Chapter 196 More Like Bait
Nanny Li's mind was alerted. She glanced at the chess piece rolling on the ground, then looked at King Wei. She saw that King Wei looked normal. He picked up a chess piece that had fallen outside the chessboard and held it in his palm again.
"Why is Shi Mingyan with the people from the Yongyi Marquis' Mansion?" Zhao Yu asked.
Nanny Li responded respectfully, "Because of Shi Yang's disappearance, Shi Mingyan recently suspected the Xie family. Later, he made many connections and suspected Xie Jing's daughter. Shi Mingyan originally wanted to ask Xie Jing's daughter to come out for questioning, but the young lady of the Yongyi Marquis's mansion did not come forward. The eldest son became more and more suspicious that his father was in the hands of the Xie family."
"So Shi Mingyan is planning to reach out to the Yongyi Marquis's Mansion through Qin Beiyuan?" Zhao Yu's eyes were filled with a smile, and at this moment, his gentle smile was tinged with sarcasm. "Once he gets his hands on Xie Jing's daughter, he can use it to threaten the Xie family into revealing his father's whereabouts?"
Nanny Li pondered for a moment and said, "This is what Master Shi thinks."
Seeing her son's always gentle demeanor, the eldest empress asked with a hint of doubt in her tone, "When Shi Mingyan found you before, did you really investigate Shi Yang's disappearance?"
Zhao Yu heard this, and a dark glint flashed in his eyes: "I didn't find anything."
"Did you really check?" The Empress Dowager's questioning tone became more and more serious.
A faint smile appeared on Zhao Yu's lips: "Mother, what are you doubting?"
The Empress Dowager looked into Zhao Yu's deep, cold eyes, her expression changing slightly as she said, "Shi Mingyan revealed that Shi Yang had recently offended only the Xie family. He also didn't see Xie Jing when he went to the Xie family. Xie Jing has also been taking leave recently, and the Shi family's business has also been targeted by the Xie family. Putting all this together, it's clear that Shi Yang's disappearance is related to the Xie family. How come you couldn't find out?"
"When Shi Mingyan approached me, he didn't tell me that the Shi family had offended the Xie family. I inquired about this, but with no clues, how could I investigate?" Zhao Yu locked eyes with the Empress Dowager. "I had no idea that my mother and the Shi family were colluding to target the Xie family."
The Empress Dowager sensed Zhao Yu's displeasure and forced a smile: "My Queen Mother doesn't mean to blame you, but I just want you to be more attentive to your own people, so as not to disappoint them."
Zhao Yumei moved slightly and remained silent.
"Well, it's time for you to go home." The Empress' tone was a little indifferent.
Zhao Yu held the chess piece tighter in his hand as he stood up. He bowed and said, "I will take my leave."
After the Empress Dowager watched Zhao Yu leave, the faint smile on her face disappeared.
"Your Highness," Nanny Li stepped forward and whispered, "The prince will surely think twice about your attitude today."
The Empress's gaze fell on the scattered chess pieces on the ground. She took another piece from the chess basket and held it between her fingers, examining it. She said gravely, "Shao Lian is too kind. If he had half the ruthlessness of his father and I, how could the kingdom of Dayin have fallen into the hands of Zhao Zongli?"
Nanny Li knew that the Empress Dowager was blaming the King of Wei, blaming him for being too merciful and falling into the trap of the Ren De Emperor, which also caused him to be poisoned and almost die.
If the King of Wei had not fallen into the trap of Emperor Ren De, and the Empress Dowager had not cared about the King of Wei's life, the late emperor's confidants would have allowed Emperor Ren De's confidants to take advantage of the opportunity because the King of Wei's life was hanging by a thread.
How could the emperor of Dayin Jiangshan be Zhao Zongli?
"Your Highness, the prince was young at the time, and had a very close relationship with Emperor Rende. How could he have imagined that his uncle would take his life?" Nanny Li sighed as she spoke. "Please don't blame the prince for this. Since he recovered, he has been doing his best to do what he should do."
The empress threw the chess piece between her fingers onto the chessboard where there were only a few pieces left. The chess piece made a dull wooden sound when it collided with the chessboard.
