Chapter 559 Inviting the Foolish Enemy into the Trap (Second Update)
The Imperial Study.
Princess Ning'an sat beside the emperor, her expression somber.
The emperor patted the back of her hand and said, "Don't take it to heart. The truth will come out eventually."
Princess Ning'an said softly, "Sometimes I wonder if I shouldn't have come back. Back then, I was blind and didn't listen to my brother and mother's advice. I insisted on marrying far away to the frontier, and as a result, I entrusted myself to the wrong person, causing hundreds of thousands of people on the border to suffer from the ravages of war, and causing so many soldiers to lose their lives. When His Majesty proposed to confer upon me the title of Protector of the Nation Princess, I actually knew that I was not qualified."
The emperor looked at her: "Ning'an..."
Princess Ning'an met his gaze: "Royal brother, please let me finish."
The emperor nodded helplessly: "Alright, go ahead."
Princess Ning'an said with self-reproach, "It is already an act of great grace from the royal family that I, a person with a criminal record, have been accepted by the royal family. Please do not mention the matter of bestowing titles and rewards upon me again."
The Emperor said earnestly, "This is not your fault. Whether you were there or not, the remnants of the previous dynasty would have stirred up trouble in Zhao Kingdom. You were just a pitiful person who was used by them. If it wasn't you, it would have been someone else. Don't blame yourself anymore. Your words have reminded me. Perhaps I have been too fond of you, which has made some people jealous and resentful, causing them to harbor dissatisfaction and create so many troubles?"
Princess Ning'an remained silent.
The emperor comforted her, saying, "I have my own plan for this matter, and I will certainly not let you suffer any injustice. Just pretend you didn't hear anything today, and I will find out the truth."
Princess Ning'an's eyes were a little red.
When the emperor saw her like this, he couldn't help but think of his childhood. Ning'an was a lively and active child who wouldn't cry like a typical little girl. When she was wronged, she would find a quiet place to sit and try her best to hold back her tears.
He was always the one who found Ning An and made her happy.
Thinking of the past, the emperor felt even more sorry for Ning'an.
I wonder how many times she hid in a corner, heartbroken, all alone on the frontier all these years. Has anyone found her? Has anyone felt sorry for her?
The emperor summoned Eunuch Wei: "Go to the Ministry of Justice and tell Minister Xing to keep quiet and not reveal any information about this case for the time being."
"yes."
Eunuch Wei accepted the order and left.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
On his way to the Ministry of Justice, Eunuch Wei overheard people discussing this matter.
"Young men, what were you talking about just now?" Eunuch Wei lifted the carriage curtain and called out to the two young men by the roadside in a kind voice.
Since it was to be kept secret, his identity was not easily revealed, and he wore the clothes of an ordinary gentleman.
The two men assumed he was a wealthy gentleman from the capital, so they told him about the news they had heard in the teahouse.
"I've heard that Xianleju colluded with the royal family and killed soldiers returning from the border!"
"Is...is that so?"
The old chief priest knew very well that the speed at which rumors spread depended entirely on how sensational they were. Whether they were exaggerated or not was unimportant; what mattered was that they spread widely!
"Who was killed?"
"The young master of the Gu family army! Gu Changqing!"
"Cough cough!" Eunuch Wei nearly choked to death!
How did she get involved with Gu Changqing?
Wasn't it said that the person who was assassinated was Miss Gu?
And it was an assassination attempt that failed!
"There must be a mistake. Prince Gu went to visit the families of the soldiers."
"They were killed on the way out of the city! It's not far from Feng County. Someone came out of a nearby post station and saw that the snow was covered with corpses and bloodstains!"
That was clearly a fight between Miss Gu and the assassins from Xianleju; it was all the people from Xianleju who died!
Who made all this up?!
"Oh dear, this is terrible! Prince Gu fought bravely on the frontier, but upon his return, he was betrayed by the royal family. They fear that Prince Gu's achievements will overshadow the emperor, so they want to discard him after he has served his purpose!"
"He didn't die at the hands of the enemy, but at the hands of his own people. It's truly chilling."
"It seems he didn't die; he escaped."
"Will Prince Gu have to live in hiding from now on?"
This was the first version that Eunuch Wei heard.
There's a second one.
The preceding content is similar, all about Gu Changqing being assassinated outside the city, and Xianleju colluding with the royal family. However, it's not about the royal family discarding Gu Changqing after he's served his purpose; rather, it's about a royal princess taking a liking to Gu Changqing and wanting to make him her consort.
Gu Changqing disagreed, which angered the princess, and he suffered a vicious revenge from her.
"What utter nonsense!" Eunuch Wei was completely baffled.
The third version is the one that gives Eunuch Wei the biggest headache, and the victim is still Gu Changqing, not Gu Jiao.
"I heard they're remnants of the previous dynasty!"
"Weren't all the remnants of the previous dynasty wiped out?"
"It seems that some have slipped through the net and infiltrated the capital, colluding with Xianleju to seek revenge against Prince Gu and the Gu family army!"
"Poor Prince Gu is seriously injured, and his life hangs in the balance."
"Furthermore, I've heard that there are spies in the royal family, and that remnant of the previous dynasty is lurking in the palace."
