Chapter 246 His Background
Almost at the same time when Chu Jingyan activated the compass, several steel needles shot towards him!
After a few slight sounds, Chu Jingyan disappeared, and the steel needles were deeply inserted into the ground.
It was Xiao Changheng who took action. Those steel needles were the hidden weapons shot out from the bamboo umbrella before. He threw all eight of them out.
There were only seven nails on the ground now. Chu Jingyan was injured, but he still managed to escape.
As soon as Yun Qingqing raised her hand, the talisman on Situ Qinglan's forehead automatically flew back to her hand, at the same time attracting wisps of black air to continuously flow into the talisman.
Yun Qingqing finally breathed a sigh of relief until all the black air was taken back into the talisman. She put away the talisman paper and also collected the umbrella that was sealed by the talisman.
Yun Qingqing looked at the emperor and said:
"The Seventh Princess will have to wait a while before waking up. If Your Majesty trusts me, please allow me to bring her back to the palace. The assassination attempt was originally Chu Jingyan's manipulation of the Seventh Princess using the Heavenly Craftsmanship Nightmare Victory technique, which is why he was attacked just before he escaped. This matter has nothing to do with the Jing Kingdom."
The emperor hesitated for a moment, looked at Xiao Changheng and sighed:
"Today, it's all thanks to my royal brother who saved me. You can make the final decision on this matter!"
Xiao Changheng nodded slightly and asked the people in the mansion to take Situ Qinglan away and provide her with a place to stay.
Chu Jingyan escaped, and the situation of the other people in Nanyu suddenly became very awkward.
The person who committed the crime was the deputy envoy. Although Lu Fan claimed that he was completely unaware of it, as the chief envoy, he could not escape blame.
Yun Qingqing secretly calculated her fortune. The second prince was indeed not involved in this, but such a thing happened during the diplomatic relations between the two countries. If Nanyu did not show some sincerity, Lu Fan would find it difficult to get away with it.
Xiao Changheng ordered that all of Nan Yu's entourage and maids be taken to prison for trial.
Lu Fan was placed under house arrest in the Honglu Temple, waiting for Nan Yu to receive the news and send an envoy to redeem him.
This palace banquet finally came to an end after many twists and turns.
After this scare, the emperor felt a little depressed. Xiao Changheng was worried, so he personally sent him back to the bedroom. He also instructed the imperial physician and eunuch Li to take good care of him, and then left the palace with Yun Qingqing.
The two of them got on the carriage, and Yun Qingqing suddenly said:
"Let's go to the Honglu Temple first."
Xiao Changheng raised his eyebrows and looked at her, without asking any more questions, and gave the order.
Lu Fan has been taken back to the Honglu Temple.
He still lived in the original courtyard and was treated to good food and drink, just like before, except that all the servants were replaced by people from Liang State. There were always guards outside the courtyard, and no one was allowed to enter or leave at will.
Xiao Changheng brought Yun Qingqing into the yard, pushed the door open, and saw Lu Fan pacing back and forth with a sad face.
He turned his head when he heard the voice, and his eyes lit up when he looked at Yun Qingqing. Then he restrained his expression when he saw Xiao Changheng and nodded to the two of them:
"Your Highness the Prince Regent, Your Highness the Princess."
Yun Qingqing said directly:
"Take out the talisman I gave you last time and have a look."
Lu Fan's eyes lit up again:
"The last time I was assassinated in the downtown area, the woman who attacked me was you!"
As he spoke, he deftly took out the talisman from his pocket and was about to hand it over when his hand suddenly shook.
I saw a black spot in the middle of the talisman paper, as if someone had scribbled it with ink.
"What... is going on? I took it out to take a look before going to bed last night, and it was fine!" Lu Fan said in surprise.
Yun Qingqing stepped forward and took the talisman paper from his hand, frowning and saying in a deep voice:
"The talisman didn't take effect for long. It seems Chu Jingyan attacked you in the hall today."
"Tiangong Yansheng's control over others consumes a great deal of his mind, so it should be difficult for him to be distracted and do anything else. It seems that he may have attacked you while preparing to escape, hoping to cause chaos when something happens to you, making his escape more likely."
Lu Fan's face turned pale and there was some cold sweat on his forehead.
He bowed deeply to Yun Qingqing:
"Thank you, Princess! If you hadn't intervened today, not only would my own safety be in jeopardy, but that traitor Chu Jingyan would have provoked a dispute between the two countries, leading to a catastrophe!"
"I will repay your kindness, Princess!"
Yun Qingqing smiled slightly:
"There's no need for the Yongquan. I came here today to ask His Royal Highness Prince Jing about the origins of Chu Jingyan."
"Since it's the princess's request, I'll tell you everything I know." Lu Fan nodded, but then glanced at Xiao Changheng and said, "But..."
"What I know can only be told to the princess."
Xiao Changheng's face darkened.
Yun Qingqing said with some surprise:
"Why? You know that if you tell me, you can't stop me from telling others."
Lu Fan shook his head and said:
"If the princess wants to tell others, that's her own business, but in Liang State, I only trust you."
Having said this, he suddenly looked at Xiao Changheng and smiled:
"If other people must be present, I'm not sure I'd be able to hide anything. If the Regent doesn't mind, please stay here."
Yun Qingqing sighed slightly and looked at Xiao Changheng:
"Your Highness, why don't you wait outside for a moment? The door is open, so you don't have to worry about my safety."
Xiao Changheng glanced at Lu Fan gravely, then suddenly took Yun Qingqing's hand, squeezed it hard, and smiled warmly at her:
"Okay, I'll wait for you outside."
After saying that, he turned around and walked out the door, standing under a tree outside the yard. The door was open, and he could see the scene inside the house at a glance, but a normal person could not hear the conversation inside the house at this distance.
Lu Fan watched Xiao Changheng leave, then withdrew his gaze and smiled slightly:
"His Royal Highness the Regent has practiced martial arts since childhood and is very powerful. I imagine his five senses must be sharp. He also suffered from eye disease for several years, so his hearing may be..."
He stopped here and looked at Yun Qingqing meaningfully.
Yun Qingqing secretly sighed that Prince Nanyu was quite cunning. She raised her hand, drew a few strokes in the air, and started to make hand gestures.
Lu Fan saw a small circular formation expanding in all directions, enclosing an area of two meters in radius.
At this moment, he suddenly felt a strange feeling in the air.
After concentrating for a moment, he realized that in broad daylight, he could hear the sound of the wind, the chirping of birds, people walking back and forth outside the yard, and the occasional voices, but now all of them had disappeared!
Because he was too used to the background noise, he didn't react for a while.
Lu Fan looked at Yun Qingqing in shock, and admired her even more. He quickly offered her a seat and poured her tea.
"Your Highness, can you tell me in detail now? What is Chu Jingyan's background?" Yun Qingqing asked.
Lu Fan answered immediately:
"Chu Jingyan is an alchemist who traveled to Nanyu half a year ago. By chance, he happened to meet my father while he was on an incognito tour. He was highly appreciated by my father, so he brought him back to the palace."
"It just so happened that the old director of the Imperial Observatory was ill and retired to his hometown, so my father directly appointed Chu Jingyan as the director."
"These are rumors that spread after Father brought him back to the palace, and I think they're pretty much true. Initially, many people thought he was just a charlatan. It wasn't until he accurately predicted several natural disasters, allowing the court to prepare and reduce losses, that people began to realize he was indeed quite capable."
"Because of this, my father has grown to trust him more and more, so he appointed him as the deputy envoy to the State of Liang this time. But I never expected that he would be such a sinister person!"
Lu Fan became furious when he thought about what had happened before.
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