131 Chapter 131
"Don't be afraid."
Xu Qinghe, who was dressed as a maid and sat at the table with Jing'an, felt a chill down her spine when she was stared at by a burning gaze that came from nowhere.
She frowned and subconsciously looked up at the hall. She glanced at the crowd and immediately met the man's fiery eyes.
Bang, bang, bang.
Xu Qinghe's heart immediately began to pound as if she had finally recognized the familiar, burning gaze of her former lover. At that moment, it seemed as if time had been stretched out to an eternity, with only his burning gaze fixed on her remaining the same.
Later, she clenched her palms tightly, and finally turned her gaze away without changing her expression. Finally, she lowered her head again quietly, without revealing any flaws.
Noticing her strangeness, Jing'an also looked into the hall, but found nothing.
"What's wrong?" Suddenly she thought of something and asked worriedly, "Are you feeling unwell after standing for too long?"
In order to enter the palace quietly to attend the birthday banquet, Xu Qinghe had to put on a human skin mask and disguise herself as Jing'an's maid to sneak in. Now she has been standing beside Jing'an and serving her for two hours in a row.
She shook her head. "No, I was just lost in thought. What did you ask me just now?"
Jing'an glanced into the hall. The song had now reached the part where the two loyal heroes, who had endured hardships, finally reunited. She repeated what she had just said, "I heard from Nanzhi that you wrote this excerpt?"
Xu Qinghe said, "Yes. He originally only spread the news in Beijing that I had found the evidence from back then, but he never thought of exonerating himself, and I think he never thought of restoring his original identity either."
So she wrote a short play and circulated it in the capital, letting everyone know that he was never the Prince of Wei, but the Young General Xie who had been sleeping on straw and eating bitter food for many years.
Jing'an seemed to have sensed something and glanced at the banquet at the Prince of Fuguo's Mansion opposite. Sure enough, he saw the "Prince of Wei" staring at this place intently.
Prince Wei is well-known, so it wouldn't be surprising if someone noticed him staring at a girl. It seemed that Qinghe was lost in thought just now because of his undisguised gaze.
It’s just that Qinghe was wearing a human skin mask on her face. Even she couldn’t recognize it at first, but Prince Wei actually saw it at a glance?
Jing'an quickly looked away.
"But aren't you afraid that by doing this you will disrupt his original plan?"
But the girl beside him snorted coldly: "That's his business, what does it have to do with me."
If he doesn't even have the ability to adapt, then he should just not investigate the truth or seek revenge, and just go back to being his carefree young master.
Jing'an understood that she didn't want Prince Wei to suffer injustice, so she forced him to do something.
Since she met Qinghe, she rarely saw her look so lively and willful. If she had the chance, she really wanted to meet the legendary General Xie. What kind of person was he that could make the beautiful and dignified Princess Qinghe look like this?
As they were talking, the second act was coming to an end.
The third act of the opera had already begun when the gong in the actor's hand sounded.
The third act is titled "The Clearing of the World," and it tells the story of two loyal and heroic descendants joining forces to reveal everything on the emperor's birthday, making the truth known and clearing the loyal minister's grievances.
Faced with the revelation, the original mastermind was naturally unwilling to admit it, so he defended himself with eloquent words. However, even so, he was still no match for the witnesses and evidence presented by the two people on the opposite side, and could not escape the sharp eyes of the wise ruler.
According to the law, the thief was eventually sentenced to death by slicing.
Finally, with the sound of the gong, the "Loyal Soul and Blood" performance finally came to an end.
Just as they were listening to the sound of the gong, a few loud thunders were heard in the air outside the hall, bringing everyone who was immersed in the play back to reality.
"What's the meaning of this...what's the meaning of this song?"
"Don't you understand? Isn't it that the Duke of Fuguo colluded with the enemy, leading to the death of the Prince of Nan'an and his wife in battle with 50,000 southern troops? He then used this to slander General Xie, and then the Xie family was tragically exterminated, while he continued to rise through the ranks?"
"Everything should be based on evidence. Such hasty judgments are really biased."
"The play has been circulating in the capital for several days, but the government has yet to crack down on it. Now, His Majesty has even asked you to perform it at his birthday banquet. Although there's no evidence, can't you guess what the emperor is doing?"
…
Amidst the chaotic discussions, Wei Yiqun finally stood up.
He stood up and knelt in the center of the hall, saying earnestly, "Your Majesty, I am truly loyal. I beg your Majesty to understand! I don't know when and by whom I offended to be framed with such a crime, but rumors are just rumors, and they are full of loopholes. Simply saying that my son was disguised and replaced is absurd enough! There's no such thing as changing one's appearance in this world. How could a parent fail to recognize their own son?!"
Once the charges are proven, everyone in the Fuguo Duke's family will be doomed to death.
Seeing this, Zhao Wan also hurriedly lifted her skirt, stood up, and knelt beside Wei Yiqun, and similarly pleaded, "Your Majesty, please forgive me! Che'er is the child I carried for ten months and could not possibly be the descendant of the traitorous Xie family. Your Majesty must not be deceived by such unfounded rumors!"
"No basis? It's a little early for Madam Wei to say that."
At this moment, a pleasant female voice suddenly came from the corner of the hall.
