Emperor Chongde had many women in his life, and Consort Yun was just one of them. He vaguely remembered that she was a beauty with a beautiful singing voice.
The passage of time has blurred her face, but Yan Jue got the answer from his brief silence, and he was not surprised by the answer.
He sighed softly and said, "I always thought that my mother's death was caused by the Empress."
Yan Huai looked up at him, his eyes filled with a strange expression.
He had vaguely heard about this matter, and also learned from Shen Ci that Tang Ning had instructed him to investigate his fourth brother's past and bring back a nanny, who was said to be his wet nurse.
But too many things were happening, and Shen Ci was busy dealing with court affairs and searching for Shen Tangning, so he couldn't afford to worry about such trivial matters.
What...did Fourth Brother find out?
Emperor Chongde suddenly had a guess: "What did the Empress say to you?"
He judged his wife by the same standards he held himself to. In fact, the empress, feeling guilty, never mentioned the past to him.
She believed that she also bore some responsibility for Consort Yun's death, so she accepted all of Yan Jue's resentment.
Yan Jue gave a slight, expressionless smile: "No, I saw Granny Yu. Father, why don't you guess what she said?"
He was trying to trick the other party. Yan Jue, a cautious person, would not change his long-held beliefs based on Shen Tangning's few words. He needed to confirm whether Emperor Chongde really had something to hide.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongde knew the situation was somewhat tricky. If it were the Empress who had said something, he wouldn't have lost his composure...
But Granny Yu was Yan Jue's wet nurse, whom he trusted deeply, and who was also one of his people.
He tacitly acknowledged that Yan Jue already knew everything, but showed no remorse or guilt whatsoever. He simply said earnestly, "Those were all things from a long time ago. I will make it up to you in the future. Are you going to turn against your father over these old matters?"
Compared to the allure of the throne, he didn't think these old grudges could change anything.
But then, a sharp pain from behind shattered his understanding. Yan Jue, with a cold face, plunged the sword into his abdomen, a chilling glint in his eyes:
"So you're admitting it?"
——
Shen Tangning did not get involved in the grudges and entanglements of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, because no matter who ascended the throne in the end, they would not want her, an outsider, to know too much about the royal family's secrets.
Therefore, after saying those words to Yan Jue, she tactfully planned to leave.
However, given the current chaos, leaving was out of the question. She turned her attention to Kunning Palace, partly out of concern for her aunt, and partly because Kunning Palace seemed safer than wandering around outside.
Shen Tangning held a sword she had picked up from a pile of corpses. She dodged any guards she encountered. She was terrified the whole way and even stabbed two guards who weren't quite dead yet.
...because the other person grabbed her ankle and wouldn't let go.
Having just calmed her turbulent emotions, a shadow fell over her, and she almost instinctively thrust her sword forward.
The newcomer turned her head slightly to avoid the approach, revealing a familiar face with her brows furrowed: "It's me, Aning. What are you doing here?"
Upon seeing Chi Jingyu's face, only four words came to Shen Tangning's mind—
The ghost lingers.
Instead of lowering the sword she was holding, she pointed it at him again, her face icy: "Step back! I told you to step back, didn't you hear me?"
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