Chapter 71
The day of returning to one's parents' home is the day when the Yue people take leave and wait for someone at home.
Seeing Yue Qingning and the other person coming over, after seeing the greetings, he reached out and pulled Qingning to the main hall in the backyard. Que Ming wanted to follow, but the teacher looked at him and shook his head.
"What's wrong? Is there anything you can't listen to?"
Yue Qingning was extremely curious. What happened to Master Yue, who usually always thought about his good disciple? He was actually hiding something from Que Ming.
But Minister Yue did not smile at her. Instead, he was more serious than ever before and dragged her all the way to the backyard.
Seeing the door of the main hall closed in broad daylight, Yue Qingning finally felt a sense of reality and asked in a daze, "Have you found any clues?"
Yue's father didn't answer, but apologized to her before leaving for the door.
"You shouldn't be involved in this matter, but Prince Shou said you are essential. It won't work without you. Dad, I have no choice but to..."
Hearing this, Yue Qingning let go of his hand, walked to the door, and whispered.
"Your Highness, Qingning is here."
Sure enough, the door opened after she spoke. Yue Qingning didn't even have time to take a look. The person inside had already invited her in and closed the door.
In the dim hall, all the lights were off, and even the sunlight filtering through the window paper was filtered to the point where not much light was left. She walked through the dim room, bypassed the jade screen, and sure enough, she saw Prince Shou standing in the center of the inner room. Hearing her coming, he slowly turned around.
"Shuhu has no princess. The old King Shuhu was frail and left behind only two sons. One is the current monarch of Shuhu, and the other is in our Great Sheng Dynasty."
Before Yue Qingning had the chance to greet him, she was stunned for a moment when she heard him say this and that and then come up to explain something to her.
But she quickly figured out the key point and asked.
"Even if she's not his biological sister, Gong Heyuan needs someone like her to be his favorite concubine. Even a stranger chosen by Shu Hu wouldn't be a bad choice!"
But Prince Shou shook his head and looked into her eyes.
"That's what I was originally thinking, but thinking about your story has given me an idea. Don't you think the timing of her pregnancy after Gong Heyuan offered his sister to her was too perfect? It was just such a coincidence that within three months of the emperor's favor, she gave birth to a prince. And in all the years since then, she hasn't given birth to any other princes or princesses?"
He frowned and said, "Everyone knows that she is his biological sister, so no one doubts this. But if he doesn't have a sister, what is his relationship with that woman? Is the prince she happened to be pregnant with really my father's child?"
Yue Qingning was shocked by these words. Something that he had never thought of in his two lifetimes became clearer than ever after being revealed by his words.
No wonder they, Shu Hu, were so bold as to test Da Sheng and even dared to murder our generals in a foreign country. It turned out that they had long known that the next emperor would be their Shu Hu's reliance.
During the Double Ninth Festival last year, she had a strange feeling when she saw the words and actions of Marquis Qingyuan and the Queen. They actually didn't look much alike. The Queen looked more like a foreigner, while Marquis Qingyuan looked more like a Han Chinese.
But because both of them are foreigners, the Han people think they look similar.
So... the prince is actually a foreign bastard.
The shock this thought stirred up in her heart was comparable to the shock she felt when she heard the news of the general's death that day.
Thinking about it carefully, it's possible that the general discovered something in Shuhu and was subsequently silenced. King Shuhu, along with Gong and Yuan, had carefully planned this for so many years that they would definitely not let the general live to bring back this secret.
But now they know, and maybe they should even thank Cui Hu for his spirit in heaven watching over them and guiding them onto the right path.
Thinking of the old man, tears welled up in Yue Qingning's eyes. She blinked, feeling refreshed as if she had just drunk a bowl of wine. She finally didn't have to feel guilty about his death anymore, and for those who deserved it, it was finally time to settle the old scores with them.
With tears in her eyes, she looked up at the beams and let out a sigh of resentment for a long time.
Prince Shou approached her silently and put his hand over her eyes.
"Cry if you want! There are no outsiders here."
But Yue Qingning pulled his hand down and gave a big, bright and dazzling smile.
"I won't cry. I've cried for too long, and the Protectorate has cried for too long. Now it's someone else who should be crying."
She stared at him seriously, and the tears in her eyes were indeed retracted into her body, and asked him.
"So when can we take action, Your Highness?"
Prince Shou looked at the star-like mist brought by the sunlight outside the door, thought carefully, and said.
"This matter...whoever tries to expose it will surely die. The Emperor may be angry, but he will not let anyone who exposes his shortcomings go, and you've already done it once."
Yue Qingning didn't want him to say that and stopped him anxiously.
"That's why I'm the most suitable person to do this. I've done it once, so the emperor will believe it more, and the people outside will be even more excited. Isn't this the downfall of this group of people that we want?"
Prince Shou kept shaking his head, saying that he already had a suitable candidate, but he refused to agree to let her do it.
