85. Expose
◎The assassination attempt that day was on the princess◎
Chapter 85
It's the dawn of summer in April, and incense smoke and swirling mist fill the air of Qing'an Temple. The temple stands atop a green hill, surrounded by peaks and ridges. In the distance, it overlooks Shengjing and the river. The wind rustles through the trees, creating a serene, ethereal place, a place of nirvana.
Ji Ci seemed to appear out of the blue, and took some free time to accompany Zhao to the temple to listen to the scriptures.
After they finished listening to the sutra and had a vegetarian meal together, they supported her and went down the mountain together.
Zhao was a little out of breath. She found a stone bench by the steps and sat down to rest. Looking at Ji Ci who was admiring the scenery, she said, "Ci'er seems to be worried lately. I heard that you sent Wan'er back to the south."
Ji Ci was startled, turned his head and looked back at her, saying, "Grandma, please forgive me. My cousin is unstable, and the princess is always uneasy because of this. At the same time, the emperor is now more wary of his grandson than trusting him. His grandson has no interest in my cousin's southern noble power, so it is better to send her away."
"I see. Before she left, Wan'er came to me and cried. She had taken care of me for a long time. Even though she had no merit, she had worked hard. But it's better this way, so she won't have any unrealistic ideas. Ci'er has always been independent. Since you say so, since Grandma is old, I'll leave these matters to you."
Zhao patted his hands, paused for a moment, and then asked, "How are you and the princess lately?"
He smiled and said awkwardly, "Grandma, to be honest, I miss you a little bit now."
There was the sound of gurgling brook all around, like jade beads splashing on the ground. Although he said this, his eyes were dim.
Seeing that Zhao Shi didn't respond, she continued, "Don't worry, Grandma. The princess is lively and lovely, as if she has endless energy, like a little sun. She treats her grandson very well, takes good care of him, and carefully cures his illness. The servants in the palace also like her..."
These are all true, except for her lies and hypocritical nature, and there seem to be many men who like her.
"That's good."
Zhao looked at him intently without saying much. She turned her head and looked off into the distance as well. Suddenly, she asked, "What insights did you gain from listening to the sutra today?"
As they got closer, Zhao saw all his expressions. She knew that he had been in a bad mood recently. Thinking of his past hardships, she couldn't help but feel worried.
Ji Ci pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "The scriptures say, 'All appearances are false. If you see all appearances as non-appearances, you will see the Tathagata.' Perhaps this is true of all things in the world. What you see and hear is all understood by your heart."
"It seems you really like her."
Ji Ci paused and touched the tip of his nose somewhat unnaturally.
He admitted that he had been deceived by her appearance, and now that he knew her true face, he was at a loss as to how to get along with her. He had suddenly decided to come here today to seek an answer.
"Bring her to grandma's place more often in the future. The Buddha has a heart of wisdom and nature, and is dedicated to saving all living beings. Grandma also wants to have someone accompany her all the time." Zhao smiled again.
Ji Ci swallowed the words of promise that were on the tip of his tongue and just smiled unnaturally at her.
Looking not far away, a family of three came to the temple to burn incense.
They were dressed in simple clothes and looked like a commoner family. The father picked up his four or five-year-old daughter who was unable to walk and let her sit on his shoulders.
The weather was getting hotter, and a few beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. His wife smiled and took out a handkerchief from her bosom and gently wiped the sweat off his forehead. The two smiled at each other. The little daughter on her shoulder saw this and covered her eyes and giggled.
It was a very simple scene, but it made him suddenly envious.
"Grandma, I want to go back." He stood up suddenly, and the waiting seemed to become increasingly unbearable in his heart. He just wanted to go down the mountain to see her quickly.
No matter how cold their relationship is now, no matter what the barriers are, even if there is no contact, just seeing her once is enough.
It seemed as if he had never felt so eager to see someone and hear her whispers like this in his life.
These days, I feel so close to her, yet we seem worlds apart. At this very moment, my heart seems to have many more words that I want to blurt out to her.
Seeing this, Zhao laughed out loud. Looking at her grandson who was in love, she also opened up the dusty memories of her youth.
"Ci'er, if you're anxious, go down the mountain first. Don't worry, Grandma. I have a lot of people here, and I've been in Qing'an Temple for many years. I'll sit for a while and then go back to the palace by myself."
"Yes, grandma." Ji Ci turned around and saluted her, then took two steps at a time and walked down the mountain, as if he wished he could fly away.
His blood was boiling, and he didn't care about etiquette too much, and he couldn't hold back until Zhao came down the mountain.
The world is too vast, and his heart is too small, so small that it can only accommodate this one person, nothing more.
While riding through Shengjing City, he accidentally saw a coat made of pearls in a jewelry shop, which was emitting a faint glow.
