Chapter 884 Even the Princess Consort of Qin is confused?
Jiang Xing is the fourth leader of Wanggang Village.
At this moment, even Shang Ruyi felt a chill run down her spine.
She recalled that when she was kidnapped by Xiao Yuansui, she had met the fourth leader of Wanggang Village, the fierce and cunning Lu Yong, after entering Xingluocang. Lu Yong was later killed by Yuwen Ye. After that, she heard that Wanggang Village had selected another capable person to replace the fourth leader, but they did not know who it was.
It turned out to be Jiang Yan!
Thinking back to when this person barged into Chang Le Fang, acting as if he were fearless, it's clear that ordinary people wouldn't have such skills and temperament.
But if the fourth leader of Wanggang Village has always been against the imperial court and has the word "rebellion" engraved in his heart, then it is not surprising.
After saying these words, Lou Yingxiong smiled and looked at Shang Ruyi, but there was an undisguised coldness in his smile: "If you want to talk about the relationship between Jiang Yan and Liang Youying, the Princess Consort probably won't say, right?"
Shang Ruyi took a deep breath: "I know. Liang Youying said she is Jiang Yan's distant cousin."
Lou Yingxiong looked at her: "Does the Princess really believe such nonsense?"
Shang Ruyi gave him a cold look.
She knew perfectly well that this was a trap Lou Yingxiong had set for her. At this point, she couldn't answer "I don't believe it," given the facts were already laid bare. But if she said she believed it, wouldn't that expose her and Yuwen Ye's stupidity to Yuwen Yuan? The Prince and Princess Qin were actually associating with the people of Wanggang Village—were they truly confused, or was it intentional?
Seeing that the other party was eager to try and seemed ready to shut her and Yuwen Ye up at any moment, Shang Ruyi rolled her eyes and suddenly said, "General Lou, there is something I don't understand."
Seeing that she had avoided the topic, Lou Yingxiong was somewhat disappointed, but he still immediately asked, "What doesn't Your Highness understand?"
Shang Ruyi asked, "When did you find out about the relationship between Liang Youying and Jiang Yan?"
Lou Yingxiong chuckled: "This general once guarded Anyang and fought against Wanggang Village more than once, so of course I have seen them before."
"I know,"
Shang Ruyi calmly said, "What I mean is, you may have seen Liang Youying secretly meeting with Vice Minister Pei in Feishuang Palace, but how did you know that Liang Youying and Jiang Yan were both in Chang'an, and then find out from Jiang Yan that he had dealings with Imperial Physician Su?"
"..."
"Can so much be found out in just three days?"
As soon as she said this, Yuwen Yuan's expression changed immediately.
Although he didn't say anything immediately, the emperor's authority was palpable even without anger, especially in the quiet and secluded palace. Whenever Yuwen Yuan looked at someone with a questioning gaze, that person could feel an invisible pressure that could almost materialize.
Lou Yingxiong suddenly felt a numbness in his back.
But he reacted quickly, immediately repeating what Yuwen Qian had warned him about earlier: "Your Highness is wise. These two traitors are indeed very cunning and adept at concealing their tracks; it's not easy to find their connection. If not—"
"If not what?"
"If I hadn't sent men to track her down that night, eventually finding one of her hideouts and capturing a key person, there would have been no way to confirm that Jiang Yan was also in Chang'an."
Who did you arrest?
"It's the Jiang Yu that the princess mentioned."
Upon hearing Jiang Yu's name, Shang Ruyi's expression immediately changed: "You arrested Jiang Yu?"
No wonder that morning when the Emperor returned to the capital, she and Yuwen Ye saw a group of people heading out of the city in the procession when they were greeting him outside Mingde Gate. It seems that Lou Yingxiong sent them to capture Jiang Yu!
Lou Yingxiong laughed and said, "That's right, he and Physician Su are now locked up in the Ministry of Justice's prison."
"..."
“If we hadn’t caught him, we wouldn’t have been able to get the Imperial Physician Su, who was on his way to find Jiang Yan, from him. So—” He deliberately gave Shang Ruyi a deep look before saying, “It’s all thanks to the Emperor’s divine grace.”
Shang Ruyi immediately glanced at Yuwen Yuan, only to see him wave his hand dismissively, seemingly unwilling to respond.
After thinking for a moment, Shang Ruyi said, "General Lou is indeed swift in his actions, but there is one thing I still don't quite understand."
"Oh? Your Highness, please speak."
"I have indeed heard about the relationship between Vice Minister Pei and Liang Youying. Even if the two of them really did meet in secret at Feishuang Palace, they are still morally flawed. Why is General Lou so certain that this matter is related to the assassins at Tangquan Palace?"
Upon hearing this, Yan Shaoxuan glanced at Shang Ruyi with some surprise.
He originally thought that Princess Qin should try her best to defend Pei Xingyuan. After all, the secret meeting was not caught in the act. Everyone only knew that Pei Xingyuan met someone inside, but that person was not caught. From beginning to end, it was only Lou Yingxiong's one-sided statement that the person was Liang Youying, the fifth leader of Wanggang Village. But now Liang Youying has not been brought to justice, and Pei Xingyuan is also tight-lipped. Logically speaking, she should refute this.
But from the moment she opened her mouth, she seemed to have no intention of clearing Pei Shilang's name of this crime.
Could it be that the Princess Consort of Qin has also made a mistake?
Although he thought this way, since Shang Ruyi didn't speak up, Yan Shaoxuan naturally wouldn't get involved in this mess, so he silently lowered his head.
"Isn't it clear what's going on?"
Lou Yingxiong said, "The fact that Vice Minister Pei secretly met with Liang Youying in Feishuang Hall and that the Emperor was assassinated in Tangquan Palace is the same thing."
Shang Ruyi frowned. She immediately realized that Lou Yingxiong was conflating the appearance of an "assassin" at Tangquan Palace with the assassination attempt on the emperor, which was inadvertently adding fuel to the fire in this case. Seeing Yuwen Yuan's face darken, Yan Shaoxuan, who had been silent all along, said softly, "General Lou, the emperor was not assassinated. There was only an assassin at Tangquan Palace. This distinction must be made clear."
"Do we really need to distinguish them so clearly?"
Lou Yingxiong turned to him and sneered, "Minister, if Liangdi hadn't discovered it in time, those arrows left on the palace wall would probably have already been shot."
"..."
"Does this case really have to be considered closed only if His Majesty's health is harmed?"
Yan Shaoxuan's eyes turned cold, and he was about to say something when Yuwen Yuan suddenly said, "Enough. I will make my own decision on this matter."
The two immediately replied, "Yes."
Yuwen Yuan then looked at Lou Yingxiong and said, "Continue."
A hint of joy appeared in Lou Yingxiong's eyes, and he quickly replied, "Yes."
After speaking, he turned to Shang Ruyi, and even brought Yan Shaoxuan along, his expression revealing a hint of smugness, and said, "Minister Pei's secret meeting with Liang Youying in Feishuang Palace, and the appearance of assassins on the palace walls—these two events are no coincidence. Moreover, after the incident, Liang Youying immediately fled, and Jiang Yan also disappeared without a trace. Therefore, I suspect that the two of them are the masterminds behind this assassination attempt on the Emperor, and Minister Pei is an accomplice!"
"..."
"Without him, these two people wouldn't have been able to enter Tangquan Palace so easily."
"..."
"And what he has to do is to provide support for these two traitors and assassinate His Majesty at Tangquan Palace!"
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