The sound of fighting alarmed the monks in the temple. Upon hearing the news, the abbot personally brought people to see the situation. Song Huai came forward to explain the situation in general and calm everyone down.
The abbot was afraid of further danger, so he arranged a dozen monks to patrol outside.
In order to reassure the abbot, Song Huai did not refuse his kindness. Together with Song Huai's own guards and Xie Nanfeng's men, the door of the dormitory was surrounded by people, and not even a fly could fly in.
The three of them went back to their rooms and slept for more than two hours. After dawn, they escorted the four captured assassins down the mountain and returned to the Nanzhao Palace.
After just one night apart, Song Huai was in danger again. King Nanzhao was shocked and furious. He ordered a thorough investigation of the matter to find out who was so rampant that he repeatedly tried to kill his son.
The four captured assassins were thrown into the dungeon and tortured, while Madam Ning held Song Huai's hand and burst into tears.
"I told you it's not safe outside and told you not to run around, but you didn't listen. If something really happens to you, wouldn't it be the death of your mother?"
Song Huai comforted her kindly, saying that he was fine, and joked that he had long been accustomed to such things.
Madam Ning wiped her tears and scolded him for not taking her life seriously: "No matter what, you are not allowed to leave the house casually in the future. If you don't listen to me, I will die in front of you."
"Okay, okay, okay, I'll listen to you. I'll listen to you in everything. Okay?" Song Huai compromised and made a helpless expression towards Xie Nanjia.
Xie Nanjia stepped forward to apologize to Madam Ning: "It's all my fault. If I hadn't insisted that the Third Prince accompany me to burn incense, this wouldn't have happened. Madam, please forgive me this time. I will never let the Third Prince accompany me out again."
Madam Ning comforted her again: "It's not your fault. You were frightened. I'll be very happy if you can come back safely."
"Speaking of this, I suddenly remembered that I asked for a protective amulet for Madam yesterday at the temple." Xie Nanjia took out a yellow satin talisman bag with an eight-petal lotus embroidered on it from her sleeve pocket and handed it to her. "It contains the best calming incense and the talisman written by Abbot Jingyun himself. It may work, Madam, wear it to feel at ease. It's also a small token of my appreciation."
Madam Ning was very surprised. She took the amulet and looked at it carefully for a few times. She rarely smiled. "Miss Xiu'er, you are so thoughtful. They say that a daughter is like a mother's little cotton-padded jacket. Your mother is really blessed. Unlike me, she only gave birth to a bad boy. It's ok that he is not considerate, but he makes me worry all day long."
Xie Nanjia smiled and said, "Madam, you don't know that I am even less troublesome than the Third Prince. My mother is also worried about me."
This is true. Ever since she was reborn, both her mother Xiu'er and her sister Sheng Qingluan have been worried about her. Sometimes she feels guilty when she thinks about it, and she doesn't know when this kind of life will end.
The three of them talked for a while, and then Zhao Jingyu came over and called Xie Nanjia away.
Xie Nanjia told Song Huai to have a good rest, and reminded Madam Ning to remember to carry the amulet with her, and then left with Zhao Jingyu.
"I've been back for quite some time. Why did you just come now?" As soon as Xie Nanjia left the house, she complained to Zhao Jingyu with an unhappy look on her face, "Don't you care about my safety at all?"
Zhao Jingyu tilted his head to look at her: "Are you acting like a spoiled child with me?"
Xie Nanjia was stunned, and two blushes appeared on her face, but she still said stubbornly: "What kind of eyes are you looking at? Who is acting like a spoiled child with you?"
For some reason, she suddenly felt a little flustered. She was not a person who liked to act like a spoiled child. Even to her parents, she rarely acted like a spoiled child. But now she started to act like a spoiled child to Zhao Jingyu. Did this mean that she had completely let down her guard against Zhao Jingyu, and was even becoming more and more concerned about her position in his heart
Just yesterday she had thought about the issue of not falling in love with the emperor. If the current trend continues, how will she live in the future
"Will you marry many wives in the future?" She stopped and looked into Zhao Jingyu's eyes and asked.
