Chapter 133 Explanation
When Xiao Qing came down the mountain, the carriage was already waiting beside her.
Standing next to the carriage was Fu Mingyi, dressed in a dark purple double-breasted robe.
In recent years, he seems to have a preference for this color.
Xiao Qing had been trying to persuade herself all the way.
If Fu Mingyi is willing to explain things to her properly, she will try to forgive him.
Fu Mingyi respectfully invited her into the car, just as he had done countless times over the years, his manners were impeccable.
Xiao Qing bent down and held onto the edge of the carriage to get on, and soon Fu Mingyi also came in.
The two sat down facing each other, and Xiao Qing told herself: Stay calm.
For the past three years, their relationship has mostly been that of teacher and student, a few times that of ruler and subject, and even fewer times that she couldn't quite explain.
But regardless of the reason, Xiao Qing always seemed to have a belief in her heart that: "Although I believe in you, and although you are very powerful, you can never defeat me."
This often made her feel like a warrior when facing Fu Mingyi.
Fu Mingyi indeed doesn't like to play by the rules.
"Mr. Wu is leaving."
Is Mr. Wu leaving?
Fu Mingyi often uses this understated approach to describe something very important, giving you the illusion that it's not actually that important.
Xiao Qing often expressed his deep resentment towards this.
Just as her attention was being drawn to this matter, Fu Mingyi said again, "Today's events were my idea. Not informing Your Majesty beforehand was partly a test, and partly..."
Fu Mingyi looked at Xiao Qing and said slowly, "It's also to find out who's behind them."
"You and Mr. Wu both knew about these arrangements, so who else did?"
Seeing that she asked this question, Fu Mingyi guessed that she was still bothered by it, so he slowly said, "Zhao Youchen."
Xiao Qing raised an eyebrow.
Zhao Youchen didn't hesitate at all when he swung the sword at himself; he was aware of the situation all along.
Fu Mingyi continued, "If Your Majesty can be more patient and wait until Zhao Youchen and his men capture Jiang Tianba and his deputy alive, they might be able to extract more clues."
Xiao Qing thought of what had just happened.
Why did his deputy ultimately kill him?
“Because he wanted to live.” Fu Mingyi smiled. “His senses were actually sharper than Jiang Tianba’s.”
"Who killed Jiang Tianba's son?"
"If I were to say that I am his deputy, would Your Majesty believe me?"
Xiao Qing nodded, "It's not impossible. In any case, Zhao Youchen would never do such a thing."
Fu Mingyi looked at her for a while, "His Majesty trusts Zhao Youchen very much."
Xiao Qing looked at him strangely, "Isn't it obvious? Zhao Youchen is your friend, and you recommended him to be the commander of the Imperial Guard. You know his character and temperament best. Is he the kind of person who would do such a thing?"
"On the battlefield, human life is as worthless as grass. Zhao Youchen rose to fame at a young age and fought his way up through countless battles. Does Your Majesty believe that kindness and nobility could have saved his life and allowed him to reach his current position?" Fu Mingyi spoke these words in a calm and unhurried manner, but Xiao Qing felt that something was amiss.
What are you trying to say?
Fu Mingyi slowly slipped his hands into his sleeves, neatly arranging the wide sleeves in front of him.
It was only then that Xiao Qing realized how cold it was.
Yes, it's colder in the mountains in October than in the city, especially now that it's already night.
Fu Mingyi's complexion has not been very good in recent years, and she feels a bit cold in this temperature.
Xiao Yan's visit to Tianyin Temple to request a peace charm for Fu Mingyi was not without reason, nor was it merely a casual attempt to curry favor.
Xiao Qing paused for a moment, and the anger she had felt earlier had subsided by half.
"His Majesty once gave Zhao Youchen a piece of jade. Does His Majesty know the origin of that jade?"
Xiao Qing thought for a long time, "It's just an ordinary piece of jade. It's been sitting in the warehouse of Nanhua Palace for a long time, covered in dust. Apart from looking a bit old, it doesn't seem to have anything special about it."
Fu Mingyi pulled out a rolled-up small painting from his sleeve.
"Your Majesty, please take a look at this."
Xiao Qing took it and unfolded it to see that it depicted a severed hand, twisted and deformed, but firmly gripping a piece of jade.
That piece of jade...
Because it was painted, Xiao Qing quickly recognized the shape and style of the white jade, which seemed similar to the lion-head jade she had given to Zhao Youchen.
But this hand?
"It's Jiang Tianba's son, Jiang Xin."
Xiao Qing keenly sensed that things seemed more complicated than she had imagined.
"Mr. Wu received news a week ago that someone had sent three small paintings to Jiang Tianba, and this is one of them. Only Jiang Tianba knows where the other two are and what they depict."
"If the jade pendant in this painting hadn't been similar to the one on Zhao Youchen's body, Mr. Wu wouldn't have noticed it and taken a screenshot of the painting. Afterwards, Mr. Wu investigated Jiang Tianba in detail, but he couldn't find the person behind him for a long time."
Fu Mingyi's gaze lingered on the painting for a moment. "We suspect that this person's purpose is to use Jiang Tianba to seize the jade from Zhao Youchen, or even something bigger."
He paused for a moment, then said, "So we decided to play along."
"His ambitions are even greater..."
"His Majesty's perilous situation is a crucial part of their scheme."
"Jiang Tianba always believed that Zhao Youchen killed his son, and that's why they're involved?"
Fu Mingyi nodded. "That's right. Jiang Tianba's deputy was the one who helped them mislead Jiang Tianba. Moreover, they did more than just that one thing."
As Xiao Qing listened to his words, she gradually connected many things together.
"Therefore, Jiang Tianba didn't know that things would end up like this. If I hadn't intervened, his deputy would have taken the jade from Zhao Youchen, and Jiang Tianba would have killed me and Qiao Bai—a win-win situation..."
Xiao Qing's heart skipped a beat.
“They also have eyes in the palace.”
Xiao Qing wondered if she had given Zhao Youchen a huge problem.
Fu Mingyi saw through her thoughts.
“You don’t need to be so pessimistic. Although Zhao Youchen’s situation is quite dangerous at the moment, danger also means opportunity. After Zhao Youchen learned about these things, he not only did not keep the jade safe, but also often wore it and played with it. This shows that compared with the benefits that the jade can bring him, the danger is not so worrying to him.”
Xiao Qing was somewhat dissatisfied with his way of expressing himself.
"The Grand Tutor has recently taken to teaching his students that people are driven by self-interest to do something. Is that all the Grand Tutor can see?"
Fu Mingyi lowered his eyelashes. "While that's not entirely true, in His Majesty's eyes, these almost completely constitute the whole picture."
Xiao Qing has never won a verbal battle with him.
She rolled her eyes inwardly and switched to a more interesting topic. "So, who's behind them?"
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