Yue Qingning really couldn't persuade him, and was afraid of delaying his big plan, so he had to put the idea aside for the time being and asked softly.
"At the door, my father said that His Highness has something that I must do. If it's not this, what other method requires me to go first?"
Prince Shou seemed to have taken a quick glance at her, and seeing the same stubbornness on her face as before, as if nothing had changed, he quietly felt relieved.
He hesitated for a moment, but it was not because of telling her about this, but because of the drama he was doing for her.
He hoped that she would see that they had the same similarities and the same compassionate heart, which would make it easier for her to accept the matter.
So he pretended to hesitate, but still said it.
"I once asked about Yue Lingshuang's identity... Don't blame Minister Yue. It was because I had my suspicions that Minister Yue told me the truth."
"He said Yue Lingshuang's surname was Ling, and she was the largest family with the surname Ling in our dynasty."
When Yue Qingning heard that he already knew Que Ming's life experience, she quietly clenched her fingers. Somehow, she seemed to be very afraid that the Tian family royal family would know his secret.
However, without waiting for her to react, Prince Shou continued.
"I had someone investigate. After General Ling's death, the entire Ling family was murdered. At the time, the former Crown Prince's body was still warm, so no one cared about the Ling family's situation. It wasn't until I sent someone to investigate that I discovered that General Ling's death was extremely strange. The old man of the Ling family also died suddenly overnight. Have you heard of this kind of death before?"
Yue Qingning widened her eyes and said it almost at the same time as him.
"Prince consort!"
The son-in-law also died mysteriously overnight, just like Old Man Ling. It was said that Old Man Ling was too worried after hearing the bad news, but the son-in-law was fine at that time.
He and Ling Taigong had the same teacher and they had a close relationship. When he heard the news, he went to the palace to seek an explanation for General Ling's death.
But after he came back that night, he died of a heart attack just like Old Man Ling. This is what is strange.
She thought to herself that Prince Shou once suspected that Marquis Qingyuan was behind the murder. If it was really him who did it, then the prince would be one of Que Ming's enemies, and he had actually been loyal to him in his previous life and done so many wrong things!
Queming, how should I tell you...
Seeing that her face had turned pale, Prince Shou realized that he had achieved his goal. He held her shoulders and said lightly.
"This is just a guess, but we're not far from the truth. Regarding this matter...it's up to you to decide whether or not to tell him. After all, you two are now husband and wife."
Husband and wife are one. These words weighed on her like a mountain.
She thought of Que Ming in her previous life. Perhaps no one would tell him the truth until his death. He was kept in the dark his entire life and became a servant of his enemies all his life.
But if he were to tell him, how would he be able to overthrow the Marquis of Qingyuan? Would he rely solely on that unfounded speculation? What if the Crown Prince was truly the Emperor's biological son, or if the Empress could truly win over the Emperor, so that he wouldn't even want to make this matter public?
What will be the fate of Que Ming then?
She didn't dare to think about it, nor did she dare not to think about it.
At the end, she finally understood what Prince Shou meant when he said she was the only one he could have.
Only Que Ming would believe her words, and only she could decide whether to tell him or not, so that Prince Shou could extricate himself.
After all, he is still the heir to the throne. It was a good move for him to easily put himself in a high position, but it was up to her to decide whether to do the evil thing or not.
Yue Qingning began to hate him again.
Hate him for making her make this choice.
Before leaving, Prince Shou grabbed her shoulders and asked her to face him. Yue Qingning was engaged in a battle of wits and courage with himself in her mind, so she didn't notice anything wrong with his actions.
Prince Shou held her shoulders tightly, staring at her pink lips, feeling somewhat distracted.
He wanted to persuade her again, asking her not to bear the burden alone, to tell him about the matter and let him make his own decision.
But now, looking at her pretty face lost in sorrow, he suddenly couldn't bear to disturb her.
Now, she is the wife of the number one scholar, with her hair in a bun. The gems and pearls on her head are much less than those on other people, which makes her look even more attractive.
Prince Shou wanted to ask, if you married me, would I ask you to wear so little headwear?
Although he is not as wealthy as the prince, he still has a large family background for her to dress herself up. Why would she have to transform from a rich lady to a simple woman like she is now?
But at least the jade bracelet on her wrist was still there. He reached out and pinched it and could feel the obvious ring mark on her wrist.
As long as the jade ring is still on her hand, there is still a chance.
He couldn't control himself and moved down another inch, wanting to hold her hand, and Yue Qingning also woke up at this time.
She had something on her mind, so she had nothing more to say to him. She said a few perfunctory words and left.
In the end, Prince Shou still didn't grab her hand.
But after today, how could she, with such a kind and compassionate heart, hide this matter from her husband?
I believe that in a few days, her second husband will not live long.
Prince Shou stood in the shadow, looking at the back of the person walking quickly in the sun, and smiled foolishly.
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