Chapter 90
Xie Wu, while bending down to avoid the branches, said, "I heard that Aunt Jiang was bestowed upon my grandfather by the Emperor. She was an absolute beauty back then, though I don't know where she came from. But I heard from the old folks in the manor that when she first arrived, she was extremely unwilling, even going on a hunger strike. Every day, the food was brought to her properly, only to be brought back untouched. Later, for some reason, she changed her mind, stopped making a fuss, and became pregnant with my fourth uncle. When she was giving birth to my fourth uncle, she somehow changed her mind again and wanted to jump into the lake with him. Luckily, someone saved her."
"Perhaps it was because she had a child that she couldn't bear to part with him, and that's why she finally settled down. Over the years, she has gotten along quite well with her grandfather. However, she is of a quiet and unassuming nature and doesn't concern herself with anything, so even though there is no mistress of the house, she has not taken over the management of household affairs. She usually just spends her time chanting scriptures in the Buddhist hall."
Qin Sang: "He was threatening to jump into the lake from the very beginning? Tsk tsk, he's got a strong personality."
Xie Wu: "Of course. Marrying a man like my grandfather, what is there for her to feel wronged about... Oh well, I shouldn't gossip about my elders. I heard all this from the servants, and I even gave them a lot of my own money."
The group took a shortcut toward Aunt Jiang's courtyard. From afar, they could see that the gate was heavily guarded.
***
Qin Sang had never been here before. The courtyard had no name, and the gate was bare. Inside, there were poplar trees, tall and lush, with branches that peeked over the courtyard wall, casting large patches of light shadow. It looked simple and spacious, quite different from the graceful and refined atmosphere of the entire Prime Minister's residence garden.
Although it is the height of summer, the sky is overcast today, making the poplar leaves appear even darker and deeper green.
Qin Sang thought that after autumn arrives, the place will be covered with red leaves, and it will probably be a completely different scene.
After watching from a distance for a while, Xie Wu muttered, seeing the guards and soldiers standing like pines at the entrance, "It looks like we probably can't get in."
"It's okay, if we can't get in, we'll just go to the gate."
Xie Wu: "This works?"
Before she finished speaking, Qin Sang had already walked over.
The two had no choice but to follow.
As they approached the courtyard gate, the guards glared at them coldly. Qin Sang, her eyes red, wiped away her tears with a handkerchief and walked up to a soldier who looked kind: "Sir, may we go in and take a look?"
The officers looked her up and down, then said, "No, the officers are still investigating the case, and unrelated people are not allowed to go in and disturb the scene."
The tone was fairly friendly.
Qin Sang choked back sobs, tiptoed to look into the courtyard, and glanced at Xie Wu indifferently.
Xie Wu, Xie Wu, immediately understood and began to sob, "How could this be? How could it be Aunt Jiang? She and Grandpa have always had a very good relationship. She must have been framed!"
Qin Sang had already seen the situation inside the courtyard. The investigators were standing all over the courtyard, and in the main room across the courtyard... she blurted out, "Is that Fourth Uncle?"
The soldier who had just answered looked in the direction of her gaze and said, "He was there when we arrived, and he hasn't let go."
Xie Wu saw it too. This time, there was no need to pretend. Anyone who saw such a scene would be moved to tears.
The main room door was wide open, and Xie Xiao was sitting on the ground with his mother in his arms, silently.
He didn't shed a tear, he just sat there quietly, holding a corpse, as if he himself had frozen into a corpse, not even moving his open eyes.
Officials and constables were coming and going all around them, walking past them and coming and going. The two people, one lying down and one sitting, seemed to be detached from the world, as if they would disappear into the world at any moment and vanish without a trace.
He was a leisurely and refined young nobleman, more tasteful than Xie Sui'an, and had even treated her to drinks.
"Are you acquainted with them, mother and son?" Qin Sang's sorrow was interrupted by a voice. She turned her head and saw that the noble and handsome Prince Ning'an had appeared at some point and was standing beside her, staring at her with a half-smile.
Qin Sang shook her head: "Not familiar with them."
Prince Ning'an: "That's good."
Qin Sang watched as the officials carried out many strange-looking items from inside the house; the engraved patterns on those items were not common in the Southern Kingdom.
Following her gaze, Prince Ning'an said, "She was once a princess, if the Night Owl Kingdom hadn't been wiped out by our troops."
Qin Sang was taken aback.
"More than twenty years ago, Yanzhou in the Nanwu Kingdom was not yet Yanzhou. At that time, it was called Yexiao Kingdom. Yexiao Kingdom was rich in pearls and gems. My father was still a prince at the time. He was ordered to lead troops to Yexiao Kingdom to discuss trade matters. But in the end, Yexiao Kingdom was destroyed and was transformed into Yanzhou by us. The Aunt Jiang in front of you is the princess of Yexiao Kingdom. My father brought her back and gave her to Prime Minister Xie, who had just lost his wife."
He stared into the courtyard and sighed, "If she wants revenge, then there is a reason, but it is a bit far-fetched."
Qin Sang, however, was thinking about something else: What a cunning emperor! Such a beautiful woman, after being captured, he could restrain himself from enjoying her and instead give her to the prime minister. Was this to win over a high-ranking official, or... a hidden move planted in advance?
Thinking of this, her heart skipped a beat.
If that's the case, then the monarch of Namo Kingdom is quite shrewd. Using a honey trap, he both wins over the prime minister and subtly controls him. In this way, even if the prime minister develops disloyal intentions many years later, he can still find a way to convict him of treason.
So, after more than twenty years of lying low and enduring hardship, this princess of a fallen kingdom never let go of her hatred, only remembering revenge when everyone had lowered their guard? What was her motive?
