bookcurios Chapter 264: Actually, I left a way out back then
Chapter 264: Actually, I left a way out back then
Chapter 264: Actually, I left a way out back then
He said with a bitter face, "I had made many preparations for the throne, including my father's disappointment in me, but I still never thought of giving up. Until Guiyue Country proposed to exchange hostages, when I learned that my father had chosen me as the hostage, my first thought was that I must not go, because once I went, everything would be over. So I reported that Concubine Li had an affair with the guards, which made my father angry. Concubine Li is the biological mother of the fourth child. She is very beautiful. Everyone who has seen her calls her a fairy. Her beauty is unforgettable and gives people a sense of transcendence. At that time, my father almost only favored Concubine Li, so when he heard that she had an affair with the guards, he was furious and immediately ordered Concubine Li to be sent to the cold palace, and in a rage, he directly sent the fourth child away."
He recalled those things that happened back then. Although it had been so long, his memory was still clear. "That's how I escaped, and that's how the Fourth Master hated me. But I didn't lie, and I didn't frame her as others said. If there was no real evidence, if Concubine Li had not committed adultery, who could have slandered a favorite concubine? But the Fourth Master didn't believe it. He always thought that everything was planned by me, but he didn't know that I knew Concubine Li was unfaithful to my father many years ago, but I kept it to myself. If it weren't for the incident with Guiyue Country..."
He looked at Ye Wenyan with a sincere attitude, "I didn't lie, everything I said is true. But you should not doubt the origin of the fourth brother, he is the son of the emperor, it is true, Concubine Li and the guard must have met in a winter hunting. During that winter hunting, several concubines died, but they encountered ferocious beasts, and it was the guard who saved her life. I was just taking advantage of the topic, and I didn't add fuel to the fire, I just stated the facts. But I didn't expect that the cold palace would catch fire later, and everyone was burned to death in it, and no one ran out. I knew at that time that the hatred with the fourth brother was dead, and it would never be resolved."
Ye Wenyan listened to this story and the scene of that year came to her mind. She seemed to see a young woman riding a horse in the paddock, shooting arrows with a bow and arrows. Unexpectedly, a ferocious beast suddenly rushed out and pounced on her. When her life was hanging by a thread, a guard rushed out to fight with the beast and finally saved her. The two of them developed a friendship from then on. It sounded beautiful, but it was a taboo.
"Although the Fourth Brother has been in Guiyue these years, he has never given up on revenge against me." Quan Qingyun said, "No child of the royal family is easy to deal with. He may seem to be on a long road, but he can still reach back to the inner city of Lin'an. He always trips me up and sets traps for me, which makes me very distressed."
"The fire in the cold palace didn't start for no reason, did it?"
Quan Qingyun nodded, "Of course it couldn't have been ignited for no reason. I had guessed it in my mind, but unfortunately I haven't found any evidence in all these years. Come to think of it, if she dared to do it, she must be sure to do it quietly. Miss Four, do you know who the person I'm talking about is?"
"The former Queen Li, the current Queen Mother Li." Ye Wenyan mentioned this person without thinking, "The cold palace is the harem, who in the harem can have such a big influence? Only the Queen can do such a thing without revealing anything."
"Miss Four is smart." Quan Qingyun bowed to her.
Ye Wenyan had no intention of paying attention to these courtesies. She was only thinking about how to resolve the matter.
"What did my second brother steal?"
Quan Qingyun told the truth: "These are three letters written to me by General Guiyue. I didn't receive them. The letters were intercepted by the Fourth Young Master." He handed the three letters to Ye Wenyan as he spoke, "I didn't know the Fourth Young Master's identity before, but now I know. So I will not hide anything anymore, and I dare not hide anything."
Ye Wenyan took the letter in her hand and read it carefully, but the more she read, the more she felt that something was wrong with the letter. She asked Quan Qingyun: "Do you have a personal relationship with General Guiyue? Are you very close?"
Quan Qingyun shook his head, "No. I actually only met him once, when he came to Lin'an with the Guiyue envoy. He invited me to drink, and we had a good chat! But it was just a drink, and the drink lasted less than two hours. How deep can it be considered a friendship?"
"Then have you ever promised him anything? For example, what benefits will Guiyue get if you succeed to the throne?"
"not at all."
"Then we need to discuss whether this letter is true or not." Ye Wenyan handed the letter back, "Keep it well and don't lose it."
Quan Qingyun was a little unconfident. "The Fourth Master sent so many experts to protect these three letters, but Fei Zhou got them in the end. So I don't think I can keep them forever. I originally wanted to burn them, why did the Fourth Master keep them?"
"If you can't keep it, I'll help you." She put the letter into her sleeve and put it directly into the storage bracelet. "As for why I want to keep it, it's still what I said just now. I want to discuss whether this letter is true or not."
