Jiang Rao grabbed Rong Ting's clothes, closed her eyes after a moment, and gradually fell asleep.
Rong Ting waited until she fell asleep, then gently lifted the quilt, sat up, looked at her for a while, put on his clothes and stood up.
He walked slowly to the center of the room and extinguished the half-burned candle.
He replaced the candle in the candlestick with a new one, lit it again, and quietly walked out the door.
A waning crescent moon hung high in the sky, casting thick shadows under the trees.
The residence of the seventeenth prince.
The Seventeenth Prince already knew what had happened at the foot of Raogu Mountain.
He sat on the armchair in the study, facing the empty antique display cabinet, his fists clenched tightly, his eyes red as if dripping blood.
No matter how much he planned, he couldn't have expected that Rong Ting had already arranged secret guards around Jiang Rao.
He looked depressed, frustrated and angry. After this incident, it would be more difficult to get close to Jiang Rao than before. It would be even more difficult to capture her and use her as a hostage.
He stood up and paced around the study like a headless fly, his mind full of thoughts on how to enter the palace to see his mother, or go to the Xu residence to see his grandfather. He wanted to find a trustworthy elder to give him some advice.
It was late at night and the curfew had already begun. The assassins he hired had promised not to reveal his and his grandfather's names. Rong Ting would not think of him for a moment and would not find him so quickly.
He had to think of a way to make Jiang Xingchuan willingly take the blame for his crime.
The sound of footsteps coming from outside suddenly stopped the Seventeenth Prince from wandering around.
A shout rushed into the eardrum, "Your Highness, Your Highness, someone is forcing their way in!"
His expression turned cold and he looked outside, just then the door was kicked open.
The cold night wind instantly rushed into the study, making the pages of books on the desk rustle.
When the seventeenth prince saw who was coming, he couldn't help but take a step back.
A dozen officials with swords stood outside the study door.
The person in the lead was none other than Rong Ting.
Rong Ting held the sword in his hand, his eyes and tone were cold. Seeing him standing there in silence, the Seventeenth Prince shuddered, pretending to be a little confident, and stood there tense and shouted: "Ninth brother, you broke into the mansion in the middle of the night, aren't you afraid that the emperor will punish you for doing such a reckless thing?"
Even if he wanted to arrest him, he had to get his father's permission first!
Rong Ting did not say a word and drew his sword to point it directly at the Seventeenth Prince's throat. The way he looked at the Seventeenth Prince was no different from the way he looked at the assassins with black scarves covering their faces in the suburbs looking at the ants on the ground. He was cold and heartless. "You hired someone to kill someone and intended to murder the princess. You will be taken to the imperial prison and interrogated tonight."
…
When Jiang Rao woke up the next day, the bed was empty.
She rubbed her forehead, brushed aside the bed curtain and walked down.
It was bright outside and the candle in the middle of the room had burned out.
All that was left on the candlesticks were the wax dripping from the candles that had burned out and been dried by the wind. Jiang Rao squatted on the ground and stared at the candlesticks for a while, holding her cheek, not knowing what she was thinking.
Ming Shao came in and helped Jiang Rao change clothes and wash. Jiang Rao felt sorry for her because she was frightened last night, so she gave her a short vacation of half a month and increased her salary. She asked Ming Shao to go out and called another maid in to help her dress.
When the maid was combing her hair, Jiang Rao asked her, "Where is His Highness now?"
The maid replied, "His Highness went out early today and said he would not have breakfast."
Jiang Rao roughly guessed what Rong Ting was doing.
Xu Lanruo and his son have tried to take her life time and again, it's time to settle accounts.
She looked at herself in the mirror. Perhaps after a night of rest, her fear gradually faded away and she figured out some things.
The Seventeenth Prince hired someone to harm her. If anything had happened to her, it would have been a disaster. But nothing had happened to her. If they could take this opportunity to suppress the Seventeenth Prince, then this would have become an opportunity in their hands.
A godsend.
Jiang Rao became happy and gave some change to the maid, "Go ask around on the street and see how many people know about the incident where I encountered bandits at the foot of Raogu Mountain."
If there were no rumors on the street, she would try to suppress the matter so as to avoid letting her father and mother know and causing unnecessary worry.
If the rumor had spread on the street, she would have to go back to her parents' home.
In the end, Jiang Rao got on the carriage and went back to the Ning'an Marquis' Mansion.
The seventeenth prince thought his plan was foolproof, and he arranged for people to spread rumors on the streets, saying that Jiang Rao had encountered bandits at the foot of Raogu Mountain, in order to confuse people. The streets were full of people talking about the matter. After Jiang Rao learned from her maid that people on the street were talking about her encounter with bandits, she suddenly had a headache.
When this news reached her parents, given her father's usual style, he would probably turn the world upside down.
She returned to the Ning'an Marquis's Mansion around the morning hour. As expected, Jiang Xingzhou was already preparing to go to the Qi Wang Mansion to see his daughter. The carriage was already prepared. He was relieved to see that his daughter had returned by herself and was relieved that she was fine. He immediately got busy again, boiling water and making tea himself, and instructing the kitchen to make Jiang Rao's favorite cakes and steamed meat before settling down.
He glanced behind Jiang Rao.
With a little dissatisfaction, "Why didn't the King of Qi come back with you?"
Jiang Rao said: "We have to quickly find out what happened to the bandits we encountered."
Rumors on the street said that she had encountered bandits, so Jiang Rao did not mention the name of the Seventeenth Prince.
Firstly, I was afraid that my parents would worry, and secondly, I was worried about alerting the enemy.