Zhao Jingyu was also stunned and asked curiously: "Why do you suddenly ask this?"
"Don't worry about it, just tell me whether it is possible or not?" Xie Nanjia said.
Zhao Jingyu laughed: "I have really thought about this question before. It would be troublesome to have too many wives, so I don't plan to marry many. You are enough for me."
"Is this true?" He answered so quickly that Xie Nanjia found it unbelievable. "Even if you don't want to marry them, they will force you to marry them."
"If I have to be forced to sit in that position, then I'd rather not do it." Zhao Jingyu said seriously, "Don't worry, I'm not my father. I do what I say. No one can force me to do something I don't want to do."
"..." Seeing him speak so seriously, Xie Nanjia finally felt better. "You said it. You must remember what you said today. If you break your promise to me one day, I will make you pay!"
"Ha, you won't kill me, will you?" Zhao Jingyu laughed.
"No, I will leave you, forever and ever." Xie Nanjia said very seriously.
Zhao Jingyu was startled and grabbed her hand, fearing that she would disappear the next moment: "Can you please stop saying such things? My heart can't take it."
"Okay then!" Xie Nanjia said with a smile, "Then tell me what you have been doing for the past half day?"
"I'm..." Zhao Jingyu looked around and whispered a few words into her ear.
Xie Nanjia nodded after listening: "Okay, I understand, let's talk about it when we get back."
After returning, the two did not say a few words. While Xie Nanjia was washing up and changing his clothes, news came from the front hall that the assassins had confessed and the prince asked everyone to gather in the council hall.
"He confessed so quickly. How severe of a punishment was he given?" Zhao Jingyu asked in surprise. "I thought the interrogation would take at least one or two days!"
Xie Nanjia also felt strange, but said nothing and went to the meeting hall with Zhao Jingyu.
When they arrived, all the masters of the palace had already arrived. Prince Nanzhao and the princess sat in the upper seats, with Madam Ning and Madam Wu standing beside them. Song Huai, his two brothers, and the second princess Song Meiying sat below.
As soon as Zhao Jingyu came in, Princess Nanzhao subconsciously grabbed the armrest of the chair.
Whenever Zhao Jingyu is around, she has to give up her seat. Will she give it up this time or not
Fortunately, Zhao Jingyu did not covet her seat this time, but sat side by side with Xie Nanjia below.
The important servants in the mansion stood in two rows.
Prince Nanzhao and Zhao Jingyu exchanged a few pleasantries, then went straight to the point and said to everyone in the hall: "I'm sure you have all heard about Song Huai's assassination in Jingyun Temple. Fortunately, Master Nanfeng and Miss Xiu'er helped us capture the assassins alive.
After an emergency interrogation, the assassin has revealed their mastermind. This should be good news, but I am not happy at all, because according to the assassin's confession, the mastermind is in the palace, among you all."
As soon as these words were spoken, the whole room was in an uproar. From the princess and the prince to the housekeeper and the maid, everyone changed their expressions and looked at the people around them with horrified eyes, treating everyone as a suspect.
Princess Nanzhao could sense that the most eyes were on her. She cleared her throat uncomfortably and straightened her back: "Your Highness, this matter is very serious. We cannot rely on the assassin's one-sided statement. What if the assassin was bribed by someone with ulterior motives and deliberately made false statements to accuse someone?"
"Yes, yes, we should consider this possibility." Mrs. Wu whispered in agreement.
Madam Ning remained silent, lowering her eyelids and peeking at Prince Nanzhao's reaction out of the corner of her eye.
King Nanzhao stroked his beard and pondered, "It's not impossible..."
Madam Ning's face changed, fearing that the prince would be persuaded by the princess to let the matter go. She could not care less and mustered up her courage to kneel on the ground, "Prince, Huai'er has experienced countless disasters since she was born, and the perpetrator has never been caught. Today, we finally caught him alive. I beg you to investigate it thoroughly, find out the person behind the scenes, and give Huai'er justice!"
