sjar Chapter 125 Temple Secrets
Chapter 125 Temple Secrets
Gu Liang smiled.
"I heard that the daughter of Marquis Zhongjing fled the capital before the incident," Qin Qi said.
"The daughter of Marquis Zhongjing?" Gu Liang looked away. "Qiao Lixue?"
“Someone is helping her,” Qin Qi said, opening the tea box. “The person helping her is probably the one we’ve been suspecting.”
“I suspect,” Gu Liang began, “that child didn’t die back then.”
Qin Qi trembled the teaspoon in his hand, and the tea leaves he had just scooped out were put back into the tea box.
"You mean the late Empress," he put down his tea set, "and the child she was carrying?"
Qin Qi was silent for a moment, then asked, "Who is the candidate?"
“I’m still guessing,” Gu Liang sighed softly, “He’s hiding it very well.”
“More evidence is always good,” Qin Qi rolled up his sleeves and picked up the teaspoon again. “However, things have been unruly up north lately. Wei Zhuo is very arrogant.”
"With his strength, he will make a comeback soon. The Ministry of War has recently issued several transfer orders. I suppose you were the one who made them."
Gu Liang nodded.
“Wei Zhuo is already the new emperor, with a huge influence, and it is impossible for Yanjing to be completely unaware of it.”
Qin Qi continued, "If Wei Zhuo takes this opportunity to attack our northern border, it might really ignite a fierce war."
“I plan to go to the Northern Barbarians myself next month,” Gu Liang said.
Qin Qi pondered intently, "Who should I bring?"
"We'll see when the time comes," he replied.
Qin Qi picked up the boiling teapot and said, "I advise you to inform your princess about this as soon as possible, instead of acting first and reporting later."
Gu Liang glanced at him and scoffed.
"By the way," Qin Qi looked up, "I've thoroughly investigated the background of the Marquis of Guangde."
"How?" he asked.
“His ancestral home was in the north. He later passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi. His ancestors were hereditary marquises. His first wife gave birth to a son in his early years and then passed away. Later, he took a concubine.”
“One son,” Gu Liang repeated emphatically.
“Keep an eye on him for me while I’m away next month.”
"What?" Qin Qi chuckled. "Just because he's been showing you kindness?"
“Of course not,” Gu Liang said. “I suspect that the Ministry of War’s transfer order was handled so smoothly by him.”
"He and you have never met before, yet you're getting along like this; it's truly touching," Qin Qi said jokingly, but then composed himself. "You don't trust him?"
“The Marquis of Guangde received news about Wei Zhuo earlier than we did,” Gu Liang said coldly. “The northern lands won’t thaw until mid-April, and Bai Xiaotang didn’t even know yet, but they already did. How could he find out so quickly? Is he even more capable than Bai Xiaotang?”
“That’s right.” Qin Qi tilted his head. “But if he’s really that capable, how could there be no clues after all these years? And he looks so ordinary.”
“He is definitely not ordinary.” Gu Liang said meaningfully, “If he is deliberately hiding his talents, there must be a reason.”
Qin Qi shook his head and sighed, "You've really dumped a huge burden on me."
“The capable should do more,” Gu Liang said matter-of-factly. “Since you’re on vacation, you might as well do some more important work so as not to displease the Princess.”
"I, I..." Qin Qi pointed at him, then laughed in exasperation, "You assigned me so many tasks, and I failed at every single one of them?"
Gu Liang pretended not to hear and turned to look out the window. "Wen Yanran should have left the capital by now."
"Yes." Qin Qi was then led to another topic, "I'm afraid I'll have to suffer a bit tonight."
As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Liang stood up.
"Hey," Xie Feibai called out to him, "I just brewed this Thousand Island Jade Leaf tea, won't you try it before you leave?"
"Definitely next time."
After saying that, Gu Liang pushed open the door and left the room.
Qin Qi chuckled softly and strolled to the window.
