mesbooks Chapter 278 Qingcheng's Identity
Chapter 278 Qingcheng's Identity
Su Mowan felt that Su Mobai must have known in advance that the Grand Princess was going to choose a consort, otherwise he wouldn't have predicted the situation so accurately.
Thinking of this, Su Mowan wanted to ask Su Mobai directly if the eldest princess was Mei Qi Gongzi, but when she thought that Murong Jing was there, Su Mobai might not tell the truth, so she held back.
Murong Jing reached out and took a jade tablet from the table, handing it to Su Mobai. After Su Mobai accepted it, he picked up a seal and pressed it lightly onto an imperial edict.
Su Mowan watched all of this quietly. The jade pendant that Su Mobai took was clearly a very important item.
Could it be used to command soldiers?
Thinking this, he saw Murong Jing put down the seal and push the edict in front of Su Mobai, saying, "I've given you everything. How you use it is up to you."
Su Mobai had a smile on his face, but the look in his eyes was extremely solemn.
He picked up the edict, glanced at it carefully, then revealed his tiger teeth and bright red eyebrows, saying, "Don't worry, since you've entrusted me with something so important, I certainly won't let you down."
Upon hearing this, Su Mowan was almost certain that her guess was correct; Murong Jing had definitely given Su Mobai command of the Fengcheng forces.
She couldn't help but be a little surprised. She had previously thought that Murong Jing was just talking, but she didn't expect him to actually do it.
Although Fengcheng only had a force of over 200,000, for Murong Jing, that was only one-fifth of his forces.
But for Su Mobai, that was different.
Although Liuxia is not weak, its military strength is not strong, otherwise it would not have secretly colluded with Yanxue.
Therefore, these 200,000 troops still posed a significant threat and pressure to Liuxia.
If Su Mobai commands properly and has exceptional strategy, it is not impossible for him to capture Xialiuxia.
It's unclear what Su Mobai offered in exchange for Murong Jing.
Su Mobai picked up his things and got up to leave. Su Mowan had a few questions to ask, so she glanced at Murong Jing and said, "I'll see my brother off."
Murong Jing neither nodded nor shook his head, but gave Feng Yue a look, signaling him to open the door.
Feng Yue quickly went over and opened the study door, then stood respectfully by the door, waiting for Su Mobai to come out.
Su Mobai was in a good mood when he noticed that Su Mowan had something to say to him, so he waved his hand and said, "No need to see me off. It's just a few steps, how could I get lost? We can talk next time. I'm leaving now."
Su Mowan had many questions in her mind, and she couldn't wait for next time. Who knew when next time would be? So she said without any room for argument, "I'm afraid you'll be so happy that you'll lose your bearings. I'll see you off."
"..."
Su Mobai glanced at Murong Jing, shrugged slightly to indicate his innocence, and then said to Su Mowan, "Alright, let's go then."
After the two left the study, Feng Yue approached and said, "Master, the Left Prime Minister also sent people, but they gave up after searching all morning."
Murong Jing's expression was indifferent, as if it were expected. He glanced at the map hanging on the wall and narrowed his long, narrow eyes.
"Since the Left Prime Minister's men have left, let's call them back as well."
"Yes."
After Feng Yue responded, he was about to leave when Murong Jing stopped him. "That matter I asked you to investigate last time, have you made any progress?"
Feng Yue paused, his expression somewhat strange, and said, "There are some clues, but no one can get into that cave. About twenty feet deep, there is an iron fence that blocks the way. If you want to get in, you have to remove the iron fence first."
Murong Jing remained silent for a long time after hearing this. Since Feng Yue said so, it meant that it wasn't so easy to dismantle.
After a moment's thought, Murong Jing tapped the table with his fingers and said, "If there's ventilation, it means there's more than one entrance. Have them keep a close eye on the nearby mountains; there might be something important inside."
Feng Yue's expression hardened at these words. He hesitated for a moment, then finally said, "There is indeed something inside. Just as Consort Su said, there are some strange sounds inside. I have also heard them, but I cannot identify what they are."
Murong Jing's eyes darkened.
"Tell them to be careful, not to leave any traces, and not to alert the enemy."
Since there's something inside, it means someone outside is watching.
Feng Yue understood his master's meaning and immediately nodded in agreement.
With that matter considered settled, Murong Jing suddenly asked, "How's it going with the Dingyuan Marquis's residence in Jiangnan that I asked you to keep an eye on?"
Feng Yue was reminded of this and realized that he had not yet reported this matter. He immediately said, "Young Master Jiang, who has been away from home for two years, has returned home. There is nothing else for the time being."
Feng Yue still couldn't quite believe that Jiang Zhuo was the young master of the Dingyuan Marquis's Mansion in Jiangnan.
The Marquis of Dingyuan in Jiangnan held the highest position among all marquises, and Jiangnan was a prosperous region, so the splendor of the Marquis of Dingyuan's mansion was evident.
Feng Yue couldn't understand why Jiang Zhuo would give up his comfortable life as a young marquis and insist on coming to the Snow Shadow Guard to suffer.
Especially when Feng Yue learned that Jiang Zhuo hadn't been home for two years, his jaw nearly dropped.
He wanted to go back to his homeless place, but Jiang Zhuo, on the other hand, had a home but didn't want to go back.
Upon receiving this news, Murong Jing waved his hand, without giving any further instructions, signaling Feng Yue to leave the study first.
