News came from the Great Wei that Xie Tingzhou's men had contacted Shi Yan, but Shi Yan did not acknowledge his relationship with Ye Jinghong, nor would he come to the Great Yuan.
Ye Zhen remembered that in her dream, Shi Yan blamed her mother for disguising herself as a man to act as his bodyguard, and then hiding her pregnancy and leaving afterwards. Ye Zhen had no idea what was going on between the two of them.
But she remembered clearly that Shi Yan harbored resentment towards her mother, and perhaps because of this, she was unwilling to acknowledge herself as her daughter.
Ye Zhen had no expectations of his father, so he was not very disappointed when he received the news from the Great Wei.
Why has Shi Yan's adopted daughter come looking for her? Or is it that she is being sought out by Huo Zhan, the new emperor of Dongwu?
Her gaze then turned to Huo Zhan, who was about the same age as the Marquis of Zhongyong. Although he was a military general and was currently the Emperor of Dongwu, he was dressed in a white robe and looked very refined and scholarly.
When Ye Zhen learned that he had come to demand Dayuan, he had inquired about him and seen his portrait, knowing that beneath this refined exterior lay a ruthless heart.
This was their first encounter, and Ye Zhen pretended not to recognize them, asking, "Why are you two blocking my way?"
As she sized up the two men, they were also sizing her up.
Shi Wuxia spoke first, "Our master is an old friend of Yin Jiuniang. He came to the capital this time to see his old friend. We hope that Princess Zhaoning can introduce him."
The other party did not reveal their identity, and Ye Zhen continued to pretend not to know.
"Since we are old friends, why do we need someone else to introduce us?"
She hadn't forgotten that her master had almost died because of this man.
This time, when Master returned, he was unwilling to reveal his whereabouts, which shows that Master wanted to avoid this person.
At this point, Ye Zhen suddenly understood why his master had rushed back to the capital; his master was worried that Huo Zhan would be a threat to him.
The fact that this person can make his master so nervous shows how despicable he is.
Huo Zhan saw her hostility towards him and smiled, "Wuhen told me about you. She said you are a gift from heaven, so she can give up everything but you."
Ye Zhen, by all accounts, I am your grandmaster. I know that Wuhen has returned to the capital and is staying at the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence.
She and I had a fight, and she ran away from home. If you don't introduce me, I'll have no choice but to break into the Marquis's mansion at night to find her.
Ye Zhen's eyes darkened.
If he really does that, then his master's reputation will be ruined too. He's threatening me; how annoying.
"Then let's give it a try."
Ye Zhen, unwilling to say any more to him, gestured for the carriage to move forward.
If he dares to come, she dares to break his legs.
Shi Wuxia watched the departing carriage and asked, "Uncle Huo, are you really going to break into the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence tonight?"
Huo Zhan was still smiling, looking very gentle, but there was a hint of coldness in his eyes.
"Give it a try."
If they can't bring her back, then he'll have to come in person.
Shi Wuxia gave him a cryptic look. “Since Uncle Huo has something to attend to, I’ll go to the Prime Minister’s residence for you, how about that?”
The man's refined face lost its smile. "Alright."
He then casually followed Ye Zhen's carriage with his hands behind his back.
Inside the Prime Minister's residence.
After listening to the report from the secret guards, Li Heng asked, "Is the Crown Prince truly seriously injured?"
The bodyguard said, "The information I gathered matches what the leader said. The wound was in the heart area, and the number of the assassins' bodies also matches. Apart from the first three who died from sword wounds, the rest all died from crossbows."
There were no survivors.
"The whereabouts of the other two men in black mentioned by the leader are still unknown, but according to the leader, they fled as soon as the Red Tassel Army appeared."
Li Heng frowned.
The leader gave them a clue that the two were after the Crown Prince, but there are far too many people in this world who want to kill the Crown Prince.
It's really hard to figure out a solution right now.
However, the Red Tassel Army returned and followed Ye Zhen, which means that She Gu believed Ye Zhen was Ye Jinghong's daughter.
How did this stubborn, uncouth woman suddenly become so enlightened?
Or did they find some clues or come up with some ideas? Li Heng asked, "Have you dealt with the Qin family member?"
The person he was referring to was Ye Yunheng's wet nurse, Madam Lü. She had been kept at the Qin family's residence to keep Ye Yunheng working for him.
However, after Ye Zhen caused several incidents that made people doubt Ye Wantang's background, Li Heng felt that Lu Shi's continued existence was ultimately a hidden danger.
Therefore, after the Qin family was in trouble, he sent a message to people in Jiangnan, asking them to take the opportunity to use the imperial court to kill the Lü family.
In this way, Ye Yunheng will not become estranged from him.
But the fact that Shegu, who is now blindly loyal to her master, makes him wonder if Lady Lü is still alive.
The man in black hesitated before replying, "A reply came from Jiangnan confirming that Lady Lü is indeed dead."
Li Heng's brows relaxed a little, knowing that his subordinates wouldn't dare to lie to him; perhaps something else had gone wrong.
However, with Shegu and her gang around Ye Zhen, it's now even more difficult to assassinate him.
We have to rely on the people of Dongwu.
Just then, a servant came to report, "Your Excellency, a man from Dongwu requests an audience."
Li Heng nodded and gestured for a servant to lead the person in.
He then said to the man in black, "Have you dealt with the leader?"
The Prince of Yan's fiefdom was barren, and it was difficult to find even decent assassins. Fortunately, he paid enough money to hire these people.
Although they failed to kill Ye Zhen, at least they said something and revealed their Yan accent. Let the Crown Prince and the Prince of Yan fight it out.
But to avoid being implicated, the ringleader cannot be allowed to live.
After the man in black left, Li Heng pressed his temples and leaned back in his armchair.
When Shi Wuxia entered, she saw the aged-looking Prime Minister Li and raised an eyebrow. "Prime Minister is somewhat different from what I imagined."
They heard about the Li family's joke on the way. They never expected that the dignified prime minister would do such a despicable thing and be exposed so thoroughly.
Her smile was undisguised.
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