The two continued happily brushing the horses.

Very harmonious.

The several horses were quickly brushed clean and spotless. They changed to a bucket of clean water to wash the carriages.

Originally, this kind of work could have been completely left to the inn’s odd-job workers or handed to a few guards, but Jingrong felt he had nothing to do. Since he was idle anyway, he did it himself.

Bai Yin suddenly asked him very seriously, “By the way, who exactly were those men in black last night?”

Jingrong’s horse-brushing motion paused for a moment. He said, “I’m not clear either, but they definitely weren’t coming for us.”

“I saw that each of those people was highly skilled. Judging from their martial arts techniques, they didn’t seem like those complicated jianghu sects. Also, why did they suddenly retreat last night? Isn’t that very strange?”

Indeed strange!

Jingrong didn’t want to say much more and only said, “Perhaps they urgently needed to rescue those two people in the sacks, which is why they retreated.”

“That’s possible!”

The two didn’t continue this topic.

They earnestly brushed the horses.

Soon, the guards had purchased everything needed for the journey and also bought back some Huyi clothing.

Everyone changed.

Going out, they no longer stood out conspicuously!

Because this inn was at the end of the street, and Changgu rarely had outsiders coming, there were generally few people staying at the inn. It usually seemed rather deserted.

But when mealtime came, more people came in to eat.

Jingrong and the others also sat in the first-floor hall eating dinner.

The guards sat at another table.

More and more people filled the inn, and idle chatter followed one after another.

All sorts of things—people talked about everything.

Everyone chattering at once.

However, the crowd was suddenly attracted by one particular topic.

Someone was heard saying, “Have you all heard that some strange incidents have occurred recently?”

Strange incidents?

These words made everyone very curious.

They all looked toward the person who spoke.

Someone urged, “What strange incidents exactly? Stop being so mysterious and speak up already.”

The person who spoke had shifty eyes—he was Changgu’s famous busybody. He put one foot up on his stool, grabbed a handful of peanuts and stuffed them in his mouth, then said, “You don’t know yet, do you? In recent months, it’s said that many old ministers from the former dynasty have successively disappeared. Some even had their estates burned, their entire households killed—not one left! The authorities want to intervene, but have no way to begin.”

“Ah? That strange?”

“Isn’t it? But actually… this is very likely related to something from over twenty years ago.”

“What do you mean?”

The busybody drank another mouthful of tea and coughed several times before saying, “You should all know that over twenty years ago in our Huyi, a coup occurred within the royal family. The current King of Huyi, who is the elder brother of the former king, led his own personal troops to seize the palace and force the abdication. The former king was forced to take his own life before the throne. The former queen and her young prince disappeared without a trace, but some people witnessed with their own eyes that the former queen and the others had actually all perished in the flames! At that time, many old ministers would rather die than pledge allegiance. The King of Huyi didn’t dare continue indiscriminate killing to avoid forming a tyranny, so he banished them all from Gaoding. Originally, those old ministers had been fine for over twenty years, but recently, for some unknown reason, they’ve been disappearing one by one. Their estates burned, the people in their households all dead. This… must be related to the events of that year.”

Though it was speculation.

His tone was very certain.

These words, of course, also reached Ji Yunshu’s ears.

She was quite interested.

So she pricked up her ears to continue listening.

After hearing the busybody’s words, someone said, “You shouldn’t speak carelessly about matters from the former dynasty. Who knows the truth!”

“That’s right. If these words reach the King of Huyi’s ears, you won’t have enough heads.”

The busybody laughed. “The King of Huyi has no time to manage my mouth.”

Everyone was curious. Why?

“What, you still don’t know?” the busybody said.

“Know what?”

“The King of Huyi is gravely ill and bedridden, and moreover, he hasn’t attended morning court for a long time!”

The crowd erupted in uproar!

Unbelievable.

This wasn’t surprising. After all, Changgu rarely had outsiders coming in, so naturally news came in less frequently too. Not knowing these things was quite normal.

So people questioned him one after another.

The entire inn seemed about to explode with commotion.

The busybody said, “The King of Huyi is now gravely ill. Many major court matters have been handed over to trusted confidants at his side, so there’s also been the idea of establishing a crown prince. Originally, the King of Huyi had three sons. The eldest prince died in battle in his early years. Now only the second and third princes divide the power. Originally, the king always favored the third prince and would certainly establish him as crown prince. But in recent years, the second prince has gradually shown his brilliance, making many distinguished military contributions for Huyi. The king has come to regard him with new respect. Moreover, this second prince has Duke Wangguo supporting him from behind. His influence has gradually risen, and his becoming heir apparent is what everyone hopes for. But the third prince has Marquis Pingyang and Prime Minister Gongzuo supporting him from behind. The power is divided in two. So as for which family this heir apparent position will fall to, it’s still unknown.”

Someone continued, “According to what you say, there may be another storm in the court.”

“Exactly!”

Everyone joined in sentence by sentence.

Talking with great enthusiasm.

These Changgu people, precisely because they lived too prosperously and too comfortably, only knew how to chat about gossip and incidents every day.

Even pea-sized matters could spread like wildfire.

However, none of this stirred Jingrong’s interest.

He simply didn’t care about these things.

Those so-called court matters—just hearing about them gave him a headache.

Now was the same.

Moreover, matters within the Huyi royal family had nothing to do with him.

But then—

The busybody came out with more words. “Actually, for the matter of the heir apparent, those two princes have long been prepared. Everyone still remembers, right? Just last year, the third prince married a princess from Dalin. Originally, that princess’s imperial brother had an extremely high possibility of becoming Dalin’s new emperor. The third prince probably thought of this point, so he planned to borrow that influence to help him ascend to the position of heir apparent. But later, for some unknown reason, that prince died for the crime of treason. So it also led to that princess being neglected by the third prince as soon as she married over. Very pitiful. The third prince’s plan naturally went up in smoke.”

After speaking, he pressed his palm against the back of his hand and clapped heavily!

Sighing deeply.

The faces of the crowd also showed a trace of sympathy.

However, when hearing about this matter, Jingrong’s eyes gradually darkened.

His fist clenched tightly.

His heart cut like by knives.

Although when Consort Xiao and Jing Yi died, Jing Xuan’s current outcome was already predetermined, but hearing that her situation was like this, how could Jingrong’s heart not ache?

Her mother-consort and imperial brother had just died, and as a woman she married into another country.

Always neglected.

What difference was there from living as a grass widow?

That kind of suffering must make every day feel like a year.

Thinking of this, Jingrong clenched his fist even tighter.