Chapter 35: Find out the cause of death of third uncle
Qi Yuning took Lingling from Lu Ze's arms, looked at Lu Ze's back holding the lantern, and hesitated for a long time before saying, "Prince Lu, be careful."
If Lu Ze was dragged into the water by a water ghost and died in the lotus pond, wouldn't there be no Lingling in the future?
Lu Ze turned around and smiled at Qi Yuning: "No problem."
Lu Ze went to the lotus pond, holding a lantern and watching koi carps swimming in the crystal clear water, and a small green turtle lying on the edge of the pond.
Lu Ze ordered the boy beside him: "Go down and pick up the little turtle."
"Yes."
The boy quickly picked up the little turtle from the pond.
Lu Ze took the little turtle and put it on his palm. The little turtle was not as big as his palm. He took the little turtle into the courtyard and handed it to Lingling, "Do you want this turtle?"
Lingling's eyes lit up, she took the little turtle from Lu Ze's hand, and immediately smiled and said: "Dad! It's this ghost."
Qi Yuning saw the little turtle in Lingling's hand and put Lingling on the ground, a few steps away from Lingling.
If it was really a ghost, Qi Yuning wouldn't be so scared.
But she was really afraid of this kind of green turtle.
Lingling ran towards Qi Yuning: "Mother, dear."
Qi Yuning hid behind Li Chun, looked at Lu Ze with hatred and said: "Lu Ze, you know that I am afraid of turtles, but you still catch turtles for Lingling to play with."
Lu Ze said: "I forgot that the princess is afraid of turtles."
Lu Ze walked up to Lingling and said, "Lingling, your mother is afraid of turtles, so she gave the turtles to daddy. You go to bed first, and then you can play with turtles when you wake up, okay?"
Lingling took the little turtle and walked up to Qi Yuning and said, "Dear mother, ghosts don't bite, don't be afraid, just touch the turtle."
Li Chun, who was in front of Qi Yuning, smiled and said to Lingling: "Miss Lingling, what the princess is most afraid of is this green turtle."
Lingling saw that Qi Yuning was really scared, so she handed the turtle to Lu Ze sensibly and said, "Dad, then you have to take good care of Guigui for me!"
Lu Ze chuckled and touched Lingling's head.
Lingling went back to her room and fell asleep. Lu Ze raised the turtle in the inkstone washing pool, but he was not sleepy at all, so he asked the eunuch for questioning.
"When Prince Duan fell into the water, was he dragged in by a water ghost?"
The great eunuch trembled and said, "This is absolutely true. During the sacrificial ceremony two years ago, all the princes came. King Duan was standing by the pool and was grabbed by the feet by a faceless and long-haired water ghost and pulled into the lake. Yes, many people saw it at that time, and when we all went down to the lake to rescue Prince Duan, Prince Duan had already passed away, and the water ghost was nowhere to be seen."
Lu Ze was indeed not here at the sacrificial ceremony two years ago. Only later did he hear that his third uncle was drowned, and no one ever mentioned that it was a water ghost that hurt people.
"Boom boom boom!"
There was a knock at the door.
Lu Ze saw Qi Yuning standing at the door and said, "Princess, why are you still up so late?"
Qi Yuning said: "You threw the turtle away. I don't want Lingling to walk around with the turtle in front of me tomorrow."
Lu Ze said: "If you throw the turtle away, Lingling will inevitably be disappointed when she wakes up. I will tell Lingling tomorrow that it would be better for the turtle to stay in the lotus pond."
Qi Yuning saw the eunuch on the side looking at her and Lu Ze curiously, presumably trying to guess her relationship with Lu Ze.
Qi Yuning said to the eunuch: "Whatever happens in the palace tonight, including Lingling's matter, you'd better keep it in your stomach."
"Yes." The eunuch said repeatedly.
After the chief eunuch left, Lu Ze said to Qi Yuning, "Princess, if you have time, can you accompany me to my third uncle's tomb?"
"what?"
Lu Ze said: "I suspect that my third uncle's death was not simple. The princess has always been brave and careful, but do you want to go to the tomb with us?"
Qi Yuning: "..."
Lu Ze added: "The princess should also want to know why Zhao Jie ascended the throne as emperor in the end, right?"
Qi Yuning said: "Does this have anything to do with your third uncle's tomb?"
Lu Ze said: "The cause of the third uncle's death is also strange. The princess is a hero of the Qi family, so she won't be afraid of entering the tomb, right?"
Qi Yuning tightened her cloak and said, "No, I'm afraid."
There is no shame in being afraid of graves.
Lu Ze smiled and stopped embarrassing Qi Yuning.
...The next morning, Qi Yuning took Lingling to see Princess Duan and Zhao Jie to play, planning to return after noon.