"How dare you! Does the prince need you to teach him what to do?" Princess Nanzhao slapped the armrest and said sternly, "I didn't say I wouldn't investigate. I just told you about the possible situations in advance. Who are you crying and whining and pretending to be pitiful for?"
After being scolded, Madam Ning lay on the ground and dared not to talk back. Song Huai felt sorry for his mother and his eyes were red in silence.
Xie Nanjia sat quietly, observing everyone's expressions calmly.
King Nanzhao said unhappily, "You women can quarrel over anything. Do you think I am a fool? You can't even think of this. Why didn't I directly punish that person? Instead, I summoned you all here to prevent someone from deliberately framing others. If you have nothing to hide, just stay here quietly. I will let the assassins come out one by one to identify. If the four assassins all point to the same person, that person is undoubtedly the mastermind. If the four assassins' identifications are inconsistent, I will conduct another investigation. What else do you have to say?"
"..." In fact, many people really think that this arrangement has big loopholes, but the prince is angry, and no one dares to make themselves unhappy. What's more, the prince said that those who have nothing to hide should stay away quietly. In other words, those who don't stay away quietly have something to hide.
So everyone quieted down and agreed to King Nanzhao's arrangement.
King Nanzhao specifically asked his three sons if they had any objections.
Song Huai naturally had no objection. Song Zhan and Song Ze could not think of a more appropriate method, so they both expressed that they had no objection.
Therefore, the King of Nanzhao ordered to bring an assassin to the court first.
The atmosphere suddenly became tense. Everyone held their breath, their hearts pounding. Even those who had a clear conscience couldn't help but have sweaty palms.
After a while, accompanied by the sound of rattling shackles, an assassin was brought in. He was disheveled, staggering, and his body was covered with bruises. He left two trails of blood wherever he passed.
Xie Nanjia and Zhao Jingyu looked at each other. This punishment was indeed severe. It seemed that King Nanzhao was determined to get to the bottom of it this time.
The assassin was thrown outside the hall, like a puddle of mud, with only his head able to move.
Everyone swallowed unconsciously, feeling pain just by looking at it.
King Nanzhao personally questioned the assassin and asked him to tell his name and origin, and then asked him whether he was conscious now and whether he could recognize people's faces.
The assassin replied faintly.
King Nanzhao then ordered him to carefully identify all the people present and not to make any random inferences, otherwise the entire family would be executed.
The assassin turned his head and glanced at each person's face one by one.
After turning it around, I seemed not to see it clearly, so I looked at it again.
The whole place was silent, with only the assassin's painful gasps as the sound could be heard.
This feeling is extremely tormenting. Not only those who have something to hide, even those who are innocent can't stand it.
Princess Nanzhao couldn't stand it and couldn't help but object: "Your Majesty, this..."
As soon as she opened her mouth, the assassin suddenly raised his arm and slowly pointed at someone.
Princess Nanzhao swallowed back her unfinished words and looked in that direction with everyone else.
Several managers were standing there side by side. When they were suddenly pointed at, they were so scared that their hearts stopped beating. They scrambled to the side, as if they were being chased by a wasp.
The assassin's fingers moved in the direction where one of the men dodged, and his fingers followed wherever that man dodged.
"Manager Liu!"
"It's Manager Liu!"
Everyone shouted out.
The man who was called stopped and turned pale.
The assassin's hand also stopped and pointed at him steadily.
"Butler Liu, why is it you?" Princess Nanzhao exclaimed and stood up, wishing she could rush to Butler Liu.
Steward Liu is the steward of the eldest prince Song Zhan. He is in charge of Song Zhan's food, clothing, and daily life. If he is suspected, it is equivalent to Song Zhan being suspected.
This was exactly the situation that Princess Nanzhao was afraid of. She didn't expect that what she feared would come true. The first assassin came for her son.
Song Zhan obviously didn't expect this to happen. He was stunned for a moment before he slowly stood up with the help of a chair and asked Manager Liu, "Is it really you?"
