Chapter 417: 428

At first, Shadow Guards wanted to keep them alive, but the people who came later were all men of sacrifice. After the men of sacrifice got caught, they immediately bit the poison sac in their mouths and committed suicide.

The head of the Shadow Guards apologized, “Master, I have failed my duty.”

Baili Qingcang was not surprised. After all, the men of sacrifice were different from common assassins. Their purpose was only to complete the orders they received without caring about anything else. “Return to the camp immediately.”

“Yes!”

The Shadow Guards escorted Baili Junyi back. Someone had already passed on the news of his assassination, which caused the camp to be in a mess now. Meanwhile, Noble Consort Qi ordered the palace guards to rescue Baili Qingcang in the forest.

At the same time, several princes got on their horses to head to the forest to save Baili Qingcang as well. However, Baili Qingcang rushed back with his people when they were about to leave.

After Baili Qingcang saw the surprised looks on the princes, he couldn’t help but ridicule them in his heart, “Hmph. If I had to wait for you guys to rescue me, I would have been dead for a long time.”

The princes quickly dismounted their horses while the rest knelt on the ground. “Please forgive us, Your Majesty. We have made an unforgivable mistake.”

Baili Qingcang coldly swept his eyes over his sons, who were kneeling on the ground. His eyes were cold as he judged them. He was contemplating who among his sons was capable enough to train men of sacrifice. “All of you, get into the tent!”

Bu Yonghan knelt beside Noble Consort Qi while Shen Ninghua was not far away. When Bu Yonghan saw Shen Ninghua’s indifferent expression, her eyes flashed with malice, and she thought, “How could she still be this calm? I’ll make sure to watch her cry later!”

Just as Baili Qingcang reached the tent’s entrance, a figure covered in wounds ran out hurriedly from the forest. The figure shouted, “Your Majesty, please seek justice for me!”

“Halt!” The guards quickly drew their swords and stopped the oncoming person.

With that, the person fell to the ground. Her face was covered with dirt, and the color of her clothes was unidentifiable. “Princess Zhaohua murdered me. I beg of you to seek justice for me, Your Majesty!”

Her loud accusation made everyone freeze on the spot. After carefully examining the person on the ground, someone finally recognized her. “Isn’t this Madam Xia?”

Almost everyone present knew who Xia Jingqiu was. After all, she was Shen Ninghua’s aunt. Her daughter had even married into the Second Prince Mansion to become a side concubine. At that time, Xia Jingqiu was at the peak of her glory.

Shen Ninghua looked up and saw Xia Jingqiu’s appearance. She could not help but frown. “Aunt, haven’t you gone back to Jiangnan? Why are you here?”

Xia Jingqiu met Shen Ninghua’s eyes and wished she could tear Shen Ninghua apart with her eyes. “Shouldn’t you know best about the reason I am here? If you hadn’t sent someone to assassinate me, I would have returned to Jiangnan long ago. Why would I hide in the woods to save my life?”

“Aunt, your words are strange. Why would I assassinate you?” Shen Ninghua remained still and asked again calmly.

With that, Xia Jingqiu became more resentful. “Hah! You are obviously trying to hide what you have done wrong from everyone! Shen Ninghua, do you have the guts to swear in your mother’s name that Yingxue’s death has nothing to do with you?”

A trace of coldness flashed through Shen Ninghua’s eyes. “Aunt, my mother is your biological sister, and she has been dead for many years. Isn’t it inappropriate for you to swear with her name?”

“Are you chickening out?” Xia Jingqiu was certain that Shen Ninghua was hiding something. Every move of Shen Ninghua was spiteful and suspicious to Xia Jingqiu. “Shen Ninghua, you have already married the Fifth Prince. Why are you still thirsting after someone else’s husband?”

When these words were spoken, the scene fell silent. Baili Junyi looked coldly at Xia Jingqiu while exuding an angry aura. “Madam Xia, are you falsely accusing my princess?”

Xia Jingqiu’s heart trembled when Baili Junyi stared at her. However, she was vengeful and could not care less. “Fifth Prince, I’m afraid you are still being kept in the dark. Your beloved princess is having an affair with someone else!”

Baili Junyi’s eyes were as cold as ice, and a dangerous aura emanated from his body. “If you dare to say nonsense without evidence, I will kill you first before Father Emperor can!”

Xia Jingqiu gulped to try to calm her trembling body. “I wouldn’t have said nonsense if I hadn’t had evidence. Yingxue died because she found evidence of Shen Ninghua’s affair, which made Shen Ninghua kill her!” Then, she glared at Shen Ninghua with resentment.

“Where is the evidence? Did the dead Yang Yingxue tell you through a dream? You said Shen Ninghua had an affair with someone else. Who is that person?”

Xia Jingqiu took a letter from her sleeve and lifted it with both her hands above her head. “Your Majesty, Yingxue was killed by Shen Ninghua. The details are all written in this letter. Your Majesty, please scrutinize it!”

Baili Qingcang’s face darkened, which made it hard for one to identify his emotions. He waved his hand to let the eunuch, who was beside him, retrieve the letter. After a long silence, he said, “Are you saying that Shen Ninghua had an affair with the Second Prince, Baili Jinchuan?”

Xia Jingqiu gritted her teeth. “Yes. The two of them conspired to kill my daughter, Yang Yingxue!”

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Bu Yonghan gritted her teeth secretly, and her eyes burned with fire. This was not what they had discussed before. Xia Jingqiu did not follow the plan they discussed before! According to the plan, Xia Jingqiu only needed to reveal that Shen Ninghua had sent people to assassinate her and show the proof. Why did she suddenly involve Baili Jinchuan in this?