She was most afraid that her father would blame Rong Ting for her attack, so she added, "If His Highness had not arrived in time, I would have fallen into the hands of the thieves. He worked very hard for this matter, and it is not his fault that he did not come back with me this time."
When Jiang Xingzhou heard that he almost fell into the hands of thieves, his face darkened.
Just at this moment, Jiang Jinxing walked in with great strides and hurried steps, as if someone was chasing him from behind.
Jiang Rao frowned slightly when she saw him in such a hurry, "Today is not a day off, why didn't you go to the academy?"
Jiang Jinxing snorted softly, sat down opposite her, picked up the teacup and drank it all. Seeing how thirsty he was, Jiang Rao asked, "Why are you in such a hurry?"
The servant beside him said to Jiang Rao, "The young master heard in the academy that the young lady went to Raogu Mountain on Shangsi Festival yesterday and encountered bandits, so he informed Mr. Yan and asked for a day off from the academy. He originally planned to go to the Prince of Qi's Mansion, but heard that the young lady returned to the Bo's Mansion, so he changed his route and came back."
Jiang Rao smiled when she heard that, and reached out to rub Jiang Jinxing's head. Thinking that what this little bastard did this time was somewhat like what a younger brother should do, she felt soft-hearted for a moment and wanted to give him a few gold leaves.
As soon as her hand touched him, Jiang Jinxing immediately turned his head to the side. After he dodged, he looked at Jiang Rao with a frown, as if with a reproachful look.
Jiang Rao: “…”
She immediately gave up the idea of giving him the gold leaf, and forcefully reached out her hand to rub his head before pulling her hand back.
Jiang Jinxing sat there sulking, pouting. Although he was angry, he refused to leave and said nothing. He just sat there with his head down, listening to the people in the room chatting, and drank a bellyful of tea, which he didn't really like.
Jiang Rao glanced at Jiang Jinxing from time to time. He had grown rapidly in recent years, and his figure and face had become much thinner. He looked completely different from when he was a child. He was no longer cute, but that weirdness remained.
Not only has it changed, it has even gotten worse.
You can play around, but if you rub his head he'll explode with fur.
After her parents left the main hall and went to the kitchen, Jiang Rao knocked on the table and motioned Jiang Jinxing to look at her. "Can I ask you something?"
Jiang Jinxing frowned and looked at her, "You don't know how to embroider or cook, so why do you care about my studies?"
Jiang Rao: “…” Did she say she wanted to ask him about his studies?
She was calm and composed, considering that he had taken leave from the academy to come and see her.
Jiang Rao said slowly: "I don't want to ask you about your studies, I want to ask about something else."
She would not do anything that would make her feel bored in front of him. Even if she wanted to know what he had learned in the academy, it would be better to ask Uncle Yan than asking him directly.
Jiang Jinxing crossed his arms across his chest, raised his eyebrows and glanced at Jiang Rao, motioning for Jiang Rao to continue.
The little expression on his face looked inexplicably arrogant, and Jiang Rao continued to persuade herself to stay calm in her heart.
"What were you thinking about?"
"I think some people are really tired of living." Jiang Jinxing slammed the table, "They have bullied the Ning'an Marquis' Mansion. Don't go to the Linshui Banquet on the Shangsi Festival next year, or let me follow you."
Jiang Rao was just feeling touched, but Jiang Jinxing cursed and continued, "If anything happens to you, it will be my shame. People will definitely think I am incompetent."
Jiang Rao completely gave up the idea of chatting with him about her personal matters. She sighed and asked seriously, "Before in Qiliu Town, when the inn caught fire and the fire broke out, you said you saw a black shadow rushing out, but you never mentioned it again. Who was that black shadow?"
When the inn caught fire and her brother ran to her room, he mentioned that he saw a dark shadow running out.
Jiang Rao didn't take Jiang Jinxing's casual mention to heart at that time. After all, the identity of the arsonist had been revealed, so she didn't think too much about it.
She suddenly brought it up now... it was only because she suddenly remembered that Rong Ting appeared very quickly in Qiliu Town.
He was able to appear so quickly at the foot of Raogu Mountain yesterday because of those blue-clothed secret guards. What about that time in Qiliu Town?
It’s not that Jiang Rao can’t figure out some things, it’s just that she has a casual personality and always doesn’t want to think too much.
Even if she thought too much, she was unwilling to speculate too much. She always felt that she was thinking too much, being too suspicious, and living too tiring.
Jiang Jinxing fell silent.
Seeing that he had been silent for too long, Jiang Rao looked at him with some pity, "Don't you remember?"
Jiang Jinxing became angry again, showing the expression he usually had when he was cursing, "Remember."
"Then why don't you say it?"
"I don't know who that shadow is."
"Neither the innkeeper nor the waiter had any kung fu skills, but the black shadow flew out of the air, which clearly showed that he had kung fu skills. Therefore, it was not the innkeeper, nor the waiter. Moreover..."
Jiang Jinxing paused for a moment, and Jiang Rao asked, "And?"
Jiang Jinxing scratched his hair and didn't continue talking. Instead, he looked at Jiang Rao, "Why did Sister ask about this?"
Jiang Rao didn't want to explain to him too clearly what she was worried about. Moreover, she couldn't explain it clearly. She said vaguely: "I just suddenly remembered and felt it was strange, so I asked."
Jiang Jinxing tapped his forehead twice, looking like he had a terrible headache. After hesitating for a long time, he finally said, "At that time, there was a secret guard beside my brother-in-law. The first time I saw him, I felt that he looked similar to the black shadow, but I didn't dare to recognize him."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
