Although rumors were difficult to investigate, there were plenty of people to investigate at the imperial mausoleum if they wanted to. They simply hadn’t investigated before because they wanted to lure the snake out of its hole. Now that they wanted to close the net, whether they could catch the big fish was uncertain, but small fry would certainly be unavoidable. Moreover, perhaps it was far more than just small fry.
Song Chuyi pondered for a moment, placing her gaze on that map. With a snap, she suddenly closed the map shut and let out a cold laugh. “They’ve been arrogant for so long—it’s indeed time to collect some interest.”
When Song Chuyi said collect interest, she truly meant collect interest.
Light and shadow dappled the scene. Morning light filtered through the treetops into the courtyard, gilding everything in sight with a faint golden glow. Lai Chenglong had been waiting in the courtyard for quite a while. He often visited this courtyard at night, and the nighttime scenery looked completely different from daytime. He walked around in a circle, his gaze falling on Luo Gui, who stood before him with an expressionless face, unmoving. He appeared rather impatient. “What matter is there that can’t be told to me through my wife? Must I really wait here?”
His status had become increasingly prominent. He was already considered a trusted confidant before Emperor Jianzhang. Precisely because of this, he needed to avoid suspicion even more, especially now when Song Chuyi was at the center of a storm. He needed to be particularly careful—she was already called the Tiansha Lone Star. Who knew what other vicious names people might come up with? If she were further entangled with the Imperial Guard, it wouldn’t just implicate her alone anymore—it concerned the Eastern Palace as well.
Lai Chenglong considered himself a very shrewd person. He had always been good at assessing situations and judging circumstances. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have rashly boarded Song Chuyi’s ship back then. Now, seeing the enormous waves ahead, he naturally hoped everything could be handled with utmost caution.
Luo Gui bowed at the waist and answered neither humbly nor arrogantly, “Our Sixth Miss specifically instructed this. Please be patient, sir.”
They were still accustomed to calling Song Chuyi Sixth Miss.
Before long, there was indeed movement. Lai Chenglong lifted his eyelids and indeed saw Song Chuyi arriving in full formal attire. The Song Chuyi of before didn’t need deliberate adornment to already be radiantly spirited, but when she deliberately dressed up, it truly made people not know where to rest their eyes. Lai Chenglong, however, remained unaffected. He stood up and asked her with a smile, “Should this humble official perform a full kowtow to the Crown Princess?”
Years ago, late at night, Luo Gui had carried him from a pleasure house on horseback to meet Song Chuyi. Song Chuyi had opened her mouth and given him a surprise, allowing him to thoroughly kick Jia Yingxin and the others off their positions and firmly secure his position as Commander of the Imperial Guard. From that moment, he knew the girl before him was no ordinary person—probably like her uncle, a fox spirit refined through ten lifetimes of cultivation. Later, through the events at Yangquan and onward, Song Chuyi had indeed climbed higher and higher, and was now the Crown Princess.
Qing Ying and Ziyun personally arranged and served tea, refreshments, and food. Lai Chenglong glanced over and asked tentatively, “Could it be about the matter of some stone tablet carved with the words ‘Tiansha Lone Star’ being dug up at the imperial mausoleum?”
Song Chuyi picked up the silver wine pot beside her and filled a cup to the brim for him. Her expression remained calm as she didn’t answer but instead asked, “Uncle Lai, has there been any progress in investigating the traitor?”
Lai Chenglong’s expression involuntarily became grave. On the surface, he had been relieved of his duties by Emperor Jianzhang due to his failure to protect Prince Gong and sent home to recuperate. But in truth, he had been dispatched by Emperor Jianzhang to carry out another mission—to capture Prince Gong alive, or kill him.
However, despite having so many people exposed by Elder Du and all the properties and connections Prince Gong had built along the way to the northwest, they were always just a little short. At Wu’an that one time, they had clearly already encountered him, yet in the end, Prince Gong still escaped unscathed and vanished without a trace thereafter. This was simply a tremendous humiliation!
Even before receiving Song Chuyi’s reminder, he had begun to suspect whether their intelligence had been leaked, whether their movements had been leaked. After receiving Song Chuyi’s reminder, he had already checked the archives of everyone at the garrison stations along the way and turned them all inside out. But as for who exactly was Prince Gong’s traitor, there were truly no leads—he couldn’t very well arrest all dozens of people who went on the mission and subject them all to severe torture in the imperial prison, could he?
He put away the playful expression on his face and looked at Song Chuyi with scrutiny and shock, narrowing his eyes. “Does the Crown Princess know who this traitor is?”
The little girl before him was no ordinary person. Perhaps she truly might know. Lai Chenglong’s expression became somewhat complex. “I truly don’t know what matters in this world you don’t know about.”
Song Chuyi straightforwardly shook her head, then nodded. “Uncle Lai is joking. How could I know things that even your Imperial Guard doesn’t know? I’m merely pointing Uncle Lai toward a path.”
She had specifically taken time out to meet him—it definitely couldn’t be merely to point out a path so simply. Moreover, from very early on, she had begun saying she would point him toward a path. As a result, following this path, he had been thoroughly pointed onto the Crown Prince’s ship. Lai Chenglong picked up a peanut and tossed it into his mouth, nodding at her. “I’m all ears.”
Song Chuyi immediately filled his cup again and asked him, “Prince Gong’s incident occurred at the imperial mausoleum. The stone tablet was also dug up at the imperial mausoleum. Who was it that reported matters at the mausoleum both times?”
Lai Chenglong pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked at Song Chuyi. After a long while, he said with some disbelief, “The Heir of Marquis Guangping!”
The news of Prince Gong’s disappearance was also reported by him. He had said he dared not disturb the prince’s entourage, so he submitted a memorial requesting the Emperor’s imperial decision. The matter of the stone tablet was also discovered by the Heir of Marquis Guangping.
Wasn’t this indeed far too coincidental?
“Indeed, it’s truly somewhat too coincidental.” Song Chuyi’s face showed not the slightest attempt to hide or conceal her mockery. She looked at Lai Chenglong with deep meaning. “Because the information was reported by him, and his status is precious, you’ve interrogated many people and investigated many people, but I’m afraid no one thought to direct their attention toward him, did they?”
Lai Chenglong frowned slightly, still somewhat hesitant. “The Heir of Marquis Guangping usually has no dealings with Prince Gong.”
“As far as I know,” Song Chuyi leisurely interrupted Lai Chenglong’s words, “the late Princess Consort of Prince Gong, Lady Yang, was the niece of the wife of Marquis Guangping. The wife of Marquis Guangping—” She paused, looking at Lai Chenglong with deep meaning, “—her surname is Yang.”
As for how the Princess Consort of Prince Gong died, he knew all too clearly. He couldn’t help but feel a chill of shock, already knowing that Song Chuyi’s words were eighty to ninety percent accurate. In fact, she never spoke without basis.
He put down his chopsticks and looked at her solemnly. “But he is, after all, the Heir of Marquis Guangping. Without evidence or proof—” Without evidence or proof, to drag out this deeply rooted, extensively connected noble family—wouldn’t that be problematic?