He stopped his horse and walked into the shop. Suddenly, he imagined how she would look wearing the pearl dress, and his heart softened.
This dress looks too vulgar, but if his little wife could wear it, she would be stunning.
He dismounted and walked into the shop, and asked the shopkeeper to pack up the pearl clothes.
"Okay, sir! This is a gift for your wife at home." The shopkeeper packed the clothes with a smile and handed them to Ji Ci.
He thought of his wife who loved vulgar things and comparisons, and curled his lips slightly before saying, "Yes."
The shopkeeper smiled and waved goodbye, "I wish you and your wife a long and happy life together!"
"Thanks for your good wishes!" His originally gloomy mood suddenly became brighter because of these words.
When he rode back to the palace, it was still dark. He searched inside the palace but didn't see her. So he asked the servants and learned that she had gone to the princess's palace for a banquet.
He exhaled, feeling a surge of restlessness in his heart. Seeing that it was still early, he suppressed his urge to go to the princess's residence. He placed the pearl dress on the bed in her bedroom, stroked it gently, and then returned to his study to attend to official business.
Outside, the light and shadows were dappled. After he sat down, he noticed an extra file on the desk. It must have been placed there by the sky while he was away.
He reached out and took it, unfolding it, then immediately paused.
Suddenly, the leaves outside the house swayed rapidly in the strong wind, making a crackling sound.
"God damn it!" Ji Ci roared, his hands tightened, and the file in his hand was crumpled.
"Your Highness, what's the matter?" Tian Qu heard the angry voice and rushed into the study without knowing why.
Ji Ci raised the file in his hand and asked, "What is this?"
Tian Qu had never opened the file and did not know what was inside, but he knew that this was what the prince had asked him to investigate.
"Your Majesty, this is the portrait you asked me to send to Wuzhou to find."
That’s right, the file in his hand was the portrait of Qiu Ziye from Wuzhou.
The woman in the portrait was beautiful, with black eyes and black hair, but she was not his wife at all.
The face was more pointed, the eyes were not peach blossoms but a pair of red phoenixes, and the lips were thinner. The face was full of a gorgeous temperament, and it could be said that it was more similar to the Duke of Anguo.
He couldn't help but sneer a few times, and threw the file in his hand hard, knocking over the vase on the cabinet. The two fell to the ground, the vase shattered, and the file still had signs of being crushed.
He braced his hands on the table, closed his eyes, and trembled slightly. Sure enough, the answer he feared most was inevitable.
The urge to see her was slowly extinguished in my heart, and was replaced by a pain and confusion like a knife cutting through my heart.
After being shrewd all his life, he actually failed at the beauty trap that he once despised the most.
But why would she risk her life to save herself under the assassin's sword?
He suddenly opened his eyes again, frowned and thought, and after a moment, he sat down again.
Perhaps she was truly pleased with herself? Otherwise, even if she wasn't Qiu Ziye, why would she risk her life?
The sword was only half an inch away from her heart, and she almost died.
Tianqu stood there motionless, not knowing what had happened. He just lowered his head and dared not say a word.
Ji Ci was just calming down when Uncle Fu knocked on the study door. His voice rang out from outside, "Your Highness, there's someone outside the palace asking to see you. She's covering her face and she says she's..."
Ji Ci raised his head and looked at the isolated door without saying a word.
"...It's Jinhong. She said she wants to inform the prince about something concerning the princess."
He lowered his eyes with a dim look, stood up, picked up the file on the ground, walked to the wall, opened a secret compartment, and put the file in.
After closing the secret compartment and confirming that there were no traces, he said to the person outside the door: "Have someone take her to Orange Garden. I will meet her there."
"Yes, Your Highness." Uncle Fu bowed and retreated after receiving the order.
Chengyuan is a private residence under his name. Not many people know about it, and he never goes there. It has always been an empty house.
Ji Ci leaned back in his chair, recalling the portrait in his mind, and also remembering the scene where she pushed him away, stood in front of him, and the cold sword pierced her body.
He remembered that she had bled a lot, staining the hibiscus jade pendant around her waist red. Later, when he put her down, he also found that his jade ring was as red as blood jade.
He raised his hands to cover his eyes and lay there powerlessly for half an hour before he finally got up and went to Orange Garden.
This time, he only brought Tian with him. Orange Garden was located in the suburbs of Beijing, remote and secluded.
Jinhong was in the garden, standing under a willow tree with her hands clenched, pacing back and forth restlessly.
She had been spying around Prince Qi's mansion for many days and finally found out that Prince Qi was returning to the mansion alone today.
She didn't want to confront that crazy woman Jiang Qiuye. If she caught her, she would definitely die.
But she didn't understand why Prince Qi had her placed in this empty Orange Garden.
