Nothing was more lamentable than lying to oneself and others.
With Murong Wanru keeping Grand Concubine Yi in check, she probably wouldn't dare cause trouble in the future. She'd even gotten information about the survivors. Long Fei Ye should be satisfied with these two explanations, right?
Han Yunxi didn't ask any more questions, but shot Murong Wanru a Cold look. "Mufei, you should stay alone with Wanru. She'll wake up for the time it takes to burn a stick of incense. After that, she'll never wake up again. If you have anything to say, say it quickly."
At these words, Grand Concubine Yi sucked in a cold breath and almost stopped breathing. She'd already accepted the fact that Wanru would never wake up, but now she was suddenly told such a thing. For a moment, she was flustered and didn't know what to do.
"She'll wake up soon. It'll only take the time it takes to burn a stick of incense.
"The time it takes to burn a stick of incense …" Grand Concubine Yi muttered to herself. Was this a surprise, or a delight?
Han Yunxi didn't explain much, but locked the door after leaving the room. She didn't leave, but sat by the door to wait in silence.
At this moment, Long Fei Ye walked out of the darkness. Han Yunxi was about to rise when Long Fei Ye motioned for her to sit down. He didn't ask anything, but sat down by her side.
"That mama was called …"
Before Han Yunxi could finish, Long Fei Ye cut her off. "Mm, I've already sent people to investigate."
All right, she should've guessed that this guy would keep an eye on everything in the room. Judging from his reaction, he should be satisfied with her results.
Soon enough, there was movement from inside the room. Murong Wanru had woken up. It wasn't clear what Grand Concubine Yi and Murong Wanru had said, but their voices were low at first. Suddenly, Murong Wanru began to scream.
"Why? I hate you! Mufei, I'll hate you for the rest of my life! "
"I'm a princess! I'm the most honorable princess! Why can't you give me a proper title? Why can I only be an adopted daughter?! "
"Mufei, I'll never forgive you! You're the one who took everything from me! "
"I can't accept this! I want a proper title! I'm going to explain everything to His Majesty. I'm the rightful heir of the imperial family. I'm the rightful heir! "
"Mother, you've ruined my life. My life shouldn't be like this! I don't want to! No! "
…
It wasn't clear what Grand Concubine Yi felt when she heard the shrieks and curses, but it had to be unbearable. Right now, it wasn't Grand Concubine Yi who felt the worst, but Murong Wanru.
She was right. Her life was not supposed to be like this. What she cared about the most in her life was her humble background. Who knew that the truth was like this? Even though she knew the truth, there was nothing she could do about it.
As the screams continued, Han Yunxi rose to leave. She didn't want to hear any more. She knew that her actions were far crueler than killing Murong Wanru and Grand Concubine Yi, but Murong Wanru deserved this fate. She wouldn't feel bad about it.
Long Fei Ye looked at Han Yunxi's receding figure, and a satisfied smile appeared on his lips.
Valued friendship?
Han Yunxi, you're ruthless enough, but … your lordship wants a ruthless heart like this.
Naturally, Marquis Pingbei's estate, the Duke's estate, and the official of the Ministry of Appointments had no interest in the spring hunt. They'd rushed back overnight to wait in the guest hall. Everyone was concerned about Grand Concubine Yi and Murong Wanru's condition, especially Marquis Pingbei and his wife. They were like ants on a hot pan, afraid that something might happen to the two women.
This was a high branch they'd worked so hard to climb. If it broke, they'd fall to an unsightly state.
Unfortunately, no one from the Duke of Qin's estate received them, so they couldn't find anyone to ask. After waiting for two hours, the old Duke and the official of the Ministry of Appointments left first. Marquis Pingbei's family of three could only keep waiting.
After Murong Wanru fell into a coma, Long Fei Ye found Imperial Physician Li, who couldn't figure out the cause of her illness. In the end, he could only say that she'd been frightened too much and hit her head. As for when she'd wake up, he wasn't sure.
Grand Concubine Yi, who had a clear idea of the situation, leaned on one side with a grief-stricken face. Her tears were still wet, but she didn't ask a single question.
If she didn't pursue the matter further, who else would pursue the matter further?
As a result, the plot ended with Grand Concubine Yi bedridden with serious injuries and Murong Wanru unconscious. All of the blame fell on the heads of the two groups of assassins.
Early next morning, Marquis Pingbei's estate picked up Murong Wanru and spread the news.
The entire spring hunt party was still on the road, but the empress dowager had long followed the crown prince to the main camp. She was planning to invite the crown prince for a walk after receiving the good news today.
But in the end, Man proposes, Heaven disposes. Currently, she sat in a daze, expressionless and unmoving.
Last night, she'd received news of a second wave of assassins, saying that Grand Concubine Yi and Murong Wanru were both injured and brought back to the estate by His Highness Duke of Qin. She hadn't slept a wink, hoping that Murong Wanru had made her move before she got hurt.
But she never expected things to turn out like this!
After all, she'd been waiting all night for news of Grand Concubine Yi's death. She was waiting for the Long Fei Ye to find the three needles on Grand Concubine Yi's body and accuse Han Yunxi of colluding with outsiders to commit murder!
How could she accept this result? Grand Concubine Yi wasn't dead, but Murong Wanru was!
What made her most unreconciled was that the real assassins had targeted Han Yunxi, but Han Yunxi was completely unharmed!
Was that damned girl born with a tough life?
