With a loud “crack”, another thunderbolt split the sky. Qi Wen was so scared that he slumped to the ground, stammering, “M-Mrs. Jiang, you must be joking with me, right?”
“How... how could this be the Crown Prince?”
“Didn't the Crown Prince already die? His body had started to stink, and it was sent back to the capital by the Prince of Mu!”
The more he talked, the more excited he got. “Moreover, didn't you say that the Crown Prince was extremely ugly, short and stocky, and covered in pockmarks?”
“This is the Crown Prince,” Ye Wanmian replied. “The body the Prince of Mu sent back to the capital was fake. Master knows about this, too. But he doesn't know where the real Crown Prince is hidden.”
Qi Wen's face turned pale, and his hands and feet went cold.
“This...”
By now, he had finally realized what was going on.
First, a group of people came to the town, saying they were searching for the Crown Prince. Soon after, three princes followed. Then the “body” of the Crown Prince appeared and was taken out of the town.
But that body was fake. The real Crown Prince wasn't dead. Instead, he was hidden in a coffin and almost buried!
This was a huge conspiracy!
If they got involved in this conspiracy, wouldn't they... wouldn't they end up dead?!
“Although I don't know what their real purpose is, it's an undeniable fact that they killed two innocent people just to harm the Crown Prince,” Ye Wanmian said calmly. “Thankfully, we rescued the Crown Prince in time. He still has a breath left, and there's a chance for him to wake up. We saved the Crown Prince tonight, so we're his great benefactors. When he wakes up, he won't treat us badly. You might even get promoted and become a high - ranking official.”
Qi Wen was on the verge of tears. “I don't want to get promoted or become a high - ranking official. I just want to grow up safely, marry a wife, and have two chubby sons.”
Ye Wanmian smiled. “What can we do? You've already done it. If they find out, you'll be killed.”
“It's all your fault!” Qi Wen said angrily. “You tricked me here! Watch out, or I'll expose you to the员外 Chen!”
Ye Wanmian retorted, “Go ahead. You'll be silenced right away.”
Qi Wen shivered and then lowered his head dejectedly after thinking for a while. Mrs. Jiang was right. Even if he sold her out to the员外 Chen, he still knew the secret of their plot against the Crown Prince. They wouldn't let him live.
“So what should we do?”
Ye Wanmian said, “Of course, we should protect the Crown Prince well and make sure nothing happens to him.”
Qi Wen finally accepted the fact that he had become the “savior” of the Crown Prince. He sat on the other side of the body, looking at the face that he had just praised in the darkness, and let out a long sigh.
He had finally seen the Crown Prince, the real scion of the imperial family, but he never expected it to be under such circumstances.
“You said we should protect the Crown Prince. How do we do it?” Qi Wen asked. “Stay hidden in this cave forever?”
Ye Wanmian thought for a moment and said, “The guards guarding the tomb were chased away by the dogs. Once the rain stops, they'll surely realize what's going on and come back to check the tomb. When they see the tomb has been dug open, they'll quickly know that the Crown Prince is missing and will definitely search the mountain.”
“We need to find a way to take him back to the town. Since the Crown Prince is 'officially dead' and his body is being escorted back to the capital by the Prince of Mu, they have no reason to search the whole town. So Dongli Town is actually the safest place.”
Qi Wen frowned. “But he's such a big person. Even the员外 Chen and his men needed a coffin to take him out of the town. We're just two people, plus a bunch of dogs. There's no way we can take him back to the town quietly.”
Da Huang had been lying quietly beside Ye Wanmian, nuzzling her. Hearing this, it tilted its head and suddenly barked.
Ye Wanmian looked at it in surprise and tentatively asked, “Does Da Huang have a way to get into the town quietly?”
Da Huang wagged its tail and barked twice at Ye Wanmian. Then, right in front of them, it started to prance around, circled the Crown Prince's body once, went back into the cave, and started digging vigorously at a soft patch of ground, barking as it dug.
Qi Wen asked, “What's it doing?”
Ye Wanmian watched Da Huang's actions and fell into deep thought.
These days, she and Da Huang had cooperated seamlessly. Almost everything she said, Da Huang could understand. It was truly a very smart dog. There must be a reason for what it was doing.
Da Huang dug at the ground, then went back to the Crown Prince, pranced around him, and returned to the hole to dig again...
Suddenly, Ye Wanmian had an epiphany.
“I know!”
Da Huang's actions just now were imitating Taoist Yuan Qi's magic. A few days ago in the morgue, Da Huang had seen that stinky Taoist performing magic with its own eyes. It was digging, which meant...
Did that Taoist have the ability to travel underground?
No, that couldn't be right. It should be a secret passage!
Her eyes lit up.
That's it!
She had always thought it was strange how the fake body on the riverbank had appeared. The Chen Mansion had used the lotus pond to fake a body that had been dead for over fifteen days. How did they transfer it to the Sang River and let it wash up on the riverbank?
There must be a secret passage that allowed them to transfer the body without anyone knowing and then return to the Chen Mansion undetected.
They had planned this so carefully. Could there be only one such secret passage?
Not necessarily.
Da Huang had so many dog friends. They were very familiar with the terrain of Dongli Town and could smell things that humans couldn't. They must be able to find those secret passages!
“Da Huang, you're so smart!” Ye Wanmian rubbed Da Huang's head hard and praised it generously.
Da Huang affectionately licked her palm and rubbed its head against her. It was so happy that its ears were flattened back.
So happy, so happy. Mother had praised it! Not the annoying person who had occupied its body, but Da Huang itself!
Ye Wanmian explained her inference to Qi Wen. Qi Wen looked at the rain outside, which showed no sign of slowing down, and said worriedly, “The rain is so heavy. Should we start now?”
Ye Wanmian nodded. “If we wait until the rain stops, it'll be too late. We can take advantage of this rain and take the person back before they realize what's going on.”
“Fine. I'm already on your boat. It's no use complaining now,” Qi Wen said grumpily.
Speaking of secret passages, there was one in this mountain.
Da Huang remembered that Sang Biao had told someone a few days ago that after that stinky Taoist who did the shamanic dance left the city, he somehow appeared in the city again. The other dogs must know where that place was.
It came to the entrance of the cave and barked twice outside. Soon, Sang Biao ran in.
However, the moment it saw Sang Biao, Da Huang's body stiffened. Its raised tail slowly drooped, and it instinctively wanted to lower its head and submit to it.
The next moment, it seemed to hear that arrogant scolding voice in its ear: “Stupid dog. If you're so timid, how can you protect her?”
“Whine...” Da Huang immediately stood up, bared its teeth at Sang Biao, and let out a low growl from its throat.
It wasn't a coward! It would protect Mother well!