It was not until today that the Second Prince realized that this was his fatal mistake.
Because of a possible hidden danger, people were deployed to conduct a search, and anyone with an eye could easily find the traces left behind.
This meant that he had been tricked. Regardless of whether Wu Xueyan was truly alive and hidden, it was suspicious for him to investigate the whereabouts of someone who had already faded out of the game.
Even the Seventh Prince and the Xu family could release a non-existent Wu Xueyan in the end, saying that they killed her and that it was related to them.
"This is a trap!" The second prince got up in a hurry and sent a message to the outside of the palace before dawn. It was just one word: retreat!
All the manpower must be withdrawn completely without leaving any trace, and it is best not to leave the palace or make any other movements recently, because that damn Xu family and Seventh Brother have teamed up to set him up!
The Second Prince was now even 80% certain that Xu Yiyan had definitely done it on purpose in order to let his mother and the people in the palace hear it!
Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that the maid only heard her name and the key information of "trouble"? Otherwise, she would not choose to tell someone as loud-mouthed and straightforward as the Fourth Princess.
Oh right! I have to tell Mother not to continue investigating!
So when Concubine Ying returned from paying her respects to the Empress at Zhaoren Palace, she saw her son's anxious face: "Mother, we can't investigate the incident at the birthday banquet anymore!"
Concubine Ying looked suspicious. It was obvious that they had found out that the Seventh Prince was behind this and they were about to expose him, so why did they suddenly stop investigating?
"Mother, I've already found out what Xu Yiyan said that day. If we investigate further, we'll probably end up getting into trouble!"
"Tell me about it."
The Second Prince had no choice but to whisper in Concubine Ying's ear.
Concubine Ying was shocked: "Didn't he say he was dead? Why is he...?"
"Hush! Mother, you don't understand. It doesn't matter whether she's dead or alive. What's important is that we investigate her again. To outsiders, it looks like we're pursuing her relentlessly because we're guilty."
Concubine Ying held her forehead with her hand. At this moment, all the oriental pearls, southern pearls, agates and jades that made her proud had become pieces of stone that added weight to her head. Today's hair crown was too heavy!
Concubine Ying waved her hand, signaling everyone in the hall to leave, and then she began to pace.
"My prince, are we being a little paranoid and putting the cart before the horse? No matter what, you should have found out whether Wu Xueyan is dead or alive. If she is still alive, then your use of her to oppose the Xu family and your pursuit of her will be exposed. You are absolutely right to investigate this matter."
The Second Prince took a deep breath, feeling as if he and his mother were from two different worlds.
"Mother, you're right. But think about it, if this is a trap, if Seventh Brother wants us to investigate this matter with all the fanfare, it will definitely arouse suspicion, and what we were doing in secret will become public."
"Besides, even if Wu Xueyan is not dead, what does it matter? With the Wu family around, would she dare to accuse me? So, mother, whether Wu Xueyan is alive or dead, or whether it is a ploy or not, we can completely stay out of it. If we use it well, maybe we can even bite back at my seventh brother and the Xu family, what do you think?"
Concubine Ying struggled to digest what her son had said. After thinking for a long time, she still felt that something was wrong:
"My son, I still feel that this matter is inappropriate. How about this? Let's not investigate your seventh brother's family. Let's just send someone to deal with Wu Xueyan. We can use death squads. It doesn't matter if they succeed or not, as long as they don't expose us."
The Second Prince was completely bewildered when he heard his mother say this. "Mother! What if our assassins go there and find it's a trap, and then get killed there, and Seventh Brother uses that to make a fuss? What should we do then?"
Upon hearing this, Concubine Ying felt that it made perfect sense. After thinking for a while, she said, "That's easy. Let your fourth brother do it. That way, it won't be our business."
The Second Prince's palms were sweating, and the veins on the back of his hands were all bulging. Fortunately, his clothes were loose and no one could see it. He smiled bitterly:
"Mother, whether Fourth Brother does it or I do it, it will be the same in the eyes of others. Besides, I don't know who he offended, but Fan Shi, who was with him, was assassinated. Now he has no one to turn to."
"Didn't you kill him?" Concubine Ying opened her eyes wide. She always thought that her son had made great progress, and she was afraid that the Fourth Prince would rise to power, so she killed the capable people around him in advance.
The second prince choked. His mother's understanding of him was really very wrong. He let his fourth brother do many things, so how could he possibly kill his subordinates?
However, he did not tell his mother the more important things. He always felt that his fourth brother was not as loyal as he seemed. Just like the beating incident this time, it was too reckless. He always felt that he was deliberately making things worse.
But when I asked him to go to the minister's house to apologize, he obeyed without saying a word. It's really hard to understand.
"Forget it, there's no point in talking about these things. Mother, please listen to me this time and don't make any more moves. I promise that we can be safe this time."
Concubine Ying lowered her head and seemed to be in great pain. When the Second Prince saw this, he knew that she was about to cry again and felt extremely annoyed.
Sure enough, when Concubine Ying looked up again, her eyes were filled with tears, making her look more like a child.
"My son, I am sorry for you. I come from a poor family and have no capable relatives to help you. You have not left the palace to start your own residence yet. I am very worried, but I cannot speak to your father.
My dear, what you said about this matter is indeed very reasonable. My dear, you have finally grown up! But if Wu Xueyan is really not dead and reveals the past, it will only make things worse. Your uncle is already in great danger this time. Let's..."
"How dare you mention your uncle?" The second prince really couldn't stand his mother's nagging. From childhood to adulthood, whenever they had a disagreement, his mother would cry and cry, and she would always do things for his own good. It was really annoying!
Concubine Ying was suddenly stunned, not knowing what her son meant.
"Back then, you insisted on cleaning up our family's fortune before clearing the land, and you even asked my uncle to do it for you. That's when things got really bad! My uncle was promoted in name only, but actually demoted, and suddenly moved so far away from Beijing, making everything so difficult for us. And you're still bringing this up!"
"Is there anything wrong with this? So many people are implicated, but you're the only one who's not. Isn't that a good thing?"
"Good news?" The Second Prince leaned over to the incense burner, grabbed the lid, and slammed it to the ground. Unfortunately, the carpet was so soft and thick that no sound was heard.
"It would be fine if I were truly clean, but this kind of cleanliness is clearly an attempt to cover up one's guilt!"
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