After there was news about the assassins, Zhongli Mingye allowed Song Jinyu to return to the prefect's mansion.
Xing Jian led his men in pursuit of the assassins all the way to Minshan Mountain. He forced the assassins to jump off the cliff one by one, leaving only one survivor. Unexpectedly, on their way back to the city, the assassin still managed to find an opportunity to commit suicide.
Zhongli Mingye looked at the corpses and listened to Qingfeng's report. He already understood the intention of the person behind all this.
"Your Highness, Rong Qing'er did send someone to infiltrate Liuyuan."
Xing Jian had found out that there was someone from the Duke Rong's Mansion in Liuyuan. He had thought he had caught a big fish, but it turned out to be just a coincidence!
With his back to Xing Jian, no one could see the scheming in Zhongli Mingye's phoenix eyes. "Send that person and Rong Qing'er back to the capital together."
"Send them back with this king's memorial."
"Tell the Duke Rong's Mansion to teach their daughter well. The Prince Yu's Mansion is not a place where just anyone can enter!" This remark later reached the ears of the queen and the crown prince. After this incident, the Duke Rong's Mansion never dared to scheme against the Prince Yu's Mansion again.
When the emperor saw Zhongli Mingye's memorial, he was immediately enraged. He first scolded the Duke Rong's Mansion and then admonished the queen and the crown prince. Since Rong Qing'er was chosen by the queen, and the assassination of Princess Liuyuan was actually because Rong Qing'er was jealous and wanted to kill Song Jinyu.
The queen hated Rong Qing'er to the core at this moment and had no choice but to confine her again to reflect on her mistakes!
In Zhongli Mingye's memorial, he also hinted that the crown prince was getting too close to Jinshui Palace and had repeatedly suppressed Tianmen Mountain. This made the emperor start to have second thoughts about the crown prince, Zhongli Chengze, and consider replacing him.
For a while, the assassin incident in Liuyuan made the situation in the capital even more complicated.
Rong Qing'er didn't want to go back. She knelt down crying at the gate of the Prince Yu's Mansion. She was directly dragged away in a very embarrassing manner by Qingfeng's men.
Even after she was put on the carriage, she couldn't believe it. The Prince Yu actually thought that she was the mastermind behind the assassination in Liuyuan.
"I'm innocent, Your Highness..."
The news reached the Song Mansion, and Song Jinyu was extremely surprised. "...How muddle-headed!" How could Rong Qing'er have the guts to assassinate the princess? She had a hunch that this matter was related to the black-clothed man who had appeared in the prefect's mansion a few days ago.
However, Song Qinzhou wouldn't let her go out now. Otherwise, she would definitely ask Zhongli Mingye why he didn't investigate the matter thoroughly!
Before she could go and question Zhongli Mingye, that muddle-headed man came to her door.
"You clearly know that the real mastermind is someone else. Why do you let Rong Qing'er take the blame?"
Zhongli Mingye saw Song Jinyu glaring at him coldly and felt a bit helpless. "Things are not as simple as you think!"
"It's an honor for her to take the blame for this king..." Honor? Song Jinyu was so angry that she couldn't speak. "You... you..."
She pointed at him with her finger, and her little face turned red with anger.
Zhongli Mingye gently grabbed her hand with a pained look in his eyes. "Don't be angry... This king has his own plan!"
"You're just indulging and covering up the real murderer!" Humph... What own plan? He just didn't want to tell her. She turned around and ignored him. If one day she got in his way, would she also lose her life in such an unclear way?
Zhongli Mingye didn't know why she was so angry, especially for someone she didn't even like. He felt a bit helpless. His Song Jinyu was still too kind. He gently walked towards her. "Jinyu..." His voice drifted softly past her ear, making it itch. She couldn't help but shiver, and her face turned red because of his teasing.
"Who the real murderer is doesn't matter. What matters is how to use this incident to achieve the result this king wants."
Although his tone was gentle, there was no warmth in it, only cold calculation. In his phoenix eyes, there was an air of certainty and authority that brooked no argument.
Song Jinyu stared blankly at him. Fortunately, fortunately, she wasn't an enemy of Zhongli Mingye.
Thinking that he had scared her, Zhongli Mingye lowered his head and gently coaxed her. "This king... only wants to cherish you and spoil my little fairy every day."
After saying this, Song Jinyu's face turned as red as a cooked shrimp. She didn't know how this man could talk like this. He was always like this. What was she supposed to do?
When Ouyang Jinse got the news, he sneered. "How stupid! The advisors of the crown prince always come up with such stupid ideas."
"Your Excellency, our people have already infiltrated the post station."
"Very good... This one wants to keep Zhongli Mingye so busy that he can't attend to everything!"
Ouyang Jinse was extremely proud. There was already news about the spiritual medicine recipe of Tianmen Mountain. He believed that in a short time, he would be able to get the recipe and completely destroy Tianmen Mountain's reliance.
For now, his plan was to cooperate with the crown prince and kill Princess Soli in Liuzhou City to disrupt the marriage alliance between the Xia Dynasty and the Gu Clan.
Why choose Liuzhou City? It was a two-pronged strategy. If something happened to Soli in Liuzhou, not only would the Prince Yu be held accountable, but the prefect of Liuzhou would also be punished.
The Duke Rong felt very sorry for Rong Qing'er. Even though this daughter had lost her value, after all, he had doted on her for more than ten years. He still pleaded with the emperor to forgive his daughter's mistakes.
However, Rong Qing'er, who was still on her way back to the capital, didn't receive the imperial edict pardoning her. Because the carriage was hijacked. After a fierce fight, all the maids and guards were killed.
Rong Qing'er disappeared without a trace!
When the news reached the Prince Yu's Mansion, Zhongli Mingye frowned. Rong Qing'er's disappearance meant that she was very likely captured. But who would dare to hijack the carriage of the Duke Rong's Mansion so blatantly?
When Rong Qing'er woke up, she found herself lying naked on a big bed. At this moment, a man was fastening his belt with a satisfied look on his face.
"Ah..."
She let out a scream and looked at everything in front of her in a daze. "Stop screaming," the man's lecherous eyes scanned Rong Qing'er from head to toe, scaring her into hiding under the quilt immediately.
"Someone asked me to sell you, but I really couldn't bear to part with your delicate skin and tender flesh." As he spoke, he swallowed his saliva. The delicious taste just now made him savor it endlessly.
Rong Qing'er couldn't believe what was happening in front of her. She let out a miserable scream and fainted! At this moment, a young master in gorgeous clothes walked in. He waved his hand, and the dirty man retreated.
He told the people behind him, "Take good care of her. She will be useful in the future!"
"Yes, Your Excellency!"
Rong Qing'er had made a mistake and was already an outcast of the Duke Rong's Mansion. Now that he appeared as a savior, he believed it would gain her trust and sense of security.
And a person like this, in order to survive and take revenge, would only be more ruthless! The smell of the amorous affair in the room was extremely filthy. "Snap!" He opened his folding fan and fanned the air while scheming. A look of joy flashed across his beautiful face for a moment.
To prevent any mishaps, the Gu Clan's mission decided to set off for the capital earlier. Princess Soli had been frightened that day and had a high fever that wouldn't subside. After the imperial physician's diagnosis, she needed to rest. So she had to stay in Liuzhou City for a few more days.
When Song Jinyu heard the news, she wanted to go and see her. However, Song Qinzhou directly confined her at home. She didn't know if it was her father's idea or Zhongli Mingye's. In any case, she couldn't go out.