"This..."
Hun Yuan was just about to reply when a maid outside came in with freshly brewed medicine.
The strong aroma of the medicine instantly filled the room. Hun Yuan gulped it down in one go, grimacing at the bitterness. Jiang Ning immediately stuffed a candied fruit into his mouth and said disdainfully,
"You're such a grown - up, but you're still the same as when you were a kid when taking medicine. You never change."
The sweet taste in his mouth overcame the bitterness of the medicine.
Hun Yuan mumbled,
"Can you blame me? This medicine hasn't changed in all these years."
"If it weren't so bitter, I wouldn't suffer every time I take it."
"Senior Brother..."
Ye Xi rubbed her temples with a headache and reminded,
"About the Liu family."
"Ooh..."
Hun Yuan gave an embarrassed smile, handed the bowl to Jiang Ning, wiped his mouth and continued,
"Because the source of the plague originated from the Liu family.
"The Liu family had many talented people. From first - rank officials down to ninth - rank county magistrates, there were Liu family members. Almost all the capable ones were in the court. At that time, it was the period of preparing for the grand ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven, and the person in charge of the ceremony was the then Minister of Rites, Liu Changhong.
"The grand ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven was extremely important and the rituals were very complicated. Liu Changhong almost lived in the palace. All the Liu family members in the court would go to help when they were free.
"Until one day, Liu Changhong suddenly fell ill. At that time, everyone thought it was due to overwork. The imperial physicians' diagnosis showed nothing abnormal, so no one took it seriously. Later, more and more people fell ill with similar symptoms. Only then did the imperial physicians realize that this matter was not simple.
"Under the treatment and investigation of the imperial physicians, it was discovered that before Liu Changhong fell ill, the female members of the Liu family had already started showing such symptoms. So the palace was put on high alert, the Liu family was isolated, and the city gates were closed to prevent the spread of the plague. Since then, the talented people of the Liu family almost died out, and the Shen and Cao families gradually rose, forming the current situation."
"However..."
Hun Yuan racked his brains and thought,
"Too many people in the Liu family died at that time. Many children of your age at that time also died prematurely, but there were definitely no missing ones.
"Given the isolation situation at that time, not even a fly could fly out, let alone a child."
"What Hun Yuan said is right,"
Yi Yuan agreed,
"The plague was no small matter. It could spread easily. Especially since the source was from the Liu family.
"Although I was still young at that time, the scene was still vivid in my mind. Cartloads of corpses were piled up and taken out to be burned like firewood. No one could have escaped. The whole capital was in mourning and everyone was in panic. One could only see the sky but not people's faces."
"Indeed,"
Ye Xi also realized,
"I was too impatient and didn't think of this. Moreover, I wasn't alone at that time. Nanny Xi was with me."
Seeing Ye Xi's mood a bit low, Yi Yuan gently placed his warm, big hand on her thin shoulder and comforted her,
"It's understandable. You're so close to finding out the truth about your origin. Anyone would be anxious."
"Exactly,"
Jiang Ning echoed,
"We basically know all the clues. Since Lady Lou is not the right one, why don't we go and ask the Third Lady Liu?"
Ye Xi smiled as she touched the hand that Yi Yuan had placed on her shoulder and said,
"Yes, that's what I was thinking too.
"However, we haven't found a suitable opportunity to meet her for the time being. This matter may have to wait for a while. A Yuan and I may have to go to Yanshan County first."
"Yanshan County?"
Jiang Ning was very surprised. But she knew that Yi Yuan was investigating the matter of the death of Prince Chi Xuan in battle, so she was smart enough not to ask too much. She only asked,
"Why is it so sudden? When are you going? And when will you be back?
"It'll be the New Year in two more months. Why don't you go after the New Year?"
Ye Xi exchanged a glance with Yi Yuan and said with a smile,
"Going after the New Year might be a bit late. We don't know the specific situation yet. General Yun's men are more familiar with that area. He has already sent people to investigate.
"We're waiting for General Yun's news and then we'll make a decision."
After the group said a few more words, they thought that Hun Yuan was seriously injured and needed to rest, so they left and went about their own business.
After seeing Yi Yuan off, Ye Xi found an excuse to go back to see Hun Yuan.
When she arrived, Hun Yuan was lying against the head of the bed, looking at her with a smile. He said very naturally,
"You're here."
Ye Xi: ... For some reason, she felt like a thief coming to make a contact.
She told Ling Yan and Sai Xing to guard the door. Ye Xi moved a small stool and sat beside Hun Yuan. She said seriously,
"Since Senior Brother knew I would come, you must know what I'm going to ask. Let's not beat around the bush, Senior Brother. Just tell me straight." Blinking his eyes, Hun Yuan said sincerely,
"To be honest, Master has been investigating the matter behind the scenes. I really don't know much myself.
"Since I took over Master's mantle and guarded the palace, Master only told me about the mastermind behind the scenes. Master never mentioned anything about the old prince to me."
"So what you said before was what you investigated yourself?"
Ye Xi asked in slight surprise.
Hun Yuan proudly shook his head and said,
"Of course.
"When I wanted to investigate the person behind the scenes, I naturally had to look through the files from fourteen years ago. As a result, I found that there were many discrepancies between the records of the plague in the palace files and the clues about the plague left by Master.
"One of them was that the old prince, Yi Fu, had secretly entered and left the palace many times before and after the plague and had had frequent contacts with one of the members of the mysterious organization, but there was no record of this in the palace. And before the late emperor passed away, Yi Fu had also secretly gone to the late emperor's bedroom, avoiding everyone.
"According to the booklet left by Master, not long after Yi Fu left, the late emperor flew into a rage, his qi and blood went against the normal flow, and he passed away within a cup of tea.
"Junior Sister is extremely intelligent. You should understand how serious the matter contained in this short sentence is."
Ye Xi's face turned pale and her breathing became a bit difficult.
How could she not understand?
The late emperor and the old prince, Yi Fu, were brothers from the same mother. The late emperor was the elder one and inherited the throne.
Who could guarantee that Yi Fu had no ambition at all over the years? With just these twenty-odd words from Master Qingyi and combined with Yi Fu's previous secret actions, who would believe that the plague had nothing to do with him?
If Yi Fu really had the suspicion of usurpation, then what about Yi Yuan...
A chill suddenly ran down Ye Xi's back.
"Then, does His Majesty..."
Trying hard to calm herself down, Ye Xi asked,
"Know about this?"
"He probably doesn't,"
Hun Yuan no longer looked relaxed. He said seriously,
"If His Majesty knew, why would he value Yi Yuan so much today?"
Ye Xi couldn't sit still anymore. She got up and slowly paced back and forth in the room. Suddenly, as if thinking of something, Ye Xi suddenly looked up and stared at Hun Yuan. The suspicion in her eyes was clearly visible.
"Is it possible that His Majesty knows this and that's why he values A Yuan so much?
"After all, it was His Majesty who granted Prince Chi Xuan military power, and that's why he died in battle. The greater the power in A Yuan's hands, the more dangerous he is..."