"Just now, just now I wanted to chase after Sister Zhao, but I couldn't catch up with her. I got lost. I couldn't find Sister Zhao or Brother Five anywhere. Brother Five, it's so dark on this mountain and there's no one around. I'm so scared!"
The young man called Brother Five was the Fifth Prince, Feng Jingyi. Feng Jingyi pinched the chubby cheek of the Ninth Prince: "Let's see if you dare to run around next time."
Suddenly, the carriage jolted. Feng Jingyi quickly grabbed the Ninth Prince who almost rolled onto the floor and shouted angrily, "Qilin!"
After the jolt, the noise outside penetrated through the thick curtain into the carriage. Feng Jingyi frowned. For some reason, his heart was filled with unease. He always felt that today's events were extremely strange.
He pulled open the curtain and looked outside. Qilin, who was driving the carriage in front, stopped the carriage. A voice reported to him, "Your Highness, the Crown Prince was attacked by an assassin. The Crown Prince's Mansion and the Prefectural Magistrate's Office are searching the whole city for the assassin."
But Feng Jingyi's attention was caught by a wisp of black smoke in the distance. The winter night was especially bright because of the reflection of the snow, allowing him to clearly see that several groups of people were searching house by house for something. And in the distance, there was a fire with thick black smoke rising. That was...
"The Grand Preceptor's Mansion!" Qilin whispered.
Zhao Ming!
Feng Jingyi's temple throbbed violently. "Hurry to put out the fire!"
Even when Feng Jingyi recalled this night later, he couldn't help but rub his forehead and sigh. It was the most chaotic night in Yongding City since he was fourteen years old, and also the most unlucky night in his fourteen - year life.
In order to put out the fire, he even summoned the officers and soldiers of the Prefectural Magistrate's Office who were chasing the assassin because Princess Zhao Ming was trapped in the study of the Grand Preceptor's Mansion, where the fire started.
Fortunately, the fire was discovered in time and did not spread. However, when Zhao Ming was rescued, the officers and soldiers of the Prefectural Magistrate's Office found a half - burned letter about a 200,000 - tael embezzlement case in the study.
On the other hand, the assassin who tried to kill the Crown Prince was surrounded by a large number of officers and soldiers at the gate of the Duke of Qingguo's Mansion and had no choice but to hide inside.
The people from the Crown Prince's Mansion had to search the Duke of Qingguo's Mansion. But when they were about to search the bedroom, the Duke of Qingguo tried every means to stop them. The people from the Crown Prince's Mansion became more and more suspicious and insisted on searching. Unexpectedly, they found a letter about embezzlement.
For a moment, the entire court and the public were shocked.
Two high - ranking court officials were involved in this embezzlement case. In comparison, Bai Yinan, who had his letter discovered more than two hours earlier, instantly lost the spotlight.
"Obviously, Grand Preceptor Zhao was trying to destroy the evidence out of guilt. Unexpectedly, Princess Zhao Ming accidentally entered the study. After being startled, Grand Preceptor Zhao was careless and caused the fire. And the Duke of Qingguo, who is the husband of Princess Anyang. Fortunately, it was the Crown Prince. When the Duke of Qingguo strongly blocked the search of the room, the Crown Prince went against him."
Early in the morning, Zhuling excitedly rushed into Bai Zheng's room and told her the rumors outside.
"The Duke of Qingguo's Mansion has always been at odds with the Prime Minister's Mansion. The Crown Prince thought that the Duke was deliberately blocking the search. Who would have thought that such important evidence would be found?"
The Crown Prince, Feng Jingye, was the son of the current Empress Chu. This Empress Chu was the elder sister of Chu Feng and the beloved daughter of Prime Minister Chu.
The Chu family was a prominent family for generations and had made great contributions to Emperor Feng Linche during his struggle for the throne. The eldest son of Prime Minister Chu also lost his life in this struggle.
Therefore, to show his gratitude to the Chu family, Feng Linche made Feng Jingye the Crown Prince as soon as he ascended the throne. Unfortunately, Feng Linche's determination and Empress Chu's wisdom were not passed on to this Crown Prince.
On the contrary, the Third Prince, Feng Jingxuan, who was close to Bai Di, had solved the embezzlement case in Huian City a few years ago. When the plague spread to Yongding and other princes tried to avoid it, he stood on the front line and controlled the plague. His reputation was faintly surpassing that of the Crown Prince.
However, although Feng Jingye was mediocre, he was the legitimate son of the empress and held the position of Crown Prince. When his life was threatened, he was enraged and showed great courage when confronting the Duke of Qingguo.
Bai Zheng looked helplessly at the maid who was so excited that she forgot the rules and directly rushed into the bedroom before she got up. She rubbed her still - red eyes from lack of sleep.
She didn't return to the mansion until all the things were settled last night. She had only slept for two hours by now.
Zhuling felt extremely proud looking at her young lady. Who would have thought that the mastermind behind the chaos in Yongding City was just a fifteen - year - old young lady?
Her young lady had planned everything carefully. First, she forced the General's Mansion to act and hid letters in almost all the official mansions in Yongding. Then she sent people to pretend to be assassins. No matter where the Crown Prince's soldiers chased, they could always find a "piece of evidence".
Moreover, she grasped these people's thoughts very accurately. Although the Crown Prince was mediocre, he valued his life. Only he had enough power to search any official's mansion in the Great Zhou without any scruples.
The biological mother of the Fifth Prince, Concubine Chen, was the least favored among the concubines with sons in the palace. Her family also had no influence. When he brought Princess Seven and the Ninth Prince out this time, no matter which one had an accident, he didn't dare to let the palace know. And he had no time to take care of the other one. He would surely send them to their respective maternal families for temporary care.
Her young lady deliberately sent someone to lead the Ninth Prince away on Long Mountain and set fire to the Grand Preceptor's Mansion at the right time. Now, with all the public opinions, everyone would think that the fire was caused by Grand Preceptor Zhao's attempt to destroy the "evidence".
"Miss, what should we do next?"