Chapter 108 Autism
Liu Yuan's expression changed and the smile froze on his face.
The little girl didn't have the airs of a princess at all. After getting along with her for a long time, Liu Yuan almost forgot her identity, not to mention that she had an emperor as her father.
"You little bastard, how dare you trick me?" Liu Yuan suddenly came back to his senses, with a mysterious look on his face.
"Hehe, all's fair in war, Daddy taught me that." Xihe was like a little fox trying to steal some fish, with her tail almost raised to the sky. "Uncle Weird, where are my big brother and fifth uncle?"
The group only saw Liu Yuan, but no trace of Zhao Chengning and Xu Qingcheng.
"Someone came to the Imperial City last night. Firstly, they wanted to transport the treasure back to the Imperial City, and secondly, they wanted to secretly interrogate Jiang Zhongguo. The eldest prince rushed back to deal with it." Liu Yuan had been exhausted for a long time, and now he sat on the ground without caring about his image. "As for Qingcheng, he was called away this morning."
"What happened to Zhuangzi?" Xiao Mingxuan keenly noticed that Liu Yuan was hesitant to speak.
Liu Yuan's expression faded, and he said, "Jiang Zhongguo...is dead."
"Ah?" Xihe blinked, his head full of question marks, "Dead?"
Liu Yuan took a deep breath, a look of melancholy on his face. "Yes, dead, completely dead. The body was already cold when we found it."
"Is his death related to General Xu?" Apart from this, Xiao Mingxuan couldn't think of any other reason to call Xu Qingcheng away.
After all, there is a Xihe here whose life or death is unknown.
"It's not directly related to him, but it's also inextricably linked to him." Liu Yuan felt annoyed when he thought of the tip-off. "Last night, the men sent by His Majesty interrogated Jiang Zhongguo and then placed him under the guard of a captain under Qingcheng. But early this morning, Jiang Zhongguo was found dead in the prison, and the captain has disappeared."
If both sides were present, they could confess, but now the captain is missing and everyone says he has fled for fear of punishment. As the leading general, Xu Qingcheng is the first to be questioned.
"I don't know when Jiang Zhongguo's actions were leaked. Now, rumors have begun to spread that the Qingcheng Sect's men killed him to save themselves. Some even implicate the Xu family, saying that they are collaborating with the enemy and treason, and stealing from the government."
"Isn't this nonsense?" Xihe was stunned by this series of events. "Grandpa is in the imperial city, and Fifth Uncle went into the mountains with us yesterday. How could he be collaborating with the enemy and committing treason? If he had, we would have been dead long ago."
Xiao Mingxuan reached out a hand to hold down the restless little girl, "Don't worry, we all know that General Xu is innocent."
"But they don't believe that a captain whose true allegiance is unknown would make them so impatient to throw dirty water on Qingcheng. Some people are just too idle." Liu Yuan said bitterly.
"Has fifth uncle been arrested?" Xihe asked worriedly.
"That's not the case." Liu Yuan felt a little relieved. "Your Majesty is as clear as a mirror. How could he not see that it was the trick of the person behind the scenes? But in order not to alert the enemy, let Qingcheng stay in the manor for now."
Emperor Jingyuan sent people to guard it personally, so Xu Qingcheng is the safest now.
"There's someone inside the manor who's working with that guy, and it's not just Jiang Zhongguo." Xiao Mingxuan said quietly, "Or rather, there was also a spy among the group of people in the secret room yesterday."
The news of the treasure might have been sent by Jiang Zhongguo, but what happened afterwards was beyond the other party's control.
They captured Jiang Ning and recovered the lost military pay, but then Jiang Zhongguo was killed, which made it hard not to think of silencing him.
The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it.
Jiang Zhongguo planned so much, but in the end he was still discarded as a useless chess piece.
As for the missing captain, he was most likely a spy planted by the person behind the scenes next to Xu Qingcheng. He took action now and used Jiang Zhongguo's life to drag Xu Qingcheng and the Xu family into trouble. Perhaps his intentions were even worse. Their target was... Zhao Chengning.
A prince who is suspected of treason cannot ascend the throne.
Kill three birds with one stone, what a good plan!
"We're already investigating." Liu Yuan also had a severe headache, but he managed to remain calm for the time being. "The most important thing now is to find that captain. I'm afraid he's already..."
That captain was the only living person who could solve the deadlock, and also the only starting point for them to clear Xu Qingcheng of suspicion.
But now I don’t know where this person has gone after defecting?
If he had been silenced, the dirty water on Xu Qingcheng would never be washed away. No matter how outstanding his military achievements were, this would be an indelible stain, and even the century-old family, the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, would be implicated.
"Uncle Weird, who did Daddy send over here?"
"It's Sanping who is beside His Majesty, and the Minister of War Su Zhongqian."
Logically, this matter should have been handled by someone from the military, but Xu Qingcheng had just gotten into trouble, and most of the soldiers had close ties with the Xu family. In order to avoid suspicion, after much deliberation, they finally decided on the Minister of War and the eunuch in charge of the imperial court, who were both unreliable.
"There should be someone guarding the pass, right?"
The three of them walked towards the carriage that had been prepared long ago. The mountain was full of mud after several rains.
"Yes, Sanping replaced all the guards at the checkpoints and various ports with the ones he brought with him as soon as he entered Jiangnan." Speaking of which, he felt a little relieved. Luckily, Sanping and Su Zhongqian replaced the garrison as soon as they entered Jiangnan last night. If they had done so this morning, the guards would have already disappeared. "Now I suspect they are still in Jiangnan, but I don't know where they are hiding. The Second Prince has brought people to investigate the shops under the Jiang family's name, hoping to find some clues."
"wrong."
"What?"
The three of them got on the carriage, and Xihe suddenly said this.
"Wrong direction."
Liu Yuan didn't understand, but Xiao Mingxuan followed Xihe's jumping thoughts.
"Xiao Xi'er's point is that the captain was arranged by someone behind the scenes. Jiang Zhongguo was killed by him, which means he didn't know the other party's identity. That person doesn't know the Jiang family inside and out. Moreover, he thought of investigating the Jiang family's connections, so how could he really hide in a place under the Jiang family's name? Isn't that just seeking death?"
Liu Yuan felt as if he was being looked down upon. After a long pause, he suddenly asked, "How old are you two?"
Xiao Mingxuan: "Ten years old."
Xihe: “Six years old.”
Liu Yuan wiped his face and became withdrawn.
He is already 25 years old, but he can't even beat two children. Could it be that he has been locked up for too long and his brain has degenerated?
"But the Jiang family is so powerful in Jiangnan that they can be found in almost any place with a bit of fame."
This is undoubtedly like looking for a needle in a haystack.
"By the way, is there a place in Jiangnan that is not owned by the Jiang family and is secluded enough for him to survive for a month without going out?" Xihe pondered for a while and said slowly.
The carriage fell into silence.
Xiao Mingxuan suddenly said, "There is one."
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