The Duke's Daughter is Reborn

When Gao Xian's escort carriage rolled over the bluestone slabs of the imperial city, the huge stone in Fang Hua's heart slowly moved away, and he breathed a sigh of relief. After a bumpy ride, they finally arrived at the imperial city.

On the way from Xihu to the imperial city, Gao Xian was indeed like a ballast stone - when passing Juyong Pass, the soldiers guarding the pass wanted to lift the sails for inspection. He took out a waist badge and hung it on the shaft of the carriage, saying that it was "medicinal materials sent to the imperial city". The soldiers let him go without even getting off their horses.

When crossing the Yellow River, the boatman wanted to charge him double the ferry fare. He threw a piece of silver onto the deck and said, "This is the tea money the Gao family gives to the boatman." The boatman immediately apologized with a smile and moved three boxes of silk to the upper cabin for him.

Fang Hua was secretly surprised that the Gao family's power was enough to protect him all the way to the capital.

What made Fang Hua feel even more uneasy was, what on earth had Mr. Zong Yue done to deserve such help from the Gao family?

If Fang Hua guessed correctly, the Gao family had mobilized a lot of secret forces along the way.

"Master, we're here." The servant outside suddenly pulled the reins and said to Gao Xian in the carriage.

Gao Xian opened the curtain and saw a gilded plaque with the words "Song Guogong Mansion" hanging on the vermilion lacquered door. His brows, which had been furrowed all the way, finally relaxed a little at this moment.

Fang Hua looked out from the curtain. Before he could make any move, Gao Xian turned his head and spoke first: "Wait a minute, Brother Fang. I'll hand over the card first."

He took out an ebony box from his arms, and when he opened it, a scent of agarwood wafted out.

In the box lay a mutton-fat jade plaque with the words "Gao Family" engraved on the front and a turtledove holding a wheat ear in its mouth on the back - this was the Gao family's token of trust.

Gao Xian held the jade token and the note and knocked lightly on the door. Then a servant took Gao Xian and Fang Hua to the second lady's courtyard.

Fang Hua, who had not set foot in the imperial city for many years, had a somewhat vague impression of the city.

Before leaving, Mr. Zong Yue had specifically instructed him not to contact Guangming Hall in Caoshi Town directly.

No one knew what had happened to the news transmission of Guangmingtang. Fang Hua couldn't allow any changes to happen to what he was doing now. If he contacted Guangmingtang rashly, he would definitely fall into the eyes of someone with ulterior motives.

After all, the Fifth Prince actually dared to plan this, so he must have made thorough preparations and would not let any information leak out.

Now that the relationship between the young lady and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is becoming more and more obvious, the shop under the young lady's control must have been targeted by someone.

The "Gao" Escort Agency ostensibly runs a herbal medicine business, so it also has certain dealings with the Mansion of the Duke of Song.

Taking this into consideration, it would not be too abrupt for Gao Xian to deliver the letter to the Duke of Song's Mansion.

In Linhu Courtyard, Yang Qi heard Gao Xian asking for a meeting outside, and a hint of curiosity surged in his heart.

Yang Qi had also heard a little about Gao Xian.

The Gao family's business is huge, and it is considered one of the best in the imperial city. Especially the current head of the Gao family, Gao Xian, who is a very influential person in the business world.

Guangmingtang and the Gao family have some business intersections, but on weekdays, Yang Qi does not handle these matters personally, and has no contact with Gao Xian.

"Let someone wait in the study." Yang Qi instructed Xin Che.

Although she was not clear about the purpose of Gao Xian's visit, since he was already here, he must have something important to discuss.

Yang Qi quickly changed into clothes suitable for entertaining guests and just stepped into the study. When she caught a glimpse of Fang Hua standing next to Gao Xian in the study, she felt as if someone had poured a basin of ice water on her head. She stood there in a daze for a moment and could not help but widen her eyes.

This is... Fang Hua?

But why did Fang Hua suddenly appear here?

Could it be that something extremely serious happened to the Western Barbarians? This thought flashed through Yang Qi's mind, making her feel even more depressed.

After calming down, Yang Qi suppressed his trembling voice and asked Madam He and Madam Zhu beside him to leave: "Master Gao, what on earth brought you here?"

Gao Xian took a half step back and raised his chin towards Fang Hua: "Miss Song San, Brother Fang has something important to see you about. It's nothing else, I'll leave first."

After saying that, Gao Xian also left the room.

When only Yang Qi and Fang Hua were left in the room, Yang Qi whispered, "What on earth happened?"

Fang Hua's Adam's apple moved and he took out an oilcloth bag from his arms.

He had sewed this cloth bag into his lapel for many days, and he would touch it every time he passed a checkpoint. By now, the cloth had become hairy.

He untied the oilcloth, revealing seven wax-soaked letters and a blood-stained silk. His fingertips trembled as he handed it over: "Miss, this is the letter I brought from the Second Prince Kuryong's study, and the silk I took from the carrier pigeon."

Seeing the words "Your Highness, the Crown Prince was captured on March 15th" on the silk, Yang Qi could not help but stagger a few steps, and the teacup on the table was knocked against the wall, until he held onto the corner of the table and stood steadily.

"So that's how it is..." She suddenly laughed softly, with a chill in her voice, "Yuan Ruiyin's ultimate move has always been this!"

Yang Qi sighed softly. In his previous life, the Crown Prince was forced to raise an army to rebel... How could the Crown Prince be willing to go this far? It was obvious that someone had a knife on his neck and he had to go!

Even the reason for raising an army was forced into his hands by someone through conspiracy.

The candle wick "crackled" and a spark burst out. Yang Qi retracted his hand suddenly, as if he was burned. Then, when he picked up the letter again, his eyes became as sharp as a knife: "This letter?"

Fang Hua reached out and held down a corner of the letter to prevent it from being crumpled. "Don't worry, Miss. This is the original letter I stole from Kuryong's study."

He rubbed a very shallow crease on the back of the letter with his fingertips - that was left when he used a thin wire to pick open the secret compartment to take out the letter while Kuryong was taking a nap. "I copied a fake copy based on the original letter, using the same ink color, ink, and even the way Kuryong usually writes the character 'zhi'. It should be able to conceal it for a while."

Yang Qi nodded. "You have always been a careful person." She said softly, and her fingertips gently touched the red seal on the letter - that was the private seal of Kueryong and Yuan Ruiyin, as red as blood.

If Fang Hua had not been careful and cautious all these years, how could he have been hiding among the Western Barbarians until now?

After a pause, Fang Hua pulled out an oil paper bag from his bosom, took out the portrait inside, handed it to Yang Qi and said, "Miss, I saw several people from the Tianyuan Dynasty at Kueryong. This is the portrait of the leader drawn by Mr. Zong Yue based on my description.

I guess this is the person the Fifth Prince sent to negotiate with Kuryong."

The person Fang Hua described to Zong Yue was the person in charge of Qingshan who lived in Jingyuan in the Kulong Mansion.

Fang Hua's idea was simple. Anyone who could be sent by the Fifth Prince to handle such matters must be someone whom the Fifth Prince trusted extremely and had a certain status. Otherwise, he would not be able to enter Kuryong's field of vision and would also be the enemy of the young lady and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.