Of course, they wouldn't go to the Spring Hunt. The aftermath of the assassination was left to the retainers. Long Fei Ye hadn't made a personal appearance on Jun Yi Xie's side, so it probably wouldn't be easy to catch up to him. Still, he probably wouldn't show up so soon this time. Although he'd avoided the strong anesthetic, the poison on Han Yunxi's needles wasn't easy to treat.
Han Yunxi wondered if Jun Yi Xie would try to take her life instead of kidnapping her next time. It seemed like she was the one ruining his plans every time.
As the carriage headed towards the capital, Han Yunxi didn't know what to do with Long Fei Ye's sword, so she could only hug it to her chest.
This was the sword that Long Fei Ye always carried with him. Han Yunxi didn't understand swords, but she knew that to a swordsman, a sword was as important as his life. She secretly stroked the scabbard and felt that it carried his aura. Domineering, cold, noble, and mysterious!
She carefully hugged it as she sat on one side to look at him. She didn't know why, but she suddenly felt a sense of intimacy. For the first time, she truly felt that this man was by her side.
Long Fei Ye had long known of this, but he hadn't silenced Grand Concubine Yi's mouth. Who knew if he'd lay his cards on the table with Grand Concubine Yi after they returned? What would Grand Concubine Yi's reaction be if Murong Wanru was already like this?
Of course, there was one thing that Han Yunxi had to tell Long Fei Ye clearly. "Your Highness, if nothing unexpected happens, Murong Wanru will have a short period of lucidity tonight. Just the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn."
This was Murong Wanru's final period of lucidity before she fell into a deep sleep. It was similar to the final radiance of the setting sun.
Long Fei Ye didn't express any opinion, but who would have thought that once they arrived at the Duke of Qin's Mansion, he would issue a Cold order, "Servants, Esteemed Imperial Concubine Dowager and Young Madam were assassinated on their way here. Unfortunately, they died. Issue an obituary and prepare for their funeral."
As he spoke, he handed Grand Concubine Yi over to Han Yunxi and personally drove Murong Wanru to Marquis Pingbei's estate. Murong Wanru was still breathing, so Han Yunxi didn't know what Long Fei Ye would do. But she was clear that once she reached Marquis Pingbei's estate, she'd become a corpse.
And he'd left Grand Concubine Yi's death to her?
Han Yunxi stood rooted to the ground. She felt a chill run down her spine. She always knew that this man was ruthless, but she didn't know that he could be so ruthless. He wanted to completely silence her!
She couldn't help but feel a lingering fear. Was it a miracle or an exception that she could survive?
Suddenly, Han Yunxi remembered something and hastily stepped forward to stop the carriage. "Long Fei Ye, wait!"
"Can't do it?" Long Fei Ye asked unhappily.
"There's still someone else who knows this secret. Let's talk inside the estate!" Han Yunxi was very serious. She faintly remembered that Grand Concubine Yi had mentioned a mama while she was eavesdropping.
This reason was enough to stop Long Fei Ye, but he didn't ask immediately. A complicated look flitted past his eyes before he brought Murong Wanru inside.
All of the servants in the Peony Courtyard had been cleared out. Grand Concubine Yi and Murong Wanru were both lying unconscious on the bed.
"When esteemed imperial concubine mentioned this, Murong Wanru didn't believe her. Esteemed imperial concubine said that there was a mama who helped deliver the baby who knew about the secret. As for who she was and what her current situation was, esteemed imperial concubine didn't have time to say," Han Yunxi said seriously.
Everyone who knew of the secret had been silenced by Grand Concubine Yi in time. Long Fei Ye had investigated the matter thoroughly.
But which one was this mama that Grand Concubine Yi had mentioned? Had she been silenced already? If so, Grand Concubine Yi had no need to mention it to Murong Wanru.
His origins were too important. He'd rather kill the wrong person than miss it, much less allow it to exist beyond his control! If he wanted to know the truth about this mama, he'd have to ask Grand Concubine Yi herself.
"When will she wake up?" Long Fei Ye asked.
By now, Han Yunxi was already taking Grand Concubine Yi's pulse. "There's no serious injury, just a fright. She should wake up soon."
Long Fei Ye only gave her a single word. "Wait."
Wait?
The entire Peony Garden had been cleared out. Most likely, Long Fei Ye had made up his mind to kill her. Once he got to the bottom of things, he'd do it all the same. Han Yunxi didn't know how much Long Fei Ye felt for Grand Concubine Yi, but she didn't want to kill anyone.
She could choose not to save a white lotus like Murong Wanru, but she couldn't kill Grand Concubine Yi.
She'd never been a kind-hearted, soft-hearted girl, and Grand Concubine Yi had never treated her with sincerity, either.
She couldn't kill her, not because of noble reasons like benevolence and filial piety, but because there was a difference between "not saving" and "killing." She was a doctor and had her own principles.
After a moment of silence, Han Yunxi spoke up. "Your Highness, Grand Concubine Yi's power today all depends on you. I don't think she'll ever betray you. All these years, you kept her alive even though you knew she wasn't your birth mother. Why do you have to kill her now?"
"Do you think she'll still be calm if Murong Wanru's dead?" Long Fei Ye retorted disdainfully.
"Murong Wanru's only unconscious, not dead. Even if we take 10,000 steps back and say that Murong Wanru's dead, she still has to be calm, because she's already been calm for over a decade. "
Han Yunxi firmly believed that Long Fei Ye's position in Grand Concubine Yi's heart was far higher than Murong Wanru's. In other words, power, status, face, glory, splendor, wealth, and rank would always be more important than Murong Wanru. Otherwise, Grand Concubine Yi wouldn't have swapped out the crown prince all those years ago!
