A Shocking Dream

Qin Ronghuan was stunned. Regardless of the fate of the Yun Kingdom Saint, Daqi could not refuse if the Yun Kingdom's ruler held him accountable. The Saint had been stabbed in the palace; that was undeniable. Qin Ronghuan turned away, no longer looking at the two. Qin Rongchen saw the emperor turn around and understood his intention. He said, "I will take my leave."

Qin Rongchen carried Lin Bingshuang out of Ninghua Palace. The Queen Mother looked at him, her heart filled with regret. This is the good son you raised! The palace maids and guards passing by saw Qin Rongchen carrying the unconscious Holy Maiden of Yun Country out of the harem, but they all pretended not to see it and no one dared to comment.

As he walked out of the palace gate, Qin Rongchen saw the people from Yun State waiting. Without asking any questions, they took Lin Bingshuang and boarded the carriage. Qin Rongchen watched the carriage disappear from his sight and then returned to the palace. He wanted to see who was so bold as to assassinate someone in the palace.

Lin Bingshuang was stabbed in the most secluded area of ​​the palace, overgrown with weeds, long abandoned within the palace, and far removed from the imperial gardens. How could the Holy Maiden of the Yun Kingdom have strayed so far? What was the motive behind her assassination? This matter is of grave importance, implicating the friendship between the two nations and must remain hidden from the public. Qin Ronghuan secretly dispatched Su Yijing to investigate the matter. When Qin Rongchen arrived at the wasteland, he happened upon Su Yijing. Su Yijing smiled at him, as if he had been waiting for him there for some time.

"Did you guess that I would come?" Qin Rongchen asked, looking at Su Yijing's expression.

"That's your woman. No matter how indifferent you are to worldly affairs, you will come here for her."

Your woman... Qin Rongchen felt a glimmer of joy when he heard this. He said calmly, "What did you find out?"

Su Yijing shook his head.

"It's impossible to start. As you can see, this place is so desolate that no one would pass by. Even if someone got lost, it's impossible for them to get lost in the intricate harem and end up here."

"You mean, someone lured her here under a false pretext?" Qin Rongchen understood the meaning of Su Yijing's words.

"I just inspected the scene and there were no signs of a fight. This means that the person who lured her here indirectly stabbed her when she was completely defenseless. And who that person was that made her completely defenseless against him, only she herself knows. According to Commander Yang, he rushed here after hearing screams, and found the saint lying unconscious on the ground, with no one else. I also asked the imperial physician, and the screams did not come from the saint. I think someone passed by here and saw her lying here stabbed. Out of instinct, they were scared and screamed, which alarmed Commander Yang. They were afraid of being suspected, so they fled. We are still tracking down who this person is. Don't worry, since the emperor has handed the matter over to me to investigate, I will definitely get to the bottom of it. Instead of worrying here, you might as well go see her." Su Yijing saw Qin Rongchen's worried face and knew that he was worried.

Qin Rongchen didn't respond, his heart filled with worry for her. He knew she must have her own plans and considerations behind her return, and he couldn't let his worries distract him. He understood that in this complex situation, his every move could affect her plans. He pondered over it in his mind. In the current situation, he couldn't act rashly, otherwise it might bring her more trouble and danger. He secretly told himself that all he could do now was return to Hanmei Villa and wait patiently for her.

Ninghua Palace

Kou Lanzhi entered the palace cautiously, taking every step with extreme caution, not even daring to breathe loudly, for fear of waking Kou Jing, who was resting with her eyes closed on the couch. She had heard everything that had happened in the palace today. The fact that the Saint had been stabbed really surprised her. Kou Lanzhi stayed in the palace for a while, and Kou Jing slowly said, "Why are you coming here instead of staying in the harem at this time?" Kou Jing opened her eyes. In fact, she had been awake since the moment she entered.

"Mother, I have heard what happened today. The Saint..."

"I sent someone." Before Kou Lanzhi could finish her words, Kou Jing admitted it directly. Wasn't Kou Lanzhi's intention in coming here to prove that she was the one who stabbed the Saint? She might as well admit it generously.

