learn a few moves, then her uncle shouldn't be angry if she teaches him a few moves.
"Okay, I can teach you, but let's be frank. This depends on talent, and my mother doesn't have any talent."
Zhao Shiqing was overjoyed: "Okay, okay, let me tell you, I'm quite talented. Last time I disguised myself as a scholar in the capital, no one saw through me."
She was not bragging. The young scholar Zi Han who spoke so arrogantly in Kuixing Tower before was her.
So, she and Xiuxiu made a happy agreement.
Zhao Shiqing was happy. When they arrived at the next town, she waved her hand and ordered a banquet to celebrate the upgrade of the four-person group to a five-person team.
On the road again, Xiuxiu no longer just sat in the mule cart, she began to learn to ride a horse.
A person who is proficient in disguise not only has a pair of dexterous hands, but also good body coordination. Lingbo took ten days to learn how to ride a horse, and was bruised all over. Xiuxiu only needed three days and was able to ride steadily.
Arriving at another town, they sold the mule cart and bought a horse, so that all five of them could ride horses.
When they dismounted again, they were already in the territory of Wu.
Looking around, there were bamboo forests and ponds, and the sweet fragrance of osmanthus wafted through the air. Zhao Shiqing suddenly realized that it was already Mid-Autumn Festival.
My elder brother who is far away in Liangdu, how is he?
This year's Mid-Autumn Festival is a taboo term for the entire Liang area.
At this time, Doctor Hu, the creator of this festival that became a taboo, was hugging his wife and children who had come from afar.
Doctor Hu did not come from a medical family. He was just a studious and ambitious young doctor in a small county town. That year, the Imperial Medical Service was recruiting imperial physicians. He came to the capital with his luggage, passed all the tests, and was admitted to the Imperial Medical Service. When the news came, the whole small county town was in an uproar, and he became a role model for doctors in the small town.
However, he was never able to gain a foothold in the Imperial Medical Service. Even until he left the capital, he was unable to buy a small courtyard and bring his wife and children back to the capital.
It was not until now that he suddenly realized that this was God helping him. If his wife and children were also in the capital, would he still be able to have a family reunion and hug each other as they do now?
Now, Doctor Hu’s home is located in a place in Liangdu which is quiet but not remote.
This is a three-story house, which is exquisite from the inside out. When he came to Liangdu, Liang Prince Zhao Tinghan not only allowed him to reunite with his family, but also gave him this house and 10,000 taels of silver to settle down.
But when his wife arrived, she grabbed him and asked, "Today is Mid-Autumn Festival, how come you still have the leisure to celebrate at home?"
Doctor Hu sighed and said, "Whether the prince can eat mooncakes this year is up to God. Don't take my words seriously."
At this time, Zhao Tinghan was eating mooncakes. He was in the royal mausoleum. The mooncakes were sent to him by Zhao Yunnuan. "This is made by Miss Yuan herself. Brother, try it."
Zhao Tinghan asked, "Today is a holiday, why did you come all the way here?"
Zhao Yunnuan snorted coldly, "I found out that my mother was communicating with Concubine Qiao. After I discovered her, Concubine Qiao no longer wrote to me covertly, but openly."
Concubine Qiao was the Imperial Concubine, her rank was higher than that of Princess Liang and Princess Zhao Yunnuan.
Now it was open and aboveboard. Nie had to kneel down to receive her letter, and Zhao Yunnuan had to kneel down as well, and then watch Nie take the letter into Suining Palace.
Zhao Tinghan's face was gloomy. Concubine Qiao suddenly thought of Nie. There was only one reason for this, and that was that she was instructed by Emperor Yongjia.
Zhao Yunnuan said, "Brother, we can't wait any longer. We need to speed up the process, otherwise there will be more trouble."
Zhao Tinghan nodded: "Then tell everyone in the world that not only did I get to eat mooncakes, but I'm also alive and well."
August 16th.
Zhao Yunnuan, the eldest princess of Liang, led thirty civil and military officials of Liang to the royal tomb to pay homage to her father.
Although Zhao Tinghan was thin, he looked in good spirits. He walked out in a linen robe.
......
As the Mid-Autumn Festival approached, many new faces came to Liangdu. They were all sent by various places and prefectures to gather information.
Those who cared about Zhao Tinghan's life and death included not only the emperor, but also the relatives who wanted to adopt children for him, the other seven kings, and important civil and military officials in the court.
But they waited until the Mid-Autumn Festival, but no news of Zhao Tinghan's death came from either the Prince of Liang's Mansion or the Prince's Mausoleum.
On August 16, as the thirty officials returned from the royal tomb, a piece of news came like thunder in a dry land, shocking the entire Liang capital.
Zhao Tinghan is still alive and well!
This news soon reached the capital and spread throughout the Great Yong Dynasty.
King Liang has a successor, and Crown Prince Zhao Tinghan is in good health.
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