Chapter 333 Mysterious Man
Old Mrs. Chen couldn't find any clues here, and Zhu Lan also looked worried.
Chen Li, who was standing by, bit her lips for a long time, and hesitated for a long time before she whispered, "Mom, do you think my brother will…"
Chen Li looked around hesitantly, then turned around to lock the door of the side room. When she was sure that there were only a few women left in the room, she pulled Zhu Lan to a corner.
She bent down nervously and gently pulled up her trouser legs, pulling them up to a very high position.
Zhu Lan then noticed that there was a birthmark-like mark above Chen Li's knee. It was dark brown with faintly visible black spots on it.
Chen Li said that Old Mrs. Chen also had such a birthmark on her leg, and it was congenital just like hers.
"Although I have never seen my brother who died young, I think, after all, he and I are born from the same mother, maybe..."
Zhu Lan carefully examined the birthmark on Chen Li's leg again. She seemed to have seen such a birthmark in a book in modern times. To be precise, it was called a coffee spot, which was hereditary.
In other words, if Yan Xiuyun also has coffee spots on his body, although the probability cannot be said to be 100%, there is more than a 90% chance that it is Chen Zao.
However, the inheritance of such birthmarks is also uncertain. If Yan Xiuyun has nothing on his body, it cannot prove that he is the real prince.
The most critical issue now is that Zhu Lan has no contact with the prince. After all, there is a difference between men and women, so she has no way of knowing whether Yan Xiuyun has a birthmark. The only way is to ask Qin Yuwei.
Zhu Lan pondered for a moment and decided to take Old Lady Chen and Chen Li back to the capital for resettlement.
Old Mrs. Chen looked somewhat reluctant, but due to Zhu Lan's status, she did not dare to say it out loud. It was not until Zhu Lan promised to give them and their daughter fifty taels of silver after arriving in the capital that she agreed.
Fifty taels is enough for a mother and daughter to spend their entire lives in a place like Xiangyang County.
Just then, there was a slight sound of tiles being stepped on from the roof.
"who!?"
Zhu Lan and Zhu Qingyan looked up at the same time. Chen Li turned pale with fright and quickly lowered his trouser legs.
Zhu Qingyan rushed out immediately.
Zhu Lan and the other two followed him into the yard. It was dark at night and after a long while Zhu Qingyan finally jumped down from the eaves and shook his head at Zhu Lan.
"What's going on?" Zhu Lan asked.
Zhu Qingyan's face was solemn and he said that when he came out, he only saw a black shadow leaving quickly.
The man was strong and agile, obviously an expert. It was too late for him to catch up with him, and he could only watch him disappear.
Zhu Lan looked up at the dark night, his eyes slightly narrowed.
Chen Li behind him was a little scared. Zhu Lan said in a deep voice: "This is an important place in the county government. There is no need to panic. There is no time to lose. You can follow me back to the capital tomorrow."
Zhu Lan was worried about the safety of Chen Li and Old Lady Chen, so he asked Magistrate Gan to arrange temporary accommodation for them in the county government office.
After Chen's mother and daughter went to bed, Zhu Qingyan asked Zhu Lan what was going on with Chen Zao.
When Zhu Qingyan learned that the current Crown Prince Yan Xiuyun might actually be Chen Zao, his expression could no longer be described as shocking.
It took her a long time to come back to her senses. She grabbed Zhu Lan's arm and even spoke in a low voice with a hint of anger.
"The battle for the crown prince is so dangerous, you don't stay away, but instead help the prince. If you lose, you will be shattered to pieces, and it may even bring disaster to your family.
If you don't consider yourself, don't you consider your mother and Chao'er?"
Zhu Qingyan couldn't understand why Zhu Lan had to move forward when it was so dangerous that he couldn't even hide away!
The Hanlin Academy is a place for learning, and it is much quieter than the imperial court outside. Isn't it good to live a peaceful and tranquil life here?
Why do we have to wade into such muddy water?
"Hide? Do you think I can hide, or you can hide?"
Zhu Lan's voice suddenly became colder and his eyes became sharper.
“Think about it, the Imperial Academy ordered you and me to take a vacation at the same time without any warning, and then we came to Jiangzhou, and that mysterious man just appeared again.
We have been targeted for a long time.”
Zhu Lan stared at Zhu Qingyan's eyes closely, "Only if we act faster can we take the initiative back into our hands."
Zhu Qingyan let go in a daze.
After a long while, she asked, "Do you want to protect the prince?"
Zhu Lan's attitude was noncommittal.
"But if the Third Prince loses, will A Jing be implicated?" Zhu Qingyan's voice was very light, but he showed no intention of backing down. "I will never do anything to hurt A Jing."
"You have to protect Princess Ningyue. I also have good friends in Yunzhou and the Northern Frontier Camp. I feel the same way as you do."
Zhu Lan looked at Zhu Qingyan and said seriously, "Listen to me, we need to find out the identity of the crown prince right now. Only by knowing the truth can we know where to make the next move and come up with a way to have the best of both worlds.
If we don’t investigate, someone else will. If that happens, the situation will no longer be under our control.”
Zhu Qingyan had to admit that what Zhu Lan said made sense, and she nodded with some worry.
"Okay, what do we do next?"
…
The next morning, Zhu Lan took Zhu Qingyan and Chu Xin to find the magistrate of Gan County.
Upon hearing that several people were planning to return to the capital that day, County Magistrate Gan showed a trace of embarrassment on his face.
"To get from Xiangyang County to the capital, you have to pass through Zhaoping County first, which is the road you two adults came by. But you two adults must have heard that there is a section of waterway on the road that is difficult to travel recently, and I am sending people to repair it as soon as possible.
Judging from the progress, it will be repaired in about one or two days. It will be safer for you two adults to leave then."
"This is urgent." Zhu Lan was worried that the night would be long and he asked, "The boat we took when we came here was rowed by our fourth uncle, who has excellent skills. If we let him take us back, there shouldn't be any problem."
"That...is possible." Magistrate Gan called his men and asked them to go to the ferry to see if Fourth Uncle's boat was there.
After a while, the bailiff came back and said that he had heard that someone had just chartered Fourth Uncle's boat this morning, also heading to the capital, and the reward was exceptionally generous.
"Lord Gan, how many people from Xiangyang County usually take the water route to the capital?" Zhu Lan suddenly asked.
County Magistrate Gan shook his head and said that it was very rare. Although Xiangyang County was a small county, the people in Xiangyang County were able to be self-sufficient thanks to the rich resources of Jiangzhou. There were not many people like Chen Li who often liked to go out.
In addition, the river is dangerous recently, so even fewer people are traveling.
Zhu Lan asked the yamen runner again how much money the man who chartered the boat had paid in the morning.
"This... I haven't found out exactly how much was given. But I heard from the people at the ferry that someone seemed to have taken out gold!"
Such a big deal! ?
Zhu Lan immediately thought of the mysterious man who appeared on the roof last night.
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