"Father, I dare not. I received news that an assassin wanted to kill Consort Li, and I lost my composure. Now that I think about it, I was reckless. Fortunately, Consort Li is safe."
"An assassin? Someone wants to assassinate your Princess Li? Is your princess some kind of extraordinary person?"
Li Tiao was also nervous, thinking that the Fourth Prince was being clever for a moment and then confused for a moment. Kangxi was also there, so it was hard to believe that the assassin would not assassinate Kangxi but instead try to assassinate her. Moreover, it was not worthwhile for the assassin to assassinate her.
However, recalling the sword that had almost blinded her and the corpses on the ground still bleeding from their chests, Li Tiao spoke softly, "Your Majesty, I did indeed encounter assassins on the way."
Master Kang was clearly a little surprised, and glanced at the guard who was waiting to the side without saying a word.
The guard noticed Kang Shifu's gaze and quickly replied, "Your Majesty, Consort Li's carriage did indeed encounter some trouble, and a prisoner was captured alive."
Master Kang gave the Fourth Prince another meaningful look, then said to his own guards, "Interrogate him!"
That one word contained a great deal of anger.
Li Tiao was a little afraid of Lei Ting's wrath.
"It's getting late, I'll go now. Fourth Prince will come back to the palace with me tomorrow. As for Li Tiao... since she came with Granny Su to guard the tomb of my Empress Dowager, she will go back to the palace with Granny Su."
What could the Fourth Prince and Li Tiao say but agree?
Li Tiao thought that it wouldn't be so easy for her to run away now.
The Fourth Prince followed Li Tiao back to her room. Seeing her listless appearance, he asked, "Are you disappointed?"
"What are you disappointed about?" Li Tiao asked.
"I couldn't run it."
Li Tiao was silent. It would be a lie to say she wasn't disappointed, but when she saw the Fourth Prince, she didn't seem disappointed. As for why, she deliberately didn't think about it.
She said, "My lord, Li Tiao just told you that it wasn't that Li Tiao wanted to run away, but that it was arranged by the Emperor. How could Li Tiao disobey the imperial decree?"
Li Tiao had always wanted to run away, and the Fourth Prince knew that, but he also knew that it was impossible for Li Tiao to be so well-prepared on her own.
Otherwise, when she was in the palace, her attempt to run away wouldn't have been so childish, like playing house.
The Fourth Prince believed that it was arranged by the Emperor, but why the Emperor did this was a thorn in his side.
After hesitating for a moment, the Fourth Prince asked, "Why did Father Emperor arrange for you to leave?"
"Because..." Li Tiao had stopped thinking about it after being interrupted halfway through her sentence, but now that it was being brought up again, the excuse was giving her some trouble.
Seeing that the Fourth Prince was getting increasingly impatient, Li Tiao thought for a moment and decided to tell the truth.
Since they couldn't leave immediately, they would have to remain bound to the Fourth Prince for a period of time. During this time, they would be a community of shared interests.
If there are things you can't figure out on your own, then perhaps the Fourth Prince can know something.
In this way, Li Tiao will be able to find out whether her guess is just a guess or a ridiculous fact.
So she walked to the door, opened it, glanced outside, then closed and locked it tightly.
"Your Highness, the other day when you argued with Consort De, you mentioned the Sixth Prince. Why?"
The Fourth Prince's eyes instantly turned cold: "Is this something you should know?"
“Indeed, Li Tiao shouldn’t know, but apart from the matter of the Sixth Prince, Li Tiao can’t figure out any other reason.”
"What do you mean?" The Fourth Prince quickly understood: "You mean Father Emperor is thinking of secretly sending you out of the palace because of Sixth Brother's matter?"
Li Tiao nodded, "That's how it appears on the surface."
"On the surface?" The Fourth Prince's hawk-like gaze lingered on Li Tiao for a moment before he asked, "And what lies beneath the surface?"
Li Tiao naturally did not mention the relationship between the Sixth Prince's death and the Empress Dowager.
She hesitated for a moment before revealing her guess: "Your Highness, Consort De has always harbored resentment towards Li Tiao. To be honest, Li Tiao didn't pay attention at first, but later she felt that Consort De's hostility was a bit inexplicable..."
"Get to the point," the Fourth Prince interrupted Li Tiao's preamble.
"The key point is that Li Tiao didn't even know where she was when the Sixth Prince passed away. It seems that the Sixth Prince had no relation to Li Tiao, but he wasn't of royal blood. Consort De seemed to care a lot about the real eldest daughter of the Li family. Just now, in the carriage, before we encountered the assassin, Li Tiao recalled that her birthday was the same as the Sixth Prince's."
Because Li Tiao's birthday was told to her by the Li family—it was the birthday of the Li family's young lady—Li Tiao made a bold guess: the true eldest daughter of the Li family was a princess!
Li Tiao herself was extremely nervous when she voiced such a guess. Looking at the Fourth Prince, he had been a little angry just now, but now he was completely calm.
It's a bit like... the calm before the storm...
So Li Tiao, quite cowardly, dodged and distanced herself from the Fourth Prince.
"Master, this is what you asked Li Tiao to say, and these are all just Li Tiao's guesses."
Moreover, both Su Ma La Gu and the Emperor knew that the Sixth Prince was not of royal blood, and that the Sixth Prince was the child of Consort De, who cared so much about the eldest daughter of the Li family.
Your Highness, you know perfectly well where the eldest daughter of the Li family is, yet you refuse to tell Consort De…
All of this... made Li Tiao think a lot.
You mentioned it during your argument with Consort De the other day: Consort De knew perfectly well that Li Tiao's participation in the imperial concubine selection was fake, but she still helped arrange everything just to prevent Li Tiao's identity from being exposed. Li Tiao…”
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
