novelaction Chapter 194 There are many strange things going on here.
Chapter 194 There are many strange things going on here.
Liu Niang glanced at her indifferently, "If you work hard, helping me take over this business in the future will be your way of thanking me."
Having heard Liu Niang say this so many times, Zhou Hanzhang naturally knew that she was not joking, so he had no choice but to agree.
Now that Liu Niang had made the arrangements, Zhou Hanzhang felt relieved.
She just didn't know whether she should tell the emperor about it.
The eldest prince is, after all, the emperor's son, while she is just a niece. No matter how much the emperor loves her, he is never as close as her son.
After Liu Niang left, Jiang Mingyun knocked on Zhou Hanzhang's door.
As soon as she entered, she said to Zhou Hanzhang, "Brother Hanzhang, did Lady Liu discover the First Prince's scheme?"
"What did you guess?" she asked tentatively.
"Liu Niang was able to wait for us outside the inn precisely because she knew we would come here. But there are so many inns in this town. Even if she is your master, there is no need for her to bring you to her own base camp. After all, we are traveling with His Majesty."
Since she brought us all here, she must have had a reason to do so. Perhaps she discovered the First Prince's scheme and hid us beforehand?
Zhou Hanzhang discovered that although Jiang Mingyun was somewhat carefree, she never let him down at crucial moments. Although she relied on him, she still had her brain when necessary.
“That’s right. My master received information that my eldest cousin might have someone ambush him in a dilapidated temple ahead. It’s a remote place with few people passing by, and it’s not far from the town. No one would choose to stay there unless they had no other choice.”
Since we've run into trouble at our lodgings, we'll most likely end up staying in a dilapidated temple. Based on my master's information, there's bound to be an ambush there. But don't worry, she's already sent someone with our carriage. Even if there really is an ambush, we're not afraid. You know my master's methods; we won't suffer any losses.”
Jiang Mingyun patted his chest. "That's good. Should we tell His Majesty about this?"
"I did think about it at first, but I decided to keep it a secret for now. After all, he is the Emperor's own son, and even if I told him, the Emperor might not believe me."
"That seems to make sense, after all, His Majesty doesn't know that the First Prince isn't his biological son. But if we handle this discreetly, His Majesty won't know his true identity either, wouldn't that pose a danger later?"
The fact that the eldest prince was not the emperor's biological son was so easily revealed by Jiang Mingyun, which shocked Zhou Hanzhang.
"The eldest prince isn't the emperor's biological son?!"
"Huh? Didn't I tell Brother Hanzhang? He was a wild boy whom the late Empress had a daughter with, and then he found outside to consolidate the Empress's position. But it's a pity. So what if he has a son? When it's time to die, he really can't escape it."
"No, why didn't you tell me about something this important earlier?"
Zhou Hanzhang remained silent.
Jiang Mingyun felt a little wronged. "I thought I had already told Brother Hanzhang. I always thought you knew."
I have no idea.
Zhou Hanzhang thought to himself, "This is what I'm thinking."
How could she believe that such a beautiful and radiant woman had appeared beside her in such a melodramatic way?
"I may have forgotten, but I remember telling you this before. Let me say it again: do you know who the eldest prince's biological parents are?"
"Stop speaking in riddles, just tell me."
Jiang Mingyun blinked her eyes, "It's more exciting than a storyteller's tale. This eldest prince was born to the former empress's childhood sweetheart. That childhood sweetheart had always deeply loved the former empress and was willing to send her own son into the palace to be raised by her, just so that she could have some connection with the former empress."
Unfortunately, beauty is often short-lived; the late empress died too young, and this man's plans were thwarted.
"Do you want to tell me who it is?"
"The Crown Prince's Junior Tutor, Gao De."
"Gaode?"
Zhou Hanzhang felt a strange urge to laugh, and Gaode Maps immediately popped into her mind.
Then a figure appeared in her mind, which should be this Master Gao De.
"It was him."
"I didn't expect it at first. I only found out when I was floating in the air before I died. This Master Gao De had been helping the First Prince deal with all sorts of dirty things, including plotting to marry me to the First Prince. He can be considered to have made great contributions."
Before I died, they were still scheming to send the late empress's daughter to a foreign land for a political marriage in order to gain the support of another country for the eldest prince.
Zhou Hanzhang felt something was off. "This isn't right?"
"What's wrong with it?"
Wasn't this Junior Tutor Gao deeply in love with the late Empress? How could he bear to send the Eldest Princess away for a political marriage?
In Zhou Hanzhang's memory, those who were sent to marry foreign rulers for political reasons never had a good ending.
Do you know where they're going to send Gao Wanru?
A thought flashed through Zhou Hanzhang's mind: "Could it be the Yunmeng Kingdom?"
"You guessed right. Otherwise, how would the Crown Prince contact them? He has to express his sincerity to others, so sending a princess would be perfect."
Zhou Hanzhang sighed deeply.
"Also, do you know why Gao Shaofu's wife rarely shows her face?"
A gentle woman's face appeared in Zhou Hanzhang's mind, but he had never heard her say a word, and Gao De was always with her whenever she went out.
"This matter of switching the children was done by Gao Shaofu without his wife's knowledge. However, Madam Hong was conscious during childbirth and knew that she had given birth to a son, but the son turned into a daughter, and she just couldn't believe it."
But everyone around her said she had only given birth to a daughter, and gradually rumors spread that she had developed hysteria, and that Gao Shaofu had kept her confined to her home, forbidding her from speaking out of turn.
"Don't the Hong family members care about this?"
"This is even more infuriating. This Master Gao originally supported his family with the dowry of Madam Hong. Later, he even used a scheme to make Madam Hong's family fall into ruin overnight. All the family property went into his hands. Madam Hong lost her family to rely on and was helpless even after losing her son."
Even Zhou Hanzhang was deeply saddened by such a melodramatic story.
This Junior Tutor Gao, though he claims to deeply love the late Empress, is actually an extremely selfish person in essence.
It's also highly likely that he tricked the late empress into switching the prince.
Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain why the late empress died so young.
There are many suspicious points here.
It seems I need to find an opportunity to investigate.
However, the most urgent task now is to prevent the eldest prince from finding an opportunity to attack along the way. Ensuring the emperor's safety is the top priority at this moment.
Jiang Mingyun's eyes suddenly lit up. "Why don't we bring more people and take His Majesty to that dilapidated temple to experience his eldest son's filial piety? Let him get to know people properly?"