Qi Rong had traveled far to the northwest to relieve the disaster this time. He unexpectedly traced her whereabouts in Tongwu. It was not until today that Nightingale had returned to the capital.
The former crown prince doted on his younger brother extremely. So Qi Rong had met Nightingale a few times when he was young.
Gazing at the familiar face in his memory, Qi Rong felt an indescribable sorrow and anger welling up in his heart.
If it hadn't been for that disaster back then, his elder brother might have ascended the throne long ago and become the greatest emperor of the Liu Kingdom. And the woman in front of him might very well have become his elder brother's concubine.
The reason why the woman had survived was not just luck. It was because his elder brother had left all the hope of survival to her!
However, all possibilities had vanished with the passing of his elder brother.
"Tell me what you knew at that time."
Qi Rong motioned for the woman to sit down, but Nightingale stood still like a mountain. She slowly began to speak:
"After the plague was quelled, my master led us on our journey south. That day, we originally planned to stay in Tongwu. But on the way, my master received a letter saying that the imperial city was in danger and that we should not return to the capital for the time being."
"However, upon learning this, my master spurred his horse on even faster, worried about the safety of the emperor, the empress, and Your Highness in the palace. In order to return to the capital as soon as possible, my master even changed the route and took a waterway. We were intercepted and attacked several times along the way, and finally..."
Nightingale didn't finish her words. Her face was already filled with pain.
It was a nightmare for her whole life. Every time she thought about it, it felt like a stabbing pain in her heart!
She could have accompanied her master to death, but at the critical moment, her master had someone knock her out and protect her away!
At that time, she had lost too much blood, and her head had also been severely hit when she jumped into the boat. So she even lost her memory for several years.
When her memory returned, the Liu Kingdom had already become the world of Qi Hong, and her master had been labeled a traitor and a national betrayer and had become a victim under the blade!
After Nightingale regained her memory, she had painstakingly trained in martial arts and secretly investigated, but with little success.
Even the secret informants of the former crown prince's subordinates that she had finally managed to find were mostly useless. Some had even become traps to capture them, the so - called "remaining followers of the crown prince".
Just when Qi Rong found her, Nightingale was in deep trouble. Qi Rong rescued her. She recuperated in Tongwu for a long time before returning to the capital again.
Listening to Nightingale's words, Qi Rong frowned tightly, his tone full of extreme hatred:
"Do you know who wrote that letter to my elder brother at that time?"
His elder brother's accident happened before the palace coup. The two events were nearly a month apart.
If that person had known in advance that the imperial palace would be in danger and even had time to write to his elder brother, why couldn't he have informed his father in advance? It would have allowed his father to take precautions and at least have some time to restrain Qi Hong!
So whether this person was a friend or a foe was unclear. He even thought that the letter was the main reason for deliberately misleading his elder brother to take the waterway!
Ordinary dead - men, although sometimes exposed to their master's most confidential information, might not necessarily know the content of the letter.
But Nightingale was different from other dead - men. She had always been highly regarded by the former crown prince. Because the former crown prince had feelings for her, he had deliberately kept her by his side.
"It was Yun Sheng from the prime minister's mansion!"
Thinking that her master had told her about this privately, Nightingale answered without hesitation.
When the former crown prince was alive, like the then - emperor, he highly regarded Yun Sheng's conduct. So their interactions were quite frequent.
In the face of some important decisions, Yun Sheng would also give the former crown prince a lot of advice, and the former crown prince would mostly adopt them carefully.
"Yun Sheng?!"
Hearing this name, Qi Rong's pupils shrank. His face suddenly turned black, as cold as the coldest winter, chilling to the bone!
Not long ago, his maternal grandfather, the old Duke Luo, had been forced to take his own life because of the strategy Yun Sheng had proposed to the emperor. Although he resented it, he had never associated his elder brother's death with Yun Sheng.
Because he trusted his father's judgment of people. He thought that although Yun Sheng was cautious in handling matters, he had his own reasons. He didn't think that Yun Sheng was a real coward.
However, during the palace coup in the capital, all the loyal and good generals rushed to the palace to rescue the emperor. Even if they were intercepted on the way, they died heroically.
Only Yun Sheng turned a blind eye. He closed the gates of the prime minister's mansion tightly, betraying his father's trust and ignoring the palace coup. Even after Qi Hong ascended the throne, he curried favor with the new emperor and finally secured his position as prime minister!
Was this kind of obsequious and despicable villain in collusion with Qi Hong from the very beginning?
Did he first plot to kill his elder brother and then force his maternal grandfather to death to help Qi Hong ascend the throne?!
Thinking of this, Qi Rong's eyes were blood - red, and the jade ring on his hand shattered with a sound.
Time passed quickly, and in a blink of an eye, it was the nineteenth day of the first lunar month.
Because she had an appointment with Zhen Bao to attend a banquet in the palace, Yun Xi put on a plain dress early in the morning. After getting everything in order, she left the courtyard.
There were two carriages parked in front of the prime minister's mansion at this time. Yun Ni was wearing a red dress embroidered with golden peony patterns and a crown inlaid with pearls and jade gems. Her face was exquisitely made up. When she saw Yun Xi coming out, she immediately let out a cold snort.
She glanced at Yun Xi's attire and couldn't help but curl her lips and say:
"Look at how shabby you're dressed. People might think that our prime minister's mansion has treated you badly if they don't know. Don't embarrass me when others laugh at you!"
Looking at Yun Ni, who was dressed up in a showy and gaudy way, Yun Xi couldn't help but find it funny.
As if she had just noticed Yun Ni, a sly look flashed through her sparkling eyes. She said in surprise:
"Ah, so it's Yun Ni! From afar, I thought it was a peddler selling jewelry! Aren't you getting a pain in your neck with so many hairpins on your head?"
As soon as Yun Xi said this, Yu Zhu beside her was instantly overjoyed. Just a moment ago, she had been angry, but now she let out a snort of laughter and quickly covered her mouth.
She had to admit that her young lady's mouth was getting more and more venomous!
It was obvious that the second young lady's whole face had turned black, and even the powder on her face could hardly cover it!
Yu Zhu was holding back her laughter so hard that her stomach ached, while Yun Ni was so angry that she was fuming. She lifted up her skirt with both hands and was about to go over to argue with Yun Xi, but Jiang Shi beside her grabbed her arm firmly.
"Yun Ni, don't forget what you're going to do in the palace today. You mustn't be led by the nose by others!"
Jiang Shi's words were neither cold nor warm, but they immediately reminded Yun Ni.
She suppressed her impulse to quarrel with Yun Xi, slightly calmed her anger, and then glared at Yun Xi and her maid fiercely. With the support of her maid, she got into the carriage without looking back.
"Miss, this is really rare today."
Seeing Yun Ni, who was usually hot - tempered and easily angered, getting into the carriage obediently like this, Yu Zhu couldn't help but look up at the sun in the sky.
Well, she was sure it wasn't rising from the west!
Seeing Yu Zhu's actions, Yun Xi couldn't help but smile softly.
What was there to be surprised about? There was a banquet in the palace today. The empress was selecting a concubine for the crown prince. Yun Ni, who had always admired the crown prince almost to the point of madness, naturally wouldn't miss this once - in - a - lifetime opportunity!