"Oh, I heard something. When the prince consort was killed by Prince Gu, Princess Ning'an pleaded with Prince Gu to let him die in the snowy mountains, but Prince Gu ignored Princess Ning'an's objections and took the prince consort's life on the spot."
"Ah, could it be..."
Eunuch Wei looked up at the sky helplessly.
It's over, it's all over now.
Once the news is out, it's not so easy to take it back. Besides, as the saying goes, it's better to guide than to suppress. The more the emperor forbids the people from talking about this matter, the more enthusiastically they discuss it.
If the emperor is a tyrant, that's one thing; but if he kills a hundred or so people, no one will dare to speak nonsense anymore.
But he wasn't.
This led to the incident escalating further, and by the evening of the second day, almost the entire capital had heard about Xianleju's collusion with the royal family to assassinate Gu Changqing.
Gu Changqing is not in the capital at the moment, so even if the emperor wanted to summon him to clarify the truth, he couldn't.
The emperor could choose to have Gu Jiao come forward and say that she was the one who was assassinated, but that would mean confirming the assassination case at Xianleju.
Besides, is there a big difference between assassinating Gu Jiao and assassinating Gu Changqing?
The difference lies only in the speed of dissemination. As the young master of the Gu family army and the heir of the Marquis of Ding'an, Gu Changqing has a greater reputation in the capital.
Gu Jiao is too low-key.
Her name isn't catchy enough.
But the essence of the matter is the same.
Furthermore, the issue is not whether the victim is Gu Jiao or Gu Changqing, but rather which member of the royal family is the mastermind behind it all.
"Princess, the tea has overflowed," Lian'er reminded her from inside the warm pavilion of Bixia Palace.
Princess Ning'an looked at the spilled tea on the table, put down the teapot that had been sitting for who knows how long, and said, "Wipe it up."
"Yes." Lian'er took a rag and wiped the water stains off the table little by little. "Princess, you've seemed restless these past two days. Has something happened?"
"No, it's nothing," Princess Ning'an said.
Bixia Palace was well protected by the emperor, and no messy rumors were heard. Lian'er only thought that her master was doing it because of Huangfu Xian.
She comforted him, saying, "Don't worry about the young master. He's just being a little temperamental. He'll grow up and become more sensible, and then he'll know how to be filial to you."
Princess Ning'an asked, "Lian'er, if one day you are captured, will you betray me?"
Lian'er solemnly replied, "Of course not! Princess saved Lian'er's life. Without Princess, there would be no Lian'er. Lian'er would never betray Princess!"
“Yes, their lives are mine, how could they betray me?” Princess Ning’an regained her usual composure and smiled. “Go to the small kitchen and see how the soup for Mother is going.”
Lian'er went to the small kitchen and came back with a food box in her hand: "It's packed for you."
Princess Ning'an took the food box and went to Renshou Palace.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Heng was also there.
Princess Ning'an looked at Xiao Heng in Empress Dowager Zhuang's study.
Empress Dowager Zhuang said, "He is the Sixth Prince that I mentioned to you. Ning'an has not met the Sixth Prince yet, has she?"
Princess Ning'an was taken aback for a moment, then smiled slightly: "Ah, yes, I haven't seen it before."
Xiao Heng stood up and bowed respectfully, saying, "Princess Ning'an."
Princess Ning'an nodded in return.
Empress Dowager Zhuang sighed to Princess Ning'an, "Didn't I tell you not to cook?"
Princess Ning'an smiled and carried the food box over to the table: "This is soup made by the chef of Bixia Palace."
Empress Dowager Zhuang gestured for Eunuch Qin to take over.
"Servant, come here." Eunuch Qin opened the food box from Princess Ning'an's hands and took out the soup inside.
Princess Ning'an smiled and said, "Then I'll take my leave now. I'll come to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager again tomorrow."
Princess Ning'an left the study and heard Empress Dowager Zhuang say to Xiao Heng, "Continue."
Xiao Heng said, "That's all. Those are the only rumors we hear from the common people."
Empress Dowager Zhuang said, "To quell the rumors, we must get the witnesses to speak. Are the witnesses awake yet?"
Xiao Heng: "She's awake."
Empress Dowager Zhuang: "Weren't you under the influence of the Seven-Day Intoxication? You've sobered up so quickly?"
Xiao Heng: "Jiaojiao has some hangover medicine. She woke up in the morning, but she was only able to speak in the afternoon."
Empress Dowager Zhuang: "She revealed the mastermind behind it all?"
Xiao Heng shook his head: "Not yet, she won't say."
"Was torture used?"
"They used it, they used every torture method available, and their mouths are tight."
Empress Dowager Zhuang snorted and said, "If hard tactics don't work, try soft ones. If soft tactics don't work, try cunning ones. I don't believe everyone at Xianleju is tough. Go and bribe someone to poison Hua Xiyao under the guise of visiting her, saying it's a snack given to her by the young master. Hua Xiyao won't misunderstand."
“Princess, your handkerchief…” In the courtyard, a palace maid spoke up as she looked at Princess Ning’an, who was lost in thought.
Princess Ning'an lowered her eyes to look at the torn handkerchief in her hand, and said gently with a smile, "It was torn by a tree branch. I was just wondering what to do."
(End of this chapter)
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