Chapter 183 Glamourous
Leng Suxin paused, and her eyes flickered with confusion. Is it that there was actually someone else?
Qin Yunuan knew what Leng Suxin was thinking. To soothe her, she just said, “I was just guessing. After all, the third prince was just ten years old by then. No matter how vicious and careful he was, he couldn’t figure out the secrets of the Weiyang Palace without any help, let alone sending people to cover Weiyang Palace in kerosene.”
“I’ve doubted it as well.” Leng Suxin had thought about it. But she was too young at that time, all she knew was that she was afraid.
“It’s not the perfect time for this.” Qin Yunuan looked at the mess on the ground and the broken arrows on the pillars. What was most important now was to cover everything up. She couldn’t let the opponent know that there had been casualties on her side. She wanted to show that she had known the tricks of the opponents. The steadier she looked, the more nervous the opponents would become. By then, they would reveal their weaknesses.
Leng Suxin was still startled, but she still looked calm and quiet as she didn’t like to show her emotions on her face. Qin Yunuan soothed her for a while, then took the injured Maner back to the courtyard at night. More than half of the lights in the yard were out, but the candle was still lit in Leng Changxi’s study.
“Maner.” Leng Wu was guarding by the door, but as soon as he saw Maner, who had passed out on Leng Shuang’s back, he forgot his own duty.
“Brother,” Leng Shuang reminded him with a cool face, “You’re now responsible of the General’s safety. Please be aware of what you should do.”
It was rare that a younger sister told an elder brother off in public. However, Leng Wu was good-tempered and listened to her. It was just that his glance stayed with the injured Maner. Anyone could tell his affection towards her.
Qin Yunuan hurried into the study room and quietly closed the door. Leng Changxi was at his desk studying the evidence provided by his men carefully, but he couldn’t clearly figure it out after a while. Seeing Qin Yunuan coming in, his brows slightly relaxed a bit and waved Qin Yunuan to his side.
“Look, this was collected from the shoe of the assassin.” Leng Changxi pointed at a pack of black mud wrapped in a white paper. “Does it look familiar to you?”
Qin Yunuan stared at Leng Changxi and said hollowly, “Darling, we both remember that it was the culture mud of green Begonia.”
Leng Changxi’s slender fingers paused, and the wooden spoon in his hand holding mud unintentionally slipped. His expression hadn’t changed at all, but his heart seemed to be hollowed.
“Do you think the green Begonia is from the palace or…” Leng Changxi choked. It was the first time he felt so powerless.
Qin Yunuan knew what he was worried about, so she leaned forward, stretched her arms and hugged Leng Changxi’s neck. Then she said softly, “Darling, I am reluctant to say it out loud, but we both need to face the truth. The mud is so fresh, it must be just stuck to the shoe not long ago. It would take at least a couple hours to travel from Yongchang Palace to the courtyard of the fourth Miss, avoiding all the guards. This mud is from Mother’s courtyard. She’s the one who wants to kill me.”
“That’s impossible.” Leng Changxi said subconsciously. It was like soothing himself or persuading others. “Mother has raised me for twenty years. I remember every good she’s done to me. Even if she’s not my biological mother, she treats me better than a mother. She could sacrifice her life for me.”
“In fact, you know it long ago, don’t you?” Qin Yunuan held Leng Changxi’s cheeks with both hands. The deep and hollow pupils of Leng Changxi met Qin Yunuan’s tender glance, “You’re so good at solving cases, you could easily solve the hardest ones quickly. However, you have been running in circles for the case of the fire of Weiyang Palace. The reason behind is that you deliberately avoid the truth whenever you come this far. Face it, darling.”
Leng Changxi lowered his eyes and remained silent. He was as weak as a child at the moment, as he only spoke after a while, “Mother treats me well, better than any mother would. She takes care of me in every way.”
“It’s just because that she loves you too much,” Qin Yunuan continued, “Therefore, she would do anything to keep you as her own. She found out your affection towards me, so she tried to kill me. She found out that you’re the son of the grand princess, and the princess was still alive in Weiyang Palace, so she cooperated with the third prince to set fire on Weiyang Palace, in fear that the grand princess would take you back someday. It was all fake about her miscarriage. Mother is infertile. It’s impossible for her to have a child. You are merely her fantasy of having many offspring.”
Leng Changxi didn’t say a word, while Qin Yunuan just held him tighter. She kissed Leng Changxi on the forehead, “Darling, I know you’re feeling bad about it. You’re able to read so many people’s minds, yet you were wrong about mother. You love her, and she loves you. The only problem is that her love is too overwhelming. If you keep on spoiling her, I’m afraid that she’ll hurt people around you again and again.”