Baili Junyi sneered, “Father Emperor, please forgive me for interrupting. Ever since Shen Ninghua married me, she has been through a lot. Today, someone framed her. Tomorrow, someone will try to ruin her reputation, and now someone is openly accusing her of having an affair! Father Emperor, the reason why Yang Yingxue died back then was because of herself. What does Shen Ninghua have to do with this, except that Yang Yingxue tried to hurt her? At that time, Shen Ninghua helped her many times because of their blood relation, but she was ungrateful and falsely accused my wife instead. How is this fair!”

Xia Jingqiu said, “Fifth Prince, everyone knows that you are deeply in love with Princess Zhaohua, but you cannot try to cover up the truth. Beware that you are putting your heart in the wrong place. They are working together to deceive you, and you still don’t know it yet!”

The Second Prince, Baili Jinchuan, suddenly sneered, “Madam Xia, it seems that you have not only framed Princess Zhaohua but also have a prejudice against me. Working together to deceive my brother? Are you saying I’m working with Princess Zhaohua to deceive Fifth Brother?”

Bu Yonghan panicked internally. Only at this time did she realize she had been used by others!

Xia Jingqiu did not follow the plan they had agreed on at all. Someone else seemed to be the mastermind behind her so that the Second Prince would be framed too!

Xia Jingqiu didn’t know how to refute Baili Jinchuan, and she could only look at Baili Qingcang. “Your Majesty, I have planned to leave the capital, but I was almost assassinated halfway. The person who assassinated me had an azalea flower embroidered on his sleeve. I recognized it at a glance. It was the Xia Family’s symbol, and the only person who can use it now is Shen Ninghua! Later, the horses rushed into the forest during the ambush. Then, I accidentally found this letter from the things left behind by my daughter, and only then did I know the truth. Your Majesty, although Yingxue is not as noble as Princess Zhaohua, she is still a life. She can’t die just like this, right?”

“Did you say the person who tried to assassinate you had an azalea flower on his sleeve?” Baili Qingcang narrowed his eyes slightly while his tone carried an indescribable sense of danger.

“Yes!”

Baili Qingcang sneered, “What a coincidence. The group of assassins that I encountered during the assassination in the forest also had azalea flowers on their sleeves.”

Xia Jingqiu whipped her head to look at Shen Ninghua. Then, she said in disbelief, “Shen Ninghua, you are audacious. You weren’t satisfied with killing Yingxue and assassinating me. You even tried to assassinate His Majesty. You are clearly plotting treason!”

Shen Ninghua raised her head, and her eyes were gleaming. “Aunt, there is no bad blood between us, yet you tried to accuse me. Indeed, it is tough to foresee someone’s malicious intent. Father Emperor knew why Yang Yingxue died. Noble Consort Qi and the Second Prince knew too. It has nothing to do with me. Other than the guards anointed by Father Emperor, no one else is around me. Do you think I will send the imperial guards to assassinate you? Most importantly, I am respectful toward my birth mother. Since the azalea flower is her favorite, I have never worn anything with the azalea flower. Moreover, I will not let my mother’s favorite thing be stained with blood!”

Xia Jingqiu did not believe her at all. “This is just your side of the story.”

“This is not her side of the story!”

Shen Ninghua did not speak, but Baili Qingcang spoke up for her. “I gave the order to kill Yang Yingxue, and the people with an azalea flower on their sleeves do not work for Shen Ninghua. However, Madam Xia, I am curious. You are an ordinary married woman. How did you escape the ambush and live in the forest full of wild beasts for such a long time?” Who else was giving instructions to Xia Jingqiu?

Xia Jingqiu was stunned and then she realized the Emperor suspected her. “Your Majesty, everything that I said was true. I wasn’t trying to frame anyone!”

Baili Qingcang sneered, “Everything you said was true? I don’t think you said a single word of truth!” As he spoke, he threw the letter in his hand onto the ground.

“Your Majesty, I wouldn’t dare to frame the prince and princess without evidence. Please scrutinize this matter!”

Meanwhile, the Crown Prince went forward and picked up the letter. “Father Emperor, it’s better to investigate this matter carefully. Don’t be furious.”

Baili Qingcang’s face was gloomy. He was about to say something when his body suddenly swayed. He could not help but hold onto the Crown Prince beside him. “I…”

“Father Emperor, what’s wrong?”

Baili Qingcang felt every bit of strength in his body was drained completely. He wanted to speak, but his ears hummed, and the noises gradually faded. He could not help but look at the Crown Prince. However, he saw the Crown Prince snatch the letter in front of his eyes at an angle where no one could see his action. Before Baili Qingcang could make a sound, he fainted.

“Father Emperor? Father Emperor?”

Everyone panicked. The Emperor suddenly fainted. This was abnormal!

The Crown Prince quickly had people lift Baili Qingcang to the tent behind them while Noble Consort Qi and a few princes followed quickly. “Quick. Summon the imperial doctor.”

The others did not dare to move and still waited outside.

Soon, the imperial doctor finished his diagnosis. “His Majesty’s anger has affected his health greatly. I can’t tell as for when he will regain his consciousness.”

Shen Ninghua felt something was wrong. She wanted to go forward to check Baili Qingcang’s pulse, but the Crown Prince stopped her. “Fifth Sister-in-law, although Father Emperor believes that you have nothing to do with the assassins, the matter has not been investigated yet. It would be best if you don’t get too close to Father Emperor. Do you agree?”

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