Manager Liu fell to his knees with a thud and said in a trembling voice, "My Lord and Princess, please understand, Your Highness, please understand, this matter has nothing to do with me. I have never seen this person. I am innocent!"
"Your Highness, I told you this wouldn't work!" Princess Nanzhao shouted excitedly, "Zhan'er is your eldest son. Even if he doesn't fight for anything, he will be the future owner of the palace. He has no reason to attack a bastard. It's obvious that someone is behind this and wants to frame him."
King Nanzhao's face was as gloomy as water, and he did not comment: "Why are you so anxious? You can't keep your temper just at the beginning?"
“…” Princess Nanzhao was choked and speechless for a moment.
"Father, I also don't think it's my elder brother." Song Huai suddenly stood up and said, "My elder brother has always been very protective of me and would never harm me."
Song Ze also stood up and expressed his opinion, saying that he also believed in his elder brother's character.
"Thank you, second and third brothers!" Song Zhan expressed his gratitude to his two younger brothers.
Nanzhao Wangdao said: "Why are you panicking? There are still three people who have not been identified. Sit down!"
Princess Nanzhao and the three princes sat back in silence.
The first assassin was taken aside and the second assassin was brought up shortly afterwards.
King Nanzhao also asked him about his name and origin first, and made sure that he was conscious before allowing him to identify.
In order to show fairness, before the second assassin came, King Nanzhao deliberately asked Manager Liu to change his position. Unexpectedly, after looking around, the second assassin still pointed at Manager Liu accurately.
Now everyone was upset.
Manager Liu was so frightened that his legs went weak. He knelt on the ground and cried out that he was innocent and that he was being framed.
King Nanzhao did not express his opinion, but asked him to change his position and bring the third assassin.
As expected, the third assassin also targeted Manager Liu.
Everyone was shocked, but then they all felt relieved. No matter what, they were finally safe.
Princess Nanzhao's face was extremely gloomy. She was no longer as excited as she was at the beginning. Instead, she became calmer and calmer, because she knew that it was useless to be excited now. She had to hurry and find a way to save her son.
Mrs. Wu was completely relieved and quietly clasped her hands and chanted "Amitabha". She didn't care about the truth of the matter. As long as she and her son and daughter were not implicated, it didn't matter what other people did.
Madam Ning's expression was very strange. She was neither happy nor angry. Even her usual timidity was gone. Her brows were furrowed, and she seemed to be thinking about something.
Looking at Song Zhan again, as Manager Liu was identified again and again, he gradually lost his former calmness and became anxious.
Song Ze sat between him and Song Huai, holding their hands respectively to convey his concern and trust.
There was no expression on Song Huai's face. He sat there blankly, seemingly unable to accept this fact.
Xie Nanjia carefully observed the family's reactions and made his own judgment in his heart.
Zhao Jingyu, on the other hand, looked as if it had nothing to do with him and even had the leisure to sip his tea slowly.
The fourth assassin came on the scene and pointed out Manager Liu without any suspense.
Manager Liu completely collapsed and sat on the ground.
"It's not me, it's really not me, I was framed..." He defended himself with tears.
The surroundings were extremely quiet, and everyone was waiting to see what the King of Nanzhao would decide.
Manager Liu has no vested interest in Song Huai. If he wants to harm Song Huai, the only reason is that he was instructed by Song Zhan.
Song Zhan is the eldest son of King Nanzhao. Everyone wants to see whether King Nanzhao will kill his own son for the sake of justice.
In silence, the King of Nanzhao slowly said to Manager Liu: "Facts speak louder than words. Do you think it makes sense for you to do this? To be honest, when I first heard that it was you, I also refused to believe it. But these people not only have witnesses, but also physical evidence. They have all the letters and tokens you exchanged with them. The reason why I didn't take them out is that I want to give you a chance to redeem yourself. There are only two ways in front of you now. Either confess voluntarily, or confess after being beaten like them. Of course, you can also resist stubbornly and deny it to death, but don't forget that you still have family."