That was right. Leng Changxi’s birth mother, the grand princess, died like this. Now Princess Ning had been targeting Qin Yunuan. She had upgraded from setting her up to sending assassins boldly. Who knew what was going to happen next time?
Leng Changxi nodded and took a deep breath as he resumed his expression and replied lightly, “I understand.”
The palace banquet was held at the Haitang Palace on time. The attendees were mostly unmarried girls, so that the ambassador of west Xia, Murong Feng, could choose among them. As for prestigious families like the Prince Ning’s family, they should naturally send representatives to attend the banquet. Princess Ning attended the banquet with Qin Yunuan, and they greeted the noble ladies around.
Princess looked tired today. Even though she was smiling, the make-up of hers wasn’t able to hide her thick under-eye bags.
“Have you not rested well last night, mother?” Qin Yunuan asked, looking concerned.
Princess Ning looked at Qin Yunuan with the corner of her eyes and smiled gently, “I’m alright. It was just that a mouse was squeaking in the dark, which really bothered me.”
Qin Yunuan nodded and smiled, “Oh? What next? Mother’s always nice. I guess you wouldn’t want to harm the mouse.”
“Well, not necessarily.” Princess Ning said implicatively, “I am gentle indeed, but it depends on whom to. For animals which disturb me so much, I would like to get rid of it.”
After last night, the relationship between Princess Ning and Qin Yunuan had become complicated. Princess Ning had already made so many attempts to harm Qin Yunuan, and she even sent killers last night. Apparently, the tolerance of Princess Ning towards Qin Yunuan had reached the climax. She could no longer stay calm and gentle in front of Qin Yunuan.
Empress Chen was dead, and the new Empress had not been decided yet. Consequently, Imperial Concubine Yun, who currently had the highest status in the harem, was the one accompanying the Emperor in the banquet today. Recovering from her sickness, Imperial Concubine Yun looked unhealthily pretty. Her tender glance was following the Emperor, without any concern, even if it was in public. Now that the selection of the new Empress had been in the agenda, she needed to try harder indeed.
Maner covered Qin Yunuan with a coat and quietly said, “It seems that Imperial Concubine Yun is more arrogant than before. People all say that she must be the best candidate for the Empress. Third young madam, should we change our strategies too?”
“It’s not necessary.” Qin Yunuan took a sip of the tea calmly. It was the best of Biluochun tea, boiled with snow water on cherry blossoms, and it was extremely fragrant. “It isn’t the appearance nor the love of the Emperor which made an Empress. It was about the charisma and the ability to manage the harem. A small trick of Empress Chen had made Imperial Concubine Yun sick for more than a month. She isn’t qualified for the Empress. On the other hand, Imperial Concubine Yang next to her seems quite suitable though. She’s smart, courageous and determined. I heard that she was recently promoted. She’s worth paying extra attention.”
Maner nodded in acknowledgment.
Soon, all the guests had been seated. The ambassador of West Xia, Murong Feng, was wearing a West Xia style white rope and sitting at the far end. His handsomeness had attracted many of the girls at the banquet.
Murong Feng spoke softly after viewing a dancing and singing performance, like the breeze in spring which made people feel comfortable, “The singing and dancing of Qi is glamorous indeed. West Xia couldn’t compare to Qi in this at all.” He arched his hands to the Emperor.
The Emperor was happy to be flattered, and he smiled, “It’s still too soon to come to that conclusion. What’s next is the performance of Xiao Fengxian, the fairy of Qi. You will surely find it breathtaking.”
After that, the servants cooperatively unlit half of the candles. The dim candlelight formed a mysterious vibe in the hall. That was when the Guqin sounded. A slim woman with a veil on her face came in. She slightly bowed before she moved her waist and waved her sleeves. The sleeves were sometimes soft yet sometimes powerful, constantly changing its form. Just when people thought that it was everything of the performance, Xiao Fengxian started singing. It was the most popular song in the southern regions of the river. The singing and the dancing were both utterly enjoyable.
After the performance was done, the candles were all lit again. The emperor led the applause. Then the hall was filled with praising and clapping. The guest Murong Feng found it really refreshing, and he couldn’t stop praising the performance. However, the woman who just surprised everyone in the hall was still wearing her veil. She remained quiet. Apart from thanking for the praise, she had no intention to take off her veil.
This inevitably made the Emperor a bit displeased.
“Well, since everyone likes your performance, why don’t you remove your veil so that we could see your face?”
Qin Yunuan slowly raised a wine glass. She was not in a hurry to drink it. She only rubbed the edge of the glass repeatedly. It was a signal between her and Leng Suxin.
The woman in the middle nodded and took off the veil. Just when the veil touched the ground, someone recognized her.
“Isn’t this the fourth Miss of Prince Ning’s mansion?”