497 Investigating the Truth
This guard’s name was Mo Sang. He had been in the Queen Manor for seven years and had climbed step by step from the lowest-level guard to the position of captain. His ability was deeply affirmed by the Queen and was highly regarded by her.
After receiving the Queen’s order, he asked about the person in the painting. For example, had the Queen seen him or where had she seen him?
“There’s a shop selling candied hawthorn on Liuyang Street, opposite the rouge shop where the commandery princess goes every day.”
After learning this concrete news, Mo Sang quickly went to Liuyang Street and found the shop selling candied hawthorn. He wanted to ask the shopkeeper about that person’s whereabouts. There were not many customers like Yan Jiuchao, who could be unforgettable with just a glance. Moreover, Yan Jiuchao had come more than once.
The shopkeeper recalled, “The first time he came to my place, he left without buying it… He got into a carriage…”
“What carriage?” asked Mose.
The shopkeeper said, “How would I know? It stopped at the rouge shop!”
Mo Sang asked for more information about the carriage and the coachman and vaguely guessed something. Then, Mo Sang asked who the young master was and if he had heard his surname.
How would this shopkeeper know? That young master had come twice in total. He was only here to buy candied hawthorn. It was impossible for him to befriend a small shopkeeper like him.
However, the shopkeeper told Mo Sang that the young master came out of the alley diagonally opposite. He guessed that the young master lived in that noble area.
There were many powerful people in that noble area, but the most eye-catching one was the Helian family. This area was protected by the Helian family, and the thieves did not even dare to come here. However, it was precisely because of this that the news inside was tightly sealed and rarely spread to the public.
It took Mo Sang a lot of effort to eliminate the unrelated houses one by one. Then, only the Helian family was left. It was not so easy for him to sneak into the Helian Manor.
The little black eggs slept safely at the door because they were children. No sacrificial soldier would guard the children tightly. Mo Sang was different. He was a martial arts practitioner. Once he approached, the sacrificial soldier could sense his Internal Breath.
Mo Sang returned to the Queen Manor.
The Prince Consort was still in the library. He was like this. He did not have any other hobbies. He only liked to read. When he was happy, he would read. When he had something on his mind, he would also read. Often, people could not tell what he was thinking. However, they were sure that there was something wrong with the Prince Consort recently. They did not know if it was because he had seen that young man.
“Your Highness.” Mo Sang asked for an audience outside the door.
The Queen pressed her forehead and said, “Come in.”
Mo Sang stepped in. The Queen gestured for the maidservants to leave. The maidservants understood and retreated respectfully.
“How is it?” The Queen asked.
Mo Sang said in shame, “I’m useless. I only found out that he and the Prince Consort had met once in the carriage outside the rouge shop. As for what he said, I’m not sure. I’m still investigating if he only met the Prince Consort once.”
“Then what did you find?” A trace of coldness flashed across the Queen’s face.
Mo Sang said seriously, “According to the clues provided by the shopkeeper, I’ve eliminated the nearby houses one by one. But I couldn’t get a single piece of information from the Helian family.”
The Queen paused. “You mean he might be from the Helian family?”
Mo Sang said, “Unless… he doesn’t live there at all. But the possibility of that is very small, because the shopkeeper saw him come out of that alley twice. If he didn’t live in that area, it’s impossible for him to come out of that alley.”
“How can there be such a person in the Helian family?” The Queen muttered thoughtfully.
Mo Sang continued, “I heard the Little Commandery Princess mention something about the Helian family a few days ago.”
“What is it?” The Queen looked at him solemnly.
Mo Sang replied, “A couple came to the Helian family and claimed to be the son and daughter-in-law of Divine General Beiming’s younger brother.”
The Queen pondered and said, “The younger brother who fell off the cliff without a corpse?”
Mo Sang nodded. “That’s right. Old Madam was too sad and lost her mind. There are rumors that the child didn’t die at all and was saved. All these years, people kept coming to visit and saying that they were the child who fell off the cliff back then. However, the Helian family saw through them. The Little Commandery Princess said that it was most likely fake this time. However, they used some method to charm Old Madam and Divine General Beiming.”
“Why does she say that?” The Queen asked.
The Little Commandery Princess could not hide her words. She had almost been wronged outside, so when she returned to the courtyard, she had to tell the maidservants everything. As the head of the guards of the Queen Manor, Mo Sang had his own spies in every courtyard. Of course, this was with the Queen’s permission.