"Mother... why... did you do this?" Kou Lanzhi left the last half of her sentence unfinished. That was the Holy Maiden of the Yun Kingdom. If the Lord of Yun learned of this and provoked trouble, wouldn't it mean another war? Kou Lanzhi had heard rumors about the Yun Kingdom since she was a child. Although she had never seen it with her own eyes, the Yun Kingdom had been elusive for years. Meeting the Holy Maiden that day only confirmed those rumors. Wait... Since Yun Shuang was the Holy Maiden of the Yun Kingdom, her martial arts skills must be excellent. How could she be so easily stabbed by someone sent by the Queen Mother? Is there some connection between them? Before Kou Lanzhi could think about it, Kou Jing stood up and said, "Don't worry, if she really likes Rong Chen, she won't let the people in Yun Kingdom know. Besides, I did this to confirm whether she is Lin Bingshuang. Do you know who I sent? The person I sent is the former eldest princess of Xue Kingdom, Xue Tianqiao. Humph, if the Holy Maiden of Yun Kingdom is really Lin Bingshuang, she will definitely react when she sees Xue Tianqiao. If not, Xue Tianqiao will be able to test her background. This matter is of great importance, and I have to be cautious. If she is Lin Bingshuang, then Rong Chen's recent abnormal behavior can be explained. If not, it can also put an end to Rong Chen's inappropriate thoughts."

……

The dark chamber was impenetrable. With a click, the door swung open, a sudden burst of bright light flooding in, overwhelming the woman inside. She raised her hands to shield her eyes, revealing a dull expression. Her complexion was as pale as paper, her delicate face devoid of color. Her long, uncared-for hair was now tangled and disheveled, and her clothing was faded and white.

"Tianqiao, the Queen Mother has provided you with food and drink for so many years. Now is the time when she needs you. Come out!" a sharp voice came. The woman called Tianqiao slowly stood up, holding the wall. Her hands and feet were shackled, and every step she took made a sound.

Tianqiao walked out of the secret room and found a gorgeously dressed woman sitting in the dilapidated house. The woman turned around and saw her, chuckling softly, her eyes filled with disdain and disgust.

"You...you..." Tianqiao saw the man, her eyes wide open, pointing at the woman, her lips trembling for a long time, unable to utter a word. From the expression on her face, it can be seen that she hated the woman in front of her.

"Don't look at me like that. I didn't kill you back then, and I kept you alive for all these years. I provided you with food and drink, but you don't even know how to be grateful." The woman said as she walked towards Tianqiao and said, "Don't worry, as long as you help me with this, I will let you go."

"You vicious woman, I won't do anything for you, don't dream on!" Tianqiao's eyes burned with anger as she glared fiercely at Kou Jing, who was so close. If she hadn't been firmly restrained at the moment, she would have rushed forward recklessly, wishing to devour Kou Jing alive, eating her flesh and drinking her blood.

"Don't refuse so decisively, otherwise you will regret it for the rest of your life. Take her away, clean her up, and then bring her to see me." Kou Jing ordered expressionlessly.

"Yes." Tianqiao was taken away with a blindfold gagged. She was confused, not knowing what the woman wanted her to do, but she knew she had no good intentions. And the blindfold could not be removed until she saw Kou Jing. Thus, she was served the entire time, and time slowly passed, and an hour had already passed.

When she saw Kou Jing again, she had arrived in a remote, overgrown area. She looked around, trying to figure out where she was. But Kou Jing, assuming she was planning an escape, said coldly, "Don't even think about running away. If you do, I'll have the archers hiding in the shadows shoot you dead, including her." Kou Jing gestured for her to look at the archers nearby.

Tianqiao looked over and saw dozens of archers standing in a row in the tall grass not far away. She demanded, "Who is she? What do you want me to do?"

Kou Jing summoned a painting, unfolding it. It depicted Yunshuang, her face masked. Her eyes, masked, bore a resemblance to someone else. Tianqiao, at first glance, saw nothing unusual about the person, but upon closer inspection, she was startled. She was...

"Do you recognize her?" Kou Jing stared at her closely, observing her changes, but she looked calm and composed. Kou Jing thought to herself, she must have hidden her inner feelings well. Even seeing her lover's daughter didn't make her feel any ripples.

Tianqiao shook her head. She really didn't know what Kou Jing wanted to do to the person in the painting, but given Kou Jing's personality, he must have bad intentions.

"Then let me tell you, the person in this painting is Yun Shuang, the Holy Maiden of the Yun Kingdom who came to my Daqi not long ago. Her arrival made my son Qin Rongchen fall head over heels in love with her. Based on my understanding of my son, it is impossible for him to be fickle and abandon Lin Bingshuang, the woman he has been waiting for for five years, and fall in love with Yun Shuang, the Holy Maiden of the Yun Kingdom. In other words, they are the same person." Kou Jing said with a firm tone, her eyes full of calculation.