On one side, Li mama reminded her worriedly, "Mistress, I heard that a few of the first wave of assassins were captured alive. They're locked up in the justice courts for questioning. Should we give them an explanation?"
The empress dowager recovered her wits and said in an unhappy tone, "Those are Murong Wanru's people. What's there to explain?"
She'd only given Murong Wanru one idea and given her three needles. Whether it was the carriage driver or the assassins, Murong Wanru was the one who'd arranged for them.
Even if Han Yunxi remembered the three needles, she couldn't do anything to her. She wasn't afraid, but if she interfered after the fact, it'd be used against her.
Li mama was resentful before she murmured, "Mistress, this old servant also heard that those fake assassins were all injured by Qin Wangfei."
"What? She knows martial arts? "the empress dowager was surprised.
"Someone saw it with their own eyes. They said she knows the art of needles and can kill a person with a single needle," Li mama said timidly.
The empress dowager couldn't believe it. "This won't do. That damned girl will definitely be left alive. Sooner or later, she'll be a disaster!"
"Mistress, as this old servant sees it, if we want to deal with Han Yunxi, we'll have to start with … the Han Family." Li mama seized the chance to offer a plan. She was about to elaborate when the empress dowager raised a hand to stop her. "No, I really did underestimate that girl. This matter needs to be considered at length. It can't be rushed … it can't be rushed …"
The empress dowager didn't attend the Spring Hunt, but returned to the palace the next day on the pretext that she wasn't feeling well.
A month later, the justice courts didn't get anything out of the assassins' mouths. The assassination attempt seemed to have passed just like that.
But Grand Concubine Yi, who'd been recuperating for a month, suddenly announced that she wanted to devote herself to paying respects to Buddha and leave all matters of the Duke of Qin's household to Han Yunxi. From now on, Han Yunxi was the head of the household.
Once the news came out, the entire capital was in an uproar. Big streets and small alleys were filled with discussions. Everyone said that Han Yunxi was favored, but no one expected her to wield power in the Duke of Qin's household so quickly. In this way, the title of Qin Wangfei was true to her name!
But whether it was true or not, probably only Han Yunxi and Long Fei Ye knew in their hearts.
When the news reached the empress dowager's ears, she was stunned.
"Really?"
"It's absolutely true. I heard that the Duke of Qin's household fired a bunch of servants yesterday. I'm afraid Qin Wangfei's going to have a big change of blood."
The empress dowager shook her head. From what she understood of Grand Concubine Yi, how could she give up power? Could it be that Han Yunxi had some sort of weakness that could be used against her?
But what kind of weakness could Grand Concubine Yi have for Han Yunxi to grasp?
"Mistress, could this be the Duke of Qin's intentions?" Li mama couldn't figure it out either, but this was the only possibility.
"Even if it's the Duke of Qin's intentions, it can't be that easy, right?"
The empress dowager still didn't believe it. While she was thinking, a young eunuch ran over to report in a low voice. "Esteemed Empress Dowager, Eunuch Gu's here."
The empress dowager waved her hand impatiently. "Let him go. That blind thing. What's the point of investigating when the person's already gone?"
When the empress dowager had bribed Murong Wanru, she'd left a trick up her sleeve. To prevent her from betraying the empress dowager, she'd sent Eunuch Gu to investigate her origins and find her true relatives to keep her in check.
Now Murong Wanru was no different from a corpse. It was useless to investigate any further.
The eunuch was about to leave when Li mama spoke up. "Mistress, since you've already investigated, why don't you listen? No matter what, Murong Wanru's still lying in Marquis Pingbei's estate? I heard that Grand Concubine Yi even went to see her twice. "
Seeing the empress dowager remain silent, Li mama ordered the eunuch to hurry and bring him in.
But Eunuch Gu came with news as soon as he entered. "To reply Esteemed Empress Dowager, this old servant followed the records of the past and found that all of Murong Wanru's closest relatives have already passed away. There's no news of any of her other relatives, so there's no way to find them."
Murong Wanru had been personally chosen by the empress to be Princess Changping's playgirl. She was only six years old and an orphan who had been raised by relatives. She was from the Chen Village in the southern suburbs of the city.
Because she was personally chosen by the empress, Grand Concubine Yi didn't raise any suspicions at the time. Moreover, Grand Concubine Yi couldn't bear any more children after giving birth to the Duke of Qin. She especially liked daughters, so this matter was a matter of course.
But after hearing Eunuch Gu's words, the empress dowager seemed to be enlightened. She smelled a familiar scent. Strange, there was something fishy about this!
"How could there be no relatives at all? Has Murong Wanru never contacted any of them these past few years?" Li mama was curious as well.
"The relatives who adopted her both died not long after she entered the palace. Later on, some of the relatives moved away, while others died. This old servant asked around in the Chen Village, but no one knows the name Murong Wanru anymore," Eunuch Gu replied truthfully.
The empress dowager fell silent, her eyes filled with shadows that flickered between light and darkness.
"Esteemed Empress Dowager, this old servant has already done his best. It's really …"
Before Eunuch Gu could finish, the empress dowager cut him off coldly. "Li mama, bring out the 'Daily Life of the Imperial Harem' from the bottom of my chest, right now!"
The 'Daily Life of the Imperial Harem' recorded the affairs of the concubines in the imperial harem, pregnancy, childbirth, and so on. Normally, the empress dowager was in charge of these matters. Naturally, the book in the empress dowager's hands recorded the events of the previous Emperor's reign.
Empress Dowager, what do you want to find out?
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