Seeing Zhao Jie and Lingling having fun, Princess Duan said with a guilty look on her face: "It's all my fault, I can only let Jie'er live here."
Qi Yuning said slowly: "Princess Duan, why don't you take the little prince back to Shengjing City? After all, the little prince is also your majesty's grandson..."
Princess Duan said with red eyes: "My Shan'er has been killed miserably. I can't afford to offend her and can only hide here. I ask the ancestors of the Zhao family to protect my Jie'er."
Qi Yuning asked: "Didn't Princess Shan slip and fall into the river, her life or death uncertain?"
Princess Duan wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief and choked: "Yes, he lost his footing and fell into the river and died."
Qi Yuning looked at Princess Duan and intuitively told her that Princess Shan falling into the water was not that simple.
And judging from Princess Duan's sadness, it seemed as if Princess Shan was dead. Qi Yuning also thought that since Princess Shan could not find her body, there was still a slight possibility of survival.
As a mother, how could Princess Duan be so determined to die tragically?
If you can't find anyone after falling into the water, you must be hoping to be alive.
Princess Shan was only three years younger than Qi Yuning. Qi Yuning especially remembered that Princess Shan was quite favored by King Duan and Princess Duan.
At that time, Princess Shan had only one child in the entire Prince Duan Palace. Prince Duan and Princess Duan gave all their love to Princess Shan.
Princess Duan couldn't hide the sadness in her eyes, "Princess, I lost my temper."
Qi Yuning stood up and said, "Young Master Lu still needs my help, please help me look after Lingling, Princess."
Princess Duan said: "Princess, just don't worry."
After Qi Yuning hurriedly left Prince Duan's courtyard, he went to find Lu Ze. After asking, he learned that Lu Ze had gone to Prince Duan's tomb.
When Qi Yuning arrived in front of King Duan's tomb, he saw Lu Ze and his two guards confronting a group of soldiers and horses.
The leader, Qi Yuning, also knew him as a junior general in the Qi Family Army. After withdrawing from the Qi Family Army, he went somewhere unknown. Unexpectedly, he was guarding the tomb here.
"See Princess Qi!" Wang Tao knelt down and saluted when he saw Qi Yuning coming.
Qi Yuning said: "There is no need to perform such a big ceremony, just get up."
Lu Ze saw Qi Yuning coming and said, "Do you know him?"
Qi Yuning said: "He was once a subordinate of my father. He has come to the palace to show his respect during festivals these years."
Wang Tao saw Lu Ze standing in front of him and said, "Prince Lu, this is the important place of Prince Duan's mausoleum. You are not allowed to enter the mausoleum at all, as this will disturb Prince Duan's underground spirit."
Lu Ze frowned and said, "Can't I meet my third uncle?"
"Yes, please Prince Lu, please don't embarrass me."
"What if Dali Temple investigates the case?" Lu Zedao said, "Get out of the way."
"What is this for?"
Qi Yuning heard Princess Duan's voice and saw Princess Duan rushing over, "Prince Lu, Princess, what are you doing?"
Lu Ze saluted Princess Duan and said, "Third Aunt, I want to go in and see Third Uncle."
Princess Duan stood in front of the mausoleum and said, "Your third uncle has been laid to rest. How can you go into his mausoleum and disturb his tranquility?"
Lu Ze bowed and said: "Third Aunt, I just want to find out the cause of Third Uncle's death so that he can truly rest in peace."
Princess Duan, who has always been gentle and quiet, cursed loudly when she heard this: "Lu Ze, are you crazy for investigating the case in Dali Temple? The prince fell into the lotus pond and died. Everyone saw it, you What are you still investigating, get out of here!"
Seeing that Princess Duan, who had always been weak and good-tempered, Qi Yuning stepped forward to comfort Princess Duan and said, "Princess, please believe that the prince and I do not have any ill intentions. The prince and the prince are also uncles and nephews connected by blood. I just want to seek justice for the prince."
Princess Duan said: "What kind of justice? I don't need justice. Get out of here. No one can enter the prince's tomb as long as I'm here today!"
When Lu Ze saw this, he didn't want to force himself in. After all, the princess was his third aunt.
Qi Yuning said to Lu Ze, "Let's go. It's almost noon. It will be too late if we don't go back."
Lu Ze glanced at Qi Yuning and followed her away, "The cause of King Duan's death must not be simple."
Qi Yuning said slowly: "When I was talking to Princess Duan just now, I discovered that Princess Duan was certain that Princess Shan had died tragically."
Lu Ze said: "Let's pretend to leave and come back to check again at midnight tonight."
Qi Yuning: "Does it have to be midnight?"
Lu Ze listened to Qi Yuning's words and said: "Third Aunt is here, so it's better to go in and investigate rashly. In the middle of the night, my secret guards will control Wang Tao and the others, so that Third Aunt won't rush over so quickly."
(End of this chapter)