Not long ago, Zhao Mian joked that the reason he knew Wei Zhenfeng had the intention to rebel was because he heard Wei Zhenfeng talking in his sleep when they were sleeping in the same bed, and he said the four words "I want to rebel".
Emperor Yuan doted on Concubine Mei for twenty years and was also interested in nurturing their children. If Concubine Mei's death was really related to him, he should not have planned it for a long time, but it was a sudden accident and he had no choice but to do it.
On the day when Emperor Yuan was in a nightmare, Concubine Mei happened to be in the emperor's bedchamber. The next day, Concubine Mei died suddenly. Could it be that, as the joke goes, she heard something she shouldn't have known by Emperor Yuan's pillow, and was then killed by Emperor Yuan to silence her
Such coincidences may sound outrageous, but the possibility of them actually happening cannot be ruled out.
If the real cause of Concubine Mei's death was really just a dream of Emperor Yuan, it would be too ridiculous. She did not die in the struggle of the previous dynasty, and she could live safely in the whirlpool of the harem for twenty years. In the end, she died just because of a night of passion with the man next to her.
Zhao Mian had never seen Wei Zhenfeng's expression so cold.
He could understand it, but if he were Wei Zhenfeng, he wouldn't be able to accept it either.
"This is just a guess. The truth may not be so." Zhao Mian comforted Wei Zhenfeng, "We don't have any evidence yet, and it's hard to get evidence."
What evidence could a nightmare or a mumbling leave? Only Wei Zhaoxiu and Imperial Concubine Mei were present at the time. Imperial Concubine Mei was already dead. Could they still expect Wei Zhaoxiu to tell them the truth
Wei Zhenfeng said, "There will be evidence." His tone was very firm, "My mother is very smart. If she really heard something, she would be able to predict that something might happen to her. She would definitely leave a message for me."
Zhao Mian didn't know Wei Zhenfeng's mother, but he believed in Wei Zhenfeng's judgment: "But three years ago you turned Changxia Palace upside down and investigated every person in Changxia Palace - and you found nothing."
"I haven't checked enough." Wei Zhenfeng whispered, "It's not that she didn't leave any information, but someone deliberately hid the information she left."
Apart from Emperor Yuan, the most likely people to have done this were the maids and eunuchs in Changxia Palace, followed by everyone in the palace who could get close to Changxia Palace. There were tens of thousands of these people, and they had no better way than to check them one by one.
There are too many people to investigate, and Wei Zhenfeng cannot do it himself. He can only wait.
After several days of investigation, they did not find any useful clues. Zhao Mian was worried that Wei Zhenfeng would lose his composure due to his eagerness. But according to his observation, Wei Zhenfeng was normal except that he spoke less and rarely told jokes to others.
In Beiyuan, the imperial court would be closed for seven days around the New Year every year. On the first day of the resumption of court, Emperor Yuan rewarded Wei Zhenfeng in front of all the civil and military officials.
Wei Zhenfeng had two achievements. First, he recovered most of the Xixia relics for Beiyuan; second, he successfully wiped out the main forces of the Imperial City Division. Without Gu Shaodeng, Huo Kangsheng, Chen Bin and others, the remaining people in the Imperial City Division were just scattered soldiers and had no power to fight back against Fuxuelou's pursuit.
At this point, there was no hope for Xixia to restore its country.
Either of these two merits would be enough to earn him a promotion, but Wei Zhenfeng was already a prince, the master of the Fuxue Tower, with countless fiefs and rewards, so it could be said that there was no more reward for him. If he was rewarded any more, he would only have two choices: either establish him as the heir, or grant him death.
Emperor Yuan chose neither of the two options. No matter how anxious the crown prince's party and the princes' party were, he remained unmoved. He only praised his second son verbally, rewarded him with a lot of gold, silver and jewelry, and posthumously named Concubine Mei as empress. At the same time, he did not forget to encourage his eldest son, and the matter was just covered up.
The palace storehouse that had just been emptied by Nan Jing was revived again. Boxes of rewards were moved in, attracting the attention of several guests from Nan Jing.
"This red jade is so fine, it's really rare." Bai Yu praised it highly, "If it can be made into earrings and worn by my son, it will definitely look great."
Hua Ju asked curiously: "Sister Bai, do all men in Nanjing wear earrings?"
"Mostly nobles like to wear these." Bai Yu said, "For example, my son is used to wearing gold and jade, so he occasionally wears earrings."
"So that's how it is." Hua Ju glanced at Shen Buci and Zhou Huairang standing behind Zhao Mian, "I was wondering why Master Zhou and Guard Shen didn't wear them."
