"I haven’t met Jing Liangdi, but I’ve noticed that Prince Jing doesn’t resemble the Emperor, nor does he look much like any of his brothers," Yang Mengchen said indifferently. "People say a nephew resembles his uncle, I’m afraid that Dugu Fuxing might truly be Prince Jing’s blood uncle."
"I will immediately send someone to Qingxin Monastery to capture Jing Liangdi," Prince Jing said. After marrying Su Xiran, Jing Liangdi voluntarily requested to go to the Qingxin Monastery, a hundred miles away from the Capital, to pray for blessings for the Emperor and Dong Chu.
Reaching out to stop Long Xuanmo as he rose, Yang Mengchen shook his head, "She must have already left by now. Your going now will be in vain. Just send people to closely monitor Prince Jing. Jing Liangdi does not have maternal feelings for Prince Jing, but if she wants to conspire to seize the throne, she must have a legitimate pretext, and Prince Jing is that pretext."
Long Xuanmo understood; these days, Jing Liangdi must have heard some rumors and gone into hiding, their trip to Qingxin Monastery would certainly find nothing. It would be better to keep a close watch on Prince Jing.
"There’s another matter," Yang Mengchen said. "Earlier, Dugu Fuxing unconsciously mentioned the Princess Mansion. I presume he was referring to the Princess Mansion the Emperor granted me. If I’m not mistaken, the leader of that mysterious force should be Prince Hui."
"Prince Hui?" Hai Tang and the others exclaimed in shock.
Long Xuanmo’s face grew solemn. He had harbored suspicions before, but had no evidence. Now that Ah Jiu had said as much, it was one hundred percent certain to be Prince Hui.
Turning to look at Hai Tang, Yang Mengchen instructed, "Quietly invite Lin Zheqi over, tell him I have urgent matters to discuss with him."
After Hai Tang respectfully complied, she quickly departed.
"Wende, it’d be best to inform the Emperor about Jing Liangdi and Prince Hui; let the Emperor be aware," Yang Mengchen said. "Also, make sure to protect Dugu Fuxing well; he still has a significant role to play."
Long Xuanmo nodded.
Before long, Lin Zheqi arrived with Hai Tang: "Ninth sister, what did you need me for?" freewebnσvel.cѳm
Long Xuanmo’s face turned sullen right away. The moment the man arrived, all he saw was Ah Jiu but not him, the living person right there—this cousin was obviously up to no good.
Nevertheless, the petty jealous Long Xuanmo was metaphorically upset as if he had knocked over a vinegar jar, a detail that unfortunately went unnoticed by both Yang Mengchen and Lin Zheqi.
Yang Mengchen directly shared her conjectures with Lin Zheqi.
Lin Zheqi’s brows furrowed slightly as he contemplated the plausibility of her speculation; after all, Prince Hui had been dead for many years, and nobody would think to associate him with this.
"You once said that person claimed to be of the Royal family and among the princes and grandsons of that age group was Prince Hui," Yang Mengchen said, sharpness flashing in her eyes. "I’ve been thinking, with so many princes and royal grandsons back then, why did that person specifically abduct you and fake your demise?
Suddenly, I remembered a past event that Sister Jin told me about. Just before the late Emperor’s demise, Prince Ke tried to bribe those close to him in a deluded attempt to reinstate an edict of succession. Ostensibly a failure, in reality, Prince Ke managed to forge a decree of succession;
Prince Hui, mistaking the forged decree for genuine, sent men to steal it at all costs, only to bump into the Imperial Uncle. Prince Hui accused Prince Ke of forging the decree with the intention of usurping the throne, so he sent men to retrieve the decree and even burned it in front of the Imperial Uncle;
In truth, Prince Hui stole the decree with the intent to alter the name from Prince Ke’s to his, thus securing a legitimate claim to the throne. It turned catastrophic when the Imperial Uncle stumbled upon the scheme, forcing him to destroy the decree;
Neither Prince Hui nor the Imperial Uncle realized that Sister Jin was hiding not far in the flowerbeds, witnessing the whole scene. She reported the truth to the Royal Grandmother, who instructed Sister Jin to keep quiet about it, due to the fact that the Emperor was about to ascend the throne, and spreading the word would only lead to complications;
After the revolts at the start of the Emperor’s reign were quelled, perhaps Prince Hui sensed something, or maybe he had other plans all along, and ’sickened unto death’ not long after;
However, Prince Hui resented the Imperial Uncle for thwarting his imperial ambitions and so plotted to abduct you, to raise you into a pawn for eventual strife against the Imperial Uncle and his son to fulfill his vendetta;
Sister Jin mentioned that Prince Ke ultimately submitted to the Emperor, and Prince Hui was ’sickened unto death,’ so the Royal Grandmother chose to keep the edict affair a secret, known only to her, the Emperor, and Sister Jin."
Sister Jin had originally intended to take this secret to her grave, but upon hearing that Yang Mengchen and Long Xuanmo were investigating deceased members of the Royal family, including Prince Hui, she wavered and only two days earlier told Yang Mengchen this secret.
With everyone present being trusted associates and the urgency of the situation, Yang Mengchen saw no need to conceal the truth.
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