The soft beauty is so good at teasing, the villain prince asks for a kiss

Prince Duan did not answer, his eyes passed by like flowing water.

"It is not convenient to visit you at this late hour, so I will not bother you any more. I will hand in the visiting card tomorrow and then come to your house formally. Goodbye."

He waved his hand, and the black-robed men immediately retreated. Guan Zhen, the leader, leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Master, the black-robed man has nothing on him."

Prince Duan frowned slightly, then quickly returned to normal. He nodded slightly and said, "Retreat."

"Yes."

Guan Zhen stood up and gestured to the back. The men in black robes immediately put away their swords and lined up in two rows. Prince Duan was protected in the middle, with his wheelchair pushed by someone. Soon, the white and the peach blossoms on the umbrella melted into the night and disappeared at the end of the alley.

"Your Highness, take care—" King Annan bowed.

If the corpses hadn't been there, Rong Heqing would have suspected that all this was just a bizarre dream she had.

She looked at King Annan, "Father, is Shu Xian the alias of Prince Duan?"

Prince Annan nodded and slowly retracted his gaze, "Prince Duan is your majesty's ninth son, courtesy name Chengyun, given name Yunxian, courtesy name Zishu."

In an instant, a light bulb went off in his head, and Rong Heqing remembered the royal family name of Dajing - Qin.

So Shu Xian is actually Qin Yunxian?

Zishu, leisurely and relaxed.

What he hinted at was obvious enough, but unfortunately the people in South City were not familiar with him and did not think in the same direction.

"Go back home and don't tell anyone about what happened tonight." King Annan warned and turned around to walk in first.

Rong Heqing did not leave immediately. She turned around and looked at the corpse in the alley.

A guard pushed a cart and everyone worked together to lift the body of the man in black onto it, preparing to pull it out of the city and throw it into a mass grave.

After standing still for a long time, the rain gradually stopped. Rong Heqing put down his umbrella, sighed, took off his purse and handed it to one of the guards, "Go buy some coffins for them, and keep the rest of the money for drinking."

The guard was stunned and waved his hands repeatedly, "The princess is too kind, those people are not worth dying for, why spend money on them?"

Rong Heqing stuffed the purse into his hand without explanation, saying, "I'll have someone come to check it out. If you guys fool me, come back and get punished."

"No, no! I will definitely handle it properly."

Rong Heqing nodded, then stepped over the threshold and walked towards his own yard.

*

A sudden heavy rain interrupted many people's dreams and made it difficult for them to fall asleep.

Rong Heqing tossed and turned in bed until dawn. He seemed to have only dozed off for a short while, but it also seemed as if he had not fallen asleep at all.

As soon as daylight broke, she sat up and asked someone to fetch water and wash herself.

After dressing up and having breakfast, Rong Heqing went to pay her respects to the princess, but did not see King Annan, so she asked a question.

The princess was selecting jewelry in the mirror and said nonchalantly, "I went to the study with Prince Duan to discuss matters."

"Prince Duan is here so early?" Rong Heqing helped the princess pick out a jade hairpin and inserted it into her hair bun.

The princess was stunned, looked at her through the bronze mirror, and asked hesitantly: "How does Qing'er know about Prince Duan?"

Rong Heqing sighed and said, "It's a long story. My mother had gone to bed last night, so I didn't want to disturb her, so I decided to tell her today."

Upon hearing this, the princess grabbed her hand and pulled her in front of her, "What's going on?"

Rong Heqing organized his words and sorted out the whole story in his mind before telling the princess.

"Mother, you don't know that Wu is already dead."

"Dead? How did he die?" the princess was shocked.

The person who had fought with me for so many years just disappeared quietly?

Rong Heqing squeezed her hand and whispered, "Last night, a group of female assassins broke into the torture chamber to rescue Wu Caixue, but just as they walked out, they ran into Prince Duan. The two sides started fighting and alarmed my father, who led the guards to the scene. The assassins were outnumbered and defeated, and Wu Caixue snatched the guard's knife and committed suicide."

"and many more--"

There was too much information in this sentence. The princess took a long time to digest it before asking, "Are you saying that there is another force behind Wu Caixue?"

"How did Prince Duan happen to appear near the palace in the middle of the night?"

Rong Heqing smiled. As expected of a princess, she had a first-rate ability to grasp the key points.

"Yes, Wu Caixue has been lurking in the palace for many years and has been hiding very deeply. If it weren't for what happened last night, no one would have suspected her. Although the clues are cut off, we can guess that most of her actions are for power." She whispered her guess.

"At first, she was patient and kept silent, trying to win over my father in order to gain a firm foothold and dispel his vigilance. Later, she gave birth to Rong Qiao. With a son, she felt more confident and planned to compete with Concubine Lu. But she didn't expect that my father would not appoint a crown prince for so many years. She got a little anxious. If nothing unexpected happens, she will find a way to attack my father next."

The princess followed her train of thought and said, "The emperor wants a hostage to control the prince. Considering all aspects, this person will most likely fall on Rong Qiao."

"That's right." Rong Heqing nodded. "Rong Qiao became a hostage, so he lost the chance to be crown prince. Wu was completely panicked. Then Rong Rushe's incident happened. She was confined to the backyard. She was worried that Rong Qiao would be sent away during this period. So she used the pregnancy as an excuse to regain her favor. She designed a plan to have Jian Yuan hire someone to kill Rong Ji. In this way, father will only have one son left. Plus, she is pregnant. Father will most likely ask for an imperial decree to crown Rong Qiao as crown prince."

"Even if Rong Qiao has to go to the capital now, she has nothing to fear as she has the position of Crown Prince. All she needs to do next is get rid of her father, and she and the forces behind her can take over the Annan Palace. Although Rong Qiao may not be able to control others due to her young age, Jian Yuan is still here. With his status and prestige, he is more than capable of supporting Rong Qiao to secure the throne."

Rong Heqing clapped his hands as he spoke, and suddenly his mind became clear, "No wonder Wu Caixue chose the plain-looking Jian Yuan, so that's why! She is really far-sighted!"

Perhaps what Wu Caixue said was true. She had never loved Jian Yuan at all. She had only been using him from the beginning to the end.

The princess sneered, "Unfortunately, man proposes, God disposes. She missed a move by one step, and ended up losing miserably."

Having said that, Rong Heqing still felt a chill on her back. If she hadn't saved Rong Ji, they would be the ones who had lost miserably.

There is such a powerful assassin force behind Wu Caixue. If she were allowed to take the position, she and her mother would probably die without knowing how.

Rong Heqing patted his chest in fear, and another thought flashed through his mind.

Liu Yiqing!

The one who hung Li Qiu in her yard and posted a note about being a fence-sitter was probably Prince Duan, right?

Apart from him, who else would be so secretive and roundabout?

Rong Heqing let go of the princess's hand, "No, I have to go to the study and see what he wants to do!"

The princess was startled. "Hey? Qing'er——"

When she looked back, Rong Heqing had turned into a shadow and disappeared out the door.

*

In the study, Qin Yunxian and King Annan sat opposite each other drinking tea, both with calm expressions.

After a while, King Annan spoke first, "I will consider what you said and give you an answer within three days."

Qin Yunxian nodded, "Yes, I will come to pick up the hostage and bring him to the capital in three days."

King Annan put down his teacup, stood up and was about to see the guest off when the study door knocked three times.

"Father, are you there?"

King Annan and Qin Yunxian paused at the same time and turned to look.