Wei Zhenfeng had no interest in these rewards, and sat aside absentmindedly polishing his Youlong Spear. Zhao Mian was not greedy for money, but he liked to appreciate treasures. He checked the contents of each box on behalf of Wei Zhenfeng, and when passing a large box, Shen Buci suddenly said, "Sir."
Zhao Mian knew that Shen Buci would not call him for no reason, and he immediately became alert: "What's going on?"
Shen Buci stared at the box at Zhao Mian's feet and quietly drew out his sword, telling Zhao Mian with his actions that there was something wrong with the box.
Zhao Mian looked down and found that the lock of the box was not fastened properly, leaving a small gap, and he could hear the faint sound of someone breathing inside.
Zhao Mian held his breath and slowly backed away. He took half a step back when the box was opened with a bang, and a series of silver needles whizzed out from it, facing Zhao Mian's direction.
Shen Buci, who was prepared, swung his sword to block, but unexpectedly someone was one step faster than him.
A long spear flew over from the side, just in front of Zhao Mian. The silver needles that were obviously poisoned hit the tip of the spear one by one, making a series of crisp sounds and then fell to the ground.
The spear continued to move forward unhindered and finally became firmly embedded in the tree trunk.
Shen Buci looked at the young prince in surprise.
All the people who were armed drew their weapons. Yun Yong held his sword and shouted, "Who dares to assassinate Prince Heng in his mansion?"
Wei Zhenfeng drew his spear and said, "Leave him alive."
Everyone surrounded the box, and a young female voice rang out from inside, mocking herself or sighing, "After all, I still can't even kill a Wei dog."
Zhao Mian and Wei Zhenfeng looked at each other.
They have seen many people who like to call the Beiyuan royal family "Wei dogs" before.
Hua Ju said: "Who is it? Speak!"
A woman slowly stood up in the box. She was about twenty years old, with a plain face and dressed in the clothes of a Beiyuan palace maid. She looked straight at Wei Zhenfeng, with despair and hatred as quiet as water in her eyes.
Wei Zhenfeng asked, "Are you from the Imperial City Department?"
Regardless of the abilities of the Xixia Imperial City Bureau, they are absolutely loyal to Xixia and Gu Ruzhang. Zhao Mian thought it would take some time to force the woman to speak, but he didn't expect the woman to take the initiative to reveal her identity: "Yes. At the same time, I am a maid in the Imperial Palace's Shangfu Bureau, named Channian."
The woman who dared to assassinate must have been prepared to die, so there was no need for her to lie.
It was extremely difficult to plant a secret agent in the enemy's palace. Chan Nian had been lurking in the Beiyuan Palace for at least three years, and she must have tried to assassinate Emperor Yuan. But who was Emperor Yuan? As a maid in the Shangfu Bureau, she might not see Emperor Yuan once a year. Even if she waited for three years, she would not get a chance. So she had to settle for the next best thing and turned to assassinate Wei Zhenfeng, who had built a mansion outside the palace.
As for why she came at this moment instead of earlier or later, the reason is very simple.
Secondly, the Xixia treasure and Gu Shaodeng's death were already known to everyone. Chan Nian knew very well that it was impossible for Xixia to restore its country, and her mission of hiding was about to end.
Before it all ends, she must seize the only remaining possibility and try to avenge Gu Ruzhang.
But why didn't she commit suicide immediately after the assassination attempt failed, but instead revealed her true and false identities? Could it be that she wanted to say something else to Wei Zhenfeng
Sure enough, Chan Nian's next words surprised everyone. She said, "I know the truth about Concubine Mei's death—I have evidence in my hands."
When everyone was stunned, Hua Ju was the first to speak: "Nonsense, what evidence do you have?!"
"It's a letter." Chan read, "A letter from the imperial concubine to Wei Zhenfeng."
Hua Ju and the others didn't know that what Chan Nian said just confirmed Wei Zhenfeng's inference. If the message that the imperial concubine left for Wei Zhenfeng really fell into Xixia's hands, everything would make sense.
Wei Zhenfeng only learned the news more than a month after the imperial concubine's death and rushed back to Shengjing. Chan Nian had enough time to deliver the imperial concubine's letter to Gu Ruzhang, so Wei Zhenfeng certainly couldn't find it.
No matter what Wei Zhenfeng's mood was, others only saw calmness and composure on his face: "How did you get the letter? Tell me about it."
Chan Nian said calmly, "When the imperial concubine was dying, I found an opportunity to sneak into Changxia Palace. The imperial concubine thought I was her personal maid, so she took out a letter from under her pillow and asked me to give it to her son when he returned triumphantly."