When Manager Liu heard Prince Nanzhao mention his family, he panicked and kowtowed repeatedly on the ground: "Prince, Prince, everyone has their own responsibility. Please don't embarrass my family. I admit that I have hired assassins to assassinate the Third Prince before, but this time it really wasn't me, it really wasn't me!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the whole room was in an uproar, and Song Zhan was the first one to change his expression.
Princess Nanzhao stood up suddenly.
"Sit down!" King Nanzhao shouted, "If you say one more word, get out of here!"
Princess Nanzhao took a deep breath and sat back down, swallowing her anger.
Prince Nanzhao pointed at Manager Liu and said, "You said you hired an assassin to kill the Third Prince. When was it? Who ordered you to do it? How many times did you do it? Tell the truth now!"
Manager Liu could no longer conceal his crime and confessed his crime tremblingly: "There were several times that I don't remember, the most recent one was last summer, when the Third Prince was ordered by the prince to go to the capital to deliver a birthday gift to the Queen Mother. I hired someone to assassinate him on his way back to Nanzhao. The Third Prince was a lucky person, and the assassin did not succeed."
Xie Nanjia was suddenly stunned, and immediately thought of the scene last summer when she returned to Beijing from Hongou Manor and encountered Song Huai being chased by someone.
Was it that time? She looked at Song Huai, asking him for confirmation with her eyes.
Song Huai received her gaze and nodded slightly.
"What secret code are you guys talking about?" Zhao Jingyu poked Xie Nanjia quietly.
"Nothing." Xie Nanjia whispered, wondering if Manager Liu was telling the truth, then whose people were chasing Song Huai in the Xishan enclosure
Just as he was thinking about it, he heard King Nanzhao say again: "Regardless of whether what you said is true or false, I want to ask you, who instructed you?"
Manager Liu hesitated for a moment and slowly shifted his gaze.
"It was me!" Princess Nanzhao suddenly said, "Your Highness, please stop forcing Manager Liu. I admit it. I confess that I was the one who ordered him to do it. It has nothing to do with anyone else!"
"Mother!" Song Zhan called out with a pale face.
"Don't say anything!" Princess Nanzhao raised her hand to stop him. "This matter has nothing to do with you. I am responsible for my own actions."
The reversal was so sudden that everyone was overwhelmed.
"Princess, are you so eager to admit it? Are you trying to take the blame for His Highness?" While others were still confused, Madam Ning rushed over regardless of everything and loudly questioned Princess Nanzhao.
She has waited too long for this opportunity!
"You slut, what qualifications do you have to question me?" Princess Nanzhao stepped forward and slapped her hard. "I told you, it was me who ordered it, and it had nothing to do with anyone else. If you dare to bite people like a mad dog again, I will smash your mouth!"
Mrs. Ning's head was tilted by the blow, and her face immediately became red and swollen.
"Try to touch her again!" Song Huai stood up and rushed over in two or three steps. He embraced Madam Ning in his arms and glared at Princess Nanzhao. "How did I provoke you? You all wish I were dead!"
Princess Nanzhao gritted her teeth and said, "You are a bastard, yet you overestimate your own abilities and want to compete with the legitimate son for favor. You don't take me, your legitimate mother, seriously at all. Don't you deserve to die?"
"Then tell me clearly, is it you who wants me to die, or is it my brother who wants me to die?" Song Huai said.
"I said, it's me, it's me, it has nothing to do with others!" Princess Nanzhao said hysterically, "It wasn't just me last summer, it was also me in the West Mountain Paddock last year, it was all me, it was me who wanted to kill you all the time, did you hear me clearly?"
Xie Nanjia was stunned again and secretly wanted to laugh. He just used a little trick to help Song Huai solve a problem, but he didn't expect to catch so many big fish with one net. This net was really worth it.
The Nanzhao Palace did not disappoint her.
Everyone was stunned, having long forgotten their initial fears, and they all watched the excitement with great interest.
"Okay, I can trust you. Then tell me, who did it in the teahouse a few days ago?" Song Huai asked.
(End of this chapter)