Chapter 316 Nursery Rhyme
Everyone had a few drinks and talked about their recent events. Qin Yuwei wanted to say something but stopped herself several times. In the end, she couldn't bear to open her mouth to break this rare atmosphere.
It was almost time, and everyone was finally ready to disperse, leaving the Yuxiang Pavilion one after another.
It was rare that Qin Yuwei was not the first to leave.
When Zhu Lan stood up, Qin Yuwei gently held her hand and said, "Lanlan, wait a minute, I have something to tell you."
An inconspicuous carriage had already been parked at the back door of Yuxiang Pavilion. Qin Yuwei and Zhu Lan got into the sedan chair. Qin Yuwei then took off her hat again, and her beautiful phoenix eyes seemed a little solemn.
Zhu Lan noticed that something was wrong with her and asked her if anything had happened.
Qin Yuwei hesitated for a long time before she raised her beautiful phoenix eyes and asked Zhu Lan:
"Lanlan, what do you think...the Crown Prince and King Qi are fighting now. What will happen if the Crown Prince loses?"
Zhu Lan was silent for a long time, then he held Qin Yuwei's hand and said seriously, "Yuwei, don't worry, we won't let anything happen to you."
Qin Yuwei shook her head gently, looking a little gloomy.
"Since the moment I stepped into the East Palace, I have been tied to the Crown Prince. Lanlan, I trust you. If the Crown Prince fails, you will have a way to keep me safe.
But what I want...is never just peace."
Qin Yuwei's voice became lower and lower. "I know it may be selfish to say this. But Lanlan, only when the prince ascends to the throne, you, me, and all of us will have a better chance."
Zhu Lan knew that Qin Yuwei was right.
Although Prince Qi has repeatedly shown goodwill to him and tried his best to win him over, he still feels that things are not that simple.
She could understand that King Qi, as a competitor for the crown prince, wanted to win over his subjects and establish the virtue of Duke Zhou, but he was not interested in her advances.
In Zhu Lan's own words, it was a bit too much and seemed like he had other intentions.
What's more, there is the Zhenbei King behind King Qi. Qingyan and I had offended him in the Northern Frontier incident. If the Zhenbei King really made trouble one day, how could King Qi offend the Zhenbei King who held a large number of troops for himself?
The most likely outcome is that the dog will be eaten after the rabbit dies.
Compared to the unpredictable Prince Qi, the Crown Prince was indifferent to me, but he was actually honest. Such a person could not hide too many thoughts, and posed less threat to people like me.
Right now, the two dragons are fighting each other. After weighing the pros and cons, it will be beneficial to everyone if the prince ascends the throne. At that time, Yu Wei can also become a helper in the harem, integrating the inside and the outside and gaining a firm foothold.
The only person who was afraid to act rashly was Gu Chaoyang in the Northern Frontier camp.
It is only a matter of time before he turns against King Zhenbei, but he must think of a foolproof way to allow Chaoyang to escape unscathed.
Qin Yuwei felt much more at ease after listening to Zhu Lan's analysis.
Zhu Lan comforted him again: "Although Prince Qi is in the limelight now, from my observation, the current emperor seems to have never mentioned the matter of changing the crown prince to anyone. I think in his heart, he still prefers the crown prince."
Qin Yuwei smiled at Zhu Lan with relief. Indeed, Yan Xiuyun was the eldest son of the emperor, and he had been trained as the crown prince for so many years. As long as he didn't make any big mistakes, Emperor Liang would not really depose him.
At this moment, the speed of the carriage suddenly slowed down significantly.
Zhu Lan frowned slightly and lifted the curtain to check. It turned out that they had driven into a narrow street and were blocked by a group of half-grown children playing in front.
Zhu Lan did not urge him. Just as he was about to lower the curtain and sit back down, he suddenly heard the children clapping their hands and singing nursery rhymes.
"The crescent moon shines on the palace wall, and the civet cat quietly changes its lover for the dragon.
No one knew where the prince had gone, and the palace ladies all said it was all a dream.
The golden palace is silent in the long night, the jade steps are lonely in the cool wind and dew.
When will the truth come out and return my royal prince to me?"
Zhu Lan was startled and subconsciously turned around to look at Qin Yuwei, and saw that her expression had changed as well.
Zhu Lan stopped the carriage, came to the children, forced a friendly smile, and asked them what they were singing.
The older children were no more than six or seven years old, and no one knew what the nursery rhyme meant. They just thought it was catchy, so they learned it and sang along.
Zhu Lan took out some crispy lactose from the carriage and asked the children to sing the song again. This time, she and Qin Yuwei in the carriage heard every word carefully and their expressions suddenly became solemn.
This nursery rhyme clearly means that the prince is not the real prince, but has been replaced by someone else!
Zhu Lan suppressed his doubts and asked the children where they learned the songs. This time the children became enthusiastic. Some said they learned it from Erhua next door, and some said they heard it on the road.
If you ask them anything else, they don't know.
Zhu Lan sent the coachman away and returned to the carriage. Qin Yuwei held her hand nervously. The two looked at each other and realized the seriousness of the matter.
Children cannot distinguish right from wrong and are good at imitating, so nursery rhymes often spread very quickly and it is difficult to trace their origins. People believe that children’s hearts are pure and innocent, and if rumors are spread without reason, it must be a warning from God.
Throughout the ages, nursery rhymes have been closely linked to astronomical phenomena, and rumors are the most hurtful and vicious.
But Zhu Lan and the others did not believe in ghosts and gods. They knew without thinking that there must be someone behind the spread of such nursery rhymes.
"Is it Prince Qi?" Qin Yuwei asked. Apart from Prince Qi, she couldn't think of anyone else's motive for doing this.
Zhu Lan was silent and thoughtful. From the perspective of motivation, King Qi was indeed the most likely person.
She thought about it for a while, and still felt it was strange, "Although this matter has something to do with the identity of the crown prince, it may cause some disturbances, but it is ultimately groundless.
Once the matter gets out of hand, the imperial court will definitely send people to investigate and clear the prince of all charges, and the rumors will be broken on their own. Spreading such nursery rhymes will not cause any substantial impact other than causing trouble for the prince..."
This move had little effect and was really unlike King Qi's style.
At this moment, she noticed that Qin Yuwei's fingers holding her wrist were slowly tightening, and her face suddenly became extremely bad.
"Yuwei, what's wrong with you?"
Qin Yuwei seemed to recall something, her voice suddenly became low, and she murmured:
"I'm afraid this matter... is not groundless."
"What?" Zhu Lan asked in surprise.
Qin Yuwei recalled the details of her interactions with Yan Xiuyun after entering the Eastern Palace.
"I've always found it strange. He is the legitimate crown prince, but why is he so worried all the time? He is always worried that his position as crown prince will be lost, and he is always wary of the third prince. I used to think that he was just sensitive by nature and always imagined that others wanted to harm him..."
"Oh, right." Qin Yuwei said, and then she remembered another thing. She said that she had secretly seen Yan Xiuyun take out a handkerchief with blood stains on it. The style looked like that used by the emperor.
"I saw him holding the handkerchief, cutting his hand with a knife, and dripping his own blood on it. Now that I think about it, could it be that he, he was..."
"Blood test to identify relatives?" Zhu Lan took a deep breath.
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