Wei Zhenfeng's voice was extremely cold: "But you didn't."
"No, I didn't. I tried every possible way to pass the letter out of the palace, and after many twists and turns, it was delivered to Master Gu."
Wei Zhenfeng laughed out loud: "As expected, you are the peerless national scholar Gu Ruzhang."
It turns out that Gu Ruzhang already had bargaining chips in his hands to negotiate with him. He didn't know the real cause of his mother's death, but his prisoner knew it - he knew it three years ago.
Wei Zhenfeng asked, "Since the letter had been in his hands all along, why didn't he take it out when Xixia fell?"
When Chan Nian relayed Gu Ruzhang's words, his voice was particularly light: "Because the Grand Tutor knew that even if he had taken out the imperial concubine's letter at that time, Wei Zhenfeng would have put the country's affairs first and destroyed Xixia, and then relied on his own abilities to take back his mother's things."
Gu Ruzhang's guess was true, Wei Zhenfeng would indeed do this. Even if Emperor Yuan was really the culprit of the imperial concubine's crime, he would only hate Wei Zhaoxiu, not Bei Yuan.
So, what was Gu Ruzhang trying to do by asking Chan Nian to take out the letter when the fire of Western Xia was extinguished
Feeling that Wei Zhenfeng's anger was about to be suppressed, Zhao Mian pulled him behind him and stepped forward to take over the situation: "Where is the letter now?"
"I will tell you. But I have two conditions." Chan Nian paused, "Or rather, Master Gu has two conditions."
Zhao Mian raised his chin slightly: "You say."
"First, let go of the remaining brothers and sisters of the Imperial City Division." When the word "Imperial City Division" was mentioned, Chan Nian's expression was slightly moved. "They are no longer a threat to Beiyuan. I hope... I hope that the prince will give them a way out and treat the people of Xixia well."
Zhao Mian did not agree or refuse on Wei Zhenfeng's behalf, and asked, "What's the second condition?"
Chan Nian took a deep breath, calmed down his emotions, and said, "The Grand Tutor said that if Wei Zhenfeng finds the Xixia treasure one day, it will prove that he has been to Nangong Mountain in Dongling and met Dongling's state master."
Zhao Mian was a little surprised: "Gu Ruzhang's second condition is related to Wanhua Dream?"
Chan Nian nodded: "No matter what evil things Dongling State Master has done, Taifu hopes that the prince will spare their lives."
"They?" Zhao Mian frowned, "Who else besides Wan Huameng?"
Chan Nian uttered two words: "Yu Lin."
Zhao Mian couldn't help but be stunned.
Chan Nian said, "As long as you agree to these two conditions, I will immediately tell you where the letter is hidden. Your Majesty knows the imperial concubine's handwriting and should be able to tell whether it is real or fake."
"Why are you so sure that I will keep my promise," Wei Zhenfeng asked, "Aren't you afraid that I will go back on my word after getting the letter?"
Chan Nian said calmly, "I'm not sure. I'm just doing the last thing that Master Gu asked me to do. Once I'm done, I'll be free."
Wei Zhenfeng did not agree to Gu Ruzhang's condition immediately, but asked someone to take Chan Nian away first. But Zhao Mian knew that Wei Zhenfeng would agree.
They are only one step away from the truth.
"Speaking of which, what is the relationship between Gu Ruzhang and Yu Lin?" Zhou Huairang asked in confusion, "Yu Lin was willing to deceive the Imperial Court for Gu Ruzhang to agree to the conditions of the young prince, and Gu Ruzhang also saved Yu Lin's life at the last moment. Could it be that Gu Shaodeng is not Gu Ruzhang's nephew, but Yu Lin is?"
Zhao Mian asked Zhou Huairang in return: "How old is Yu Lin this year?"
"Fourteen?" Zhou Huairang asked, "Or fifteen."
Zhao Mian asked again: "When did Wan Huameng and Gu Ruzhang start to have conflicts?"
"Seventeen years ago." Zhou Huairang connected the two and suddenly had an idea. He exclaimed, "Your Highness means... ? No way? No way? Impossible!"
Zhao Mian shook his head: "Whether it is true or not, only they know."
He had always thought that people like Gu Ruzhang could only see the country and the people, and nothing else. Today, he realized that Gu Ruzhang could see things other than Xixia.
Even if they were just two tiny shadows, even if he had never done anything for them.
After making sure that Western Xia was beyond salvation and there was no hope of restoring the country, in the very end, Gu Ruzhang was finally able to let go of his homeland and follow his heart to protect the two shadows.
(End of this chapter)