"The letter is genuine." He told Ye Wenyan, "I have seen General Feng Yue's handwriting. It was indeed written by him."
"But it doesn't make sense." She crossed her legs, feeling more comfortable this way. "Things that don't make sense must have a cause, maybe this will be a breakthrough." She sighed again when she said this, "Actually, this matter has nothing to do with me. I'm a good lady, why would I care about your affairs? But my second brother is on your side, and I rescued him. Now I've offended the Fourth Prince so much that we've almost become enemies. I can't ignore this matter."
But if there is something fishy about these three letters, what should she do then? Just watch the Fourth Prince being sent away? It doesn't seem good. After all, when the Li Fei incident happened, the Fourth Prince was still a child. He couldn't see through the truth, he only knew that his third brother had harmed his mother and was his lifelong enemy.
No wonder that man had such a cold look in his eyes, he actually had such a deep hatred in his heart that he refused to come back for the funeral even though his biological mother was burned to death.
Wasn’t what she did today too hurtful?
"Actually..." Seeing her silence, Quan Qingyun opened his mouth again and said something - "Actually, the breakthrough does not have to be focused on those three letters. I...I left a way out for myself back then."
"Hmm?" She was stunned. "What's the way out?"
Quan Qingyun replied: "On the night when the cold palace caught fire, my secret guards rescued Concubine Li from the fire."
Ye Wenyan was stunned for a long time before finally reacting. It turned out that these princes had spies in the palace. They were watching the situation in the palace and their father. It was a pity that the emperor had so many children, but in the end, none of them were on the same page with him.
Of course, the old emperor had nothing to be pitied for, because he had done the same thing before. From generation to generation, they followed suit and learned that the royal family had no family affection, and that only the monarch and his subjects mattered, not the father and his son.
"Where is that person now?" She was relieved. Compared to discussing the authenticity of the three letters, the news that Concubine Li was still alive was indeed a better breakthrough.
Quan Qingyun told her: "She was arranged to stay in a farm outside the capital, and the daughter of the fourth nanny is taking care of her. But I can't tell him about this, because although Concubine Li is still alive, she was burned beyond recognition, and her mental state has not been very good over the years."
He hesitated for a moment, but after a while he finally asked what he wanted to ask: "Fourth Miss, can you... cure her?"
Ye Wenyan didn't say anything, she was just thinking about one thing.
According to Quan Qingyun, the Fourth Prince's hands are very long. Although he is in Guiyue, he can still control the things in Lin'an. How could he not know about this capable person who Quan Qingyun has been hiding for so many years?
It would be fine if he really didn't know, but if not, then what was his purpose?
"Whether to cure or not, we'll talk about it later!" She stood up and looked at Quan Qingyun for a while, then asked a private question, "Did the Third Prince send those concubines away for my second brother?"
Quan Qingyun nodded, "The night he came to get the land deed for you, he saw me in the concubine's room and was very unhappy. Over the years, I have been unwilling to accept the throne, always wondering why my father was disappointed in me. So I want to show him, let him know that I am no different from others. I will also keep many women in the mansion, and I can have three wives and four concubines. But in fact, it is useless. Fate plays tricks on people. Even the Queen Mother Li, who has been planning for many years, got nothing, didn't she?"
He smiled when he said this. Why did Queen Mother Li die? It was because her son offended Ye Wenyan. He didn't understand until now. It turned out that the current situation was all caused by Ye Wenyan. This really scared him. He was also glad that Ye Feizhou and his fourth sister had some feelings when they were young. Otherwise, they would have died hundreds of times because of Ye Wenyan's backing. According to that person's temper, they would be dragged out of the coffin and whipped even if they died.
He subconsciously wiped the sweat from his forehead. It was really a close call. It was just a step away from being doomed.
Ye Wenyan was helpless when she saw him like this. "Before in the General's Mansion, the Third Prince called me Fourth Sister. I felt quite comfortable with it. Why don't you just call me that? I'm really not used to you being like this now. Besides, I'm not Shi Liyuan."
Quan Qingyun immediately waved his hands, "No, no, no, you are the same as the Emperor, the same."
"So this means we can no longer call her Fourth Sister?"
"This... call her, shall I? Well, I'd better call her!" He thought it was better to call her that, so that it would seem intimate, and this way they could get closer. Although he had lost the throne, he could still be on equal terms with the Emperor's people, which was a ray of hope. So he bowed again and said seriously, "Fourth sister."
Ye Wenyan nodded, "I'll keep those three letters for you, they're absolutely safe. As for the rescued Concubine Li, there's no need to rush to talk to the Fourth Prince. Our Fifth Sister is still in his hands, I'll go over and take a look, we can discuss anything later!"
Quan Qingyun respectfully escorted the person out of Renwang Palace and took the six land deeds with him. Although everyone in the palace thought his behavior was strange, he was very happy in his heart.