Hua Qingcheng looked directly at Bai Yuheng, a hint of a smile on her face as she said softly, "I found him. Unfortunately, he disappeared after entering this courtyard, leaving no trace."
"Oh? I wonder why the princess is so anxious to find the masked man in black?" Bai Yuheng originally wanted to reach out to take the cup of water to quench his thirst, but when he remembered that his own cup had been taken away by the woman in front of him, he immediately gave up the idea of using the public cup to drink water.
"Of course it's to repay the favor. How can I forget the kindness I've received? As the saying goes, 'A favor from someone will be remembered for a thousand years'!" Hua Qingcheng's words were half true and half false.
Even if the masked man in black had not come to her aid, Hua Qingcheng could have escaped unscathed with her own strength, but no matter what the reason for the other party's assistance, she would always remember this friendship.
Of course, the more important reason is that Hua Qingcheng believes that the masked man in black is very likely to know the assassin's true identity, and perhaps she can use him to find out the truth.
Bai Yuheng curled his lips into a smile, "I didn't expect the princess to be so loyal and righteous. It's rare. However, it's possible that she doesn't want to repay the favor, so she's avoiding me."
"Just now I saw that Master Bai seemed to be quite skilled. Have you practiced before?" Hua Qingcheng saw that the other party's words were flawless, so she could only ask directly.
Bai Yuheng twirled the jade flute in his hand, a sly look flashing in his eyes. Then he swooped in close to Hua Qingcheng, gently lifting her chin with the flute in his hand. With a faint smile, he said, "My Lady, look, although I'm a teacher at the Imperial College, I'm also a handsome, elegant man. Learning some manly moves will help you feel safer and more secure when you go out and about, don't you think?"
Hua Qingcheng had always known Bai Yuheng to be a handsome man. Why else would he have been hailed as "the most handsome teacher" by so many students during his five years as a tutor at the Imperial College? Furthermore, Bai Yuheng's classes were always packed, earning him immense acclaim and adoration from his students.
However, at this moment, the distance between the two of them suddenly shortened, and the faint fragrance of bamboo leaves belonging to Bai Yuheng suddenly blew over their faces like a spring breeze, refreshing their hearts and making people want to sink into it.
Hua Qingcheng shook her head, putting the ridiculous idea behind her, and then she couldn't help but think of the masked man in black who had fought side by side with her on the training ground. He also had a faint fragrance on his body, but it was sandalwood.
Hua Qingcheng pondered for a moment, and when she came to her senses, she couldn't help but feel a shock in her heart. She quickly reached out and pushed away the jade flute that Bai Yuheng had placed under her chin. A subtle blush appeared on her cheeks. She glanced at the man suspiciously.
Could it be that she really recognized the wrong person?
Just as Hua Qingcheng was sorting out her thoughts, Bai Yuheng suddenly tapped her head lightly with a jade flute. "My Lady, the bell for class has rung. You should go to the piano room for class. If you dawdle any longer, Master Liu will probably be angry."
Hua Qingcheng coughed lightly to hide her inner embarrassment. Thinking of Liu Nanxu's serious face, Hua Qingcheng said goodbye to Bai Yuheng and immediately turned to leave the Anxiang Pavilion and walked eastward to the piano room. As she walked, she wondered if Bai Yuheng was the man in black...
At the same time, in the Lingkun Courtyard of the Eastern Palace, Situ Ye was telling Mu Lige about how Hua Qingcheng suddenly appeared and changed the plan last night when they tracked down the hiding place of the eldest princess Nalan Junxue's private soldiers in the barren mountains outside the west of the city.
Seeing that Mu Lige looked normal, Situ Ye said, "Brother, this is exactly what happened. It's not that I'm careless, but the situation was urgent at the time, so I had to tell Qingcheng everything."
Mu Lige smiled helplessly upon hearing this and said, "Thank you for your hard work. Big Brother knows about this matter. It's because our wife is too smart. I'm afraid it's impossible to keep it a secret from her."
Mu Lige had originally intended to privately eliminate those involved in the assassination attempt on him and Hua Qingcheng, but unexpectedly, his young wife discovered the clues. Hua Qingcheng not only changed his plan, but also wiped out all of the Xianwang's private soldiers and brought down Ouyang Yuming in the process. Perhaps, his methods were sometimes a little too merciful...
Seeing that Mu Lige didn't blame him, Situ Ye chuckled, "Brother, what you said is very true..."
Situ Ye helped look after the children for a while. Only after the two little ones were full and fell asleep did he turn around and leave Lingkun Courtyard.
At the end of the Si hour, Mu Lige summoned the leader of the secret guards.
Mu Lige turned his head to look in the direction of the General's Mansion in the east of the city and said leisurely, "Ouyang Yuming not only harmed Long Yitian terribly and was the culprit for Third Brother's tragic life, but he was also the sinner who forced my young wife and Young Master Feng and his daughter to be separated for sixteen years. Even Second Brother's uncle, Situ Mingting, died at his hands..."
"Yingyi, reveal to His Majesty all the evidence of Ouyang Yuming's collusion, as well as the clues we found earlier about Ouyang Yuming's substitution of a cat for a princess during Feng Lingyan's childbirth. It's time to redress the injustice done to my wronged father-in-law..."
"Yes, master." Ying Yi received the order and quickly slipped away.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, Yu Lianhuan was executed by slow slicing at the Meridian Gate. Ouyang Yuming, who was forced to watch the executioner execute Yu Lianhuan, also suffered a miscarriage and his lower body was bleeding profusely, and he eventually collapsed on the execution ground.
Mu Lige's secret guards were very efficient. That afternoon, they revealed what Mu Lige wanted the emperor to see in various ways.
Upon hearing the news, Nalan Yunzhi was furious and ordered his men to announce that Ouyang Yuming had died of a sudden illness. He also refused to hold a grand funeral, citing the risk of disturbing the young imperial granddaughter and grandson. He was not allowed to enter the imperial mausoleum, and instead had Ouyang Yuming hastily carried to a desolate mountain outside the city and buried.
On the fifth day of February, at the imperial court, Du Zhongchun, the director of the Imperial Medical Service, proposed to retire and return home. After a little thought, Nalan Yunzhi approved her request.
In addition, just as General Huoqi, Ouyang Yiqun, Ouyang Yuming's sister, was about to question Ouyang Yuming's death, court officials came forward to impeach her, accusing her of dereliction of duty, abuse of power, oppression of the people, and disregard for human life. Their accusations were well-founded, and even had all the witnesses and evidence.
So, Emperor Nalan Yunzhi took advantage of the situation, dismissed Ouyang Yiqun from her post as General of the Cavalry, threw her into prison, and appointed Prime Minister Situ Luoyun to search her house the next day.
On the sixth day of February, Prime Minister Situ Luoyun personally went to the residence of the General of the Cavalry with the Yulin Army to search his house. The value of the gold, silver and treasures found alone was as high as three million taels.
With the death of Ouyang Yuming, the confinement of the eldest princess, Nalan Junxue, and the arrest of General Ouyang Yiqin, the Xianwang faction fell with overwhelming force, disrupting the original balance of power in the court. Various forces began to stir secretly...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
