Since Lin Yajun took over the Yincancan shop and first paid half a year's salary to the Ma family to buy a courtyard, Granny Ma and her daughter Qiaoqing have served Lin Yajun with even more dedication and loyalty.
Qiaoqing, in particular, seemed to have become a different person. She became more talkative and was no longer as taciturn as before, answering only when asked a question, for fear of saying the wrong thing and getting into trouble.
Qiaoqing would proactively tell Lin Yajun about various things, especially things that needed attention and precautions.
She lowered her voice and said to Lin Yajun, "Miss, did you know? Prime Minister Xiao's favorite concubine, Madam Ren, is actually Ren Guiwang's younger sister! Moreover, she has a fourteen-year-old daughter and a ten-year-old son."
After listening, Lin Yajun nodded thoughtfully. She understood the unspoken meaning behind Qiaoqing's words. After all, Lin Daoyan's demotion to guard the city gate was probably orchestrated by Prime Minister Xiao.
Seeing how intelligent Lin Yajun was, and how quickly she understood, Qiaoqing became bolder. She continued to muster her courage and said, "Miss, you must not get too close to that person. It's very dangerous!" As she spoke, she deliberately glanced in the direction of the front yard with her big eyes.
Lin Yajun understood that Qiaoqing was referring to Zhao Canchen. She blinked her long eyelashes and asked curiously, "Oh? Why is that?"
Qiaoqing hesitated for a moment, but decided to tell Lin Yajun what she knew. "I have heard my former master mention him many times. It seems that he is not well received by the royal family. Many people are hoping for him..." At this point, Qiaoqing suddenly stopped and looked directly at Lin Yajun, as if waiting for her reaction.
Lin Yajun understood what she hadn't finished saying: those royals were all hoping for Zhao Canchen's death.
She asked in a low voice, "Why is he so hateful?"
Qiaoqing stared wide-eyed at her mistress, her face filled with astonishment and disbelief. She thought to herself, "My mistress knows absolutely nothing about that person's background! This is truly unexpected."
Qiaoqing hesitated for a moment, weighing whether to tell her mistress the truth. After all, this was no small matter and could potentially bring trouble to her family. After some thought, she realized that she and her mistress were now inextricably linked; their fates were intertwined. To protect her mistress and prevent her from potential danger, Qiaoqing decided to tell her the truth.
Qiaoqing took a few steps forward, approached her mistress, and then lowered her voice and whispered, "Miss, that one is actually His Majesty's nephew. His father was once the Crown Prince, but many years ago he was accused of treason, and the entire Eastern Palace suffered a devastating disaster. Only the one who was only a few months old survived and was adopted by the Prince of Song."
Lin Yajun was stunned when she heard this.
She finally learned Zhao Canchen's identity and understood why so many people had come to assassinate him. It turned out he was the son of the former Crown Prince.
Seeing that her mistress seemed to understand the situation, Qiaoqing kindly reminded her again, "Miss, you must be careful not to get too close to him, lest you get into unnecessary trouble and danger."
Before entering the Lin family mansion, she had heard about the eldest daughter of the Lin family being swapped with her cousin in marriage. She always thought that the young lady was very naive and had been deceived by her relatives.
Now that I've become Miss Lin's maid, I must protect her.
After hearing Qiaoqing's reminder, Lin Yajun casually replied, "Oh." However, her mind had already wandered elsewhere, and she began to think about the various impacts of this astonishing truth.
Lin Yajun would never tell Qiaoqing her true thoughts. The more she learned about Zhao Canchen, the more determined she became to protect him.
Back then, Zhao Canchen was just an infant in swaddling clothes. Even if his father, the former crown prince, had ambitions to usurp the throne, what did that have to do with a child who was only a few months old? What could he possibly know? Yet this innocent child has had to bear such a heavy burden for his father for so many years, which is truly heartbreaking.
As night fell and all was quiet, Lin Yajun lay quietly in bed, Zhao Canchen's sorrowful face constantly appearing in her mind.
He couldn't help but recall the request Zhao Canchen had made to her, hoping she could help investigate the truth behind it all, to find out who was assassinating him and who was protecting him. The royal family was large and its relationships complex; trying to find clues within it was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Lin Yajun pondered to herself that Zhao Canchen's repeated assassination attempts were likely orchestrated by the Emperor's secret guards.
Based on her in-depth research into ancient history, no emperor would easily let go of the son of the previous emperor or crown prince.
She recalled a usurper who, to eliminate any future threat, imprisoned all of his nephew's children until they died, even torturing the eldest son to the point of wishing for death. This cruel method was simply to completely extinguish the former emperor's bloodline, leaving no chance for those loyal to the previous dynasty to reclaim the throne.
Although Lin Yajun already had this suspicion in her mind, finding conclusive evidence was not easy. She lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep for a long time, her mind constantly pondering various possible clues and sources of evidence.
"Where should I begin?" Lin Yajun murmured to herself. "The Emperor is always cautious, and the secret guards are even more well-trained. How easy is it to find any trace of them? Should I investigate them one by one? That would take forever."
The longer it takes to uncover the truth, the greater the danger to Zhao Canchen, and the greater the danger to Lin Yajun and her family.
"I need to find out who the Emperor's confidant is first, so that I can find clues from him as soon as possible. But who is the Emperor's confidant? Could it be Prime Minister Xiao?" She racked her brains but could not come up with a clear idea and did not know where to start her investigation.
Another thought flashed through Lin Yajun's mind. She thought of Zhao Canchen and his father, Lin Daoyan, who would talk about His Highness Prince Song's illness every day with great concern. Their worried and anxious faces were heartbreaking to see.
They would often sigh and say, "Alas, I wonder what His Highness Prince Song's condition is now, and whether there is any imperial physician who can cure his illness."
From their conversation, Lin Yajun learned an important piece of information: His Highness Prince Song not only had a persistent cough, but had even vomited blood.
"In ancient times, it was really difficult to cure this kind of disease. If I could get antibiotics from my space, I would definitely be able to cure the King of Song's old illness," Lin Yajun thought to herself.
She made a decision: for the sake of Zhao Canchen and his father, she would first go and visit His Highness Prince Song, and find an opportunity to administer medicine to him to cure his illness.
After the King of Song recovered from his illness and returned to the capital, his father no longer needed to guard the city gates and could return to the King of Song's residence to continue serving as the head guard. Zhao Canchen could also receive more protection from the guards.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com