Prince Ning? To Elder Princess?
Qin Yunuan frowned. She had never thought that the lifetime lover of Prince Ning, who was very fond of Princess Ning, was Elder Princess.
Sima Qiu continued, “It was said that when the Elder Princess’s procession of imperial matrimony for peace arrived at Niutouling, the border of West Xia and Qi, they got robbed by bandits, and suffered heavy causalities. And even Elder Princess was missing. Prince Ning searched within fifty miles around for several months, and the emperor also dispatched troops to join the searching, and even the arrogant West Xia increased more people to search her. However, they all could not find her.”
And then Sima Qiu smiled, “There was a strange point. Niutouling was located in the area which contained only a few mountains, but people from three parties could not find anything.”
“Somebody hid Elder Princess on purpose?” Qin Yunuan posted a bold guess, though it was said that Elder Princess must fall from a cliff, and it was hard to find her body. People believed that was why Elder Princess could not be found.
“Infanta Ping, you are so smart.” Sima Qiu nodded, “At that time, the person who hid Elder Princess was the prince of West Xia, Jing Donghua, who now is the emperor of West Xia.”
“Why?” Qin Yunuan was confused. Elder Princess had never met Jing Donghua at that time, so they did not get involved in the interest. And she would marry the old emperor of West Xia, who was the father of Jing Donghua.
Sima Qiu sneered, “Infanta Ping, don’t you know that? A man was willing to deceive his father and sacrifice his future. There are only two reasons. The first is that he can gain more interest from the woman; the second is that he falls in love with the woman crazily.”
Qin Yunuan frowned. She had guessed that Jing Donghua must fall in love with Elder Princess crazily.
“And then?”
Sima Qiu was stunned. He sipped the tea and continued, “At that period, West Xia was in the disturbance of Qianyuan, the first year of Qianyuan. The old emperor of West Xia passed away, and his three sons started to fight for the successor. For the position of the next emperor, Jing Donghua fought against his two brothers in their Royal City and confronted each other for three months. At that time, Elder Princess was finally found by Prince Ning. He had been searching for her for a long time. And then she was sent back to the Imperial Palace.”
“Are you sure?” Qin Yunuan said in a higher voice, “It was said that Elder Princess had died in West Xia. But since she was back, why didn’t they announce this good news?”
“Because she had been pregnant at that time.” Leng Changxi suddenly said. Actually, he had investigated those things that happened 23 years ago. He just did not say all out in detail like Sima Qiu.
“Yes,” Sima Qiu said, “the proudest Elder Princess in Qi was very exalted and elegant. She got missing, and then came back but got pregnant. If the news were revealed, the royal family both in Qi and West Xia would suffer reproaching. At that time, nobody knew that the baby was the child of the emperor of West Xia, Jing Donghua and Elder Princess of Qi. The child was an absolute noble.” Sima Qiu said while he was shaking his head. He was sighing, which was unconsciously flattering Leng Changxi.
Leng Changxi was still calm and did not show any emotion. He just sipped the tea and said lightly, “Since nobody knew that news, how could you know that?”
Sima Qiu lowered his head and said, “I have told you that my mother was very intimate with Elder Princess. They always talked about many secret things.”
Leng Changxi raised his head silently and stared at Sima Qiu like an eagle, “Seventh Prince, I have no tolerance to lies. Don’t try to challenge me easily.”
Yes. Even Qin Yunuan knew that such a thing was an imperial secret that was only known by the emperor and the Queen Mother. Although Imperial Concubine Shu gained much love from the emperor, she could not have the chance to meet Elder Princess, who was protected in a very secret circumstance.
Sima Qiu sighed and said in a weaker voice, “I have said that I have a talented ability of listening. At that period, the palace of my mother was next to Weiyang Palace. I always heard the cries of a woman at midnight. The imperial maidservants and eunuchs believed that the cries were from those undeserved ghosts in the imperial palace. Many Taoist priests were invited to perform the exorcism. I was not allowed to go out at midnight, but later I went to the palace by tracing the cries. I found that the Elder Princess, who was said to have died in West Xia, was sobbing in Weiyang Palace at midnight. She was constantly mumbling many names, and all of those names were Donghua.”
And then Sima Qiu sighed emotionally, but Leng Changxi turned to be very gloomy like a piece of ice. Qin Yunuan pulled his hand secretly under the table, but only heard, “You get out.”
Sima Qiu stunned. He said nothing and was about to leave. Qin Yunuan sighed lightly and thought that Leng Changxi now must want to calm down alone. She was about to leave too, but pulled back heavily by him and fell on his arms. Leng Changxi had taken off his mask, and his thin jaw leaned on the slender shoulder of Qin Yunuan. A little bit cold lips were kissing the fair neck of Qin Yunuan lightly.
Qin Yunuan did not know how to comfort Leng Changxi. She just raised her hands and caressed his back slowly, and the said, “I am here.”
