jdhmnovel Chapter 153 1 Find out
Chapter 153 1 Find out
Upon hearing this, the servant was visibly taken aback.
Especially as the fire intensified, even though all the guards of the Prince Xin's mansion were fighting the fire, they were unable to stop it, and it was about to spread to the main courtyard.
The servants were trembling with fear, but Prince Xin remained calm and unhurried, not even daring to run away.
"Then this servant will push you to an open space," he said cautiously, and then tried to push the wheelchair away.
However, as soon as he made a move, he found that the wheelchair under his hands could not be moved no matter what he did.
Prince Xin rested his hands on the armrests, his gaze calm as still water.
The scorching heat of the flames was already palpable. The servants were sweating profusely with anxiety until Prince Xin finally spoke up: "Why aren't you leaving at once?"
The servants, as if granted a pardon, quickly pushed the wheelchair out of the main courtyard.
The fire engulfed the entire Prince Xin's mansion. From the outside, all that could be seen were towering flames, thick smoke, and the panicked shouts of the guards.
"Master, can we really expose Prince Xin's feigned lameness through today's plan?" Si Qing asked worriedly and pessimistically.
It was just a fire. If Prince Xin were truly cunning and shrewd, how could he have fallen for it?
He muttered to himself, then suddenly his mind raced, and he looked at Xie Jinghan in surprise: "Didn't you intend to expose Prince Xin's pretense of being lame from the very beginning?"
Xie Jinghan glanced at him: "So what if we expose his faking being lame? Without evidence, it's almost impossible to capture the prince."
"Today's fire was just a test." Xie Jinghan glanced at the raging fire and waved to Leng Shan behind him, "Send the Imperial Guards to put out the fire."
Leng Shan accepted the order and left. Xie Jinghan then asked, "Si Qing, have any letters come from the spies we sent to the Prince Xin's residence?"
Si Qing perked up and nodded quickly: "As Your Highness instructed, we have already placed spies throughout the Prince Xin's residence."
At this point, he couldn't help but admire Xie Jinghan's brilliant strategy.
Xie Jinghan was able to foresee that Prince Xin would remain inactive and continue to feign lameness.
But the fire was fierce, and the guards of Prince Xin's Mansion would not lie about their reaction when the fire struck. The place they cared about most must have been the most important place in Prince Xin's Mansion.
Thinking of this, Si Qing clenched his fist secretly.
In this way, they can continue their investigation along this lead.
but……
He lowered his voice again: "If the mastermind behind the assassination was Prince Xin, then... why would Prince Xin use the Bewitching Flower as a mark? It's unique to the Northern Barbarians..."
“He has been feigning a limp for many years and appears to have no power to outsiders.” Xie Jinghan said calmly, “If he wants to obtain the throne, the only partner he can cooperate with is the Northern Di.”
“What’s more…” A cold glint flashed in Xie Jinghan’s eyes, “Have you forgotten something? Prince Xin’s mother… was a dancer from the Western Regions.”
The Northern Barbarians were the only way for the Dali to reach the Western Regions. The Western Regions and the Northern Barbarians had an inextricable relationship. The identity of the Western Regions dancer... could indeed be used to make a big deal out of it.
Si Qing pondered for a moment, then his expression changed: "You mean... that Prince Xin's mother has connections with the Northern Di?"
"It's just speculation now. We'll only know the truth after we thoroughly investigate Prince Xin," Xie Jinghan said indifferently. "But right now, the most urgent task is to find out where Prince Xin was contacting those people."
Si Qingfei nodded quickly, and as he walked out with Xie Jinghan, he whispered, "No wonder we haven't been able to find any clues about the man we were investigating before. It turns out that Madam Wen's lover is Prince Xin. I never thought these two could get together."
Prince Xin and Lady Wen had absolutely no connection whatsoever.
“The more distant the relationship appears to outsiders, the more beneficial it is for them to interact,” Xie Jinghan said with a contemptuous look in his eyes. “After all, no one expected that the Duchess of Wen would have an affair with a crippled prince.”
"Furthermore..." Xie Jinghan said in a low voice, "Prince Xin has not left behind any children for many years. Outsiders speculate that he is impotent. Someone who is like a eunuch in other people's eyes, even if he is in the same room with Zhang, probably no one would suspect the two of them."
Upon hearing this, Si Qing immediately nodded: "Your Highness is absolutely right."
but……
He caught a glimpse of Xie Jinghan's calm expression, and his admiration for him grew even stronger.
As expected of his master! Even when he brought up his painful past, he didn't show any sadness.
After all, in this capital city, Xie Jinghan is as famous as Prince Xin.
Both were of noble status and neither could have sexual relations.
Thinking of this, he sighed a few times in his heart and shook his head with great regret.
"If you look at me like that again," Xie Jinghan's voice suddenly rang out, "you can go to the western suburban camp and receive twenty strokes of the military rod."
Upon hearing this, Si Qing felt a chill run down his spine and quickly lowered his head.
He thought to himself—it seems the prince hasn't completely let go of this matter yet.
Si Qing's thoughts were written all over his face, and Xie Jinghan could see them clearly with just one glance.
However, he was busy with many matters today. He gave Si Qing a warning look again before looking away: "All the clues we find today must be sent to the Princess."
Upon hearing this, Si Qing was horrified.
"Give...give it to the Princess?" Si Qing's eyes widened. "But this is all classified! The assassination case..."
"If it weren't for the Princess Consort, you'd probably still be stuck in the Duke of Su's mansion." Xie Jinghan scoffed. "She has worked diligently for me, so I must repay her in kind."
Si Qing opened her mouth, then muttered under her breath, "But you've already sent Madam Wen to the Dali Temple for her, and besides, the Princess Consort lives a secluded life; how would she understand these intricacies..."
His voice grew softer and softer, and under Xie Jinghan's gaze, he lost all courage to continue.
"Go to the western suburban camp in three days."
Xie Jinghan didn't explain much to Si Qing. After saying that, he strode away.
Seeing Xie Jinghan's retreating figure, Si Qing felt secretly aggrieved, thinking to herself that she must find Granny Qi and ask her for an explanation when she returned to the manor.
Is the relationship between the prince and princess more than just cooperation?
No matter what Ren Siqing thought, he still had to do what he had to do, and he still had to go to the western suburban camp three days later.
His face was full of resentment as he compiled the intelligence gathered by his spies.
"They've all gone to the West Garden?" He stared wide-eyed at the news from his scouts. "What part of the Prince Xin's residence is the West Garden?"
“It was the residence of Princess Xin back then,” the scout whispered. “However, since Princess Xin passed away, the West Garden has been empty and looks very dilapidated from a distance. But when the guards of the Prince Xin’s mansion discovered the fire, they all rushed to the West Garden.”
Si Qing had planted more than a dozen spies in the Prince Xin's mansion, and each spy gave a similar answer. It seems that the West Garden was indeed the most important place for the Prince Xin's mansion.