Everyone looked over and saw a maid in a blue chest-length skirt walking out from the darkness and moving lightly to the center of the hall.
Seeing this, the female official in charge of arranging the banquet quickly scolded, "How dare a mere servant girl act so recklessly in front of His Majesty! Back off immediately!"
Seeing that the maid did not stop, the female official wanted to send someone to pull her away, but was stopped by Princess Jing'an's eyes.
"Mrs. Wei, why don't you take a look at who I am?"
Zhao Wan looked at the maid again and again, but couldn't remember if she had seen her before. "Who are you?"
In the past, my son was a playboy. He even dared to tease the maids in Concubine Zhao's palace. He had too many romantic debts. Could this be another one of them?
But the maid sneered, raised her white hands to her temples, and finally peeled off her mask from there!
Everyone was shocked.
I thought I would see a bloody and horrifying face, but I didn't expect that underneath the mask was another stunningly beautiful face.
"Isn't this Princess Qinghe?"
"Princess Qinghe? Didn't she drown on Lantern Festival night a few months ago?"
"But don't forget, neither the government nor the Duke of Fuguo's Mansion has found the princess' body. They all believe that she is simply missing."
"Isn't this just like what was sung in that opera excerpt just now? The princess also endured hardships to marry into the Prince of the State's mansion. After finding evidence, she faked her own death and escaped, looking for another opportunity to reveal the truth."
"It seems this rumor isn't just a rumor, and this excerpt is no longer just a play."
Just as everyone in the hall was discussing again, Wei Ming, who had been searching for Xu Qinghe for more than half a month, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, Qinghe didn't die, she really didn't die.
After showing everyone the human skin mask in her hand, Xu Qinghe also knelt and kowtowed, speaking loudly to the man sitting high on the dragon throne: "Your Majesty, I am Xu Qinghe. I had no choice but to fake my own death on Lantern Festival night. I beg Your Majesty to forgive me for deceiving you."
Emperor Yongshun's brows relaxed slightly. Although it was unknown what he was thinking, he smiled kindly. "Since you are truly helpless, then it is understandable. I will naturally not punish you. But why don't you tell me, what happened to your face just now?"
Xu Qinghe then said, "Your Majesty, according to folklore, there are secret techniques of disguise in the martial arts world. At the most basic level, one can attach a human skin mask to a person's face, transforming them into someone else. More advanced techniques can even alter a person's bone structure while they're still young, or even create a duplicate appearance based on another person's appearance. These techniques are no secret in the martial arts world, and Your Majesty will find out once you investigate."
The martial arts secret art of disguise?
Apart from royal relatives and foreign envoys, the only people left in the hall were officials of the second rank and above. Most of them came from aristocratic families and had never seen the so-called martial arts world, so naturally they knew nothing about it.
But just now, Princess Qinghe changed from a strange and ordinary maid to a princess they were familiar with, and they had to believe what she said.
In the silence of everyone, everyone was preoccupied with their own thoughts. Suddenly, a bearded envoy stood up, walked to the center of the hall, and muttered a few words that no one could understand.
There are many countries surrounding the Daying Dynasty, but the languages are not all the same. There are not many countries like the Nanyi Kingdom that share the same language and writing with Daying. Therefore, at today's birthday banquet, an interpreter was placed beside each envoy.
Emperor Yongshun first allowed him to waive the formalities, and then glanced at the interpreter at the envoy's seat. The interpreter immediately ran to the envoy's side to await his instructions.
Emperor Yongshun then asked, "Does the envoy have anything to say?"
The envoy continued to talk incoherently, and became more and more excited, blushing several times towards Xu Qinghe.
Xu Qinghe remained calm on the surface, but he was actually feeling uneasy in his heart.
He had intended to use this human skin mask to explain to everyone that there were indeed amazing methods of disguise in the world, so as to help Wei Che restore his identity. However, he did not expect an envoy he had never met before to show up unexpectedly, and he did not know whether he was an enemy or a friend.
Worried, she glanced at Wei Che at the table and met his equally solemn gaze.
Then both of them knew that the envoy was not arranged by the other party, and this was beyond their expectations.
Wei Che's mind was in turmoil, and finally he simply stood up and went to the hall.
Fu Zongying, disguised as a servant, quickly grabbed the man and said, "There's chaos going on right now, what are you doing going over there now?"
Wei Che didn't respond, but just brushed his hand away and strode into the hall.
Fu Zongying almost beat his chest and stamped his feet.
No matter what, the princess is still under his nose, and she is not as she was a few days ago without any news. Why can't his brother wait even a moment!
Wei Che walked around the Duke of Fuguo and his wife and knelt directly beside Xu Qinghe.
Under the cover of her wide sleeves, he found her cold palm and squeezed it gently.
"Don't be afraid."
Before today, he had already entered the palace and confessed everything to Emperor Yongshun, so the emperor should also give him a chance to defend himself.
"Your Majesty, regarding the matter of disguise, I..."
"Silence."
Unexpectedly, things turned out not as he expected. Emperor Yongshun just glanced at him indifferently. The emperor's majesty and power were so great that a single look was enough to stop him.
"I just want to hear what the envoy has to say now."
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