“Judging by this move, they’re not just after Su Qiao but also trying to eliminate us. They’re truly desperate. We’ll need to be even more cautious from now on.”
Wei Yunzhao glanced at the Sixth Prince, who was approaching them. “Perhaps it’s not us who need to be cautious.”
Su Qiao was severely injured, and if Yue Heng truly cared for her, he wouldn’t let this matter go. Wei Yunzhao also remembered the huakui who resembled Jiang Jinyue. She had entered the palace without causing any stir, but given the current situation, it was time for her to make a move.
[Huakui (花魁): lit. flower queen, flower champion; The most desirable and skilled courtesan. Huakui was often highly educated, talented in arts like music, poetry, and dance, and held a prestigious position in the social hierarchy of the entertainment world]
The Sixth Prince entered the pavilion and sat down, thanking Jiang Lin and Wei Yunzhao. “Thank you, both of you, elder brothers.”
Jiang Lin and Wei Yunzhao exchanged a glance. The term 'elder brothers' felt rather subtle and delicate.
Jiang Lin cleared his throat and coughed lightly. “Ahem, well, there’s no need for that. Su Qiao is family, so it’s only natural that we protect her.” Being called 'elder brother' was both unexpected and somewhat uncomfortable.
Wei Yunzhao also had no desire to be addressed as an elder brother. He simply asked the Sixth Prince for his thoughts on the matter.
Jiang Lin nodded beside him. “You investigated Su Qiao before, right? So, did you know early on what your emperor father had done?”
Yue Heng shook his head. “I only knew she was from the Su family. It wasn’t until today that I realized the people hunting her were not sent by the Empress. At first, I thought General Su, like General Wei, had been schemed against by the Empress and died on the battlefield.”
At this point, Yue Heng no longer wanted to hide anything. “My initial approach to her was to use the massacre of the Su family to deal with the Empress and her son.”
“My people discovered that the Su and Lu families had been wiped out, and someone was relentlessly hunting the sole surviving daughter of the Su family. I suspected it was the Empress’s doing, that she wanted to silence them, just as she has always wanted to completely eradicate the Wei family. So, after learning of Su Qiao’s whereabouts, I deliberately approached her, gained her trust, and tried to extract evidence of the Empress’s involvement to use against her and her son.”
Wei Yunzhao looked at Yue Heng, his gaze cold. “I remember Su Qiao said that you met her when her pursuers found her, and you saved her. So, that wasn’t your first meeting, and those pursuers weren’t real either, right? It was all a setup?”
“No,” Yue Heng denied. “Although I can be ruthless and unscrupulous, I would never harm my own people. Those were indeed her pursuers.”
“The day I saved her wasn’t our first meeting. I had seen her shortly after she was sold to the brothel in Shengjing. Originally, I planned to find an opportunity to buy her freedom, but someone beat me to it,” Yue Heng said, his gaze shifting to Jiang Lin.
Jiang Lin wore an innocent expression. “That really was a coincidence. I just wanted to buy someone randomly to give as a birthday gift to Anyang Bo.”
Yue Heng continued, “I know. After she left the brothel, I had people secretly watching her. When her pursuers found her, I made my move.”
A life-saving favor was a perfect opportunity to get closer to Su Qiao.
“She knew my intentions weren’t pure, and I never hid that from her. Falling for her was an accident,” Yue Heng said with a self-deprecating smile. “Sometimes, I almost forget why I approached her in the first place.”
Jiang Lin concluded that these were two people who lived with clear minds.
Wei Yunzhao interrupted Yue Heng. “Matters of the heart can be discussed later. What I want to know is why her pursuers, who had discovered her long ago, only acted today, and so brazenly in broad daylight.”
From their actions, it was clear they were determined to obtain the secret letter Su Qiao held. If the letter was so important, they wouldn’t have waited months to act.
Yue Heng explained, “I manipulated things to make them think Su Qiao had left Shengjing. It’s likely my people were exposed, and when they realized someone was protecting Su Qiao, they decided to act immediately.”
The fact that Su Qiao had protection meant she might have shared her secret with others, making retrieving the letter and eliminating her urgent.
Jiang Lin and Wei Yunzhao both thought of the fake Jiang Jinyue and believed Yue Heng’s explanation. He did have some skill in such matters.
With the explanation out of the way, it was time to discuss how to handle the situation. Jiang Lin and Wei Yunzhao’s plan was to escalate the matter and pin it on the Empress.
As for the Empress’s motive, it was naturally to silence witnesses. “The Empress bribed Su Yuan to kill General Wei, but Su Yuan refused and left evidence of her orders, which he sent back to the Su family in Jiangnan. That’s why the Empress wiped out the Su family and has been hunting Su Qiao to retrieve the evidence and silence her.”
In short, they would shift all of Emperor Changde’s actions onto the Empress. However, Emperor Changde would never allow the secret letter to be made public. He would either vigorously defend the Empress and downplay the matter or join in condemning her, firmly placing the blame on her shoulders without giving her any chance to refute it.
Once the matter was escalated, it wouldn’t be easily dismissed. The second outcome was Emperor Changde’s only option. Since they couldn’t eliminate him yet, they would start by bringing down the Empress.
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