The Eldest Daughter Is Beautiful and Saucy
Chapter 725: close relationship
Chapter 725: Close Relationship
After Bai Jinxiu sent Fu Ruoxi away, Bai Qingyan slowly rested his elbow on the hidden bag, lowered his eyes and thought carefully about why Wang Qiulu went to the Liang Palace. Did he want to avenge Liu Ruofu? Or did he still want to help Liang Wang ascend to the throne?
But if he wanted to do these two things, what does it have to do with Fu Ruoxi? Why did he lead Fu Ruoxi to the gate of Prince Liang’s Mansion and let Fu Ruoxi see him enter Prince Liang’s Mansion with her own eyes?
Or was it Li Mingrui who asked Wang Qiulu to do this?
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The Crown Princess has given birth, and the Crown Prince’s Mansion is very busy today.
Old Fang and Ren Shijie put on their black cloaks and hoods, and quietly went out of the corner door of the Prince’s Mansion. After looking around to make sure that there was no one around, Ren Shijie helped Old Fang get on the carriage that had been waiting outside the Prince’s Mansion.
After the two of them got in the car and sat down, the always cautious Mr. Fang lifted the curtain and looked outside. After waiting for half a cup of tea, he told the driver: “Let’s go!”
Ren Shijie sat next to Mr. Fang, looking a little uneasy: “Mr. Fang, are you really not going to tell the Crown Prince?”
Mr. Fang, who had been severely reprimanded by the prince today, had a gloomy and ugly expression on his face.
“The Crown Princess is giving birth now, and the Crown Prince has no time to spare. Not only that, you and I don’t have Wang Jianghai’s son in our hands now… If I tell His Highness that the Princess Zhenguo sent people to rescue the traitor Wang Jianghai’s son, Wang Qiulu, do you think His Highness will believe it? His Highness now believes in the Princess Zhenguo far more than you and I do. Maybe His Highness will think that I am narrow-minded and can’t tolerate the Princess Zhenguo!”
Fang Lao’s eyes flickered in the light of the lanterns swaying outside the carriage. “I am more and more certain now that the Princess Zhenguo risked her life to save the Crown Prince… It was a trap! With this trap, whenever the Crown Prince suspects the Princess Zhenguo, he will remember that the Princess Zhenguo risked her life to save him, and his doubts will be dispelled! It really is… a good plan!”
Ren Shijie pursed his lips and sat aside in silence.
This time, Li Mingrui approached Ren Shijie with the intention of conspiring to frame Princess Zhenguo, and Ren Shijie saw it clearly.
For Ren Shijie, a spy from Dayan, the more chaotic the State of Jin is, the better!
Because of the invincible King Bai Weiting of the Jin Dynasty, other countries were afraid of it and did not dare to declare war easily.
Today, the Great Jin Dynasty is in chaos because of the presence of this murderous princess, whose methods and mind are more ruthless than those of the king who defends the country. Naturally, other countries are afraid of her.
If this time Mr. Fang can really make the Crown Prince of Jin abandon the Princess Zhenguo, or even… take her life, it will only be beneficial for Dayan to regain its former capital… Dadu, or for Dayan to destroy Jin.
After all, no one wants the enemy country to have such a powerful… and trusted general by the crown prince.
Ren Shijie has been by the prince’s side for so many years, and Princess Zhenguo is the only person besides Old Fang who can influence the prince. If the prince ascends the throne in the future, with a figure like Princess Zhenguo assisting him, it will be difficult for Dayan to destroy Jin, let alone take back the old capital city of Dadu.
As a minister of Dayan, Ren Shijie naturally had to make plans for Dayan.
Ren Shijie vaguely knew that their master, Xiao Rongyan, seemed to have a close relationship with this princess.
But even so, for the sake of Dayan, Ren Shijie had to do some things. What’s more, this time it was not Ren Shijie who took action, but the people of Jin who wanted to hurt themselves. He just… went with the flow and told this matter to Mr. Fang, who hated Princess Zhenguo to the core.
The carriage swayed all the way to the first house at the entrance of Jiuchuan Hutong, where there was a lantern with the word “Du” hanging on the door.