She suddenly thought that Leng Changxi was just sighing for his previous life. But to her surprise, Leng Changxi just raised his head and said emotionally, “My mother must suffer a lot when I was absent.”
Yes. Leng Changxi was over ten years old when the big fire in Weiyang Palace happened, but he lived in the Prince’s Mansion as the child born of the legal wife of the mansion. He had never seen his kin mother, Princess Qinghe. For the last ten years, Princess Qinghe suffered the pain of missing her lover and child.
So Princess Ning…
Qin Yunuan looked at Leng Changxi with confused eyes. Leng Changxi caught it immediately, and explained, “I was taken to the mansion. From the beginning, my mother knew that I am not her kin son and even did not knew where I came from. At that period, she just miscarried and felt very upset, so she regarded me as her kin son. For these years, she raised me, and I felt grateful to her.”
Leng Changxi said the last sentence in a very light voice. It seemed that he was grateful to Princess Ning but felt a little bit doubtful.
At this moment, Qin Yunuan thought about the words when Consort Cao was about to leave. She said that Princess Ning was a woman with a hypoplastic vagina, and her pregnancy and miscarriage aimed to frame Consort Cao. What kind of person was Princess Ning was? If she wanted to frame Leng Changxi, why did she try hard to raise and educate him for many years?
Maybe…
Qin Yunuan felt terrible in a moment. Or, Princess Ning wanted to hurt Qin Yunuan?
“What are you thinking about?” Leng Changxi pinched the jaw of Qin Yunuan to let her watery and pure big eyes look at himself.
“Nothing.” Qin Yunuan smiled, and suddenly held Leng Changxi and said softly, “We shall come back.”
When they came out, Sima Qiu was still waiting outside. Leng Changxi glimpsed at him lightly and did not give him a specific answer. He just said, “I am OK to collaborate with you. But you should show me what else you can do besides eavesdropping.”
Leng Changxi did not refuse Sima Qiu, which was the first step of his successful plan.
It was bright when they came back to Prince Ning’s Mansion. Nobody knew Qin Yunuan and Leng Changxi had gone out besides several close maidservants in their courtyard because they entered the mansion through the back door under the protection of shadow guards.
It was time to greet Princess Ning. The two people were not sleepy. They cleaned themselves up and changed the clothes, respectively, and then went out of the courtyard early to Twilight Place of Princess Ning.
On their way to Twilight Place, Qin Yunuan said less, and Leng Changxi held her hands tightly and had never let her hands go.
Those maidservants in Twilight Place, who was responsible for cleaning, got up early to trim flowers and plants. The two people just entered the courtyard and then heard that the nanny rebuked two servants, “What are you doing? Consort Cao had passed away for a long time. Why do you still put the green begonia in the courtyard of Princess Ning? It will displease Princess Ning. Take it away!”
Consort Cao loved green begonia very much when she was alive. Before she died, she made a begonia feast. That’s why the nanny thought it was not so auspicious.
“Wait,” Qin Yunuan suddenly stepped forward to chip in. She looked at the basin of green begonia held by two maidservants. The dirt in the pot was darker than other dirt in the courtyard. The dirt was explicitly used to cultivate green begonia, “How often do you change the dirt?”
The nanny on duty saw Qin Yunuan and walked closer with a smile bowing her body. She explained, “Oh, Third Young Master, you do not know that. The green begonia is very delicate. We should change the dirt exactly and properly every fifteen days.”
Fifteen days… Qin Yunuan pondered, “OK, you quit first. Since my mother would feel unpleasant when she saw it, you just take it away.”
Looking at the nanny and maidservants walking away, Qin Yunuan thought about the thing that happened fifteen days ago.
“What’s the matter?” Leng Changxi asked.
Qin Yunuan frowned and said in a low voice, “I remember the Grand Prince has mentioned one thing. He guessed those assassins would attack the emperor because the dirt which was specifically used to cultivate green begonia was found on their shoe sole. In the whole imperial palace, only Yongchang Palace had the green begonia. But we neglected a detail.”
Leng Changxi inhaled and then exhaled slowly, “That is, there is also green begonia in the Prince Mansion. And fifteen days ago, it was exactly the day before the emperor got attack.”
Qin Yunuan nodded. At this moment, the close maidservant of Princess Ning came and reported that Princess Ning had got up, and the Second Young Madam Qin Yuwan also came. There seemed to have some good news.
When they entered the room, they found that Qin Yuwan had come early as expected. She looked bright and spirited, which was totally different from the crazy woman in the feast last time. The moment Princess Ning saw Qin Yunuan, she smiled brightly and gently, and then pointed at Qin Yuwan, “Come on, there is good news from your second sister.”
“Ah?” Qin Yunuan sat down and immediately heard the wiry and enchanting sound of Qin Yuwan, “Yes, third sister, I am pregnant.”
