Chapter 702: Doubt is only expected (1/2)
His Highness Duke of Qin wanted to detour through East Jing to reach Celestial Mountain, but that was the location of the City of Daughters!
“Your Highness, you’re going to the City of Daughters?” Baili Yuanlong asked.
“Your lordship won’t forgive anyone who dares to kidnap people from the Duke of Qin’s estate, no matter who they are,” Long Feiye said coldly.
Han Yunxi remained silent. Even if Long Feiye didn’t find Lady Leng Yue to settle accounts, she would have urged him to herself. This matter didn’t just involved Duanmu Yao and Lady Leng Yue, but that mysterious poisons expert as well.
“Fine. This soldier will make arrangements immediately,” Baili Yuanlong was a military man, so unlike Chu Xifeng, he’d follow orders even if he still had questions. Back at South Ning, Long Feiye thought things overnight before delaying their time for departure. He had to wait for Chu Xifeng to report back from Tianan.
“Someone come, send a flying pigeon message to Chu Xifeng. Have him bring back Murong Wanru immediately, no matter what methods he uses,” he ordered coldly.
“You mean to say…” Han Yunxi was lost.
“Things aren’t as simple as they look,” Long Feiye remarked. It looked like Duanmu Yao was the mastermind who only kidnapped Grand Concubine Yi to threaten them, but he felt that something else was at play.
“How so?” Han Yunxi asked.
“Duanmu Yao might be stupid, but Lady Leng Yue isn’t a fool. She wouldn’t have really brought Grand Concubine Yi to Lost Void Lake without ample reason,” Long Feiye explained.
Although he didn’t sense any movements from Cang Qiuzi, he had noticed the various Celestial Mountain females hidden in the woods. However, he hand’t manage to track down Grand Concubine Yi amongst them until she was brought out. If he had known ahead of time, he wouldn’t have wasted so many words with Duanmu Yao.
Han Yunxi came to a realization when he spoke. She gave Long Feiye a thumbs up as her face filled with admiration. He was more meticulous than a doctor like her when it came to noticing these tiny details. That’s right. Duanmu Yao’s dumb, but not Lady Leng Yue. Duanmu Yao’s motive wasn’t the Profound Frost Sword, but my death and treatment from Long Feie. Why would she be so obedient as to bring the hostage all the way out there?
As expected, a pro like Long Feiye could see through everything!
“Thinking back now, is it possible they handed us Grand Concubine Yi on purpose?” Han Yunxi asked doubtfully. “Why bother at all?”
She puzzled over it a bit longer, before asking, “What do they want us to misunderstand? There has to be a plot afoot!”
Long Feiye stroked her hair lovingly. More and more, he was beginning to adore discussing problems with this woman. She was very intelligent and could get the whole picture with a single hint. He didn’t need to waste much time explaining things.
“It’s only a conjecture for now. The safest bet is to bring Murong Wanru here. Only Grand Concubine Yi would know the whole truth.”
No matter what had happened, Long Feiye was only interested in knowing whether Grand Concubine Yi had revealed his birth origins as an adopted son. Murong Wanru would be the key point to making her talk.
By now, daylight had arrived. After eating breakfast, Zhao mama came to report. “Your Highness, esteemed wangfei, the Grand Concubine’s yet to wake.”
Han Yunxi had checked on Grand Concubine Yi’s health the entire trip back. She was neither poisoned, injured, nor ill and seemed perfectly normal. She suspected that the fright had been too much for the woman, who would remain unconscious for a day until she recovered from its effects. Thus, she left her in Zhao mama’s care.
“Still not awake? That shouldn’t be, right?” Han Yunxi grew uneasy. “Let me go take a look.”
Long Feiye accompanied her. Grand Concubine Yi had been taken back in her rooms at the ancestral hall, where she lay quietly on the bed as if peacefully asleep. Han Yunxi carefully examined her but found nothing amiss. However, that was the greatest suspicion of all. Immediately, she said, “Long Feiye, looks like we’ll need to send someone to summon Gu Beiyue.”
—
Once Gu Beiyue arrived, his examination yielded the same conclusions as Han Yunxi. Nothing seemed wrong.
“How long has she been unconscious?” he asked seriously.
“She was out when we saw her yesterday noon. I’m not sure about the times before then,” Han Yunxi replied.
“Wait a bit longer. If she doesn’t wake by tonight, then we’ll have a serious problem on our hands,” Gu Beiyue’s expression turned complicated. “Please allow this one to watch over esteemed Grand Concubine today. It’ll make checking up on her easier.”
“Then we’ll leave it in your hands,” Long Feiye said before bringing Han Yunxi out of the room. He wasn’t part of Tianning’s imperial bloodline, so he didn’t want to tell Gu Beiyue too many details about his birth. The truth would come out eventually, but now wasn’t the time.
There were some things that were impossible to explain with words alone. Only actions could prove himself to others. As the threat of Celestial Mountain still loomed overhead, he didn’t want to incur more trouble for himself.
If Han Yunxi had any doubts before, she was thoroughly convinced now. “Someone left Grand Concubine Yi in a coma on purpose. They must have found out something from her!”
Long Feiye’s eyes dropped as he walked slowly with his head bowed.
“Long Feiye, this has to be a calculated move! Definitely!” Han Yunxi declared.
Long Feiye finally spoke. “The crucial point is who’s behind the move.”
Unless Grand Concubine Yi regained consciousness, it was useless even if they knew this had been planned. Was everything related to Tianan’s empress dowager, or had someone else started suspecting the origins of his birth? If so, when had they begun to suspect? Long Feiye couldn’t figure it out. Where did the problem come from? Was there a weak point somewhere that elicited doubt from other parties?