Ren Shijie helped Mr. Fang get off the carriage and told the driver to pull the carriage away and come back to pick them up in half an hour. The driver responded and drove away.
Ren Shijie glanced at Mr. Fang, walked up and knocked on the doorknob. Soon, an old man with silver hair, wearing a dark gray robe and black cloth shoes, came to open the door.
The old man glanced at Ren Shijie who was knocking on the door with his sharp eyes, and then looked at Mr. Fang behind Ren Shijie.
“Hello, old man. We are here to see Lord Li.” Ren Shijie said after bowing to the old man.
The old man nodded, stepped aside to make way for the door, and made a gesture of invitation. Ren Shijie could see that although the old man was old, he was a martial artist and his skills must be extraordinary.
Ren Shijie turned around and asked Mr. Fang first. Mr. Fang, with a stern face, lifted the hem of his long gown and stepped into the courtyard. He saw a counselor in white standing under the corridor. He smiled and bowed to Mr. Fang and Ren Shijie: “Our master has been waiting for Mr. Fang and Mr. Ren for a long time!”
Old Fang looked around this unremarkable, even shabby courtyard, and then at the maple tree standing alone in the courtyard. The heavy snowfalls since the beginning of winter had blown the maple leaves into pieces. The sparse red leaves hung on the branches, illuminated by the cold and dim lights under the corridor, which inexplicably added a sense of desolation.
The strategist in white didn’t mind the contempt in Mr. Fang’s eyes at all, and opened the curtain to invite Mr. Fang and Ren Shijie in.
Li Mingrui sat upright in front of the black lacquered square table in the room, holding a bamboo slip in one hand and reading it carefully, while with the other hand he stretched out to warm himself by the blazing fire in front of him. There was a teapot on the brazier with boiling water.
Wang Qiulu was standing behind Li Mingrui, and he looked much thinner.
Seeing Mr. Fang and Ren Shijie coming in, Li Mingrui put down the bamboo slips in his hand and nodded, “Mr. Fang, Mr. Ren, please take a seat!”
Elder Fang’s eyes fell on Wang Qiulu, he lifted up his coat and sat down, and asked Li Mingrui: “Master Li, is this Wang Qiulu, the son of Wang Jianghai?”
“That’s right…” Li Mingrui nodded and looked up at Wang Qiulu.
Wang Qiulu looked unhappy. He stepped forward, saluted towards Mr. Fang and Ren Shijie, and said, “The criminal is Wang Qiulu.”
“Take him away!” Li Mingrui said to his own strategist in white.
The strategist in white nodded and took Wang Qiulu out.
Li Mingrui lifted the copper teapot from the stove with a handkerchief through the handle, poured a cup of tea for Mr. Fang and Ren Shijie, and asked with a smile, “Wang Qiulu was rescued by the people of the Zhenguo Princess. Although the Zhenguo Princess did it very secretly and did not use anyone from the Zhenguo Princess’s mansion, I believe that Mr. Fang and Mr. Ren must have checked it carefully and confirmed it.”
Ren Shijie nodded: “The man who saved Wang Qiulu is indeed from Shuoyang, and he is indeed closely related to the Bai clan of Shuoyang. Elder Fang sent people to Shuoyang to investigate. The man was originally a gambler, very poor, and owed a lot of gambling debts. After returning from the capital, he not only paid off all the debts, but also bought a yard and married three concubines!”
“Not only that, his cousin who works as a jailer in the Dali Temple Prison in the capital city…seems to have become wealthy recently, with a windfall, and even bought a small courtyard with three entrances.” Li Mingrui smiled and pushed the teacup in the direction of Mr. Fang, looking at him, “Is what I said right, Mr. Fang?”
“It turns out that Lord Li not only delivered the letter, but also investigated the matter.” Old Fang remained calm.
Ren Shijie: Madam, I am so sorry… I really didn’t mean to hurt you! It’s all the author’s fault, I hope Madam will forgive me.
Bai Qingyan: Who are you?
Ren Shijie: …
Ren Shijie: I have offended my master’s wife. What should I do if she pretends not to know me? I am very anxious. I am waiting online…