novelaction Chapter 169 Confinement in the Prince's Mansion
Chapter 169 Confinement in the Prince's Mansion
Yongfu Palace.
When Jing Anle woke up, Mu Ping was waiting not far away.
"Mu Ping." She weakly propped herself up, thinking: How did I fall asleep again?
Mu Ping walked quickly to Jing Anle, "Princess."
“Everything is settled.” She looked up and met Jing Anle’s eager eyes.
Even though Mu Ping was highly skilled in martial arts, Jing Anle's eyes still showed some anxiety. "Are you alright?"
Mu Ping changed into her usual palace attire, which must have been left by the treatment last night. Noticing Jing Anle's gaze, she gave a reassuring smile and said, "Princess, don't worry, I'm fine."
At this moment, Jing Anle, without makeup, looked remarkably like the late Empress with her aloof and cold demeanor. Now that she could personally avenge her enemy, Mu Ping naturally felt immense satisfaction.
Jing Anle nodded after listening. She leaned back on the bed, rubbing her forehead with her fingers, deep in thought.
"Princess?"
"Hmm?" Jing Anle opened her eyes. Her heart was in turmoil. So what if she was reborn? She wasn't a blood-stained executioner. Although her face was heavy, her heart was in turmoil.
Mu Ping was much older than her, so she naturally noticed the difference.
Things are not going according to our plan.
"What?" Jing Anle looked at Mu Ping in surprise.
"Princess, don't panic." Mu Ping said, sitting down on the bed and taking Jing Anle's hand. "Why are your hands so cold, Princess?"
Jing Anle had no time to consider this question. She grabbed Mu Ping's arm and asked urgently, "Tell me first, what happened?"
"His Majesty has issued an order to arrest the Prince Qing's family!"
Mu Ping looked into Jing Anle's eyes and said, word by word.
Jing Anle froze, unable to describe her feelings. She pinched her arm hard; it hurt terribly. She was the one who killed someone, so why was Prince Qing arrested?
"Princess?" Mu Ping assumed Jing Anle was confused.
Jing Anle quickly realized that this was too strange. "What exactly happened?"
"It is said that Princess Qing's hairpin was found at the scene."
"What?" Jing Anle looked at Mu Ping in confusion. Having learned the cause of the late Empress's death, Jing Anle only wanted to avenge her enemy and hadn't made any further plans. Who was the person hiding in the shadows?
Her thoughts were racing, and countless images of people flashed through her mind.
“There are only two of those hairpins in the world. One was in the possession of Consort Yu, but she was banished to the Cold Palace and the hairpin was taken away. The remaining one belongs to Princess Qing.” Mu Ping’s face lit up with joy. “That’s wonderful, Princess. Prince Qing is doomed now.”
With so many things happening all at once, Jing Anle felt her mind was in a mess, but she knew clearly that Prince Qing was cunning and shrewd, so how could she be easily tripped up?
But there seems to be no better way at the moment, so we can only wait and see. At least, the death of Consort Yu has not implicated Yongfu Palace.
……
Emperor Jing's plan to mobilize troops was quickly put into practice. Although it was a dishonorable affair for the royal family, he was not imprisoned, but the entire Prince's residence was placed under house arrest.
Prince Qing's Mansion.
Jing Rou's teeth chattered with anger. Just a few days ago, she had been wronged at Princess Jianing's residence, and now the entire Prince's mansion had been placed under house arrest. She looked at the infantry guarding the gate, anxious and furious.
In contrast, Princess Qing was much more composed. She leaned back in her chair, touching her belly with her right hand, and looking out the door.
"Mother, why hasn't Father returned yet?"
When the heavy troops surrounded the Prince's mansion, it was already afternoon. Without saying a word, they surrounded the mansion tightly, preventing even a mosquito from flying in.
"Don't worry, it happened suddenly, but your father must have received the news by now and will definitely have a solution."
Princess Qing's words were not unfounded. Besides her trust in Prince Qing, there was also her father, Prince Ji Kun, who was not of the same surname and was not to be trifled with.
Sure enough, no sooner had he finished speaking than Prince Qing returned. He looked at the army at the gate without saying a word.
"Father!" Jing Rou rushed forward, "What exactly happened?"
Prince Qing happened to be out discussing matters with Fang Ling today. Upon receiving the news, he returned immediately. Naturally, he also left a contingency plan, instructing Fang Ling to devise a solution in case of unforeseen circumstances.
"Your Highness!" Princess Qing's voice was both joyful and anxious.
No sooner had he finished speaking than a loud bang was heard outside the gate.
The three of them looked out the door at the same time and saw a man in a red official robe walking slowly towards them, followed by several guards with swords.
"See you, my lord!"
The man in red bowed respectfully. After he approached, Prince Qing said coldly, "Lord Zhang, what is the meaning of this?"
"This humble official is merely acting in accordance with imperial orders; please forgive me, Your Highness." The man who arrived was Zhang Zhiji from the Ministry of Justice. He ignored Prince Qing and simply spoke politely.
"Insolence!" Prince Qing roared, "What exactly has my Prince's Mansion done wrong?!"
The atmosphere suddenly became tense.
"Last night, the Imperial Concubine was brutally murdered, and at the crime scene, items belonging exclusively to the Prince's residence were discovered."
What! All three people present were shocked, especially Princess Qing. She had considered countless possibilities, but she never expected it to be like this.
“Nonsense, what does this have to do with my Prince Qing’s mansion?” Prince Qing retorted.
Zhang Zhiji remained calm and simply waved his hand. A guard behind him presented a tray and walked up to Prince Qing.
"Your Highness, do you recognize this item?"
After saying that, all three of them looked at the tray, where they saw a bloodstained seven-colored peacock hairpin lying on it.
Prince Qing and Princess Qing exchanged a glance, their expressions shifting from surprise to a fleeting look.
"This hairpin was a gift from my father, the Emperor, and my Prince Qing's mansion treasures it dearly. Of course, we recognize it. To claim that this matter is related to my mansion based solely on this hairpin is utterly absurd!"
"Besides, this hairpin isn't unique to my Prince's Mansion. Doesn't Consort Yu also have one? Who knows if she's thinking of taking her own life and deliberately framing someone else? Her intentions are truly despicable."
Princess Qing looked at the seven-colored peacock hairpin, a vague unease creeping into her heart. Although the two hairpins looked identical, the peacock's beak on the hairpin head was pointing in different directions.
Her mouth corner turned to the left, while Consort Yu's mouth corner turned to the right. Princess Qing strained to see, and her heart skipped a beat. The corner of the hairpin's mouth was exactly turning to the left. How could this be? She had clearly put the hairpin away carefully.