"In the past, Grand Concubine Yi was even willing to part with her own daughter when she was favored by the late emperor. Much less now that he's gone, the imperial harem is someone else's world," Han Yunxi added.
Long Fei Ye studied Han Yunxi with interest until Han Yunxi slowly shut her mouth.
"You understand Grand Concubine Yi very well, and you're very smart," Long Fei Ye evaluated objectively.
"Your Highness, you should understand Grand Concubine Yi very well and know that she's even smarter than me." Han Yunxi had to remind him that Grand Concubine Yi was a shrewd person. Under these circumstances, it wouldn't be easy for Long Fei Ye to force the mama's whereabouts out of her mouth.
At these words, Long Fei Ye hesitated.
"Your Highness, Grand Concubine Yi and chenqie both rely on Your Highness. It's just that Grand Concubine Yi needs Murong Wanru's comfort, that's all. If Your Highness trusts chenqie, then keep pretending you don't know a thing and leave everything to chenqie. Chenqie promises to give Your Highness a satisfactory explanation. "
Long Fei Ye was still studying Han Yunxi without replying.
Han Yunxi grew anxious and hastened to add, "Your Highness, for better or worse, you've called her mufei for over 20 years. You should know in your heart how she treats you."
Now Long Fei Ye broke into a cold laugh. "Han Yunxi, you're a person who understands friendship and loyalty."
Friendship and loyalty?
All right, Han Yunxi couldn't afford to wear such a heavy hat, nor did she want to. She only knew that she didn't want to kill anyone.
Her face was filled with emotion as she stared at Long Fei Ye with sincere eyes.
It wasn't clear what Long Fei Ye was thinking, but seeing Han Yunxi's earnest gaze made his lips curve wider. Finally, he agreed. "Alright, your lordship will wait for your explanation."
Han Yunxi rejoiced and rose to personally escort Long Fei Ye out the door. She was about to close the door when Long Fei Ye turned back to look at her. "Han Yunxi, aren't you curious about your lordship's origins?"
Han Yunxi had always thought that even if this fellow didn't have the blood of Tianning's imperial clan, his origins wouldn't be small. Heaven knows where the old mama had found him for Grand Concubine Yi.
Long Fei Ye's question confirmed Han Yunxi's suspicions, but at the same time revealed that he still had secrets on him.
Han Yunxi gave a start and immediately expressed her stance. "Chenqie doesn't want to know anything that shouldn't be known!"
The more she knew, the harder it would be for her to escape. The more she knew, the more danger she would be in. The more she knew, the faster she'd die!
She wasn't that curious, so could he let her go this time?
Long Fei Ye smiled and suddenly closed in on Han Yunxi, forcing her against the wall. His masculine aura suddenly enveloped her, accompanied by a faint scent of ambergris that was both domineering and icy. This scent was a poison without an antidote, but it always made Han Yunxi's entire body turn stiff and nervous.
Despite being so close, Long Fei Ye still kept talking, practically sticking to her ear as he spoke. His scorching hot breath disturbed her mind, but his words only made her more uneasy.
He said, "Han Yunxi, Gu has misunderstood. Your lordship's mufei is the one from the Tang Clan. However, your lordship is just as curious as he is about Lady Tianxin's … origins."
As soon as he finished speaking, he backed away, not giving Han Yunxi a chance to speak. He pushed her lightly into the room and personally closed the door behind her.
Han Yunxi didn't know how long it took her to understand. Long Fei Ye's words contained too much information!
He said Gu had misunderstood? That's why he was clear about Gu's suspicions about her origins when he appeared at the Han Estate that day.
He said your lordship's mufei? Did this guy get used to calling her that, or did he still have imperial blood in him? Which clan was he from? His mufei was a daughter of the Tang Clan. Didn't Tang Clan daughters never marry outside the family?
He said Lady Tianxin's origins? So this guy had been investigating Lady Tianxin this entire time. Then how much did he know about her origins?
The amount of information left Han Yunxi in a state of confusion. She always assumed that this guy was often away from the estate, so he didn't have much interaction with her other than when he needed her to treat poisons. But who knew that he knew everything about her like the back of his hand?
Han Yunxi's eyes widened as they darted around in their sockets. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking. At this moment, there was movement behind her. Grand Concubine Yi had awoken.
Han Yunxi quickly gathered her thoughts and turned around, only to see Grand Concubine Yi sprawled on the edge of the bed, half-awake as she stared at her with furrowed brows.
Han Yunxi poured a cup of warm water and walked over to help her sit up before carefully feeding her the water.
Gradually, Grand Concubine Yi woke up as well. She didn't drink much before pushing aside Han Yunxi's hand and asking, "Han Yunxi, what did you do to Wanru?"
Tsk tsk, she really wasn't easy to deal with!
Han Yunxi took out three needles from her sleeves and stuffed them into Grand Concubine Yi's hands. These were the weapons Murong Wanru had used to assassinate Grand Concubine Yi. These were Han Yunxi's medical needles, but she never left them carelessly. The only time she'd left them in the palace was when she was treating Princess Changping.
"Esteemed Imperial Concubine, it's all thanks to you that I didn't fall into her trap," Han Yunxi said Coldly.
The carriage driver had gone the wrong way and the assassin had attacked. All of this had been premeditated. Grand Concubine Yi was very clear on Murong Wanru's schemes, but none of that mattered now.
What mattered was that Han Yunxi had heard and seen things she shouldn't have.
Grand Concubine Yi tossed aside the needles and asked sternly, "Where's my daughter?"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