Downstairs, the traffic was heavy and the streets were bustling and prosperous. Qin Qi looked at it carefully for a while, then looked away.
As night fell, a bolt of lightning ripped across the sky.
Wen Yanran was suddenly pulled up by a large hand.
She stared at him with wide eyes.
The owner of this large hand was the same person who had hit her during the day; his face was now contorted with lewdness.
"She's quite pretty," the officer said with a smirk.
Confused, Wen Yanran honestly replied, "Big brother, let's talk this out, please don't resort to violence."
She actually tried to reason with him, but he wasn't someone who could be reasoned with.
The officers rudely dragged Wen Yanran toward the bushes, gesturing for their men to come forward as they pulled him along.
Wen Yanran muttered under his breath, "It hurts so much..."
Wen Yanran, the official, was thrown to the ground. Looking at the two people in front of her, she immediately felt strange.
He quickly got up and backed away step by step.
Suddenly, a thunderclap rang out.
Wen Yanran and the official both shuddered.
The officers suddenly pounced on her and pinned her down; she screamed in agony.
Seeing her shouting loudly, the officer tore open her clothes, revealing her fair skin.
With a thud, the heavy object fell to the ground.
The official, who was immersed in merriment, was startled by the shout. He turned around, and before he could even blink, a heavy blow landed squarely on his head.
"Ah—!" Wen Yanran screamed in fright.
"Are you alright?" a gentle voice asked.
Wen Yanran looked up and was stunned for a moment. He hurriedly covered his scattered clothes and touched his arm.
"Get up first." Qinghuai reached out and helped Wen Yanran up.
"Are you alright?" Qinghuai looked her up and down. "Are you hurt?"
Faced with his concerned questions, she looked left and right, and thought for a moment.
The old housekeeper had told her that she needed to protect herself because someone wanted to harm her, and now that she had been murdered, she had no choice but to believe it.
"The Prime Minister said that his daughter should leave the capital safely," Qinghuai said. "My lord agreed."
Upon hearing her father's name, her eyes flickered, and she stammered, "Father? He and the Prince of Liang...? This..."
Her father never allowed her to get involved in official matters. She had only heard a few words from the old steward about her father's affair with the Prince of Liang.
"It's none of your business." Qinghuai draped his outer robe over her shoulders. "Let's go."
"Let's go?" Wen Yanran asked tentatively. "Where are we going?"
"I'll take you fifty miles away, which is outside the capital's territory. You can go wherever you want."
Why don't you kill me?
"There's no need," Qinghuai explained. "There are people who want to kill you."
"Is she...my aunt?" Wen Yanran swallowed hard.
Qinghuai raised an eyebrow in surprise. "So you're not stupid after all."
Wen Yanran looked dejected. "The old housekeeper has already told me about my father taking the blame."
Although she was slow-witted, she was not entirely ignorant of the matter.
"The old housekeeper said that Father didn't want me to know these things, but since my aunt could do this to her own brother, she won't let me off the hook."
"Alright, everything's fine now." Qinghuai's eyes flickered slightly. "Let's go."
Wen Yanran glanced at the official on the ground, "Aren't you going to cut him off?"
"Cut him?" Qinghuai didn't understand. "You don't need to worry about this."
"Then... then can I take the old butler with me?" Wen Yanran asked.
“No,” Qinghuai replied.
“Okay…” she lowered her eyes.
"Here you go," Qinghuai said, taking out a bag of candied fruit from her bosom. "I think our prince likes to buy these for the princess. I suppose young girls all like to eat them."
Wen Yanran's gaze followed the bag of candied fruit in his hand, wanting to take it but not daring to.
Seeing her hesitate, Qinghuai simply placed the bag of candied fruit in her palm.
She hesitated before uttering a "thank you."
Qinghuai looked at her; she was like a magpie with wings wet by the rain, making one feel pity for her.
"Let's go."