Jing Xinche looked at Lord Chen mockingly, satisfied to see the latter's face flushed with anger.
"You... you..." Lord Chen was a civil official. In terms of eloquence, he would never lose to a military general like Jing Xinche. However, Jing Xinche was now talking dirty to this literati. So, Lord Chen didn't know what to say at all. He could only stare at Jing Xinche with a flushed face.
"Your Majesty, you know that I've been completely loyal to Qier. You were also well - aware of what happened between us back then. How could I possibly take a fancy to someone else?" Jing Xinche brought up the past, also reminding Yuan Yuchuan of his capabilities. It was he who had helped Yuan Yuchuan ascend the throne, and he also had the means to depose him.
Yuan Yuchuan tightly grasped the armrests of his chair, forcing a smile as he said, "Marquis Zhongning is right. I did know about the matter between you two back then. But Lord Chen has accused you. You must give an explanation, right?"
"This is easy. Since Lord Chen is worried about his daughter, I can investigate this matter with Lord Chen." Jing Xinche glanced at Lord Chen and said.
"What do you think, Lord Chen?" Yuan Yuchuan looked at Lord Chen and asked.
"I obey the order." Lord Chen received Yuan Yuchuan's subtle hint. This matter couldn't be entangled any longer. Otherwise, they would only be the ones to suffer. Helplessly, he had to agree to Jing Xinche's request.
After they left the palace, Jing Xinche took Mu Fengqie far away from them, afraid of getting contaminated by something unclean.
"Princess Tianlin, please wait a moment." The Queen of Xueling Country stopped them on her own initiative.
"Does the Queen have anything else to say?" It was obvious what the Queen of Xueling Country meant when she stopped her that day. So, Mu Fengqie didn't give her a good look. She stared expressionlessly at the approaching Queen of Xueling Country and asked.
"Yes. These are the local specialties from Xueling Country. I brought them here on purpose. I've already given some to the Emperor of Qin Dynasty, and I'd like to give the rest to you." With that, the Queen of Xueling Country took out a bag of things from her sleeve and handed it to Mu Fengqie.
"No need. Qier doesn't need them. Moreover, I can get anything for Qier. You don't need to worry about it, Queen." Jing Xinche refused the Queen of Xueling Country's kindness on behalf of Mu Fengqie.
When he was fighting on the border before, he had smelled this kind of odor. What local specialties from Xueling Country? They were clearly wild mushrooms from the border. There were plenty of them there. This Queen of Xueling Country really liked to tell lies with her eyes open.
"In that case, I won't force you." The Queen of Xueling Country smiled and put the things back, completely unaware that the things she had offered had already been recognized.
After Jing Xinche took Mu Fengqie away, the Queen of Xueling Country took Prince Wen and left.
"Why didn't I know that you brought local specialties?" This woman didn't have any local specialties when she moved into his mansion. Clearly, she was just making things up.
"What local specialties? They're just some wild mushrooms. If you want them, you can have them." With that, the Queen of Xueling Country threw the bag of wild mushrooms to Prince Wen.
Prince Wen threw it aside with a dark face. "Don't give me any dirty things."
"Tsk~" The Queen of Xueling Country raised her eyebrows indifferently. Why didn't she notice before that this Prince Wen was a clean - freak? He was really fussy. It was embarrassing for a big man to be a clean - freak.
Prince Wen felt the Queen of Xueling Country's blatant contempt but didn't say anything. So what if he was a clean - freak? It didn't interfere with her in any way.
"We have to find a way to send Miss Chen from our side out." Otherwise, if Lord Chen found any clues, they wouldn't be able to explain themselves even if they were in the right.
"But how can we send her out? And we haven't come up with a solution for her voice yet." Mu Fengqie frowned and said.
"Pinch her dumb - acupoint." This was the only solution Jing Xinche could think of. There was no better one.
Mu Fengqie thought for a while and could only agree. It was better than ruining her vocal cords.
Jing Xinche brought the woman over, explained the specific plan to her, and then managed to have someone kidnap her.
"I heard that there has been a flower - thief in the capital recently. We can use this incident."
This woman was really ruthless. She didn't even care about her own reputation. She was willing to bear the reputation of being defiled just to sneak into the Chen Mansion.
"Have you thought it through?" Mu Fengqie looked at the determined - looking woman in front of her and asked.
"I've thought it through, and I'll never regret it. As long as I can kill Lord Chen, the Marquis and the Lady will be my benefactors." She had no way back.
"Okay. I'll find a secret guard to teach you how to pinch the dumb - acupoint, and then have our people impersonate the flower - thief." Jing Xinche said.
"Thank you."
Two days later, Marquis Zhongning found Miss Chen in a dilapidated temple, ragged and in a daze. He sent someone to call Lord Chen over.
"Lord Chen, take a look. Is this Miss Chen?" Jing Xinche stared intently at the woman. He didn't expect that she hadn't pinched the dumb - acupoint but directly ruined her vocal cords. There was a clear scar on her neck.
He had already asked someone to check. The injury was very severe and completely irreparable.
When Lord Chen came over and saw Miss Chen huddled in the corner, he immediately rushed over. "My daughter! How did you become like this? Who on earth did this to you!?" Lord Chen hugged Miss Chen and began to cry.
However, when no one was looking, he touched Miss Chen's back. When he felt a bump, he stopped. This person was indeed his daughter.
"Lord Chen, calm down. My people found traces of the flower - thief here. It seems that Miss Chen was abducted by him." With that, Jing Xinche asked someone to bring out the evidence representing the flower - thief, a paper - folded flower.
There had been frequent incidents of the flower - thief in the capital recently, and this paper - folded flower would always be left at the crime scenes.
Looking at the thing in Jing Xinche's hand, Lord Chen said angrily, "I will never let that flower - thief go." This daughter was carefully cultivated by him. He didn't expect her to be ruined by that flower - thief in one fell swoop!
"Lord Chen, you'd better take Miss Chen back to see a doctor quickly. I can see that Miss Chen's neck is seriously injured." Jing Xinche reminded him.
Lord Chen glanced at Jing Xinche and then took Miss Chen back. He was going to go back and find out what had happened to his daughter in the past few days.
However, Lord Chen was doomed to find nothing out.