Sun Lurong had no doubts, but she was a little worried about Luoyun Temple: "Luoyun Temple is located in the suburbs of the capital and is situated high in the mountains. I'm afraid it's impossible to travel back and forth within a day."
"That's alright. There are dormitories in the temple. I'll take Ziqiao and Miaoxiang with me."
“What good is Zi Qiao’s meager skill if she goes out? If you want to go, you can only go if you have four bodyguards!” Sun Lu Rong said firmly.
Although Wei Shuwan was worried that it would be difficult to cover for herself if there were too many people around, she thought that she should first coax her mother to agree, so she obediently listened and said, "I will do whatever Mother says."
...
Before they knew it, it was the fifteenth day. Li Qingchen was waiting early at the north gate, where he had arranged to meet Wei Shuwan in the letter.
Li Qingchen kept lifting the curtain to look back, but because it was still early, no carriages were coming this way. When he lowered the curtain this time, Yuan Que, who was following closely in the carriage, couldn't help but laugh and said, "Master, it's only the beginning of the morning and you ordered me to prepare the carriage to set off. We arrived a full incense stick's time ago. Madam Wei certainly couldn't have arrived this early."
Li Qingchen glanced at him sideways, "Are you itching for a beating again?"
"I was just stating the facts," Yuan Que said with a troubled expression, as if his previous words were indeed not meant as a joke.
Li Qingchen ignored him, casually taking a book from the bookshelf hanging on the carriage wall and flipping through it idly. Before long, the sound of fast horses could be heard.
This time, Li Qingchen didn't lift the curtain; instead, Yuan Que lifted it first. As his personal guard, he naturally had to pay attention to certain movements, and the sound of galloping horses was different from that of ordinary passersby.
Sure enough, Yuan Que immediately recognized the man on horseback as one of his own. Based on the direction the man usually served, he reported in a very serious tone, "Young Prince, I'm afraid something has happened in the palace!"
With a snap, Li Qingchen closed the military treatise in his hand and immediately hung up the brocade curtain on his side. In the blink of an eye, the horse stopped in front of his carriage, and the newcomer dismounted and greeted Li Qingchen: "Young Prince!"
"Report," Li Qingchen said in a deep voice.
"Last night, Consort Wen suddenly fell ill and vomited blood continuously. His Majesty summoned the imperial physicians overnight to treat her, but they were unable to determine the cause of her illness."
"How is Consort Wen doing now?"
"Your Highness, Consort Wen is still unconscious."
"Did those old men use acupuncture on her?"
"Not yet, but a royal physician has already raised this idea."
The car fell silent.
This illness sounds exactly like poisoning.
Li Qingchen hears reports about Feng Wan's behavior after she returned to the Emperor's side as Wen Chan every day. Her arrogance is understandable, but her hostility towards Consort Wen is obviously too obvious.
Wen Chan is Consort Wen's niece. Her sudden change in temperament overnight inevitably arouses suspicion. Li Qingchen has repeatedly instructed Feng Wan to give her advice, but she clearly hasn't listened. Consort Wen is no saint; even her own niece might not hesitate to harm her if she gets in her way.
Losing only one chess piece is a small matter, but if the Emperor discovers Feng Wan's true identity, things will be very bad, and she will definitely expose him. Although she doesn't know who his true identity is, the Emperor already has many suspicions about him, and it's hard to guarantee that he won't be the first to be suspected if any doubts arise.
Therefore, Feng Wan cannot be allowed to die in the palace. If she dies in the palace, that mask will lose its true form and gradually be revealed.
After only a moment's hesitation, Li Qingchen instructed, "Gu Zhuang, ride a fast horse to invite Mr. Lu here. Have him disguise himself as a doctor and meet me outside the Daye Palace so we can enter the palace together!"
He then instructed Yuan Que, "You stay here and wait for Miss Wei. Tell her that I have an urgent matter to attend to and will go another day."
Before Yuan Que could even get out of the carriage, Li Qingchen shoved him off with a palm. He staggered a few steps but managed to steady himself by holding onto the messenger horse.
When I looked up, the carriage had already driven quite a distance.
Yuan Que sighed deeply, muttering to himself, "Last time I caught Master with Princess Yun'an, and this time he stood me up... I wonder if this young lady from the Wei family can still trust Master..."
As he was muttering to himself, the Wei family's carriage arrived in front of him. Yuan Que quickly shut his mouth and went to greet it.
"Lady Wei~"
This time, when facing Wei Shuwan again, Yuan Que's attitude was completely different from before. He abandoned his usual serious expression and his voice even carried a hint of ingratiation.
Now that he understood his master's intentions, who knew if the person in the carriage might become his other master in the future? He had no choice but to quickly put an end to their past grievances!
After all, when she went to the pond to return the favor, he was still carrying the guilt of attempting to assassinate someone.
Zi Qiao lifted the curtain, and Wei Shuwan looked around. She saw Yuan Que, but not Li Qingchen.
"Where is the young prince?"
Yuan Que forced a bitter smile: "Miss Wei, my master has to return to the palace due to urgent business, so we have to reschedule our appointment."
Upon hearing this, Wei Shuwan took a deep breath, her expression revealing disappointment.
"Actually, if Your Highness has urgent business, you don't need to come with me. I can interrogate them myself." After all, she was no longer the naive girl she was twelve years ago. If those people were put in front of her again, she believed she could find a way to get the results.
Yuan Que gave a wry smile, looking troubled: "Madam Wei, please don't make things difficult for me. You should go back to the manor and wait for news from my master."
Having brought up the matter on her mind, yet having to postpone it again, Wei Shuwan felt somewhat unwilling. But clearly, forcing this person was useless; he was merely acting on Li Qingchen's orders.
Since that's the case, she then probed, "If I wait here for the young prince to finish his business, I wonder if it will still be in time today?"
“Oh dear, Madam Wei, that’s definitely too late! It’s still forty li outside the city, and with the trial, it will take at least five or six hours.”
"Alright, then let's reschedule." Wei Shuwan finally compromised, but then added with concern, "But those people are still old members of the Wei family. The weather is getting colder, I wonder if their food and lodging will be convenient?"
Yuan Que quickly assured them, "Madam Wei, please rest assured. The master has hired local villagers to look after them. They are sleeping on warm kang beds and eating hot porridge and dishes!"
Wei Shuwan nodded gratefully: "Then I am relieved. Please thank your young prince for me."
After saying this, Wei Shuwan ordered the carriages of the Wei residence to return along the original route.
As they drove away, Wei Shuwan told Ziqiao to lift the corner of the curtain to observe Yuan Que behind them. Once Yuan Que had finally left, they suddenly turned their horses around and left the city.
"Twenty miles outside the city, the mountains stretch endlessly, with very few villages. Forty miles further on, there is only one village, Niujia Village. It must be there," Wei Shuwan calmly analyzed.
The Wei family's carriage was speeding towards Niujia Village.
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