Suddenly, the door of Orange Garden was pushed open. Jinhong looked up and saw Tian Qu guarding the gate, while Ji Ci walked in alone.
Jinhong did not take off the veil, but immediately knelt forward, lowered her head, and said, "Your servant greets the prince. Today, your servant came to see the prince because of something concerning the princess. I want to tell the prince."
Ji Ci stared at her without saying a word.
Jinhong was unsure, so she gritted her teeth and continued, "Your Highness, the princess is not the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Anguo, Qiu Ziye, but a Silver Ghost spy from Feiyan Pavilion. She killed the real Qiu Ziye before she came to Shengjing and took her place."
His eyebrows twitched, but he sneered and said, "Feiyan Pavilion Silver Ghost? So, you are also a Feiyan Pavilion spy. If I don't trust my own princess, why should I trust you?"
"Since you are from the same camp, why are you here to report me today?"
These few simple words made Jinhong sweat run down her forehead. She swallowed hard and said, "Your Highness, I'm desperate now, so I've chosen this desperate measure. The princess's real name is Jiang Qiuye, not Qiu Ziye. She thinks I'm in the way, so she wants to kill me and drive me away."
"But Feiyan Pavilion won't tolerate spies who fail their mission. As soon as I returned, they tortured me and hunted me down all the way. I had nowhere else to go, so I thought of the prince. I couldn't bear to see that woman playing the prince for free, so I came to report everything."
Ji Ci remained calm and said coldly, "Really? Didn't you come here because you thought I would protect you under Feiyan Pavilion?"
Jinhong was stunned. She didn't expect that he could see through her intentions at a glance. She clenched her fists, and finally raised her hand to take off the veil on her head, revealing her original appearance.
The once clean face is now covered with a huge black spot, which is disgusting.
Jin Hong said unwillingly, "Your Highness, this is the mark Feiyan Pavilion has left on my face these days. I hate them so much, and naturally hope that Your Highness can destroy them. It was Jiang Qiuye who revealed the secret agents Your Highness had sent to Liguo Security to Feiyan Pavilion, which led to the arrest of those five people."
"Your Majesty! If I tell even a single lie, I will be struck by lightning!"
Ji Ci didn't say anything, just felt the wind in the courtyard blowing across his face, like a slap in the face.
Jin Hong became increasingly anxious, unsure of his attitude towards Jiang Qiuye. Finally, she said, "Your Highness, the assassin who tried to assassinate you on your way back home that day was me!"
His pupils contracted rapidly, his breathing suddenly became heavy, he squinted his eyes, and said calmly, "What do you mean?"
Her face was filled with worry and fear, but now that she had spoken, she couldn't stop, "Your Highness, it was the Princess who assassinated her that day. No, it was Jiang Qiuye who ordered me to do it!"
"She was familiar with the prince's guards and arranged all the evacuation routes for me in advance, which is why I was able to escape so quickly and without being discovered! She knew that her murder of Susu would be exposed, so she came up with this plan to gain the prince's trust."
"At that time, she killed Zhang Yi from Jingshan Academy. When she told me about it, she was caught by Qingling, Sisi's maid. After killing Qingling, she thought Sisi knew her identity, so she killed Sisi again!"
Zhang Yi naturally knew that the Shengjing secret agent that was once spoken of by the Bronze Ghost of Feiyan Pavilion was Zhang Yi.
But when they found this person, Zhang Yi had already committed suicide.
Jinhong's face became even more frantic as she continued, "It was Jiang Qiuye who rescued Prince Zhuo Jun and killed those fifteen guards! Your Highness, do you still remember the wound on her palm from the fight with those guards?"
Ji Ci clenched his fists tightly under his sleeves, and his nails left deep indentations on his palms.
Of course, he also remembered the wound on his palm.
What I saw at the time was the result of a double-edged sword being tightly grasped, but she said it was a kitchen knife wound. A kitchen knife is a single-edged one. Although I had my doubts, I brushed them off with her coquettish pouting.
He steadied his voice and said, "Why should I trust you, my king?"
Jinhong frowned. She really had no evidence to prove these things, but after thinking for a long time, she suddenly thought of something.
He immediately raised his head and pulled open the collar of his shirt, exposing his shoulder. He saw a scar across his skin, a somewhat ugly one, perhaps a sword wound.
"Your Highness, this is the evidence! On that day of the assassination attempt, I fought with Lord Tianqu and was defeated. I was cut on the arm by a sword! This is the scar left from that day!"
"Besides, with your intelligence, if you recall it, you will naturally know that what I said is true!"
The author has something to say:
Diamond Sutra: All appearances are false. If you see all appearances as non-appearances, you will see the Tathagata.
(Baidu Encyclopedia explanation: All appearances and names are products of subjective consciousness and cannot reflect the truth)
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