Mo Sang told her everything he had heard from the maidservant. “That young master from the countryside broke the Wushan Lingzhi she found for you and even taught the two young masters from the West Manor a lesson. There’s a grudge between the two sides. These words should have been said by Young Master Helian to the Little Commandery Princess.”
The Queen waved her hand. “Then it doesn’t count.”
“That’s right. Perhaps the two young masters have a grudge in their hearts and said evil words.” Mo Sang first echoed the Queen’s words, then raised his opinion. “But no matter what, I think this young master is most likely the young master who came from the countryside to acknowledge his family.”
It was not difficult to find out. The Queen called the Little Commandery Princess over.
The Little Commandery Princess had just taken a bath and her hair was not dry yet. When she heard that her mother had summoned her, she came with a smile. She sat on the chaise lounge and hugged her mother’s arm. “Are you letting me sleep here tonight?”
The Queen smiled dotingly. “How old are you? You still want to sleep with me?”
“I want it even at my age!” The Little Commandery Princess said coquettishly.
The Little Commandery Princess was not old, but she was not young either. Usually, when a girl reached her age, she would have been married long ago, but the Queen had yet to start finding a husband for her. Firstly, she had been raised too delicately, and secondly, the Queen could not bear to part with her. She wanted to keep her for two more years. In any case, the children of the Emperor did not have to worry about marriage. So what if her daughter was eighteen or nineteen? Which man in the world dared to despise her?
But today, they were not here for romance.
The Queen talked business with the Little Commandery Princess. “Have you gone out to cause trouble for me again recently?”
“When did I?” The Little Commandery Princess said guiltily.
The Queen raised her eyebrows indifferently and said, “Then why did I hear that you caused the two young masters of the Helian family to be punished by their grandfather?”
The Little Commandery Princess exploded. “What did I do? It wasn’t me!”
“Who is it, then?” The Queen asked patiently.
The Little Commandery Princess still didn’t know that she had fallen into her mother’s trap. She said in a daze, “It’s that country bumpkin who came to acknowledge his family! Mother, I’m afraid you don’t know yet, but someone who claims to be Old Madam’s legitimate grandson has come to the Helian family. He brought his family and stayed in the East Manor!”
The Little Commandery Princess did not know about the little black eggs yet. Even when she saw a black child in the shop, she did not think in that direction. The family she mentioned was Yu Wan, who had humiliated her twice.
“It seems that my daughter has been bullied.” The Queen gently stroked the Little Commandery Princess’s head.
The Little Commandery Princess did not easily complain to the Queen. Firstly, it would make her look petty. Secondly, the Queen prioritized the overall situation. She would not punish her citizens for such a small matter. Otherwise, why would people say that the Queen loved her people like her children?
However, since the Queen took the initiative to ask today, the Little Commandery Princess told her everything about Yan Jiuchao breaking the Wushan Lingzhi, bullying Helian Yu and Helian Cheng, and Yu Wan snatching the Red Lingzhi from her. Naturally, she skipped the part of visiting the brothel. She only said that the Helian brothers had arranged to fight Gu, but Elder Meng lost.
The Queen had long heard about the Gu battle. It was Gu Elder Meng who deliberately lost to him to repay his senior brother’s favor.
However, Gu Elder Meng did not say the details, and the Queen did not ask, causing her to miss such important information. If she had known that a young master had come to the Helian family, she would have gotten someone to investigate. As long as she saw that person and face, she would definitely not let him appear in front of the Prince Consort.
To ensure that nothing went wrong, the Queen brought over the portrait of that person. “Is it him?”
“It’s him!” The Little Commandery Princess said indignantly.
In that case, he was undoubtedly the eldest young master of the Helian family. But how could this be? Why did the young master of the Helian family look so similar to the Prince Consort?
Divine General Beiming’s younger brother was born thirty-five years ago. His children could not be more than twenty years old. That young man’s face was extremely tender, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that he was seventeen. However, the calm and restrained temperament he exuded really did not look like a child who was still wet behind the ears.
The Queen closed her eyes. Could it be… that child? That child was going to be twenty-four this year. But wasn’t he in the Great Zhou? Why did he come to Nanzhao? And become the eldest young master of the Helian family?
“Divine General Beiming personally brought him back!” The Little Commandery Princess curled her lips.
The Queen narrowed her eyes. “He, Lian, Bei, Ming!”
“Grand General! Grand General!” In the Helian Manor, Yu Gang hurriedly entered Helian Beiming’s courtyard.
Helian Beiming was teasing the little snow fox when he turned around. “What is it?”
Yu Gang said, “Her Highness is here!”