Nanny Li lowered her eyes, her eyes on her nose and her nose on her heart.
After a long while, the eldest lady finally spoke: "The Shi family's chess piece is considered abandoned."
Now that Shi Yang is missing, Shi Mingyan has a life on his hands, and the life is from the Yongyi Marquis Mansion. How could Emperor Ren De let go of this opportunity?
Without Shi Yang and Shi Mingyan, the Shi family has no use for this chess piece.
"What do you think, is the relationship between Shi Mingyan's case and the Xie family?" The Empress Dowager raised her eyebrows slightly and stared at Nanny Li deeply.
Nanny Li and the Empress looked at each other, and for a moment they didn't know how to start.
Shi Mingyan's hand was originally extended to the Xie family, but now he has lost a life. Who would believe him if he said that it had nothing to do with the Xie family?
"I think the Xie family is even more cunning. Master Shi wanted to start with Xie Jing, and then he and Master Shi disappeared from Bianjing. Now that Master Shi has learned some of the truth, he has been put to death." As Nanny Li spoke, she looked up at the Empress Dowager. "The Xie family has been underestimated by the Empress Dowager."
The Empress Dowager chuckled softly, "It seems that there is another think tank within the Xie family. I should have been keeping an eye on the Xie family since Xie Yi left for the border. From Shi Mingyan's visit to the Xie family, it can be seen that the Xie family is united and acts in unison against the outside world."
"The old lady of the Xie family was also a capable person. Xie Yi was able to serve as a guard by the late emperor and escape unscathed from the incident with the eldest princess, all thanks to Old Lady Xie." Nanny Li recalled some of the events of the past and couldn't help but sigh: "Old Lady Xie has made an indelible contribution to the Xie family's current status."
"You mean, this time the Shi family has fallen into the hands of Old Madam Xie." There was a hint of interest in the eyes of the Empress Dowager.
Li Ma Ma carefully reminded: "Your Majesty, I think it is better to destroy the son that Emperor Ren De cares about than to deal with his right-hand man."
The Empress raised her eyes and met Li Ma'am's gaze.
Nanny Li continued, "Although the Xie family's wealth is coveted, we've made mistakes twice. If we attack them again, it will probably backfire. It would be better to find a perfect opportunity and leave them no chance of retaliation."
——
On the palace road between the high walls of the deep palace, Zhao Yu walked tall and gracefully, his eyes stern. The empress's reproach and the look she gave him as if he were a waste made the sternness in his eyes turn into self-mockery.
His eyes were deep, yet they also hinted at a smile.
"Master." Chang Ning caught up: "There's movement from Qin Junyi's side."
Zhao Yu heard this and said gently, "Are you targeting the palace?"
Chang Ning glanced at Zhao Yu in surprise at first, "Yes, the Crown Prince has been placing a lot of importance on Qin Junyi recently. During this period, Qin Junyi has met with the Emperor four or five times. It seems that he is highly valued by the Emperor."
Zhao Yu's eyebrows moved slightly. Qin Junyi was able to gain the favor of Emperor Ren De without bringing the secret letter to Shangguan Yan. It seemed that Qin Junyi was not so useless.
At least it can prevent Emperor Ren De from getting suspicious.
He thought again of the conversation he had with Xie Rongying in Yufu Garden that day.
"If you put yourself in the game, you are half as good as God."
He asked, "Young Madam, what did you want me to do today?"
"Qin Junyi will target the Prince of Wei's Mansion. His target is still Shangguan Jing. When that happens, Your Highness, please take advantage of the situation and let Qin Junyi skillfully rescue Shangguan Jing."
"Isn't the line that Young Madam is laying out a little too long?"
Xie Rongying said, "Your Highness should say that this bait is fat and tempting enough."
"Is Shangguan Jing the bait or is Qin Junyi the bait?"
Xie Rongying smiled faintly: "Your Highness, don't you think that compared to these two people, the Yongyi Marquis Mansion and the Shangguan family are more like bait?"
"Master, do you want to teach Qin Junyi a lesson?" Chang Ning asked.
Zhao Yu pondered for a moment and said, "No need. Let Qin Junyi and the Crown Prince reach out to the palace."
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