Su Mowan saw Su Mobai out, and when they passed the flower hall, she simply gestured for Su Mobai to go in and sit down to chat.
This time, Su Mobai didn't refuse and went in first. He chose a sheltered spot to sit down and looked up, saying, "What do you want to ask? Ask me everything at once."
Su Mowan didn't sit down. She stood in front of Su Mobai, staring straight at him, afraid of missing even the slightest change in his expression.
"Did Young Master Mei like Song Chuwen from the very beginning?"
There was a lot of information in those words. Su Mobai looked surprised. Seeing her staring at him, he shrugged and said, "You already know this very well, so why are you asking me?"
Su Mobai's words were tantamount to admitting that the eldest princess was indeed the seventh young master Mei.
This also shows that Su Mobai knew from the beginning that the eldest princess was in love with Song Chuwen.
The fact that Su Mobai allowed the eldest princess to release such information without taking any action suggests that there is something fishy going on between Su Mobai and the eldest princess.
Su Mowan's eyes flashed, and she lowered her voice, saying, "Didn't you say that Plucking Stars and Playing with the Moon were all yours? Then the eldest princess is the master of the Moon Playing Pavilion?"
The Star-Picking Tower specializes in intelligence, while the Moon-Playing Pavilion is responsible for assassinations.
Young Master Mei has a unique skill called Plum Blossom Needle, which involves murder. He must be a member of the Moonlit Pavilion.
Su Mobai smiled faintly, neither saying yes nor no, and simply asked, "How do you know all this?"
Su Mowan paced back and forth in front of him, a hint of smugness flashing in her eyes, and said, "It's very simple. I know from Song Chuwen that you and he have a good relationship. His sudden agreement to investigate the case must be thanks to you, so you know about his trip to Qingchengfang."
At this point, Su Mowan also chose a good spot to sit down and continued, "Then Young Master Mei Qi appeared, probably to prove Qingcheng's innocence. It was too coincidental that the eldest princess appeared at this time. The strange atmosphere between the eldest princess and Song Chuwen afterwards aroused my suspicion."
Su Mobai raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? How is it strange?"
"The way the eldest princess looked at Song Chuwen made it clear what was going on, while Song Chuwen seemed to avoid her, obviously not wanting to see the eldest princess. But since I was there, Song Chuwen acted somewhat restrained, so I suspect the eldest princess appeared on purpose. And the reason the eldest princess had the information was probably because she got it from you, which also shows that the eldest princess and you have a close relationship."
"You're judging her to be Young Master Mei based on this alone?"
Su Mowan smiled and said, "Speaking of which, it's all thanks to the Seventh Princess. If it weren't for the Seventh Princess, I wouldn't be sure."
"The Seventh Princess? What does she have to do with this?" Su Mobai asked, slightly puzzled.
Su Mowan glanced at the person, a hint of schadenfreude in her eyes: "The Seventh Princess said she saw you outside Qingchengfang that day."
Su Mobai frowned.
"The Seventh Princess has never seen me before, how does she know it's me?"
This statement is tantamount to admitting that he did indeed appear at the entrance of Qingchengfang at that time.
Su Mowan sighed and winked, saying, "She has never met you, but when she went to Wanggui Tower to find me, she saw your portrait. The Seventh Princess was so excited at the time."
"..."
Su Mobai suddenly understood what Su Mowan meant by winking.
"Speak the key."
Su Mowan cleared her throat and said, "The key point is that you and the eldest princess both appeared in Qingchengfang. If you were Young Master Mei Qi, you should have left after you made your move and would not have stayed. That would only leave the eldest princess. Since you are not Young Master Mei Qi and you lingered outside Qingchengfang, it means that the eldest princess was sent by you."
After listening to her confident analysis, Su Mobai rarely praised her, saying, "You're much smarter than before. It seems you've grown taller and smarter too."
"..."
This must be the most unpleasant compliment one can hear.
Su Mowan paused for a moment before stating the final key point: "So you and Young Master Mei want to protect Qingcheng."
"Yes."
Su Mobai readily nodded.
Su Mowan pressed on, asking, "What exactly is Qingcheng's identity?"
Anyone who can get Su Mobai's protection must be extraordinary.
Seeing that she had already guessed most of it, Su Mobai didn't bother to hide it from her and said directly, "Qingcheng has the same status as you. Her mother has been kind to us, so I have to take care of her."
Is Qingcheng the same as her?
Su Mowan was stunned by those words and couldn't come back to her senses for a long time. How could it be such a coincidence?
When she saved Qingcheng back then, it just so happened that she encountered it. Could it be that everything was preordained?
Seeing her thoughts swirling, Su Mobai continued, "I know about how you saved Qingcheng back then. She was already being protected by people from Nongyue Pavilion, but you beat her to it."
Upon hearing this, Su Mowan suddenly understood the key to Qingcheng's case.
"Was it Consort Shen who sent someone to get rid of Qingcheng, and Xiaoxiao was just used? After Yuge died, Qingcheng became the prime suspect. Then, when the people of Nongyue Pavilion saw Yuge's death, in order to help Qingcheng get rid of the suspicion, you found the eldest princess and shot the plum blossom needle?"
Su Mobai said, "That's about right."
Su Mowan was a little confused. Consort Shen had many ways to get rid of Qingcheng, so why did she choose this roundabout method?
Seeing her confusion, Su Mobai explained, "Of course Consort Shen also considered taking direct action, but all three groups of assassins she sent were stopped by my men."