"This case has been thoroughly investigated and confirmed. Was it this Princess Jiang of Night Owl Kingdom who killed the Prime Minister?" Qin Sang murmured. "Could it be that someone knows about this past and is using her to exonerate themselves?"
Prince Ning'an smiled meaningfully: "Her letter of confession has been delivered to Father Emperor. As for whether Father Emperor believes it or not, I do not know."
Qin Sang: "Do you believe it?"
King of Qin: "Believe what?"
"The princess of a fallen kingdom killed the prime minister of the enemy kingdom, her husband of more than twenty years."
Qin Sang heard Ning An Wang's light laughter: "I think you should think carefully about how you're going to explain the letter you mentioned earlier, which involves the major treason case from back then."
Qin Sang paused for a moment: "What's there to explain? Isn't it up to Your Highness to investigate? I'm just stating the facts. Someone was afraid that what happened back then would be exposed, so they were so furious that they even dared to murder the Prime Minister."
"Oh?" Prince Ning'an laughed, "You dared to assassinate the Prime Minister, yet you were the only one spared?"
Qin Sang: "..."
Ning Anwang took a step closer and whispered in her ear: "Don't be afraid, I have already sent top experts to protect you in secret."
Qin Sang's eyes widened. Oh right, she had forgotten about that. She had been careless.
"Go back, don't get involved in this mess." He put his hands behind his back and walked inside. "If there's any important news, I'll have someone notify you."
Qin Sang hummed in agreement, but her body wouldn't obey him. She kept her head down and followed him inside, clinging to his back. Suddenly, the person in front of her stopped, and she bumped into them.
I was startled. Good heavens, this person looked so weak and frail, yet his back muscles were surprisingly strong.
Prince Ning'an turned around, his gaze softening from a sharp look in an instant: "So clingy?"
Qin Sang shuddered in fright and wanted to back away, but she held back and smiled ingratiatingly: "Take me in and have a look."
"What are you looking at?"
"...Take a look at the scene?"
"What's so interesting? The case has already been closed and reported."
Not only was Qin Sang surprised, but Xie Wu and Xie Xiao beside her also exclaimed in surprise, "So fast?!"
Prince Ning'an's gaze swept over the two men and landed on Qin Sang's face: "Yesterday's imperial edict was an explanation to the whole world, and today's outcome is an explanation to the officials. Everything that needed to be explained has been explained. Tell me, is there any need to investigate further? Besides, there are still tens of thousands of refugees and several disaster-stricken prefectures outside the capital waiting to be resettled. Father Emperor is also having a headache."
Qin Sang was speechless for a moment: Could things get any more hasty? What happened to the secret investigation? What happened to giving the Prime Minister an explanation?
Xie Wu understood, and she looked into the courtyard again: "Then how will the Emperor deal with Consort Jiang?"
Prince Ning glanced at her, his expression cold: "The person has already committed suicide. If we were to deal with it... perhaps we would have their corpse desecrated."
After saying that, he stepped into the courtyard.
Qin Sang stared at his back and suddenly felt that this prince, who was described by the world as weak, tyrannical, and unpredictable, had become tall and dignified.
It seems that he and the Prime Minister are on the same side. Perhaps for some unknown reason, the Prime Minister is dissatisfied with the Crown Prince's rule and secretly supports this Prince Ning'an. The Prime Minister's death is a great disaster for the officials who follow him, and even more so for the prince in front of him. Therefore, he has no choice but to step out from behind the scenes and let all the arrows be aimed at him.
Hmm, that takes courage.
The group still couldn't get into the courtyard. The kind-looking soldier guarding the gate advised, "Ladies, go back. This is not a place for you."
The three of them stood there looking inside for a while, but having no other ideas, they decided to head back home.
"Fourth Uncle looks so pitiful." On the way, young Xie Xiao couldn't help but sigh.
Seeing that she was precocious despite her young age, Qin Sang asked her, "Are you very close to your fourth uncle?"
Xie Xiao gave her a cold look, and after a moment of silence, said, "Fourth Uncle often takes me out of the mansion to play."
"Oh, where should I take you to play?"
“I’ve been to all the famous teahouses and restaurants in Kyoto, and even to the outskirts. My fourth uncle has a manor in the fields north of the city, decorated in a simple and charming way. There’s a river behind the manor where you can fish and catch shrimp. It’s much more interesting than this manor in Kyoto. We even picked mulberries to make wine and roasted wild rabbits…” She choked up again as she spoke, “I wonder if my fourth uncle will ever take me out to play again. Will he ever be able to pull himself together?”
As Qin Sang imagined the scene the little girl described, she felt that Xie Xiao did indeed have that carefree and unconventional personality. She casually replied to her last sentence: "Everyone has to go through this to be able to pull themselves together."
***
Aunt Jiang, harboring resentment, submitted a memorial to the Emperor seeking revenge against Prime Minister Xie. The next day, an imperial decree was issued.
Xie Xiao held his mother's body and sat in the hall for a day and a night until he was forcibly dragged away.
Lingding said, "When they were taken away, Fourth Master did not struggle too much. But after they returned to the house, the eldest master sent people to guard the door, and no one saw Fourth Master come out again."
Qin Sang hummed in agreement.
Lingding sighed, "Fourth Master is a pitiful man."
While eating breakfast, Qin Sang asked, "What do you mean?"
Lingding: "He was originally a son of a concubine. Now that his mother has committed suicide out of fear of punishment, he probably can't stay in the Xie family anymore. Moreover, his status is very awkward."
“Yes,” Qin Sang nodded, “That makes sense. Before we go to the mourning hall, let’s take a detour to see him first, since he is innocent.”
People don't appreciate the kindness of others when things are going well, but they are remembered for helping those in need.
She wanted to go see him and, while she was at it, try to find out something.
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